WM. HE RY S0T1IAM AND THE IIEREFORDS.-DISEASES OF SWINE. 
279 
WM. HENRY SOTHAM AND THE HERE- 
FORDS. 
Under this head I propose to say what I feel is 
due both to the man and the cattle which he has im¬ 
ported and bred. I start with the proposition, that 
Mr. Sotham is, in the highest sense of the word, a 
public benefactor ; and that his herd, as a herd in the 
aggregate, is the best in America; and in addition he 
has individuals which have no superiors in any other 
country. Not only this, but he has more highly 
superior animals than any other breeder whom I 
know. Measured by the standard which should be 
applied to any good cattle, they stand high in the 
scale of excellence. With this positive good charac¬ 
ter, let it be added that His herd are a new kind 
in our country; that in them the country has an ac¬ 
cession to the material for its agricultural action, and 
it may be confidently asserted, that Mr. Sotham is 
indeed a benefactor. The celebrated breeder, Mr. 
Bates of Kirkleavington, England, has said, that for 
one man with the capacity to breed good cattle, there 
may be found forty who would make first rate prime 
ministers. Had he said one hundred instead of forty, 
he would have been nearer the truth; for there are 
thousands, in our country, who would fill respecta¬ 
bly, nay, ably, the great offices of state, and it may 
be asked, are there hundreds who have the capacity 
to breed good animals ? Decimate the hundreds and 
yet you are above the mark. But of the few Mr. 
Sotham is one, and as his herd shows him, a distin¬ 
guished one. You may prefer some other race of 
cattle to his ; but take the Hereford standard of 
excellence, and he is a conspicuous and able breeder. 
What herd in this country, of any race or kind, can 
show so much uniformity ? Of his pure Herefords 
(at least one hundred) not an indifferent and not 
more than three or four moderate animals has he. 
They were selected from various sources, yet his 
critical eye chose excellence always; and when his 
herd was gathered, his critical judgment exercised 
itself ever to breed excellence. 
Such has been Mr. Sotham’s aim, and he has 
achieved it. In his cattle he has reared to himself a 
monument more durable than marble—the cattle will 
reproduce themselves, the marble would crumble to 
dust. 
I propose to devote three, or four numbers to Mr. 
Sotham’s farm, his improvements, and method of 
cultivation ; and to his cattle and sheep. In this 
one I shall speak of Mr. S. personally. It is due to 
him. He has won a position against prejudice and 
opposing interest; and this interest has not been pas¬ 
sive ; but indeed most active. His laurels are his 
own, won by himself; alone he fought for them, 
and now the battle over, he begins to enjoy the mer¬ 
ited honor of his high sagacity successfully applied. 
In his cattle he gave to the country of his adoption 
a new element in agriculture. By their diffusion he 
will confer such good as will make him a widely 
known and remembered benefactor of the country. 
His enterprise was a new one, it has been successful, 
and from it hereafter the country will reap riches 
untold, and he reputation richly merited. 
I am Mr. Sotham’s friend. I advocate his cattle, 
and yet from no other interest than admiration of the 
man as a judge and breeder of cattle, and admiration 
of his stock. By them I was won to know and ad¬ 
mire his skill and judgment. I am a Short-Horn 
^man, and have not the least interest in the Herefords, 
and of course I speak only the conclusions of my 
judgment. Before I knew Mr. Sotham, I formed my 
opinion of his cattle, and I sought his acquaintance 
from the desire to know the man who had the eye to 
see, and the judgment and energy to realize so great 
a good as their introduction. Called upon as a com¬ 
mittee man, at the late show of the State Agricul¬ 
tural Society, to pass judgment on the Short-Horns 
and Herefords exhibited, 1 could not but remark, that 
the only man who showed animals all of uniform ex¬ 
cellence and character was Mr. S. In those classes he 
exhibited more in number than any other person, and 
not one animal but was superior. Of what other 
exhibitor can this be said ? Favorably impressed by 
what I saw at the show, l w r ent to his farm to view 
his herd, and there saw that the draft shown by him 
was no more than a type of the whole. 
And who is Wm. Henry Sotham ? He is an Eng¬ 
lishman, born in Oxfordshire, and was reared a 
farmer. Some years since, he came to this country, 
and located himself at Perch Lake, in Jefferson 
county, New York. About eight years since, he 
commenced the introduction of Herefords from the 
best herds in England. On his first importation, he 
removed to Albany, where being joined by the Hon. 
Erastus Corning in his enterprise, he placed himself 
on the beautiful farm now known as Hereford Hall. 
Under his skill its impoverished fields have become 
fertile ; and now his noble herd of cattle, numbering at 
least one hundred, four fifths bred by himself, spread 
themselves over its hills and fill its dales. 
In my next I will notice his cattle and sheep—a 
noble flock—and the succeeding one his farm man¬ 
agement. A. Stevens. 
DISEASEs""oF SWINE. 
I wish to ask you a few questions relative to a 
sow and pigs of mine. On the 19th of March last, 
she had a litter of ten pigs, and on the 21st all were 
dead. The 19th was a snowy raw day. She littered 
in the stable yard, and had apparently just given birth 
to the last pig when I discovered her. I immediately 
placed the sow and pigs in a stable, fed her on boiled 
potatoes, and some corn meal therewith. All ap¬ 
peared well on the 20th, and on the 21st, I found all 
dead but four. I judged from their appearance that 
they died in fits. The tongue lacerated and clasped by 
the teeth, and frothy at the mouth. Of the four re¬ 
maining on that morning at six o’clock, two soon 
after died, acting like a drunken man, staggering and 
frothing. At noon the same day they died, and the 
two survivors were attacked in like manner. These 
we took into the house and nursed them, and experi¬ 
mented on them with salt and brandy, which seemed 
to benefit them but not restore them. They all died 
by night, 21st March. I have been thus particular, 
and wish to know what was the matter with them. 
The mother is living and doing well, and as our cattle 
and hogs range here through the woods, she may 
again be with pig. I saw nothing in Clater and 
Youatt bearing any resemblance to the foregoing, and 
none of my neighbors could account for it, save a 
maidenly lady, who said, that I should not have re¬ 
moved them from the spot where they were born, 
until they had nursed from th*e sow. 1 handled 
them very gently, and with mittens, and drove the 
sow to them immediately that I put them down. If 
