90 



NEW ENGLAND FAllMEK. 



[Oct. 14, 



they eat in proportion to the quantities the}' 1 form their leam-iaLo.ir wilh horses ; nud raise ] 

 afford of those three articles. If so, what is oxen, or rather steers, merely lor heet 1 ear-i 



■■ ly expressed my opinion, tliat to such tarmers, | 

 size, and the early maturity a=crihed to ihej 

 improved short-horns, might be advantageous : 



to be gained by them, except sue ?- On this 

 question of si.;c, there is much controversy in 

 England, as to which is the most advantageous, 

 the very larte^ or the middling size. In our 

 own country, at least in New England, I pre- 

 sume the question to be of easy decision. — In 

 my 9th letter, 1 gave the weight in berf ^ of 

 three improved short-horned oxen, according 

 to Mr. Powel's statement, in No. 3, of his Ro- 

 jily ; being 6314 pounds and the average 

 weight of each 2107 pounds, for the entire 

 carcass, and for each quarter, 527 pounds — 

 nearly three times as much as tiie greater part 

 of the fattened oxen slaughtered in Massachu- 

 setts. At any rate, I suppose that a well fat- 

 tened ox, whose four quarters would average 

 263 pounds— only half the weight of Mr. Pow- 

 el's specimens of the English improved sliorl- 

 horns — would be quite as large as our victual- 

 lers and their customers would choose. And 

 from what 1 have met with in English books, 

 it appears to me that the prevailing opinion is 

 in favour of the smaller cattle. Indeed the 

 question itself seems to be speculative, nol prac- 

 tical ; for infinitely the greatest number of 

 slaughtered cattle in England are of moderate 

 sizes. 



The late Doctor James Anderson, of Great 

 Britain, in early life a practical farmer, and 



while the same qualities might not be eligible 

 to the smaller farmers of New England, whose 

 gelded male cattle were raised tor some years 

 of labour, and therefore were kept till they be- 

 came oxen ; and at suitable ages were fatten- 

 ed for beef. 



I believe, however, that the disposition to 

 early maturity in cattle, not very difficult to in- 

 troduce into other — perhaps into any breeds. — 

 I am satislled that this may be done with the 

 native breed of New England. '' It is obvious 

 that the method in whicli the animals are treat- 

 ed in res[iect to food, must greatly induence the 

 matter; as when they are abundantly supplied 

 at all times, and of course constantly preserved in 

 a thriving slate, ihcy will, willionl doubt, arrive 

 much earlier at a slate of malurilj, than when 

 the contrary is the case." '^ — I remember a kins- 

 man who more than sixty years ago, quilted Sa- 

 lem, and took a farm in a neighboring township ; 

 and managing his whole husliandry judiciously, 

 could turn out yearlings of nearly the size of the 

 two-years-old cattle of neighborino- tarmers. I 

 particularly recollect his telling me, that his 

 yearling bulls were always tit for service ; and 

 _ indeed were never better than at that age. I 



since a'distinguished writer on subjects relating j entertain no doubt that many farms in New Eng 



the hide and lallow 25 lbs. — Two others uhich 

 he sold will) their dams, in auliicnti, were kept 

 by the purchaser till the foUouing .March, wlion 

 the calves, being eleven monihs old, were 

 slaughtered. The four quarters of one of them 

 weighed .... 4r,g n,s. 



hide 



lbs. tallow eCJ- lbs. 



Of the other, the four quarters 

 weighed ... 

 hide 57 lbs. tallow 77 lbs. - 



12-lJ 



5824 



411 lbs. 

 134 



6j: 



to Ihe husbandry of his country, discoursing on 

 the zeal with which attempts had been made 

 by some to improve their breeds of cattle, re- 

 marks : " So long as we are guided in this 

 case, by any other rule than that certainty 

 wliich results from accurate experiments, it may 

 be naturally supposed, that the mind of the 

 sanguine improver, will be apt to magnify every 

 excellent quality that he may think he per- 

 ceives in his favourite breed ; while it as na- 

 turally diminishes the good qualities of such as 

 may be out of favour at the time." He then 



refers to several breeds, each, in their day ; or twelve monihs o 

 highly valued, but which, in succession, gra- 

 dually fell into disesteem.* 



1 have no disposition to question lire charac- 

 ter of the se\ eral testimonies Mr. Powcl has 

 diligently collected and published, to prove the 



and could exhibit bulls of the native breed of 

 like early maturity. Very commonly, heifers 

 proiluce their first calves when two years old, 

 and a few as early as, 18 or 20 months. — Cattle, 

 if full fed from their birlh, will gmw rapidly, 

 and to a large size. On Ihe question, at what 

 ;ige heifers should be allowed to receive the 

 bull, Marshall remarks, '• that much <lepends on 

 keep. A starveling heifer will not lake ihe bull 

 at a year old. The bn-'eders spare no expense 

 in raising their high priced slock. They suck 

 Iheir dams or other cmvs, unlil lliey be six, nine 



The elTecl of Ihi- 

 practice is a quick growth ; and peihajis, like 

 rearing vegetables in a i ich soil, Ihe practice 

 may assist in meliorating Ihe conslilulion, and en- 

 larging the frame. Be this as it may, the growth 

 of calves reared in this way is strikingly rapid."* 

 suoeriorhv, in certain respects, of the'improved 1 One of Mr PowePs calves had liecn kept at Ihe 

 short-horns. I did not write on this subject to j teat one year and three days, at the time when 

 influence Iho management of Ihe proprietor of one of his correspondents staled Ihe facl.t The 

 a farming TERRnor,v, with his annual harvesi (size of ihis calf is not mentioned ; but no doubi 

 of sixty thousand bushels of grain, clOO head of 1 it was very large. Such exlraoidinary growths, 

 cattle, and half a thousand slaves.! That great i however, are not peculiar to the improved shorl- 

