NEW ENGLAND FARMER„ 



Published by JOHN B. RUSSELL, at the corner of Congresf and l.indall Streets, (gjx Aoms fiom the Post Office) nn«ton TirO^TAP G. FKSHr:M)i;X. rniTon. 



VOL. IV. 



FRIDAY, JULY 29, 1«2.^. 



I'NO. ]. 



A6IIICUI.TURE. 



From Ihe American Farmer. 



REPLY TO COL. PICKERING ON NATIVE 

 CATTLE, fee— No. 3. 



Jonathan Roberts, Esq. 



Prestdenl of the Penn. Agric. Soeielt/ — 



Dear Sir, 



Col. Pickering quotes Mnjor Rudd's a«?er(ion, 

 that " if Ihe improved short horns were eror' 

 wliere disseminaled, the produce of beef, on a 

 ariven e%tPnt of land, would he nearly doubled; 

 that thpy yield about 8 or 9 pounds of butter per 

 week; that, in form and Itandliyig, they are a 

 perfect contrast to the old breed; that lie be- 

 lieves, they consume less food ; and that, for the 

 general purposes of countries where beef is in 

 great demand, they are. beyond alldmibi, the Acs/." 



That beef is in great demand in Now England 

 and in all the Atlantic Stales, is too evident to 

 require illustralion. And if its amount, as Majoi 

 Rudd asserts, would be nearly doubled, by ihe 

 early maturity of a race, which, in three years, 

 afford as much weight upon the same (bid, a? 

 most others in six years, (heir great vaue as 

 dairy cattle should not alo7re be taken inb the 

 account. 



The product of butter depends upon theprop- 

 erlies of the cow, the quanlilv and qtially of 

 food, Ihe care, skill, and aUenlion of the per- 

 son by whom it is made. It, in common with 

 all manufactured articles, is influenced by the 

 material of which it is composed ; but, it U af- 

 fected by chymical causes: Ihe vibrations ottti" 

 atmosphere — the shape of the milk-pan — evtn 

 by " the dexterity of finger in skimming the 

 cream." The quantity may be increased if the 

 quality be not regarded ; the weight must be.i 

 augmented if the buttermilk, as in New Eng- 

 land, be not well expressed, and salt be pro- 

 fusely supplied. 



The quantity and qtaality of the butter are not 

 the best tests of the richness of the milk, much 

 less of the properties of the cow, unless a eom- 

 parative estimate be made by the same person, 

 in the same manner, under similar circumstan- 

 ces, and at various times. The secretion and the 

 quality of the milk, are afiected by the state o/ 

 (he animal's health, by the operation of external 

 causes, even by harsh treatment or fright. 



It has not been contended by me, nor by any 

 advocate of improved short horns, that the se- 

 lection made by Major Rudd was, from tile 

 race, most valued for dairy purposes. On tie 

 contrary, although his cows afford from 8 to 9 

 pounds of butter per week, more than twice as 

 much as the product of the Oakes' cow whf:n 

 she was not forced, it is well known that he re- 

 garded what are called, technically, the grazing, 

 rather llian the dairy tribe, of Colling's stock. 



The early maturity of Improved shorl horns 

 has been evinced in so many instances and pub- 

 lished in so man}' books, that 1 should exhaust 

 your patience, if I were to quote the long re- 

 cords of British writers and cattle show rejiorl,- 

 I will slate a few which have occurred in Eng- 

 land, and l^ara prepared to authenticate, bv evi- 

 dence yvhich would be received ia a court of 



justice, the fads which 1 shall relate in regard 

 to some animals reared upon my own farm. 



Col. Pickering alleges, that " Major Rodl be- 

 came the purchaser of Colling's stock, uilli the 

 principal if not the only view of becomin'j; what 

 Mr Colling had been, a breeder of cattle/or the 

 prnft lobe derived from the sales." His having 

 given high |irices, wil'iai'ieza lojirofi — his vie us 

 having been realized — his jirolii.s continued, by 

 higli prices slill obtained, cannot be brought in 

 evidence, that his judgment was unsound, or 

 that the cattle were not good. 



We have had fiom " the ingenious Mr Mar- 

 sliall" a long list of the plans of knavish sheep 

 breeders, " (hirty-tive or I'orly years ago." He 

 might, no doubt, have given an elaborate and 

 amusing account of the tricks of accomplished 

 sheep stealers, if he had been so disposed : but, 

 it would not bear upon Major Rudd, a gentleman 

 of fortune, leisure, and zeal,«wlio has pleasure 

 in doing good; whose generosity may be appa- 

 rent in allowing access to his males, or in giv- 

 ing away calves; whilst, as a man of businjss, 

 he demands Ihe value of that which, by the pur- 

 chaser, is sough'..* 



His vanity, though iiumble, may be elated 

 with his success as a farmer ; and, after having 

 rambled abroad, he may vaunt over Ihe supcri- 

 oiily of his ox or his cow, whilst his disregard of 

 high employ, makes him hajipy in retirement, 

 and tranquil if obscure. 



