*V
cheraw 6-azette"
j AND
PEE DEE FARMER.
VOLUME IV. CHERAW, SOUTH-CAROLINA, FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 4, 1839. NUMBER XLVII.
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
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From the American Fanner.
Dh. Muse, on the cultivation of Corn.
K O'l 1CQQ
V^AMBKIiAjE., nu^usi, ?u, iuuu.
Sir?I observe in the ' American Farmer"
of the 21st inst. a request from one
of your correspondents, that I woul'J communicate
through its columns the mode of
cuhure of iny growing crop of corn.
I willingly comply with the request. I
think it has several advantages over those in
ordinary use; and if it should, on further
experience, advance, in any degree, the
agricultural interest, in this great staple, it
will afford me much gratification.
Allow me, then, to refer you, for this pur.
pose, to the * Farmers' Register,' current
volume, (vol. 7, Jan. number,) p iges 17 &
18, wh? re you will find a full report of the
result and mode of culture, and liming, and
manuiing, dtc. ofrny crop made the last
season, upon the same principles, and in
the same manner, as that of the present,
with the difference of two incidents, worthy
of notice, as bearing upon the two experimental
cases, to wit:the first was made
upon a sward, very recently, yet heavily
loaded with grass of the previous autumn;
and the year of the growth of the corn, was
notoriously and universally remarkable for
4- "J wKpfiino fho nrnonnt rrrAtninnr
115 UIUUr?fc WMV?v*?? ?? w |#iwovu?
crop was p'anted upon n threo year old
sward of blue grass and clover, on which,
my friends thought, it could not succeed ,
and, too, the year is remarkable for repeated
and excessive rains, thus presenting a strong
comparative view, under varying circumstances.
In the drought of the first, I was fortunate
in being enabled thereby to confute the
predictions of my neighbors,44 that in such
event, my crop must parish, by its thick planting"?having
about 9001) single stocks to
the acre?and it is true, the demand for
moisture must have been greater by the
greater number of stocks?yet it suffered
less than any corn in tne neighborhood, as
conceded by all?and becaus? my cul ure
furnished it with the means of obtaining
more moisure.
With these few remarks, connected with
my paper in the *4 Register" before referred
to, you havo all that I am aware would be
useful to the purpose.
I hope if you publish any part of my pa.
per alluded to, you will publish the whole,
with the ceit ficat< s, &c. as reports of large
crops, should iu all cases be verified in the
best manner possible. I am, respectfully,
yours, &c.
Joseph E. Muse.
N. B. I wouid prefer 16 inches in the
line for planting in place of the 12; my present
crop is 16, making about 7000 s'ocks
to the acre. J. E. M.
From the Farmers* Register.
statement of the cultivation and product
op a field of corn.
Cambridge, Dec, 29, 1839.
Dear Sir?You requested the result of a
corn crop which I made this year and my
mode of cultivation, with its rationalia.
Though not origina', because the principles
on which it was made are we'l known and
settled, yet it was unusual, und 1 have not,
? ?:? .u_ I
elsewhere, k.iown uvor appucu'ion ?? mc
same manner, in all respects.
I have, for several years, tried a few
acres, under a similar culture ; and find.ng
it considerably superior, in all seasons to the
ordinary methods, I extended it this year,
to forty i.cres ; and though the drought has
very much curtailed the product below the
promise of the luxuriant stalk*,yet it is
very respectable for Jield-culuie.
