17 fl 



THE NEW GENESEE FAR M E R , 



Vol. \ 



Dairy Maid against Lli.-^som. — Though opposed to 

 wnj;triiig on any subject, fllr. Guwon's picipjsnl lo 

 risk §.')U0 on Ins lavoritc cow, cvijicts n lauaoblu 

 grotitilJe townrile licr who hns 60 well buttered hit 

 broad. The distinction he lakes oppenrs to be a fair 

 one, in favor of the Dairy Maid. There have been 

 many whose flow of milk wae very alinndant auoii af- 

 ter Ciilving, thnt in three and a half months have gone 

 nearly dry. Wi' bIiouUI like to see more competitions 

 of this sort. — For example, who will enter into a 

 sweep elnke to produce the best milch cow at the next 

 Fair of till: Maryland Suite Agricultural Society; the 

 cows to be nnlUed, and the inilk to be drank with 

 toasts ot the ai;ricullural dinni r ? For our own parts 

 we would g) I'urther to see sucli a Blossom, or trace 

 the milk vein of such a Uuiiy Muid, than to sec the 

 Queen Vietoriu. — Am. I'ur. 



Dairy Dlaid nwd Blossom. 

 To the Editor of llie I'hitndclpkia Inquirer. 



DuiR Sir- On looking over the " Farmers' Cabi- 

 net" for ibis preeent month, I saw, for the first time, 

 JMr. S;imuel Ciinby's slatenieiit of one week's yield of 

 niiik of hia Duihnm cow "Blossom," copied from 

 the Delaware J nirnnl, by which it appeals that B'.os- 

 eom gave over ,"5 quarts per day, n result which af- 

 fords me great satisluction, inaomuch, as when I fur- 

 nished you with the yield of my Durham cow, " Dai- 

 ry Maid," for one week, showing :?:!J quarts per day, 

 I felt a little concerned, le,t some of your readers 

 might think thnt I had been rather poetical in my 

 prose; but Mr. Canby's atatcment of over '.'>'> cjuarts 

 per day, covers my position, and must bring the scep- 

 tics to admit, lliut if bis wa8/)«s^'i///(!, mine was not so 

 hnpos>ut)lc as they have th^ueht it lo be. 



1 fear Mr. Cauby quotes my remark, that Dairy 

 Maid's yield of 'A'M^ quarts jier day '' irns iniprccc- 

 d'.nted," in the sense as tbongSi I had said that it could 

 not be beaten, for he seems lo place Bloasom's yield 

 in opposition to it. Idi#iiot intend a challenge by 

 tho remark, but simply that I believed it to be iniprc- 

 cerhiil-it at the time that I made use of the express on. 

 I e luld not soy so now, being informed of the yield tif 

 Blossom, but tliis is subsequent to the lime I made 

 the statement of Dairy Maid's yield public. Up to 

 that lime, fer aught I knew, it was unprecedented, and 

 Dairy Maid stood first in the rank of luilkeis — thai 

 she has to yie!:.I now, in appeurnnco, to Blossom's tx- 

 ceeJingly abuiiJant fruit, is easily ace junted for in ihe 

 /"rcsliiuss o; Blossom. 



Dairy Maul calved on tho Ifiui of February, and 

 was milked for trii.l on the first week of June, being 

 the fonrt'i month from calving. " Blossom," accord- 

 ing to Mr. Canby's statement, calved IGib of May, 

 on I was milked for trial in the week beginning on the 

 loth of June, just one mouth from calving. Now, 

 everv breeder or dairy-man must perceive that "Dai- 

 ry Mii I's'' giving ;>3i ipinrta a day HJ months from 

 calving, after suckling a calf three months, wlii.h 

 was the case, gives lo *' Blossom," who niilkc 1 35 

 quarts on,' nnnitb from calving, but a qnesliomible 

 Iruiniiili i-v.'r " D'liry Maid." 



M^ C inliy eeoina to liold out, if he does not nclu- 

 aWy throw the glove "for the crcd:t of little Delaware," 

 and as I am not slow in taking a hint, I shall not keep 

 him long in suspense, if he will allow me lo pioiiii»e 

 a few Words. FiIjI, no one can have a higher opin- 

 i m of " Little Delaware" than I have. In men fhe 

 alwoys was and now is able to compete with any State 

 in the Union. In cattle she may surpass Pennsylva- 

 nia, for we .have been t'or n long time the jest ol the 

 troders f;om the East and West, who, when speaking 

 of a Dutch Pennsylvania Dairy, sum it up as consist- 

 ing of "idevcn horses and tinee cows," itiit n u- 

 withstandiiig all that, there are some good ilniries in 

 Pennsylvania, and some good cattle too, and it will 

 not be Ihe fault of some few citizens of Philadelphia 

 nnd adjoining counties, if in a few years Pennsylvania 

 cannot briig the whole Union. In the mean lime, I'll 

 try my hand ai " Little Delaware," by proposing lo 

 Mr. Canby to put "Dairy Maid" in competition 

 against his cow " Blossom," in a trial of one week's 

 milking, to take jilace at any lime over three montln 

 from calving as may suit the eonvenienee of their re- 

 Bjiective owners, if Mr. t'anby's cow " Bfrseom " 

 yields a greater quantity of milk in the week than 

 " Dairy Maid," then ami to puy to the Delaware 

 Agriciilliiral S teiety, Iiir its use, tlio sum of five liun- 

 dr-'d doiliiio — if, on the contrary, " Dairy Maid" yields 

 ue rn )3t, then will Mr. Canby Inve to pay to the 

 Philadelphia Society tor pronioting Agriculture, n 

 similar sum. Any communiealion relating to these 

 premises will meet with due nttc-ntion. 

