Cheraw gazette and Pee Dee farmer. [volume] (Cheraw S.C.) 1838-1839, July 12, 1839, Image 1
CHERAW GAZETTE
AND
PEE DEE FARMER.
VOLUME IV. CHERAW, SOUTH-CAROLINA, FRIDAY EVENING, JULY 12, 1839. NUMBER XXXV.
' * _
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
TERMS:
If paid within three months, . .$3 00
It paid within three months after the
close of the year, 3 50
If paid within twelve months after the
. close of the year, ...... 4 00
If not paid within that time, ... 5 00
A company often persons taking the paper at
the same Post Office, shall be entitled to it at $25
provided the names be forwarded together, and
accompanied by the money.
No paper to be discontinued but at the option
of tho editor till arrearages are paid.
Advertisements not exceeding sixteen lines,
Persons sending in advertisements are request. 1
eu to Bpecify the number of times they are to be j
inserted; otherwise they will be continued till
ordered out, and charged accordingly. j
5j"The Postage must be paid on all coraxnu* ,
b i cations, ,
Improved Durham Short llorns. (
From the Whip. <
For every portion of tho text in this ex. j
Calient account of the short horns, we are !
rn thi* Rev. Henrv Berrv. than i
whom thera aro few more zealous breeders I
of cattle, while there is no better judge of c
them. 1
Whatsoover differences of opinion may t
prevail respecting the comparative merits
of our several breeds of cattle, it must be j
admitted that the short horns present them* <
selves to notice under circumstances of pe. {
culiar interest. Possessing in an eminent c
degree a combination of qualities which v
have generally been considered incompa- v
tible, and rendered irresistibly attractive to i
the eye by their splendid frames, and beauti. r
fully varied colors, it is not surprising that v
they have become objects of public curiosi. 5
Ty; that they have realized for their breeders
enormous sums of money; and that,
throughout our own island, and every foreign
country whero agriculture is attended ?
- to, they are in increasing request. 1
It might tend to throw much light on the
science of feeding,could these animals be ^
traced, in the progress of their improvement,
to an earlier period than ha9 hitherto been
found possible. Of the extent of that im>
provement we may, however, form on estimate,
by placing together one of the improved,
a*?d one of the unimproved race.? ?
We should, in such a case, discover resem*
blance just sufficient to support the belief in
a very remote alliance, but there all simi
larity would cease.
From the earliest period as which we rj
have any accounts of our breeds of cattle, g
the counties of Durham and York have b
been celebrated for their short horns, but 0
principally, in the first instancy on account a
of their reputation as extraordinary milkers, p
Before this, a large and valuable dcsciip. tl
tion of cattle had existed on the western JV
coast of the continent of Europe, and extend, b
ing from Denmark to the confines of France, tt
They were celebrated for tho great quanti- U
ties of milk which they yielded, and some d
of them exhibited an extraordinary aptitude t]
to fatten. At what particular time they \\
found their way to England, or by whom tl
they were imported, is unknown ; but there tl
is a tradition that, towards the close of the ii
seventeenth century, a bull and some cows v
were introduced into Holderness. ti
In external form, there appearjd to be c
very little to recommend them, for they had tl
large shoulders and coarse necks; the sides i.<
were flat, and the head was thick ; all the s
coarse parts were bulky, and the prime ones J
were reduced in size, and they were almost Ii
the reverse of what the agriculturist would t<
select: they were, however, bulkier than the n
native breeds, and they were better milkers n
v.?r ?
(nan we geuerauiy ui wc uuicui motuaj. a
They would, by dint of feeding, grow to an o
enormous size; but they had not the apti. I
tude to fatten, nor the early maturity, to e
which they have been since indebted for b
their triumph over every other breed. To
recite their recorded feats at the pail would c
bo to invito incredulity; but it may be &
asserted, on the best evidence, that e
taken as a breed, they have never in p
that particular been equalled. The cattle t
so distinguished were always, as now, very d
different from the improved race. They c
were generally of large size, thin-skinned, 1
aleekhaired, bad handlers, rather delicate 1
*- - ? -! 1 ?
