1864.3 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
17 
Herd Records—Breeders’ Association. 
There has been in existence for several years 
an “ Association of Breeders of thorough-bred 
Neat Stock,” which has quietly accomplished at 
least the beginning of what promises to be of 
great service to American farmers. Among the 
members are breeders of all the prominent 
breeds of neat cattle, particularly of Short- 
Horns, Devons, Ayrshires, and Alderneys. It 
was generally admitted that English and Amer¬ 
ican Short-Horn Herd-Books contained the 
names and pedigrees of many grade animals, in 
some cases at least, inserted in a manner likely 
to deceive and lead to the blending of impure 
blood with that of great value. The same 
was to a certain extent true of the Devon 
Herd-Book, the pedigrees resting upon the rep¬ 
resentations of the owners of the animals; 
while for the other breeds there existed no 
Herd-Books. This Association therefore deter¬ 
mined to keep a record of animals belonging to its 
members , and to admit no pedigrees to be record¬ 
ed which should not first receive the approval of 
the Association after examination by competent 
and conscientious committees, to whom should 
be presented the documentary evidence, bills of 
sale, of importation, etc., going to establish that 
the animals in question descended from those 
recognized as of pure blood in Great Britain. 
Where necessary, the committees were expected 
to examine the animals themselves, and to re¬ 
ject those showing marks of impurity. From 
time to time the committees reported; their re¬ 
ports were thoroughly canvassed by the society; 
doubtful pedigrees were referred back for fur¬ 
ther investigation, and the reports of the com¬ 
mittees on Short-Horns, Devons, and Ayrshires 
are now published in a single volume. 
The Short-Horn Herd-Record contains the ap¬ 
proved pedigrees of 71 bulls and 81 cows. 
The Devon Herd Record .—The Devon breeders 
became members of this Association so general¬ 
ly, that the publisher of the American Devon 
Herd-Book, Sanford Howard, of Boston, turned 
his papers over to the Society, giving it his in¬ 
fluence and co-operation. The Devon Herd- 
Book is now issued under the direction and 
subject to the rules of this Association—the la-' 
bor of arranging and editing having been done 
by Horace M. Sessions, of South Wilbraliam, 
Mass. 152 bulls and 351 covvs are recorded. 
The Ayrshire Herd Record.—For several years 
the Ayrshire breeders of Scotland and England, 
have been discussing the subject of an Ayrshire 
Herd-Book, but hitherto none has been put forth. 
It is to the credit of American farmers that this 
work has been done here, and so well done. 
The pedigrees of 79 bulls and of 217 cows are 
recorded, representing the herds of 129 breeders. 
It is much to be regretted that the committee 
on Alderney or Jersey cattle did not report. 
The reason we presume to be that so many 
grade animals have been sold as thorough-breds, 
that the labor of proving which ones had re¬ 
liable pedigrees tracing back to the Island of 
Jersey, was so difficult, and the odium to be en¬ 
countered, where animals were thrown out, so 
great, that the committee failed in their duty to 
the Association and to the country. If only 
fifty animals could be reported as unquestion¬ 
ably of pure blood, they and their owners 
should have the credit of it. The “ Herd Re¬ 
cord ” and circulars of the Association, may be 
obtained through Henry A. Dyer, Secretary, at 
Hartford, Conn. 
Best Time to Paint Houses.— Experi¬ 
ments have indicated that paint on surfaces ex¬ 
posed to the sun, will be much more durable 
if applied in Autumn or Spring, than if put on 
during hot weather. In cool weather it dries 
slowly, forms a hard glossy coat, tough like 
glass, while if applied in warm weather, the oil 
strikes into the wood, leaving the paint so dry 
that it is rapidly beaten off by rains. 
Chinese Sheep. 
A number of inquiries have been made re¬ 
cently in regard to these sheep. As yet the 
breed has figured very little in our Agriculture, 
and has few advocates. It is now several years 
since we have seen any, and so little has trans¬ 
pired in regard to them, that we have concluded 
that the extravagant expectations, which were 
entertained of them, have not been realized. 
This may be a mistake however. There is no 
doubt that the ewes are exceedingly prolific, 
breeding once in six months and bearing twins, 
triplets, or even four lambs at a birth. They 
begin to breed also when only a few months 
old. The size is good, and the mutton has been 
pronounced good, perhaps by interested parties. 
The writer has eaten it with satisfaction. 
The wool is exceedingly white, glossy, coarse 
and hairy, and there is not a great deal of it. 
These sheep are hornless, lop-eared, long and 
bare-legged, with great masses of fat upon their 
rumps, and having short but very broad and 
fat tails. The great impulse wool-growing is 
receiving, on account of the high price of wool, 
perhaps prompts the inquiries we receive. 
