12^ 



THE NEW GENESEE FARxMER, 



*'iJDrbum «,'UTis as riiilk«:i>.'' 

 We hnve no dcfire to prej.Jlce iLe Niinc's ul uii: 

 rc-aiierd cither for or o^ainst any |iBriieii'nr brred of 

 onir.mie; but na tbo conductors of an cjjrieuUiirct 

 j mrral. wc cor.ceiv.' it to lie our dtny to ptiLIi^h hucIi 

 factB imkI opinions, on botb tidcoo; ilisputcd guarteie, 

 as will ennblo our rendirs to decide intclligtiitly lor 

 tbcn^eclves. Witb tbis view, we insir'.cd in our 

 April number, the reinaiiis of H. Coi.MiS i>n the 

 milking qiTai.ticd of D::rbnni Cowa: and liiidin^ in 

 the Albnny Cuitiratt-'r u rt;iiv to those rcmnrka by 

 Ij. F. Aur.EN, He if.w iiulilisii the eubstnncc of his 

 opinions on Ui a eiibject. 



(Our renders will belter underelond the followirg 

 remarks, by reading; ibcm in connect. on with the ar- 

 ticle on page 63.) 



" In reftTcnce to pnrogro:>h ^lO 1 of Mr. Colmnn, 

 I hnve never eecn the herd of .Messrs. Lalhrop, ol 

 South Hadlcy; but if ibey are wbtt Mr. C. repr'.- 

 ecjitd, th<-y lunsi be benutilul nnd valuuiile f;niiimie, 

 and a g:ent ncquisilion to their neighborhood; al- 

 lliougb I exceedrMiily regret that A dM notgjve ilie 

 opinions of ihi s.: gen;lenitn as to Uirir value and ex 

 celleni;e in the Coiincetieut Voiley, and the resulio ol 

 e.tperirnco cnncerinng thcni. A detail of their ob- 

 seivalions wou]d have bcpn at Ivuet more saiiuJiictory 

 tbnn a .■ummary condeuiiiaiion wiibrut a Lennng. 



Mr. Colman and myseUVeited the Ohio Compa- 

 ny's herd, wiiicb he nionlions, together in i-Miiipuny 

 ot liull'alo in J8:i5, n." thi y were pa?6iii;^ iLrcuijli 

 from the seaboard to Oliio, on their pas^eage out. 

 They were in bi;,'h condition, as few or none of the 

 cows were then in iv.ilk, and we htid no opp^irlunity 

 to jiulL'eof tluir crqiabilities for the pal; uliliougb 1 

 have since learned that several of llie cows were 

 gri-nt and rich inilkcre. It must bo undersMod, how- 

 ever, that man;- of ihe Englibh breeders of high bred 

 Short Hinis breed only for eale and the shambles, 

 and do n it cultivate the milking qiialitica of ibeir 

 cattle. This is almost universally the case in Ohio, 

 Kentuiky, and the Western States, where the dairy 

 forms no part of the farming business, and stock is 

 reared mo.Jtly for beef; bin from the universal ten- 

 dency ol the tnre Short Horns to excel in milking 

 propcitics, when appropriated to that purpose, I can 

 have no diJiibt they would show as advantageously 

 over the pail as in the stall. When ii is considered 

 also, that owing to their scarcity and high value in 

 America, ell the females are employed in rearing 

 their calves, and the imlls, instead of being converted 

 into stores for the shambles, are preserved as stock 

 getters, it is evident that comparatively but few CX' 

 nmples can beatldueed of their real supeiioriiy over 

 the common stock of our ciiuntry as milkers. Still, 

 a sulHcient number of specimens have been shown, 

 both in milk and beef, to demonstrate t'.at in each of 

 these ipialitiea the improved Short Horns have excel- 

 led all that has yet been produced of our native 

 American Ptock. 