10 constitution, coarse in meonai, nnu un&? i
iogly defective in the substance of girth in \
the fore-quarters. As milkers, they were \
most excellent; but when put to fatten, as i
the foregoing descrption will indicate, were 1
found slow feeders, producing an inferior a
quality of meat, not marbled or mixed as to t
fat and lean, and, in some caBes, the latter 1
Was found of a particularly dark hue. Such,
also, are the unimproved short horns of the f
present day, and the distinction cannot be c
too frequently asserted, because they are, i
in many cases, considered as specimens of s
the improved breed, and have actually been i
resorted to in trials as to the c imparative <
aptitude of animals to fatten?trials which it j
is evident they could not successfully sus- i
tain. <
A period of more than eighty years has i
now elapsed, since the short.horns, on the 1
banks of the river Tees, hence caUed the I
Tteswater breed, had assumed a very dif. i
ferent character to that contained in the <
foregoing description. In color, they re.
embled the improved short-horns, being
occasionally rod, red and white, and roan,
though the last named color was not then
so prevalent as now. They possessed a
fine mellow skin and flesh, good hair, and
lighi ofFul, particularly wide carcasses, and
fore-quarters of extraordinary depth and ca.
paciiy. Perhaps no closer modern resem
blance can be found to the above description
of the Terswater breed than Mr. Berry's
bull presents. His dam was purchased by
Mr. B. on account of the very few crosses
that intervened between her and some of
the best of the Tees water cattle, to which
he was desirous to go back, on account of
the extent to which breeding in and in has
been carried. Wnen slaughtered, their
proof was extraordinary, and many instan- ,
3 are reccorded cf the wonderful weight
of their inside fat.
The rqpiarkable difference which existed \
between the Tees water and the oratinimproved
short.horns may, with propriety, be !
ascribed to a spirit of improvement which 1
had sometime raanifes;ed itself among the !
breeders on the banks of the Tees, whose I
laudable efforts were well seconded by tne 1
* 1 - - ? n .I . I i
very superior iana in me vicinity 01 mai
river. No reasonable doubts can be enter. \
:ained that they proceeded on a judicious j
system ot crossing with other bn eds, be.
rauso it was utterly impossible to raise such 1
1 stock as the Teeswater from pure short !
lorn blood. One cross to which they re.
"erred was in all probability the wliite wild
)reed; and if this conjecture be well-founied,
it will be apparent whence the short 1
lorns derived a color so prevalent among 1
hem. ' '
It is also asserted that, about the period
n question, Sir William St. Quintin, of
Scampron, imported bulls and cows from j
Holland, which were crossed with the stock
>f the country. It would tend to little ad. '
rantage to proceed with conjectures, as to 1
vhat other breeds were resorted to, if any; c
his much is certain, that great improve
nent was soon manifested, and t valuable [
ariety established, as the two following in.
tances will prove.
Mr. Miibank, of Birmingham, one of the
wading improvers, bred and slaughtered an *
ix, which at five years old, weighed, the F
our quarters, one hundred and fifty stones, r
f fourteen pounds to the atone, producing c
ixteen stones of tallow ; and a cow bred 1
rom his stock, slaughtered by Mr. Sharter, f
f Chilton, at twelve years old, weighed up. *
rards of one hundred and ten stones.
From Mr. Milhank's time the Teeswater c
attic continued to sustain their excellence 0
nd celebrity in various hands, until Mr. v
iharles Colling adopted them, when he J
lanifested a superiority of skill ao a brooder,
rhieh. in a very brief period, secured him J
n ample fortune.
Whatever had been the merits of the F
Vpcwatpr rntilp. it i* rertain Air. Collins
reatly improved them ; and though it has c
een asserted that his success was the resuh ^
f chance, arising from the possession of an c
nimal, with the merits of which, it is sup- a
osed, ha wa9 at one period unacquainted, v
ie writer of this article is of opinion that 1?
