262 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



and one or two heifers, than they have wished 

 for more. On account of tlie demand liowever, 

 it haa frcquenlly happened, that they have not 

 been able to be supplicil nith a crreat number 

 for the present. To remedy thi^, tliey liave 

 bought lip sonic of the best Short Horned Cows 

 they conld meet with in the market, many of 

 wljicb, as might have been expected, have not 

 nnsivered tlie end proposed. My advice, there- 

 fore, to such cjentlemcn, is rather to cross the 

 Cows they alroady po3sc.^'< with the improved 

 Short Horned Lull; and graihnilly t" get rid of 

 them and their progeny, as the stock I'rom their 

 thorough-hrcd heifers continues to increase. By 

 this means a pure breed would shortly be ob- 

 tained ; and, in the cieantime, the rest, greatly 

 improved. It would alVord, moreover, an op- 

 portunity of comparing the improved Short 

 Horned Cattle with the stock that had previ- 

 ously been kept; and conviction arising from 

 experience, is always to be preferred to bare 

 assertion. 



It can scarcely be expected, that 1 should en- 

 ter particularly into the praises of the improved 

 breed of .Short Horned Cattle, as it would have 

 too much the appearance of extolling a race 

 of animals because in one's own possession. 1 

 thought it would be better to confine myself 

 to general rules, and to shew by what means 

 the best of each kind may invariably be discov- 

 ered. 1 have en<leavoured moreover, to make 

 the whole statement plain and simple ; to divest 

 it of every appendage which might serve eith- 

 er to disguise or conceal the truth ; and to use 

 that order which seemed best calculated to as- 

 sist both the judgment and the memory. To 

 this end therefore, I have treated, first of all, 

 on the formation and improvement of distinct 

 breeds ; then, on the perfection of their shape, 

 and the quality of their flesh ; aftcrvV.ards, on 

 the comparative value of all, considered both 

 as milkers and feeders ; and, lastly, on the 

 means to be used for the continuation of the 

 most important properties, when such proper- 

 ties have been once established. But in doing 

 this I have adverted to several other particalars, 

 ivhich appear to me to arise immediately from 

 the subject, and to be in themselves of the 

 greatest consequence. How far I have suc- 

 ceeded. Sir, in this part of my design, must be 

 left to your superior judgment ; and I can only 

 say, should it meet your ap])robatlon, it will 

 certainly aCTord me the greatest pleasure. 



There is one observation 1 will make, which 

 to many, may be of considerable use. In the 

 course of my experience, when applied to for 

 Cattle, I have several times been requested to 

 send the smallest in my possession ; when in 

 point of fiot, the situation for which they were 

 wanted, was capable of feeding the largest Ox 

 that ever grazed, supposing the animal to be of 

 a superior quality of llesh, and in other respects 

 good. And such re(juests 1 have n^oicrn//^ found 

 to be owing to the badness of the Cattle in 

 those particular districts, rather than to the in- 

 ferior ([uality of the land itself In such cases, 

 therefore, it is clearly of importance, that the 

 animal should be of a good size, as well as of a 

 good quality ; because when such Cattle are 

 found to do well, that alone will serve to re- 

 move the unfounded opinion respecting the 

 soil. But you. Sir, who have excelled in such 

 a superior degree with your Sheep and also 

 in other respects, well known how mtich de- 



pends on the animal ;* and that the soil is fre- 

 quently blamed when- the fault lies wholly in 

 the stock. This I have seen proved again and 

 aarain. 



Nothing can be more just, than your obser- 

 vation. " that the attention which gentlemen 

 of landed property have of late years paid to 

 the improvement of breeds of domestic animals, 

 has been extremely beneficial to the country." 

 Had not such im|irovement3 indeed taken place 

 during the last fifty years, it would not have 

 been possible to supply the market with that 

 quantity of animal lood which the present pop- 

 ulation demands. Although in several districts 

 these improvements are chietly owing to the 

 professional breeder; yet it is nevertheless cer- 

 tain, that there are many other situations, 

 where they must first be introduced by the 

 man of fortune. For the common farmer, eith- 

 er from a want of money, or the fear of a mis- 

 carriage, will rarely be induced to try an ex- 

 periment, before he has had it in his power to 

 witness the result. In such places therefore, 

 where the improvements in stock, are at pres- 

 ent, either few or none ; I think it would not 

 be found a bad plan for those gentlemen who 

 supply themselves with valuable animals, to al- 

 low their tenantry to improve from their own 

 stock at a certain reasonable rate. By this 

 means they would soon repay themselves the 

 small expense they had been at ; would possess 

 a valuable breed, instead of an inferior one ; 

 and by increasing the property of their depen- 

 dants, would afTord to themselves an additional 

 security for their rent. Nor would this be at 

 all injurious to the breeder ; for the more val- 

 uable stock is known, the more it is sought al- 

 ter. And its great importance can never be 

 better ascertained, than by a reference to the 

 late distressed state of Agriculture. The ex- 

 tent of bankruptcy in those districts where such 

 stock was to be found, was never any thing 

 like equal to the extent, where it was not ; oth- 

 er circumstances being the same in both cases. 

