A FOOD PROBLEM.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15557, 6 March 1911, Page 9

A FOOD PROBLEM.

The Government Biological Survey, in a . bulletin soon to be issued, will call attention to the demand on American : farms and ranches, especially in the south, for a food animal of smaller size than the sheep for home use. Aside • from fowls, most of our domestic animals are too large for immediate consumption by the ordinary farmer s family. . The successlul 'introduction and breeding of a small mammal, in size intermediate between a hare and a sheep, would he of sufficient economic importance, it is believed, to warrant the expenditure of a good deal of money in experiments. Ii any one of tho various small species of deer, or even antelopes, could he raised in the Southern Statos, it- would furnish tho fanners with a much-needed form of meat, fresh every day or two. Suggestion is made that certain small species of Asiatic deer might admirably fill this want—such, lor example. as tlie Chinese water deer, or the “ munt.jac ”of India. The latter is A IIKACTIFI'L LITTLE DEER,

willi small lmms, and stands only ; about twenty inches high. It ; feeds, lika tho sheep, on al- ; most any kind cf herbage. There seems j to bo no doubt that it would thrivo in the warmer parts of our own. country, 1 and its flesh is said to be excellent. It is believed that, with suitable , range, plenty of water and reasonable | care in winter, the business of raising ! the ” white-tail,” or Virginia deer for venison, could be made as profitable as any other livestock This species, of course, is quite commonly domesticated. The great beauty of the . young fawns appealed to the earliest settlers, who soon found how easily they could be tamed end how readily r they attached thomseives to those who j fed'them. Incidentally, they learned | that the males, when grown, were some- j times dangerous in the mating season. | If lacking antlers, they can strike a i vicious blow with their front feet, and a strong man. taken unawares, may . easily be disabled or killed, even by a > doe. to overcome this tendency to bad temper would require many generations of breeding under domestication. A Texas breeder writes that ho has i been raising Virginia deer for several , years, and that, judging from his ex- i perience, the business strongly invites the investment, of capital. llie uni--mals thrive in almost any part of the United States, and are very prolific, the doe usually producing twins. It costs only about half a cent a day pel deer to 'feed them, inasmuch as they will eat anything except dry liay. Cotton seed is a cheap and satisfactory food for them. Tho demand for their venison and skins is unlimited, bath

COMMANDING HICII PRICES

Speaking of the domestication of animals of tins tribe, it is stated that up to 1904 the total number of reindeer imported into Alaska, under Government direction, from Siberia at'd Scandinavia was 12S0. These, of course, wor.o tame and bred in captivity—-tho object of their introduction being to provide food lor the Eskimo. Tho experiment has proved immensely successful. the list annual increase of tho herds being about 25 per cent. At the present tim® they number a u .uit 23,000. Through the- efforts of Dr Grentcdl, raindee" from Lapland have recently been introduced into Labrador and Northern Newfoundland. Speaking of this matter. IV. J. Carroll, of Si Johns, writes: - - it is to be honed that the introduction of reindeer ‘will he t he first step

toward the domestication of our own wild reindeer, or caribou. With _ a quarter of a million caribou running wild in the interior, increasing at the rate of 10,COO a year, it will be seen that when Newfoundland wakes up to the possibilities of its caribou herds we shall have not only deer in plenty for commercial purposes but enough in addition to make this island

A PARADISE FOR HUNTERS

when hunting big gamo on the continent becomes a thing of the past.” One suggestion made is that advantage might be gained by crossing the Old World species with the wild caribou of Newfoundland —the expectation being that by this means animals of greater sice and strength will be produced. Furthermore, the native reindeer could constantly be drawn upon for new blood. The bulletin here quoted avers that perhaps no other American deer is naturally so well adapted for purposes of domestication as the moose, which is tho largest of all the tribes on Ibis continent. It is easily handled and may be trained for driving in harness. Unlike most deer, it is steady, confiding and affectionate. In former days the nearly related European variety was thoroughly domesticated in northern Scandinavia, being used like the reindeer. Eut they wore swifter than reindeer; indeed, it was their wonderful swiftness that finally caused their use for draught purposes to be forbidden unde?, heavy penalty, owing io the fact that they had been employed to facilitate the escape of prisoners and suspected criminals. The pronghorn antolope, already threatened with extinction in this country, is strongly recommended for domestication. It is said to lose its timidity sooner and more completely than almost any other wild animal. When taken young, it soon acquires tho attachment of a child for any person who cares for it and feeds it. Reared in natural surroundings, uneonfined and with sufficient range, such antelopes would undoubtedly thrive and increase; and in a few years herds of absolutely tamo antelopes might be obtained. They require only a slight fenco to confine them. When full grown they weigh from 1001 b to 1251 b. and it is said that their flesh is much j superior to ordinary venison.