Col. Mellish was a chivalrous soldier, regard- 

 less of his person and his purse, munificent in 

 all his pursuits, so elevated by his posilion .ibove 

 all sordid calculation, and so far removed, by 

 his fortune, from the desire of paltry gain, 

 through the sale of a bull or a call", that no man 

 who knew him, or who could measure the hab- 

 its of the persons amongst whom he moved, 

 could suspect him of objects other than those of 

 general improvement, conneeted with the ad- 

 vancement of his tenantry, or the interests of his 

 country, which may stimulate n private gentle- 

 man or a farmer in his quiet path, with as much 

 steadiness and force, as if he were struggling in 

 the race for popularity, or contending for dis- 

 tinction among public men. 



1 f was not necessary that Col. Pickering should 

 remark, "no mere farmer in England can find 

 his account in giving 450 dollars a piece for cows 

 and heifers, to compose his dairy." In this, as 

 in many of the opinions which this venerable 

 gentleman has expressed, I most cordially agree; 

 but, a " mere farmer" may find it prohlaLle, in 

 conjunction wilh his neighbours to purchase a 

 bull for the u.'^c of their stock, and to employ 

 two or three thorough bred cows, to take ad- 

 vantage of the demand, and to have the means 

 of changing the stream, as it is called, of the 

 blood. Thus, whilst his own slock is improved, 

 his expenditures are returned by occasional sales, 

 and by ihe perquisites received for the services 

 of the male. 



A large landholder may find it advantageous 

 to purchase bulls and cows, to breed calves for 



* I do not deny, that some of the professional breed- 

 ers, of Eng:land, vphose names we hear, and wliose short 

 lionia we see, are occasionally exorbitant, and often 

 unfair. 



the purpose of his (onantry, and, ihrough their 

 prospeiily, to augmcnl, ullitnalely, bis own gain. 



The improved sliorl horns musl be an extra- 

 ordinary race, if some dozens of marquises, bar- 

 ons, baronets, and scores of country gentlemen, 

 with Ihe di«tin?tiished Mr Cnrwen at their head, 

 liecome ^^ professed breeders for pr fU-'^ 



.loliii Bu!', allhiinjh not so aruie. in our rsli- 

 mallon, as brelber Jonathan, thai i xlraordinnrt' 

 lieing, whom 1 have always considered the most 

 rflicienf and useful of llie race, is not quite so 

 stupid and ab-urd as lo be humlingged upon the 

 matter of bis boast. " old English roast beef," by 

 the tricks of noMomen and counlr)' gentlemen, 

 who sstcrifice thousands for hisgratilicalion, who 

 pay millions for public improvement, whose 

 ivealth, consequence, and pride rest upon the 

 prosperity of iheir tenantry, and the value and 

 extent of their land. 



I am, dear sir, most truly, yours, 



JOHN HARE POVVEL. 



Er.lract from a communication, made by his Excellen- 

 cy Levi Lincoln, governor of Massachusetts — presi- 

 dent of the Worcester county Agricultural Society. 



(_JHemoirs Penn. Agricul. Society, p. 14.) 

 " Upon the subject of Denton's progeny. 1 

 should fear to write to any one less oliserving 

 and sanguine than yourself. With nineteen of 

 them, of different grades and ages, in my pos- 

 session, 1 can safely say, that my most coiitident 

 anticipations have been entirely answered. I 

 have now seven heifers in milk, four of tl em 3 

 years, and three 2 years old ; and for richness 

 in qualily and abundance in quantity, they are 

 not exre'.;E.d by the very best cons ef aiiy^gc, 

 of the native stock. A heifer of 3 years, with 

 her second calf, has not been dry since she drop- 

 ped her first, having given four quarts on the 

 morning of her second caWing. 



" Next to the Merino sheep, 1 consider the 

 introduction of the short horns, in (he blood of 

 Denton, as the richest acquisition to the country 

 which agriculture has received. For the dairy 

 and the stall I speak with the utmost confidence 

 of tiieir preeminence. From my three years 

 old heifers I have calves of the most promising 

 appearance, and greatly excelling any 1 have 

 before seen. One of the heifers gives from 16 

 lo 20 quarts of the richest milk, by the day, 

 since calving; (he other a lillle less, from the 

 circumstance of having been in milk continual!}' 

 tor more than a year ; but her miik is in no de- 

 gree inferior in quality. The last season she 

 gave eleven quarts at a milking, with grass only 

 and this not unliequently. They keep as easily 

 as the native stock, and are as hardy. 1 have 

 this year a three-fourths heifer calf from a half 

 blood of Denton by Admiral, the famous bull 

 sent out by Sir Isaac CofEn last year, to the Mas- 

 sachusetts Agricultural Society, and two others 

 by the celebrated bull " Ca:lebs'' on Denton's 

 half blood. They are fine promising animals, 

 although in no respect superior lo the three- 

 fourths of Denton. I have no knowledge of the 

 properties of this stock for labour, never having 

 altered but one of the males. I cannot, how- 

 ever, percei.ve any reason to doubt their val- 

 ue in this particular. Their form indicates 



