130 
FARM OF MR. GIBBONS. 
FARM OF MR. GIBBONS. 
This farm consists of about 600 acres in one 
body, and is situated in the town of Madison, 
Morris county, New Jersey, 25 miles west of this 
city, and can be approached in two hours by the 
Morristown railroad. The soil, generally, is of a 
sandy or light gravelly character, though some parts 
of it may more properly be characterized as a loam. 
In order to ensure a more perfect management, 
the farm is divided into three sections of about 200 
acres each ; the first 200 being reserved by its 
opulent owner for his private grounds around the 
mansion, and the remaining 400 are nearly equally 
distributed between two tenants, each with its own 
independent set of buildings. 
This farm was in a very low state when pur¬ 
chased by Mr. Gibbons a few years since, or to use 
a more common phrase, nearly run out. His im¬ 
provements upon it have been gradual, and are 
still progressive , as he modestly says he has much 
to learn, and considers as yet that he has just be¬ 
gun. It is not necessary for us to go into minute 
particulars in describing the management of this 
farm, suffice it to say, the rotation of crops is such 
as is practised by the most enlightened system of 
New Jersey; that all the manure is carefully hus¬ 
banded and applied ; lime, and other foreign fer¬ 
tilizers, are added when it is considered necessary, 
and the land is already restored to such a state of 
fertility as to produce the most bountiful crops. 
Stock. —Mr. Gibbons has for some time more 
particularly devoted his farm to the raising of im¬ 
proved stock; and of this, his chief deliglit seems 
at present to centre in Durham cattle, and blood- 
horses. For the foundation of the former, he com¬ 
menced by importing direct from England, two 
bulls and a few choice cows, which were selected 
for him with much care by a friend then travelling 
abroad. These he has continued to breed with 
attention since their arrival here, and he has now 
surrounding him a very pretty herd. Among them 
we greatly admired Fortune, 6 years old, out of 
the imported cow Yolage. She is of a rich roan 
color, of good size in a small compass, handles 
well, is fine in her points, carries a superb brisket, 
and has proved herself, in accordance with her 
name, quite a fortune to her owner, having al¬ 
ready produced him in the shape of three beauti¬ 
ful heifers, the three great virtues of Faith, Hope, 
and Charity. Faith is a rangy, fashionable an¬ 
imal, and already the dam of a pair of handsome 
twin heifers. Hope is a gem in her way, in shape 
like her dam, and holds forth much promise, 
which we may safely trust will not be disappoint¬ 
ed. As for Charity, she is not sufficiently grown 
yet to give an opinion upon her merits, and we 
can only add, that we shall expect her, at a proper 
age, to charitably commence breeding, and contin¬ 
ue favoring her owner every year thereafter, till 
well in her teens, with a handsome image of 
herself. Moonbeam is a superb 3-year old, much 
like Fortune in shape and other qualities. She 
indicates good milking properties, and has a per¬ 
fect bag; the teats in their position forming an 
exact square and slightly pointing out. 
Of the bulls, upon the whole, we liked Majestic 
best. He is (2249) in the Herd-Book, and was 
the first one imported. He is heavy and compact, 
with a good brisket and quarter, and these are the 
animals to our taste. Arthur, the second impor¬ 
tation, is long and rangy, and may, perhaps, be 
the most popular with the public. Zero, 4 years 
old, by Majestic, out of Volage, is a noble animal; 
fine in the head, and possesses many other good 
qualities. In addition to these, Mr. Gibbons has 
several other thorough-breds, and quite a herd of 
hisfh grades, both here and at another farm in 
Elizabethtown ; good milkers, especially for qual¬ 
ity, making most excellent family cows. 
His bulls he more generally transfers when quite 
young, and in the autumn, to bis rice plantations, 
near Savannah, Georgia; where, after undergoing 
the process of acclimating, he disposes of them to 
the planters for the purpose of improving the 
southern stock. This is an excellent plan, and 
cattle stock are much more likely to do well taken 
from the middle states to the south ; when import¬ 
ed direct from the cool, moist climate of Eng¬ 
land, they are sure to die, or become utterly worth¬ 
less for breeding. It is the same also with sheep; 
horses and swine do better. We contend with Mr. 
Gibbons that acclimation should be gradual. 
Of the horses we shall speak at length in a com¬ 
munication we intend for the Spirit of the Times, 
that being a more proper periodical for the discus¬ 
sion of the merits of thorough-breds than our lim¬ 
ited farm journal. We may however say, en pas¬ 
sant, that in this department Mr. Gibbons at pres¬ 
ent stands at the head, and with his unconquerable 
Fashion, and several other animals equally promis¬ 
ing, he may safely challenge the Union. His 
breeding-stud is large, the grounds for it very ap¬ 
propriate, and the stables, sheds, and paddocks, 
without being expensive, are more perfectly and 
commodiously arranged than we have elsewhere 
seen in the United States. Yet, notwithstanding 
their high breeding, there are several animals here, 
that we are confident would greatly improve our 
roadsters hv crossing on the common stock of the 
country. Mariner, for example, although only 15 
hands high, strikes us as being a horse of very 
great substance in that compact form, and put to 
roomy mares, we are confident the produce would 
have size enough. He is a singular thorough¬ 
bred, and deserving a minute description, even in 
a strictly agricultural paper. 
In form he is a complete Arabian. His head is 
fine, with small ears, broad forehead, eyes like a 
deer, and large open nostril; mane and neck fine, 
the latter beautifully arched; chest full and deep; 
back short and strong ; body well ribbed up, long 
under the belly, and round like a barrel; quarters 
in proportion to those of an English cart-horse, 
full, round, and superbly developed; tail well set 
on, and when moving, carried with a graceful 
curve; hind legs straight, fine, and muscular; the 
joints of the fore legs very strong, and short from 
the knee down; the pasterns shorter and stronger 
than is usual with racers; and the hoof clear, tough, 
and open. His color is of the very best kind, and de¬ 
notes endurance, being brown with a tanned muz¬ 
zle. His action either in walking, trotting, or gal¬ 
loping, very fine; and as for game and endurance, 
few could ever run with him—his twelfth mile 