Ir. Colling's success resulted from a delierate
and well considered plan. He found
ie Teeswater, like all other extravagantly C
trge cattle, frequently of loose make and
isproportion. He was sensible, also, of (
ie diffi ulty of breeding, with any thing C
ko certainty, large good animals; and
lough he has declined on all occasions to y
firow any light on hts views and proceed* I
ngs, the writer thinks he can detect in the ]
ery outset, and through the progress of t
lis practice, a resolution to reduce the size j
if this breed, and at the same time, and by t
hat means, to improve its form. This he [
5 supposed to have effected, in the first in- <
tance, through the med urn of a bull called
lubbacky an animal respecting which there
tas been much controversy, principally
auching the purity of his blood, a question
iow of little importance, because it is adriitted
on all hands that Mr. Collingadopted
nothcr cross, which prevails in a majority 1
f superior short horns of the present day. J
t may, notwithstanding, be matter of inter- *
st to state a few particulars respecting this 1
mil. c
Without entering on an inquiry by what '
urcumstances Hubtmck's titio to De con- idered
of pure blood is supported or weak- 1
fled, it may suffice to observe that it ap- '
eara probable he possessed on one side ^
he imported blood. The possessor of his (
lam was a peraon in indigent circumstan J
es, and grazed his cow in the highways.
#hen afterwards she wa9 removed to good 1
and, near Darlington, she became so fat i
hat she did not again breed; and her son I
taving the same feeding propensity in a t
ligh degree, was useful as a bull during a t
rery short period. The qualify of the flesh, <
lide and hair, are supposed to have been i
leldom equalled; and as he was smaller
han the Teeswater cattle, he was eminent- 1
y calculated to forward Mr. Ceiling's views, i
It has been remarked that we have at <
jresent no superior horse on the turf, which i
toes not boastt e Godolphin Arabian; so j
t mav be rsserted that we have no superior i
_ J
ihort horns which do not claim descent I
jearly, or remotely, from Hub'oack; be. I
:ause Huoback was the sire of the dam of i
Mr. Charles Colling's bull, Foljambe, who I
was the grandsire of Favorite; and th^re i
:an be no doubt that there has not been for
many years any superior short horn who <
was not descended from Favorite. Mr. 1
Charles Colling is said to have considered
that the bull Foijambe was the one who 1
did his stock the greatest good; and this is
not improbable, as Foljambe was the sire
both of the aire and dam of Favorite. Hub.
back, however, must have been n remarkah.
bly good animal, and considering the short
time during which he was used as a bulJ,
proved himself a first rate stock getter.
The following account of Hubback we
had from Mr. YVaistell, or Alinill, who, although
bis namo does not appear conspicuously
in the 1 Short Horned Herd Book/
deserves much credit for his discrimination
here. He used to admire this calf, as he
rode almost daily by rlio meadow in which
it grazed ; and at length he attempted to
purchase it from the owner. The price, <
?8, seemed much for a calf not a year old;
and the repute; ion of the short h-ros not
being yet established, the bargain was pot
yet struck. S ill he longou for the youjig ;
beast; and happening to meet Mr. Robert i
Colhng near the place, he asked his opiar
on of the animal. Mr. Colling,, ackn&w- -j
Wgerf"thrfr thero Wero* sdKio good points <
about him ; but th^re w is somedung in his
manner of acknowledging this, which in*
duced Mr. YVaistell to suspect that Mr. Colling
thought somewhat more highly of the
calf than his language expressed, and there. <
fore he hastened the next morning, con- J
eluded the bargain, and paid the money, i
He hid scarcely done so before Mr. R.
Coiling arr.vt d fur tue same purpose, and <
is the two farmers rode home together, 1
:hey agreed that it should bo a joint specu- !
ation. i
Somo months passed by, and either Mr. I
YVaistcIl's admiration of tho calf a little 1
cooled or his partner did not express him. '
>e!f very warmly about the excellencies of
:he animal, and Messrs. Waistell and R.
