200 



HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



they went to Tennessee, all of which gave me 

 great satisfaction. 



The next week was the show at Lexington. 

 Although there were no premiums offered, the 

 society agreed to give me first-prize cups for 

 bull and cow if I would exhibit, which I agreed 

 to do. The Hon. R. Wickliff, who took much 

 interest in me and my cattle at Louisville, told 

 me to make his house my home while I remained 

 in Lexington, and Mr. Clay gave me a general 

 invitation to their picnic lunch on the show 

 grounds, and I never met with kinder treatment 

 in my life from all parties. 



Mr. Wickliff, although partially blind, or- 

 dered his car- 

 riage and took 

 me out to his 

 valuable estate, 

 directly opposite 

 to Hon. Henry 

 Clay. Although he 

 had no thorough- 

 bred cattle, he had 

 some fine grades 

 with which he in- 

 tended to breed 

 to the Hereford 

 bull he purchased 

 of me. I never 

 heard the result of 

 this cross. I then 

 shipped my stock 



to Cincinnati, to the Ohio State Fair. There 

 was no class for Herefords there, and the Short- 

 horn classes were strong from Ohio and Ken- 

 tucky. The society gave me a special prize on 

 each animal of bull, cow, heifer and calf, about 

 half as much as given for Shorthorns, but about 

 a*s much as paid my expenses at the show; 

 altogether, I returned home pretty well 

 satisfied. 



I presented the cups I received at Lexington 

 to Mr. F. Pumpelly, with which he was highly 

 delighted, told me he had received the draft 

 safely and said that nothing could have given 

 him greater satisfaction than to know that he 

 had the power in helping me, and that he 'felt 

 proud of the triumph, (fl 102) 



Soon after my return I sold ten head of my 

 Herefords to Mr. John Merryman (j[ 103) of 

 Cockeysville, Md., for $1,000; and they were a 

 very nice lot. Mr. Merryman is a nobleman 

 in heart and soul, and was just the person to 

 join me in the fight for supremacy against 

 Shorthorns, but they had such a strong hold 

 that it seemed to be an impossibility; their 

 moneyed influence was so powerful over agricul- 

 tural societies, the press and judges, that made 



THOS. FOSTER. FLINT, MICH. 



it very discouraging. Still, this $1,000 and my 

 sales in Kentucky helped me much. 



I sold Mr. George Clark of Otsego County, 

 N. Y., four cows. He was a large land owner, 

 having several farms. I had previously sold 

 him bulls, and he bred some very fine half and 

 three-quarter-bred steers, one large lot of twen- 

 ty-five he sold to Mr. Van Alstyne of Kinder- 

 hook, N. Y., who fed them, and when they went 

 to the New York market made quite a sensa- 

 tion. They sold readily at half a cent more per 

 pound than anything present, notwithstanding 

 what has been lately said in a Kentucky jour- 

 nal to the contrary; this was true for I was 

 present at the sale. Mr. Van Alstyne and many 

 others will vouch for the facts. This was an- 

 other of Ambrose Stevens' unfounded thrusts 

 on the Herefords, which, had it been made to 

 me instead of T. L. Miller, I would have re- 

 plied, as I intend to let him fight his own bat- 

 tle, all I ask of him is due credit for my former 

 articles. Mr. Miller is just in his glory, and 

 he may become the "father of the Herefords," 

 which, if rightly achieved, may be honor suffi- 

 cient to gratify the ambition of the best of man- 

 kind, who are engaged in the true improvement 

 of stock. 



Rich and influential men are apt to have their 

 hobbies and preferences, and the Shorthorns 

 had their advantage in this respect, and, being 

 fully aware of the superiority of the Herefords. 

 found that they had much to do to obtain the 

 ascendancy. They combined together as one 

 man in England, where the origin of the well- 

 known feigned sales originated, where animals 

 were transferred from one herd to another at 

 fictitious prices, to present to the world an 

 artificial value, becoming men of wealth and 

 character, which, like all such transactions-, 

 ended in failure. 



Let me here refer you to a small portion of 

 the text of Mr. Youatt's book. In the eleventh 

 page he says, speaking of Devonfc : "They have 

 been long celebrated for a breed of cattle beau- 

 tiful in the highest degree, and in activity at 

 work and aptness to fatten unrivaled." In 

 speaking of the Herefords, page 32, he says : 

 "They are even more kindly feeders than the 

 Devons ; will live and grow fat where a Devon 

 will scarcely live." Further in the same page : 

 "The Devons will acquire bulk and hardihood 

 and the Herefords a finer form and activity." 

 These, Mr. Editor, are Youatt's exact words. 

 Let me ask the reader to reflect on these con- 

 flicting, glaring statements and reconcile them- 

 selves to these contradictions, if they can. Many 

 such passages can be found in Youatt on the 

 breeds of cattle, which convinced me that he was 



