262 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



BosTos, Wednesday, Februart 15, 1843. 



NEAT CATTLE.—REMARKS OF COL. JAQUES 



[We are greally obliged to Col. Jaques for furnishing 

 us his own report of his remarks at tiie second agricuItU' 

 ralraeeling at the State House. Hisiheorv of breeding is, 

 probably, in its ciiief points, original with hitn : and was 

 first (lubliely divulged by liim at one of the agricultural 

 meetinsis at the State House, in 1841. At that time 

 Bome of his positions (particularly his assertion that he 

 could breed cattle to order, J created so much astonish- 

 ment among the audience, that, in his own words, some 

 thought him " crazy," and otiiers began' to " feel his 

 head," to discover, by phrenology, "what manner of 

 man he was." Since then, some of these same princi- 

 ples have been advocated by others, and as if original 

 with them. But to Col. J. alone belongs the credit of 

 their conception, and of the first efforla at their proof by 

 practice. — The following is Col. J.'e report :] 



Upon the subject of selecting and breeding domestic 

 animals ceneraily, it has been my object to combine as 

 much as possible all the most desirable properties adapt- 

 ed to the soil, climate, and habits of J\~cw England, I 

 wish, however, it rnay be distinctly understood, that 

 whatever 1 may say upon this subject, 1 do not desire to 

 dictate to others, but hope tliose who are belter inform- 

 ed may make known their practice and experience. 



My principles are, that the blood — the red fluid, in 

 every living creature, in whose body it flows, is, by the 

 laws of nature, the sole agent and controlling power, in 

 developing the general character; and that by crossing 

 and mixing the blood of the different varieties of the 

 same species, the strongest strains of blood will be found 

 to predominate ; — and that health, or disease — good or 

 cad properties — are transmissible to the progeny and de- 

 scent, both in the human and animal creation; — even 

 the color may be shaded to suit the fam y. 



From over fifty years' practice and experience upon 

 these principles, I consider the following, among many 

 points, important to be observed in neat cattle generally, 

 but in bulls and cows particularly, viz : Muzzle fine, 

 with yellow nose ; eyes brilliant ; head and horns light ; 

 ears thin, the inside yellow, not unlike as though sprink- 

 led with yellow ; neck of cows, thin and clean : bulls' 

 necks may project from the breast and shoulders stout, 

 very muscular and strong, but taperirvg fine, so that the 

 hulls' and cows' necks be joined to the head very neat- 

 Iv. Throats clean, and free from much dewlap. Bo- 

 Bom, or breast, broad and full, projecting well forward ; 

 feet round and full, with their claws straight forward ; 

 legs straight, with fine bone, and well set apart ; the 

 fore arms well covered with muscle, tapering downwards 

 fine; shoulders smooth, and well laid in; chine full; 

 back straight and broad ; ribs well rounding out, the hist 

 rib projecting most, and not too far from the hips ; broad 

 in the loins and hips ; hips full and globular — neither 

 too close, nor ragged, but placed on a level with the 

 back ; rumps long and broad — very little, if any, sloping ; 

 pelvis, broad and lull ; tails set on strong, and on a level 

 with the back — tapering down to the end fine, where 

 they should be well covered with long silky and glossy 

 liair; and on opening the hair here, there should be the 

 same yellow appi-arance on the skin, as is mentioned 

 above on the inside of the ears. Not too fuil in the 

 twist, (whic^ is, a fullness between the hind legs or 

 thighs.) nor too thick in the thighs. Flanks quite deep. 

 It is important that the whole skin should be yellow. 



The color of the hair is pretty much fancy. A good 

 coat of hair, even if it inclines to be long, is not unfavo. 



rable; but it should be very silky and glossy. The alas- 

 tic handle, or touch, of the flesh, with the silhy and glos- 

 sy coats, are of the fjreatest importance, as these proper- 

 ties indicate their value as much, in comparison, as in 

 broadcloths of from two dollars to ten dollars per yard. 

 The bag, or udder of cows, should be capacious, project- 

 ing well, both fore and alt ; hanging moderately deep, 

 when full, but after the milk is drawn, to be quite the 

 reverse. It is very desirable in a cow, that she should 

 have four good teats, well spread apart, and of medium 

 size. Cows possessing most of the above mentioned 

 points, I have found generally to be deep and rich milk- 

 ers — also, neat cattle generally, I have found to be of 

 good temper, good spirits, vigorous, active, good walk- 

 ers, hardy, easily kept, taking on flesh readily, and that 

 too, on the most valuable parts ; and the bulls and cows 

 well adapted for good breeders, for the dairy, the yoke, 

 and the shambles. 



FOURTH AGRICULTURAL MEETING AT THE 

 STATE HOUSE. 



Mr Gardner, 1st Vice President, presiding. Subject, 

 Fruits and Fruit Trees. 



JMr Buckminster 'considered fruits, especially apples, 

 more profitable here than giains. It is one of the pro- 

 ducts to which we in this vicinity, should give particular 

 attention. Most pec^ple do not understand transplanting 

 and managing fruit trees. If the work be well done, we 

 can have fiuit in four or five years. It requires land no 

 better than for corn. There should be no manure in the 

 hill, and the trees should not be set deep; but litter, 

 stones, &c., should be laid around them to keep them 

 moist. The roots should have their natural position, 

 and tho tree should not be fastened to a stake ; the mov- 

 ing of the trees by the wind is an advantage. These 

 remarks are the result of much practice. 



