SI)C iTarnici's illcintl)li> lU^itor. 



179 



1111(1 two t^xira lor scp.iiiins wliiit is made, i^iicli 

 lands MS Ills iii'e wiirlli iilxiut ciglity dollars |ier 

 acre; and ho is oH'ciod scvciit}' dollars per ncre 

 for wood, (iiiediuni size pine,) wliicli covers alioiil 

 twenty-seven acres. Of hay, which I consider 

 tlie most valnahle crop, the lands will yiejdaliont 

 three tons, worth at different seasons Iroin s(^veri 

 to ten dollars ; of rye from forty to forty-live 

 hushels ; of oats from foriy to sixty hiishels. I 

 WHS shown a lielil on which the j;rass crop lias 

 been donhhul hy the nse of aitthmcitc ashes. — 

 The slock, however, constitnte the pride, atid I 

 doidit not the profit of the fnin. Ami it is worth 

 notiiifr that the fancy prices which formerly and 

 lately prevailed, are not now demanded. For in- 

 stance, Mr. Benient owns a ilistingnished hull and 

 cow which cost orijrinaily in lOnirland one thous- 

 and dollars for the two ; he has, for sale, as nolile 

 an animal as yon ever lieheld, si.\ years, old, 

 which he oilers at sevenly-live ilollars. The 

 ■greatest attention is paid to prevent unintentional 

 cros.-es — and whenever a calf does not turn out 

 well, or is considered defective in any particular, 

 he is turned over to the butcher, regardless of 

 pedigree. Mr. Beinent has made many experi- 

 ments in cro.ssintr, — always,of course, with some 

 parlicidar object in view. A.*, amonjj his hogs; 

 he aitned at lull size, early maturity, easy keep, 

 small hone, lightness of otlal, and delicacy of 

 meat. To accomplish which, upon the well 

 known principle in breeding, that like produces 

 like, he took the Improved (Chinese, which is very 

 short ami fal, with strong hair; the Leicester, 

 which has more length : the Derbyshire, which 

 has still greater length and more weight ; and the 

 Neapolitan with no hair, distinguished for the 

 quality of its flesh; out of all which, he has 

 formed what he calls his "Medley Ureed," and 

 which he considers superior to any he is acipiaint- 

 eil with. In this way he has attained a weight 

 of four hunihed ponnds, in hogs, of most capa- 

 cious proportion, comely to behold, perfectly 

 while, anil hair of the length and fineness almost 

 of a New Fomidlaud dog — animals which yon at 

 once recognize as of high caste. The best weight 

 is the aver.ige of from two hundred and fifty to 

 three hundred pounds, which they gain with very 

 little feed. Think of this, in comparison with 

 our rmity, twist-tailed, grunting, squeaking mire 

 wallowiMs 1 ftly word for it, our friends, the 

 Hebrews, never would have considered these an 

 "abomination," if such had been known in their 

 early day ! 



But, .again — and it illustrates how admirably 

 Northern larmers comliine the great gratifications 

 <d' coiufort anil appearance with usefulness — out 

 of a small stream, no whit better for the purpose 

 than you will find on almost eveiy farm in Vir- 

 ginia, Mr. HemeiJt has constructed a lake, not 

 more than two or three hundred yards from the 

 house, which besides furnishini; fisli, and afford- 

 ing an agreable prospect, is maile to turn a small 

 water wheel, counecled with a pocket edition of 

 a grist mill, where not only the coarse food for 

 the stock is ground, but the coffee lor the liimily ; 

 and which, moreover, drives a forcing pump, with 

 a supply oftno tlionsand gallons of water in twen- 

 ty four hours, thiongh pipes, iulo a reservoir situ- 

 ated in the yard, at an elevation of fil'ty-fonr feet, 

 fi'oin which again it is conveyed in pipes to Ihe 

 stables, barn and other out houses. The whole 

 machinery could not have cost a hundred dollars, 

 and I should estimate it as worth twenty limes 

 that sum in real benefit to the owner. The con- 

 struction of the dam, of course does not enter 

 into my calcnialion of the cost. The three cu- 

 rious conical hilb which give name to the farm, 

 stand near the house; and from them, you look 

 out upon a fine expanse of champaign country, 

 adorned by a beautiful variety of rural scenery, 

 and commanding a view of the famous Hilder- 

 berg mountains, as well as the more distant [leaks 

 of tiie Catskill. 



Having passeil the morning in this agreeable 

 manner, after dinner we were driven by ftlr. Be- 

 ment to his ueig^illor'!> im the other side of the 

 city, Mr. Prentice's and Mr. Rathbone's. If in 

 seeing Mr, Bemeni's I had been pleased with 

 what J considered a happy combination of agri- 

 cultural skill and ornament, in seeing the others, 

 certainly I was much more so since the propor- 

 tion of ornament was innrh greater. Mr, Pren- 

 tice's, called " Mount Hope," which is the first 

 you come to, and which has a distance of only 

 about a mile and a lialf from the State Hotise, 



ihc centre of the city, is a fuTn boyoud .dl praise. 

