394 



NEW ENGI.AND FARMER. 



[July 8, 



the rer.orrl, or liHvinsr any mo;i!is of knowing 

 their pRtiigrees, it lia« liHppenHd, that Ihp gra- 

 dation of excellence, dplerminrd by the premi- 

 ums of different rlas^es, coincides precisely with 

 the various degrees of affiniij' to the hest short 

 horn blood. [ 



Col. Pickering cileslhe opinions nf a commit- ' 

 tee on cattle, at the late Worcester show, who, 

 gave a premium for " a half bred coiv hj the ] 

 English bull Denton ;" l)elonginfj In his nephew 

 Stephen Williams, E«q. of Norihborongli, and 

 says, " I have since learned, that lliis coiv was 

 large, well proportioned, and ai)iiarenlly well 

 formed for giving an abundance of rich beef, > 

 but that slip was not remarkable as a milker;''! 

 and he continues, that he has not " yet met with j 

 accounts of any of the most celebrated English 

 breeds, thn! surpass the best cows of our native ! 

 breed, for the quantity of iutlcr Ihcir milk will j 

 yield." ! 



Col. Pickering has shewn, that the annual j 

 products of Massachusetts "native'' dairies, in 

 iive instances out of six. are, when contrasted 

 with middling English dairies, as 02 to 286. 



1 would ask, of what breed was the cow npon 

 which Denton begat the well proportioned ani- 

 mal which took the premium, nnd to wliicli he 

 refers ? 



I do not contend, that a short horned bull can 

 entirely conquer the defects of a bad cow ; nor 

 should I assert, that if a cow of what is called 

 (he " native'" breed were a good milker, unless 

 her properties had been established in her fiim- 

 ily, during a sene? of years, that her offspring 

 by an "improved" bull ivould necessarily in- 

 herit, in eqiial proportions, the excellence of 

 either sire or dam; tor, if I have not boon mis- 

 informed, upon the spot, a heifer from the Dan- 

 vcrs cow, show little of the merit which Mr 

 Oakes, by singular skill and extraordinary food, 

 had brought into view. 



If Col. Pickering had gone upon the farm of 

 his nephew, he might have found an imported 

 Devon cow whose carcass was neither well pro- 

 portioned nor well formed for carrying beef; 

 ivhose udder, though not much larger than that 

 of a goat, was seldom well tilled. 



1 had neither contended for Ibe exclusion of 

 all breeds, except one, nor have 1 intended at 

 any time to assort, that all the families of the 

 breed which I prefer for the general purposes 

 of the country, are alike well tilled tor the dai- 

 ry, yoke, and stall. 



In one of my letters which Col. Pickering has 

 quoted, 1 expressly slated, " Since the lime ol 

 Colling, various breeders of England have made 

 crosses with the sam^ race, to meet their partic- 

 ular purposes. 1 have had, within a year or 

 two, twelve imported animals, and 1 can exhibit. 

 I think, in the best blood of Mr Wetherill's, Mr 

 Curwen's, and Mr Chamiiion's fold^^, some es- 

 sential points, mirked by the peculiar views of 

 ^lie res|)ectivc breeders." 



The Herd Book will show, tliat some of the 

 best streams of improved short horned blood 

 were, miuiy years since, slightly crossed with the 

 Galloway breed, wliich is now apparent in the 

 frreater quickness of the gait, and keenness of 

 the eyes.* 



I have endeavoui'ed to exclude but two breeds, 

 Alderney and Devon. The first, vicious crook- 



* Herd book pajre 102. Msjor Uudd's letter, Am. 

 Farmer, vol. iv. page 44P. 



ed, and tmthrifty— the l,itt"r, active, light, "deer- 

 like," and. as Mr. Marshall says.t "as dairy cattle, ; 

 not excellent," and, as Mr. La'vr.'iice a-sprts,i 

 "as milkers, so lar inferior to bolli Ihe long and 

 short horn=, both in quanlitij iind quMl'y of milk, 

 that they are certainly no objects lor the regu- 

 lar dairy ;" adding, " rAei/ are uiiiversi'Uy reject-^ 

 ed in their own and the neighbouring covnties." 



To refute the opinion that improved short 

 horns require rich [)nstures and extraordinary 

 care, and to show that they are better milkers 

 are rflore thrifty, and as well fitted for hot clim- 

 ates and bare pastures as Devons, the followmg 

 extract is given from a letter from Governor 

 Lloyd, whose crops often exceeding (jO,000;bush- 

 els a year; whose neat cattle not less than 800, 

 vigorous and well shaped ; whose line flocks of 

 sheep superior in carcass and fleece, to most 

 that can be found ; whose arrangements through- 

 out evincing the utmost precision and skill, may 

 be considered as proofs that his testimony de- 

 rived from experience, is quite equal to any 

 which can be had, and infinitely superior to all 

 that can be collated from books. 



I am, dear sir, a our obed't serv't. 



JOHN H.\RE POWEL. 



PoK-:lton, June 15, IG'-j. 



Tiilbnl eovnti;, Man/land. } 



Mye house, Mix/ 3, lfi2,''). S 



My Dear Sir, — Many of my half bred Cham- 

 pion heifers (noiv two years old) have had calves 

 this spring, and contrary to my expectation, arc 

 50 per cent superior for milk to any breed I 

 have ever had. They liave had only the fjre 

 of the common cattle on my estate. All of the 

 mixed blood are so mech superior to my com- 

 mon stock, that I consider myself Weil paid fii"- 1 

 my purchase, § by tbo mixed blood alone which; 

 I have reared. My half blood young bull ti/u'c/i 

 ynn admired, is now a noble animal. 



