Vol. XI.-No. 3. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



19 



C o m in ti n i c a t i o n s . 



PEDIGREE OF THE BULL ADMIRAL 



Thomas G. Fessepjden, Esq. 



Dear Sir — I noticed in your last paper a ooin- 

 niunication signed "A Breeder," dated Springfield, 

 July 17th, 183'2, wishing information as to the his- 

 tory and pedigree of the imported bull Admiral. 

 It gives me pleasure to afford that gentleman tlie 

 information he wishes. Admiral was a beautiful 

 Roan, bred by Mr John Wetherell atKirkby Mal- 

 bry in England, a noted breeder of Durham short 

 horn stock, whose name frequently appears in 

 Coates' Herd Book, as the breeder and owner of 

 this justly celebrated stock. He was purchased 

 of that gentleman by Admiral Sir IsaSc Coffin, and 

 presented by him to the Massachtisetts Society for 

 the Promotion of Agriculture, for the purpose of 

 improving the breed of cattle in his native state. 

 He arrived at Boston in August, 1823, was then 

 two years old, and cost the Admiral about seven 

 hundred dollars. A meeting of the trustees of the 

 society was immediately held, a vote of thanks 

 was passed to Admiral Coffin for his munificent 

 present, and it was decided that he should not be 

 allowed to be kept over one year in any one coun- 

 ty, that as large a portion of the State should be 

 benefitted by him as possible. He was placed the 

 first year at Roxbury, under the care of John 

 Prince, Esq. Was received by me at Salem in 

 August, 1824, where he remained till August, 1825, 

 when he left niy place, and was sent to Worces- 

 ter, at that time weighing 1932 ])Ounds, was kept a 

 year oti the farm of his Excellency Levi Lincoln, 

 for the benefit of the county of Worcester. Some 

 time in the fall of 182G he was purchased by the 

 Hon. John Welles of Boston, who kept him a lopg 

 time at his seat in Dorchester, and afterwards maile 

 a present of him to the Worcester Agricultural 

 Societ}', where he remained till his death, which 

 I believe was in the fall of 1831. I fully agree 

 with the writer, that in this country we do not at- 

 tach sufficient consequence to a well authentica- 

 ted pedigree. It is very true that a great many 

 animals have been imported at high prices from 

 the cow-keepers in England, and not from the es- 

 tablished breeders of the country. I have seen sev- 

 eral that have been called full bloods, which I was 

 convinced were only mixed bloods, and no pedi- 

 gree of them could be traced in the Herd Book. 

 I have no doubt that the purity of Admiral's blood 

 was equal to that of any animal ever imported to 

 this country. The father of both his sire and 

 dam was the celebrated Comet, who was sold in 

 London for one thousand guineas. Shortly after 

 the arrival of Admiral, the Society received an- 

 other present of two superb cows from Sir Isaac 

 Coffin, one of them a Herfordshire cow, the other 

 a full blood Dmham short horn ; the first was 

 ])laced with John Prince, Esq. at Roxbury, the 

 Durham with me, where she remained till her 

 death. She was purchased by the Admiral fiom 

 Mr Wetherell, and was also a descendant of Com- 

 et. I am fully satisfied that the pure Durliani 

 short horn stock combine liotli the ])ropertit's of 

 the milk and beef breed more completely than any 

 other imported into this country. I keep a large 

 stock on my farm, and am so fully convinced of 

 their superiority, that I have disposed of all my 

 other cows, and have reserved none but the de- 

 scendants of these two superb animals. If you 

 will refer to your paper of the 2d of iMay, 1828, 



you will find a communication from me respect- 

 ing these animals, with their pedigree as furnished 

 by Mr Wetherell, and also a very detailed accoimt 

 of them and their ancestor, as extracted by me 

 from Coates Herd Book, a work devoted exclu- 

 sively to this celebrated stock. It would be well 

 to republish the statement then furnished you. 

 Respectfully, yours &c, 



E. HERSY DERBY. 

 Sahm, July 30, 1832. 



