SKETCHES OF THE WEST.—NO. V. 
231 
it; the stubble is then plowed up for corn again, 
or suffered to remain in pasture if it has been pre¬ 
viously sowed with grass-seed. 
Stock. —This, of course, is Durham, and the 
foundation of Mr. Warfield’s herd was the ’17 
importation, crossed on by the best later ones. 
They are choice and fine, and all have quite a 
family resemblance in the horn, which is very 
slender and somewhat longer than usual in this 
breed. His superior young cow Caroline has al¬ 
ready taken seven premiums; she is extremely 
even and well shaped, and of good milking quali¬ 
ties, as indeed is his whole stock, this being a sina 
qua non with Mr. W. in breeding. We found 
Cossack here, an imported bull, half brother to 
Mr. Jacques’ (of England) celebrated Clemente, 
which won the first prize as a two-year old at the 
Royal Agricultural Society’s meeting at Cambridge 
in 1840. We saw him in August, 1841, at the York¬ 
shire show at Hull, when he was second only to 
Mr. Bates’ Cleveland Lad. Cossack is a fine snug 
bull, and remarkably well ribbed up. Shannon, 
bred by Mr. Sullivant, of Columbus, Ohio, is a 
noble, airy, upheaded, active fellow. Mr. W. has 
many fine animals, and means to keep on breeding 
till his farm is completely slocked with first-rate 
thorough-bred Short-Horns. We also found here 
a fine stock of thorough-bred Berkshires and their 
crosses. 
Returning to Lexington by way of Dr. Warfield’s, 
we took a look over his horses; and really a beau¬ 
tiful lot he has, and quite numerous. Those 
which pleased us most among them was a pretty 
troop of fifteen or twenty colts running wild in a 
large pasture, just like any other cattle. They 
were the produce of some of the most celebrated 
horses of the day ; and with their fine forms, clean 
blood-like "limbs, high spirit, and gay action, run¬ 
ning, capering, and playing, like a herd of wild 
deer in their wide paddocks, presented as anima¬ 
ting a sight as one will easily meet with in an en¬ 
closed country. 
Plantation of Mr. James E. Letton .—We had 
many other invitations, and a great deal to see in 
the neighborhood of Lexington, but some necessary 
business to attend to in Ohio, obliged us to depart; 
but arriving at Millersburg, we found that we 
could not pass without calling to see Locomotive, 
lately imported by Mr. Letton, from Mr. Bates’ 
celebrated herd at Kirkleavington, England. To 
do this we had six miles to thread out all alone, 
in a pretty blind way across the country. But a 
gentleman at the hotel where we stopped, drew a 
plain map of the route, and the landlord furnishing 
us with a smart bay filley, that from her spirit and 
action we set down at once for near thorough-bred, 
away we galloped. We pretty soon got into a 
large open park, then bearing to the left, and now 
taking to the right, and fording a wild crooked 
rivulet half a dozen times, opening and shutting 
as many different gates as we passed from enclo¬ 
sure to enclosure, we at last arrived opposite a snug 
farm-house. Here we thought it was best to make 
an enquiry, when a very obliging young man came 
out and insisted on accompanying us to show the 
way to Mr. Letton’s, although some two miles or 
more distant. We had ‘not proceeded far, how¬ 
ever, before we espied a person on a tall white 
pacer, making for the same gate as ourselves in an 
oblique direction. Coming up, this turned out to 
be Mr. L. himself, so after making a self-introduc¬ 
tion, he hospitably invited us home. 
The cultivation of this plantation is much like 
others before described ; we shall therefore pass it 
over. In feeding his stock, Mr. Letton goes against 
the forcing system entirely, and means to treat his 
high-breds in the same way that any good plant¬ 
er and Christian man would his common farm ani¬ 
mals. We accordingly found Locomotive running 
out in the field with the other stock, from which 
he was taken up at night and fed a little cut hay, 
mixed with coarse bran. 
In the month of January stock appears to disad¬ 
vantage, and on first looking at Locomotive, one 
might say that his brisket is even too low, and 
his fore legs, perhaps, a little too close together. 
On the other hand, his head and horns are fair, 
with an elegant arched neck ; his back, loin, and 
quarter particularly good ; straight, fine hind leg; 
twist well let down; and tail beautifully set on. 
To look at him behind, his barrel is superb; and 
his handling, from beginning to end, fine, elastic, 
and without fault. Mr. Bates spoke very highly 
to us of the milking qualities and fattening pro¬ 
pensities of his progenitors, and all we can further 
add, is, there he stands, and, though not perfect in 
himself, (for what animal is ?) he can not hut be of 
eminent service to the stock of Kentucky, high¬ 
bred and superior, as all acknowledge it now is. 
When we looked over Mr. Letton’s stock, his cows 
were all imported. We liked Miss Severs best. 
She is superior in the brisket, and otherwise very 
good. 
Mr. L. also brought over from England a couple 
of young stallions of the cart-horse breed. The 
black is a very handsome animal of his kind; in¬ 
deed, one of the most so that we ever saw. The 
gray is larger, but somewhat coarser. The ob¬ 
ject in view is to cross them on the largest mares 
of the country, and the females of this produce 
breed to large-sized Jacks, for the purpose of in¬ 
suring them stout 16-hand mules, for the heavy 
work of the farm, and to sell south. Mules are so 
much tougher and hardier than horses in a hot 
climate, that it has become a great object to breed 
them of sufficient size to do the heavy work of the 
plantation. Under these circumstances, Mr. L.’s 
enterprise is highly commendable, and we wish 
him marked success in his laudable improvements. 
Next to the horses, we were shown some fine 
large Leicester sheep, and some swine, a cross of 
the Berkshire on the Irish Grazier, which, had 
they a smaller ear, and one could be assured of the 
same hardiness, we should consider them almost 
equal to the pure Berkshire. We think this cross, 
anyhow, infinitely superior to all the Woburns we 
saw in Kentucky, or crosses of them.. 
On the road to Maysville, mounting the box 
alongside of the driver of the coach, whom we 
found quite an intelligent young man, as the horses 
started off, we were attracted by the superior pow¬ 
er, form, and action of the leaders, and inquired 
where they were bred ? 
“ At the north.” . ( ... 