1 have given my mixed Devons a fair trial. 

 with my mixed short horns, and it would be 

 only necessary for the most prejudiced or sce()- 

 tical to see them, to decide in favour of the 

 short horns. In size and Ibrm there is no com- 

 parison, and the short horno are va«llv superior 

 for milk Yours, EDW.^RD LLOYD. 



JoH.x Hare Powei, Esq. 



From James Cox, Esq. of Barks eounly. 



Frbruary 2, 182.'). 



DcAU Sir, — If is now about three months 

 since 1 purchased of you a cow and bull calf, 

 since when, I have given great altenlioii lo them 

 in order lo ascertain their value as compared 

 wiili the common cattle of the country, and have 

 come lo the follmving conclusion; 



The coiv, considering her age (3 years) and 

 the food to which, at this season, she is neces- 

 sarily rrslricled, is a deep milker — the most so 

 of any animal in my i)ossession — a small consu- 

 mer, and ea'^ily kepi fat, (surprismgly so, taking 

 into view Ihe qnanlilv of milk yielded,) andi* 

 perfpclly gentle and docile in lier disposition. 



The boil, without any extraordinary keep 

 is much larger llian calves of liis age. and in 

 his form and appearance more resembles a 

 grown sleer than calves of his age, (7 months.) 

 He keeps very fat upon a moderate allowance, 



t Marshall's West of Engpland, vol. i. page 242. 

 X Lawrence's General Treatise on Cattle, 1C09, p. 3(i. 

 f Col. Lloyd paid $1500 for three improved short 

 horns, two years old. 



and like Ihe cow, is extremely docile. 1 feel 

 perfpclly satisfied that the imprc* ed short horns 

 vvill keep in fine order upon the same (luantity 

 of food which when gi\en to animals of Ihree- 

 fourlhs iheir weight, will not be found sufficient 

 lo produce the same elTect. This I state from 

 aciual experimenl, and consider the observation 

 perfectly just, as applied not only to my own 

 animals, but to the breed generally. 



My improved slnck h.ive been viewed by a 

 number of my neighbour*, and have been uni- 

 •ormly admired, and as you know, iVom my ex- 

 perience of their valuable properties, 1 have 

 lieen induced to increase the number by addi- 

 tional purchases from among your very ex- 

 traordinary stock. J,\MES COX. 



John Harr Powel, Esq. 

 Cor. Stc'y Fenn. ^g. Soc, 



From Mr Joseph Kersey. 

 Chester county, 2d Month 12, 182.5, 



I purchased an half bred imf?orted Durham 

 short horn bull, which I sold at puldic vendue 

 lor one hundred dollars, and ! am b^ippy to learii 

 that he has had, during the lasf season, near one 

 hundred cows. His docility, his aptitude to fal- 

 len upon little provender, are admirable. I 

 raised two ol his calves, which when foTir week- 

 old were generally snpp'snd to be two months 

 old, from their being so remarkably fleshy and 

 well grown, although Ihoy had not received any 

 thing but the milk from their dams. Robert' 

 Clenimens raised one from a cow that would not 

 weigh mme than three hundred pounds. He kill- 

 ed the calf at six months old, the meal of which 

 ivc;'?bed three hundred and Ihirly four pounds 

 for which be obtained ten ceiils |ier pound. 



There was a cow eshiliiled at Ibe Paoli. by 

 •lobn Hare Powel; her calf was, at that time 

 one year ami three days old, and had tieen kept 

 tVom her for one night, and Ihe next niornin<' i 

 milked (rom her at leasl two gallons of beautiful 

 rich milk, and oiving tohernol being accustom- 

 ed to being milked, it ivas impossible lo gel it 

 all from her. 



Taking this breed in every point of view, I 

 consider them better ad.ifded to ibe use of f.irm- 

 ers than any other breed 1 am acquainted with. 

 They arrive at maturity early, feed quick, are 

 good milkers, and are exceedingly kind and do- 

 cile; they liave more weight in the most im- 

 portant points, viz. the standing ribs, tjie sirloin 

 the rump, tc. and have much les* otlal Ih.m cat- 

 tle in common. Take one of ihis breed, and 

 another of Ihe common kind of equal weight ; 

 slaughter them and sell them at the diflercnt 

 prices the diflerent pieces command in the mar- 

 ket, and it will be found that the short horn will 

 return considerably the most money, merely be- 

 cause it has more of the high priced pieces, and 

 less offal. I am, very truly, thy friend. 



• JOSEPH KERSEY. 



JOIIN' P. MlLNOR, 



Rcc. Scr'y Poin. .Ig. Soc. 



From Darid Comfort, of Philadeli>hia Counly. 

 RrsrECTEP FRiF.f.;n, — I have this morning seen 

 the cow to which Joseph Kersey alhides in the 

 foregoing letter. Slic has all the appearance 

 of a deep milker. Her calf has hern running at 

 her side, I am assured, from "l* liirth ; it a|)- 

 pears healthy and of good size ; it sucked, I am 

 assured, last night and this morning. The cow 

 was also milked last night. She yielded thia 