'J'lio following is extracted from the communication referred lo by 

 Mr. Derby. 



Pedigree of bull Admiral from Mr John Wetherell, 

 Kirkby Malbry, 28th May, 1823. Is two years old, a 

 beautiful roan, got by my A''orlh Star, dam by Covict — 

 grandamby Wellington — g. siandam hy Danby. JVorth 

 Star was by Comet, Azm\>y Baronet — grandam by Crip- 

 ple — g. grandam by Irishman — g. g. grandam by Hub- 

 back. 



JVorth Star, roan, calved in 1815, twin calf with JVorth- 

 cm. Light, bred by and the property of Mr Wetherell, 

 got by Comet — dam. Lady, bred by Mr Spours, by Mr 

 Mason's Baronet — grandam by Cripple — g. grandam by 

 Irishman — g. g. grandam by Hubback. 



Comet, red and whileroan, calved in 1804, bred by Mr 

 Colling, got by Favorite — dam, YotDig Phenix, by Fa 



telligent man conclusively contradicts the ^^uInp- 

 tion that plants receive their principal nov i hment 

 from the atmosphere." 



Instead of citing any experiment made n the 

 subject, the writer appeals to the fact that one ield 

 is much more fertile than another, and inq ires 

 how this cau" be, if the atmosphere is the 

 grand source of vegetable growth and develop- 

 ment. 



I would first ask '' B," if he was not aware that 

 some trees, the Jfhite Pine for instance, flourish 

 and grow faster in a ])oor soil than in a rich one. 



2. Has B. ever reared a shrub in a box of earth, 

 watering it with distilled water only until its weight 

 from one ounce became fifty pounds, and then 

 foiuid that the earth remaining in the box was not 

 reduced in weight more than half a pound ? If 

 not, let him try it and tell me whether the shrub 

 received its principal nourishment from the earth. 



3. Has he ever raised excellent pears from 

 grafts inserted into a crab apple or a quince stock ? 

 I have, and should like to be informed whether 

 the pear derived its delicious flavor through the 

 crab from the earth, or from the atmosphere 



rite, grandam, Phenix, by Foljambe—g. grandam, Fa- \ through the leaf, untinctured by the crab. 



rorite, bred by Mr Mayuard, by Mr R. Alcock's bull 

 S. g. grandam by Mr Jacob Smith's bull — g. g. g. gran- 

 dam by Mr Jolly's bull. Comet sold for one thousand 

 guineas, and died in 1815. , 



Wellington, bred by Mr Wetherell — got by St. John, 

 dam by Trunncll — grandam by Danby. 



Danby, bred by Mr Wetherell — got by Mr J. Brown's 

 Put^oc/t bull— dam by Mr J. Brown's White Bull. 



Baronet, roan, calved in. 1806, bred by Mr Mason, got 

 by CAi7(on— dam, Lydia, by Favorite — grandam, J^'ell, 



4. I wish B. would try the experiment of re- 

 ducing a vegetable already grown to its first prin- 

 ciples or component parts. He will then learn that 

 if it obtained its nourishment from the earth, he 

 cannot again reduce it to earth, but he can scat- 

 ter nearly the whole of it by combustion to its 

 native country or place, the atmosphere. Thus 

 of 100 lbs. of\voo<l,99 parts are very [soon mingled 



Mr Mason's White Bull—%. grandam, Fortune, bred | -with the atmosphere again ; and it is apprehend- 



by Mr C. Colling.by Bolingbroke — g. g. grandam by Fol 

 jambe — g. g. g. grandam by Hvbbacls — g. g. g. g. gran- 

 dam bred by Mr Maynard. 



Cripple, red and while, calved in 1800, bred by Mr 

 Mason, got by Irishman — dam, Fortune, bred by MrC. 

 Colling, by Bolingbroke — grandam t)v Foljajube — g. 

 grandam ty Hubback — g. g. grandam bred by Mr May- 

 nard. 



