AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Si 
limit of all such previous meetings, and unques¬ 
tionably opening a new era in the breeding of 
British stock. Lord Ducie’s many heavy out¬ 
lays, extravagant as they sounded, were only so 
by comparison at the time he made them. They 
are such no longer. Experience has shown 
there was scarcely one but in which he was 
fully justified, as a man of business, for all he 
did; while, in venturing so far, he but further 
evinced that feeling which marked his whole 
career—-that whatever was worth doing at all, 
was worth doing well. 
It is a saying at Hyde-Park Corner, that no 
one’s horses sell like those of a dead man. 
There is a kind of granted guaranty of there 
being something more than a mere weeding 
intended, and purchasers have the confidence 
to bid in accordance. The Tortworth sale had, 
unhappily, for many reasons, this same assu¬ 
rance to offer to the public. Had the lamented 
owner been further spared to us, there were many 
animals included in the catalogue nf Wednesday 
last which—high as they went—would scarcely 
at any price have been suffered to leave Tort- 
worth. Beyond this, it was tolerably well un¬ 
derstood that the present Earl had no intention 
of continuing the pursuit. Mr. Strafford stated 
this at the commencement of the sale; every 
lot went for just what the public thought proper 
to give. There was not a shilling “sweetened,” 
and not an animal left to the estate it was 
sold on. 
The two days’ catalogue included, first, the 
short-horn herd—cows, heifers, calves, and 
bulls; these, with the pigs, filling up the first 
day. On the second, came the South Down flock 
and the Cochin-China fowls. As must be, by 
this, well known to all our readers, the great 
attraction was centred in the short-horns; un¬ 
questionably some of the best-selected and 
purest-bred in the kingdom. What the Cokings 
so well commenced, Mr. Bates was equally 
remarkable for following up, and the best an¬ 
imals he left came direct from Kirklevington to 
Tortworth; at least, so the world at large was 
then led to believe, and the attendance on 
Wednesday last fully confirmed the impression. 
There may have been larger numbers at Kirk¬ 
levington ; but never, perhaps, were there so 
many eminent breeders of all kinds of stock 
assembled together. The short-horn men them¬ 
selves, if not all to buy, anxious to see how the 
famed “Duchess ” tribes fared in their new home, 
and watching—maybe with a somewhat jealous 
eye—what the determination of this noble lord 
had really accomplished. 
Tuesday, and the Wednesday morning up to 
one o’clock, were devoted to the inspection of 
the different lots. The short-horns were almost 
unanimously allowed to be in the acme of breed¬ 
ing condition; while the Earl’s judgment in 
selecting them as suitable to the soil and climate 
of Tortworth had able confirmation in the ap¬ 
pearance of the animals themselves. They had 
all, both old and young stock, what the York- 
shiremen call the “ bloody” look so peculiar to 
the well-bred short-horn; as manifest, indeed, 
in the pure-bred cow as in the thorough-bred 
horse, and warranting the long and high pedi¬ 
grees of which each one could boast. 
The white pigs, bred from Lords Carlisle and 
Wenlock, and Messrs. Brown, Watson, and 
Wiley’s sorts, were as generally admired, and 
the Cochin-China fowl, both in color and form, 
showed a very strong sample of this recent 
addition to the farm-yard family. The sheep, 
on the other hand, were not so highly approved 
of. They were evidently not so well adapted 
for the land; and, with the exception of some 
of the ewes, had a roughish and not very pro¬ 
mising look. They were known, however, to 
be also bred from the best sorts—the names of 
the Duke of Richmond, Colonel Kingscote, and 
Captain Pelham, with Messrs. Barclay, Ellman, 
Harris, Rigden, and Jonas Webb, answering for 
their purity in the catalogue, and tending much 
to the very high prices they fetched at the 
hammer. 
These prices may be left in a very great de¬ 
gree to speak for themselves. We give them 
as fully as possible, with a description of the 
lot, and, as far as ascertainable, the name of the 
purchaser. Amongst the latter will be found 
several American gentlemen, who added un¬ 
questionably to the success of the sale by the 
spirit with which they opposed and generally 
tired out many of the home buyers. The short¬ 
horn herd, consisting of sixty-two lots, realized 
close upon ten thousand pounds, making an 
average of upwards of one hundred and fifty 
pounds each animal. In the choice amongst 
these, of course the direct Duchess kind stood 
highest. A red four-year-old cow (Duchess G4) 
was knocked down at six hundred guineas to 
Mr. Thorne, an American; a roan heifer, rising 
three years old (Duchess 60), for seven hundred 
guineas, was bought for Col. Morris, [and Mr. 
Becar,] President of the New-York State Agricul¬ 
tural SocietjL A heifer c^Jf of the latter, some six 
or seven weeks old, brought three hundred and 
ten guineas—a heifer and her calf thus making 
more' than a thousand guineas! Such prices as 
those we have just instanced are altogether be¬ 
yond record. Lord Ducie, we believe, when 
“the whim” was very strong on nun, unre 
gave five hundred for two cows; but what his 
own reached are far beyond even the best days 
of the Kirklevington era. Some others of this 
year’s calves, more especially, were knocked 
down at equally extraordinary prices—one to 
Mr. Tanqueray at four hundred, and a yearling 
to Mr. Gunter (who also bought Duchess 70) at 
three hundred and fifty. 