 I'.njoying a superb position on the high bank of 

 the Hudson just above Van Kenssalaer Island, 

 cultivaii.'d with a richness that excites adiuira- 

 tiou, adorned with costly taste, nothing cramped, 

 all indicating profusion, high keep, and the most 

 gracefid control of nature, I know not how to 

 condrn.-^i! any altempt at the description of the 

 place. Without havingseen the suburbs of Bos- 

 ton, which you know have much reputation for 

 similar adornmiMit, I thonght when I first stood 

 in the hall of Mr. Prentice's house,] had seen no 

 such villa in this country. One not the least 

 gratifying of the evidences of well-chosen expen- 

 diture which I saw around me, was the work of 

 a young sculptor hy the name of Rrown, a native 

 of Albany, who has executed lor i\lr. Prentice, 

 in marble, four pieces representing the seasons 

 — all indicating, I thought, talent — one of which 

 particularly, accorded with my taste. But here 

 again I must omit description. When we drove 

 to the door, Mr. Prentice was not at home, but 

 upon the touch of a strong bell, soon came up 

 tioin his hay meadow, — a hale, well-bronzed, ac- 

 tive, temperance-looking filmier, certainly not 

 more than seven-and-thirty years old. I asked 

 Mr. liement how he came by bis money. " By 

 steady industry," said he. "I remember him a 

 few years ago, a boy in Alh:u\y, peddling fur raps." 

 Untbrtunately for n.s, the large stock of blooded 

 cattle loi- which Ibis farm has beim particularly, 

 known, has recenily been broken up by public 

 sale. Some of those, however, that were sold, 

 yet remain, and among those reserved, I saw the 

 litmoiis Durham mother of all, "Matilda," and 

 the bulls " Fairfax" and "O'Conneil," the former 

 of which has taken the first premimn wherever 

 he has been exhibiled. An animal of more mas- 

 terly size, substance and power, yon can scarcely 

 conceive of. 1 know not what to compare liim 

 to, except a line of battle-ship. It is the opinion 

 of both Mr. Beinent and Mr. Prentice, that Ihe 

 Ayrshii'e breed of cattle is better suited to Vir- 

 ginia than the Durham; the one is much lighter 

 than the other, but the ipiantity of milk is great- 

 er in proportion to the amount of food required; 

 although the Ayrshire will give but sixteen quarts 

 in a day. I was pleased lo hear that iMr. Ilaxwell 

 and IMr. Wright, w\\o were lately here, had sup- 

 plied themselves with a choice selection from 

 both Durham and Ayrshire. After passing 

 through the groi;nds and stables of Mr. Prentice, 

 he accompanied lis to " Kinwood," the residence 

 of Mr. Joel Kalhbone, adjoining his own. \:\en; 

 again was an adornment still exceeding what I 

 had before seen. The house is a Goihic cottage, 

 on the |)lan of one, with the exception of the 

 tower, which I remember to have admired in 

 " Downing's Cottage residences." All the rooms 

 open from a circular hall, and sure 1 am, I have 

 never entered a house which so completely look 

 captive my fancy. The expenditure is greater, 

 more of ornament is brought together, than at 

 " Mount IIo|ie ;" the styles are different, anil no 

 doubt ihe objucls coiilemplaled diverse ; but, in 

 admirable coincidence of building, liirniture, and 

 luxurious finish, I doubt whether yon would find 

 in America the superior of " Kinwood." It was 

 a regret to us that the liimily of Mr. Rathbo-ie 

 were not at home, Mr. Prentice neveiiheless, with 

 the confidence of a neighbor, look us through 

 the lower circle of apartments. We had intend- 

 ed a visit to Mr. William H. Sotham's slock, at 

 a farm not fir lieyotid,anil which, perhaps equally 

 with any others, arc noted for their size, symme- 

 try, pedig'ree, thrift and productiveness, but even- 

 ing came on with too fiist a pace. From the 

 style of their residences and the description 1 

 give, you might conjecture these geullemen lobe 

 urislucrals : nothing could be fiirther from the 

 truth, and I dare say, they would feel offended if 

 the term were applied lo them. They show 

 plainly enough, that in putting on the gentleman 

 ihey had no idea of putting by the workingman. 

 Among farmers, there are no secreis in business. 

 Willi a real catholicity of spirit, ihey impart 

 iheerfiilly what they know; and if it happens 

 lliat thcv meet with one, like myself, who knows 

 nothing, but who yet manifests a disjiosiiion to 

 learn, the cheerfulness is increased, and displays 

 itself in a more enthusiastic language, as if the 

 enjoyment of imparting were fresher. 



