HISTOEY OF HEKEFOKD CATTLE 



225 



fond of this refuse stuff, but when taken in 

 quantities it causes a derangement of the mani- 

 folds, for which no remedy has as yet been dis- 

 covered. At first the animal becomes restless, 

 and is feverish; soon after it begins to rub its 

 head down and up a post, or anything it can 

 rub against, manifesting the greatest pain and 

 misery. It continues rubbing until it dies. I 

 have seen several so affected with it and after 

 rubbing commenced I knew of none to be cured. 

 Upon opening the animal it is found that the 

 manifold is entirely deranged, dry and hard, 

 mortification having in some instances already 

 commenced. The only remedy is to keep your 

 cattle from the place where green corn stalks 

 have been fed to hogs. 



Cattle of Ohio and Indiana are not so healthy 

 as are the cattle of Kentucky. I was told by a 

 Cincinnati butcher who supplied with beef a 

 portion of the Jews of the city that he was com- 

 pelled to procure his cattle for these people from 

 Kentucky. The priest sticks the animal, which 

 is dressed in his presence by the butcher. Upon 

 opening the animal if any imperfection of the 

 intestines is visible, such as blisters on the liver, 

 etc., the priest remarks : "This one may do for 

 the Christians, but will not do for the Jews you 

 must bring up another." The cattle of Ken- 

 tucky have no blemish; the intestines are in a 

 perfectly healthy condition; so, we only can 

 supply the Cincinnati Jews with beef. 



I was informed by Dr. Watts of Chillicothe, 

 a gentleman of intelligence and great enter- 

 prise, who feeds and grazes on a large scale, 

 that he would pay five per cent more for Ken- 

 tucky raised cattle for either purpose than he 

 would for Ohio or Indiana cattle. He consid- 

 ered the risk of life this per cent in favor of 

 the cattle of Kentucky. 



There are three epochs in the history of Ken- 

 tucky cattle; first, the introduction of the Pat- 

 ton cattle, say in the year 1790, and some years 

 afterwards the Miller stock of the like. These 

 are generally diffused throughout the State, im- 

 proving our stock twenty-five to thirty per cent 

 in a period of twenty-five years. 



Second, the importation of 1817, which gave 

 us finer forms and an aptitude to take on fat at 

 an earlier age, adding twenty-five to thirty per 

 cent upon the Patton improvement, in a period 

 of less than twenty years. 



Third, the numerous importations made into 

 Kentucky and into Ohio, from 1831 to 1836, 

 from which has arisen the superior breed. To 

 keep up this breed as it now is requires sound 

 judgment and unceasing vigilance, or a decline 

 must follow. 



I recommend to the breeders in Kentucky to 



import at least half a dozen bulls from the 

 Netherlands, Holland, or Northern Germany, at 

 once, and renew such an importation every five 

 or six years, for twenty years, rather than to 

 draw their bulls from the best stock to be found 

 in England. I do not think it is desirable to 

 have a very large breed, but form and early ma- 

 turity are not for a moment to be lost sight of. 

 A skillful breeder endeavors to shape the ani- 

 mal so as to carry most flesh on the valuable 

 points, to have the loin and hind quarters much 

 the heaviest, as these parts bring to the butcher 

 the most money. 



LEWIS SANDERS. 



Grass Hills, Ky., December, 1848. 



Dr. Martin, to whom Mr. Sanders refers, 

 gives the following information: 



Dear Sir: Your letter of the 25th ult. is 

 just received, and I will try to answer your in- 

 quiries. Your first question is, What breed, 

 cross or variety (of cattle) has been found most 

 profitable in your region for beef; and what 

 for the dairy? The improved Shorthorns and 



THE EXPOSITION BUILDING, CHICAGO. 

 (Home of the American Fat Stock Show.) 



their crosses are most profitable for beef. They 

 are of large size and fatten easily at /any age, 

 so as to come to early maturity, and they carry 

 a large portion of their flesh upon the best parts 

 and their beef is of an excellent quality. They 

 pay better for food consumed than any other 

 cattle that I have fattened or grazed. 



In regard to the milking qualities of the im- 

 proved Shorthorns there appears to be much 

 diversity of opinion, some contending that 

 they are the best milkers had in the country, 

 and others that they are worthless. The truth 

 is, that some tribes of Shorthorns are remark- 

 able for the quantity of milk they give and 

 other tribes are equally so for their small yield. 



I purchased two cows at Col. Powell's sale in 

 1836. One of them, a cow of the Daisy tribe, 

 was a steady milker, giving from twenty-eight 

 to thirty-two quarts of milk daily. The other was 

 scarcely able to raise her calf. And the quali- 

 ties of each have been transmitted to their de- 

 scendants for several generations. The cows that 



