MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER 
:pt. is 
THE WADSWORTH ESTATE AND SHORT¬ 
HORN HERD. 
In the London Agricultural Gazette of the 
14th ult., we find the following interesting 
article from the pen of A. B. Allen, Esq., 
the veteran agricultural editor and writer. 
The description of the magnificent Wads¬ 
worth Estate, in the finest region of the Eden 
of America (as we have been wont to denom¬ 
inate Western New York), will be perused 
with pleasure by thousands of our readers in 
that and other sections, while that portion 
of the article devoted to the justly-noted 
Genesee Valley Herd of Short-Horns must 
prove interesting and instructive to all en¬ 
gaged in breeding or rearing improved stock. 
The Messrs. Wadswouth are justly entitled 
to great credit, for their efforts, und we are 
glad that one so eminently capable of award¬ 
ing honor to whom honor is due, as is Mr. 
Allen, has furnished our London contem¬ 
porary the interesting, valuable and graceful 
contribution which we copy : 
THE WADSWORTH ESTATE. 
This Is one of the largest and probably at 
the present time the most valuable cultivated 
1500 high grade bullocks feeding for the New 
York market, and we have a scene which 1 
will venture to say, is nowhere surpassed in 
rural richness and beauty. 
THE SHORT-HORNS.' 
These young gentlemen, in coming into the 
management of the Wadsworth estate, a few 
years since, set apart 30,000 acres each for 
their individual farms. Until then Indian 
corn, wheat, and other small grains had been 
the staple products of these lands from their 
first, settlement, more especially wheat, as 
the best paying crop; but the great rise in 
the wages of labor, and the low price of the 
above products which have latterly ruled in 
the United States, made it impossible for 
them to successfully compete with the cheap¬ 
er lands of the West; and they then wisely 
concluded to change their grain fields to 
grass as rapidly as was convenient, and 
enter more largely on the breeding of Short- 
Horns. These they will continue to increase 
until they eutircly supersede their numerous 
grades now pasturing here. What a magni¬ 
ficent herd it will then show ! well worth 
the while alone of the English breeders of 
this kindred race to cross the Atlantic to 
look at. 
The foundation of this herd was laid by 
their father, the late General James S. 
Wadsworth, in the year 1854. The imported 
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estate in North America. It consists of about cow, Australia, has been the chief strain in 
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80,000 acres, occupying parts of the five : 
counties of Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, I 
Erie and Niagara, of New York. One may 
walk from a few miles above the village of 
Geneseo to the city of Rochester, a distance 
of about 30 miles, without stepping off this 
magnificent domain. 
The grandfather of the present heirs of the 
estate, Mr. James Wadsworth, together with 
his brother, Gen. William Wadsworth, emi¬ 
grated from Connecticut to the valley of the 
Genesee in the year 1790. The whole country 
here was then an almost unbroken forest, 
with few inhabitants save those of remnant 
tribes of the Six Nations of Indians, sparsely 
scattered through it. Land was offered at 
the insignificant price of Is. sterling per 
acre. Appreciating its great, fertility, and 
sanguine aa to its rapid settlement by emi¬ 
grants from the older parts of the eastern 
United States, the Messrs, Wadsworth pur¬ 
chased as rapidly us their means would 
permit, till they became possessed of the 
ample domain a* above stated. 
Eight thousand acres, or about one-tenth 
of this, is whut is locally called “ Flats,” 
which answers to the term of “Meadows” 
in England. They form a rich, alluvial plain, 
of considerable, length, and of 1 to 3 miles In 
breadth, the Geneseo liver meandering 
through it, about the average width and 
depth of the Thames above Richmond. Al¬ 
most every spring it overflows these “ Flats, ’ 
and, as the waters subside, they leave a rich 
sediment on their surface, the same as doos 
the Nile in Egypt, which is equivalent to 
a good top-dressing of farmyard dung. Thus, 
however long and severely these “Flats” 
may be cultivated, their fertility is kept up 
to their original state, To give the reader a 
more definite idea of the value of these lands, 
1 may say that such would let in England 
for £5 to £6 per acre, ami be eagerly sought 
for at that price, while the contiguous up¬ 
lands would let at from £3 to £4 per acre, 
according to quality and location. Here 
they let at present for little over one-fifth 
these rates—say from 3 to 7 dollars per acre ; 
but they are increasing in value, and will 
soon command higher rates. 
In clearing up these lauds, the elder Messrs. 