The field in question was cultivated the pro.
viousyear in corn in the ordinary mode, having
been the same year, manured?about 30
loads, and limed, one hundred bushels to the
acre. The then ensuing winter and spring,
as early as posssible, it was ploughed, a
moderate depth, about 4 inches, drag-harrowed
and rolled, and drill-planted, in
lines 4 1-2 feet apart, and 12 inches
in the line ; single stalks only left in
the thinning, which operation was performed
by a patent drill-machine, invented by
Francis H. Smith, of Baltimore, which I
have found useful, in many year's exp"ri
1 4 I 41.
ence." vvnn one man ami i? u nurses, mis
machine will furrow, drop, cover, nnd roll
down 8 or 10 acres per d;iy, and, with near,
ly a m ith* ma;icai precision, in point of line
and distance. The corn, when up, was
worked with ordinary 4'eul ivators,"succeeded
by one dressing with the " scurijier,'
about 6 inches d ^ep. This latter implement,
which I purchased several years ago,
of Sinclair 6c Moore, of Baltimore, has in
my opinion, no equivalent sunstitu'e in the
culture of our corn-crop : as by it, the earth
may be penetrated and pulverized 6 or 8
ummtrnmuMmummammmmamaummammrnm
inches deep, wiih two horses, and without
turning up the sward, and exposing it to
the drying actioH of the sun and air. The
cultivators, or any other harrows, (I prefer
the cultivator,) are again used and continued,
unceasingly, till tho sward is rotten,
which will generally be about the last of
June, when the plough is, for the fir3t time
since the planting, introduced turn up the
sward, which, having been so long buried
and undisturbed, except by the cutting of
the u scarifier,"?and, under the cumulative
agency of heat and moisture, is now fully
decomposed, and thus incorporated with
the soil, which "S thereby improved, and
adapied to the subsequent wheat or other
small grain, which may delight in dainty
and well cooked food, when the corn had
flourished upon the vapors and gases of tho
preparatory process, ilfter the plough, I
take up again the "cultivator," or any other
harrow, under the classic precept, *' multum
adeo, rustris glebas qui frang il inertes."
And the drier the scasnn. the more I use it.
to promote the abortion of atmospheric
moisture which, at night and in the driest
season, is more abundant than generally
supposed ; as well as to assist, by lightening
the surface, soil, the transforation through
it, of the waters of the subsoil, which being
more forcibly acted upon by the greater
permeability of the earth in this loose, porous,
and lightened condition, to the rays of
heat, afford a considerable resource of humidity.
You have then my mode of culture, and
the principles on which it is founded. I
never cross plough, even in ordinary wide
planting, until the sward is rotten. Because,
by this process it is turned up, and exposed /
to the drying and evaporating influence of
the sun and air, by which even animal sub.
stancs, more pu rescent than vegetable,
may be, and are effectaully preserved from
putrefaction, as in the ordinary practice of
curting, as it is termed, fish, beef, &c. &c.
Because, I have a finer culture, and the soil
is be;ter pulverized without it : nnd though
not a thorough going advocate of the doctrine
of the well-known Tull, that pulveriza
tion, is, in itself sufficient," yet, I hold it an
essential co-operative, and without which,
the best crop cannot be produced. And,
because, by the operation of early crossploughing,
unless under n deeper furrow
than my experience will justify, the sward is
exposed, before decomposition, to the antisepfic
agencies which I have named, and
becomes iuduraiej[ ; and, if ii_ c an _lheQ. be
subdued at all, it will require much cost and
labor ; and will, when done, have lost much
of its pabular constituents.
In consquence of a sweep-stal:ct which I
have tnken, upon the crop alluded to?
though conceded, and paid over to me, without
measurement?yet, I held it proper, unrequested,
to have a subsequent measure,
ment and ascertainment, as accurate as possible,
of the product, which I will annex.
The remarkable uniformity of the crop,
and the hazard and inconvenience of shelling
the whole, so long before a future
market, probably of next summer, led me
to the following method, viz. u measure one
aero; to have its product carefully ascertamed
; and to obtain a cer ilicato from a
disinterested, judicious, and extensively
known character," of the uniformity of the
growth.
