366 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



weights : the tare of the four 'quarters only, No. 1, 

 live weight, 2,772, net 1,828. No. 2, live weight, 

 2,526, net 1,670. No. 3, live weight, 2,280, net 

 1,401. No. 4, live weight, 2,100, net 1,320. Hei- 

 fer's live weight, 1,778, net 1,102. Three of these 

 were got by Ashland, and two by Cossack; the 

 steers were the refuse of his calves, for he never 

 keeps any for bulls, unless they are right in every 

 respect. I will now give you the live weight of 

 ten head, which he sold in the fall of 1852. Two 

 of them were five years old, four of them four, and 

 four of them three years old. They weighed 

 2,672, 2,530, 2,250, 2,244, 2,096, 2,054, 1,994, 

 1,988, 1,964, 1,870. The cow, Thames, mentioned 

 above, which had ceased breeding, live weight, 

 1,754. I cannot give you the net weight of these 

 last, as they were taken to New York. He re- 

 ceived $100 each for the ten head. Last spring 

 he sold another lot of ten, to go to New York, 

 which were not weighed; he sold them at $100 

 each, and they were estimated to weigh in New 

 York, 1,400 net. One-half were four, and the 

 other half three years old, last spring. If you will 

 make the calculation, you will find that those 

 whose net weights are given, lost but little more 

 than one-third of their live weight; and this 

 without counting hide and tallow, and that the 

 steer, which weighed 1,968, gained nearly 1\ lbs. 

 net weight for every day he vms old. Cattle must 

 be of a high order of excellence to do this. Their 

 offal, such as heads, necks, tails, legs, haunches, 

 &c, must be small, and the prime parts, such as 

 briskets, crops, chine, rumps, thighs, ribs, &c, 

 must be fine. The great art of breeding is to re- 

 duce the offal and low priced pieces of beef, and 

 increase the prime parts. I saw these steers, ex- 

 cept the two first, often ; and they were uniform 

 and alike in appearance. They showed, both in 

 their forms and order, that they had been bred 

 and fed by a man who was master of his business. 

 The whole herd excel, particularly in their bris- 

 kets and loins, two of the most important points in 

 all animals intended for grazing. They are all 

 fine handlers, with long mossy coats and mellow 

 hides. 



The above is my candid opinion of this noble 

 herd, the best by far, taken altogether, that I ever 

 saw. I have seen larger looking cattle, but I have 

 never seen any that were heavier to weigh, or that 

 w T ould return more, or as much profit, at less cost 

 and in less time , and this I consider the great ob- 

 ject to be sought by all breeders. I never could 

 conceive that extraordinary size was to be desired 

 in any domestic animal, unless it was obtained 

 without extraordinary labor and expense of food. 



Bulls bred by the Renicks are scattered all over 

 Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, and several have been 

 brought to this county. The young bull, which I 

 spoke of, as having taken the premium as a year- 

 ling at Lexington, was bred by Abram Renick, and 

 is owned by Geo. M. Bedford of Bourbon. He is 

 called " Bucyrus." He was shown at the Bourbon 

 show, shortly afterwards, and again won, beating 

 a bull called Syrius, which was just imported by 

 the Scott County Company, and which sold a few 

 days afterwards for $3,500. He was then taken to 

 the great National Show at Springfield, Ohio, and in 

 competition with the best cattle from New York, 

 Ohio and Indiana, received the second premium. I 

 left at your office, when in Richmond, a list of the 

 premiums at Springfield. You will see that Ken- 

 tucky came out victorious, winning the first premium 

 on aged bulls, the first on two year olds, and the 



t 



second on yearling bulls. She won the first on 

 aged cows, the second on two year old heifers, and 

 the first on yearling heifers. The cow which took 

 the premium in Ohio, was at both the Lexington 

 and Bourbon shows, and beaten at both shows. 

 She is a large, fine, stylish cow, and her being 

 beaten in Kentucky, should make nothing against 

 her, for she certainly had a "hard road to travel." 

 But I have said enough on this subject. You must 

 try and go out next fall to the Lexington show, and 

 judge foryousself. If you cannot go out to Ken- 

 tucky, come up here, and we will show you some 

 good samples of Mr. Renick's herd. I am in hopes, 

 however, that you will go to Kentucky. I think I 

 can promise you a hearty welcome. And if yoa 

 will go up to Abram Renick's, you will see what 

 skill and judgment will effect in breeding cattle. 



I was at James Renick's several times, and saw 

 there also some first rate animals. There is very 

 little difference in the herds of the two brothers. 

 They have used the same bulls, and their cattle in 

 quality are equal. Lady Harrison is at James Re- 

 nick's, the dam, no doubt, of more really fine ani- 

 mals, than any cow in Kentucky. Mr. Renick 

 has been unfortunate in her produce, as she has 

 had all bull calves, with one exception, and this 

 heifer died without having any calves. It is al- 

 ways a great pleasure to me to visit the Renicks, 

 and ramble with them over their beautiful farms, 

 looking at and examining their fine herds, which 

 they have raised to a point of excellence, equalled 

 by few, and, in my opinion, surpassed by none in 

 this country. 



As I will not have an opportunity of writing 

 another article for your paper soon, I will give you 

 the weights of some Short-Horns. You will pro- 

 bably recollect that I told you in the September 

 number, that I would give you in another article, 

 the weights of Short-Horns at different periods 

 down to the present time, in order to show you 

 " that they are not a breed of yesterday, liable and 

 likely to degenerate to-morrow." 



"In 1799, Charles Colling sold a three year old 

 heifer, which weighed net 1,400 lbs. [See Berry's 

 first history, 1801.] The Durham ox, bred by 

 Charles Colling and shown as a curiosty, was 

 thought to weigh at five years old, 2,352 lbs.; his 

 live^weight being 3,024 lbs.; and this extraordinary 

 weight did not arise from superior size, but from 

 the excessive ripeness of his points. At ten years 

 old, live weight, 3,780 lbs. ; carcass supposed to 

 weigh 3,080 lbs." 



" In the year 1808, Mr. Bailey, the agricultural 

 historian of Durham, informs us he saw at Mr. Ma- 

 son's, (of Chilton,) a cow, not less remarkable in 

 point of fat than the Durham ox. At that time the 

 depth of fat from the rumps to the hips, in a per- 

 pendicular position, was not less than twelve 

 inches, and the shoulder score at least nine inches 

 thick." 



" Mr. Robert Colling's heifer, which was also ex- 

 hibited as a curiositv, was estimated at four years 

 old to weigh 1,820 lbs. net." 



" The same gentleman sold a two year old steer 

 in Darlington market, which weighed net 924 lbs." 



" At Mr. Nesham's, Mr. Bailey saw a steer twen- 

 ty-five months old, completely covered with fat 

 over the whole carcass, and supposed to be the 

 fattest steer of his age ever seen. Neither of the 

 last mentioned were of large size, and would not 

 have weighed above 560 lbs., had they been no 

 fatter than those usually slaughtered." 



" Mr. Wetherel sold, in Darlington, 1810, two 



