366 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER 
\ 
NATIONAL SWINE BREEDERS’ CONVEN¬ 
TION. 
An adjourned meeting of the National 
Swine Breeders’ Convention, held in New 
York in May last, convened, according to 
previous call, in the rooms of the Indiana 
State Board of Agriculture, at Indianapolis, 
on Wednesday. Nov. 110,1872, and was organ¬ 
ized by the election of Dr. A. C. Stkphen- 
SON of Greencastle, Ind., as President, and 
Geo. W. Rust of Chicago, as Secretary. 
The following gentlemen in attendance 
were enrolled as delegates: 
New York.— Col. F. D. Curtis, Saratoga 
County. 
Pennsylvania.. —Thomas Wood, Chester 
County. 
Ohio.— John M. Millikin, Hamilton; S. 
D. Harris, Cleveland; M. H. Crveii, Sa¬ 
lem; James Marsha on, Middletown; D. 
R. Groom, Groveport. 
Indiana.— R. Baldridge, Hagerstown; 
John Wobjwll, Jr., Clayton; Job Rogers, 
Clayton; E. Carson, Valley Mills; J. J. 
Milhou.se, Valley Mills; 11. P. Kimberlin, 
Tipton; \V. O. Reveal, Clermont; J. W. 
Armstrong, E. J. Armstrong, Fielding 
Beeler, J. G. Kingsuurv, and J. W. Bil¬ 
lingsley, Indianapolis; VV. W. Thrasher, 
Groves; A. D. IIamBTck, Hamrick’s Sta¬ 
tion; O. P. Cobb, Aurora; James Riley, 
Thorntown; Calvin Fletcher, Spencer; 
John W. Brand, Thorntown; Jacob Ken¬ 
nedy, New Elizabeth; A. B, Clayrool, 
Couucrsvillc; E. Mills. Noblesville; W. M. 
Moore, Covington; .1. N. Parker, Thorn¬ 
town; S. F. Pentecost, Zionsville; J. B. 
Gilbert, Lewisville; U. Satterthavatte, 
Martinsvile; E. Hollingsworth, Tippe¬ 
canoe Co.; T. V. M iTcnELL. New Salem ; R. 
L. Philips, Franklin; W> 1 . P. Long, Cler¬ 
mont. 
Illinois.— W. P. Sisson, Galesburg; A. C. 
Moore, Canton; L. T. Clark, Onarga; 
Geo. W. Rust, Chicago; H. D. Emery, 
Chicago. 
Iowa. —Dr. Geo. Sprague, Dcsmoines; 
Prof. Geo. W. Jones and J. P. Roberts, 
State Agricultural College. 
Missouri.— W. B. Stone, Kansas City. 
Kansas.— S. W, Pearson, Lawrence. 
Ou a call for reports from committees, 
it was found that but few of the regular ap¬ 
pointees were present. Several of the ab¬ 
sentees had sent in written reports, and 
the balance was provided for from among 
the delegates present. 
A report on Chester Whites was present¬ 
ed from Thomas Wood, summing up in the 
following principal points:—Short head, 
broad between the eyes; ears thin, project¬ 
ing forward, and lopped at the point; neck 
short and thick, jowl large; body lengthy 
and deep, broad on the back; hams full and 
deep; legs short and well set under for 
bearing the weight; coating thiunish, white, 
straight; small tail and no bristles. 
On Magic, or Poland China, the Commit¬ 
tee was divided; Mr. Baldridge of Indi¬ 
ana on one side, oud Mr. Millikin of But¬ 
ler Co., Ohio, on the other, very widely 
apart in their history of the origin of ihis 
breed. Mr. Millikin, who had always 
lived in the neighborhood where these hogs 
originated, contended the name Polaud- 
China is a misnomer, as there is no Poland 
blood in them. 
Mr. C’ryer made a lengthy report on 
Lancashire swine, contending earnestly for 
the superiority of this breed in the class of 
small hogs. 
Mr. Cobb presented a report on York¬ 
shires, in which he argued strongly in favor 
of this breed as of the size and style most 
desirable for family and packer’s use- 
hardy, vigorous, prolific, quiet, and readily 
fattened at any age. 
A report on Essex swine thus describes 
the breed:—They are small to medium in 
size; oolor black; face short and dishing; 
ears small, soft and erect while young, but 
coming down somewhat as they get age; 
carcass long,broad, straight and deep; ham 
heavy; bone line; hair ordinarily rather 
thin; fattening qualities very superior; as 
breeders, very prolific and fair nurses. 