/jisAmon, red and white, calved in 1708, bred by Mr 

 Mason, got by Styford — dam. Fortune, bred by Mr C. 

 Collingr, by Bolingbroke — grandam by Foljambe—^. 

 grandam by Hubback — g. g. grandam bred by Mr May- 

 liaid. 



Hubback, yellow, red and wbi'e, calved in 1777, bred 

 by Mr John Hunter, of Hurworth— dam bred by Mr 

 John Hunter, by a bull of Mr Banks, of Hurworlh — 

 grandam, bought of Mr Stephenson, of Ketlon. Hubback 

 was got hy Mr Georse Snowdon's bull — dam from the 

 .stock of Sir James Peiiyman, and these from the stock 

 of Sir William St. Quin'in. of Scampslon — Snowdon's 

 bull, by Wm. Robson's bull, bred by Mr Waslcll, of 

 Gre.it Burdon,near D.irlinglon— d.iin, Mr Wastell's i?oart 

 Cow. Barforth, \i'illiam Robson's bull by James Mas- 

 terman's bull, bred by Mr Walker near Leyburn, James 

 Masterman's bull by the Studly Bull, bred by Mr Shart- 

 er, of Chilton. 



The following account of (he pedlgrpe of the dam of 

 Hubback, was given lo Mr Coates, the author of Iho 

 Herd Hook, by Mr John Hunter. 



" Hurnworth, near Darlington, July 6th, 1822. I re- 

 member ihe cow which my father bred, that was the 

 ilum o{ Hubback : there was no idea ihen that she bad 

 any mixed or liyloe blood in her. Much has been late- 

 ly said, that she was de.-cended from a Kyloe ; but I 

 have no reason lo believe, nor do I believe, thatshe had 

 any mixture of Kyloe bloud in her." 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



jMr Fessf.nden — Your correspondent B, in your 

 last No. of the Farmer is so pleasant and witty on 

 dry sidijects, (lime and ashes,) that I am extreme- 

 ly loath to conip'overt his posiiioiis. A sense of 

 duty ahuie compels me to say tin writer has whol- 

 ly failed to prove his second jiroposition. 



He .siiys, "Till' daily oliservalKUi of every in- 



ed that they do not remain there long, otherwise 

 we should soon be smoked out of our earth. Are 

 not these same particles absorbed again by the veg- 

 etable leaf? 



5. If vegetables derived their principal nourish- 

 ment from the soil, how do we succeed so well in 

 turning in green crops to enrich our fields ? We 

 should not improve the fertility in the least by 

 growing a crop of clover and ploughing it in, if 

 B's doctrine be correct. But a clover ley, say 

 practical farmers, makes the best of manure for 

 wheat ; they therefore often grow the clover first 

 to enrich the soil, that is, to make it so light and 

 porous that the roots of other vegetables may 

 more easily extend themselves in the earth and 

 procure moisture ; for in my humble apprehen- 

 sion moisture or water is the principal article that 

 vegetables obtain from the earth. 



B. may probably inquire again what is the ad- 

 vantage of a rich soil. 



I answer, a rich soil afibrds greater facilities 

 for the extension of the roots of most vegetables 

 in their search for water and a very few particles 

 of earthy matter, than a poor soil does. I'erhaps 

 most of the species of the pine anil some other 

 roots, find their way better, like a camel, in a 

 sandy path than in a soil of closer texture. 



If C will make experiments or adduce other 

 evidence in support of his positive assuinptions, 

 the [luhlic mind will be much bctlcr satisfied than 

 wiili mere opinions. 



Yours, very respectfully, W. B. 



Franiingham, Jidy 26, 1832. 



Loss and Gain. — The London World says that 

 fniiii ihi- 5th of January to the .5ih of Apfil there 

 has 1),'. h a falling oft' in the duii(s on arUent spi- 

 rii.s iiiiported in England, of i;2.')0,OCO.^J'his loss, 

 the W'cirld says, is great gain to iIk; iiairon. 



