280 



TJie Short-Jiorns in America. 



Vol. XI. 



man, of New-Bedford, Massachusetts, im- 

 ported three heifers, Adaliza, Dulcibella, and 

 Galatea ; and a bull, Devonshire, (966) bred 

 by Mr. VVhitaker, of Biirley, Yorkshire, and 

 selected by Mr. Francis Rotch, then in Eng- 

 land. 



In 1823 Mr. John S. Skinner, then editor 

 of the American Farmer, Baltimore, Mary- 

 land, imported two heifers. Conquest and 

 Pansy, and a bull. Washing-ton (1566) for 

 Gen. Stephen Van Rensellaer, of Albany, 

 N. Y. These were bred by Mr. Champion, 

 of Blyth. In the hands of Gen. Van Ransel- 

 laer they were bred many years, producing- 

 much excellent stock, and their descendants 

 are now scattered through several different 

 States. Previous to this, in the year 1821, 

 Mr. Skinner imported from the herd of Mr. 

 Champion, other Short Horns, which were 

 afterwards purchased by Gov. Lloyd, of Ma- 

 ryland, who sent them to his estate on the 

 eastern shore. These were a bull, " Cham- 

 pion" and two heifers, " White Rose" and 

 " Shepherdess," from which several good 

 animals descended. 



During the years following 1822, up to 

 1830, Mr. Charles Henry Hall, of Harlem, 

 N. Y., imported several fine Short Horns, 

 some of which were descended from cele- 

 brated herds in England, and two of them 

 were from the herd of Robert Colling. He 

 also drew into his possession several Short 

 Horns which were imported at an earlier 

 date by other gentlemen of his neighbour- 

 hood. From these he bred largely, and their 

 descendants were incorporated into many 

 excellent herds. We have made efforts to 

 obtain the correct pedigrees to the originals 

 of Mr. Hall's stock, which was some years 

 ago principally sold, and broken up : but some 

 of the original papers were distributed with 

 the cattle themselves ; others have been mis- 

 laid ; and of others still, but loose memoran- 

 dums exist, giving only casual references to 

 their blood. Some of these cattle were im- 

 ported before the first English Herd Book 

 was published. As an accurate judge of 

 good animals, Mr. H. is rarely surpassed. 



In 1824, Mr. John Hare Powell, of Phila- 

 delphia, commenced importations from the 

 herd of Mr. Whittaker, and bred many years 

 with great spirit and success. His importa- 

 tions were numerous for that day. He bred 

 largely for some years, and his sales were 

 frequent, and the prices obtained encourag- 

 ing. Some of his cattle went into Kentucky 

 and southern Ohio. His cow, Belina, as re- 

 corded in " Hints for American Husband- 

 men," in the month of May, 1827, on pas- 

 ture, with Indian meal slop, at Povvelton, 

 near Philadelphia, gave 26 quarts of milk 

 per day, from which the milk for three days 



was churned, and yielded at the rate of 20^ 

 pounds per week ! The fact is thoroughly 

 attested by several certificates of most re- 

 spectable persons. This cow was imported 

 in 1825, and descended from the stock of 

 Robert Colling through his and Charles Col- 

 ling's celebrated Red Rose, Wildair, and 

 Dutchess tribes of milkers. 



Mr. Powell continued breeding to a mo- 

 derate extent until about the year 1840, 

 when he disposed of his principal herd. 



We now arrive at the year 1834, up to 

 which period the Short Horns had been stea- 

 dily progressing, earning their way into the 

 good opinions more or less of the people of 

 the United States. But a moderate degree 

 of spirit was manifested to push them for- 

 ward by their breeders, generally, and they 

 were known imperfectly, beyond the imme- 

 diate locality of their homes. Their num- 

 bers, however, were considerable, and wher- 

 ever bred, their reputation was fortified by 

 their excellence, both in the dairy and at 

 the shambles. This year, however, com- 

 menced a new era in their annals. 



An association of breeders and graziers in 

 the Scioto and Miami valleys of Ohio, dissa- 

 tisfied with the slow progress of their native 

 cattle, and their general deficiencies for the 

 best markets — large herds of which were 

 annually fed, and driven to the Atlantic 

 states — resolved to introduce a better breed ; 

 and after several meetings and consultations, 

 concluded to dispatch an agent to England 

 for the purpose of making an importation 

 from some of the best breeds of that country. 

 The principal gentlemen composing that as- 

 sociation were Governors Trimble and Vance, 

 Messrs. Felix, George and William Renick, 

 Thomas Huston, Michael L. Sullivant, and 

 some others. Their agent, Mr. Felix Re- 

 nick, proceeded early in the summer, to 

 England, and in September returned with 

 upwards of twenty Short Horns selected from 

 the herds of Mr. Bates, the Duke of Leeds, 

 the Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Whittaker, Mr. 

 Paley, Mr. Mason, Mr. Ashcrott, and others. 



This importation was received with much 

 satisfaction by the proprietors, who com- 

 menced breeding them with great spirits 

 The following year another importation was 

 made of about the same number; and the 

 next season, still another importation of a 

 smaller number was made by the same asso- 

 ciation. These were followed by several 

 importations by gentlemen, among whom 

 were Gen. Shelby and Henry Clay, Junior, 

 of Kentucky, and by Mr. Nefi', of Cincinnati, 

 in 1838. 



In 1837-8-9, Mr. Whittaker sent out 

 upwards of one hundred animals on his ovvrt 

 account, and upon orders forwarded from the 