CoIln.K transferred youug Hubback to Mr.
C. Colling, who, with the quick eye of an
jxperieoced breeder, saw the v;<lue of the
ittle beast. Mr Waistell expressed to us
October 1832) his regret (natural enough)
it having been induced to part with the sire
>f the short horns, and his extreme disaplomtment
that when Hubback began to
:over, Mr. Charles Colling confined him to
lis own stock, and would not let him servo
tvenone of Mr. Waitsel.'s cows.
After the use of this bull, Mr. Charles
tolling proceeded with singular success to
iroduce, from time to time, superior ani.
nals; and the number of bulls he disposed
if by letting was highly encouraging. Ba
he circumstance which brought the im.
>roved short horns into most extensive notice
vas the production of the "Durham Ox,"
in animal which speaks volumes in favor
if even a single cross of this blood ; for the
?x was the produce of a common cow,
vhich had been put to "Favorite." At five
ears old the Durham ox soltf to Mr.
Julow r, ot H-irmby, near B* dale, for public
xh.buion, at >he price of ?140; this was in
February 1801. He was at that time comluted
to weigh 1C8 stones, of 141b, his live
weight being 216 stones ; and this extra,
irdinary weignt did not arise from his sulerior
size, but from the excessive ripeness
if his points. Mr. Buimer huving obin ned
i carriage for i is conveyance, travelled^
kith him five and then sold hirii
nd the carriage, at Rotherham, to Mr. John
)ay,onthe 14ih May, 1801, for ?250.
?. 5. d.
)n 14th of May, Mr. Day could
have sold him for . 525 0 0
)n the 12th of June, for . . 1000 0 0
Jo the 8th of July, for . ? 2000 0 0
Mr, Day travelled with him nearly six
ears, through the principal parts of Engand
and Scotland, till at Oxford, on the
L9th February, 1807, the ox dislocated his '
lip-bone, and continued in that state tillgthe I
1 ' -1 4 -' ??? ? t- ?? .tfne tf\ ko olotutk. (
LOtn April, wnen hp *????tgmn8...
ered ; and, notwithstanding he must have '
ost considerably in weight, during those
light weeks of illness, his carcass weighed :
Imp. stones, lbs.
Four quarters . . 265 12
Tallow . II 2
Hido ...... 10 2
This was his weight at eleven years old,
mder all the disadvantages of travelling in
i jolting carriage, and eight weeks of pain,
ul illness. Had he been kept quietly at Ket.
on, and fed till seven years old, there is little
loubt but he woul i have weighed more than
tedidat ten years old, at which age Mr.
Jay stated his live weight to have been
learly thirty-four hundred weight, or two
lundred and seventy stt nes, from which if
illy be taken for offal, it leaves the weight
>f the carcass two hundred and twenty
(tones.
It is a well ascertained fact, that, during
lis career as a breeder, Mr. Colling tried
several experiments in crossing, and the
irooslc U)Ki/<k Ku roon.tinl nn I hpep OC.C3.?
I#4 WWUtf IU n IIIV *? ! ?' IVUWIit'U \ / 4 I 11 |VVw I
dons, b<ing very considerably smaller than
;he short horns, this circumst mce tends to i
jorroborate the writer's opinion that he con- <
sidered it desiruble to reduce their size.?