A. B. Allen of Now York sent a report 
cn Berkshire swine, with these cardinal 
points:—A fine snout, slightly dished face; 
jowls moderately full ; eyes bright and 
rather large; ears slender, rounding to a 
point, erect and playful; hams and shoul¬ 
ders full; back broad and slightly crown¬ 
ing; the body round, full, deep, well ribbed 
up aud rangy; legs standing rather wide 
apart and well under the body, moderate 
as to length, with small, tough feet; tail 
slender, handsomely curled, and with full 
brush; bristles are objectionable; hair 
should be soft; the skin thin; flesh firm 
and elastic under the touch of the fingers. 
A report on Victoria swine was sent in 
from Charles E. Leland of New York, in 
■which he sums up these points:— These 
swine are white; hair soft; head thin; ears 
eroet ; legs short and fine; back broad, 
straight and level; body long; bams round, 
swelling and high; tail fine and free from 
wrinkle-aud roll; skin tbin, soft, and elas¬ 
tic; flesh fine-grained and firm; pigs keep 
easily and can bo fitted for slaughter at 
any age. 
From the report on Cheshire, or .Teller- 
son county ewine of New York, we quote: 
These hogs originated in Jefferson comity. 
New York. They are pure white, with 
very thin skin of pink color, with little 
hair. The snout is often long, but very 
slender and fine; the jowls are plump, and 
the ears erect, fine and thin; the shoulders 
arc wide and the hams full; the llesh is fine¬ 
grained. They are recommended on ac¬ 
count of the extra amount of mess pork in 
proportion to the amount of offal. 
In the report ou Neapolitan swine it is 
claimed that the breed is hardy, vivacious, 
and apt to fatten on a small amount of 
feed; bones fine and small; they are band¬ 
ed and spotted with ashy-white or slate- 
blue iu color; the flesh highly palatable, re¬ 
sembling that, of the chicken. 
Reports were read concerning other lead¬ 
ing and well known breeds of hogs, made 
up for the most part of extracts from You- 
att and Sidney • 
Mr. Fletcher said that it is the duty of 
this Convention to agree upon and recom¬ 
mend a general standard of excellence for 
a hog which shall best meet the require¬ 
ments of the market. 
A general discussion followed, in which 
it was shown to bo important to the fann¬ 
ers, shippers and packers to know what 
kind of a lmg was most desirable to bo 
grown, what size is most salable and in 
largest demand, a general standard, and a 
correct scale of points is demauded and ex¬ 
pected from this Convention. 
Mr. Thrasher thought If we established 
a scale of points it would supersede the ne¬ 
cessity for this resolution. 
Dr. Stevenson explained the difference 
between making a scale of poiuts of hogs 
in each breed and the kind of hogs most 
desirable for breeding. 
Mr. Moore ol' Illinois, said that different 
buyers had different ideas about the kind 
of hogs required for their use. He thought 
it would be unwise to make a fixed standard 
of characteristics. 
Mr. Armstrong said that at different 
times and seasons the packers called for 
hogs of different sizes. At one time the 
demand will be for the largest kinds, aud 
again it will be just as strong for small and 
medium sizes, owing to the use or purpose 
required, whether for lard or for packing. 
A committee, consisting of Messrs. 
Thrasher, Cobb aud Baldridge, was ap¬ 
pointed to report on “ What is the most 
profitable hoe for the raiser, packer aud 
consumer? '* which reported as follows: 
The hog must have a small, short head, 
heavy jowl and thick, short nook; ear small 
aud thin, aud tolerably erect; not objec¬ 
tionable if itidroopsslightly forward; must 
be straight from neck back to flank; must 
let well down to the knees in brisket; of 
good length from head to tail; broad on the 
back; ribs rather barrel-shaped; must be 
slightly rounded and curved in the back 
from shoulder to the Betting on of the tall; 
tail small; long in the ham from hock to 
letting off' at loin; shoulder not too large; 
only large enough to give symmetry to ani¬ 
mal; ham broad and full; hair smooth aud 
evenly' set oil; skiu soft aud elastic to the 
touch; legs short and small and well set 
under, broad between the legs, good depth 
between bottom and top of the hog, pleas¬ 
ant, quiet disposition; should not weigh as 
a general rule, more than three or four hun¬ 
dred pounds gross, at twelve to eighteen 
months old, according to keep; color may 
be black or white, or a mixture of the two. 
The hog should measure as many feet from 
top of head to setting on of tail as he does 
around the body', and as many inches round 
the leg below the knee as he does feet in 
length or around the body, and the depth 
of body will be four-fifths of his higbt. 
