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208 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Sept. 



characteristic of both breeds as to color is the same 



« marbled, mottled, spotted, red and white." The 



Holderness have exceedingly neat and beautiful horns. 

 And one striking characteristic in their form, so far 

 as I have known them, is, great length of body. — 

 As to size, they are about equal to the Durhams, some 

 of them being large, but generally, of finer bone and 

 more delicate appearance. 



I first saw the imported bull, "Holderness," about 

 the year 1829. He was purchased in England, as 

 stated, at a cost of $1000, and imported into this 

 country by Gorham Parsons, Esq., of Brighton, 

 Mass., then President of the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural Society. In color, he was deep red and pure 

 white, the red predominating. In form, he was very 

 perfect — deep in the brisket, round in the chest, with 

 fine straight limbs, heavy quarters, and great length 

 of body. His weight in ordinary flesh was 3,000 lbs. 



The English Enclycopedia, in speaking of this 

 stock, says— "They are large, fine boned, possess 

 great aptitude to fatten; their beef is fine; they have 

 both size, strength and speed for labor, and their 

 shoulders are well posited for the draught. Being 

 beautifully variegated in color, marbled, spotted, 

 speckled red and white, they make elegant 'Park 

 stock,' (witness the Earl of Chesterfield's dairy;) and 

 in one, perhaps the most important respect, great 

 milking, they stand unrivalled; the cows giving from 

 24 to 36 quarts of rich milk per day." 



In a trial, on the farm of the Earl of Chesterfield, 

 of seven cows, consisting of three celebrated varieties, 

 with crosses upon them, the Holderness cow giving 

 29 quarts of milk, produced 38 £ ounces of butter per 

 day, being 6 ounces more than was produced by any 

 other one. 



I understand the history of both Holderness and 

 Durham cattle to be this: originally, they were the 

 same stock — large, thrifty, pied cattle, brought over 

 to England from the rich 'meadow lands of Holland, 

 by the Durham and Holderness farmers. With the 

 latter, profit from the dairy was the leading object; 

 and they bred with especial reference to this result. 

 With the Durham farmers, early maturity, rapid, large 

 growth, and aptitude to fatten, was the aim; then- 

 leading object being, the "butcher's stall." It has 

 hence resulted, that the leading characteristic of the 

 Holderness cows has been, excellence for the dairy; 

 while, at least one leading characteristic of the Dur- 

 hams has been, excellence for the slaughter. 



In 1830 I purchased from the owner of the imported 

 bull, a full blood calf, and bred from him about ten 

 years. Like his sire he was pied; a deep red and pure 

 white, and very perfect in form. At four. years old 

 his girth was 7 feet 3 inches. At five' years old his 

 weight was 2,200 lbs. And the length of his body, 

 from where the horn crosses the head, correctly and 

 accurately measured on the line of his back, was 8 

 feet and 4 inches. His equal in length 1 never saw, 

 except his imported sire. 



For several years, there were brought to him from 

 sixty or eighty to over a hundred cows. And in all 

 my acquaintance with the stock, I never knew a:; 

 instance where the cow proved an inferior milker. 

 They were uniformly an improvement on the com- 

 mon stock, in every particular. I bred from a small, 

 fir-t rate native cow, a heifer that I afterwards sold, 

 that produced a calf each year at three, four and five 

 years old, and gave milk every day during the whole 

 period of the three years. Her calves were purchased 



before two weeks old, the first at $40, and the others 

 at $50 each. Her mess was 44 quarts of rich milk 

 per day, in the best of the season. One hun Ired 

 dollars were often refused for her. I bred from him 

 a cow that took the first premium at the cattle show 

 in this county, in 1844, giving 40 quarts of milk per 

 day. A two year old heifer also took the first premium 

 for those of her age, giving 24 quarts of milk per 

 day. I sold at $50, a cow 4 years old, giving 30 quarts 

 per day. Her first calf was dropped on the 1st of . i - 

 vember, she being then 2 years old. Her mes- the 

 middle of November was 16 quarts per day, and the 

 cream taken from 5 measured quarts of the milk 

 produced 7 ounces of butter, nearly equal to ] * lbs. 

 per day for her whole mess. Ten pounds of butter 

 per week, for a 2 years old heifer, on the pastures of 

 November, is a result not often reached. 



My herd of 6 to 8 cows, kept for many years for 

 family use, averaged not less than 24 quarts pes day 

 to each cow in the best of the season. The cow 

 still retained in use, now 15 years old, has given 

 annually from 24 to 28 quarts of the richest milk 

 per day, when the grass has been fresh and abun- 

 dant. She was milked during the seison when she 

 was 2 years old, beginning in May, giving ;: 

 mess, although she had never had a calf, and did not 

 calve that season until the month of October. I 

 mention this fact, singular as it is, though perhaps 

 not unprecedented, merely as indicating the tendency 

 of the breed to milking properties. 



I have seen no oxen of any breed larger, finer, 

 fleeter, or better in any respect, tha.i those of this 

 stock, and rarely have I seen their equals. And 

 whether they can compare with other celebrated 

 breeds for the slaughter, may, in a measure, be in- 

 ferred from the fact, that a pair of steers bred by my 

 neighbor, with no other care and keeping than that 

 given to his entire herd, were sold to the drover at 2 

 years old, for $80; and at 5 years old were sold for 

 the slaughter for $500 — their average wc'ght on foot 

 being, as stated, 3,000 lbs. 



With these suggestions, I submit to ihe grazing 

 and the dairy farmer, whether it might not be well 

 to make trial of this stock, either by importing it 

 from England, which might speedily be done, or by 

 purchasing for the dairy, Holderness cows of the 

 genuine blood, if at this time such can be obtained 

 in this country. Rochester, JY. F., 1849. 



Subsoil and Subsoil Plowing. — I hare some- 

 times heard the inquiry made, whether the subsoil 

 contains any strength, and what is the use of dis- 

 turbing it ? Now the strength of a soil, as the term 

 is generally understood, may depend upon one, two, 

 or three things, viz: the amount of animal, the 

 amount of vegetable, or the amount of soluble mineral 

 matter (of the right kind,) that it contains ; or any 

 two of these, or, all combined. But a proper subsoil 

 contains very little, perhaps often none, of the first 

 and the second in a permanent state; but may con- 

 tain any amount of the third. The percolation or 

 infiltration of water may, however, carry down some 

 of each in solution when applied to the surface. 

 Hence a subsoil may, and generally does contain 

 much of the strength of the soil, and doubtless the 

 very elements required for the perfection of tiie plant, 

 but unavailable to it on account of the impenetrability 

 of the subsoil by the roots of the plant. (See this 

 subject further discussed in some of the former num- 

 bers of the Farmer, on " Subsoil Plowing.") h. 