The cioss with the Kyloe led to no results
worthy enumeration, but that with the foiled ,
Galloway must not be passed over without
lomment. Before s'ating the circumstan2es
attending this experiment, it may be
proper to observe hit no breed of cattle
promised so successful a cross with the short
horns as tho Galloway. They were calculated,
by their deep massive frames and
short legs, to bring the short horns nearer
the ground, and to dispose their weight in a
more compact manner r their hardy habits
would be essentially useful, and the quality
of their flesh and hair were such as to render
the exp riment still more safe. Add to
this, that they could be obtained of a red color,
and we are prepared to admit, even without
the sanction of a *>jccessful experiment
that they were admirably adapted to cross
with the short horn, standing frequently too
high from the grotmd, not very well ribbed
i
home, and not seldom of loose, disjointed 1
frame. c
To this breed Mr. CoHing resolved to e
resort; and though at the time when he did tl
so, the event was regarded with some de- d
gree of ridicule by the pure blood advocates,
and comments passed which would have ti
deterred ordinary men from the exercise of *
their judgment, Mr. Colling persisted. g
He was much favored by circumstances tl
!n promoting his object, which was to take d
one cross and then breed back to the short ti
horn,?the only course, by the way, in e
which crossing can be succesfully adopted, d
To breed from the produce of a cross di- b
rectly among themselves will lead to the re- b
suits which have induced many persons, o
without due consideration, to believe con- n
elusiveagaiust dossing; but to take one ti
cross, and then return SffiTere'to bne~ it
breed, will, in the cross of a few generations,
be found to stamp a variety with sufficient si
certainty. jt
Mr. ColJing's short horned bull Boling. k
broke was put to a beautiful red-polled Gal- ti
loway cow, and the produce, being a bull 1
calf, wa9, in due time, put to Johannat a v
pare short-horn,?she also produced a bull r<
calf. This grandson of Bolingbroke was p
the sire of the cow, Lady, by another pure ti
short horned dam, and from Lady has p
sprung the highly valuable family ofim- t
proved shorthorns, termed, in reproach, the
alloy. How far the alloy was derogatory, b
let facts testify.* d
It will probably be admitted that the pre. q
iudice against this cross was at the highest t;
it the time of Mr. Charles Colling's sale.? ti
The blood had then been little if at all, in. c
roduced to other stocks, and it was mani- tl
estly the interest, whatever might bo the j I<
nclination, of the many breeders who had it v
tot to assume high ground for the pure blood, tl
ind to depreciate the alloy. Under these v
jntoward circumstances for the alloy, what d
said public opinion, unequivocally certified c
t>y 'he stroke of the auctioneers hammer 1 s
Laly, before mentioned at fourteen years d
aid, sold for two hundred and six guineas, it
Countess, her daughter, nine year9 old for o
four hundred guineas. Laura, another a
laughter four years old, for two hundred g
and ten guineas. Major and Georje, two 8
sfher sons, tne former three years old, tho t
latter a calf, for two hundred guineas and ii
Dne hundred and thirty ; beside a number r
of others, more remotely descended from c
Lady, which all sold at high prices in fact, ^
in a sale of forty.eight lots, realizing ?7115 c
17s. Lady and her descendants sob* for a
\ larger sum than any other fonty obtain- C]
ad. c
As a specimen of the alloy, the reader is n
referred to Mr. Berry's cow. She gives a s
moderate quan'ity of particularly rich milk, r
It would answer no useful purpose, and v
would certainly be an objectionable course, a
o bring under particular notice any one or ii
more of the highly valuable stocks of ira. f
3r?'Ved short horns of the present day. To b
numerate all would be impossible; and d
:hc writer of this account would most studi. a
jusly avoid any partial or inviduous com- I
:omparinon. The same objection does not, f
liewever exist as to a remote period ; and h
it is but justice to state that Mr. Robert Col. it
ling, brother of Mr. Chailes, (who certainly It
was the leader, and surpassed all compcti. c
tors in the improvement of the short horns,) tl
Mr. Charge of Newton, near Darlington, tl
and Mr. Mason, of Chilton, in the county a
di Durham, were only second to Mr. v
Charles Colling in his interesting and useful h
pursuit. Mr. Mason started early with f<
animals derived, it is believed, from Mr. Col. a
ling, in the very commencement of his ca. o
reer; and Mr. Charge, who had long pos* t<
scssed a most vcluable stock of Tcesw&tcr e
cattle, had at an early period crossed them t<
with Mr. Colling's best bulls, and was one o
of the spirited purchasers of Comet, at a h
thousand guineas. Mr. Masons late sue. ii
cessful sale sufficiently stamps the value of o
his stock at tha' period, but it is generally n
admitted, tbe system ot crossing with other n
herds, which he had of late years judicious, s
|y adopted, proved highly instrumental in s
restoring those qualities in his own, which fi
too close breeding had in some degree 1?