Wadsworth had tue good taste to preserve a 
sufficient number of the grand old forest 
growth to park their domain with groups 
and belts and single scattered trees, In a 
style that would please the most skiJfiff land¬ 
scape gardener. In all my European travels 
I have never found a greater Combination of 
rural beauty with the rich uud magnticeut 
than spreads out to view from the separate 
residence of the present hc ! rs, Messrs. Charles 
F. and James W. Wadsworth, of Gcueso. 
Here are broad, fertile meadows, stretching 
away for many a mile, dotted with noble 
trees, while beyond are pretty vUllages and 
neighboring farms, highly cultivated in vari¬ 
ous crops, bounded in the far distance by 
high, picturesque, wooded hills. Through 
these meadows winds the placid Genesee to 
its frightful leap, 30 miles below, of over 90 
feet from a perpendicular limestone precipice 
at Rochester ; then flowing on again, now 
gently, then over other successive fails for a 
distance of 9 more miles, till mingled with 
the clear, blue waters of Lake Ontario. Add 
to these features, in the immediate fore¬ 
ground of this general view, a choice herd of 
upwards of 70 head of fine thoroughbred 
Short-Horns, cropping the succulent grass or 
reposing in the shade of the trees, and about 
this. She was got by Lord Foppington (10,- 
437) out of Adonia, by Hurkaway (9181), &e. | 
See English Herd Book. 
Mr. Charles F. Wadsworth showed me 
eight of this family, which 1 think will fully 
equal any other eight of a single family to be 
found in the United States. To these 
they have added largely from the Duchess 
aud Princess tribes, preferring the pure 
Bates aiul Stephenson blood to any other 
strains now existing. 
The Princess tribe of the late Mr. John 
Stephenson, of Wolviston, England, had lost 
size when the American breeders first began 
to import from it, in the years 1849 and 1850, 
and in consequence of tills, none but a select 
few here could properly appreciate them and 
they were almost entirely neglected, except 
by these few. But their high bred expres¬ 
sion, tine forms, superior handling and milk¬ 
ing qualities, at length won upon more of 
of our breeders, and about 10 you ^ ago they 
began to look them up with a view of le- 
taining all those good qualities and increas¬ 
ing their size by a cross of the Duchess bulls. 
This has succeeded nearly as well here as did 
the cross which Mr. Bates took upon his 
Duchess cows with the Princess bull Belvi- 
dere, which ho purchased of Mr. Stephenson 
in the year 1*31. 
Among the few restorers ol the Princess 
blood to popularity with us we may rank 
the Messrs. Wadsworth, for which they just¬ 
ly deserve the highest ecomiums. 
On a week’s visit to Kirkleviugton in 1841, 
I was so struck with the fine, high-bred style 
and superior quality of Mr. Bates’ Duchess 
tribe of cattle, that 1 made the strongest 
efforts 1 was capable of after returning home, 
to induce my friends to import immediately 
from them, as they could then be had at a 
moderate price, which I was confident 
would rapidly advance. But my wishes 
were disregarded, aud it was 13 years before 
any importations were made into America. 
Again, 1 strongly advocated the dissemina¬ 
tion of the Princess tribe on its first appear¬ 
ance here ; but as l have said above, lank 
iug sufficient size at first to command that 
attention it deserved, our breeders were more 
dilatory in taking to it than to the Duchess 
tribe. However, they have begun now in 
good earnest, and I am glad to observe that 
they are warmly seconded in this laudable 
undertaking by more or less of the breeders 
of the United Kingdom. 
It is not. my purpose now to go over the 
Messrs. Wadsworth’s herd to separately de¬ 
scribe and criticise, as J think such a course 
carries little intelligence to the reader, in 
the absence before him of the animals them¬ 
selves forming it. Aside from this, tastes 
differ and what one admires another may 
think of small account. Moreover, the con¬ 
dition in which animals happen to be at the 
time of inspection, exercises too much in¬ 
fluence, 1 regret to say, in the judgment of 
the best of us. 
Messrs. Bates and Stephenson, while striv¬ 
ing to keep up, and, if possible, still further 
to improve the forms of their high-bred ani 
mals, also paid great attention to their milk¬ 
ing qualities. Many think that if a cow ex 
cels as a milker, it is not possible for her to 
make good beef; but Mr. Bates informed 
me that when his aged Duchess cows ceased 
breeding, and were dried off and fattened, 
their beef proved of the best quality and 
commanded the highest price in the Darling- 
tou market, which was then, 1 believe, the 
most fastidious in England in regard to its I 
meats, and I do not know but it is still so 
considered. Yet, be this as it may, the early 1 
Short-Horns excelled all other breeds of the 1 
United Kingdom in the large quantity of < 
milk they gave, and these gentlemen very • 
wisely determined to keep up this dUtin- 1 
guishing point in their own herds, whatever 1 
else others might do. To this same conclu¬ 
sion 1 rejoice to add the Messrs. Wadsworth 
have come In the breeding of the Genesee 
Valley Short-Horn herd, as it is named here. 