For the latter fact, I wrote to Adam
Wuld.e, esq. ol Phdadelphi i, who had ret*centiy
seen the field in its full growth ; .and
because his well merited eminence, as nn
editor and publisher of literary and scientific
journals, of extensive circulation, would
give additi nnl currency and strength to
the fact; and he politely favored me with
the following reply:
111 we:l remember the pleasant ride I had
w.th yuu, through your corn-field. It really
required ocular evidence to produce a
conv etion of the growth of such magnificent
corn, in such an unfavorable season.
I ;im reallv desirous to know the result ; to
- ?
know which, the correct measurement of
one acre, I should think sufficient for all
practical purposes ; for, the difference must
have be n too small to notice."
The following certificate of the measure,
ment of one acre, was then made by myself
with affidavit.
' I hereby certify that I carefully measurcd
and marked one acre of my corn-fHd
of the present year, at my Appleby Farm,
and requested the overseer to ascertain the
product of said acre in corn. Sworn before,
Jno. Newton,
Justice of the peace for Dorchester county."
November, 1838."
The following by the overseer, Mitchell
Shore:
4t I hereby certify, that I did, at the request
of Dr. Muse, carefully ascertain tho
product of corn on a spneo in his corn field,
at his Appleby farm, the present year, measured
and marked by him, for one acre, and
that it contained 71 bushels and 3 pecks of
[ .shelled corn, the growth of said space.
Sworn before John Newton.
Justice of the peace for Dorchester county."
November, 1838."
I: will be seen that the product of my
drill.field, viz.: forty acres at seventy-one
bushels and three pecks per acre, was
two thousand eight hundred and seventy
bushels of shelled corn, or, " sufficiently
near tor all practicalpurposes :" and to this
may he fairly added, a part of the immense
contribution levied upon all our crops by
a fantastical morality and self willed infatuation,
(1 will not use an epidiet, possibly
more appropriate,) which, in disregard of
the laws of God and man, preferring idleness
and thievry to industry, and honesty,
have turned loose upon us, a Vandal swarm
of freed negroes, who work none, and eat
much ; and of necessity, and most notori. i
ously, live exclusively upon the industry of I
others ; and this year, in evidence of the I
progressive boldness of accustomed villainy, i
they have taken, and before removal, she/led
my corn in the fi>dd to a large ex'ent. '*
In this field was contained, also, thirty '
five acres more, which was plan ed in the .
usual manner, at four and a half foot distance, t
each way ; and leaving two s'alks, upon thin- I
ning ; when one or.ly at a point, was left <n i
the other : in all other respects, the culture t
was like the former, except that it was cross I
harrowed at the close of ihe cultivation. s
It will be observed that the drill had a t
little more than nine thousand stalks ; and
the other, about four thousand to the aitei 1
The growth of this was equally good f but I
the product, though not accurately ascer- *
tained, as intend"d, was unquestionably far t
short of the drill; but not in the ratio o the t
respective n imbcr of stalks?the ears being t
larger?yet, I think the difference of pro? \
duct, per acre, at least one-third in favor of r
the drill. c
I have had, under a similar drill culture
of five acres, and in a les> unfavorable sea. c
son, one hundred bushels per acre ; and my r
present report may no' be interesting, as to 1
quantity, yet under the unfavourable cir- a
cumstance of an unusual drought, and n b
* 1' -u 1. a ?
Jieia culture loo, me rrsiju ia un runK , .... . ^
I have, at least, complied wi.h my promise
to make the report. I
Your politeness, will exeuso its length, h
and its blots, when I assure you, the quo n
animo was absent in both offences ;and you h
aret a liberty to use it at your discretion, ab. I
solute. 44
1 have omitted any notice of the geologi- o
cal and topographical character of ;he field, h
and will add it, concisely, for a fair judg- ir
ment in the case.
The fi 'ld and the farm, with few excep.
tions, is a level upland, and by the measure,
ment of our State Engineer, is twen4y feet
above mid.iide of the Great Choptnnk river, d
near which i> lies : though poor, and unpro s
duciive, wlien I purchased it some years a
ago, yet was a well constituted soil, as to n
44 silica" and 4 alumina the latter rather ft
preponderating, and he former chieflv o
coarse, bat remarkably defective of44 caL ?
careous" matter, with which, and nutritive b
manures, I have largely supplied it ; and F
it .s well repayiug the cost and labor. h
Joseph R. Muse. ?
