58 
LARGE CATTLE IN KENTUCKY. 
self, or friends—and these should he Dorkings, 
Dominiques, Bolton greys, Jersey blues, black 
Polands, Java game, and perhaps, for fancy, a 
few Sebright Bantams. 
Among the ducks, those which pleased me 
particularly were called Spanish—their neat, 
drab coats, closely fitting their moderate-sized, 
compact bodies. For beauty, the little wood 
duck excels any other of the quack family— 
those in the rooster trade included. 
There were in the exhibition a few very 
handsome Bremen and China geese, and several 
small samples of turkeys; but the fever ran 
highest for the tallest kind of cocks and hens, 
both in size and price. The curiosity of visitors 
was about equally divided between the cage of 
an American eagle, upwards of twenty-three 
years old, and a pair of very large swans, be¬ 
longing to the “ old Marshfield farmer,” better 
known among politicians, perhaps, as Daniel 
Webster. 
The Swan.—Fig. 13. 
The annexed beautiful picture of one of these 
birds will afford pleasure to your readers, and 
form an appropriate finis to my hasty account 
of the great poultry show. Solon Robinson. 
Boston , Nov. 14th, 1850. 
Although our correspondent is game, from 
crest to spurs, we assure our friends he is not a 
fighting cock; so they need have no fear of his 
crowing—he will only flap his wings at some 
of the humbugs of the henroost. 
-- 
Rice has been cultivated more than 150 years 
in South Carolina. It was planted there in the 
year 1693, and has been grown every year since 
that time. 
ARE YOU PREPARED FOR WINTER. 
This is an important question which should 
be attended to annually in the general settlement 
of accounts by all American farmers, before they 
eat their new-year’s dinner. Among other prep¬ 
arations, they should secure, at least, one good 
agricultural paper for the long evenings of a 
cold winter. If they do not, they are not fully 
prepared. The intellect of that man must in¬ 
deed be dull, who does not profit by reading 
works devoted to improvement in his particular 
calling ; but more dull is that intellect which 
neglects or refuses to put itself in the way of 
such reading. It is not he who works the hard¬ 
est, with toil and sweat, that performs the most 
useful labor; but he who works with the skill 
of science which he has obtained by study, that 
enables him to use his strength to the greatest 
advantage. 
If you have prepared yourself for winter, you 
certainly have provided a good stock of books, 
and papers, in which you can study the 
sciences of agriculture, horticulture, 
arboriculture, and that much neglected 
science, the art and mystery of grow¬ 
ing good fruit, as the time of planting 
trees is rapidly approaching. 
LARG-E CATTLE IN KENTUCKY. 
I send you the weight of Mr. Innes’ lot 
of cattle (spoken of in my letter, p. 59). 
They were four and five-year-olds last 
spring, about sixteen of them thorough 
bred; the remainder, from half to 
thirty-one thirty-seconds; their colors, 
roan, white, and red and white. As 
a lot, they are remarkably fine, and 
their weight is owing to great ripe¬ 
ness of their points. The winter be¬ 
fore they were two-year-olds, they were corn- 
fed from February until April, grazed until next 
January, when they were fed until April, graz¬ 
ed until November, from which time they were 
fed until grass, and fed again during the win¬ 
ters of 1849 and ’50. On the 30th of Octo¬ 
ber, I saw them weighed, as follows :— 
No. 
lbs. 
No. 
lbs. 
No. 
lbs. 
No. 
, lbs. 
No. 
lbs. 
1 
2,740 
9 
2,375 
17 
2,250 
25 
1,990 
33 
2,180 
2 
2.710 
2,625 
10 
2,435 
18 
2,333 
26 
2,140 
34 
2,000 
3 
11 
2,390 
19 
2,245 
27 
2,150 
35 
2,100 
4 
2,450 
12 
2,350 
20 
2,235 
28 
2,182 
36 
2,180 
5 
2,440 
13 
2,335 
21 
2,330 
29 
2,230 
37 
2,135 
6 
2,480 
14 
2,300 
22 
2,390 
30 
2,150 
38 
2,130 
7 
2,790 
15 
2,300 
23 
2,275 
31 
2,045 
39 
2,000 
8 
2,470 
16 
2,275 
24 
2,005 
32 
2,050 
James G. Kinnaird. 
Solitude , Fayette Co., Nov., 1850. 
