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flourishing villages close at hand, a thrifty trade, manufactures struggling into existence, and the hearty feeling of good-will on the part of all the inhabitants of the neighborhood, the desire "to live and let live," furnish a much better basis for a new and enterprising State, than these overgrown estates in which are developed the worst features of large proprietorship, without any of its redeeming traits.

Most of the States and Territories have homestead exemption laws which protect the struggling and impecunious young farmer from the danger of attachment of his farm, or house, or household goods, by summary process. Some of the States have probably gone too far in these exemption laws, and have opened the way for cunning and unprincipled men to defraud their creditors easily; but, as a general rule, these laws are not abused. It is a question with many wise political economists whether it would not be better to abolish all stay laws, and all laws for the collection of debts, and make credits depend solely upon the character of the purchaser. Were this rule tried, we think there might be some men who would find it difficult to obtain much credit.

We give the Homestead Exemption law of Minnesota as a fair average of these laws throughout the West. Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota exempt 160 acres instead of eighty, while Iowa exempts but forty; Arizona, California, Idaho, and Texas exempt homestead or dwelling to an amount not exceeding $5,000, and furniture, books, tools, live-stock to a limited amount besides. Other States and Territories vary in amount from $1,000 to $2,500 or $3,000 on the homestead, with other exemptions.

The following are the provisions of the Minnesota law:

“That a homestead consisting of any quantity of land, not exceeding eighty acres, and the dwelling-house thereon and its appurtenances, to be selected by the owner thereof, and not included in any incorporated town, city, or village, or instead thereof, at the option of the owner, a quantity of land not exceeding in amount one lot, being within an incorporated town, city, or village, and the dwelling-house thereon and its appurtenances,

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owned and occupied by any resident of this State, shall not be subject to attachment, levy, or sale, upon any execution or any other process issuing out of any court within this State. This section shall be deemed and construed to exempt such homestead in the manner aforesaid during the time it shall be occupied by the widow or minor child or children of any deceased person who was, when living, entitled to the benefits of this act.”

The same law provides, in addition, that furniture shall be exempt to the amount of $500; animals, with food, and farming utensils, $300; provisions, tools, the books or instruments of professional men, etc., $400.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE IMMIGRANT AS A CATTLE-BREEDER AND STOCK-RAISER-METHODS OF STOCKBREEDING IN DIFFERENT STATES AND TERRITORIES-THE TEXAS CATTLE RANCHE THE RANCHE IN CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, WYOMING, MONTANA— CATTLE-BREEDING IN NEW MEXICO. UTAH, ARIZONA-IN WASHINGTON, OREGON, NEVADA, AND IDAHO-MINNESOTA, DAKOTA, NEBRASKA, KANSAS, MISSOURI, AND ARKANSAS AS CATTLE-BREEDING STATES-LANDS BEST ADAPTED TO THIS PURSUIT-DIFFERENT METHODS ADVISABLE IN DIFFERENT SECTIONS -SCENES IN A CATTLE-RANCHE-"THE BULLS OF TRINITY "-THE COW-BOYS OR HERDERS: THEIR CARE OF THEIR HERDS—Their isolaTED, HALF-SAVAGE LIFE-ROUNDING UP-BRANDING-THE CAPITAL NECESSARY FOR SUCCESSHow A POOR MAN CAN ACQUIRE A CATTLE-RANCHE IN TIME-STATISTICS OF THE COST OF A MODERATELY LARGE RANCHE.

OUR immigrant, like the sons of Jacob, has "had his trade or occupation about cattle from his youth until now," and he desires in migrating to this Western Empire to continue in the business with which he is familiar; or he has heard wonderful tales of the great success and wealth gained in cattle-farming, and he believes that a similar success is within his reach, if he follows the busiThis latter view of the case is one more likely to be entertained by one who emigrates from one of our Eastern States than by a European, for our Yankee is a universal genius and believes himself capable of doing anything and everything which any man has ever done-and generally, it must be acknowledged,

ness.

CATTLE-BREEDING IN TEXAS.

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he is successful in what he undertakes-while the European immigrant generally prefers to follow the particular line of business to which he has been trained.

How, or under what circumstances, can the immigrant go into the business of stock-raising as it is conducted here, with a fair prospect of success? There are several other questions to be answered before we can reply definitely to this. These questions are: 1. Where does he propose to establish his cattle farm? 2. What amount of capital has he? 3. Has he any personal acquaintance with the business? 4. Is he informed as to the methods used in stock-raising? 5. Is he qualified to take the management of a large cattle-ranche owned by a joint-stock company and conduct it successfully?

A cattle-ranche or cattle-farm in Texas is one thing; one in Colorado, or Montana, or Wyoming is quite another. If our immigrant proposes to start a cattle-farm in Texas, he will require less capital than for such an enterprise farther north; for his cattle will cost less money, he need not buy much land, certainly not at the beginning, his buildings can be fewer and less costly, he has no occasion for barns or shelter corrals, his herders or cow-boys will be mainly Mexicans, and their wages will be lower, and aside from the expense of rounding up and branding his cattle, with a herder for each 1,000 or 1,500 head, they will take care of themselves, and he need not see them oftener than once a year.

To counterbalance these advantages, however, the general run of Texas stock, is decidedly inferior in quality; they are longhorned, not of large size, very wild, and do not take on flesh readily. They cost less when two or three years old, and when ready for market bring a lower price, both alive and as beef carcasses. The cattle from Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and particularly from Montana, are larger, of better breeds, not wild, fat readily and will bring much higher price both alive and as dressed beef. They require somewhat more care, and a more intelligent class of herders, and should have some preparation made for shelter and for fodder during the wintry weather, but do not always get it. The cost of rearing steers, in the large way, in Texas is only

about forty to fifty cents per head per annum; in the central and northern tiers of States and Territories, it ranges from 60 cents to $1.10; but this difference is more than made up in their greater market value. As to the capital required, this depends, even in Texas, very much upon the ability or inability of the stock-raiser to buy and fence his land. Land is very cheap in Texas; grazing lands can be bought for from 10 cents to $1 per acre-but from 3,000 to 5,000 acres are required for 1,000 head of cattle, and the fencing of this from $1,500 to $2,500, the fence being at first a single board and a barbed wire-which will be sufficient to turn cattle. If the stock-raiser prefers to pasture on the range he must have for 1,000 cattle at least six herdsmen, whose wages will be from $1,200 to $1,500 and their cabins and keeping.

Eight hundred cows, each with a calf, will cost about $10,000, and it will be best to invest not less than $2,000 more in Durham or Holstein bulls in order to improve the breed. The house, stable and pens, even of the rudest kind, will cost $1,000, and the horses, saddles, wagons and supplies not less than $1,000 more. If the immigrant buys and fences his land, he will have to invest from $18,500 to $21,500 at the start. If he buys no land except a homestead and pastures on the unimproved lands, he will be able to get along with about $4,500 less, say from $14,000 to $17,000 in all.

For three years the returns will be small. The stock-raiser will keep his heifer calves, and sell a few of his steers when they are a year old, though it pays better to keep them till they are two or three years old. His stock will be improving in quality every year, and at the end of three years he will have a mixed herd of 1,200 to 1,500 head, and can thereafter, unless his herd should be attacked by cattle plague or some other disease, sell off every year from $6,000 to $8,000 worth of cattle and yet increase his herd each year; but he will have to buy his land and fence it, if he has not already done so, and increase the number of his employés.

But, says the immigrant, can I not start in the business of cattleraising with less than $15,000 or $20,000? Yes, if you are a single man, and have decided to settle in Texas.

You may begin