218 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



food or nourishing slops, calculated to distend the 

 milk vessels, and give volume to the udder, in 

 seven out of ten cases a good milker may be thus 

 made; and in order to continue the copiousness 

 of her yield she should be milked thrice a day, and 

 always well stripped ; nor is it less important that 

 she be milked until within a few days of her 

 bringing Ibrih lier second calf. If thus treated 

 with the first callj to continue as a milker till 

 within a lew days of calving will subsequently 

 become a habit with her." 



The lew Devons with which we are acquainted 

 when in high condition are beautiful animals — but 

 we can give no personal experience of their adap- 

 tation to our climate. A friend who resides on 

 one of our Sea Islands informed us that he has 

 a very favorable opinion of them for our purposes 

 — that they bear heat well, and are thrifty and 

 hardy. 



Devons can be procured in Baltimore at one half 

 the price of Durharas. 



The following interesting letter we copy from the 

 American Farmer. 

 To the Editor of the American Farmer : 



Philadelphia, 22d Aug. 1839. 



Sir, — In your paper of the 14lh inst. there is an 

 editorial article which has afforded me great plea- 

 sure. 1 allude to the one in which you state your 

 opinion of the respective merits of different breeds 

 oi' neat cattle. As you mention your purpose of 

 writing more fully on the subject in some future 

 number, I think it may not be amiss to furnish 

 you with extracts from the notes taken by me 

 during a residence of some months in England, so 

 that you may have iijcts, in addition to those 

 which I doubt not you already possess, to sustain 

 what I think a tenable position, namely, that the 

 North Devons are decidedly the best breed of cattle 

 that can be introduced into this country. 



I believe I go farther than you do in esteeming 

 the Devons superior to the short-horns even for 

 the fertile grass and corn lands of Kentucky and 

 Ohio. But I do so esteem them, and a conversa- 

 tion 1 had some months since with an eminent 

 grazier and cattle dealer fi-om Sciota valley tended 

 strongly to confirm me in my opiinon. He staled 

 that he had had much experience with short-iiorns 

 and their crosses ; that there was no doubt of their 

 great aptitude to feed well, and at an early age, 

 and to acquire great weight; but that there, their 

 advantages stopped ; thai they did not bear a 

 journey well. In fact, he found they lost ffesh, 

 when in a drove, about in proportion as they were 

 well bred. A quarter bred animal would drive 

 belter than a half bred, a half bred than a three- 

 quarter bred, and so on. Now, if the short-horns 

 do not drive well, where is their superiority tor the 

 (iistiicts mentioned 7 They have not a home 

 market to consume their cattle, which must be 

 driven. The grazier above mentioned said the 

 difference in loss of weight was so great as forcibly 

 to attract his attention at a time when the short- 

 liorns were in very high fiivor with him. I have 

 forgotten the exact proportionate loss that he 

 mentioned, but it was so large a per cenlage as to 

 make him very chary of starting the half-breeds in 

 a drove. There is one point which I think the 

 western graziers overlook in preferring the short- 

 horns, namely, the weight of beef that can be 

 raised on a given quantity of land or food. The 



preference is given to the largest animal, the one 

 that makes the greatest weight on the hoof. 1 

 believe the Devons will make a great deal more 

 beef fi*om a given quantity of food than the short- 

 horns, but it is true there must be a lew more of 

 them to carry it. 



But to the extracts; — When in Norfolk, Eng- 

 land, I spent some time with Mr. John Bloomfield 

 at VVareham, who has a large farm, a part of ilie 

 estate of the Earl of Leicester (Mr. Coke). His 

 farm is within 3 or 4 miles of Holkham, and is 

 acknowledged to be one ol the best managed olthe 

 estate. Mr. Bloomfield is a man of great exact- 

 ness of observation, soundness of judgment, and 

 the strictest integrity. Every confidence maybe 

 placed in his statements, and his opinions are not 

 to be lightly esteemed. Among the notes, of 

 information tie gave me, made at Wareham, i 

 find the Ibllowiiig : — "Medium sized stock to be 

 preferred as yielding more beelj mutton, wool, 

 milk, &c., than either large or small slock, under 

 similar and ordinary circumstances." Again : — 

 "Mr. Bloomfield's dairy of 20 cows produced an 

 average of lour pounds of butler lor each cow per 

 week iuring the whole year. Strict accounts were 

 kept during several years, and the result was nearly 

 the same in each year." Now although 4 pounds 

 a week may not at first sight appear to be a large 

 yield, I should like any one to try if they can find 

 a regular farmer's dairy of an ecjual number of 

 cows yielding as much. 



Mr. B. frequently challenged cenllemen at- 

 tending the sheep-shearings at Holkham to match 

 it with any other breed than Devons, but he never 

 met. It may be well to state distinctly that the 

 average of 4 lbs. per cow was the net produce 

 from all the 20 cows, in profit, or out ofprofii, after 

 suckling their calves for a few days, and sup- 

 plying the liimily with cream. 



Another note: — Mr. Bloomfield's butler is of 

 the very best quality ; this is attributable to a 

 variety of causes. The cattle are of a very good 

 breed, — Devons, — and are well taken care of, 

 being in remarkably fine condition. I never be- 

 fore saw a dairy ol'cows in such order. Great 

 care is taken in the management, as to milking, 

 &c., of the cows, and the method of making the 

 butter contributes not a little to render it y'ood." 



let another note : — "Sept. 1834. Mr. Han- 

 cock, a London butcher, was brought by Mr. 

 Coke to see Mr. Bloomfield's Devons. Hancock 

 expressed himself highly delighted with the dairy 

 and stock. Speaking generally of Devons, ho 

 said, there are no cattle yield such good beef, 

 except a very few of the very best Scots. He 

 also said he took ten shillings worth more of fat out 

 of Devons than out of any other sort (same sized 

 animals). Again, he said the surloin of a Devon 

 was longer by 5 inches, ihan of any other breeds, 

 (same size,) and that he could cut three surloin 

 pieces out of a Devon, when he could only cut two 

 from any oiher sort. And further, he said, there 

 is this difference between Devons and Scots: the 

 former have less offal beef and more roasting meat 

 than the latter, or than any breed that he has tried. 

 He always prefers buying Devons when he can 

 procure them. This Mr. Hancock is the butcher 

 who was heard to say in London by a butcher of 

 Wells, Norfolk, that the two very best bullocks he 

 ever hung up in his shop were of Mr. Bloomfield's 

 feeding." 