A oommittoo consisting of Messrs. Rob¬ 
erts, Sprague and Curtis, was appointed 
to consider tlio question—“ What consti¬ 
tutes thoroughbred Swine?” and this is 
what they reported:—In the absence of any 
system of records by which pedigrees of 
6 wine are kept, your committee can only 
give an expression which must, from the 
nature of the case, be somewhat general. 
Only such breeds should rank as thorough¬ 
bred which are recognized in authentic 
history as of sufficient remote origin when 
bred iu a line, to result in the establish¬ 
ment of a fixed type, capable of duplicating 
themselyes with uniformity. Your commit¬ 
tee would recommend that the leading 
breeders of pure bred swine form breeders' 
clubs for the purpose of establishing a herd 
registry after the plan adopted by breeders 
of thoroughbred cattle, in order to secure 
greater uniformity and to perfect as soon 
as possible the various breeds. 
A committee which had been appointed 
to present a classification of the different 
breeds and varieties of swine, as a sugges¬ 
tion to managers of slock exhibitions in 
making up their prize lists, submitted the 
following, making six classes: — 1, Berk¬ 
shire; 2, Poland-China; 3, Large White 
Breeds; 4, Small White Breeds; 5, Small 
Black Breeds; 6, Prossers, and all breeds 
not eligible to compete in any of the above 
classes. 
A committee consisting of Messrs. Cur¬ 
tis, Sprague and Stone was appointed to 
make out a general scale of points applica¬ 
ble to all breeds of swine, by which judgeB 
at our exhibitions might be guided in mak¬ 
ing their awards. The Committee reported 
the following: 
Scale, 100 points—Perfection. Back, 10; 
Long Ribs, 8; Short Ribs, 7; Shoulder. 8; 
Ham, 12; Length of Body, 6; Flank, G; 
Twist, G; Snout, 4; Jowl, 3; Face, 3; Ear, 
2; Neck, 4; Belly, 4; Skin,. r .; Hair, 3; Bone, 
3; Legs, 3; Feet, 2; Tail, 1. 
Mr. Curtis stated that it was the inten¬ 
tion and design of the New York Conven¬ 
tion to make the decisions of this Conven¬ 
tion authoritative and final iu reference 
to the points and characteristics of the 
breeds of swine reported upon. In this 
view of the matter the Convention assumes 
groat importance, and renders it necessary 
that great care should be taken in the re¬ 
ports and resolutions. 
The following gentlemen were appointed 
a Standing Committee to call a National 
Convention of Swine Breeders in five years 
from this time, or sooner if they deem it 
expedient, viz:—Col. F. D. Curtis of New 
York, John M. Mili.tkin of Ohio, Charles 
Lowder of Indiana, A. C. Moore of Illi¬ 
nois, and I. P. Roberts of Iowa. 
A cash collection was taken up to defray 
the expense of publishing a pamphlet edi¬ 
tion of the transactions of the Convention, 
copies of which are to be distributed among 
the contributors according to amounts paid. 
Geo. W. Rust and Henry D. Emery wore 
appointed to execute the above work. 
s. d. n. 
Flonwfitic (Bconomir. 
L 
ECONOMY OF HIRED GIRLS. 
Is it not enough that farmers’ wives are 
over-worked aud over-burdened with cares 
that they are very often unable to bear, 
without being blamed for it as well ? I could 
almost wish that some of those well mean¬ 
ing, but mistaken people, who are contin¬ 
ually exhorting over-worked wives and 
mothers, to hire a girl, a “stoutarmed ser¬ 
vant” had some such a trial as many of the 
servants are t hat farmers' wives are obliged 
to put up with in most cases. Perhaps it is 
not generally known, that those few girls 
who are willing to do housework tor a living, 
are so opposed toliviug in the country, that 
they will not go into it unless it be they can¬ 
not get a place in town; consequently the 
few that do go, are the very worst of their 
class. How then can the weary, spiritless 
woman, obtain any real help from one of an 
overbearing, insolent, ignorant clan? 
