HOUSES FOR THE POOR, ETC. 
43 
Vail, of Troy, N. Y., have been the most exten- 
sive. In 1840, this gentleman imported direct 
from Mr. Bates, a bull calf, Duke of Wellington, 
(American Herd Book 55, or English Herd Book 
3,654,) and a heifer, Duchess (American Herd 
Book, page 172). Pedigree of Duke of Welling- 
ton. Roan, bred by Mr. Bates, calved Oct. 24th, 
1839; got by Short Tail (2,621); dam, Oxford, 
premium cow, having obtained the first pre- 
mium for the best shorthorn cow, open to all 
England, given by the Royal English Agricul- 
tural Society, by Duke of Cleaveland (1,937) ; 
grandam, Matchem cow, by MatcHem (2,281) ; 
great grandam by Young Wynyard (2,859) ; 
sometimes called Young Wellington. 
By this pedigree, it will be seen that Duke of 
Wellington was got by a half Duchess bull, 
Short Tail. So far, then, his equality with 3d 
Duke of Cambridge as to Duchess blood is 
established. But if we examine a little further 
into this pedigree, we shall find that Welling- 
ton's dam was also got by a half Duchess bull, 
Duke of Cleaveland (1,937) ; consequent!}', the 
produce of Wellington, from a cow tvithout Duchess 
blood, would possess nearly as much Duchess 
blood as 3d Duke of Cambridge himself. For 
the purpose of further comparison, I insert, in 
part, the pedigree of Mr. Vail's Duchess. 
White, bred by Mr. Bates, calved, &c. ; got by 
Duke of Northumberland, out of Nonsuch II., by 
Belvedere (1,706) ; grandam, Nonsuch, by Mag- 
net (2,240): &c. See American Herd Book, 
page 172. 
Mr. Vail's prize bull Meteor, (104,) was out of 
this heifer, and his sire is Duke of Wellington. 
He has therefore three crosses of the Duchess 
blood ; so also have the bulls Mr. Vail has sold 
to Col. Sherwood, of Auburn, Col. Hampton, of 
South Carolina, Messrs. Ferguson and Wetenhall, 
of Canada West, and Thomas Hillhouse, of 
Watervliet, N. Y. ; and another bull yet in his 
possession — American Comet, I believe. I might 
continue this account, as Mr. Vail has three more 
imported cows, sent him by Mr. Bates, all of 
which possess strains of the Duchess blood, but 
I deem it unnecessary. 
I learn, through the agricultural papers, that 
the whole of the late Mr. Bates' herd are to be 
sold the coming spring or summer; and con- 
sequently the Duchess family, which Mr. Bates 
has always retained exclusively in his possession, 
will be dispersed into the hands of many. From 
the enterprise which has thus far characterised 
Mr. Vail, as a breeder, I sincerely hope and ex- 
pect he will not let this opportunity pass without 
the introduction of one or more animals of the 
full Duchess blood into his herd. He has already 
done much to bring this Duchess blood into 
deserved reputation in this country ; and the 
benefit which its introduction has conferred 
upon other Durhams, which have received only 
a single cross of this strain of blood, is immense. 
I hope he will now introduce it without alloy; and 
I confidently expect the day will not be far dis- 
tant, when the price of American shorthorns 
will compare favorably with the high sales ol 
this stock in England. S. P. Chapman. 
Clockville, Madison Co.. N. Y., Dec, 1849. 
HOUSES FOR THE POOR. 
An announcement has recently been made of 
a projected plan for cottages for working men, 
some 15 miles from this city. The Harlem Rail- 
road, we are informed, will run a train at very 
low prices to the city, at such hours as will suit 
laborers, going to or returning from their work ; 
and the enterprise is led by those who will un- 
doubtedly carry it through. It is to be hoped 
that in laying their plans for what must eventu- 
ally be a large town, the projectors will not 
forget squares and front courts. Every street 
should form one side of a square, which, planted 
with trees, would prove an invaluable source of 
moral and physical health to the children of the 
poor. If the houses could be set back from the 
street sufficient to allow a small grass plot, it 
would be better still. But we think the squares 
essential, and we think no one can be ivell, neither 
morally nor physically, unless he has plenty 
of fresh, wholesome air. Unless arrangements 
for these squares are made now, in such a way 
that they can never be built upon, the want of 
good air will be as much felt in the new town, 
in the course of time, as it is at present in 
the most densely populated parts of New- York 
city. 
The laboring classes, as we understand, are 
to have the opportunity of buying these small 
lots and tenements at moderate prices. After 
the town has been built up and thus occupied, 
land in its midst will necessarily be greatly en- 
hanced in value. The temptation will be irre- 
sistible to the poor man to sell part of his front 
or the whole of his rear, to be occupied by build- 
ings. Tn this way, instead of one house upon a 
lot, there may be a dozen ; and then the air will 
be vitiated by the number of human beings 
crowded into a small space. 
If, however, there should be left for their 
breathing, a great number of cubic feet of air 
in the shape of squares, this evil would be avoid- 
ed, and the children having also plenty of room 
for play and for the development of their mus- 
cles, would grow up healthy and robust, with a 
fondness for trees, grass, and fresh air, with their 
purifying influences, which would adhere to 
them through life. Thus reared and educated, 
they could not fail to make more useful citizens 
and better and more enlightened men. 
SOAKING CORN IN SALTPETRE. 
I had the benefit of soaking corn in saltpetre, 
to plant, well tested this year, on a small piece 
of ground, planted late. I had not enough 
soaked to plant all the piece. Where it was 
not soaked, the blackbirds pulled out about one 
third ; where it was soaked, they seldom touched 
a hill. But what was most peculiar, there hap- 
pened to be one row planted with dry corn, 
between two rows that were soaked; of the 
dry, they took several hills clean, and, alto- 
gether, about one third of the row ; while they 
did not take more than one hill of the two salt- 
petre rows. James C. Taylor. 
Atlantic, N. J., Dec, 1849. 
