AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
83 
seen in any of my previous journeyings. The 
plows in use here have a double mold-board, 
but are very inferior in form. 
Things are better in Wirtemburg, where I 
saw a number of plows similar to the Brabant , 
and harrows of the same make as those used 
in Flanders; but farther in the interior the 
Schwerz plow is almost exclusively used. I 
observed a stone roller and a clod-crusher fur¬ 
nished with teeth. The culture of this part of 
the country appeared to me less subdivided, and 
managed on a more extensive scale than else¬ 
where ; so that it is necessarily less carefully 
attended to. Fruit trees are less numerous. 
Pears and plums were laden with fruit, while 
there was none on the apple trees. This was 
the case in Alsace also. Oats of the finest qual¬ 
ity are produced in the Grand Duchy of Baden, 
and along the left bank of the Rhine. The 
winter grain is not particularly fine, and there 
is little rape or hemp to be seen. I have passed 
through locatities where agriculture seemed 
more advanced. Madder and chiccory crops are 
in good condition. Almost all the land I have 
seen on this day’s route in the kingdom of 
Wirtemburg is of a calcareous nature. There 
are many steep banks arranged in terraces, and 
supported by walls. The ground is planted 
with vines, or cropped with grain or lucerne. 
Maize is somewhat rare here; bean crops are 
more common. Large clover fields are seen at 
intervals, the produce of which is dried on the 
frame before described. 
The city of Stuttgard is very attractive and 
there are some pleasant promenades in the 
vicinity. 
On the 12th of August I visited the cele¬ 
brated Agricultural School of Hohenheim. The 
director—M. Pabst, who has conducted it for 
five years—was just setting out on a tour to 
organize Agricultural schools in Hungary, and 
on this account was so pressed by business, that 
he ordered the clerk of the establishment to 
accompany me over the farm. I inspected the 
farm buildings, the model-room, and a portion 
of the ground under cultivation. The soil ap¬ 
peared of good quality. The fields in the vicinity 
of the farm-yard are used for the production of 
feed for the cattle, and a rotation adopted to 
ensure the largest possible amount. The chief 
crops for this purpose are Jerusalem artichokes 
and clover. Maize for fodder is sown till the 
13th of August. A large quantity of this is 
used at Hohenheim. It is sown at various 
times so as to be ready for cutting at convenient 
periods. The earliest sown h’„d not yet come into 
flower. A portion of it was sown in rows about 
twenty inches apart, and the remainder broad¬ 
cast. The whole appeared to me too thick, as 
the plants were thus prevented from growing 
tall. The cow-house at Hohenheim—a very fine 
one—contains nearly eighty animals, of which 
forty-eight are milk cows, two bulls, and the re¬ 
mainder young cattle of various ages. I was 
shown about ten acres of land which has been 
drained. There being no drain tiles at hand, 
stone drains were substituted which are not 
common in this quarter. The English practice 
of cutting the drains in the direction of the 
slope of the ground has not been followed 
here; but they are run transversely to the 
slope. 
All the fodder produced here is saved on the 
triangular frame already referred to, which is 
said to afford several advantages over the com¬ 
mon method. 
The number of pupils at the school was ninety. 
Those intended for stewards or small farmers 
perform the farm operations with the hired ser¬ 
vants. They are boarded, and receive twenty cen¬ 
times per day to cover other expenses. The 
others pay for their board. A piece of ground 
has been set apart for agricultural experiments. 
As this establishment has been fully described 
by other travellers, I need not enter into the 
subject more fully. 
The small farm system practised in the vici¬ 
nity of this Agricultural school has extended 
itself widely. I noticed here very fine crops 
raised on elevated meadows, the property of 
vine-dressers, who manure the soil once a year, 
as otherwise it would produce very little ot 
any thing. The best meadows of Hohenheim 
are only manured once in three years. It is 
found more profitable to break them up period¬ 
ically'. The railroad cars on the lines in Wir¬ 
temburg are constructed on the model of those 
in America. The fares are very moderate, 
which gives the country people an opportunity 
of using them very frequently. 
ON THE BREEDING OF HORSES. 
We would respectfully call the attention of 
the officers of our State Agricultural Society to 
the following article. They have adopted rules 
forjudging cattle, and we hope this will be fol¬ 
lowed up with adopting different sets of rules, 
for different breeds of horses. Mr. Wood argues 
the case quite to our mind. 
From the Mark Lane Express. 
Sir, —The letter of your able and experienced 
correspondent “ Cecil” induces me to trouble 
you with a few remarks on the same subject. 
I am sure that he is right in saying that “ own¬ 
ers of stallions are often reluctant to submit 
their horses to the opinion of -nose who are 
selected as judges.” I go further than this; for 
I maintain that their reluctance is a well-founded 
one, inasmuch as the majority of decisions are 
based on the mere individual caprice of those 
who happen to be the judges for the day. For 
my own part, I will never in future exhibit a 
horse of any description until two radical 
changes are made in the principle in which the 
premiums are awarded. 