 Very respectfully, your ob't servant, 



JAMES GOWEN. 



Piilad. Aug. 17, 1840. 



Front tile It Ctcrit J'nrirer. 



The disposition to rntteii of diUstt'iit Biteils 

 of Hogs. 



To be able 10 decide, as nearly as possible, what 

 particular kind of h' g, of all tlieee imported into this 

 country from other counlriee, as well as the produc- 

 tions of these bycroSoing them with one another, has 

 the readiest disposition to fatten, is a point of very 

 great importance and inlerest. Although we have 

 not, at present, any statements from agriculturists and 

 stock raisers in the western country upon this partic- 

 ular point in hogs, yet we have from foriign sources, 

 and fioin other parts of the country, some data upon 

 which to found a few pietty certain concUisions on 

 this Eubject: and until we have further information in 

 this matter, from those farmers who may be curious 

 and patriotic eniuigh to make the necessary experi- 

 ments, we will content ourselves in laying before our 

 readers all our knowledge derived from tbreifin trials 

 of this kind, nnd Ironi some acquaintance we have 

 had with swine in England. In ihe first place it ic 

 hai'dly necessary to mention that the C/iiitcse hog has 

 been always distiiignisltcd abort: nil the other breeds by 

 its peculiar aptitude to lay an fat ; but owing lo itb 

 being but a poor breeder, the pure lire"d is but little 

 cultivated. Of this breed there nie two nearly distinct 

 kinds, the ichitc and the black. There is also a mix- 

 ed breed of this kind, being spotted and mixed black 

 nnd white; some of them have piiek ears, like the 

 true breed, and others have ears round at the ends, 

 and hanging downwards. These are coarser than 

 the former, b«t ihey. unlike them, are reniaikably 

 prolific, are good nurses, and will, with proper care, 

 bring up two litters within the year. They are how-- 

 er, not good store pigs, rarely otlaining any great 

 weight, and iiiurU more dijjicult to fatten than the o- 

 riginal stock of the Chinese breed. 



The next in order of fattening propensities, after 

 the true China breed, either while or black, seems to 

 be the ]Vuburii or Bedford breed, a new variety intro. 

 dueed by the Duke of Bedford. They are of various 

 colors, well formed, hardy, very prolific, and have at- 

 tained to nearly twice the weight of all other hogs, ex- 

 cept the Chinese and Berkshire within the same given 

 period of time — and even the Berkshire they have 

 surpassed to some not inconsiderable amount. Then, 

 as almost universally admitted, follow the Herk^hire, 

 too well known to requite description. These crossed 

 with the Chinese haveproduccd a race poesissingsome 

 excellent fattening and other good qualities, and are 

 known in England as the Tonkey breed. The Berk- 

 shires are dispersed over the whole of England, and 

 have thcicfjro varied both in form and color; but the 

 liesl are in ihe neighborhood of Tamworth, in Staf- 

 fordshire, from the famous Tnimcurth Boar. The 

 crosses also from ihisbreedare very numerona in Eng- 

 land, and are highly rated in their difierenl dstncts. 

 Aftei the Berivsiiiie in kindliness of fattening, must he 

 raterl the Essez half black pig.", raised by Mr. Wes- 

 tern, of Felix Hall. They are short hoired, fine skin- 

 ned, smaller head and ears than the Berkshires; short 

 sniibby noses, very fine bone, broad and deep in the 

 belly, nnd I'ull in the hind quarters; the sows are 

 good breeders, but they are not near such good nur- 

 aes as the Berkshires. The Liueoliishire rank next, 

 ami in ptiint of profit are hardly less than the Essex. 

 They ore white, nnd rolher lender. This breed is 

 much the same as the Norfolk nnd Suffolk. The 

 Suase.c breed Is smaller than the Berkshire. It is a 

 variety of the Essex, and is a very valuable kind i-f 

 hog. It may be classed next in order for fattening 

 properties, and what ia deserving of notice, arrives nt 

 maturity sooner than any other kind. The Hump- 

 .s7iirii tiuten kindly to a very great size and weight. — 

 The Northampton, Shropshire, and Yorkshire, are of 

 large size, but fatten more slowly. The Cheshire are 

 the largest hogs except the Rudgwick, which is the 

 largest in the kingdom of Great Britain. The Essex 

 and HerH'oid breed, as it is called, has taken premi- 

 ums from the London and Smilhfield cattle club, and is 

 held in high estimation. We then classify the dilfer- 

 eiu bleeds for fattening propensities (until we are fur- 

 ther informed by sufiicient comparative experiments) 

 in the following order: — 



1. The Chinese. 



'■>. The Woburr. or Bedford. 



