VOI,. XXX. No. 9. I 
WHOLE No. 1283. I 
PRICES SIX CENTS, 
*!i .50 PER YEAR. 
Cd a, ' COr<linL ' " ACt ,n V, ' 1,r hv ,h " K "' : " Put.liK»nn K "r„m„ i ,ny. to tHO Office d the Ubrorta of Con*rc M at W.shi«. K ton. | 
xt ^iume r i)Ci;a. 
PIGS ABROAD. 
Americans think they arc “some” on 
pigs. So they arc, but they have much to 
learn yet. Perhaps wo do not know how 
much, hut so far as fat pigs go, we don’t 
find any such looking animals in this coun¬ 
try as they seem to have in England. For 
instance, look at our illustrations this week 
of animals exhibited at the recent Bedford 
show in England. There were :32U entries. 
The twelve-months-old small bred boar (of 
which we give side and front views) which 
received the first prize was shown by Mr. 
Beswick-Royds. We do not know his 
weight nor the breed ; but look at his shape ! 
Where could anything more he put upon 
him i' In what form could there be arranged 
less waste material in a pig ? It is classified 
among “small white breeds.” 
The Lincoln sow illustrated, belonged to 
the “ large white breeds.” She received the 
first prize ; age and weight not given ; but 
our readers can judge of the form from the 
illustration. We give these engravings to 
show our readers how pigs arc bred and fed 
in England. Short, dish faces, small cal’s, 
short, thick necks, Jong, round barrels, short, 
wide-set, legs, and a rather heavy soft, coat 
are what, are apparently striven for. We 
hope constitution, good hams and shoulders, 
and capacity tor developing leaf lard are not 
neglected, for sooner or later our own stock 
will be affected by the character of those 
now bred in England. 
-- 
IMPROVEMENT IN SWINE BREEDING. 
— 
The great principle of improvement of 
common stock in breeding, whether we ap¬ 
ply it to sheep, swine, poultry, “ mice or 
men,” is to use thoroughbred males, in 
swine breeding this shows sooner and we 
feel the weight of the advice quicker in the 
pocket than with almost any other kind of 
stock. -Bear in mind that when we use 
thoroughbred males upon common females 
the product apparently approaches the im¬ 
proved breed much nearer than the common 
stock. Still it is called a half-blood or half 
grade. The progeny of the half-blood with 
the thoroughbred gives a three-quarter 
grade—the next generation crossed similarly 
a seven-eighths grade, and so on—this being 
called grading up. When, however, a half- 
blood female is used with a common male, 
or what is more common, a half-blood rqale 
with common female, it is called grading 
down, if such brooding lias any designation ; 
but in reality the evidence of the presence 
of (Hire blood is so soon lost that throughout 
the country stock thus originated is recog¬ 
nized amply as eotumoD stock. The 
improved Wood certainly tells. It 
makes its mark, however mixed, but 
there can be no certainty of results in 
breeding down. Hon. B. U. Strong 
read a paper upon swine breeding be¬ 
fore the Wisconsin Agricultural Conven¬ 
tion some time ago ; we extract what he 
says upon Berkshires, and the improve¬ 
ment which this breed has wrought upon 
the common swine of the country. f 
“ It is well known that the Berksliires 4 ^- 
impress their likeness with great certain- _ ^ 
ty upon other breeds. I have observed, ' V 
in different neighborhoods, that the in¬ 
troduction of Berkshire boars for mixing 
with the native sows lias substantially 
improved the breed of hogs, in many 
sections of country it is hard to find poor¬ 
looking hogs, so general has been the im¬ 
provement. Many arc half-bloods, some 
more, but commonly either less or so mixed 
and it is not less than Mr, Strong represents, 
there are other breeds which have exerted 
an equal influence in other districts. The 
Yorkshires and Suffolks of the white breeds 
©Ity glj)hti[hm. 
14-1 • 1 ,, . -uuuwma VI bile Winio Dl'eeClS-— - - — 
up on both sides that it is hard to say how ' and the Essex as a black breed are at this BEES COMMUNICATING IDEAS. 
AIR. BESWICK-ROYDS’ SMAlLIli BREED HOAR. 
much improved blood they contain. Such 
crosses make better pork, the hogs cost less 
to keep for the same amount of food, and 
they sell readily when the raw bones go a 
begging. 1 have known instances where the 
use of the Berkshire boar with common na¬ 
tive stock lias given pigs and older hogs 
that would sell at once for double price and 
in a much quicker market. I say nothing 
about the other improved breeds, simply 
that I have not had the opportunity of wit¬ 
nessing the results. Here Comes in 011 c of 
the great errors, forgetting the great funda¬ 
mental principle of breeding with no particu¬ 
lar type in his mind, the farmer is struck 
with the beauty of a half blood that he has 
raised from a cross of a 
full blood obtained of his Jc " 
neighbor; he uses him , ,; f 
with poor success, forget- /y 
ting that deterioration is 
strong in the old scrub ^ .u 
stock when in ascendan- jmtffc''' '% ■v'-'VA 
oy, thus proving the prog- ' 
cnyof a common stock. 
