JUNE << 
THE RURAL HEW-YCRKER. 
£hij)B Incident to Western r,inching as weii a’. 
the Texans which are “ native and to the 
manner born.” 
This breed is becoming deservedly popular 
in America and several persons are importing 
herds at considerable prices. The H m. H. M. 
Cochrane, of Hillhurst, Cauada, has recently 
received fiv i head from the herd of the E arl of 
Strathmore and five from that of Mr. Smith of 
Dundee, which cost from $500 to $800 per 
head. Toe model farm at Gaelph, Ontario, is 
forming a herd; Mr. J J R >gers of Abingdon, 
Ill.; Mr. Campbell of Iowa ; Messrs. Burleigh 
and B >d will, of Fairfield Center, Maine; H m. 
J H P >pe. M nister of Agriculture, Canada; 
Mr. R-dfleld of Wigwam Firm, Batavia, N. Y., 
and some others, are also importing freely 
from the best herds in Scotland. A herd has 
been sent to the Sandwich Inlands for a Scotch 
residmt there. Mr. Clark is entitled to the 
credit of being the pioneer importer and breed¬ 
er of these cattle in America, and the first to 
introduce them to the western country, as 
well as tho first to cross them upon the Short¬ 
horns and bring them to the test of the 
butchers' stall. 
An inferior bl ick polled race is known as the 
Gilloway. This is named from a locality in 
Scotland and haB come originally from the 
same stock But it is inferior to some extent, 
because it. his not been subj ?cted to the care¬ 
ful cuHu-e and training which the Angus cat¬ 
tle have had, and although it is a hardy race, 
yet it is coarse in form, rough-haired and by 
no means so profitable a feeder as the latter. 
In concluding these remarks, it might be sug¬ 
gested that a very promising venture is offered 
to some enterprising dairyman to cross some 
of the milking strains of these Angus cattle 
on our Jerseys, so as to produce a hornless 
dairy cow of the best quality, of graceful form 
and of perfect docility and harmlessDess. 
-- 
LIVE STOCK INTERESTS IN GREAT 
BRITAIN. 
>RiFBSSOR J P. 8HBLDON 
Thb agricultural mind ff this country is being 
a good deal exercised on the subj set of conta¬ 
gions diseases of cattle. A long and disastrous 
period of depression has made onr farmers un¬ 
usually acute on the snbj tet of losses which 
may be prevented, and of inconveniences which 
are gratuitous. It is, they think, enough in 
all conscience that fiscal depletion should come 
of causes which, in the present state of scien¬ 
tific remedies, are beyond control, wi bont 
having also to bear losses the causes of which 
may be or might have been prevented. Know 
ing that we are ever liable to disease—scourges 
whose origin Is Id other countries, and which 
by proper regulations efficiently carried out 
may be kept there, Increased vigilance is de¬ 
manded and more drastic measures are pro¬ 
posed. The present condition of bov.ne in¬ 
terests In the country proveR, indeed, ample 
reason for the feeling of insecurity, and its in¬ 
evitable dissatisfaction. A “ tight little island ” 
like this, whose internal management is or 
ought to be well in hand, should be the last 
place on earth in which such a feeling should 
have anv cause to gain ground, and it is clear 
that a j ilnt is loose somewhere in the admin¬ 
istrative harness. We have been thought 
hardly of in America from having ordered 
that the cattle she i6 good enough to send ns 
at so cheap a rate shall be slaughtered at the 
port of landing, because she cannot present ns 
with a clean bill of health among her live stock, 
and we have quietly let slip in the insidious 
disease of “foot-and-mouth" from a country 
which is comparatively within a stone’s throw 
—from France, in fact. 
This it Is that is again promoting J dm Bull's 
proverbial love of grumbling, and it must be 
admitted that John B ill Is quite in the right 
for once. I is true that we cannot produce 
enough for ourselves of the animal food on 
which the typical Englishman loves to dine, 
and that we are driven to import an annually 
increasing quantity of it from foreign coun¬ 
tries and from onr own dependencies, but it is 
clearly “a penny wise and pound foolish” 
poliev to admit with that imported food cer¬ 
tain diseases which, by diminishing our home 
production, makes ns more than ever depend¬ 
ent on those outside countries. Our farmers 
do not clamor for anything in the shape of pro¬ 
tection against the importation of foreign food 
of any kind, though they find a rapid increase 
of diffi julty in meeting foreign competition 
with success ; but they do most properly de¬ 
mand protection against the introduction of 
d'sease along with the food. 
