12 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



POINTS OF A SHORT-HORN BULL AND COW. 



Mr. Stei'iiens, in his Boole of the Farm, gives 

 the following points of a good Short-horu bull 

 and cow, owned by himself. Of the bull he says: 



" He had many good points — small head, full 

 lively eye, small, tine, white horn. He was com- 

 pletely "tilled up behind tiie shoulder, at/, a point, in 

 which many otherwise fine bulls are deficient. He 



THE SnOUT-nOKN' BDLL. 



had a long quarter across g, a cifficult point to at- 

 tain in a bull, carrying the flesh to the hocks <?; 

 a very thick fiaiik i; tlie ribs very round, which, 

 with the upliiling behind the shoulder at /, made 

 the linp straight from the shoulder point e along 

 the rib at/, and the buttock g to the hock d. His 

 fore-arm was very strong; neck-vein e full; and 

 the brisket h not too deep, as is often the case with 

 bulls. The crest of his neck a was fine, and not 

 lumpy, as is otten seen on bulls. His hooks and 

 back were remarkably straight and broad, measur- 

 ing across tlie hook-bones at h thirty-six inches ; 

 the rump between ft and c was full and round, and 

 the tail-iiead c was particularly level and fine, 

 showing no undue development of muscle on either 

 side of the tail, as is often the case here — a deform- 

 ity too generally admired, and in so far shows a 

 prevalence of bad taste. His neck and shoulders 

 were thickly sjjrinkled with curled locks of long 

 hair, the entire body being covered with fine soft 

 hair. The face was singularly ornatuented with 

 curled hair: it was shedded from a line down the 

 trout of tlie face, seeming as if it had been combed 

 toward each eye; and the hair above the eyes 

 seemed also combed up to meet the combed locks 

 from the face. The roots of the horns were hidden 

 with long locks of combed hair reaching to the fore- 

 liead. His hide was loose, thick and soft, and the 

 tone!) mellow. He had a most robust constitution, 

 never having had a single hour's illness in his life 

 of nine years. Unfortunately I had no measure- 

 ment taken of Ids proportions, which I considered 

 [he most perfect of any bull I ever saw." 



TUB SHOKT-HORN COW. 



"'Kilmeny' was a cow of remarkably fine 

 quality of skin, and her broad face indicated a good 



disposition to fatten. Her principal dimensions 

 were from top of shoulder a to hook J, 3 feet; 

 from hook h to tail-head c, 1^ foot; extreme length 

 from head to tail, 7 feet 3 inches; girth, 6 feet 5 

 inches; dei)th from hook 1> to flank /, 2 feet; 

 breadth over the hooks ft, 3 feet; from the ground 

 to the fore-elbow, 2 feet 6 inches; from that elbow 

 to the top of shoulder a, 2 feet; breadth across the 

 shoulder at a, 2 feet G inches; the shoulders beauti- 

 fully sloped from d to g ; from nose to eye, 1 foot; 

 length of ears, V^ inches; breadth of pelvis, 10 

 inches; the ribs e beautifidly rounded; and the 

 udder A finely formed and quartered. It will be 

 seen from these numbers that she was long-bodied, 

 from j7, 5 feet G inches, in comparison to the depth, 

 ft/, 2 feet; and that she was broad behind, at the 

 hooks ft, 3 feet, in comparison to the breadth across 

 the shoulders a, 2 feet 6 inches — the shoulders 

 being, no doubt, thus sharpened by the great in- 

 clination of the scapula from d to g. The uncom- 

 mon half-slouching, half-projecting position of her 

 horns, and a sort of stare of her full eyes, gave her 

 countenance a somewhat austere aspect uncommon 

 to cows." 



FARMERS, KEEP A DIARY. 



Ed9. Genesee Farmer : I fear it must be 

 acknowledged that farmers, as a general rule, are 

 behind all other classes in a knowledge, at the end 

 of a years toil, how much they havti gained, or 

 lost, or how much their living expenses amount to 

 &c. They work on, day after day, mouth after 

 month, year after year, sell their produce and pur- 

 chase what they need, and that is about all they 

 know of their operations. 



I must confess that this has been too long my 

 habit. But on the first of last January, I bought a 

 large diary, and have, during the year, kept a daily 

 record, first of the kind of labor each farm hand 

 performed ; then the sales, and what purchases, 

 if any. Also the state of the weather, tlie direc- 

 tion of the wind, and so on, finishing the space for 

 each day by recording any important event that has 

 transpired, or anything that may be interesting 

 to refer to. 



And now when the year 1862 has run to 1863, 

 I can get the amount of all sales during the year ; 

 how much the cost of labor ; also the expense of 

 living, and how much I have to pay out to keep 

 tools, implements, machinery, &c., in repair, &c. 

 And if the balance of this year is against me. I 

 must next year have the balance on the other side, 

 and go ahead if possible, instead of going back- 

 wards. B. 



Mendon, Centre. N. Y. 



Remarks : The above is from one of the best 

 farmers in Monroe county. We feel sure he is not 

 going " backwards." His barley crop yielded 40 

 bush, per acre, which he sold at $1.15 per bush.; and 

 his wheat and other crops were good. We have no 

 doubt he can look over his years accounts with 

 satisfaction. He brought us into the oflice his new 

 diary for 1863, but that for 18C2 would be more 

 interesting! Will ho let us have a look at it for a 

 few hours? We may find something in it that will 

 be interesting to our readers. Eds. 



