HISTOEY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



227 



stock that I have ever seen, for the grazing in 

 this region of country. 



Sixth. Give as full a description as you can 

 of the qualities of each breed, as they have been 

 developed with you, embracing remarks on com- 

 parative size, form, activity, hardiness and ten- 

 dency to disease of the different breeds. 



The original breed of cattle in Kentucky 

 strongly resembled the old unimproved Devon- 

 shire cattle. They were small, thin and diffi- 

 cult to fatten cow weighing when fat from 

 three to four hundred pounds. [This undoubt- 

 edly means dressed weight, the corresponding 

 live weight being 525 to 700 Ibs. T. L. M.] 

 These cows were good milkers, giving a moder- 

 ate quantity of rich milk. I do not know that 

 they were subject to any other disease but the 

 hollow horn, a disease brought on by poor keep 

 in winter, so that the pith of the horn is frozen. 

 It was cured by boring a hole in the horn. 



The introduction of the Patton stock in 1785 

 and subsequently made a considerable improve- 

 ment in these cattle. Cows of the Patton cross 

 would weigh when fat from 6 to 7 cwt. [Mean- 

 ing dressed weight, or 1,050 to 1,225 Ibs. alive. 

 T. L. M.] There was such a general disposition 

 to increase the size that the coarse- jointed, 

 large-boned animals were selected and saved as 

 breeders generally, from 1785 to 1817, and the 

 consequence was at the latter period the Patton 

 stock (as all these cattle were called) were 

 very coarse. The size of some of these cattle 

 was enormous ; but they did not weigh, net, near 

 equal to their size. The graziers at that period 

 did not like to attempt to fatten cattle until 

 they were four years old. The importation of 

 1817 improved the coarse cattle very much, in- 

 creasing their disposition to fatten. They came 

 earlier to maturity, were gentler, better dis- 

 posed and had much less offal. Whatever repu- 

 tation the Shorthorns acquired in Kentucky 

 prior to 1830 was owing to the importation of 

 Shorthorns, and they had great reputation. 



The improved Shorthorns introduced within 

 the last twenty years has been a great improve- 

 ment upon those imported in 1817, and those 

 of Mr. James Prentice of Lexington in 1818. 

 At the last cattle show that we had in Win- 

 chester I showed a three-year-old steer, a mix- 

 ture of the stock of 1817 and the improved 

 Shorthorns since introduced; and the judges 

 put his weight at 750 pounds. Shortly after 

 the fair I sold this steer to Mr. Brinegar, who 

 took him to New Orleans, and when butchered 

 he weighed 1,242 pounds. I mention this cir- 

 cumstance to show how much more weight is 

 contained in the same bulk ; for if this bull had 



been of the Patton stock his bulk would have 

 given him about the weight the judges laid him 

 at. A few months before I had sold to a 

 butcher in Lexington a steer two years and eight 

 months old that weighed 1,025 pounds. I sold 

 a heifer six years old to B. Roberts, that weighed 

 when driven to Cincinnati 1,487 pounds. Last 

 year I sold to Mr. Horn a five-year-old heifer 

 that weighed 1,116 pounds. Both of these were 

 mixtures of the stock of 1817 and later impor- 

 tations, and the last was uncommonly small for 

 her weight. I regret that this last was not 

 weighed before she was slaughtered that I might 

 know the difference between her gro'ss and net 

 weight. However, I can give you the gross and 

 net weight of a four-year-old steer sold to the 

 same gentleman. His gross weight was 2,000 

 pounds and his net weight 1,280 pounds. All 

 these net weights are exclusive of hide and in- 

 side tallow, taken out with entrails. 



As regards the diseases of all the above, 

 they are very few, if bred from healthy stock. 

 The most formidable disease of the improved 

 Shorthorns with me has been the milk fever. 

 I lost two of my imported cows and one that I 

 purchased at Col. Powell's sale with it. It 

 chiefly attacks cows that are fat and have their 

 calves in very warm weather the attack being 

 in a few days after calving. I never knew any 

 but fine milkers to 

 have it, and not 

 until they have 

 had several calves. 

 The udder be- 

 comes very large, 

 hard and hot. 

 They soon appear 

 to lose the use of 

 their hind legs 

 so that they can- 

 not stand. I have 

 cured some by 

 large bleeding 

 and purging 

 freely with Ep- 

 som salts. But 

 prevention is far 

 better, which may be generally accomplished 

 by preventing the cows from having calves in 

 warm weather. Healthy parents generally 

 produce healthy offspring in this region. You 

 are aware that cattle in most of the adjoining 

 States are diseased, particularly in the liver. 

 These cattle produce sickly progeny, which 

 seldom look as well as stock from more 

 healthy parents. And I have noticed calves 

 from them to be very subject to bowel 

 complaints. 



H. D. EMERY, CHICAGO. 