3. The Berkshire. 



4. The Es"e\ half black. 



r>. The Lincolnshire, &c,, &c. 



We ought not to omit to mention that the Neapoli- 

 tan stot^k of swine have a very great aptitude to fatten. 

 In the meainvhile we copy from the Franklin Farmer, 

 the following interesting letter from Samuel D. Mar- 

 lin, Esq., of Kentucky, on this subject, and it would 

 8e»m that as fin as hii friend's cxporimonts have gone, 



r 



that the Woburn breed of bogs, as we have stnted ,■ 

 stand pre-eminent in that n.ost valuable characlcristi 

 — quickncEs ill taking on flteh. 



A PROPOSITIOX TO TtST THE REt.ATlVE CISPOSITION T 

 FATTKN, OV DIFFKRFNT EREEt.S OF KOCS. 



The bogs raised and fattened in Kentucky, it is b( 

 iieved, nmoiiiu ti more than two imfioiia of dollai 

 annually, and consume in the raising and t'atteninj 

 nioic than a million of bushels of corn, besides ryi 

 oata, wheat, nnd grass. 



It would be of great vnliie to the state to have sue 

 experinientsmade ns will test the value of the differei 

 breeds, and ascertain which is the best machine fi 

 turning our surplus giain into meat. 



Some hogs will make double iLe quantily of mci 

 out of a given measure of corn than will be made t 

 others. Therefore it must be very plain, that the pe 

 sons feeding bad breeds must snifer considerable lo£ 

 No man should keep a bad bleed when ho can get 

 I.etler. But it is to be regretted that sullicient expo 

 inenis have not been made, to dcteruiine c/tur/^ whit 

 is the best breed. 



X have made some experiments between the It 

 most valuable breeds that 1 have, but they were n 

 conducted so as to he clearly satielnctory. I put t» 

 Berkshires and two Woburns into the same pen, m 

 fed them together. The experiment resulted in fav 

 of the Woburna. Bui they were nil fed in the snr 

 trough, nor do I know what was eoiieumcd by each. 



In a trial lately made by William nnd Isaac Bareln 

 of Jessamine, between two boors, the \Voburn gain 

 fifty pounds more in thirty days than the Berkshii 

 But liere again we have no account of \\hni each co 

 Slimed. The trial was made for the reputalinn of I 

 stock, nnd it is presumed that both had as much 

 they would eat. 



For the puipose of making n set of experiments tl 

 will be satisfactory, 1 would propose to the advoca 

 of other breeds, to f'urnish "Woburn hogs or pigs, b 

 row or sow, lo be fed by some disinteiesltd ( eison, 

 such a way as lo ascertain which will come earliesl 

 maturity, fatten easiest, consume the least food, t 

 travel best lo market. 



1 would propose that two or three pigs be fed Uf 

 n certain nllowanco, and that the bnlance shall have 

 inucb as they will ent. Tha" they t^e kept in separ 

 stalls, and an exact nccounl be kept of what is cm) 

 med by each one. To be kept in this wny until tl 

 are ready f'or market, and one of each kind be sent 

 our most distant market, weighed nt stalling, at 

 journey's end, nnd nt'ier they ate dressed. The I 

 ance to be sent to our neareel marliet, weighed bcf 

 sorting, and upon reaching the place have their gi 

 ond neat weights ascertained. 



If my proposition should be accepted, each pel 

 to pay the proportion of the expense of the expi 

 merit. 



If the above proposition is not accepted, I will 

 a \Voburn barrow, sow, or pig, against nny other II 

 in ihestntc that has no Wobnrn blood in it. 



No proposition thnt hns nny thing like a bet or 

 ger attached t.i it will be accepted by me, but I w 

 to feed 10 ascej tain what the dill'erenl kind of h 

 will do. S. D. MARTIN 



ilri 



kl 



n( 



The Value of Farm Labor. 



Mf.ssrs. Editors. — Daniel Webster, in his spe 

 before an Agricultural Society down cast, giveft 

 price of labor in the United Stales about three Ui 

 as much as it is in England. 



I apprehend ihat ihe price paid per day or moi 

 for labor, is but n poor criterion of its rcnl cost, 

 rod three Irishmen to dign cullnr nt Is. per cubic yi 

 on finishing the job, it wns found thnt they hnd clei 

 but 1)0 cents per day. My neighbor hired a Yati 

 to dig a cellar al the same rale in the same clnyi 

 he cleared ij}l,r»0 per dny. But for the example of 

 '\''ankee, digging cellars would have risen at lenel 

 per cent. 



A friend from South Carolina, told me thnt b( 

 ways hires Irishmen lo work for him when he can 

 them, as one Irishman will do nsniueh work aa tl 

 slaves, who have no interest in their wages, 

 brings the value of slave labor (allowing theltl j, 

 kee to have worked 59 per cent, too hard) at 

 than one-fifth the value of free labor. This ill ij 

 would be an argument in favor of Negro emanc ^„ 

 lion. But the [roii'd Negro mutt have some oi 