Mr Stone, of Watertown. Orchards should be kept 

 rich. People of small means, do not attend to an or- 

 chard as it should be. All crops need much attention . 

 much of our farming suffers for want of skill ; — trees, as 

 well as other things When he has givea good atten- 

 tion to crops, he has had a good return. He has raised 

 much fruit, and he finds that when it is very good it may 

 be raised with profit — but that which is poor, is of no 

 value. 



Mr French, of Braintree, to Mr Stone. Would you 

 plow an orchard that had been down to grass 15 or 20 

 years.^ 



An.i. " Yeg — though my own are plowed once in 5 or 

 6 years." 



Mr French. Set trees, 25 years ago, in grass land ; 

 trims and prunes often; keeps the earth loose around 

 the trunk, and top-dresses the land once in two or three 

 years. These are mostly Baldwins, and have done well, 

 though the land has not been plowed these forty years. 



More recently he took a well tilled field, and set the 

 trees v/ion the surface of the plowed land. Dug no 

 hole, excepting enough to accommodate here and there 

 an irregular root. Covered the roots with fine mould, 

 placing it on with care — rather sifting than shoveling. 

 This orchard covers 6 acres, and may contain 200 trees. 

 Out of this number he lost but two. These were both 

 of a delicate variety. Within two or three years, he 

 has p\u\\ ed 3nd subsoil plowed this orchard. When he 

 came within 8 or 9 feet of the tree, ho throwed the sub- 

 soil plow out. It is a handsome and thrifty orchard. 

 The varieties are numerous, and consequently the trees 

 are not uniform in appearance — but were all of them 

 like the Baldwins and Greenings there, he would be 



willing to have it compared with any other orchard ii 

 the Commonwealth. 



He recommends pruning every year, so that it maj 

 be seldom necessary to take off a large limb. If largi ^' 

 limbs are cut off" near the trunk, you are apt to introduc 

 decay. If you cut at a distance from the trunk, the tre 

 does not look well. 



There is niuch difficulty in getting ^oorf trees and goO( 

 fruit- If you go into all the expense, and the interes ,^, 

 that accumulates while your trees are coming to thi 

 bearing state, it is doubtful whether orchards are a pro !' 

 Stable part of the farm ; and yet he should never wan j; 

 a farm wiihoui an orchard. 



To a beginner he would say, clear the land wellcff 

 rocks; plant, then subsoil — manure well — get goo 

 stocks — take buds and scions from good bearing trees 

 that you know ^\ve good fruit. 



[The same subject will be resumed at the next meet i, 

 ing — Monday evening.] 



NEW WHEAT. 



Hon. H. L. Ellsworth has our thanks for the parcel 

 he has sent ns of the two varieties of wheat, dcscribei 

 in the following circular ;^ 



Patent Office, ^ 

 Washington, Jan. 25, 1843. J 

 Sir: I take pleasure in transmitting a very beautifu 

 sample of " Kloss's White Blue Stem" virheat, and re 

 fer to the Hon. John Snyder's letter for a description 

 its origin and properties. The same letter will inforr 

 those desirous of a larger quantity, where to apply, 

 also send a sample of Valparaiso wheat, just receivei 

 from South Amerid. 



I am, most respectfully, yours, 



H. L. ELLSWORTH. 



Hon. IIenbt L. Ellsworth, 



Commissioner of Patents : 



Dear Sir: — The bushel of wheat I have sent you, i 

 the product of my county — Union, Pennsylvania. Il 

 origin is briefly this : — My neighbor. Christian Klosi 

 saw, in his field of Blue Stem wheat, a single Toj 

 proud head. He was struck with the contrast betwee 

 it and the wheat of the whole field, this being the onl 

 white head in it, and much the largest. At liarvet 

 time he secured the head and seeded it in his garden lb i 

 coming fall; (I do not recollect the time, perhaps si J 

 years since ;) — he divided the next year's produce i 

 mongst his neighbors, and last fall there was perhaf 

 lUOO bushels of this seed sown ; one farmer had 40 

 bushels : It is called Kloss's While Blue Stem. Th 

 wheat I send is the growth of last year; it will be rf 

 collected our country was filled with rust and smut ;- 

 this wheat escaped — yet it is not quite as full in th 

 grain as the crop of the preceding year. It weighs 6 

 pounds per bushel. 



We have the Mediterranean wheat in our county- 

 the White Blue Stem is considered far superior. Hof 

 ing it mny prove useful to the agriculturist, it bein 

 Pennsylvania staple, 1 hazard nothing in recominendin 

 it as the best wheat in the northern part of the State 

 and quite the best 1 ever saw. 



Truly yours, JOHN SNYDER. 



Jan.lSth, 1843. 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 



Our thanks are due to Henry Watson, Esq.,foi a cop; 

 of the Transactions of the Hartford County Agricultura 

 Society. 



To J. R. Barbour, for First Annual Report of thi 

 New England Silk Convention. 



We have also the List of Premiums of the Essex Co 

 Agricultural Society, for 1843. All of which we shal 

 notice as soon as we find space. 