threatened to deprive them of. f
It would be unfair, on iliis occasion, to s
amit mention ot a veteran breeder, to whom y
the advocates for the preservation of pedi. t
*ree are indebted for the Short horn Herd h
Book?Mr. George Coates. He is now t<
ane of the oldest authorities on the subject
n existence, and was once the possessor ot t
i very superior race of short horns, though s
somewhat coarse. Portraits have been d
preserved of some very fine animals bred t
by him ; and he had the solid satisfaction s
to dispose of his bull Patriot for five hun- a
J red guineas. ll
Mr. Coaies fell into an error, but too com- ^
mon, and generally equally fa'al: he fan- e
'led his own stock the best, and disdained v
to cross them with Mr. Coding's ; which, as 1
others afterwards proved, would have been z
a most judicious proceeding. The conse- J
quence was, Mr. Coding's sale having set*
tied the public judgment and tas?e, Mr. 1
Coates' stock fell into disrepute. If an 8
apology be requisite for this statement of an *
undeniable fact, it will be found in the utility 1
of holding up such an example as a caution 1
to those who may be in danger of falling s
into a similar error. 3
In the commencement of this account, 1
???? 1
The dam of Lady was also the dam ot the J
bull Favorite; and as the grandson of Doling- i
broke is not known to have been the sire of any <
other remarkably good animal, it is most probr- j
able the unquestionable raeiit of Lady and her
descendants is to be attributed more to her dam
than to her sire.?-Editor. 1
lowever it was stated that they possess a
tombination of qualities; hitherto considerd
incompatible. It will be obvious that
he disposition to feed rapidly, in unioa with
lairy qualifications, is here intended.
It might have the appearance of an intenion
to depreciate other breeds of cattle,
?ere an inquiry instituted how the very
eneral impression came to be entertained
hat animals disposed to fatten rapidly selom
give much milk. It is unquestionably
rue, that every perfection irt cattle?whethr
it be one of form, of quality of flesh, of
isposition to fatten, or to yield milk?can
e promoted and retained solely by the
rceder's devoted attention to his particular
bject; and if one object be allowed a paramount
importance in the breeder's estimaon
and practice, other objects will suffer
i proportion as rhey are hdghfcredr*^ -*
The improvement in the carcass of the
hort horns has been so surprising, and so
istly valued, that many persons have al)\ved
that completely to occupy their attenon,
and the dairy has been disregarded.?
n auch a staie of things, every advance to*
?ards one point has been tantamount to
eceding from another; because the same
iroceeding which tends to enhance a par.
icular quality, will also enhance a defect,
rovided such defect, was of previous exisence.
This may be rendered more intelligible
y a short illustration. Suppose half a
ozen animals to be selected in conse.
uence of their possessing a particular qualU
y; which quality it is proposed, on a cer.
ain established principle of breeding, to inrease
and render almost permanent by
heir union. Suppose the animals so se.
:cted to come from the hands of breeders
rho have neglected the milking property;
he certain consequence will be, that the
ery union which developes and secures the
csired object will tend, on the same prin.,
iple, to increase the defect as to milk. In
hort, it will render it habitual in the prouce.
But this illustration, by a selection,
i supposing too much for the probable state
f the case. The objections which exist
mong breeders, for various and some co?
;ent reasons, against crossing with the
tocks of each other, unavoidably lead to
he practice of breeding in and.in ; which,
a case of any original deficiency of the
nilking property, must unquestionably go
in to rendur that deficiency greater. It Is
:ence evident that bad milking, fn a breed
>f animals which were ever distinguished
s good milkers, is not a necessary conse[uenco
of improvement in the animal in
nher respects, but a consequence of the
tanner tn which such improvement is purued.
