The Nevada County picayune., 1911-03-17
Texans Hope to Produce One at
 Reduced Cost.
With Muntjac Deer of India Founda- ton Will Be Laid for Animal That Will Thrive in Lone
 Star State.


 Galveston, Tex.-"I have believed for long time that Texas could pro- duce a food animal that would come into more general use than any at present to be found on the farms and ranches of the state" said Mir. Lee Mountfort. MT Mountfort has ranch in the vicinity of Robstown. Nueces county, and has for some time past, he says. been conducting experiments in animal breeding. 'I have been watching the work of Luther Burbank for a long time" Mir. Mountfort con tinued, and 1t gave me the. idea that I am at present working out. Of cours. cannot hope to do in the ami nal kingdom what Burbank has done with fruits, but the main principle underlying both our efforts Is to de termne what product is necessary, how the present product Is to be I'm proved upon. and then work out the line of improvement.
 Now take the case of meat In Texas For years Texas has been considered a COW country, so far as meat was concerned. Recently the breeders have been affected by the de- mand for hogs to the extent that hog raising has predominated. Sheep are also raised. But there is need ln Texas for a food animal that is small CT than the COW, hog or sheep. ana bigger than the domestic hen or the rabbit, which Is so easily killed on our ranches. The meat supply of the av- craze ranch is at present drawn from the smokehouse. and while there are a few Texans who will decry ba- con and ham as a diet, there are also few but will admit that fresh meat is better, when it can be obtained.
 There are not many farms where a sheep, for example. can be killed ire quently and easily used before some of it spells. This Is even more true of beef. The hogs are killed at one time of the year and the meat necessarily preserved How. then, is the problem to be met? Obviously not by develop ment of any of the existing species of animals now indigenous to Texas. We must have a new breed If We can't create it it must be imported. There's my chain of reasoning In nutshell
 "I looking about for some animal that is good for food and that will thrive in the climate of southwest Texas. l have read a great deal Of various breeds. l can find few ami mals that are more suitable, to my view, than the little known 'Muntjac' deer of India This animal is beau tlful little creature, and is only about 21 or % inches in height. It has small horns, but is not cumulative, or large enough to be dangerous. It is similar to the sheep in its diet. feeding upon practically any kind of herbage. The meat from the muntjac. l understand. Is of delicious flavor. and possesses that slight gamey taste that makes the epieure prefer venison to almost any other meat.
 AS l view the situation, the bring ing to the country of a small mammal of this size is of enough importance to justify some little expense. After thinking it over, have arranged with one of my friends, Capt. Richard Wat son of the tramp steamship Punjaub. to bring me some. The Punjaub on her present trip Is to go from Cape Town to Calcutta, and can obtain the muntjac there. l have asked him to get several pairs, eight or ten if pos sible to accommodate them, as several will doubtless die on the trip. But with those that survive l hope to lay the foundation for brand new breed of farm food animals in Texas.
 "I have heard that breeder In cen tral Texas has been raising Virginia deer for the past four or five years, and has made something of a success of the breeding The venison finds a ready sale. and the skins have little difficulty in finding market Al though this animal is somewhat larger than the one I have in mind 1t ought also to be developed in the state. This Virginia deer Is also known as the white tail and is able to live in prac- tically any part of the country, If in the colder climates 1t Is given a cer- tain amount of attention in winter. The breed is unusually prolific and