Their cows excel generally as milkers, and 
arc fully able to bring up their own calves in 
good condition, and if a cow will not do this 
? think she ought to be ruled out of every 
showyard as unworthy of being awarded a 
prize of any kind. 
Another point in which I found this herd 
quite strong and evenly bred was in Hie 
twist. Several are superior in this, and none 
were decidedly deficient. At the same time 
a nice attention is paid to perfecting all other 
important parts of the animals. As a gene¬ 
ral rule, the Short-Horn* which I used to see 
years ago were deficient in the crops, too 
flat in the fore-ribs, leaving a, sinking imme¬ 
diately behind the shoulders (especially in 
the hulls), which detracted much from their 
otherwise superior harmonious forms. The 
shoulders, also, are apt to be coarse and too 
upright, being far inferior to the Devons in 
this point, as well as the fore-ribs and crops, 
and, if 1 recollect aright, also to the High¬ 
land bullocks and some other breeds 1 !i..v 
seen in Great Britain. But many others of 
our breeders have also been striving latterly 
to improve their herds in these desirable 
points, and, 1 trust, with considerable suc¬ 
cess. 
The bulls latterly used in the Genesee Val 
ley herd are 14th Duke of Airdr ie, 8 d Baron 
Bates. Earl Keahum, 2d Baron Morley aud 
5 th Prince of Oxford. The latter is the 
youngest of the five, having been calved Jan¬ 
uary 14, 1854. He is almost entirely red, 
with the golden hue of hair which we so 
much admire here, as indicative of high 
breeding and as a distinguishing shade in the 
color of the Duchess and Princess tribes of 
cattle. He is of good size, fine quality, and 
quit© stylish in his make up. We may look 
for a choice lot of calves next, year from his 
get. 1 may now forbear further remarks of 
my own on the herd of the Messrs. Wads¬ 
worth, and give a few facts in regard to their 
standing before the public. 
At the New York Agricultural Show at 
, Elmira, in 1872, it took the herd premium 
and four first prizes ; at that of Albany, in 
1873, it took the herd premium and five first 
prizes ; at that of Rochester, in 1874, it took 
; the herd premium und four first prizes. 
You have made known the opinion formed 
. of this herd of one distinguished English 
breeder by recently giving an account in the 
Agricultural Gazette of a selection from it 
j by Mr. G. Fox, of Harelield, Cheshire, of the 
j seven following choice animals : Damask 2d, 
3 d and 0th Princesses of Oxford, Sd Princess 
of Thorndale, Fines*, 3d Duchess of Kirklev- 
r iugton and Australia 18th. After the exara- 
L illation of. these animals the reader can make 
; up Ids mind, better than any words of mine 
i can express, as to the general character of 
. the Genesee Valley Short Horn Herd. 
New Y ork, July 38,1875. A. B. A i.len. 
grown and the last be as good as the first. 
We have often known tho second crop to be 
better where the first was sown on a newly 
turned sod, which will be in much better con¬ 
dition for tho second crop than for the first. 
As for the exhaustion of fertility, two crops 
of wheat in succession arc certainly no worse 
than the common rotation of corn or pota¬ 
toes, followed by oats or bfti ley, and that by 
wheat. A wheat stubble is no worse than 
oats or barley, and we incline to think it 
rather better, especially if plowed as soon as 
the crop is harvested. Either way we have 
two grain crops in succession, and, our expe¬ 
rience is, that wheat is not so exhaustive as 
oats. 
We do not advocate sowing wheat after 
wheat, a? a general practice, but there are 
some occasions when it seems advisable, and 
others where, it may be provided for. if the 
i clover catch ha3 entirely failed it is better to 
, plow and re-seed with wheat, than to leave 
. the field till spring to be sown with oats or 
. barley, and then with wheat a year later. 
. It is better than to have the field barren a 
, year to fill with weeds, as such fields are 
sure to do. With a very little manure as top 
, dressing, or some commercial fertilizer 
drilled in with the seed, wheat after wheat 
3 is one of the most certain of crops, and there 
is an absolute certainty of a good catch of 
, clover. 