P. SJE\Ctfplioo may posnbly '?e taken e
bv some, to ine idea of an antiseptic agenny h
of44 sun" and 44aer"?when it is notorious, a
that the14 oxygen of the air, is one of the p
agents of putrefaction; and. that *' heat" is it
another; yet, it musi be r m inhered, that d
these require to be associated with 41 mois
ture" to produce the chemical change ; otherwise
they exert an energetic agency in re. ?
sistingit; and, the presence of ihe moisture,
must bv fixed, and continued?and, not such, 2
as casual showers, soon evaporated from n
the surface, would supply. J. E. M. a
From Iho American Farmer. tl
Tuscany Cattle. ??
Co'umbia, S. C.t Aug. 20,1939. a
Dear Sir?Having just received the Am- h
ericun Farmer of the I4ih inst. I have read h
with pleasure your obvservntions on neat h
cattle ; and as I find you intend to continue ?
them, with a view to permanent influ nee, S
I beg leave to call your attention to M Tuscan I
Cattle." it is several years since I fir tl#;- ll
came ncquain ed will them in the hands of m
a friend ;and having b'*enmuch struck with a
their apparent hardiness, and peculiar adap J
tution to our climate, I determined, if 1 ever m
owned a farm, to get that siock. s<
They were imported, I think by Com.
Buiubridge, and placed in your hands for *
sale?were purchased by the Into John Mid. a
dleton, Esq. of Santee, S. C., and have been 1
kept pure ever since. Those which I saw c
on the farm of John Hunce, Jr., were re- o
rnarkable tor their activity and thrifllness, tl
being always in good order, and the half v
breed b"ing excellent milkers?the oxen d
v? ry sprightly and fast. About two years a
ago I commenced farming, and procured u s
bull and two heifers from the stock of Mr. a
M ddleton. They were ra;her small for ll
their age, whicli may be owing to having 9
been bred in and in too long, but were very
1 ' ? i?i'-- i: I.. r__L_ 1,
compact, n ving neavy oouies, ngnr nmus, <
and beautifully formed heads and r.ecks? u
their color white in the summer, and of a I
slaty or blueisli white in winter. I have tl
h id them during two very dry summers, d
when our pastures were very deficient, and s
consequently our subsequent winter feed t<
also scanty?and in comparison witu fify :t
head of common stock, tney were in good f
beef order during the whole year, while the |>
rest were in very ordinary condition. Las* d
year I had several hair bred calves, and c
this year I have a good many ; and I am n
pleased 10 say that they are in finer order ft
than any calves I have ever seen with the 1
I same treatment. Several of my friends, in ?*'
this neighborhood have Durhams of great c
beauty, and as fino as are to be found ; but i
they fall off in hot weather in the finest pbs- a
lures, and in the winter require such care as i
few ordinary farmers are able to give them. <
I have lately had a good opportunity of t
comparing the stock, and believe that you t
are right in relation to the Durnams, for a (
Southern climate. I have several in the t
same pasture with the Tuscans, but they I
are poor, and the former as fa? as grass fed i
cattle ever arc. I understand that the ex- 1
! per ie u ce of our lower country planters is i
much in favor of this stock, and that they ?
are very popular in the neighborhood of ?