1st. Let a scale of points be drawn up, by 
men of acknowledged authority, which is to be 
taken as the standard of perfection. This plan 
has already been adopted at the exhibitions of 
'Guernsey cattle. No prize is there allowed to 
be awarded to any cow or bull which does not 
possess a given number of the required points. 
In the case of horses it might be advantageous 
to go further, and to make certain points essen¬ 
tials, and others accessories. To begin with 
the case mentioned by “ Cecil”—that of bad 
hocks, which, according to him, were looked 
upon as a venial defect by the judges at Glou¬ 
cester : I would stamp them as at once dis¬ 
qualifying a horse from winning a prize, either 
as a hunter, or as a stallion for getting hunters, 
even did the animal which was so unfortunate 
as to possess them exhibit every other merit 
under the sun. In like manner, mal-formed 
feet, whether contracted or too fiat, ought to be 
a decisive disqualification for every kind of 
horse. All horses too, ought to have their legs 
properly set on, and to possess good action, 
taking into account the purposes for which they 
are intended. I give these as indications of 
what I consider the essential points of a horso, 
but by no means as a complete list. 
These cardinal points being disposed of, I 
pass to those which, although not essential, 
indicate either beauty or some useful quality, 
and which must therefore not be disregarded. 
The shape of the head is, when symmetrical, 
both a mark of high blood (although many 
thorough-bred horses have ba heads,) and 
denotes an animal light and pleasant in hand, 
especially when well set on a neck naturally 
arching, so as to allow of the head being drawn 
downwards and inwards without difficulty to 
to the rider or distress to the horse. A star¬ 
gazer, or ewe-necked brute, though always 
ugly, may do useful work in harness, but would 
be as unsafe as unsightly for a hunter. Many 
persons attach importance to a horse being well 
ribbed up. Provided the shape of the barrel is 
good, considerable latitude may be allowed on 
this point. The hips ought to present sufficient 
width ; ragged hips may bo unsightly, but I 
prefer them to those which are too narrow. A 
long hind-quarter is handsome, but some good 
horses are both short there, and goose-rumped. 
These are mere hints jotted down in haste. 
Let a committee of experienced judges be com¬ 
missioned by the Royal Agricultural Society to 
prepare a table of points, attending first to those 
which are essential to all horses; secondly, to 
those which are the characteristics of each se¬ 
parate class, whether hunters, roadsters, or fai m 
horses; and thirdly, to those which, though 
not absolutely necessary, are nevertheless de¬ 
sirable as indications of some good quality. 
The breeders of horses will then be in posses¬ 
sion of an object at which to aim. Exhibitors 
will have some idea as to how far the animals, 
they send conform to the standard thus pro¬ 
mulgated by authority. How different, and 
how infinitely to be preferred from the state of 
affairs at present. . Perplexing indeed, when 
selecting a horse for show, is the reflection that 
you have neither principle to guide you in your 
choice, nor clue as to what will govern the de¬ 
cision of your judge. Some judges prefer a 
large horse, others a small, compact one ; one 
gives the palm to blood, and another to power; 
a third likes large bone ; while a fourth is only 
to be propitiated by a big body. Action is every 
thing with some persons, and nothing with 
others; some look at the head, others at the 
hocks; and a few of the more judicious are 
critical concerning the setting on of the fore-legs 
and the position of the shoulder. There is one 
piece of advice which I can give to exhibitors, 
and only one which will be of the slightest 
practical use: Attend above all things to the 
condition of the animal which you show. Let 
him be as fat as possible, and let his skin shine 
like a star. Never mind the means, but make 
this your aim ; and if you do not win, you must 
either have an animal bad indeed, or your luck 
must be worse than your horse. 
Seriously speaking, this is the only principle 
which I have been able to discover which in¬ 
variably, and under all circumstances, governs 
the decisions at agricultural shows. The horse 
or the colt which is in the highest condition, 
and is best “got up,” is certain to be the win¬ 
ner. It is melancholy' that it should be so; but 
it is, alas! the fact that the judges must have 
something to “ flatter the eye,” as well as the 
common herd who are no judges! It is my 
firm conviction that no degree of merit would 
suffice to secure a premium to a horse thin and 
out of condition. I might have substituted the 
word “animal” for “horse,” in the last sentence; 
but with regard to cattle or sheep, there is at 
least this excuse—that the “ aptitude to fatten” 
is with them one point of perfection. Is this 
the case with the hunter, the hack, or even the 
team-horse? For my part, I call that man a 
judge in the highest sense of the word, who is 
able to discern merit, or the promise of it, un¬ 
der a rough skin and an unpampered condition, 
and who, on the other hand, has the strength 
of mind to reject a defective form, even though 
his eye bo flattered by condition ever so allur¬ 
ing to the vulgar eye. 
I must defer the discussion of the second 
change which I propose until another letter, 
should you think fit to allow me the space. 
Willoughby Wood. 
Flies in Milk. — “ My dear fellow,” said 
Beau Hickman to a waiter in an hotel, “ I have 
respect for flies—but I like to have them and 
my milk in separate glasses: they mix so much 
better when you have control of both ingre¬ 
dients.” 