There is one place where two crops of 
wheat ought always to be taken, and that 
D after a heavy growth of clover has been 
i plowed underand 1 he field summer fallowed. 
This preparation is the very best for wheat; 
,, but it is too costly to bo afforded for one crop, 
and there is a further difficulty in getting a 
good grow th of clover on such laud. Unless 
I the season is very favorable for clover there 
n will not be half a catch, and in dry seasons 
d the field after harvest will be almost bare. 
Tho result will be that the next year the 
weeds will have free course, and fill the soil 
with seeds as badly as before it was fallowed. 
^ One chief use of a summer fallow is to make 
the laud clear ; and where the clover fails this 
advantage is entirely neutralized. Our way 
‘ L with such fields is to not sow clover seed on 
d a clover ley, for it w ill be a waste of seed, 
k but turn under the stubble immediately after 
. harvest, fit the land as well as possible, and 
‘j. drill in 300 pounds of superphosphate per 
’ acre with tho wheat, ming as much bam 
yard manure as top dressing as we ean ob- 
U tain. Next spring seed heavily w'ith clover, 
aud it will grow in speh a mat us to entirely 
I eradicate the weeds. 1 n this way the costly 
! u summer fallow is made to give two good 
^ crops of wheat, and a good catch of clover, 
rather than one crop of wheat and no seeding. 
It is easy to see which method is likel} 7 to he 
. . most profitable, 
Timothy seed sown in the fall will gener- 
II ally give a good catch on clover sod ; but the 
'i effects of clover in improving the soil are so 
\ important that We prefer to wait a year 
longer, aud take a second crop of wheat in 
’ order to insure a good growth of clover. 
opld &t[0p. 
WHEAT AFTER WHEAT. 
On all new land, and everywhere in the 
wheat growing sections of this country when 
first settled, the growing of wheat after 
wheat was the common practice. This was 
partly a necessity 7 , for in early days wheat 
was often the only crop which would bring 
a cash price, and even now it is almost al¬ 
ways the. crop that best bears the cost of 
transportat ion, owing to its higher prioo per 
bushel. For a time this severe cropping did 
not seem to injure the soil or seriously im¬ 
pair its fertility. There would, occasionally, 
be a poor crop, but this was attributed to 
cold or wet, or drouth, rather than poverty 
of soil. But it soon began to be uotieed that 
these accidents of the. season occurred more 
aud more frequently, until finally only with 
perfect weather throughout could a crop be 
assured. Of late years, in tho older-settled 
parts of the country, wheat is very rarely 
gr0 wn after wheat, and in many places there 
almost a superstitious objection to this 
method • >f cropping. Yet, as successive crops 
of wheat have been and are grown on new 
land, it is evident that the difficuiy is not the 
practice itself, but in the condition of the 
soil. Make the soil rich enough, and a sec¬ 
ond or even third crop of wheat may be 
VARIETIES OF FALL WHEAT. 
The Farmer’s Advocate, Londou, Ontario, 
thus describes several of the popular varie¬ 
ties grown in the Dominion : 
“The Soule’s wheat is a bald chaffed white 
grain. It. is much larger than the Deihl—-the 
heads long aud rather open between the 
kernels. Mediterranean wheat has much 
improved in appearance and quality since the 
first importation. The head and grain are. 
long, wide set, with head bearded. Color of 
grain, red. There are also white and red 
chaffed varieties. Midge-proof—straw mod¬ 
erate length; heads rat her short and bald ; 
color of grain, red. Michigan Amber, or 
Rappahannock, is of au amber color ; growth 
and appearance otherwise much resembling 
the midge-proof variety. Weeks’ bearded- 
color, white, both in grain and Btraw ; grain 
rather elongated, Treadwell—straw and 
head rather long ; chaff, white ; tho grain is 
clear amber in appearance—almost white ; 
there are tw r o varieties, bald and beaided, 
though it is generally found in a mixed 
state ; when first introduced it was thought 
to be inseparable, but now you can procure 
either bald or bearded ; some farmers are 
highly laudatory of the bald, while others 
strongly adhere to the bearded variety: it 
lias been a very profitable aud valuable 
wheat. Since the introduction of the Scott 
wheat the Treadwell has gradually decreased 
in cultivation, as the Seolt wheat, was fount 
less liable to rust, and rather more hardy. 
The Deihl wheat has a short , thick set head ; 
chaff, red ; it is a bald wheat, rather short 
in Lhe straw ; the grain is short, white, and 
generally plump. The Seneca wheat is a red 
chaffed, white wheat, of good quality, but 
not yet generally known in Canada ; it has 