To show that I know whereof I speak. I 
will give an instance where an over-worked 
mother of a large family, knowing that she 
v r as w'orkiug beyond her strength, sought 
to obtain help, fearful that overtaxed na¬ 
ture would give away, and leave her dar¬ 
lings motherless. A girl was hired, who it 
was soon found made more work than she 
accomplished; and what she did do was 
done very poorly. After a few weeks of 
domineering over the children, setting 
every thing awry, she was discharged. Was 
that the end of the matter? Alas, no! She 
had infested the children with a loathsome 
skin disease, that was more terrible to their 
mother than any hard work could be. It 
would be impossible to describe the suffer¬ 
ing and trials caused by it, to say nothing Of 
the expense, which was n® small amount; 
but after months of vain endeavor to cure 
it, she happily thought to apply to her dear 
old frieud, the Rural New-Yorker. She 
wrote, and directly received a receipt that 
cured it up in very short time. Is it any 
wmnder that she almost vowed she never 
would have another hired girl? But she 
did, with as poor success in regard to work, 
as before. What after ? Well, to be plain, 
bed vermin I 
Let any tidy housekeeper imagine the tri¬ 
als of a woman already over-burdened with 
cai*e, in poor health, and, withal, a horror of 
such filth, and she can judge what a beuefit 
her help was to her! After a great deal of 
hard work, she banished the pests, (both the 
girl and the bed bugs). Two years passed 
during which time she did her own work, 
until the early part of the present fall when 
sho was induced to hire a girl for a few 
weeks, one who had the name of heing one 
of the best of her class. “Now,” thought 
this sorely tried lady, “T will have some 
good help, and will get everything nicely 
fixed for winter.” The men folks had been 
in the habit of doing all the heavy lifting; 
but now they said, “ you have a good strong 
girl to help you; you can get along without 
any help fr«n us.” There was milk to be 
carried out of the cellar, churning to do, 
water to bo got ready for washing, with 
much other hard work. 
“ Rate will you help me with some of this 
hard work ?” 
“ No ma’am; I never do such hard work. 
It is enough for me to see how you are brok¬ 
en down. I shall never do anything to break 
myself down so.” 
Nobody else would do it; the work must 
be done, the mother did it herself; the con¬ 
sequence, a strained back, causing a per¬ 
manent weakness of the spine, from which 
she can never recover. 
I fear I have already made this too long. 
My excuse is that I felt so strongly on this 
subject, 1 could not forbear having “my 
say” about it. Perhaps this case, every 
word of which is true, (the half not being 
told) is an exception; but 1 am inclined to 
think it the rule, having seen many others 
quite ub bad. It is my opinion that farm¬ 
ers’ wiveB would do better to use the money 
paid to a girl, in making their houses con¬ 
venient and oomfortable and hiring their 
sewing done out of the house, always having 
their clothing plainly made. A. B. 
-<♦»- 
ODDS AND ENDS. 
Fastening Shells.—Please tell “ Gas- 
terpod” that the way 1 fasten shells (or 
anything else) on frames or boxes, is this: 
1 take whiting, linseed oil and dry chrome 
green, and make a putty of a color to suit; 
pound it with a hammer until there are no 
streaks of green or white in it; have it just 
thick enough so it will not run; then spread 
it smoothly over on© side of the frames a 
little less than one-eighth of an inch thick; 
put ou the things, and then spread putty 
on another side; when the frame is dry, 
varnish it; and when thoroughly dry it 
will bo as solid as any one could ask for.— 
Nell. _ 
To Remove Stains of Iron Mold.—A 
writer in the Chemical News advises, as 
the best method of removing stains of iron 
mold from fabrics, that the mark be first 
wet with yellow sulphide of ammonia, by 
which it will be immediately blackened. 
After allowing it a minute or two to pene¬ 
trate, the excess of sulphide is to be washed 
out, and the blaok spot treated with oold 
diluted chlorohydric acid, by which it is at 
onoe removed. Finally, wash well with 
water. This method is said to avoid the 
serious objeotion of weakening the fiber. 
For Vinegar.—If you have no cider to 
make vinegar, you can keep yourself very 
well supplied by saving your apple par¬ 
ings; you can put them in a orock, with a 
little water on them, so they will not dry 
up, and when full stew them and press like 
jelly; rinse the pulp from the jelly, and 
put in a keg with a few white beans, and 
vinegar will result in a short time. A pint 
of white beans in a barrel of cider will 
bring it to vinegar iu a short time if in a 
moderately wai’m place.— John North, 
Washington Co.. N. Y. 
To Make Apple Butter.—Take one 
gallon of cider; boil down to half the quan¬ 
tity; pare the apples and cut them fine: 
put the apples in the cider in small quan¬ 
tities, and boil until soft, adding apples 
enough to fill the kettle; boll aud stir con¬ 
stantly until thoroughly done—from an 
hour to an hour and a-half; be careful and 
not let it burn; spice with ground cin¬ 
namon aud cloves, or any spices to suit the 
taste. 
