758 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



acre of land have been distinctly visible for an 

 equal number of years. Hence it would ap- 

 pear that the quantity of rain which falls upon 

 an acre of land annually, is not adequate to 

 dissolve more than a bushel or two of this sub- 

 stance. If more were dissolved, plants would 

 certainly take up a larger quantity, and the 

 effects would necessarily be less permanent. 



I have thus indicated the general principles 

 which have guided me in the use of Lime, and 

 if they shall contribute in any degree to your 

 benefit, I shall be truly gratified. 



Very truly your friend. 



Ingleside, Goochland, April 13th, 1858. 



We are indebted to the courtesy of Mr. F. 

 G. Ruffin, the former Editor of this paper, 

 for the communication above, which would 

 have appeared earlier in our columns, but for 

 the fact of its having been accidentally over- 

 looked. — Editor. 



CIRCULAR. 



Black Rock, N. Y., Sept. 1858. 



Editor Southern Planter : 



Dear Sir — The approbation with which the 

 previous volumes of the American Herd-Book 

 have been received by the Short Horn breeders 

 of this country, together with the large contri- 

 bution of pedigrees to their pages, and the so- 

 licitations of many breeders to have a fourth 

 volume in preparation, have induced me to 

 give this notice, that sufficient time may be 

 given for the full examination which is required 

 by every Short Horn breeder to properly ar- 

 range their pedigrees. Since the compilation 

 of the last volume, hundreds of young animals 

 have been produced, and new importations 

 made from abroad ; and by the time the next 

 volume can be ready for the press, a further 

 natural increase to our existing herds will be 

 added. I therefore give you this notice, that 

 in case you choose to record your pedigrees, 

 you can have ample time to do so. I ask your 

 attention to the following particulars: 



1st. — All pedigrees must be sent in previous 

 to the Jirst day of December, 1858, to allow me 

 time to compile them, and issue the book by 

 May 1, 1859. 



2d. — Every pedigree must be made out at 

 full length, after the manner of those in the 

 volumes of the American Herd Book, as I can 

 not encounter the labor and responsibility of 

 making out full pedigrees from short notes, 

 hints and memorandums. The imperfect con- 

 dition of many private records required me to 

 do that labor for my previous volumes, which 

 it is now unnecessary to repeat, with such ex- 

 tensive authorities as those volumes before you 

 will afford. I can not, therefore, accept such 

 imperfect papers, only in cases where your ani- 

 mals or their ancestors have not been previous- 

 ly recorded, either in the English or American 



Herd-books. Another reason for this is, that 

 every breeder ought to be supposed to under- 

 stand the lineage of his stock better than a 

 stranger, and consequently he can give their 

 pedigrees with greater accuracy. 



3d. — Let every individual pedigree be com- 

 plete in itself, like those in the published Herd 

 Books. State by whom the animal was bred, 

 (if you wish that fact known ;) the date (by 

 month and year) of its birth ; the name and 

 Post Office, (County and State;) residence of 

 its present owner ; its sex, (this may merely 

 say " Bull" or " Cow," in parentheses, by the 

 side of the animal's name ;) the color, whether 

 white, red, red and white, red roan, light roan, 

 or ' roan, simply, without qualification. In 

 roans, where white is the prevailing color, they 

 are light roans ; where red prevails over the 

 white, they are red roans. By referring to the 

 past volumes of the Herd-book, you cannot 

 mistake the mode of description, or the tabling 

 the produce of the cows. Do not send me 

 printed pedigrees from newspapers, hand-bills, 

 or catalogues, &c, unless they are in Herd- 

 book form, and complete ; nor when they are 

 printed on both sides of the paper, as, if so, 

 they must be copied by me for the printers. 

 The names of bulls occurring as sires in the 

 pedigrees, may be referred to by their numbers, 

 when recorded in the Herd-books, either Eng- 

 lish or American. When such bulls are not 

 recorded, let their pedigrees be written and re- 

 ferred to distinctly under the pedigree to which 

 he is a party. Any unrecorded and unnum- 

 bered bull referred to in a pedigree must also 

 be numbered and recorded to properly eluci- 

 date such pedigree, and a charge of fifty cents 

 will be made for such bull or bulls. In cases 

 where uncommon labor is necessary for me to 

 find out the pedigree, an additional charge of 

 fifty cents to a dollar each will be made, of 

 which the owner of the animal will be notified 

 at the time. 



4th. — Every animal presented for record 

 must be well-bred ; and where evidence of the 

 fact cannot be traced to animals recorded in an 

 in existing Herd-Book, documentary evidence 

 must be furnished to sustain the fact that they 

 are true Short Horns, and are descended from 

 well authenticated Herd-Book animals. 



5th. —Fifty cents will be charged for each 

 animal recorded in a distinct pedigree by 

 name, excepting the animals named in the 

 tables of produce of recorded cows. The re- 

 cord fee, in current money at your place, to be 

 remitted when the pedigrees are sent to me. 

 In all cases where a pedigree, for insufficiency, 

 cannot be recorded, such pedigree ivill be sent 

 bach, if requested, and the fee returned. 



6th. — In making out your pedigrees, write 

 only on one side of the paper. Write legibly, 

 and with perfect distinctness, all proper names, 

 as without such writing many names can only 

 I be guessed at, and important mistakes may 

 | occur. Let your lines be quite half an inch 



