AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
261 
markets to an important extent. Not a few of 
the Hercforcls shown were estimated to weigh 
from 200 to 230 stones—a weight that would 
have done credit to the show yard. Thus far, 
therefore, to-day’s supply of Devons and Ilere- 
fords has proved superior to some past years, 
and agreeably added to the good things for 
Christmas consumption in this great metropolis. 
We now come to the Short-horns. The great 
attention shown to this description of stock for 
many years past, has materially assisted in 
bringing it into great repute; indeed, we may 
venture to observe that there are larger num¬ 
bers now fed in this country than of any other 
separate breed. Formerly, the Short-horns 
were chiefly bred in Lincolnshire and Leicester¬ 
shire; but now they have greatly extended 
themselves into other parts of England, but 
more particularly into Norfolk, where, appa¬ 
rently, they have displaced the once celebrated 
Home-breds from, possibly, their comparative 
hardiness and aptitude to fatten. Amongst the 
stock to which we have here particularly alluded 
were some of the heaviest weights we almost 
ever remember to have witnessed in an open 
market, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, North¬ 
amptonshire, Norfolk, and other quarters showed 
specimens of the breed which excited the ad¬ 
miration and wonder of the visitors, however 
practical might have been their judgment and 
experience. With these general remarks we 
have now to place the Short-horns first as re¬ 
spects weight. In the second class we assign 
the Devons, for weight, number, and quality; 
whilst the Herefords must be placed in the third 
class for number, though they were quite equal 
in quality to many of the Scots. Be it under¬ 
stood that we have here drawn no invidious 
comparison, that we have not endeavored to de¬ 
tract from the merits of any breed, and that 
our sole object has been to state particulars, 
which may be found essentially useful in follow¬ 
ing years. In addition to the breeds above 
mentioned, there was an average supply of 
Pembrokeshire runts, Sussex oxen, Irish beasts, 
&c., which attracted great attention. 
It seems that a Short-horn proved to be the 
“best beast of any breed” of the show; and 
thus speaks the Express regarding him: 
The Short-horn cattle of this year carried 
away the chief prize in the gold medal as the 
best beast of any breed most justly, thus rescu¬ 
ing that celebrated breed from the very general 
imputation of having retrograded for some years 
past. The county of Wilts is not a breeding- 
district, and much less for Short-horns; yet Mr. 
Stratton has been very successful for a long¬ 
time. The prize ox of this show was not fash¬ 
ionable in the color, being a vulgar red, with 
sparing streaks and spots of white. The sym¬ 
metry however was most exact; broad and level 
back, round shoulders, and well obliqued, short 
neck, small head, and tapering muzzle. The 
posterior width of twist and buttock supported 
the Short-horn character, though not particu¬ 
larly so; the short tail was a slight derogation. 
The flank was comparatively lean, and the side 
paunch too projecting. The bareness of the 
point and face of the shoulder remained, as is 
usual in the Short-horned cattle. The chine 
was very full and deep, and the opening of the 
short ribs was well fleshed over. The short 
opening between the ribs and hook-bone, and 
a full, level covering of flesh which hides the 
small vacant space, is an essential property in 
a fattened carcase of cattle. The animal is pre¬ 
pared for the special purpose of producing beef; 
and it must be placed on every part of the body 
that will receive it. The case is wholly differ¬ 
ent with horses, which arc intended for exer¬ 
tion; a very considerable latitude may be 
allowed in that respect, in order to procure a 
lengthened action of movement. 
The animal girthed eight feet eight inches, 
and measured in length five feet four inches; 
thus showing very moderate dimensions in both 
sections. Not the size or lumpy fatness was to 
be admired, and was not found; but the very 
even fleshiness of the carcase was worthy of 
every praise that was obtained, and reflects 
great credit on the breeder and feeder—in this 
case, as always should be, united in one person. 
Much more refined Short-horns are found than 
Mr. Stratton’s ; finer and more glossy in the 
skin, and more fashionable and attractive in the 
color; but for general purposes no equal com¬ 
petitor has yet appeared. 
This animal gained the first prize of £25, and 
silver medal to the breeder, with the gold medal 
as before mentioned (in the class above three 
years old.) 
When plenty of food is to be obtained, the 
Short-horns seem destined to carry every thing 
before them in England, and we doubt not it 
will ultimately be the same in this and other 
countries. 
ON KEEPING POULTRY IN TOWNS. 
Great as is the interest at present taken in 
poultry, yet in a practical point of view the 
pursuit is carried out on an apparently errone¬ 
ous system. Utility is not sufficiently consid¬ 
ered, and a fancy or ornamental light is the only 
one thought of. With us farmers, utility is the 
sole end and aim of our endeavors, and it might 
lead to improvement if the same means by which 
our sheep and bullocks have benefited, were 
practised on poultry, instead of confining our 
views to the color of a feather, or the nature of 
a cock’s comb. 
We should, as in our other systems of breed¬ 
ing, consider, what can we obtain from poultry, 
what do we want to obtain, and what is the 
best and cheapest manner of attaining our 
end. To the first question, eggs, flesh, and 
feathers, will be the answer. The answer to the 
next question will depend upon circumstances, 
and, in a town, to the person who keeps about 
half a dozen head of poultry, eggs are all in all; 
therefore, only those breeds should be chosen 
able to bear confinement without injury, and 
possessing a great propensity to lay, with but 
little to sit, the size, shape, and flavor of the 
fowl being here of minor consideration. In the 
country, eggs, though still of consequence, must 
not solely engross our endeavors; we must 
strive to obtain a breed of fowls easily fattened, 
of good size, delicate in flavor, and laying flesh 
upon those parts that are of greatest value. We 
understand this rule in sheep and oxen, but 
poultry fanciers do not study to obtain plump 
breasts, large wings, and white legs, but are at¬ 
tracted by the yellow-legged Cochins so defi¬ 
cient in the first two points. 