This the writer considers to be the
easoning properly applicable to thesubject;
vhich happily also admits of a satisfactory
ppeal to facts ; and he is strictly justified
u asserting that improved short horns, inerior
to none for the grazier, may always
ic selected and ored with the most valuable
lairy properties. Perhaps a more plentiful
.nd steady milker than the dam of Mr.
Jerry's bull, never stood over a pail, aud
e\v such carcasses of beef have been exlibited
as hers, when on accident rendered
t requisite to only half feed her. The bull
limself has an extraordinary disp sition to
arry flesh, and his calves aro let down in
1 ? I- ?*i - T_ f ? it
we uaciers jiko miniature cows, in tact, an
bo bull's family are excellent for the pail,
nd the qu ckest possiblo feeders. The
writer has known many instances of the
ighest bred short horns giving upwards of
3ur gallons (wine measure) of milk, night
nd morning; and it is certain that attention
nly is requisite, on the part of the breeder,
perpetuate this quality in any desirable
xtent. While on this subject, it is proper
a observe, that the excessive quantities
f milk ob'ained from the unimproved short
orns are seldom or ever obtained from the
mproved; but a moderately good milker
f the latter kind will be found to yield as
duch butter in the week, as one of the for.
tier: the milk being unquestionably of very
uperior quality; and indeed, it was likely
uch should be the case, and that the arti.
icial change in the animal economy, which
ads to an excessive secretion of flesti and
at, should also bo productive of other rich
excretions. Within the last three or four
rears, affidavits were swern before a magisrate
in America, that an improved short
lorned cow, imported thither, produced af?
er the rate of 20 lb. of butter per week.
Wherever the improved short horns
lave been crossed wiih other cattle, their
i,npr!r?ritv pmmltv mnnifpat. in reSDCCt of
-r?-?v ? - ?i?*v ?(?_ Iniry
qualifications, as in every other. On
his subject the writer is able to avail him.
elf of the evidence of a gentleman who has
adressed a communication on the subject
o the conductor of the British Farmer's
Magazine, which is so pertinent to the pres.
nt subject that the temptation to take an
xtract is irresistible. It ts as follows: "In
he 27th number of your valuable maga.
;ine, when giving an account of my two
wears' old steer* you also give an extract
rom mv letter on the advantages of cross,
ng cows of different breeds with improved
liort horn bulls; and in confirmation of
his opinion* (not hastily adopted, but the
esult of several years practical experience*
md a close attention to the experiments of
leveral friends during the last seventeen
fears,) I send you the portrait and a short
lecount of a two year old Durham and De.
mn heifer of mine, lately slaughtered by
Mr. William Daniel* of Abergavenny, and
accompany it with a few brief statements
.if the advantages derived from this system
by several of my own personal friends.
"This heifer was the second cross, and
was oft light gray color. She weighed 35
scores and 8 lb.; rough fat, 08 ib.; she was
allowed to be the fattest and best beast of
her age, io ail poibts, ever seen in Aberga*
venny. She hod a dead calf about six
weeks before Christmas} was dried the
17th of January, and killed the 10th of June;
She sold for ?19 3a. 6d.
"Her live weight, on the 8ih
of June, was . 1232 lbs.
Ditto, on the 17th January . 840
Increase in 140 days 392
"Being aware that strong prejudice and
much incredulity existed on the subject of
crossing, I courted the attention of all the
respectable farmers, breeders, and feeders
in this neighborhood. Many came to sco
her when first up, and repeatedly afterwards
during the fiye months she wa? feeding {
Vnd they &H Coocurred in saying she went
on faster than any beast they had ever seen*
She never had any oil-cake.
