A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE BUFFALO. 
The Hide Worth More than the Meat. 
The wild bvff In's worthy successor; breeding for hair; 
value r f the Scotch cattle; pond, immigrants for those 
New E‘ gland '‘abandoned farms;” are thise black 
“ mnlleys ” the coming beef cattle t 
ANY stories have reached us regarding the hide 
value of the blsck Scotch cattle. The buffalo has 
gone forever; at the same time the demand for 
thick fur robes and overcasts for cold climates has In¬ 
creased. H >w Is this demand to be met ? Most of our 
domestlc»t»d Animals are 
thin haired and thin-skinned. 
As we demand more from 
them In the way of dairy 
products and meat, we seem 
to remove them futther from 
a natural steteof living and 
thev demar d more artificial 
shelter and warmth. We do 
not care for coarse, thick hair 
in the dairy cow and we think 
we have learned that “ nails, 
boards and ta'red paper are 
cheaper than food ” for keep¬ 
ing a beef animal warm. 
The hardy hfick Scotch 
breeds have always been 
noted as “hustlers ” fitted by 
nature to endure cold and 
storms “Scotch” is but a 
synonym for hardiness any¬ 
way. For centuries it has 
been the wot Id’s custom to 
go to Scotland whenever 
tough and wiry men, horses, 
cattle, sheep or dogs were 
wanted. Naturally when a 
substitute for the buffalo was 
called for, etockmen went to 
the black Scotch cattle. In 
order to oo»ain facts about 
the matter Thk R. N Y sent 
the following questions to 
a number of well known 
breeders: 
1. Are the hides of Gallo¬ 
way and Aberdeen-a ngus 
cattle superior to those of 
other breeds ? Why are they 
better? Can th"“y take the 
place of buffalo hides ? 
2 How much more are they 
worth than hides of other 
breeds ? 
3. Arebidesand hair made 
thicker and heavier in cold 
climates ? 
4. Are breeders trying by 
means of sel-ction or care to 
increase the value of the coat 
and hide with less regard to 
the meat qualities ? 
A Sample Robe. 
The bides of Galloway 
cattle certainly do make very 
fine robes, iu*s and Aver- 
coats. This fact added to the 
other qualities of the animals, 
as f eedom from horns, do¬ 
cility, early maturity and 
great hardiness, together with their blccky carcasses, un¬ 
excelled for beef, and their prepotency, make them the 
coming cattle. The use of a Galloway sire upon cows of 
any other breed, gives grades uniformly polled, black and 
with good coats of hair, and many other points of the sire. 
Answering the questions more specifically, I will say 
that: 1. The hides of Galloways are better than those of 
other animals for rohes, etc , b*cau«e the hair is longer, is 
of a uniform color-glossy black—and has an undercoat of 
fine hair, very thick, and almost impervious to wet. 2. 
They are worth as much more than othtr hides as robes, 
rugs and overcoats are worth more than ordinary leather. 
3. The hides are heavier in a cold climate. 4. Gailoway 
breeders are making constant efforts by selection in breed¬ 
ing ard handling to increase the length and thickness of 
the hair. The color of Aberdren-Angus cattle is gf-nernlly 
black (though not uniformly po) ; but theii hides have not 
the same thickness or length of coat as those of tin Gallo¬ 
ways, though they are morete^vllv haired than mos-t other 
breads. I have just received a hide from some tanners of 
Hllhdale, Mich., that was taken from a yearling, whose 
dam, like the calf, was much below my standard and the 
lightest haired individuals in my herd, and the hide, there¬ 
fore, is not a fair sample of those of the bre*d ; but 1 think 
it will give Thk Rural some idea of the utility of these 
hides in making robes, etc. The animals from which these 
hides were taken were put upon the block because they 
were not up to my standard. The overcoats m->de of the 
hides were, however, very fine The robes male from them 
when wetted, have no offensive odor, such as those made 
from wolf, bear, goat, and to some extent buffalo hides 
have, and this immunity renders them all the more valu¬ 
able. The hair is set very firmly, and when wetted will 
not soil a silk handkerchief rubbed on it. There was much 
difficulty at first to get the hides well tanned, but this 
trouble has been entirely overcome. C. T. wickhs. 
Staunton Mich. 
R. N. Y.—An accurate drawing of a piece of this robe is 
shown at Fig. 259. It is soft and clean, with long hair of 
ft glossy black. We have shown it to many fur dealers 
who all pronounce it fine—some declaring that it would 
sell more readily than a buff ilo robe, for the rea s ou that it 
is handsomer and just as bevvy. The longer haired speci¬ 
mens are peculiarly well suited for making cvpes and 
ladies’ furs. In fact, it is not at all improbable that in 
the future we shall refer to " cow-hide capes ” instead of 
“cow hide boots”—in which case the hide would take a 
sudden jump into respectability. 
Hide Worth More Than Meat. 
1. The hides of both breeds are coal black aud their hair 
has a mirror-like gloss, which makes it very attractive for 
robes, coats, gloves, etc. In the hides of both breeds, but 
particularly of the Galloway* 
there is ah ut au inch of 
fine seal-like fur under the 
shaggy coa% making the robe 
or coat turn w ter like a 
duck’s back. Again, the meat 
under the black skin is better 
than that of other breeds, 
being nicely marbled through 
out aud tender and free from 
fatty lumps. As the Scotch 
woman says, there are no 
roasts like them. The fl-sh 
of both breeds sells for one 
to two cents per pound 
higher than that of other 
sorts in Chicago, New York 
and other cities, particularly 
for Christmas beef. Four of 
my Galloway steers sent to 
Chicago brought $5 50 per 100 
pounds. For a car-load of 
12 common, but fat steers, 
all I could get that day was 
$3 35 per 100 pounds. This 
proves that the hides and 
meat also are more profitable 
than thoi-e of other sorts. 
2. The hides f these cattle 
after being tanned, lined and 
bordered with good material, 
are worth as much on the 
market in the fall as the 
hide, carcass and all, of ord¬ 
inary stock ca’tle are worth 
on foot. I have sold both for 
the same pr.ce at public sales. 
3 I do not know that the 
hide grows thicker than those 
of other animals in a cold 
climate ; hut I am told that 
breeding in a cold climate for 
a succession <f years. will 
somewhat thicken their c^at. 
4. So far as I know no efforts 
are now being made to pro¬ 
duce animals with heavier 
hides and thicker coats. Very 
many of the calf skins that 
come into our hands are 
wonderfully like seal skins in 
gloss and fineness of fur, 
and they are as durable as 
any fur to be had. The buf¬ 
falo has passed off the stage 
and is neat ly or quite extinct, 
and it causes a feeliDg of sad¬ 
ness when I think bow the 
vast herds were followed by 
foreigners and natives to 
their homes in Montana and a million killed during the 
winters of eternal snow in the seventies. They could not 
escape but were slaughtered like cows in the yards. It 
was pitiable, indeed, and our government should not have 
allowed it. Now the robe of the future must come from 
the backs of the Galloway and Aberdeen-Angus. 
Abingdon, III. E R HARDY. 
The Aberdeen-Angus Not Forgotten. 
I consider Gviloway, and especially Aberdeen Angus 
hides, properly tanned, superior to the buff tlo hide, for 
two reason*: first, on account of their great beauty, and, 
second, because they are more pliable, and the hair is 
evenly distributed over their surface. It is only in the past 
few years that they have been especially prepared for the 
