El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-13
RENE BACHE'S BUDGET.
FARMING AFRICAN ANIMALS
TO BE IMPORTED TO HELP THE DIMINISH
MEAT SUPPLY.
Possibilities of the Hppopotamus in Louisiana Swamps
The White Rhnoceros Invites Demonstrations Like
wise the African Buffalo, the Giraffe and Sew
eral Species of Antelopes.

! Reared under conditions of semi-domes
/ tication, it ought to be most valuable, as
a producer of meat and hides, in the arid
! southwest
| Nearly all of the South African
antelopes are desert jewellers. One of the
largest is the gnu fealled by the Dutch
''widlebeest") which has a huge head
and a black name. It looks like q mix
! ture of buffalo, OK, antelope and pony
Incredibly swift, it can gailOp away
from a mounted hunter. Formerly it was
vastly numerous and had the curious
habit of going shout in company with
quaggas and ostriches. 1t breeds readily
in captivity, but wild ones are hard to
approach, unless by the help of a deeoy
called an artificial ostrich the sports
man clothing himself with the skin of
one OF those great birds, and holding the
head erect with stick.
The 'Koodoo" and the "Gemsbok"
The "hartebeest" is as big as donkey.
and in running can beat anytime short
Of a railroad train. The "koodoo," as
large as pony, is beautiful creature
with spirally twisted horns five feet
long. The "gemsbok," which has spear
like horns four feet in length, is sup
posed to be the original of the tabled
unicorn, accounts of it being brought
back by the Crusaders, who saw it repre-
oNhoOO. III anu luCItIOIN WIFI
only one horn apparently, by carvings
on Egyptian monuments. Stories that
occasionally it kills the lion in single
combat seem to be we'll authenticated
Most desirable from our point of
view. however, are the small species of
antelopes. Mr.. Irwin calls attention to
the fact that our cattle and sheep are
too large for the farmers family to use
mp without loss during the warmer
ont he 81 l.
90 to the city butcher shop for fresh
beef CT mutton, and so the family has to
be content with salted meats or chickens.
W hat IS needed IS a meat producing
animal bigger than a chicken and smaller
than a sheep or pig. Such a requirement
would be met admirably by several of the
African aEtelOpes- such, for example. as
the red duyker.' which weighs from %
to 30 pounds; the little blue tfuvker."
the "kleenelboc," and the tiny ''dik-dik.Y
only a foot high and weighing from six to
ten sounds. All of these are browsers
q. e., bush feeders, easily tanned. and
thrive IN captivity. They seem to be
excellentlv adapted to the central, south
ern, and Pacific coast states.
Need Other Kinds of Animals.
Up to the present time we have been
content with three or four meat -produc-
ing animals, originally brought to
America by the Spaniards. It is abso-
1utely necessary that we shall obtain
others; for it is by no means to be sup
posed that We shall ever be satisfied TO
slaughter horses and dogs for their flesh.
as is being done already in Germany.
10 start with, of course, it will be
question OF careful selection. The species
fetched from Africa viii be those which
appear most obviously to invite domes-
tlcaitlOn. When bred in the United
States, some of them will doubtless prove
unsuitable. Others, which thrive and
reproduce their species with rapiditv
will find their wav into use ON the
farm and on the range, so that. before
yerv, long. if the likely prospect is full
filled, they viii become permanent addi-
flons to the number of our meat-pro-
dllcing creatures
Rene Bache.