It has been estimated by competent authori¬ 
ties that we lose quite as much of our own 
stock through these imported diseases as the 
imported animal food amounts to, and that 
many millions sterling are sent out of the 
count*y to supply the deficiency of animal 
ood which these very diseases have created 
Repeatedly and ad nauseian these diseases 
have invaded the country, working desolation 
and loss, ruining numbers of hard-working 
farmers nurt were 1 r.oitb ,:, a*! n cio^s, our 
agriculturists,'despite their grumuling tenden¬ 
cies, which probably have a climatic origin, 
are the most long-3nff uung people to be found, 
they would have risen up and demanded, once 
for all. in a manner admitting of no compro¬ 
mise, that their flocks and herds should be 
made safe against murderous epidemics from 
abroad. Repeatedly have we been compelled 
to stamp out these epidemics, and to adopt 
stringent regulations to confine them within a 
limited area, and patiently, even cheerfully 
have our farmers submitted to the harrassing 
inconvenience and loss inseparable from such 
orders. All, as it appears, to no purpose, for 
again is the whole country declared to be in¬ 
fected ; again are the markets closed; again 
is the movement of stock placed nnder strict 
supervision; again is bucolic commerce in a 
state of paralysis; again have values become 
a nebulous entity; again are onr farmers re¬ 
duced to the condition of a beleagured city 
with an ememv at the gates. 
Tnese diseases mean ruin to the British far¬ 
mer to an extent which is not well compie- 
hended in other countries. Ordinary farm 
stock—cattle, sheep and pigs—are worth more 
in Britain than in any other country, and the 
farmer’s capital is invested in them to a greater 
degree than we find elsewhere. He does not 
and cannot, as in America, for instance, own 
his farm and the stock npon It; land is too 
dear to admit of that; so that when diseases 
sweep away his stock nearly his all is gone. A 
farmer in England who is rich enough to own 
bis farm as well as the necessaiy stock upon 
it, does not so easily “ go to the wall ” if he 
loses his stock, but the proportion of those 
who own their land is very small in compari¬ 
son with those who rent it. From this it is 
evident that onr farmers need to be guarded 
against the intrusion of diseases. Onr author¬ 
ities are well aware of thie, hence the measures 
which are taken to prevent the introdaction of 
foreign epidemics, and to stamp them out as 
well as to prevent the spread of them, if un¬ 
luckily they do find their way in amongst us. 
Were our farmers land-owners, as American 
farmers are, it is possible that our Gov eminent 
would do no more than yours for the eradica¬ 
tion of disease, but we cannot afford to be su¬ 
pine on the question. It does not appear to 
me that America had any right to complain 
when we ordered her live 6tock to be killed on 
landing here; and we should only have been 
reciprocal had we placed a heavy import duty 
on them as well. So Boon as you have ridded 
your country of disease we shall again admit 
your live stock without restriction, but Ameri¬ 
can farmers may depend upon it that America 
will remain scheduled until a clean bill of 
health can be presented. 
But we hsv j something amongst our live 
stock which is far worse than foot-and-mouth 
disease. Our sheep are dying in thousands 
from the parasitic disease of liver-rot. It is 
probable that we have lost four or five millions 
of them, either directly or indirectly, from this 
cause within the past 18 months. This is not 
an infectious disease in the ordinary meaning 
of the word but it is none the less disastrous 
on that account. The sheep pick it np j ust as 
freely as if it were. The sequence of the wet 
seasons we have had is the cause of this fright¬ 
ful malady. Another of the series would be 
worse than any previous one, because the land 
is getting more and more impregnated with 
nnsonndness. At the present time sheep are 
dying on land to which neither record nor tra¬ 
dition ascribes any previous liability to "rot.” 
Lind that never has required artificial drain¬ 
ing, and has always been regarded as perftctly 
sound, is no longer regarded as perfectly safe. 