Mr. Middleton's plantation. Our people <
j have, as yet, paid but little attention to i
b?mwhww? ?
stock, and I find nothing published respect- I
ing those catt'e. I therefore take tho liber- *
ly of requesting you to let us have your ?
knowledge of them, as I think they are bred t
in New-Jersey also. t
Many of my friends, who own Durhams, c
md as yet value them very highly, consider t
Lhe Tuscans as too diminutive, and not I
rood milkers; but Com. Jones speaks of I
he oxen as of good size, and travelling in c
Italy 40 mil s a day?and the cow as yield- t
ng 13 to 10 quar's of milk. Mv dairy-wo- 1
nan tells me lhat my two heifers are much c
?etter milkers than nny of ray common c
tock, and some of those are very good, ii
ind that the milk afiords more cream. ii
My offset is to cross the Tuscan on the J h
[>Crham anl tmjs increase (he size" of the l
. i _ . .i ^ a - . . - - t -
ormer, ana givetnrirnness to trie inner. i v
voufd mention a fact, whicn appears to me 1
0 favor the stamina of the bull?that every li
lalf bred calf, no matter what the color of e
he mother, is of the same (Team) color, ft
vhtch b"Comea darker as they get oder, o
nost of them remaining of the color of the t
lee so me becoming darker. tl
There'is great demand here for Durham tl
:attle, and theDevons ore not much enqui. tl
ed for. The f*w of the latter that Col. h
Jampron has, ?r? valued highly by him, o
nd attract much attention from their beauty; s<
?ut the demand is for the breed that will w
five 30 quarts of milk.
I have writ en you a hurried account of
he Tuscans, to remind vou of them, and tl
iope you will be able lo give us some infor- in
nation about them. I am satisfied for our
ot suns winter (shu''k) treatment, that the ai
uscans will get along while others will n<
fly to pieces." This being the case, they o!
?rtainly can be improved ; and it will be pt
et.er to have a stock that we can improve, c<
1 preference to one that will degenerate. tii
Respectfully yours, T
R. W. Gibbes, M. D. si
J. S. Skinner, Esq. b;
It is nearly seventeen years since we un. ai
eitook to predict that these cattle, then ai
old to Mr. Middleton, would prove lo be a
valuableacquisition to the Southern States; el
nd now we have the satisfaction to read c<
roni the highest authority, a confirmation in
f our proph* cy. We can add nothing to hi
'hat is said by Dr. Gibbes, but on turning 'u
a?-k to the 4th volume of the American
'armer, we have concluded to republish a li
ilter from the veteran Commodore Jones, p
dth commentaries, which may serve t > li
vince the. zeal which existed at that lime,
ir ine impor uiion of valuable animals fron c,
broad, and to furnish a history of the im-* E
ortation of these Tuscany cattle, just now,
seems, beginning to be estimated as they i:
eserve.
U. S SlIIP constitution,
Gibraltar, 16lA Sept. 1822.
)ear Sir :
I have received your's of the I6:h and ^
3d of July, and am pleased at your deter
linati >n respecting the Andalusian Hors<- jr
nd Marc ; not that it would have been the ft
?*?4?ugr?r.?Mo to mp, to have carried p
lem to you, but from the belief, since the j
x iminahon 1 have made of this race of Sl
nimals, that the best that could be had p
ere, would be but little valued in the U. ,,
Itates. I did not see, from Cad jz to Seville,
horse, which, in our country, would bring Q|
1200; nor a nnre which could be sold at IS
130. We shall sail soon for Tunis, where j
will inform myseli of the habits, &c. of ft
us broad-tail sheep, and if any are of finer pj
fool, 1 will procure a few. 1 am very sorry s(
t not being able to see the letter of Mr. n
flf rson, winch you refer to?the papers t|
fhich you so obligingly sent me, have been ^
arcned in vain, for it.
