No. 149.] 125 



specimen, wrote me that it was superior to any made of rags, as 

 it never clogged the steel pen. I enclose you a small sample of 

 which I had several reams made in 1834. In the manufacture 

 of which, some of the bark, such as now sent you, was used, and 

 the specks are caused by the cuticle which I refer to as desirable 

 to have separated. 



Respectfully yours, 



D. STEBBINS. 



ORIGIN OF THE DURHAM CATTLE. 



Extracts from a treatise on the short horned or Durham race 

 of cattle, written by Mon. G. Lefebre, St. Marie, Inspector Gen- 

 eral of Agriculture. Published at the National Press, by order 

 of the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, Paris, 1849. 



This is one of the volumes presented by Alexandre Vattemare 

 to the American Institute. Translated, July, 1850, by Henry 

 Meigs, Secretary of the Farmers' Club. 



" One cannot obtain in England a passable bull for less than 

 1,200 to 1,500 francs, or a good bull for less than 2,000 to 2,500 

 francs, a first rate one for 5, 6, 7, 8 or 10,000 francs,"— $2,000. 



In the 17th century the family of the Aislabies, proprietors of 

 Studley Park, raised on that domain highly prized short horned 

 cattle. The ancestors of Sir Edward Blackett, who inherited 

 Newby Hall, also possessed celebrated cows. In 1640, Sir Hugh 

 Smithson, lieir of the title of the Duke of Northumberland, had 

 formed at Stanwix (his residence) a herd of cattle whose repu- 

 tation was spread far and wide. Such was the strong taste of 

 this nobleman for cattle that, in the House of Lords, he was 

 often styled, " The Fatter of Yorkshire^ 



In the county of Durham many breeders make the ameliora- 

 tion and superiority of the short horned race to date back more 

 than four hundred years. Before 1740, the period when the 

 Dutch importations for Sir William St. Quintin, Sir James 

 Pennyman and others took place, Messrs. Milbank, Mason and 



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