138 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



JL'Mi 



NATIVE Versus SBQKT-HOSH CATTLE. 

 BY WM. HANFOKB, JR. 



[ la reply l<-. S P Chapman, page 00 of present volume.] 

 The "faci by Mr. Chapman would 



have formed a more imposing array, and been a little 

 ithal, bad they been more definite. 

 information desired, in behalf of those interested, 

 v. a- siaiisti . i expn d by the printer. In 



relation to his pi rate timony, if that kind of evi- 



dence is worth any thing' towards establishing the 

 merits of an animal, or breed of animals, its value 

 would certainly be enhanced by a statement of the 

 number of competitors, and the preparation oi" ani- 

 mals for exhibition, as well ay of the extent of ter- 

 ritory open for competition. The cows mention ; 

 are probably as near " right" as the skill and intelli- 

 genceoftl lownercanv, llrnak< 



I have advanced no theories — advocated no doctrines, 

 as the result of my own ob I bu [ havi inti- 

 i . , that the Gs? . '- has 



eonti ! some things n 

 tful •■ a ; 

 this" I will 



of "many r led ; .... 



qualities'' of the said 



We have the following account of a Sussex bred 

 cow, owned in Lews, England, called the Cramp Cow : 



"From the first day of May, 180-5, the day she calved, 

 to the second day of April, 1806, a space of forty-eight 

 ' and one day, her milk produced 540 lbs. of butter. 

 The largest amount made in "any one week, was 15 lbs. 

 From May to June, she gave 20 quarts per day. From £'l)th 

 June, to 20th September, 18g quarts. In 47 weeks she pro- 

 duced 4,021 quarts of milk. In the next year, from the 10th 

 day of April, 1806, the day she calved, to the 27th February, 

 18U7, forty-five weeks, she produced 450 lbs. butter. The 

 largest amount per week was 12 lbs. The quantity of milk 

 for the time 4,137 quarts. During this year she was sick 

 and under a farrier's care three weeks after calving. She 

 went dry seventeen days only. In the third year, from the 

 6th of April, 1807, the day she calved, up to the 4th of 

 April, 18U8, fifty-one weeks and four days, she produced 

 675 lbs. of butter. The largest amount made in a week was 

 18 lbs. The quantity of milk given in that time, was 5,782 

 quarts. In the fourth year, from the 22d of April, 1808, the 

 day she calved, to the 13th February, 1809, forty-two weeks 

 and three days, she produced 466 lbs. of butter. The quan- 

 tity of milk given in the time, was 4219 quarts. In the fifth 

 year, from April '3. 1809, to May 8, 1810, fifty-seven weeks, 

 her produce in butter was 594 lbs. The amount of milk 

 given in the time was 5,369 quarts. The largest quantity 

 of butter in any week was 17 lbs." 



Now is this the whole story respecting this cow ? 

 No. All will admit that her produce was a little 

 extraordinary; and it is invariably true that to do 

 things exiraordinary with horned cattle, they require 

 extraordinary feed and care. Those who think oth- 

 erwise are better prepared to swallow than to digest. 

 My object being to elicit, and as far as I am capable, 

 to disseminate truth, I will here insert the account 

 of her treatment. 



"In tln> summer season she was fed on clover, lucerne, 

 rye grass and carrots, ihree or four times a day , and at noon 

 about Com- nd two of bran mixed tog ther, 



always observing to give her no more feed than she eat up 

 clean. In the winti rsi asoh .-lie was led with hay, grains and 

 bran, mixed as before stated, feeding her often, viz. live or 

 six times a day, as was seen proper, and giving her food 

 when milking; kcepinj l 1 1* ■ manger clean where she is fed 

 with grains, not to let it sour; \. ishing her udder at milking 

 three times with cold water, winter and summer; never tied 

 up; lies in or out of the barn as she likes; particularly care- 

 ful to milk her regularly and clean." 



♦ For a mass of information, respecting Ayrshire. Durhsun and 

 Native stock, sec New Genesee Farmer, Vol 3, pages 2 and 18 - 

 from Mr. Coleman's Fourth Report on th<? agriculture of Mass. 



Of the celebrated Oakes Cow, the Hon. Zadoc 

 Pratt remarks: — "Her history illustrates two things 

 worthy of note: first, ivhat we can obtain from the 

 best of our old breed ; and secondly, how much 

 depends on good feeding." An account of this cow 

 has been so frequently published, I will in this case 

 omit it. " The Nourse Cow," owned in North 

 Salem, made 20 lbs. of butter in one week, and aver- 

 aged 14 lbs. butter per week for four successive 

 months." I might to these add nnmerous other 

 instances, showing what has been done by cows from 

 the vulgar herd. 



In his zeal to obtain evidence to sustain the i. 

 lie has thought proper to raise in this matter, Mr. 

 Chapman has called to the stand one witness, whom 

 it will be well to cross-examine. I allude to Mr. 

 . ; Coljias, How far this gentleman stands 

 committed to the stock of Mr. Prentice, or to Dur- 

 hams in general, a few short extracts from his writ- 

 ings will show. In the same article from which 

 Mr. Chapman clips his paragraph, we find the fol- 

 lowing abatement to what was there said: "I have 

 only to desire that Mr. Prentice would by a lactom- 

 < ter, ascertain the qualities of his milk; and then 

 that he would ascertain the actual yield in butter of 

 several of his animals for a week or so; and when 

 this is done, that he would show his benevolent 

 countenance in the New Genesee Farmer, and let 

 our readers know all about it." 



Now on what grouud rests the high encomium of 

 Mr. Prentice's stock] External appearances alone, 

 — which we all know are sometimes deceitful. But 

 has Mr. Prentice complied with the request? Mr. 

 Colman having cleared up his character for consist- 

 ency, let us hear what he says about "Cream-pots." 

 On the side of their dam, they are descended from a 

 distinguished cow of native breed. Relative to this 

 matter Mr. C. says: — "Their beautiful color is cer- 

 tainly derived from the dam; and as the distinguish- 

 ing feature in this stock is the richness of their milk, 

 and this being precisely the quality for which the dam, 

 the Haskin's Cow, was distinguished above all others, 

 and it not appearing that any stock of Coelebs but 

 ivhen connected with this cow, has ever been remarka- 

 ble for this quality, it would not seem difficult to de- 

 termine on which side of the house this excellence 

 belonged." " Truly a strain of Durham blood does 

 not injure the milking qualities of our native stock.'' 



Of Durhams in general, Mr. Colman says: — 

 " Whether any thing would be gained by substituting 

 the Improved Short-Horns for our present stock, is 

 to say the least questionable. The Short-Horns arc 

 great consumers." Has he "ever bred or owned a 

 pure bred Durham?" One moment's patience. — 

 " Though animals do not always consume in propor- 

 tion to their size, yet this must be considered as a 

 general rule. They require most particular attt . 

 tion and liberal feeding to bring them to ma;, 

 though we admit that they arrive at maturity early. 

 Many of the Short-Horned premium young animals 

 which have been exhibited at our cattle shows, have 

 had the benefit of two wet-nurses for six months*" 

 In another place Mr. Colman says: — u My own ex- 

 perien.ee, either with the full bloods or the mixed 

 I breeds, has not been favorable to them for milk or 

 I butter" Is Mr. Chapman satisfied. Again Mr. 

 I Colman says: — "The Durham cows are Large ani- 

 I mala, and should be expected to secrete largely of 

 ■ milk; but many of them, however, arc inferii 

 [milkers; and upon as culm and impartial a view of 