 Whatever may be the real degree of success of 

 each nobleman or gentleman in these under- 

 takings ; 1 think all may look forward to a fair 

 remuneration; besides the satisfaction ol confer- 

 ring so great an advantage to their own im- 

 mediate neighborhood, and being justly entitled 

 to the thanks of the country at large. 



1 remain, Sir, you most obedient. 

 And very humble servant, 



JOHN WILKINSON. 

 Lcnton, near JVottinglutm, 1818. 



THE FARMER. 



BOSTON :— SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 102J| 





* I suppose, iudeed, had some of the finest animals, 

 selicted from your flock, been described to those who 

 had never seen them, they would scarcely have given 

 credit to the fact ; while those who had been eye-wit- 

 nesses, if unacquainted with what judgmeut and per- 

 severance coiild effect, might have considered the pro- 

 duction of such beautiful creatures, rather as acciden- 

 tal, than as arising from extraordinary skill in the art 

 of breeding. 



\^Jlppcndix in our next.] 



Symmrs^ Theory. — We find from Newspapers, 

 that professor Steinhausen, of Germany, is the 

 author of a similar hypothesis, viz: that our 

 earth is a hollow sphere, not more than two 

 itiiles thick, on the outer surface ol which we 

 live. '• If it be so," says the Bhiladelphia Union, 

 ■' instead of searching for an entrance at the north 

 pole, we had better begin to dig downwards al 

 once, and see what kind of neighbors we have." 



\\ e hare received repeated requests from a numl 

 of correspondents to publish particular articles, whi 

 will not pass unregarded, but meet our compliance 

 soon as leisure and room can be afforded. We .g 

 right glad to perceive an increased and still increasS 

 attention to subjects deemed proper for insertion in o 

 paper ; and shall comply with the solicitations of o 

 friends with all convenient expedition. In the me; 

 time our readers may, if they please, apply to us t! 

 following couplet from the poet Churchill : 

 •' He hobbled on, his will was good, 

 Could he go faster than he could ?" 

 and instead of being offended with their freedom, 

 will thank them for tlieir candor. The intelligcni 

 from Kurope having set our news-mongers on the ti 

 toes of expectation, we have concluded to give thcl 

 something just to slake their curiosity till they cH 

 have time and opportunity to mend their draughts 

 fresher and fuller fountains. 



FARMER SUMMARY OF NEWS. 



Ill 



k: 



Important A^exn-'s from Europe ! V'' 



Q^London papers have been received to the 2! ™ 

 .laiuiaiy, and convey news of much interest. A Mai 

 lesto of the Congress of Verona to European Cou 

 has been issued, by which it is considered that the c 

 is cast, and Spain " must fight" — or submit. T 

 Spauish government appears to be undismayed ; a 

 in answer to the despatches of the Allied powers c 

 Clares in the most decided tone, that it neither recc 

 ni£cs, in any manner, the right of intervention, nor a 

 mits the necessity of any foreign cabinet to medt 

 with its affairs ; and that the remedy of all the ev 

 which may afflict the Spanish nation, only concei 

 itself. M. Galiano, one of the members of the Cort 

 moved that the Committee on Foreign Affairs be 

 structed to present, within forty-eight hours, the p 

 jcceofem Address under all customary loruialities, 

 be printed in all the living languages, and profusi 

 distributed throughout Europe, in order that the whi 

 world may know that Spain, though she desires peat 

 does not refuse war ; that she is ready to renew t 

 sacrifices she has made, and that she will never dign 

 one step from her constitutional system. All the pub 

 bodies in Madrid have presented addresses to the Ci 

 les, tendering their " lives and fortunes," and breat 

 ing revolutionary language. 



It would seem by the Manifesto of the Congress 

 Verona, that the attempts of the Greeks to gain tht 

 freedom have not met with the approbation of the 

 potentates. Every approximation to freedom seem, 

 call for the exertion of their energies. The RIanifes 

 contains the following observation — " At the momc 

 when the military insurrection in Naples and Tur 

 yielded at the approach of a regular force, a fire-brai 

 of rebellion was thrown into the Ottoman Empire.'" 



A Paris article of January 12th, says there h 

 been a secret sitting of the Cortes to treat of the que 

 tion of English indemnities for the seizures of Eugli; 

 vessels in the West Indies, of which so much has bei 

 said of late. The Cortes arc willing to admit the clait 

 and an amicable adjustment will soon take place. 



By an article published at Madrid Jan. 9, it appea 

 that the Spanish government has issued two decrees 

 by the first all the ports of the Spanish Colonies i 

 South America will henceforth be open to all nations 

 by the second, the demands of the English merchant 

 respecting the losses they have sustained by the pir; 

 cies in the South Seas have been inscribed upon tl 

 great book of the public debt. 



There is every appearance of vigor and animation i 

 the councils of Spain, and public spirit is raised to tb 

 highest pitch of excitement. But it is to be appri 

 bended that internal divisions arc at 1( ast as much t 

 be dreaded as external invasion. Grn. Qiiesada, on 

 nf the oldest of the Spanish generals, has declared tha 

 ■■ a Bourbon would redeem the evils to which Bona 

 parte subjected us, and it is under triumphal arche 

 that a Frendi royalist army vrould »arch ou its wa 



