AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
100 
baggags-car, close by here, one of the hands, as is 
supposed, accidently dropped one of the cans. The 
explosion which followed was terrific; engine and 
baggage-car were blown into atoms ; pieces of the 
car and the men’s watches were found a mile away. 
The ceiling of a house a mile and a half distant, 
was ruined, and a huge hole in the ground, marks 
the spot where the fatal explosion took place. Of 
course none of the half-a-dozen men employed on 
the cars escaped. Thirty different pieces of their 
bodies were collected and buried ; such calamities 
as this, make the miners more circumspect, but 
they soon relapse into their accustomed careless 
ways. When a blast is to take place, a whistle is 
blown, and the men come above the ground. A 
former secretary of the company thought this an 
unnecessary waste of time, until on one occasion, 
a huge mass of rock, lifted by the nitro-glycerine 
from below, buried itself in the ground close by his 
feet. There is, so to speak, a natural antagonism 
between the miners and the mine owners, the for¬ 
mer maintaining that the latter do not make suffi¬ 
cient provision for the protection and preservation 
of their lives. In the elec¬ 
tions last November, the 
miners of both political 
parties supported one of 
the candidates for district 
attorney, because he had 
won a suit against a com¬ 
pany for injuries suffered 
by one ot' the miners, and 
had, therefore, to this 
extent, determined the 
question that the mine- 
owners were responsible 
for the lives of the miners. 
Heavy Products of Ore. 
The Cleveland Mine, 
which joins the Tilden or 
New York Mine on the 
east, was opened in 1852, 
and has produced over 
sixteen hundred thousand 
gross tons of ore up to the 
present time; the ore is 
hoisted by machinery. 
The Lake Superior Mine, 
which we next visited, 
close by, was opened in 
1857, is owned mainly by 
Boston parties, employs 
some 250 men,and has pro¬ 
duced two million gross 
tons of ore ; the main shaft 
runs down an incline of 
250 feet, with galleries and chambers on each side. 
One’s head fairly swims as he looks down into the 
vast pits or excavations, and sec the miners run¬ 
ning nimbly about on the ladders like so many 
squirrels ; a single mistep would be fatal to them. 
While they were taking dinner, a year ago, an em¬ 
bankment on the south side fell, which, at any other 
time of day, must have crushed a large number of 
men. About fifty miners have been killed at one 
time and another in the Lake Superior Mine. The 
Barnum Mine, called after the Connecticut Senator 
of the same name, who is largely interested in it, 
lies south of the Superior, and employs 150 men ; 
some of its veins have been worked out. Bores, 
however, made to the depth of five hundred feet, 
by the Diamond Drill, have established the fact 
that this mine has valuable veins of ore extending 
directly under the city of Ishpeming. The Jackson 
Mine, where the first iron ore in the region was dis¬ 
covered (1846), has been in active operation twenty- 
two years, and produced over eighteen hundred 
thousand gross tons of ore. There are other mines 
in this Marquette range which will repay a visit. 
Then one,if he has time,should make a tour through 
the mines of the Menomonee region. He should 
likewise consult Hon. A. P. Swineford, Editor of 
the “Marquette Mining Journal,” whose knowl¬ 
edge regarding the mines has given him a wide 
reputation. After the depression which has pre¬ 
vailed since the panic of 1873, the iron men of 
the Peninsula are very hopeful and buoyant over 
the present improving condition of affairs. 
No-horn Cattle—The Jamestowns. 
BT A. W. CHEEVER, SHEI.DONVILLE, MASS. 
[The interest manifested in the Scotch breeds 
of .hornless cattle, will render timely the following 
account of a family of this class of cattle, which 
Mr. Cheever, of the “New England Farmer,” well 
known as a breeder of these animals, has kindly 
furnished us.— Eds.] —It is about ten years since 
L commenced with the “ No-horns,” and I now 
have about eighteen. The origin of my herd is from 
the best no-horned bulls I could obtain (of local 
breeding) upon my best selected native cows. My 
first bull, named “Col. Stone,” out of regard for 
the interest that gentleman had taken in polled 
cattle, was a grade, and sired several good cows. 
The next, “St. Patrick,” (see engraving), was 
bred by Col. Stone, of Dedham, and was an 
excellent animal. His dam, “ Ruby,’* jived to be 
14 or 15 years old, without ever being dry. “ Ruby ” 
was mated several times with pure Jersey bulls of 
the best stock, yet very seldom bore any but polled 
calves. After “ St. Patrick ” I have used no bulls 
JAMESTOWN BULL “ ST. PATRICK.’ 