I am informed that the best Jacks, any t|
'here on the coast of the Mediterranean, ^
re at the Island of Majorca, from whence C(
intend to take a Jack and Jenny to our tj
ountry. Should nothing occur to prevent ^
ur going to Malta, I will hring you, from 0
irnce, a Jenny, to pair with your Jack. In S1
isiting the farms at M norca, with M?*. La. a
o, our consul, who has several of his own, w
nd bestows much atten i.m to farming, 1
aw two ex raordinarily fine mules, and on
sking him if I could seo the Jack that was
heir sire, he pointed to a small Jenny that
fas in the field wi;h them, and assured me
rial they were in offspring of her and the c
orse in the adjoining lot a slender formed o
nimal and not exceeding 15 hands high, u
Io also said that ail their b?>st mules are from e
ie horse and jenny, and that they are moro a
ocile tlun those from the Jack, I am as- s
ured by ;hosc whose information is most b
:> be trusted, that an Arabian horse is not a
3 bo found this side of Egypt, and the best s
J.irbs are to be had in Morocco, but the tl
rice is from 6()0 to $1000, besides a high s
luty for exportation. 1 have not seen any e
ifthe Mahogany cattle, (g.) such as you t
nention. The cattle that 1 see in Spain, ap- c
ieur to be nothing superior to ours ; nor have c
seen any where on the Mediterranean, s
my that appear better than those in Ameri- c
ia ; except a race of which cattle at Naples, 1
ised for the draught. I was informed by s
i gentlemen, who, in supplying the govern- j
n< nt with timber, that had used thirty yoke
)f them for two years, that during that time, i
hey had constantly travelled from twenty t
0 twenty-five miles a day, excepting Sun- *
Jays and the holidays?the place from .
vlience he drew the timber, being from <
brty to fifty miles distant from Naples. He t
?a d they were the offspring of the Spanish <
Hull and Hungarian Cow, or the Hungar. <
an Bull and Spanish Cow. They are g?'n- i
srally fifteen hands high, their bodies long, i
1 sharp muzzle resembling the deer?colour <
entirely white, except a black nose, ears, j
and the tuft of the tail. They are most i
xequontly worked in the thifs of a cart, and
ire spirited and walk as quick as a horse,
md appear not to suffer from heat, more
han a horse, (h.) I would have bought a
>ull and a cow, had we have been returning
lown the Mediterranean, bni to have taken
hem to Smyrna and the Archipelago would
lave caused too much trouhle and expense
have inquired, whenever opportunities of
btaining correct information have occured,
he quantity of milk given by their cows,and
lave, no where, heard of so much as in our
oun ry except at Genoa, where a good
ow gives about fourteen quarts per day, and
n Tuscany from fourteen to sixteen, (i ) I
ntend to carry home sever.il of the Spanish
ogSr&od some of die sweet acprfts^u- which
hey are principally fed. f believe the Use
vi.'l grow well in Maryland and Virginia.
Pliey are a small oak about the size of a
irge peach tree, and bear very abundantly
very year. I have seen no domestic
awls equal to those we have, though 1 have
(ten been at Malta, I never saw or heard
iat their geese and ducks were be ter than
lose elsewhere, (Ar.) hut should I return
lere, which I hope to do, f will ascertain
10 truth. Then* is promised me somo
ares and red bill par ridges; the large pige.
11 of Barbary we have on board. Of grass
;eds I shall get none?clover only is sowed
here I have been.
n /* si ? * f/\4tnra
ttespeeuuiiy yours, jauud juine?o.
(g.) Purser Hamilton had menioned to
>e Editor, a beautiful race of milk cattle
i Italy, of mahogany colour.
(h) This is t>ie valuable breed of a bull
ad cow imported by Com. Bainbridge, and
aw the proper y of John Middleton, Esq
fS Carolina, where we hope they will be
roperly estimated, as they undoubtedly
institute one of the must valuable acquisi.
ons ever made in the Southern states,
'hese ca tie wore some time in the posses,
on of the Editor, who became convinced
y personal observation that for activity
nd adaptation to all kinds of farm labour,
rtd for capacity to withstand the the heat of
Sou hern climate, they fully justify the
haructer here given by Com. Jones?the
}loui, lorm and texture of their skin, all
idicate these capacities?we repeat the
ape that they may be duly appreciated and
illy tested.
(i) VVith respect to cows for milk, we
ave nothing to gain from abroad?except,
crhups die Ayrshire cow of Scotland,men.
oned by Sir John Sinclair.
