SOME AMERICAN BREEDERS. 



MR. HENRY STEVENS of Lacona, N. Y., the subject of this sketch, was born 

 in 1840, on the place where he now resides. His life has been so checkered, 

 adversity and prosperity having followed each other in quick succession, that 

 the story of his career is a most interesting one. 



He started when a young man with 126 acres of land, on which the build- 

 ings were very poor, and he owed all it was worth. He was climbing slowly 

 but surely along the road of prosperity as a farmer, when the dishonesty of a 

 partner in the cattle trade (whose debts he was obliged to pay) so embarrassed 

 him that he had to commence again at the foot of the ladder. Perseverance 

 and energy had once again begun to pay their reward of success when he sud- 

 denly became blind, in November, 1886. With the bright and beautiful world 

 shut out from view, and the most important of all his business senses paralyzed, 

 he was well-nigh discouraged; but his natural energy, his untiring persever- 

 ance, and his indomitable pluck did not allow him to remain long in a condition 

 of inactivity. 



Although deprived of sight, his ever active mind was still at work. Its 

 thinking could not be suppressed. The result has been that although he is 

 blind he has not been groping in the dark, for his mental vision has discerned 

 the road to success. 



Today he owns a farm of 400 acres, on which he has erected a large and 

 handsome house and a barn built according to the most modern improvements, 

 containing every convenience for the breeding and rearing of stock. During 

 these dark days his beautiful herd of Holstein-Friesian cattle has been his con- 

 solation and his hope. He is proud of their attainments and success, and their 

 increasing development and improvement is a joyous light that illumines his 

 life. 



Mr. Stevens has bought the best cattle obtainable. His first purchase was 

 made in the spring of 1876, of C. R. Payne, of Hamilton. In the spring of 1877 

 he made another purchase of Gerrit S. Miller. From that time on he has made 

 choice selections from the best herds in the country. The wisdom of his selec- 

 tions is proved by the admiration that his herd receives, by his many sales to 

 the most fastidious breeders, and by the fabulous prices that he has obtained. 

 He sold one cow for $2,500, and received the enormous sum of $2,800 for one 

 bull eleven months old, being the largest price, we think, ever paid for any 

 animal of the breed. Many other animals of this herd have brought large 

 prices for the reason that, in the first place, they were well selected, and have 

 since been well bred and intelligently developed. 



In 1892 Mr. Stevens took his two sons into partnership. This firm was the 

 first to make official butter records under the rules of the Holsteiu-Friesian 

 Association, and they now have about forty cows which have been tested out 

 of their herd of 100 head. 



Henry Stevens was elected a member of the Board of Directors of the Hol- 

 stein-Friesian Association in 1895. His sound judgment and good common 

 sense make him a valuable member. 



The elevation and strength of his character are derived from nature, while 

 its direction and control are the result of reflection and discipline. In his 

 home, surrounded by his devoted family who are ever ready to minister to 

 his wants, he is far from being a discontented or unhappy man. 



J. L. STONE of Waverly, Pa., secretary of the Lackawanna Breeders' Asso- 

 ciation, Waverly, Pa., was born on the farm now occupied by him, on July 6, 

 1852. His grandfather came to this vicinity from Rhode Island in 1807, and 

 the family have occupied this territory since. All have been frugal, industri- 

 ous, and prosperous farmers and public-minded citizens. 



Mr. J. L. Stone was educated in the village academy at Waverly, Pa., and 

 at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., graduating in the course of agriculture 

 with the class of 1874. 



A few months were passed clerking in Scranton, Pa. This with the four 

 years spent at Cornell mark the extent of his separation from the paternal 

 acres. 



Mr. Stone bought his first Holstein a bull calf, a son of old Burgomaster 

 of Beemster of Mr. S. Hoxie, in 1879. So well was he pleased with his growth 

 and appearance that in the fall of 1881 he bought of another member of the 

 Unadilla Valley Stock Breeders' Association, Mr. H. Langworthy, two three- 



