312 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



at the same time feeling very sure that $1 per 

 head was too little for selling and guaranteeing 

 sales, I added the " guarantee/' which I only 

 kept up for a few months owing to a dissatis- 

 faction it created in the minds of some. The 

 guarantee is abolished, however, and no cause 

 of complaint can exist. If any " evils" are to 

 be remedied, they must be remedied by Mr. 

 Jones' Convention. The truth is, Mr. Jones' 

 effusion only results from the fact that he 

 coutd'nt govern me, or make me depart from 

 my usual and approved mode of doing busi- 

 ness. He suffered to the extent of a hundred 

 or two dollars, and his pocket " cries aloud and 

 spares not." He may blame his extravagant I 

 ivisdom for his great and irreparable loss. Mr. j 

 Jones says he gave me to understand I was | 

 done selling cattle for him — I also gave him to 

 understand he need not write me any more 

 letters in regard to selling his cattle after that 

 time. I was very willing and anxious to be 

 rid of him. I will also inform the public, that 

 while I got $3 50 gross for Mr. Jones' few, 

 (I sold,) I disposed of several droves, the same 

 day, at $3 00 to $3 25 gross, say $6 00 and 

 $6 50 nett. In regard to the " respectable op- 

 position" of which he speaks, I will only say, 

 that " opposition is the life of trade," and that 

 I cannot object to it as long as it is respecta- 

 ble ; and while I am stJIl in the market, I 

 pledge myself to obtain the highest market 

 prices at all times. The opposition and myself 

 both charge alike. I have associated with me 

 Ro. H. Crockett, Esq., of Wythe county, and 

 under the style of Shook & Crockett, we are 

 prepared to sell at §1 per head all cattle sent 

 us for sale. Our continued endeavors will be 

 to do full, even-handed justice ; and before 

 closing, let me advise Mr. Jones to write an- 

 other Essay on Caiterpillars. They are " small 

 game," and will suit his capacity to a frac- 

 tion. 



By the way, I would advise him also, to give 

 the public an essay on the " chinch-bug," and 

 " tobacco worm." As he refers to me very 

 cautiously as the " agent," I will give him my 

 mame in full, with best wishes for the success 

 of his convention and its reforming schemes. 



Jacob Shook, 

 Of Shook & Crockett. 

 Richmond, April 13, 1857. 



Tethering Work Horses at Grass. 



A good many years since, when we lived in 

 the county of King William, where, if we were 

 twins one of us would live again, — either there 

 or in Albemarle — we saw Gen. Aylett's horses 

 and mules staked out on clover, and secured by 

 a very simple contrivance Ijeyond the possibility 

 of escape or danger from tip tether. The thing 

 was made in this wise : take two small hickory 

 or white oak poles, seasoned is best, and slight- 

 ly flatten each end : get two links of an old 



chain or have two made ; have made also two 

 staples in the form of a jewsharp, with two 

 small holes in the jaws thereof ; connect them 

 by the links, and then secure them by wrought 

 iron nails to the ends of the poles. Now fix a simi- 

 lar shape to each other end; secure one of these 

 ends to the ground by an iron pin 15 inches 

 long, strap the mule by his neck to the other 

 end and, "let him rip." 



Our esteemed friend Mr. Wm. S. Fontaine of 

 the same neighborhood, thus speaks of them, 

 and of a still simpler plan. 



I used these tethers for some 5 or 6 

 years, and never knew any accident to 

 occur. They were discontinued simply 

 because I had grazing lots and pastures 

 enclosed, though I have tethered my 

 mules out at night on the clover field for 

 many years, simply for the convenience of 

 catching them in the morning. I, however, 

 with them, use a large rope 12 feet long, 

 fastened to a leather halter, and tied to 

 an iron pin 15 inches long — made thus, q, 

 of half inch round iron. The whole busi- 

 ness costs 60 cents, and it will last three 

 seasons. When I do my mules thus, I 

 work one set half a day, stake them out, 

 take up the other set and work the 

 balance of the day. In this manner I 

 never give my mules a grain of corn or a 

 blade of fodder from the 10th or 15th of 

 May till the oats crop comes in. Under 

 this treatment they become very fat and 

 sleek. When you first tether a mule he 

 will wind himself up, but in a few days he 

 becomes perfectly acquainted with the 

 whole machinery, and never ties himself 

 up at all. I was apprehensive that they 

 would cut themselves, but I have had 12 

 mules tethered out every summer since 

 1847, and never yet have had one injured 

 in the slightest manner. I had a wild 

 horse somewhat cut by the rope on his 

 hind leg; and with a small rope, particu- 

 larly, there must be more danger than if 

 the animal were running at large without 

 any tether. 



The Hundred Mile Trot. 



Two New York horses lately trotted one 

 hundred miles in harness, carrying 300 pounds 

 each, in twelve hours and twenty-two minutes. 

 The stakes were $2,500, They performed well, 

 and were not touched with a whip during the 

 race. One horse, it is said is of ''good stock;" 