(fc) YVt; had been told they were of sup.
rior qliality at Trieste, by Major W. B.
larney.
uportant facts in regard to keeping
apples sound for a long time.
Queen Ann's co., E. S., Md. )
June 2d, 1837 ?
I had this day on my table the first strawerries
from my garden, and, at the same
me, a dish of fine sound Newton pippins
om my orchard. They were no kept
>r the occasion ; they have been used in
rofusion, in my family, since the first of
anuarv, and presents made of them to
ome es eemed friends. The apples were
reserved by drying them in the sun for two
r three days when first gathered, and put
way in dry sand, so as not to touch each
ther. To nave fruit throughout the year
desirable?it is a cheap luxury, and I
link conducive to health. I have hereto>re
paid some attention to storing my op
!? ?. hut have not before succeeded in Dre
f( " . m ~ i
^rving pippins till the ripening of the sumu
i?t trui;s. Ttie sand ought to be perfec.
y dry, and clear of clay, which would give
tern an earthly taste.
I do not claim as an original discovery
ie means of preserving apples. Packing
lem in sand is common in this part of the
ouniry. The drying them I took from
leNew York Cultivator. I am satisfied
lat the combination is preferable to either
f the means separately used. This is a
mall matter, but being within the scope of
griculiural economy, I have supposed you
roulJ give it a place in the Register.
Wm. Carmichael.
American Furmer.
Color of the Horse*
As almost every man has some favorite
olor for his horses, and tastes are as vari.
us as individuals, the color of this animal
rould be of comparatively little consequnee,
were it not indieaiivo of the breeding
nd blood, and of course, in a great meaure,
of constitution and temper. It has
iecn said that a good horse could not be of
bad color ; and in many respects the poition
is true ; still, foi the reasons given,
here are some colors which experience
i l.i r 1 i? u: i
nows snuuiu uc jjiciciicu. i-asiuuus, nuw
ver, are mutable, and in no respect are
hey less permanent than in that of the color
>f horses. The rolor of the hair, and that
if the skin, is depending on the mucous tissue
or network immediately beneath the
:uticle, ttie outer of scarf skin being coloress,
and only serving to protect the true
;kin and its appendages from friction or inury.
The puro whi.e horse is a very rare aninal,
the majority of those that appear so
laving once been grey, and growing white
ifter reaching the age of four or five years.
Among the Arabians, a pure white marc is
;unsider? d almost priceless; as in that case
he puriiy of her blood, and her direct dis;em
from the celebrated steed of the prophet
Miinoi be doubted. Those of the best blood
ire not large, but beautiful in the extreme,
and as gentle and docile as lambs. Introduced
into Europe, they have proved of
good constitutions, little subject to disease,
not of the fleetest kind or the greatest en
durance, but excellent for light carriages or
the saddle.
Grey horses can be found of every shade
from the lightest mixture, or silver grey, to
he dark iron grey. The lightest greys
show the most clearly their blood of the
Arab or barb; are rarely heavy horsos, but
well built, round bodied, and like those from
which they originated, better for the saddle
than the harness. The mixture of blood
ili.aj nn? liniuuvnf onnonr In ha ao imnmVfd
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their temper, though it certainly bas reo*
tiered them more hardy. The iron grey?
h ive snil more endurance than the light
greys, and more than tlieir general appear*
ance would indicate, as (here ia in their buikl
usually quite a departure from the round
carcase ?odekmt kwf ^amomf4he prttfM*
ding ones. The most common defect in ?
the iron grey is found in the liability of the
feet to contraction, which sometimes, though
not always, renders them subject to lameness.
The dappled grey is usually ono of
the most beautiful and valuable of the grey
horses, being better built than the iron greyf
and capable of more endurance than tbo
lighter kinds. Fsr any purpose ; for the
saddle or the carriage, the farm or the road,
there are few better horses than can bo
found among the dapled greys, and much
pains has been taken to improve their blood,.