Whoever expects profit from these sheep as 
wool producers, will be disappointed, but for 
mutton and lambs, we know no reason why they 
may not be raised with advantage. We shall 
be glad to hear from any of the readers of the 
Agriculturist who can give us facts concerning 
this, or kindred breeds of sheep, particularly in 
answer to the questions: Is the mutton good 
or profitable ? and do they maintain the aston¬ 
ishing fecundity exhibited when first imported ? 
Giving Chloroform to Animals. 
Insensibility to pain during severe surgical 
operations, is induced in the human subject by 
causing the patient to inhale ether, chloroform, 
or a mixture of equal parts of ether and chloro¬ 
form, which is most commonly employed. The 
same agents produce the same effects when in¬ 
haled by domestic animals. This enables the 
surgeon or veterinarian to perform very difficult 
and even dangerous operations with compara¬ 
tive ease. The struggles of the animal being 
only mild, senseless, spasmodic twitches which 
are easily controlled. There is of course some 
risk of giving an overdose, but this need never 
occur if a little care be exercised. To apply the 
ansesthetic agent to a horse, pour upon a towel 
folded to about a foot square, enough of it to 
wet a surface in the centre as large as a tea 
saucer; then lay this upon the horse’s nose and 
cause him to inhale the vapor which rises, mix¬ 
ed at first with much air; gradually, as he be¬ 
comes accustomed to the smell, let him breathe 
it a little stronger, and even close the towel 
down upon his nostrils, but not so as entirely 
to exclude the air. His eyes will soon show 
that bewildered look indicating the approach 
of the profound stupor which will soon after 
affect him. Of couise he should be firmly 
held or bound, so that under any circumstances 
he will be perfectly uader control. Animals 
usually stand up through ordinary operations, 
but if they get too much of the chloroform and 
ether, they may fall. This must be provided 
against, and while the animal has still conscious¬ 
ness he must be made to lie down. For the per¬ 
formance of many operations consciousness need 
never leave the animal, and it is often best it 
should not. A condition of entire unconscious¬ 
ness, particularly if accompanied by a very fee¬ 
ble pulse, indicates that enough of the anmsthet. 
ic has been administered for present needs, and 
the cloth may be partially or entirely removed, 
to be applied again, however, should the coma 
or insensible condition not last long enough. 
Besides the use of these agents in effecting 
insensibility in cases of surgical operations 
upon injured or diseased animals, by their means 
a fractious horse may be made managable while 
being shod; colts may be gelt, cows spayed, 
and many other similar operations performed 
which any ingenious farmer may do himself 
after a proper investigation. 
Preparing Fuel, and Kindling Fires. 
Friend B., of Cecil County, Md., adds further 
suggestions to our fire-building article in the De¬ 
cember Agriculturist , designed more particularly 
for farmers who use woo'd only. We have bare¬ 
ly room for the following epitome of his letter • 
To save time in the morning is important; let 
the wood be cut, split, and well dried. Wood 
seasoned where exposed to the weather, is far 
inferior to that cut green and dried under shelter. 
It is most easily cut and split while green. [It 
is bad policy to burn green or damp wood; half 
or more of the heat is lost in drying out the 
water].—Where wood is abundant, a capacious 
fire chamber, in fire-place or stove, with large 
doors, promotes expedition in kindling, and 
facilitates heating and cooking. Farmers having 
a free home supply of wood, know that the 
chief expense is in cutting and splitting for 
small stoves. These require the rejection of 
knots, which are often the best portions to keep 
up a fire, or a good enduring bed of live coals 
to start with in the morning. The large stove 
or fire-place admits the large pieces and knots, 
and thus saves much work in cutting and split¬ 
ting.—By pipes or even by openings in the 
ceilings, involving little or no expense, the s«> 
plus warm air from the stoves in lower rooms 
may be carried to the upper rooms and attic, 
and keep them all above freezing temperature, 
in the coldest weather. The question of econ¬ 
omy between coal and wood, much discussed 
here, and elsewhere, depends mainly upon the 
relative cost. Coal at any price is preferable to 
green wood fresh from the grove or snow bank. 
A large covered pile of dry wood may change 
the question. Some use dearer coal simply on 
account of its keeping fire longer and even over 
night, who would change their reckoning if 
they learned to have dry wood ahead, with the 
liberal supply of large knots, and the spacious 
stove to use them in. A little intelligent reason¬ 
ing on the subject would make many more 
farmers independent of the rioters of Mauch 
Chunk, [and of the grasping coal companies.] 
It is better to decide a difference between 
enemies than friends, for one of our friends 
will probably become an enemy; on the other 
hand, one of our enemies becomes a friend. 
It is a great misfortune to live under a gov¬ 
ernment that will suffer people to do nothing; 
j but it is a much greater to be under one which 
| allows all to do as they please. 
