1868. 



NEW ENGLAM) FARRIER. 



609 



THE NORTH DEVOM" CATTLE. 



"We copy this month from 

 Mr. L. F. Allen's ' 'American 

 Cattle" a cut of a prize 

 stall fed, four-year-old Devon 

 steer. As this race is partic- 

 ularly popular at Brighton 

 market as working oxen, we 

 should like to give an illustra- 

 tion of some of the nicely 

 matched pairs that have been 

 sold there within the last 

 year, but have not seen any cut 

 that does the Devons justice in 

 onjy fair working order. The 

 engraving, however, is a beau- 

 tiful illustration of them as 

 beef animals. 



The history of this race is interesting to 

 New England farmers from the fact that many 

 ascribe the acknowledged excellences of our 

 "native stock" to their supposed descent from 

 the Devons. In a brief history of this race 

 which accompanies his American Devon Herd 

 Book, Mr. Sessions says that "the descendants 

 of the first cattle imported into New England, 

 in the spring of 1623, show by their color 

 that they were Devons or Devon grades." 

 And Mr. Allen also says, "there is little 

 doubt, from the appearance of many of the 

 New England cattle, of the last and present 

 centuries, that some Devons, in their purity, 

 were early brought into Massachusetts. Tra- 

 ditional tales of their neat- limbed, sprightly, 

 red, high-horned cattle have existed, and that 

 they sprung from a Devon cross is beyond 

 a question." We publish on another page 

 some extracts from Mr. Allen's history of the 

 Devon race of cattle, copied from his late 

 excellent work on American cattle. 



LAKGE FABMS. 



We, in New England, have very limited 

 ideas of farming as carried on in some of the 

 Western States. 



A writer in the Prairie Farmer, Chicago, 

 has been giving an account of a few of the 

 farms which he has lately visited. One in 

 Champaign County, called "Broadlands," 

 contains 20,000 acres, or seven by six miles. 

 This was owned by J, M. Sullivant, who wanted 



a bigger farm, and has sold it to John Alex- 

 ander, and purchased one of 40,000 in Ford 

 County, On the Broadlands farm there are 

 this season 5000 acres in corn and a large 

 quantity in oats. There are now 4000 head 

 of cattle on the place — divided into smill 

 herds of 500 each. Many miles of hedge 

 have been set. This is being extended every 

 year. 



Hickory Grove is the name of a farm of 

 26,000 acres in Benton County, Indiana. 

 This is entitely prairie, except a magnificent 

 hickory grove. A grove of twenty acres of 

 poplar has been planted, and another of ma- 

 ples is to be planted. Thirteen thousand acres 

 are under post and board fence, making forty- 

 two miles. Seventy miles of Osage Orange 

 hedge have been started on the place, and 

 preparations are making for setting a laige 

 amount more next season. There are about 

 4000 head of cattle on this farm. They are 

 divided into herds of fiom 500 to 700, and 

 kept in pastures of from 2000 to 3000 acres. 

 A part of them are herded outside of the en- 

 closed portions in the daytime, and driven 

 within for the night. Four years ago this 

 farm was unbroken prairie. A farm adjoining 

 the above contains 12,000 acres, and is de- 

 voted to stock raising, and another of 8000 is 

 occupied in the same way. 



In the Wabash Valley there are many farms 

 from 1000 to 3000 acres, on which stock rais- 

 ing is carried on with eminent success. The 



