n a ranch. I never heard of such
things being done on a ranch before."

"Oh, brother and Mr. Fearnot believe in raising everything that can pick
a living on the big ranch. There are now a thousand beef cattle on the
ranch, and it costs nothing but the hire of the cowboys to raise them."

"Oh, yes, I know that. But I never heard of chickens and geese and ducks
and pigs being raised on a ranch before."

"Well, they will probably have a hundred milch cows soon, for it doesn't
cost any more to keep them than it does to keep the beef cattle."

CHAPTER VI.

EVELYN'S FIRST DAY ON THE NEW RANCH.

Evelyn extended a cordial invitation to Mrs. Jones and her two daughters
to drive over to the ranch-house some day and spend the day with her,
and the mother gladly accepted the invitation. The girls were two
healthy-looking lasses, both blondes with rosy cheeks and sparkling
eyes.

Terry kept the old man busy telling him of the improvements that they
were contemplating making on the ranch and of the residence that they
would build down by the big mineral spring.

"Great rattlers!" the old man exclaimed. "You're sho gwine to spend a
lot of money, ain't you?"

"Yes, we've got to in order to get a good start. If you know of any
ranchmen within a hundred miles of us who want to sell a hundred or two
beef cattle just tell us where to find him and we'll go after the
cattle."

"Waal, I don't believe I know of any just now who want to sell any
cattle other then to the market, but I reckon you can find plenty of
them along the line of the railroad."

"How many cattle do you want to buy?" he asked.

"About one thousand," was the reply.

"Land! but you'll have a big lot of 'em."

"Oh, we could keep ten thousand on the ranch and keep them fat, too, for
the grass down here is very rich."

"Yes, too rich for the farmers. We raise grass on our farms all summer.
We raise a heap of corn and cotton."

"Yes, we will raise corn, too, next year, for the use of our horses and
hogs, but not for the cattle."

"Gwine to raise pork, eh?"

"Yes, pork will sell in the market just as readily as beef will, and we
are going to raise our own supplies for our cowboys and for family use.
We have forty thousand acres on the range, which is room enough to feed
several hundred people, as well as the cattle on the range and ducks,
pigs and chicken. I believe that our dairyman is making some of the
finest butter ever seen in this part of the South