The two bulls in use are both, we are told, 
bought for America. The Duke of Gloucester 
is one of Lord Ducie’s own breeding; the Duke 
of York he purchased at Mr. Bates’s sale for 
two hundred, having a gentleman commissioned 
to give six. He entered the lot himself, how¬ 
ever, at the two hundred, and there was no 
subsequent offer against him. 
We call the serious attention of our breeders 
to the result of this sale. It is but another 
proof of what the union of capital and judgment 
may do, as of how certain a spirited outlay is to 
repay the man who devotes himself in any way 
to the pursuits of agriculture. The one secret 
of this wonderful success was Lord Ducie’s de¬ 
termination to have the lest. It was this alone 
that directed his purchases, and this that has 
regulated the returns. The world has certainly 
received and stamped his efforts with the high¬ 
est compliment that could be paid. He must 
remain now as equally an example to landlord 
and tenant—demonstrating, as his career does, 
how much good a country gentleman may thus 
do for the community, and with how little loss 
to himself or to his family. 
-♦ - 
Paint tour Houses. Now is the time for 
preparation; soon after the heat of summer is 
over, say in September and October, is the best 
time to paint. One coat laid in autumn is 
equal to two in summer; the lead dries more 
evenly, and oil holds it much longer than when 
spread in hot weather. Paint laid on in fall 
weather is more lasting than when put on in 
spring, because the substance becomes hard¬ 
ened through the winter without exposure to 
the intense heat of July and August, and is 
therefore much less likely to suffer from the 
effects of the ensuing summer. Whenever 
white lead adheres to the hand when rubbed 
over it, put on a thin coat. A house once well 
painted, if lightly coated every third year suc¬ 
ceeding, will be more economically painted and 
kept in better preservation than in any other 
way. Use none but the best material at any 
time.— Worcester Transcript. 
Tall Corn. —The Vermont Statesman tells 
of a stalk of corn standing in the garden of 
John Bernham, of Brattleboro’, which measures 
fourteen feet six inches in height, and the high¬ 
est ear of corn on it is nine feet six inches from 
the ground. 
— Charley Grab took a field to plant at 
halves. At harvest-time the owner came for 
his share of the produce : but the wag told him 
very coolly that he was sorry there was nothing 
for him, as the land did not yield but half a crop, 
which he had taken for his half. 
The National Horse Exhibition at Spring- 
field, Mass. —The Committee having charge of 
this matter have fixed on Wednesday, October 
19, 1853, as the day of opening the Exhibition, 
and propose to have it continue four days, clos¬ 
ing on Saturday, October 22d. It is designed 
to be a National Exhibition, and inducements 
will be offered which, it is hoped and expected, 
will bring out horses from all sections of the 
Union, and from our Canadian neighbors on 
the north. The Committee have assurances 
already, from various quarters, that this will be 
the case. The Committee have made arrange¬ 
ments with several of the railroads centering 
here to bring all horses designed for exhibition 
free of charge ; and it is hoped that a similar 
arrangement may be made with railroads at a 
distance. The Exhibition is designed for pur¬ 
poses both of show and sale—considerations 
which, combined, must prove immensely attract¬ 
ive. The premiums to be awarded are from 
$20 to $200 on each animal, and amount alto¬ 
gether to about. &2.000. A liberal sum. reallv. 
We trust horse-breeders will make a good show 
of it. 
Irregularity of the Mails. —We have re¬ 
ceived a number of letters recently, complaining 
of the non-reception of papers. Our papers are 
carefully mailed to every subscriber, and the loss 
of papers can only be attributed to the mail 
department, which does not in all cases seem to 
be in good working order. Whenever any papers 
are missed, we shall be glad to supply their place 
with others, as soon as informed of the fact, g>ost- 
paid. 
Lightning Rods. — L. D. M. The suggestion 
is. a good one, and we will give one or more ar¬ 
ticles on lightning rods in" future numbers. 
Six-rowed Barley is sown in the South from 
September to January for crops and soiling. The 
two-rowed barley will not stand the winter 
where it freezes, and must not be sown before 
February. 
Opposite Seasons in Europe and America.— 
It is a fact known to science that when we have 
a warm season in this country, the reverse is 
experienced in Europe. While it has been so 
hot and sultry here for the last few weeks, in 
Europe it has been cold and inclement. The 
circumstance is accounted for in this way: that 
the zone of innumerable asteroids in their revo¬ 
lutions are now in such a condition between the 
earth and sun as to shut off the solar rays from 
the eastern hemisphere, and to have them strike 
without obstruction upon the western. To these 
same asteroids are ascribed those phenomena of 
“ dark days” which, at several different periods, 
have astonished the people of the earth.— Mo¬ 
bile Register. 
The above is not invariably the case, as we 
have several times noted during the last thirty 
years. 
The Love of Gardening. —No truth in politi¬ 
cal statistics is more established than that wher¬ 
ever a love of gardening prevails among a po¬ 
pulation, there also prevail comfort, virtuous 
habits, and little of evil. This is no mere asser¬ 
tion of hope, but is the verdict given by those 
who have devoted themselves to the study of 
such questions; and it is sustained not only by 
the evidence of every beneficed clergyman 
watching over the habits of his flock, but by the 
personal experience of every one who reads 
these pages. No one, in town or country, who 
has noticed the pursuits and the condition of 
his neighbors, whether wealthy or poor, but can 
testify that regular habits and respectability of 
character are the invariable accompaniments of 
attachment to the culture of the garden-plot.-— 
Cottage Gardener. 