In prirairraph No. 2, Mr. C. remarks, that he 

 wauls proof of the milking e.ualilics of the Short 

 H )ri)s His own, eeven in number, proved inferior 

 milkers, although be admits that several of them, 

 either of his owner which he had seen, were large 

 milkers; but bo believes these, exceptions to the 

 general rule. That bis own cows proved bad milk- 

 ers, proves iioihiiig. Whni wiis their blood? Were 

 ibcy of/r.-fcand improreil Short Horn descent? No 

 data le here given ior iis to judL'e oi their properties in 

 this particular, and wa ore futceJ to pus.-^ on to 



Paragrnph No. 2. The Ciieshire a:;:! many other 

 dairy firiners have Ion;; iiati an e.xccl'.eiit stock of 

 Bclccted native cows, which bn*e been propagarf^d 

 with pttiiicul'ir regard to thc.r milking proper:ies for 

 many ceucietion.i. Mr. Colman has traversed the 

 wholK State >f MtimnehusettB jevernl times, nnd out 

 of the whi)!e I ui.Thtr of co'.vs that he has seen among 

 many thousand.';, be prcs-en's a list ol one hundred ol 

 the-Tintlve stock which had made Ironi twelve to 

 f lurtecn pounds of Iputter per weak. He br.s cico 

 challe;igeij, both in w,-Hiiig and conversation, the 

 T.vners of Short flunis to prove toeir dairy qualities. 



1 doubt whether one hundred tUuruugh bred Short 

 Horn eons can be conveniently pioriuecd at a'l in 

 "iio whole Siulesoi' iS'cw Voiic oad Masvichusetis, eo 

 few are there in comparison with the CiUiiiion stock 

 of the country. Nor do I bclitvi? five 'iioea that 

 number of grade cows of ha'ff>|yod and upwards, can 

 be unsily found in ett.i i Stato; liot 1 wi.l vi .lure 

 ihe aasortion, tiiatr where Mich cattle do oxi»t, no 



tnatier what their parenifi;:e may be oa the n>Uirf- 

 Old'., if ti;ey were diicctly bred from imfrror<i! Sh-rt 

 Horn bi'.i.e, lour out ot every five of' ihcni 1 ave pr )- 

 vid superior nnikers; nnd at bast twenty p«r cent, 

 belter in the aggregate iLnn liie crdiiutry cows around 

 them And 1 v\.;l aI.-o a.-s^ ri, t'lat ut the wljole nine- 

 Wt \>i titoro-gli bred cons u\ our country, nine out 

 of ten are exceiieni, if' not superior milkers, and 

 tweiay-five per «ei»i above tlie ntcrngc nai.ve coiva. 

 I'o liliisirate tbib maiitr. as 1 iiave bied a large nuin- 

 ler of improved Ueru lim.k unirnalc. of the taigliest 

 blooii. Within the luc-t SIX \tur6, as wci! .':b many grade 

 citile from the native, l)cvon, and oihi-; breeds, I 

 will Slate the lesuits ol my i-wn i xpcricnee, iti.u idso 

 the opinions of sundry othei hieedere, with such facte 

 as a bnsiy reference will j-ermit. 



"In I8:)5, I bre.-! ten or •.v.clve half blood heifers 

 from Ihiee Devon aid several eoniioun c^'Ws oi in- 

 terior quality and appearance. They weie Bind by 

 my Slioit Horn bull Favorite, bred near ij.istoii, 

 Mass., whose pedigree will be found at No. y,l)USI, 

 3d vol. Coate's Herd Book. These heifers pre.ved, 

 without an exeepiion, good iiiilkeif; much above 

 ihe average, both lor quality and quajtlity. In |.^-'^6. 

 7 and 6, I bred several one-half and thn c.lomib 

 blood heifers, also from Devons and others, which 

 although many of them were sold, have, so far as 

 I have heard from them, proved siij erior inilkeis. A 

 p.irt of these were tired by my Short Horn bull 

 Uevons'iiiic, No. 966, SJd vol. Coaie's Herd Book. 1 

 alto bad, during the year? frciii J834to near the close 

 o:'IS:-!y, n herd of full bted improved Short Horns, 

 varying troni 4 to ten milking cowp, of which all, 

 wiih one exception, (and that cow suiicred an in- 

 jury in her ttdder when young,) were first rale milk- 

 ers. One cow give often thirty quarts of milk per 

 day of good quality. Several of tueni gave over 

 twenty quarts daily in summer I'ted, and not one oi 

 them gave poor milk, or, as the term is, milked hard. 

 They were inuividually easy, plea'ient milkers, with 

 beautiful silky udders, and handsome taper teats, 

 and were, taken together, much beyond the average 

 run of native cows as milkers. I have now a Dur- 

 ham cow that has made her twelve pounds of butter 

 per week, and ol four lull-blonds now in milk, every 

 one is a superior milker. I have also live or six balf 

 bloods, all of which are above the average of our na- 

 tive cows, by twenty per cent, in their milking pro- 

 perties. 



