76 



NEVV ENGLAND FARMER, 



SEPTEMBER ir, 1834. 



From the Maiuf. Faniur. 

 CATTLE. 



IT is known that I have been endeavoring, in ii 

 small way for a few years, to breed some good 

 cattle. 



Believing that it would not he iirofitalde for me, 

 or for fanners in general to keep several dislinot 

 breeds, it has been my ohjeet to make np a breed 

 wliieh shall nnite in the greatest possible degree 

 ilie (uialilies essential for the diiiri/, the yoke, and 

 tlie stall. In a word, to obtain that breed whieli 

 is best suited to our soil, climate, and general pur- 

 poses. 



To effect this great object, I liave tlioiiglit it 

 iiecijssary to regard, as of the frst importance, 

 slrcnglh, or hardihood of constitution. The great 

 importance of this principle rests on the following 

 plain reasons : 



1. Onr climate is rigorous. Our cattle are 

 obliged to endure the most extreme cold in winter, 

 and the most oppressive heat in summer; and are 

 besides subject to the conserpiences of vervsudde^i 

 transitions from one extreme of weather to another. 



•2. We are obliged to feed our cattle on dry 

 food, (which is unnatural,) for one half of the year. 



3. Our cattle have not the luxuriant banks of 

 the Tecs and the Rhine to graze over in summer, 

 but our pastures though in njany instances aflbrd- 

 ing excellent grass, are in general rugged, requir- 

 ing the animal to use almost constant exercise and 

 labor. 



4. Our oxen are required to perform at certain 

 seasons of the year, hard labor in the yoke. 



d. An animal will not thrive, give milk, or per- 

 form labor to advantage if it feels unwell, so that 

 if its constitution is so weak as to be in any de- 

 gree affected by any of the above causes, its value 

 lor any useful purpose will be to the same degree 

 iujpaired. 



Having in view the object above mentioned, I 

 made my first selections not from precisely the 

 same family, but from different families, and in 

 one or two instances from somewhat different 

 breeds. I have had different families of the im- 

 proved Short Horns, in the breed of Denton, Ca- 

 lebi, Holderness, JMmiral, and JVije-Comit, crossed 

 with the ISakewell, and also with the Hereford- 

 shire breed, sent to Mas.sachusetts by Admiral Sir 

 Isaac Coffin, of the Royal Navy. I have also 

 had a few individuals of the breed or breeds im- 

 ported from England by C. Vaughan, Esq. 



With my stock I have used for four years, a 

 bull called Young Sir Isaac, bred by Hon. John 

 Wf.li.ks, of Boston, and have now his progeny of 

 my own raising, from calves to three years old, 

 which I am willing the public should see. Their 

 qualities for the dairy and yoke are to be sure aS 

 yet hardly developed, but perhaps enough can be 

 seen to justify an opinion. 



The above bull has attracted considerable no- 

 tice in the country, aiul divers opinions have been 

 given of his merits. Some have snid that Ije and 

 his progeny could not make workers, or travellers, 

 becan.se of their very heavy build, and because 

 tiiey have " too much fleshiness between the 

 thighs." Others liave had fears that his stock 

 would not make milkers, because they have such 

 an extraordinary propensity to fatten, and others 

 again have said that he was of a " small breed " 

 that his stock would " never grow to size enoui'li 

 to command high prices." 



For an answer to the first of these objections, I 

 must refer to the form and action of the anitnal 



himself; and as I have now no direct interest in 

 hini^ perhaps I may be permitted to say that I 

 never saw one of his species which could travel 

 with more ease, fleetness, or power than he ; and 

 so far as respects the working projjerlies of his 

 progeny, I must request a suspension of judgtiient 

 until an opportunity is given for the production of 

 |)root'. 



The olijection that the stock will not make 

 milkers, I believe is vanishing as fast as they come 

 to milk. 



To refute the objection that the bull is of a 

 small breed, is small hims(^lf, and that his i)rogeny 

 is small, I refer to his |)edigree, to his own weight, 

 and to the size of his progeny, (considering their 

 keeping,) wjiich has been exhibited at our Cattle 

 Shows, and which will probably be exhibited at 

 the ensiling Show. I appeal to, you, Mr. Editor, 

 whether an animal ought to be considered smalt, 

 which had only the milk of a cow which had been 

 farrow for 6 years from September, (the time of 

 his birth,) to November, and afterwards no other 

 keeping than ordinary hay and water, and which 

 weighed at 6 years old, very nearly 2000 lbs.? 



Pedigree of Young Sir Isaac. — Got by Cygnets 

 — dam Daffy. Cygnet by imported Herefordshire 

 bull. Sir Isaac, — dam Great Roan, by imported 

 Short Horn Bull Coelehs, — grand-dam, a cow of 

 the Bakewell breed, from the stock imported by 

 Gn.Ef:RT Stewart, Esq. D^y by Coelehs, — 

 dam, Brookle-fan, by imported Short Horn bull, 

 Holderness — grand-dam of the Bakewell breed 

 from the Stewart's stock. 



