No. 10. 



The Ayrshire Cow. — Caterpillars. 



331 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



The Ayrshire Cow. 



Mr. Editor, — Where shall I get just such 

 a living cow as that of which your last por- 

 trait is a true resemblance] I think I could 

 afford to give a good price for such an one, 

 thin and gaunt, and meagre as she appears. 

 But 1 hear some one ask, " What would you 

 do with her when she would be too old to 

 give milkf I answer, " After milking her 

 for eight or ten years, and getting from 20 to 

 S6 quarts of milk a day, I could afford to do 

 what I pleased with her — or nothing." It 

 is, however, a grand mistake to suppose that 

 these animals will not feed fat when dry ; 

 nothing is farther from the truth, as all know, 

 who have ever witnessed the experiment — 

 in fact, there are no cattle which feed faster 

 or pay so well for food as the Guernsey breed, 

 as they are called ; the meat is peculiarly 

 fine-grained and rich flavoured, and even 

 when but half fat, the beef is elegantly mar- 

 bled, and is sure to bring an extra price over 

 larger animals. It is also a fact, that steers 

 of this breed are always very much larger 

 than any one would expect, and at the age 

 of four years have been known to reach great 

 weights. I once heard Sir Charles Morgan 

 say, that he brought two oxen from Guern- 

 sey, which he fed, and for which the butcher 

 paid him one hundred guineas — forty-five 

 guineas for one, and fifty-five for the other — 

 adding, his steward was convinced that no 

 cattle which he had fed, ever made such pro- 

 gress or became ripe in so short a time : they 

 were, however, light in the hind quarters; 

 but the quality of the meat, and the small 

 quantity of offal, made ample amends for any 

 partial falling off in that particular. 



I have now before me the fine lithographed 

 plate of the two noble cattle which were bred 

 and fed by Edward Tonkins, of Gloucester 

 county. New Jersey, in the year 1838 : the 

 black and white ox of this pair was evidently 

 a cross with the Guernsey breed ; he shows 

 it in many particulars, especially in the light- 

 ness of the head and neck, and the narrow 

 rump and general lightness of the hind quar- 

 ter — all pourtrayed to the life by Woodside 

 from the life ; but the great depth and thick- 

 ness of the fore-quarters, with the barrel- 

 shaped ribs and capacious breast, make up 

 for all deficiencies. It is admitted on all 

 hands, that the dead weight of animals of this 

 breed, or a cross from it, is uniformly greater 

 than the estimate of those accustomed to 

 judge of the weight of cattle of other breeds. 

 May we hope that some of our improvers 

 will one day introduce amongst us this par- 

 ticular breed of Ayrshire cattle for the use 

 of the dairy? I know of no one more likely 

 than Mr. Sotham to do us this piece of ser- 



vice; his freedom from prejudice in point of 

 blood and colour, and name, fit him peculiarly 

 for the office of selecting the best, without re- 

 gard to such " quibbles, which are too much 

 like quackery to deserve notice." 



A Subscriber. 

 New Jersey. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Caterpillars. 



Mr. Editor, — Soon after the publication 

 of the number of the Cabinet for March, I 

 was called to Philadelphia on business, and 

 noticed the trees in the streets hung with 

 those curiously-formed tassels, mentioned by 

 a " Country Subscriber," at page 2.55 : and 

 as their owners, aware of that singular ar- 

 rangement, were removing them by pruning, 

 I selected some of the branches, and pre- 

 served them by suspending them in a warm 

 room, that I might witness the result. On 

 this day, one of the animals has commenced 

 operations; but I am surprised to find that it 

 has not left its cell for the purpose, neither 

 does it deposit eggs, as I had been led to ex- 

 pect, but it is bringing forth living worms by 

 vast numbers; and this is accomplished by a 

 most curious process. From the lower or 

 pointed part of the tassel or case, descends a 

 filament of silk, to which the small maggots 

 adhere at regular distances, and this silk soon 

 extends to a considerable length, the young 

 ones still accompanying it; and at about 18 

 inches distance, it comes in contact with a 

 sheet of paper, to which the little creature 

 attaches itself, and begins immediately to fo- 

 rage abroad for something to feed on. And 

 it is curious to observe, that in its passage 

 from the cell, its growth has increased to se- 

 veral times its size at the time of exudation ; 

 its strength and activity being remarkable. 



In the account, it is said, these cells are 

 attached to the extremities of the topmost 

 branches by filaments of silk, so strong as not 

 to be endangered by the most violent winds; 

 and it is now, that the wise arrangement is 

 perceived and understood, for the small fila- 

 ment of silk is sent from the cell, and is per- 

 mitted to float in the air, which soon wafts it 

 to some adjoining spray or leaf, to which it 

 is firmly attached by the glutinous nature of 

 the web, and down which the little creatures 

 descend by hundreds with the greatest regu- 

 larity. I shall be curious to learn the fate 

 of the insect itself — whether, after it has per- 

 formed its task of procreation, it is doomed to 

 death, or is transformed into some other "new 

 and untried being," Truly we are surround- 

 ed by wonders ! 



J. B. 



April 25, 1841. 