Owned at “ Pine Hedge' 1 ' 1 Farm, Sheldonville, Mass. 
other than his calves, so that my stock is now be¬ 
coming quite uniform in appearance, though the 
Jersey blood is sometimes manifest in the color of 
some animals. These Dedham polled cattle bear 
the local name of “ Jamestowns,” and are so highly 
esteemed in the vicinity, that the Norfolk Agricul¬ 
tural Society has authorized committees to award 
prizes to them as a distinct breed, although they 
arc hardly yet entitled to the name of pure-breds, 
as they have frequently been crossed with the Jer¬ 
sey and Ayrshire stock. The origin of the “James¬ 
towns,” as near as I can learn, is as follows : In 1847, 
Capt. R. B. Forbes went to Ireland, as Commander 
of the U. S. ship Jamestown, with a cargo of pro¬ 
visions for the people who were suffering from.the 
famine due to the failure of the potato crop. On 
his return, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, wishing 
to confer a favor upon the commander, made him 
a present of a “Suffolk ” heifer, which proved to 
be a remarkably deep milker, giving in her flow 26 
quarts, beer measure, of the richest milk. Capt. 
Forbes sold theheifer to John Marland, of Andover, 
Mass., giving the proceeds to the Irish Charity 
fund, and she was afterwards owned by John D. 
Bates, of Swampscott, and by a Mr. Osborne, of 
Danvers. She had few heifer calves, and one owned 
by Wallace Thaxter, of Boston, proved a superior 
dairy cow. Several of her bull calves were raised 
and left their impress upon the dairy stock in the 
vicinity of Boston. In 1854 this cow dropped a 
bull calf which was secured by the late Dr. Eben 
Wight, of Dedham, and named “ Jamestown ” 
after the noble ship that brought his mother to this 
country. He proved himself as remarkable in his 
progeny as that of his kind on his mother’s side. 
His sire was “ Beverly,” a thoroughbred Jersey, 
out of “ Flora,” by the “ First Prize Bull ” at the 
Royal Agricultural Show in Jersey. “ Flora ” was 
imported by Mr. Thomas Motley, and proved a 
leading representative of that popular dairy stock, 
having made sixteen pounds of butter per week. 
The “Jamestowns ” are notable for their gentle¬ 
ness. When the bull “ Jamestown ” was five years 
old, a boy of the same age could manage him with 
safety. The animals are very hardy, are hearty 
feeders, and hold out in their milk, often through 
the entire year. My own herd has been bred with 
more regard for quality than quantity of milk, and 
for several years past has averaged 200 to 250 lbs. 
of butter per cow. In extra favorable seasons, the 
quantity has exceeded the above amount. As dairy 
cows, I presume the “Jamestowns” may be ex¬ 
celled by the best families of pure Jerseys, but their 
larger size, their ease of fattening when dry, to¬ 
gether with their excellent dispositions, make them 
the most desirable dairy 
animals, in my estimation, 
that I have ever met. I 
can put my whole herd 
into a yard so small that 
they can hardly turn 
around, and yet feel per¬ 
fectly free from anxiety 
or fear of injury to the 
animals. The bull I am 
now keeping, though past 
three years old, has never 
worn a ring, is tied in the 
stall with cows, and is as 
easily and safely handled 
as a six weeks’ calf. [Mr. 
Cheever sells most of his 
butter in the Boston mar¬ 
ket at 85 cents per pound,, 
nearly or quite equaling 
that from the best Jersey 
herds. We understand 
that Mr. C. has none of 
these cattle for sale. An 
interesting description of 
the three distinct breeds 
of the hornless cattle of 
Great Britain, including 
the “ Suffolk ” mentioned' 
above, is giveu on page 93, 
and an article discussing 
them adaptability to this 
country was published 
in the American Agrxcultwrist for last Dec., which it 
will be well for interested parties to refer to.— Eds.], 
A Self Closing Tide Gate. 
Among the many different forms of self-acting 
sluices for tidal drains, few operate satisfactorily. 
Many of them become stiff, and acting only by their 
own weight, do not prevent access of water until 
the tide is so high as to press forcibly on the gates. 
An engraving is here given, showing a method of 
constructing a perfectly tight gate, which will not 
permit any water to pass in from the outside under 
any circumstances, and will act when the difference 
of level is so small as one inch. It consists of a 
SELF-CLOSING TIDE-GATE, OPEN. 
flume of the usual kind, having a round opening 
with beveled edge in the bottom at the outside end, 
with guides made as indicated. A wooden ball is- 
turned to fit the round opening accurately, in which; 
it is confined by a grating of iron or wooden bars. 
When the tide rises, the ball is floated into the- 
round opening by the water, and closes it tightly. 
