El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-06-18
FRANK G. CARPENTERS LETTER

chimes and encouraSe competitive trials
on the part of the dealers in the diff
ferent makes.
I'VE are also testing as to artificial
manures India produces but little
barnyard fertilizer. The droppings Of
the cattle are used for fuel, and the
average peasant gives almost nothing
back to the soil. The stations are dis
tributing leaflets describing improved
farming and giving suggestions. Yet it
is difficult TO make the ryOts, as our
farmers are called, undertake any new
methods or try new seeds"
Stock Farming.
What are you doing TO improve your
stock I asked.
I'VE haveA breeding establishments
connected with some of the agricultural
stations, and there is a breeding farm
at the Phipps Agricultural college, of
which 1 have spoken. Many of the
principal governments hold agricultural
shows, where prizes are given for the
best bred animals, and OF late dairy
farms have been started under govern
ment provisions. The Bombay agricul-
tural department established one some
years ago, managed by experts from
Sweden. There are also dairy farms in
the United provinces, and little cream
cries, where milk is cheap. All dairy
machinery is admitted free. and of late
separatOrs, churns and butter workers
have been largely imported. Much of
the cream goes by rail to the cities.
and Is there made into butter, which
is sold fresh or made up in tins and
shipped over India. The native butter
or CHI is also made in large quantities
as well as some condensed milk Much
Of our butter goes TO CeylOn, while the
ghi is oXpcrted to other countries for the
Indian emigrants- Some of these dair-
les have been established on the mill
tary cantOment farms. They are under
military control and they give our
troops pure milk and butter"
Sacred Cows Poor Butter Makers
Are the sacred cows Of India good
milkers?"
Not as a rule" was the reply. Oar
cattle are raised chiefly for work, and
the milk used by the natives comes
largely from Buffaloes. Some of our
finest cattle are from the north, and
especially from Rajputana. MysOre has
some fine breeds, but the cows are poor
mixers. There are also good cattle in
Madras, and in Central India One of
the best milk breeds comes from the
Cir hills and others are from the Sind,
where they are owned by Mohamme-
dams, who drive them in herds from one
jungle pasture to another. The Pun
jan has good dairy cows, but those of
Bengal are poor.
we are having trouble in improving
stock of this kind. The Hindoos look
upon the COWS as sacred, and keep them
when they are MANNED, old and worth
less and give no return for the food
they consume. This reduces the grazing
for the younger animals. We have tried
to improve the stock by distributing
fine bulls to the district boards, but
so far no valuable results have been
reached We find that the half-breed !
cattle are more subject to diseases, and
we now have veterinary departments
in each province. We have also govern
ment breeding farms stocked with cows
and bulls of the pure native breeds.
upon one of these a thousand cows of
one breed are maintained. In Mysore
the best breed of cattle has long been
Kept up by the state
Have you many fine horses?"
Our horse breeding is chiefly for
the army We have government farms,
and several hundred stations which are
distributed to the districts where horses
are bred. We find that the Arabs and
thoroughbreds form the most desirable
sires- We have also thousands Of regis
tered mares. Horse breeding is encour-
aged by prizes offered at fairs, and by
the purchase of good stock by the gov
eminent We have altogether million
or so Of horses and ponies in India.
We are also breeding mules for mill
tary purposes and have something like
800 donkey stations. many of which
have been imported from Cyprus and
Italy. We get them also from Spain.
Persia and America. We have about
$4,000 pony mares and a large number
Of donkey mares as we'll
Opium and the Chinese Market.
Our conversation here turned to the
efforts of China to abolish the use
of opium, and 1 asked Mr.. Miller wheth-
er this would not seriously affect poppy
farming in India.
Most assuredly it WILL" was the re
ply IF China stops using the drug the
greater part of our opium farms viii be /
wiped out and we shall lose a large rev
enue- have agreed to cut down our
production and to restrict our importa-
tons TO China if the Chinese govern
ment can show that it is really in earn