I have not thought it necessary here to trace his 

 pedigree any farther to the imported animals in 

 his genealogy. 



The cow Great Roan, the dam of Young Sir 

 Isaac's Sire was slaughtered in June, 1832. She 

 had given milk until she was ttirned to grass that 

 spring, and would liave calved in four or five 

 weeks from the time she was killed, and had no 

 other keeping than hay and common jiasturage, 

 yet her nett weight was 956 lbs. 



It was my intention to have offered one or two 

 of my best cows for the Society's premium at the 

 next show, but as they were gone from home dii- 

 ririg the l)est part of the season for ascertaining 

 their greatest product for the dairy, I must defer 

 it until another year. 



I shall, however, offer Daffy, and perhaps one 

 or two others for exhibition only, together with 

 some young stock, the progeny of Young Sir 

 Isaac, all of which I wish the public to examine, 

 and after taking every thing into the scale, and 

 making a fair comparison, say how far I have at- 

 tained the olijects I have aimed at, and whether 

 there is any evidence that the stock is of a small 

 breed. Sanford Howard. 



Vaughan Farm, Halloioell, Sept. 3, 1834. 



From the Gencsrr Farmer. 

 IMPORTED CATTIiE FOR GENESEE COUNTY. 



.Ilbany, July 17, 1834. 



Dear Sir — The introduction of superior cattle 

 into this country, from whatever source, must al- 

 ways be a subject of interest to agriculturists; and 

 peculiarly so at the present time, when the atten- 

 tion of farmers and others is directed to the im- 

 provement of stock. 



Many of our western readers will be gratified 

 to learn that they are about having an accession 

 to their stock, of several valuable animals, of the 



" Improved Short Horn breed," which have re- 

 cently arriied from England. 



The tow boats of yesterday brought to this city 

 two Bulls, one Cow, and one Heifer, the property 

 of Peter A. Remse.n, Esq. late of the city of New 

 York, and destined for his farm in the town of 

 Alexander, Genesee county. New York. The 

 cow, heifer, and one bull, are of the " Improved 

 Short Horn breed," and fully exhibit the peculiar 

 traits of that variety ; though at ju'esent they aj)- 

 pear to great disadvantage, in consequence of their 

 loss of flesh during a long passage. 



The other bull is apparently a Devon ; but so 

 young and his form so little developed, that I 

 could not determine with certainty his breed. 

 They are all, however, beautiful animals, but es- 

 pecially the Devon bull and Short Horn heifer. 



The consignee informs me, that a perfect pedi- 

 gree accompanies them, and that Mr. Remsen pur- 

 chased them at a great price in England. Their 

 passage -alone from England to his farm in Alex- 

 ander, will cost about .^80 each. 



The recent introduction of so many valuable 

 animals into the western i)art of this State, will 

 render the farmers in that region exceedingly cul- 

 pable if they do not embrace the opportunity to 

 improve their own stock and that of our country. 

 Yours, &c. W. S. RossiTER. 



THE AVHEAT INSECT. 



The wheat crop has been more or less injured 

 in the northern states, for some years, by small 

 maggots which i)rey upon the kernel while grow- 

 ing in the field, and before the grain has become 

 hard. In some instances nearly the entire crop 

 has been destroyed, while in other cases the inju- 

 ry has o'tily been partial. It has been generally 

 believed, that the maggots have proceeded from a 

 fly, which deposits its egg wdiile the wheat is in 

 blossom, or soon after. It has also been remark- 

 ed, that the fly is seen but a few days; and that if, 

 during its presence, the wheat ear has either not 

 burst in the sheath, or is far advanced towards 

 maturity, no evil is experienced from the insect. 

 In some instances late sown grain has escaped 

 most, and in other cases it lias suffered most. No 

 general rule upon this point can be laid down. 

 Nor has any preventive of the evil been published 

 among us. The most plausible recommendation 

 that we have heard mentioned, is to strew fresh 

 slacked lime over the field soon after the grain is 

 out of blossom. This is recommended to be done 

 early in the morning, while the dew is U|>on the 

 grain. At this time the maggots are small and 

 tender, and the causticity of the lime, brought in 

 contact with- them by the dew, it is thought will 

 destroy them. If the field is laid in ridges or nar- 

 row lanes, the lime may be thrown from the mid- 

 dle or water furrows, without lu-ejudiee to the 

 grain. Though this is mere theory, we think it 

 worth a trial ; and we beg to be apprized of the 

 result of any trial that may be made upon this 

 suggestion, be it favorable or otherwise. 



A very sensible writer in the Penny Magazine, 

 F. Bauer, has written several communications up- 

 on the diseases of wheat and other grain, which 

 contain the residt of close and continued examina- 

 tion, and are accompanied with drawings showing 

 the appearance of the diseased grain, and of the 

 fungi and insects which cause these diseases. He 

 considers the smut in grain a parasitic plant, or 

 fungus, whose seeds are so minute as to pass from 

 the seed grain in the soil, with the ascending sap, 



