The Great Miami. 
ass 
would weigh from eight hundred to one 
thousand pounds, and of a form and fashion 
almost equalling Kennilworths, and to those 
who are admirers of large hogs, we cannot 
“but recommend this cross as superior to any¬ 
thing else that w 7 e know of in America. Of 
course, in so great an extent of country, the 
-breeders are numerous, and wanting room to 
mention all, we can only particularise a few 
of the most prominent that we had the plea¬ 
sure of becoming acquainted with, during 
our short stay in the valley. 
We believe the honor of first introducing 
Berkshires into this quarter, must be award- 
to Munson Beach, Esq., of Lebanon, whose 
first stock was derived some six years since, 
from the piggery of Messrs. A. & G. Brent- 
nell, of Grange County, N. Y. These were 
followed up by others from Mr. Bement, of 
Albany, and at last succeeded by direct im¬ 
portations from England. They have been 
bred with great care by Mr. Beach, and very 
generally distributed throughout the country, 
to its great benefit. Near neighbors to Mr. 
B., are the Messrs. Steddoms, very excellent 
people, among whom we saw a splendid lot 
of Berkshires, and at Mr. Samuel Steddoms, 
the fine imported boar Newbury, owned at 
present by Charles Foster, Esq., editor of the 
Western Farmer and Gardener. Below Mid¬ 
dletown is Mr. Read, where the large import¬ 
ed Reading formerly stood, the joint property 
of Messrs R. & Beach, where we saw one of 
the finest lot of sows that ever crossed our 
path; they are of great size and highly bred. 
But the most prominent man at present en¬ 
gaged in Berkshire breeding, is Mr. R. H. 
Hendrickson, of Middletown, who has taken 
up the business with great spirit. He has a 
beautiful farm with sufficient upland for a 
variety, but the greater share of it, is among 
the most fertile bottoms that are bounded by 
the Miami. These he cultivates in corn and 
wheat in superior style. His yield last year 
was about seventy bushels to the acre on an 
average of the former, and thirty-nine bush¬ 
els of the latter, although the season, on ac¬ 
count of the drought, was not particularly 
favorable for either of these crops. 
Mr. Hendrickson has in his piggery, two 
boars and twenty breeding sows, all of the 
purest and best blood, and of fine size and 
style. The boars were both imported direct 
from England last year, and are Windsor 
Castle and Earl Craven. The portrait of the 
former and a particular description of him 
appeared in our August number, and needs 
no further remark from us. He is the most 
admired and popular animal that ever came 
into the Miami valley, and his superiority is 
at once acknowledged by all who have seen 
him. Earl Craven is but a trifle inferior in 
size, of very fine points, superior hams, and 
as quiet and gentle in disposition as a Chi¬ 
nese. He is considered among the hardiest 
stocks of Berkshire, England, his color being 
nearly a jet black, with a slight flecking of 
white. 
Of the imported sows, we most admired 
Sultana : she would easily weigh six hundred 
pounds fatted, and to this great size, adds 
fine points, soft thin hair, and the mellow 
handling of a Durham ox. Elfrida and Are* 
thusa are particularly beautiful, though not 
quite so large as Sultana, yet both have 
proved themselves most excellent breeders. 
Then there are Hermosa, Picaniny, Niska- 
yuna, and others, all of which are not only 
large, but very fine, and we may close their 
eulogy by saying, that we have never seen 
stock better looked after than Mr. Hendrick¬ 
son’s, or pigs reared in better condition, and 
we freely recommend his breeding to all who 
may wish the Berkshire stock in the west. 
We also saw at Mr. Hendrickson’s, Kenil¬ 
worth and Countess Amy, two very large 
white pigs imported from England last year 
the male of which, for the gratification of the 
admirers of big animals, he intended crossing 
upon the big Miami stock of the country—• 
this pair will be very large when fully ma¬ 
tured, and at the rate they were growing 
when we last saw them, it will be a size quite 
satisfactory to any one demanding less than, 
a Rhinoceros. Aside from these, there was 
a sort of Mastodon of a hog, standing nearly 
four feet high, and of unknown length, and 
which, fully fatted, it is estimated, will weigh 
one thousand two hundred pounds. He is a 
cross of the Berkshire and Miami, and to this 
baby of a pig , Mr. H. is going to add some 
others of the same kind, and byway of show¬ 
ing what can be done in his valley, set him¬ 
self afloat in a large flat boat as soon as the 
waters rise, and challenge the western world 
to show against him, from the beginning of 
the Ohio to the mouth of the Mississippi. 
We say success to his enterprise, and can 
only hope that he will find the waters deep 
enough to float him. In addition to hogs, 
Mr. Hendrickson has some fine Durhams, be¬ 
ing joint owner with Mr. Read, in Brutus, 
imported by Wm. Neff, Esq., of Cincinnati. 
His grade Short Horns, are superior as milk¬ 
ers, and he greatly prides himself on this 
point, a quality in neat stock that we cannot 
too much praise, or think anything more do- 
serving or useful. 