" To corroborate my experience, I need only men- 

 tion the evidence of such gentlemen as John Hare 

 Powell, of Philadelphia, «ho asserted to my father 

 that one of his full-blooded Short Horn cows bad 

 made twenty-two pounds of butter per week for seve- 

 ral weeks in succession; Gov. Lincoln, and Messrs. 

 Wells, Derby, and Dcaiborn, of LlaEsachusetts, who 

 have been the owneis of sevcial grade and thorough 

 bred cows; Francis Rotch, Esq. of Butternuts, in 

 this State, who baa repeatedly testified to the superi- 

 ority ofAii Short Horns as milkeie, and to his en- 

 tire experience, probably equal, if not sujicrior, to 

 that ot' any other gentleman in America, of the su 

 periority of the Short Horns in their punty and in 

 their grades, as milkers, i need not add tlie names 

 of many other individuals who have ie;'eaudly tes- 

 tified to these facts, as a reference to our agnenltura 

 papers for the last five years will coiroborale all that 

 I remark. And last of all, I will assert ilial Colonel 

 Jacques' fnncifuljy yclepcd " Creampot" breed ol 

 milkers, and which I saw in company with Mr. Col 

 man hirnslf, are simjily a crofs of a thorough b:ed 

 Sliorl Horn bull with a native cow, then at Colonel 

 Jacques' farm, ot good size and rpiiearanec, of a dcej. 

 red color, and with an apparent daoli of Devon blood 

 in iier veins. His bull that he then used was ncarij 

 or quite n thorough bred Short Horn, and all bis 

 heifers we'e high in that blood. This eame stock o: 

 cattle, Mr. C has himself highly recommended in 

 one of his agricuit^ral reports, and we are togcthei 

 living wiines.rr8 oi' the burpa.ising richness of tbi 

 milk nnd cream of tliese beautiful cows. With i. 

 lew selected lad .. I will elotc this testimony: 



In 3d vol Ciiiiiva'or, page I.Ol. Francis Blood- 

 good's imported cow (she was a Durham) gave, when 

 l.r calf was two weeks old, tlii- y-lhree and a hjiii 

 quaits of milk per day. I^er feed was one and n 

 hidf buihels of brewer's grains per day, with hay. 



" In vol. 7, same work, page 13"<;. Mr. Cower'. 

 Short Horn cow Dairymaid, for seven days L'avear. 

 average of tbirly-thrce and a half quarts per day. 



" In New Genesee Farmer, vol. 1, pal.^J 1-13, 

 Samuel Cartiby'.'j Short Horn cow, Blossom, yielJ^.'' 

 ."or seven days over thirty-bve qeartii nei day. v.bi.i . 

 produced thirlocn and a qiiorter pounds good btittcr. 



Vol. 2 ^ 



-ii 



• I'SII" 



«f 



1 

 (fill 



urn 

 nj 



'• At page 149, same vol. Jubii Weterhull's Sho) 

 Hoin eow, fji.i jeaif old, uave iioiii tHcnty-six t 

 ih.:iy and a half .,uarts ol milk per day, and in oni < 

 week prouticed eleven and a bail pounds of butter, ^" 

 and in anotliLr vvcik fifteen pounds. f"''' 



" In a PbdadJphio pape! of I8::i). "Col. Wot 

 belt's C::w l.-abel.a. a pure Short Hoin, gave, durinj (*' 

 evin daye, jm quarts, or near twenty-eight quart t'" 

 per day, wbicL pioi.i.ied fourteen and thue lonrthl 

 p.iundt butler ol tl.e finest quality." So much for ia« 

 asccrtiun that '* Du'Io n- cows are not gootf noikeis.* 

 "In paragrapii •'. >ir Colman introduces us U 

 the distingii shed hnglioU farmer, Mr. Sherif!', wb 

 has ina.ie the tour of this country. It tb'8 ranie Ml 

 Sberiif, who by the way J never heard ot belorc, b« I**"' 

 lis prolound in his rcmnikc upm our couniiy. its in. 