A dark dappled grey usually retains his col*
or to old age; the lighter ones grow lighter
as ihey become older. The grey require#
to bo thoroughly broken, and will bear less
trifling with than most other horses ; ap~
pearing to have a tinge of viciousness in bis
disposition, which, unless checked when
young, is apt to become troublesome with
age.
Roan horses are such as have their have
their hair eomposed of the white, bay, or
red, and the black : and it, of course, admits
of a great variety of shades. In some
ioan horses the mixture appears to be a
natural one, the hairs of the different cobra
intermixed, while in other cases the bay or
the Dlark appears to have been sprinkled
over the others. In such the roang the individual
hairs are frequently of more than
one color. Roans are generally pretty
horses, good tempered, but are not remarkable
for endurance. The strawberry roan
is a mixture of sorrel with white, some*
times handsome, but not calculated for hard
labor or severe fatigue. Pied horses are
not so well liked a9 greys or roans, bat
when well matched, they sometimes appear
well as earriage horses. Their valuer of
course, depends on their breed. The cream
colored, or Hanoverian horse, is remarks.,
ble for the white iris and red pupil of his
eye, and is appropriated to the use of the
royul family in England. He has a heavy,
yet peifectly formed body, and is a superb
animal; but there is no experience to show
whether he would be valuable for any other
than the light service assigned him.
The dun horse, especially of the larger
size, is much esteemed in England as a
good farm or miller's horse constitution an<)
temper good, feeding well, somewuat of a
drone in his movements,of tolerable strength,
and on the whole a useful horse. Some
duns are shaded or dappled with spots of a
darker color; and these having better blood,
and more action nnd life, nre much sought
after as ladies' horses, being both beautiful
and manageable. The chesnut horses are
divided into these varieties ; thre lightest,
or the sorrel, usually having more or less
white on their face or legs, and generally
slenderly made. They have, as a whole,
liule breeding, and are deficient in hardi*
hood. The next variety has less red and
more bay or brown, and is preferred to tho
former ; but though pleasant to ride, is in
the harness inclined to be fretful, and of
slight endurance, compared with some other
horses. The dark chestnut, is as different ..
from the foregoing as possible ; fine in the
leg, round built, powerful in the harness, of
nn excellent constitution and endurance,
little troubled with disease, unless about the
feet, sometimes having a fiery and intractable
temper. This kind of horse is much
esteemed as a carriage horse, and when
well broken, i3 one of the best of horses on
the farm.
the most generally and deservedly esteemed*
and in their several varieties they include
our very best horse j ofevery kind, carriage,
road, farm, or turf. Of bays, the lightest
colored nre considered the lea9t valuable,
showing less breeding, and being less hardy.
The proper bay horse, with no white about
him black from the knee and the hocks to
the feet, the hoofs of a shining black, is the
favorite cetor, has generally a good constitution,
rarely is affected with bad or tender
hoofs, and if not faulty in other respects* will
turn out a valuable horse for almost every
purpose. As the bay approaches the
brown, there is usually less show and action,
but increa^d strength and hardiness ; and
r__ I? farm iv/irlr nnrhons mnrfl nflflfll!.
J {J I 1IUIU iu1 ?*? n vi ny u>v? v wwww?ness.
This class has usually more sub.
stance than the lighter bays, and were the
same pains taken in breeding, might be
as handsome a horse, and for ordinary pur*
poses, more vuluable.
Brown is not a fashionable color, and no
horses, as a body, have so little breeding as
these. Owing to this, they are comparatively
coarse animals ; and though there
are some excellent horses among the browns,
as a whole tbey are only calculated for slow
work. The black.brown has been more
negtacd than the common brown, and in
making choice of ihem they require to be
examined closely. Some of them have the
' constitution and good qualities of the bay
brown, and where this blood is found, few
I horses are to be preferred, * ^ .
i