The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-02-22
FLORIDA STOCK RAISING.
,-oetable Though Badly Managed.

49, industries do not pay here; but, like
C-I;fornia the peculiar nature of the soil
.lirnete makes the country rich in
alId l- line of diversified crops and products
l ~ Issbich many are entirely ignorant. The
olinn largely prevails that the state is
GILL adanted to rearing cattle, sheep,
po.saS etc. vet cattle kings in South Flor
a. a. have hundreds of thousands of cattle
laaminp IN large herds over the immense
roTges near the Everglades.
rd1 rEIot the industry is profitable one must
- n[ for granted when he considers the
len If money invested in the business.
En-; ,nression first obtained after examin-
-! ~ +ba careless methods of herding and
in ns stock best adapted to the climate;
u 1aclt of foresight in providing pastures
~ III meadows on which nutritious grasses
81 vegetation are cultivated, and the IN
o,,ltriti0us character of the indigenous
+-rowths of vegetation outside OF the fields
e that cattle ranching cannot be success
~ ,,rdsr such unfavorable conditions.
JVben the country was coded to the
I7,itad States in 1920, territorial govern
r1ant was organized and the territory
nnaned to settlement. The rich lands of
hat is now known as the BLACK belt" at
+racted the attention of the cotton planters
If the neigheoring states, who hocked to
those lands with their slaves. Large tracts
Of lands we're bought by single planters, the
forests were leveled or deadened, the "big
bousen and the negro cabin reared, the one
borse or mule sent afield, and cotton bales
we're sent to market to buy provisions and
Clothing. On account of Indian hostilities,
houses we're placed as near each other as the
large plantations would admit.
Cation was their king and usurped the
a,fire attention; stock was secondary con-
sjderation, and what of cattle there were
found their support on the range, then
covering a large extent of what were con-
sidered the poorer lands, often falling a
Drev to the Indians roaming over the entire
State The herds of these cotton planters
were small and poorly cared for. In other
districts and poorer soils people with few or
no slaves and small stocks Of cattle settled in
reference to the vicinity of what they con-
sidered the best ranges for the herds
even nearly to the borders of the Ever
glades. About the close of the Indian wars
these herds had multiplied to thousands.
SHIPMENTS to Cuba had commenced pre-
vious to 1869; but the blockade of the ports
from which these shipments were made put
an end to the Cuban trade. The herds were
TOO remote from the armies to be largely
drawn upon for supplies of beef, and large
increases resulted. In 1865 King B1s disputed
supremacy in the wet lands with King Cot
ton on the dry. The one had multiplied
his herds, the other had lost his slaves.
After 1865, the ports being again opened,
the shipments to Cuba were resumed, and
cattle rose in value. Then the practice of
wedding out the best for the butchers shaun
bles and for the Cuban trade, left only the
poor animals to breed, and the herds rap
idly degenerated to the lowest grades.
Beeves of 800 pounds of meat were full
average. Little change took place in the
dcgeneracy of the animals or practice of
the owners before 1875, when few blooded
animals were introduced; but owing to the
existence of endemic anthrax and southern
cattle fever, improvement has gone with
hating steps in the infusion of new and i'm
proved breeds.
The innutritious character of the vegeta-
tion outside Of fields has also been a draw
back to cattle raising. Most of the natural
growths partaKe of the character of wire
grass, coarse sedges, and rushes, which COM
pare badly with the rich natural grasses in
the northwestern st ties, Texas, and the
plains extending into the mountains. The
one-crop idea which has hitherto prevailed,
added to want of knowledge of what grasses
and fodder plants may be successfully
grown, and the Indifference to seeking
knowledge on the subject, with the failures
Of the few who have attempted expert
ments without studying the climatic condi-
tions of the state, have contributed to con-
tinue the practice of depending upon the
wild growths, which are yearly becoming
less and less valuable.
Blinded by flakes Of cotton or scent of
oranges, cattlemen have overlooked the fact
until recently that on the dry lands such
perennials as Bermuda smut, Texas blue,
Guinea grass, and alfalfa will grow and pro-
duce more feed for cattle per acre than the
richest grazing lands Of any more northern
state.
The method rracticed by the large owners
in her ing cattle is as near total neglect as
possible. IL consists almost exclusively in
yearly rounding up, penning, or, as the
Western herders, borrowing from the Mexi-
cans, would say, corraling, marking the
unmarked, and selecting out such as they
think they can sell; then turning them
again on the range till the next years
roundup. Under such management the
herd may not be quite as wild as herd OF
butfaloes, but 1t is nearly SO. Another
change has also begun. Already down to
the twenty-seventh parallel settlers have
been occupying the dry lands, closing ia
nelds and farms, planting orange and other
orchards, holding small herds with i'm
proved breeds among them. The great
ranges are contracted, and the wild stock is
forced further south toward the Everglades
Among the owners of these small herds a
demand for better breeds is increasing, and
one sees the small boned, gentle, easily kept
Gulnea, bred on the borders of Georgia and
giving milk not inferior to the JERSEYS in
quality. These are acclimated to the eli
mate and diseases of the south. Jerseys
may also be seen as fl ely bred as anywhere
that have safely passed their acclimation.
Devons are also Nesting on the ranges as
well as the natives, but the heavy breeds,
ike Shorthorns and HolsteIns, must wait
uhtll pastures and grains shall have been
provided for them.
The bad legislation and customs that
gre" up during the early years of the set
tement OF Florida among the cotton plant
ers, as 10 the unrestrained paSturage of
caVtle upon lands not belonging to their
owner, are now being questioned politically
ana legally. Were fruit growing and
gardening prevail the custom is changing,
ana even the owners find it to their ad-
vantage 10 lnclose their cattle and hogs in
tnelr own pastures The wild cattle are
mus forced south or on the wet lands
oheep were first introduced into Florida
Dy the Scotch immigrants, who settled in
we northwest soon after the cession of the
territory to the United States The value
IesS ours that swarm around the huts of the
PoUr writes and negroes and ravenous half
wuu hogs that prowl everywhere unre-
sstlalned, are about the only drawbacks to
.ne successful rearing of these valuable ami
mas The mildness of the winters leaves
tne range and pastures always accessible,
~ TTen III the coolest portions of the state.
me, ne ewes have great fecundIty, and
~ ste" m increase may be reckoned
az lQO per cent. yearly. The fine
WOOlpd lose Al. - =