 habitants ami tiieir HuriUiii-, as the herd of Engfst 

 iiaviiers who have hit.erto tiundled lapidly over ii 

 t^r the pur,,ii£e, us it would seem, of wiitinu libeioui 

 books and holding u? up to tlie ridicule of'tngli.-hj*"' 

 oicn ni home, his ojiinion ic little to be regarded, 

 Hi- kiinv\'l<-de of Ihe plogrcsB oi^Shori Horns in hlu 

 own country inoy be well f«iiiiiated, when be ret *"" 

 marks " that thry are the poerci't dairy stock ^.n Eng" 

 iniid." To ibis rmiark I ncid only of.-irve, tlmt 

 nine out of ten of tho intelligen: Engl.th laimci 

 who emigrate totbib eeuiitry, and all British ptibliea' 

 linns on ibe subject, asceit piecisciv the cuniiaiy; 

 for the high guide, and ofti n the thorough bred Short 

 Horns, have been for many years jasi taking the 

 idace of other breeds for dairy and nolking purpesra 

 m iht: grazing conntici?, and near the large towns and "i"" 

 cities. That he shonld regret the introduction of any 

 thing tending to advance our agriculture, and our 

 wealth, is altogethei natural in an English book-ma 

 king touiiet. I am only surprised that a gentleman 

 of Mr. Colman's shiewdnesa th.ruld be thus easily 

 deceived. As to the '• dintinct race oC American cat- 

 tle" to be yet formed, the end of all tins is In be feen 

 in the continual effort at blending incongruities by 

 those expciimtnters who strive, without an accurate 

 knowledge of their subject, to produce what is al- 

 rcndy better made up to their bancs in the improved 

 breeds now extant. Such rxpciimcnls, as they live 

 end learn, have been alwajs abandoned as impractica- 

 ble and visional y. There is, nor can be, no such 

 thing C8 a "distinct Atn> rican breed," made up as 

 all our eatlle are from selections from all parts of Eu 

 rope; nor, if our agriculture is to be, as wc hope, |iro. 

 greseive in its excellence, is it desirable. Our cat- 

 tle ehouid improve with our geneial agriculture. 

 The la.-t of Mr. C.'s remark is very just, and con- 

 cedes, as we view it, the giat of what we eommend. 

 " In paragraph 5, Mr C. gives us the only reason 

 why Duihams should not become the stock of New- 

 England, to wit: the poverty of its soil, and the neg- 

 ligence of many of the peo|)le! Truly a very broad 

 i.dmisslon, hardly just, indeed, to the snug farmers of 

 New-England, nnd not at all within the desideiatum 

 for which the advocates of Short Horns contend; — 

 improved husbandry, improved care, and improved 

 stock. If, upon lards, a theusand acrrs of which 

 will scarcely graze a goose, and from which the very 

 vermin instinctively dee to escai e starvation, the 

 beautiful Shcit Horns are to be doomed to pine, 

 wiihoiii eric, find without sympathy, I at once admit 

 that the less of them the better. Nor do the mise- 

 rable animals of the native breeds even, which are 

 doomed to a wret< bed existence on those "scanty 

 pastures," exhibit any sisinsof ibrift astliey dailysuf- 

 ler from the "negligent habits of their keepers." 

 True, a long course of neglect and starvation endured 

 by their ancestors, and peipetuaud for in.any genera- 

 tions anterior to their own existence, may rentier 

 their wreichediicss more tolerable than it vvoii'd that 

 of a better animal; but what advocnie of any sort of 

 improvement is content to bind himself to such hope- 

 lesj sterility? Did we desire a lace of animals that 

 vvould^&iiTc the beet, wc cou'd at once make an im- 

 portation from tl-e Sliet'.ei.d Islands, ard establish a 

 shello " American breed" that v.ould bid defiance to 

 1 egleet and pov.:rty, and flouiish amid both frost and 

 desolation! 



But this proposition is not within the category of )* 

 OT/r system. We bold, iliat if land he wonh cultiva- 

 tion at all, it should be at ieaat in a re-i.-i-mablo state 



o' fertility. It should yield in any event a tolcrablo 'I 



sliare of its various products tender tood nnd kindly 

 itention with which to ft^ed well the slock of the 

 iroi. If cows are not to l-e deeenily Ted, by no. 

 iieans keep the Durbame, or my otlie- valuable 

 repil. But ifit be intended to eivi- •• va'ue leeeivi d," 

 I teed well. Ill (1 |;iiy am iiioi .-^ vour sioek, and 

 M re is no nilicr way to mak , ,y kind of i-;ock 

 rufitable, then let the breed be i.s • xvd as presible, 



i 