BoTs — THEIR (;ausk AND CURE. — A writer in 

 the Boston Cultivator is of opinion, that the in- 



sects, found in the stomach of the horse, are not 

 llieprimarycan.se of his disease, but the pres- 

 ence of the grub, is owing to the horse being 

 previously in a sickly condition. Ho affirms that 

 a sickly horse will be found with a hundred limes 

 as many eggs of the bot-fly, (tKs^-iis ff/u?) upon 

 his legs and other parts of the body which he 

 can reach with bis tongue, as a well one ; and 

 argues that the instinrt of' the fly leaches her to 

 deposit her eggs where, when batched, they will 

 find the most suitable nourishment, and that this 

 is fiiiMid in the stoiiiav-b, vheie lliere is more or 

 less putridity. 



HeiKte, by way of reiuoving the first cause, of 

 disease, by keeping tke. stomach in a healthy 

 condition, he recftinmends the constant supply 

 of sail, as a preventive ifiat may be deiieiided on. 

 This, he says, and generous food and treatinent, 

 will convince the % that there is no proper re- 

 ceptacle for liev b^•ood in such a well organized 

 stomaidi. Tile gretU liordley relates, when he 

 resided at bis f(rst farm, which was situated 

 inland, his lionscs were always infi^sted by hots; 

 but on returning to the margin of a tide river, 

 where they drank salt water, no more symptoms 

 were ever known. " An ouiu-e of prevention is 

 worth a I'onnd of cure.;' 



Another writer in the stitne paper recommends 

 a cure, which he thinks effectual in all cases, if 

 applied liefore the bots have eaten through the 

 coats of Ihe stomach, a strong decoction of' black 

 tea. The proportions be uses are a quarter of a 

 pound of tea, to tliiee pints of boiling water. 



Cincinnati PorH Business. 



A correspondent of the Boston Traveller, wri- 

 ting from Cincinnati, Ohio, under date of No- 

 vember 29ltli, gives the following description of 

 the way tiiey do business in the pork line in that 

 great Port-opolis of America; — 



Just think of killing — packing down and send- 

 ing off to other markets — (wo hundred and fiflij 

 thousand bogs in the space of two or three 

 months — and you think of what we see every 

 winter. 



Would yon like to look into one of our pork- 

 houses.' Come with ine a few moments. First, 

 let us step out to the outskirts of the city and 

 witness the bincliering process. A set of hands 

 for ibis bloody work, consists of twelve men, all 

 "capacious of such things." The tubs and 

 benches anj Itooks, &c., 1 need not describe. 

 The process begins in the yard, which is crowded 

 full of hogs, an j you see two men knocking them 

 in the head with their axes, as fast as they can 

 strike, lilosv alter blow. The same men slick the 

 throat, and then another pair with their hooks 

 and ropes, haul him into the scalding tubs and 

 out again. Then another couple take off the 

 nio.st of" tiie hair and pass him on to the next 

 couple. These (inisli the scraping and cleaning, 

 and slide him on to their next neighbors. They 

 open and remove the insides, and two others 

 take him from their bands and bang him up. 

 And all this in about as little time as I have taken 

 to tell you of il. The poor creature has hardly 

 time lo stop snuealiug, before be is completely 

 dressed a|iil hung up to cool. Yon can imagine 

 the rale i\t wUioh the business is despatched 

 when 1 tell you that a day's work for such a set 

 of hands varies iVom /ice hundred to nine hundred 

 hogs, according to the pressure. How mucli 

 this is like oiir exploits at hog killing when 1 

 was a boy among the hills of the Granite Slate. 

 The day for bulcheiing hogs was one of the eras 

 that marked the progress of events at the farm 

 house. You know they come along in succes- 

 sion, say, — Thanksgiving, corn husking and hog 

 killing. In some fiimilies, the school master, 

 who " boarded round " — was not permitted to 

 come till after hog killing. That day was ushered 

 in by an tmnsually early call of the old gentle- 

 man at the foot of the chamber stairs, " Boys be 

 up and set the kettles to healing." Perhaps some 

 six, eight or ten lusty jiorkers had eaten their 

 last supper. About as many hands young and 

 old as there were hogs, were engaged liir the oc- 

 casion, especially one or two remarkably skilful 

 with the knife. Well, I need not detail the pro- 

 cess. It was a liard day's work to dress ihe 

 dozen hogs and put them in the cellar. Just 

 about as much like the wholesale slaughtering 

 we see here, as my mother's spinning wheel and 

 loom were like one of your Lowell fiictories. 



But I beg your pardon, I had forgotten I had 



