THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



3G5 



siness. He was the brother of Mr Felix Renick, the 

 agent who selected the Ohio company's stock in 

 England in 183-1, and was also a member of the 

 Company. Abram Renick, at the sale of the Com- 

 pany in 1836, purchased Matchem (Number 2283 

 in the Herd Book) and the yearling heifer Illus- 

 trious — the first at $'1,200, and the last at $775. 

 He afterwards purchased Paragon of the West, 

 (Number 4619 in the Herd Book,) at a cost of 

 $1500. As I have never seen the pedigree of a 

 bull in the Planter, I will thank you to insert that 

 of Paragon of the West, as it is recorded in the 

 fourth volume of the Herd Book, page 317 : 



(1619.) — Paragon of. the West. Roan, calved 

 May 15, 1835, bred by the Ohio Company, United 

 States of America — got by Duke of York (1941) ; d. 

 Rose of Sharon, bred by Thomas Bates, by Bel- 

 vedere, (1706) ; g. d. Red Rose the fifth, by Second 

 Hubback, (1423) ; gr. g. d. Red Rose the second, 

 by His Grace, (311); gr. gr. g. d. Red Rose the 

 first, by Yarborough, (705); gr. gr. gr. g. d., bred 

 by R. Colling, and own sister to R. Colling's Red 

 Rose by Favourite, (252) ; gr. gr. gr. gr. g. d. by 

 Punch, (531); gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. g. d. by Foljambe, 

 (263); gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. g. d. by Hubback, (319.) 

 The Collings had several families of Short-Horns, 

 which were very much superior to the balance of 

 their herds; and they were the Lady Maynard, the 

 Dairy, and Duchess tribes, belonging to Charles 

 Colling, and the Princess, the Wildair, and Red 

 Rose, belonging to Robert Colling. Paragon of 

 the West combines the best blood of nearly all of 

 them, as any one will see who will take the trouble 

 to run out his pedigree. And they will find that 

 the pedigrees of the Short-Horns are as carefully 

 recorded, and as much to be relied upon, as are 

 those of the high bred race horses in the Stud 

 Book. 



The cow, Rose of Sharon, was selected by Mr. 

 Felex Renick as the best in Bates' herd, and he 

 paid more for her than any cow he imported. She 

 died before the Company's sale, leaving a yearling 

 heifer, Lady of the Lake, by Reformer, (2505) and 

 a sucking bull calf, Paragon of the West, (4619.) 

 Abram Renick also purchased Thames, a daughter 

 of Lady of the Lake, got by Sakspeare, (No. 

 12,062) and two daughters of Thames, (Rose and 

 Dorothy,) got by Prince Charles, the second. At 

 a subsequent sale of the Company, he purchased 

 the imnorted heifer Harriet, got by the Princess 

 bull, Young Waterloo, (2817,) bred by Bates. The 

 next best cow, selected by Felix Renick, in his 

 opinion, was Josephine, bred by Mr. Whittakcr, 

 and got by Norfolk, (2377.) James Renick pur- 

 chased two heifers out of Josephine ; Nonpar.iel, got 

 by Comet Halley (1855,). (sold at the Company's 

 sale for $2,500,) and Lady Harrison, got by im- 

 ported bull Rover, (5015,) bred by Mr. Paley. His 

 herd combines the blood of Stevenson, Bates, 

 Whittaker, Crofton and Paley, all breeders of first 

 class Short-Horns. 



Mr. A. B. Allen, editor of the "American Agri- 

 culturist," and a first rate judge, thus describes 

 this stock: "Mr. Felix Renick resides on a fine 

 bottom farm, with some hill lands, about four miles 

 below Chillicothe ; his stock of full bloods is not 

 large, but mostly very fine. Josephine, an im- 

 ported cow, has taken the first premium at the cat- 

 tle fair for the last three years. Out of her, he has 

 three excellent calves, one of which, Nonpariel, 

 two years old, has already taken two premiums. 

 His bull Rover, was bred by Wm. F. Paley, Esq., 

 and imported in 1836. He is large, with a well 



set, arched neck, full over the shoulders, long in 

 the barrel, and the very best handler for a male, I 

 ever touched." See ietter from the West, No. 7, 

 July number of the Albany Cultivator, 1841. 



It will be seen that he commenced right, by 

 purchasing first rate animals, and in his breed- 

 ing he has confined himself to bulls descended 

 from these families. He bred from Illustrious, the 

 bulls Franklin, (3834), by Matchem, (2283) Young 

 Comet Halley by Comet Halley, (1855), and Ash- 

 land, (11,122), by Paragon of the West, (4649.) 

 From Lady Harrison, he bred a bull, which was 

 purchased by Capt. Ben. Warfield, called "Renick," 

 and Buena Vista, by Cossack, (3503.) This last 

 was two years old in 1849, when I first saw him. 

 I thought him then the finest animal I had ever 

 seen, and I have seen nothing since to compare 

 with him. I looked upon him then, and do now, 

 as the very " beau ideal of his species." He has 

 bred his cattle pretty close, that is, putting near 

 relations together, such as half brother and sister. 

 Most breeders are opposed to breeding when there 

 is any relationship ; I am not. And in the hands 

 of such a breeder as Abram Renick, if they will 

 examine his herd, they will find that it gives great 

 uniformity and evenness to the various animals, 

 and that uniformity one of excellence. Most of his 

 cows were got by Ashland and Buena Vista, and 

 are descended from Thames and Harriet. This last 

 brought him sixteen calves. The bull Belvedere, 

 which he is now using, was got by " Renick," out 

 of an Ashland cow, and. she descended from Har- 

 riet. I would rather own him than any bull in 

 Kentucky, and this on account of his superior 

 handling. If there is any animal superior to him 

 in the touch, I would ride a long ways to "feel 

 him." He keeps him in a blue grass lot, of about 

 two acres; and in the adjoing field his. cows are 

 pastured. There were some twenty head, large and 

 beautiful, and the most even lot I ever saw. They 

 are all good, but the gem of the herd is Duchess, 

 got by Buena Vista, and out of Rose, and gr. gr. 

 grandaughter of the Rose of Sharon. She had a 

 most beautiful heifer calf by her side, got by the 

 imported bull, John O'Gaunt, (11,621.) He also 

 showed me some yearling heifers, got by Renick, 

 for which he has been offered tempting prices. 

 They wei*e fine, as are all the get of Renick. I 

 have never seen a bad animal got by him, and he 

 is the sire of a great many, for he is now eight 

 years old. Renick was out of Lady Harrison, by 

 her own brother, "Tippecanoe." But instead of 

 giving you a description of his bulls and heifers, I 

 will give you the ages and weights of steers, bred 

 and fed by him at different times. 



About the year 1842, when Short-Horns got so 

 low, Mr. Renick altered a thoroughbred calf, got 

 by Franklin, (3834) and out of Harriet. He was 

 precisely four years and seven months old, when 

 killed, and Aveighed net, the four quarters, after 

 being driven ninety miles to Cincinnati, 1,968. 

 This, I have no doubt, was the best steer ever 

 killed in the United States, and none of those 

 whose weights are recorded in Youatt's Treatise 

 on Cattle, come up to him at the same age. Mr. 

 Renick told me that this was not a large looking 

 steer, and that his weight was produced by his be- 

 ing covered all over with fat. Every point was ripe. 

 Another, four years and six months, not thorough- 

 bred, killed at same time, weighed net, 1,776. In 

 1851, he sold four steers, two of which were five, 

 and two, four years old, and a barren heifer, four 

 years old. The following are the live and dead 