These bear a close reseiu- 
blance to their parents W 
and to each other in gen- 
eral appearance,length of " 
limb, shape of carcass, pe- I’ RONT View i 
culiarities of color, disposition, habit and dis¬ 
eases, and here we see the great natural law, 
that like produces like is as applicable to 
faulty and disproportioned, as to beautiful 
and symmetrical, to disease and debility, as 
to healthy and vigorous constitution, and 
clearly establishing the hereditary tendency 
for good or bad qualities in the offspring, and 
I might add, it is doubly severe when both 
parents are affected. ” 
Great as has been the influence of the 
Berkshire in some sections of this country, 
Front View of the Above. 
day exerting, in connection with the Berk- 
shires, an extraordinary influence upon the 
swine of the country. But among nil breeds 
of swioc that have over been employed to 
irapro 1 the common stock, noue equal, or 
probably ever can equal the Neapolitan. 
We owe more to this breed than to any 
other, because it is the source of the im¬ 
provement which has given us the Essex 
and the Berkshire, and all the improved 
black and spotted breeds which have origin¬ 
ated from them. It surprises us that this 
fine breed, which can be had at this day in 
all its original excellence, is not more em¬ 
ployed by swine breeders, especially in the 
Southern States. There is a deeply-rooted 
^ feeling in favor of white 
^3^. pigs and against black and 
spotted oucs. Throughout 
A the Northern States both 
\ kinds seem to be equally 
/’y.' ' \ hardy ; but at the South 
w hite pigs are liable to 
mange and other skin 
: diseases, while black 
ones are not, and at the 
North it is only a preju- 
dice against color which 
„ v _ gives the white breeds 
the preference. 
Small vs. Large Breeds. —In breeding 
pigs the question is not, what breed will show 
the greatest weights at 9 or 14 months old ! 
but which will, with the same care, produce 
the most pork from a certain amount of 
feedf We are grossly inaccurate in our es¬ 
timates, and glory and gratulato ourselves 
over big pigs, without kuowing how much 
feed has been consumed. As a rule, the 
small breeds are easiest kept, quickest to 
fatten, and most economical. 
FIRST PRIZE IJNCOLN SOW. 
The following illustration of the powers 
possessed by insects to communicate their 
experiences to one another is given by a lady 
correspondent of the London Spectator:_“ I 
was staying in the house of a gentleman 
who was fond of trying experiments, and 
who was a bee keeper. Having read in some 
book on bees that the best and most humane 
way of taking the honey without destroying 
the bees was to immerse the hive for a few 
minutes in a tub of cold water, when the 
bees, being half drowned, could not sting, 
while the honey was uninjured, since the 
water could not penetrate the closely waxed 
cells, he resolved on trying the plan. I saw 
the experiment tried. The bees, according 
to the recipe, were Ashed out of the water 
after tho hive had been immersed a few 
minutes, and with those remaining in the 
hive laid on a sieve in the sun to dry. But, 
by bad management the experiment had 
beeo tried too late in the day, and on the sun 
going down, they were removed into the 
kitchen, to the groat indignation of the cook, 
on whom they revenged their sufferings as 
soon as the warm rays of the flic before 
which they were placed revived thorn. As 
she insisted on their being taken away, they 
were put hack into their old hive, which had 
been dried, together with a portion of their 
honey, and placed on one of the shelves of 
the apiary, in which were five or six of her 
strong hives full of bees, and left for the 
night. Early the next morning my friend 
wont to look at the hive on which he experi¬ 
mented the night before, but, to his amaze¬ 
ment, not only the bees from that hive were 
gone, but the other hives were also deserted— 
not a bee remained in any of them. The lmlf- 
drowned bees must, therefore, in some way 
or other, have made the other bees under¬ 
stand the fate which awaited them.” 
- — -+■*-+■ -. 
SENDING QUEEN BEES BY MAIL. 
Mk8. I upper thinks sending queens by 
mail is wrong, as there have been rulings by 
the Assistant P. M. G., to that effect 
Whereupon Gleanings in Bee Culture re¬ 
marks: Ii such of our readers as are inter¬ 
ested in the matter, will read Vick’s Floral 
Guide, No. 3, they can see that this is not 
the only case in wliicli the absurdity of some 
of these “ ruliugs ” has caused them t.o be 
ignored by every one, unless it bo occasion¬ 
ally some 1'. M. who imagines it a duty to 
show his authority by hindering thu progress 
of a harmless and innocent branch of agri¬ 
cultural industry. We can send queens safely 
to Texas now for one eeut, providing 
no writing is put in the package ; if sent 
by express the charge would be a dollar 
01 two. Are we to understand a dozen 
bees put up in a stout metal cage are to 
be an exception to all other kinds of 
produce und merchandise l Perhaps the 
new law that took effect July 1st may 
include queens. We hope so. 
- 
» -A- Fifteen-Year-Old Swarm of Bees. 
5- —Early in July, 1859, I put a swarm of 
bees iu a common box hive made of 
rough hemlock boards 1:3 inches square 
by 15 inches high. From this hive has 
issued a swarm every year until now.— 
Hol. Orandell, Chatham Vi’Huge,, Col. 
Co., N. V., July 30. 
