The Berkshire Boar, Windsor Castle. 
153 
The Property of J. Mahard, of Hamilton Co. and R. H. Hendrickson, of Butler Co., Ohio. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Gent: We forward you for insertion, 
from the pencil of Charles Foster, Esq., 
Editor of the West. Farm. andGard. at Cin., 
the portrait of the thoro’-bred Berkshire 
boar ‘‘ Windsor Castle,” imported from Eng¬ 
land last year by your A. B. Allen, and dis¬ 
posed of to us in November last. 
He measures in a direct line, from the tip 
of his nose along his side, to the end of his 
hams, 6 feet 3 1-2 inches ; from root of the 
ear to end of the hams, 5 feet 1 inch ; height 
to the top of his shoulder, 2 feet 11 inches; 
do. to top of the rump, 3 feet; girth round 
the heart, immediately behind the fore leg, 
in fair working order only, 5 feet 6 inches ; 
and if fattened, he would girth at least 7 
feet, and stand 3 inches higher than he now 
does, as these animals always put much flesh 
on their backs in the fattening process; and 
it is estimated that he could be made to 
weigh 800 lbs. easily. It is not in his great 
size, however, that we claim peculiar excel¬ 
lence, but in his general fine points and 
handling, soft silky hair, thin skin, and quick 
feeding properties ; and joined to all these, 
he has the bearing and action of a blood 
horse, and we are confident that his stock, 
like himself, will prove what is so essential 
here at the West, first-rate travellers. His 
coat is a deep rich plumb color, intermixed 
with a slight flecking of white and buff. 
You will recollect asserting, that the 
largest dealers and best judges, in Berkshire, 
England, informed you, that they had not 
known so large and fine a boar in that 
county for 20 years, and without intending 
in the least to disparage the value of any 
other animal, we will say, that the same 
opinion is expressed by all who have seen 
him in this country. The most forward 
pigs that we have of his stock now, are 
about 5 months old ; and we find, notwith¬ 
standing their increased size over any other 
Berkshires we have before bred, they fatten 
as kindly as those of the smaller sizes, and 
that this stock can be made ready for the 
knife at any age desired by its breeders. 
Respectfully yours, 
John Mahard, Jr. of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
R. H. Hendrickson, Middleton, “ 
July 1, 1842. 
We are indebted to our spirited friend, T. Affleck, 
Esq. recently editor of the Wes. Far. and Gard. fora 
longletter, and he will pardon us for extracting a para¬ 
graph which gives a graphic account of the climate and 
seasons of that favored latitude. It is dated Ingleside, 
Wash’n, Miss., June 30, 1842. He says—- 
As to health I have no fears. They tel] 
me we have already had specimens of the 
hottest weather, and though the sun shines 
out intensely for a few hours in the day, 
there is such a fine breeze constantly stirring, 
that I feel the heat less than I have done 
north of the Ohio river. 
You would be surprised at the advance¬ 
ment of the season. All who can are gather¬ 
ing their corn fodder, and I am preparing to 
cut up and shock this week and next. Oats 
and rye are all harvested, and corn, peas, &c., 
planted on the stubble, (turned in, of course,) 
a second crop of hay cut from the meadows 
of Bermuda grass; and many planters will 
commence cotton picking within four weeks. 
In the garden, spring and summer flowers 
are all gone, the dahlia having been the prin- 