 Maryland farmer, says—'- his half bred Cham- j horns. Twenty yeais ago, before Ihe breed was 

 pion (improved short-horn) heifers, are 50 i heard of on this side of the Atlantic, a farmer of 

 per cent -superior for milk lo anv breed he ever I New Haven had been in Ihe practice of letting 

 had." This may be accounted for. They are j one or more of his calves run all summer wilh 

 perhaps 25 percent bigger than his native j poor milk cows. The products in meat appear- 

 .stock, while tluir milk may be 25 per cent i ed to me so extraordinary, I made a memoran- 

 thinner. We bear of mi//; only, not of Au^Icr, | dum of them, which is now before me.— Slaugh- 

 tered at seven months oM, Ihe foui- quarters of 

 one of them weighed 240 lbs. and the hide and 

 rou'-'h t.illow 50 lbs. Of two others ihal suck- 

 ed but one cow, the four quarters of one weigh- 

 ed 232 lbs. and Ihe hide and tallow 45 lbs. 

 the four quarters of the other 161 pounds, and 



* Rces' Cyclopedia, article Bruedrng'. 

 t Pvuial lOconomy of the MiJlontl counties, T6l. I. p. 

 297. ; 



i Reply No. 2. 



t>n any comparisons that are menlionod. 



Nor did \ write for the wealthy farmers of 

 Pennsylvania, who cultivate the rich soils of 

 ihe finest parts of that slate'; farmers who'per- 



, * Essays on Af;riculture ami Ilural Afl'aiis vol. II. p. 

 1-29. edition of 1707. 



t I liican ne ■•cproacli to the slave-holder ; Mr Lloyd 

 I 'ake to 'ji a g.'utlemin of great respectability : but 

 the number of his slaves hr^s ju«t as inucli to tlo with 

 tlie present question, as the " fiO,000 bushels of c;rain," 

 OTiiitioned by Mr rowe!, the product of their labur. 



The cows and calves were fed with hay and 

 meal, and Ihe calves were continued al Ihe teat. 

 1 ii.ive formerly seen this farmer's herd of 

 cows, which were the common natives of Con- 

 neclicr.t, not at all remarkable in size or appear- 

 ance ; and their oumer the last man in New Eng- 

 lanil to be carried away with ney: notions of any- 

 kind. 



A similar practice, and with like effect, is 

 common in England; the calves running in the 

 pastures with and sucking Iheir dams , and hence 

 called "■ rnnning calves." These calves, Mar- 

 sh.'vJI s.ays, " are siiffeied to run with iheir dams 

 until ihcy be a twelvemonth or more old; Ihe 

 cow being all the time at head keep, of which 

 Ihe calf parlakes, as well as of Ihe milk of ils 

 its dam ; while herself, m the mean time gene- 

 rally gels fat enough lo be sent lo Smithlield 

 vvilh her calf (perhaps as heavy as herself) by 

 her side."* 



It remains for me to notice Ihe gentle rebuke 

 of my friends Ihe Editors of Ihe Massachusetts 

 .4gricullural Repository, in Iheir last publican 

 lion.t to which, in one instance, I liave already 

 adverted; being where the Editors say "The 

 cattle of England are far superior lo our own as 

 a body : and it is not precisely correct lo com- 

 pare iiidividnal exceptions in our country, wilh 

 general and average statements of ivhole coun- 

 ties in England." 1 submit lo llie Editors, wheth- 

 ler 1 have not shown, J Ihal I had not maile sucii 

 j parlial comparisons as ihey imagmed : but on 

 the contrary, that to an individoal case al home, 

 . I contrasted a su[ierior individual case in Eng- 

 'land; and the average of lounships, districts 

 and counties al home, wilh districts and counties 

 in Englanil, :.l.-o superior to our own. And I at- 

 Icmpled lo account for this English sn|)eriorily, 

 by ascribing it lo their larger co«f and richer 

 pastures. 

 The Editors admit that we have a race of cohs 

 capable of raising a progeny with all Ihe desir- 

 ed improvement; and which in five or six gen- 

 erations would produce a race of callle whicli 

 I might be shown wilhpiideat Sinilhlield : but 

 ' ask -^ Who are our capitalists that will select and 

 i lake due care of them V' — I, it is true, know of 

 'no such capitalists : but was it unreasonalde to 

 [suppose, now that the spirit of improvement is 

 generally excited, that in every mwnship, at 

 I least one substantial farmer miyhl exist, who 

 I possessed the spirit as well as ability, to select 

 one or two veiy good cous and a bull, the best 

 I in the township or neighboihood, fur Ihc pur- 

 pose of raising and propagating a superior race? 

 The Editors ask, whelher any sensible culti- 

 vator, having " a miserable, breed of cattle," 



' Itiiral F.conomv of Norfolk, vol. I. p. 130. 

 t No. 4 of vol. V"H1. 

 X la Letter V. 