"I have seen many excellent beasts bred
from improved short horn bulls and long
horn cows; indeed I never knew one of
these bulls put to any cow, where the produce
was not superior to the dam; but tho
cross which 1 advocate, and with which I
am best acquainted, is that with the Devon
cow. I have uniformly remarked, that
each succeeding cross was attended with a
proportionate improvement in size, quality
of flesh, and aptitude to fatten. In every
instamce they have shown themselves superior
milkers, and stand to the pail till with*
in six or eight weeks of calving ; and several
instances have come under my own knowledge
where they have never been dry since
they first calved; and so highly are they
prized as milkers, tnat a friend of mine, woo
hired out dairies, iufotmej me that the
dairymen gave him nearly 21. per cow per
year more for the half and three.quarter
breds, than they would give for cows of
other breeds.
,4A friend of mine had about a dozen
North Devon rows, small in size, but nice
in quality, and from these lie commenced,'
about twenty years since, breeding with
short horn bulls. He has since invariably
used those bulls. With each succeeding
cross the stock have rapidly improved, in
every essential, and the only trace of the
Devons wh ch 1 could preceive when I last
saw them, about two years since, was a pe.
culiar richness in their color. He breeds
about thirty annually, and generally sells
his three years old, in the autumn, at ?17
to ?22 ; and 1 have known him to sell in
calf heifers to jobbers in fairs as high tts.30
guineas each* AH his stock are superior
milkers. Hero we havb twenty years ex.
periment and continued improvement.
44Within the lust eight years 1 have sent
many Nortii Devon heifers to Ireland, to
friends residing in different counties, and
some of them occupying land of very inferior
quality. 1 also sent over two young
Durham bulls, from the stock of the Rev.
Henry Berry, to cross them with. They
have all crossed them with short horn bulls
at my recommendation, and the accounts
they give are most satisfactory. They say
the two years old half breds are as good
as the three years old Devons, and are all
good milkers. One of ihese bulls, by Mr.
Berry's Mynheer, has been four times, exhibited
in three different counties, and has
each time taken the first prize. He was
last year sold for CO guineas, and is now
serving cows at ?l each.
C. H. BOLTOtt.
44Brynderry near Abergavenny.
An opinion generally prevails that the
short horns are unfitted foe work; and in
some respects it is admitted they are so;
but the correct reason has not been assigned,
and the question may fairly come briefly
under notice. That they are willing ana
able to work, the writer knows, from one
in particular among many Instances. Ho
has now a team of two y-ars old steers,
working constantly nine hours a day; a
system he would by no means recommend,
and forced on him by circumstances con?
nected with entrance on a new farm, at
present ill adapted to grazing cuttle. They
work admirably; but surely cattle which,
as the preceding account proves, will go as
profitably to the butcher ut two years old
as any other breed at three, as many even
at four, ought never, as a general rule, to
be placed in the yoke. No beast in the
present advanced state of breeding, ought
to be put upon a system which arose out of
iYq necessity ofobtaining compensation by
v o k for the loss attending a tardy maturity.
But where it may be convenient, the short
horns, particularly the bulls, work admirably,
as their great docility promises; and there
are many operations going on in every farm
which a buil would be judiciously employed
in performing. And us the bulls of this
breed are apt to become useless, from ac?
quiring too much flesh in a state of confine,
ment, moderate- work might, in most cases,
prove beneficial for such as are intended
for use at home.
With deference, however, it is submitted
to the breeders of short horns that they
* shou d ovoid breeding from too close affini|
ties, and while they steer clear of coarse.,
ness, should require a sufficiency of piascu
' line character in their males. Lord Althorp
first adopted the short horns in 1818, when
he purchased the bull Regent at Mr R.
Coliin^'s sale, with several of that gentle*
man's cows; and since that time his lord*
i ship has been unremitting in his attempts
i to improve the breed. The ball Firby is
i good in almost every point. His (faults,
loins, hips, and bosom are excellent. His
[ only ftaling is in the crop ; yet we are told
f by his iordshipV very tntefogent swtntjd#
^