THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



97 



orchards of apple?, peach, pear, plum, cherry, 

 damson, quince irecp, &c., tliey deserve to be de- 

 prived ol Iruil (or the rennainder of (heir lives. 

 From about a dozen trees ol' well-selccied Iruit, i 

 had la^t year the (rreaiest abundance of delicious 

 apples liom the Isi oC June until the 1st ol" .Jaiiu- 

 arv. But my sheet is lull. Plough-boy. 



'Rockbridge, Va., Feb. \st, 1S41. 



From the Kentucky Farmer. 



ir Kentucky may be said to be Ihc " breeding 

 state," in reference to horses, mules and cattle, 

 the distinction may perhaps t)e no les«: justl}^ claim- 

 ed in reterence to swine. Andiftlie number ol 

 varieties Irom which selections may be made, in 

 view of making new crosses, and promoting and 

 perpetuating increased improvements, be deemed 

 a lorttinate facility for ati'ecting the object, it 

 would >eem that we are peculiarly favored. Of 

 the names of different varieties, all claimed to be 

 ol " improved breeJ" and po5se?sing peculiar ex- 

 cellencies, we remember, just now, the followins: 

 Berkshire, (black with a little vvhite ;) white Berk- 

 shires; Woburn, (sometimes called Bedlord :) 

 Bedford, (distinct from the Woburn;) Chinese; 

 Neapolitan; Leicester, Lancashire; Irish gra- 

 zier; Kussian ; Bjfield : Thin-rind; and there 

 may be others. And each variety has its sturdy 

 advocates ; and no doubt each has its peculiar 

 excellence. But out on such a wide ranye, how 

 is an inexperienced breeder to choose intelligibly ? 

 ft is true we have the awards rendered at the lairs 

 of the agricultural societies ; we have reports ol 

 great weights attained at an earlv age ; we have 

 the positive assertions of A and B that this and 

 that breed are ike verj' best, without the least 

 doubt; and we have the "fashionable taste'' 

 here in favor of certain breeds, as well as in refer- 

 ence to the breed and color of cattle. But after 

 all, we have not all the facts, which would salis- 

 iactorily conduct the judgment to an intelligent 

 decision and choice. In saying this, however, 

 we do not mean that facts are wanting to prove 

 the value of the various breeds. They do exist, but 

 they are not made known. Neither do we doubt 

 the sincerity of the advocates of the various breeds. 

 Nor, for ourselves, can we permit the inference 

 that, on this important subject, we have no 

 "opinion of our own." We have an opinion, 

 (mind, reader, we say an opinion — ) but like cer- 

 tain politicains, we'll keep that to ourselves till it 

 is wanted. It would be idle for us to state our 

 opinion that this or that breed is the best, when 

 we should instantly be met by the counter asser- 

 tion of the advocates of twenty other breeds 

 whose facts might prove to be as much in point 

 as our own. We have no taste for eniraging in a 

 controversy in which we confess ourselves defici- 

 ent in some of the leading facts by which its me- 

 rits should be decisively determined. 



But we are circuitously ainfing at a point to 

 vvhich we meant to ir.ake a direct ap|)roach. We 

 say then, the facts n^uv before the public, in refer- 

 ence to the merits of various breeds of hogs, are 

 not decisively satisfactory. We iiave seen the 

 report of no experiment by which the matter has 

 been indicputably settled ; and hence the nume- 

 VoT>. IX.— 7— A 



rous advocates of various breeds. The reports 

 of great weights attained at early age and of pre- 

 miums given to individuals of varioiis breeds, arc 

 not decisive of" relative superiority ; for we know 

 that the animals have been kept, pampered in a 

 manner impossible to be adopted in the general 

 economy of (arm management. If a pig, stuffed 

 daily to bloating, with every description of nutri- 

 tious food, shall out-weigh another at a given titne, 

 it does not conclusively prove, we imagine, that 

 the breed of which he is an individual is a better 

 one for farm-stock. But, at the same time, we 

 confess, it by no means proves it a worse. Yet 

 the test is not a fiiir one ; and we propose a new 

 mode of settling the difriculty Let some unpre- 

 judiced farmer who is not engaged in the "pig 

 business," take any adequate number, say twenty, 

 fifty or a hundred pigs of each of several of the 

 vaunted breeds, of hke age, and give them, in all 

 respects, precisely the treatment and keep vvhich 

 are commonly bestowed upon swine. It is not, 

 and cannot be, the custom here, to put stock 

 hogs in pens and gorge them. We can't adopt, 

 for general farm, economy, the S5'stem of manu- 

 facturing pigs for show. We must raise pork lor 

 profit; and the breed most profitably under the 

 system of economy which the circumstances of 

 the country compel farmers generally to adopt is, 

 unquestionably, the best breed — the assertions of 

 pig dealers to the contrary notwithstanding. Let 

 this mode of keeping be adopted, and the result 

 reported to the public; and then we shall know 

 more about the subject. It is out of the question 

 to talk of betting upon one or two individuals, 

 kept in a most extravagant manner that will cost 

 more than the pork is worth. But we shall be 

 told that no breeders can spare a sufficient number 

 lor such an experiment — the demand for pigs is 

 too great and pressing ; and besides they are too 

 valuable to be slaughtered — they must be kept 

 lor breeders. It is to be hoped the driy will yet 

 arrive, when, in reference to improved cattle as 

 well as hogs, some of the vaunted breeds will be 

 devoted to the legitimate objects of making beef 

 and pork. We shall then, at least, have some 

 accurate means of testing relative merits. What 

 we have said is not to be taken in an unfavorable 

 light towards any of the improved breeds. We 

 confess the superiority of many of them, from the 

 evidence we have.: but we want more conclusive 

 evidence. Let those, therefore, who advocate 

 this or that breed, join in the purposed experiment. 

 If they are so confident as they profess, they have 

 nothing to fear; and even if they should be 

 beaten, their own interest requires them to know 

 it. It may to some, be a very profitable business 

 to mislead (innocently) others, but it is extreme 

 (oily to deceive themselves. Every intelligent 

 fiend of genuine improvement should be willing 

 even to have his cwn favorite stock beaten, if 

 ilone fairlv ; and he ought to rejoice in the result. 

 The sensible breeder, finding himself beaten, will 

 with equal good nature and sound judgment, pro- 

 cure the better and put away his own. After 

 Eclipse beat Henry, Mr. Johnson wisely bought 

 the former. 



We published (in vol. 3. p. 142) an experiment 

 of Benj. Gray, esq. of Woodford, with the half 

 blood Thin-rind. He treated them in all respects 

 as ordinary stock and reported the result to the 

 public. It was a Itighly satisfactory one, and 



