A NATIVE FAMILY OF THE PUNA.
The extension of railways in Peru is destined to aid greatly in the development of one of the most promising industries of the country, the raising of cattle, sheep, alpacas, and other live stock. On the high tablelands of Cajamarca, Junín, Ayacucho, and Puno, and in the upper valleys of Cuzco, the climate and pasturage are particularly adapted to cattle-farming and to the production of a hardy kind of sheep, easily cared for and capable of great improvement under scientific culture. The difficulties of transportation formerly interfered with success in cattle-raising; but, with the building of new railways that furnish facilities in shipping the cattle, hides, and wool from the interior, this industry has received great encouragement and is now in a more thriving condition than ever before. Some of the large ranges of the plateau cover an area of more than a hundred square miles and afford pasturage for twenty-five thousand head of cattle. On the plains of Puno, thousands of cattle, sheep, and alpaca are pastured, the wool industry receiving especial attention in this department, which may be called the “wool-growing state” of Peru.
The cattle of Cajamarca, La Libertad, Ancash, Junín, Lima, and Arequipa are the best, as in these regions there is abundance of lucerne, grass, sorghum, and other good pasturage. In these departments, also, the native stock has been improved by crossing with foreign varieties, imported for the purpose. The criollo cattle, the result of cross-breeding, are a fine race, and good for dairy purposes, cows giving as much as three or four gallons of milk daily. The imported cattle usually belong to well-known European stock, chiefly the Holstein, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, Devon, and Jersey varieties. The Sociedad Ganadera de Junín is doing much to raise the standard of cattle culture in that department, and is establishing dairies for the manufacture of butter, cheese, and other products, which are now largely imported from Europe. On some of the sheep farms the ewe’s milk is used in making a very fine quality of cheese, and it is believed that this industry may be so developed as to compete with the famous Roquefort cheese.
THE PRINCIPAL PLAZA OF PUNO.
Nearly all the native live stock of Peru is of Spanish origin, the first horses, cattle, and sheep having been imported at the time of the Conquest. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña are, of course, of Andean origin. The Peruvian horses are descendants of the Arab stock, the best specimens being reared on the coast, though there is ample opportunity for increasing both the quality and the number of good horses in the inter-Andean region, and, especially, on the higher slopes of the Montaña. The government is devoting considerable attention to the improvement of the live stock of the country, the National Society of Agriculture stimulating endeavor in this direction by competitive exhibitions.
The live stock farms show the effects of progressive enterprise. The Atocsaico hacienda, covering eighteen square leagues on the plateau of Junín, has fourteen leagues enclosed in wire fences, and is provided with many modern conveniences. The administration house is a commodious dwelling built of wood and lined with zinc, besides which there are outhouses, storerooms, and stables, and a small hydraulic press. The hacienda also has corrals and a bathing place for the sheep, built according to the Australian system, a tank of concrete for the water and iron apparatus arranged over an oven for heating water and preparing the bath. Ten Scotch shepherds are employed, and they are well paid, having houses provided for them, with some of their food supplies, besides good monthly wages. The Scotch collie accompanies his master, and, in addition to ten of these dogs, three Scotch greyhounds are kept; all the dogs are provided with comfortable kennels. Another farm of the same region, the Castaneda hacienda, has a fine dairy and a tannery completely equipped for the treatment of all kinds of skins. There is a large field in Peru for the tanning industry, which is still in the infancy of development.
The native sheep of the plateau are of small stature, long-legged, thick-skinned, and have a rough and scanty fleece; but when this puna variety is crossed with the imported merino sheep, the criollo offspring are larger, not so thick-skinned and have abundant wool of a much curlier and finer quality. The shearing takes place annually, the production being from five to eight pounds of wool per head, according to the age of the sheep and the kind of pasture. The most important wool-growing industry is that of the plateaus on which the llama, alpaca and vicuña have their haunts.