For towns then, where the sitting of hens is 
a nuisance to the ' owner, the Poland breed, 
which is less inclined to sit than any other kind, 
or the small Dutch everlasting layers, which 
produce a very great number of eggs, but seldom 
sit, are good kinds; but perhaps the Shanghae 
or Cochin China breed would be the best of all, 
as being a sort that will bear confinement well, 
of a tame, gentle disposition, and very great lay¬ 
ers ; but as being a large fowl, a great layer, and 
not so apt at foraging for itself as other kinds 
it of course requires more food than smaller 
varieties. 
Could a breed of fowls be discovered with the 
inclination for sitting totally extinct, however 
unnatural this may seem, it would be a desider¬ 
atum for metropolitan owners, and the breed be 
easily kept up by employing other kinds to 
hatch their eggs. 
Pullets commence laying before hens, as they 
do not moult the first year, and the townsman 
might find it profitable to procure chickens that 
have been hatched in March or April, which 
will, if kept in good condition, and fed on barley 
or buckwheat, with the addition of a little hemp- 
seed, begin to lay at or before Christmas, at 
which time eggs are at the dearest, being hardly 
ever less than 2cl. an egg in London and those 
of an uncertain age. 
The following statement, copied from a most 
respectable source, the correctness of which may 
be depended on, shows what a townsman might 
obtain by a judicious choice of breed, and by 
proper feeding and management. Only five 
fowls including the cock were kept, of the ever¬ 
lasting breed. They were fed twice a day, hav¬ 
ing barley in the morning and wet food at night, 
such as sharps, bran, and pollard, mixed up with 
boiling water, and given to them cold. They 
were likewise occasionally supplied with pulver¬ 
ized oyster shells, and sometimes a small por¬ 
tion of fine gravel, given in their food. The ex¬ 
pense of keeping, with the produce of eggs, to¬ 
gether with the net profit for two separate years, 
was as follows: 
1830. £, s. d. 
Four bushels of barley. 0 16 6 
Two ditto of sharps. 0 5 1 
Half ditto of bran. 0 0 5£ 
Half ditto of pollard. 0 0 7 
1 .2 7i 
Number of eggs 716 allowing one penny for 
each egg . 2 19 2 
Leaves a profit of. 1 16 6J 
1831. £. s. d. 
Two and a half bushels of barley. 0 11 0 
Nine and a half gallons of sharps. 0 3 61 
Seven ditto of pollard. 0 0 9 
Four ditto of bran. 0 0 6 
0 15 9* 
Number of eggs 594, allowing one penny for 
each egg. 2 9 6 
Leaving a profit of. 1 13 8} 
Thus a small animal of no greater value than 
half-a-crown may be made to return 7s. net pro¬ 
fit yearly, without having recourse to fictitious 
value or exhorbitant prices. 
But as fowls and their results are no doubt in 
some degree a nuisance, offensive to the organs 
of sight, smell, and hearing, and to feeling also 
if you catch any of their fleas; as they require 
constant attention, and to be carefully kept out 
of gardens, it would never be worth a towns¬ 
man’s while to keep such a small number as five, 
which he would find as troublesome as twice 
the number, and were they ever so good layers 
be insufficient to supply him constantly with 
eggs. Ten hens should be the least number 
kept, which would afford a plentiful supply of 
eggs for domestic use; and as for ducks, geese, 
turkeys, and tame rabbits, the townsman’s best 
plan would be to leave them to be supplied bet¬ 
ter and cheaper from the country. 
The things necessary to be had or done by a 
townsman, keeping fowls are—a small graveled 
yard at the back of his house for exercise—a 
lean to building kept warm by being connected 
with the flues from the kitchen fire, to cause the 
fowls to lay during winter—a constant supply 
of water—coal ashes thrown in a heap for the 
fowls to bask in and free themselves from ver¬ 
min, and lime rubbish or the broken shells 
thrown out to supply materials for the shells of 
the eggs. 
A small garden and poultry keeping will assist 
each other, taking care to keep the hens out of 
the cultivated ground. The fowls will supply 
manure, and worms can be picked from the 
garden for them, for fowls are not wholly vege¬ 
table feeders, and unless they obtain a supply 
of animal food will not be healthy; and if the 
garden contains a hothouse, the poultry house 
might be placed at the back to obtain the benefit 
of the warmth.— W. in Farmer's Herald. 
- * <*-♦ - 
Sheep Destroyed by Dogs. —We are informed 
that on Saturday morning last, 12 valuable 
sheep were killed, and from 20 to 25 more badly 
mutilated, by dogs, on the farm of Mr. Thomas 
L. Davis, of this town. Three dogs were seen 
in hot pursuit of the sheep, but the vicious curs 
all escaped.— Poughlccepsie American. 
-«««-- 
The last dog story is from Fayetteville, Ark¬ 
ansas, where a farmer’s dog has been detected 
in going to the hog-pen at night, and biting one 
of the hogs till he gets up, when “Archy” lies 
down in the warm place, and goes to sleep. 
-© ©-•- 
Great towns arc but a large sort of prison to 
the soul, like cages to birds or pounds to beasts. 