Even on the carboniferous limestone soils of 
Derbyshire, where liver-rot was never known 
before, there is probably not a perfectly sound 
fl >ck to be found. The consequence is that 
while mutton is dear, store sheep are a drug 
in the market. Even on the dry soils of Lei¬ 
cestershire sheep are dying in thousands, 
though they withstood the disease until the 
past Winter. I hear of one man who has lost 
within a short period upwards of 60 per cent, 
of his ewes. In many heavy-land districts 
there are no sheep left. A man not far from 
me has lost two whole Hocks; the first died off 
a year or two ago; he bought a second and 
that too is swept away. O u the wettest land, 
in Borne parts, tv n cattle have become sffl ct- 
ed with rot. Sheep will be dearer than ever 
they were known to be, so soon as the malady 
has gone and confidence is restored. We want 
a couple of American Summers and Winters 
to purify the land—your clear, bright sky and 
your dry, pure air. 
Meantime no one can pretend to have any 
certain knowledge of what live stock are worth 
at the present time in this country. The mar¬ 
kets are closed sine die, and very little busi¬ 
ness is beiDg done without them. A man can¬ 
not take his cows to drink on a public road 
without a permit from the police, even though 
they may have been drinking there for a cen¬ 
tury or two; nor can he move them from one 
part to another of his farm if he has to cross a 
road in so doing. If a man bays aDy cattle, 
sheep, or pigs, he muBt procure a special pass 
before he can move them away. AH these 
things are very harrassing, but they are neceE- 
sary to prevent the spread of the foot-and- 
mouth disease. In the Antnmn of last year 
the trade in store etock showed a healthy re¬ 
vival, in comparison with the previous 13 or 18 
months, but it has been checked by disease 
and its attendant restrictions. It is probable 
that better times were dawning on us but for 
this outbreak of foo'.-md-month and for the 
continued prevalence of rot among sheep. 
Meanwhile our horses and pigs remain healthy, 
bit oar people are beginning to imbibe a 
wholesome fear of trichinosis ; our neighbors, 
the French, have started the crusade against 
American pork and bacon ; it wiU be some 
time before confidence is restored. 
Sheen. Ashbourne, England. 
- +~+~* - 
GRADED ANIMALS AND THEIR ADVAN¬ 
TAGES 
COL F. D. CURTIS. 
The merits of thoroughbred stock have been 
so often repeated that grades have necessarily 
stood in the background. There haa been a 
sort of false pride in connection with them on 
account of their lower value when compared 
with animals with a fall pedigree, which has 
lessened the interest in them. Breeders of the 
pure blood animals have helped to create this 
feeling and to keep it alivi ly vaunting the 
claims of the thoroughbreds and pushing them 
to the front rank, or the aristocratic line. 
This is right, perhaps, as this royal blood is 
certainly more cosily ami it 19 this which lays 
lbt> foundation for the grades. By grades we 
mean the progeny of pure-bred stock cesses 
of the ’‘natives.” Herein the greatest benefits 
are to be derived from thoroughbreds. The 
latter command a price above the reach of or¬ 
dinary farmers, and their owners justly de¬ 
mand more-for them, on account of their cost 
to them and because they rea’iy are more valu¬ 
able to produce stock F.« people realize how 
much real benefit may be derived from a j ldi- 
eious crossing of the pure-bred and the ••na¬ 
tive.” 
A moDgrel sire cf any kind of stock should 
never be used If a farmer is not able to pur¬ 
chase a thoroughbred alone, he should get oth¬ 
ers to unite with him and make a j tint pur¬ 
chase, dividing purchase price and cost of 
keeping. When this is done no neighborhood 
need be without such a sire. The choice 
should be according to the wants of the com¬ 
munity. If cheese-making is the leading dairy 
interest, then a breed of cattle should be se¬ 
lected which will fnrnish the largest yield of 
milk, and this selection should be governed by 
the circumstances of feed In most daily dis¬ 
tricts the Ayrshires will be found to be oest 
adapted to the purpose, on account of their 
smaller size and their ability to t ike care of 
themselves, and to furnish the largest yield of 
milk on shorter feed. Where the pastures are 
luxuriant and feed is abundant, the H ilittius 
will give satisfaction. These are the most val¬ 
uable cheese-producing cattle. We know of 
crosses of the Ayrshires upon the natives which 
have demonstrated their value. These grades 
all made superior cows, and one of them so 
wonderfully combined tbe fl>w and quality of 
milk that she would make 18 pounds of butter 
a week. Where cows are kept for butter a 
selection of either the Jersey or Guernsey cross 
should be made, 
Sjventy years ago an 11 Alderney” bull pro¬ 
duced a heifer calf, which was reared and all 
of her female progeny saved. At this day the 
descendants are kept in the family of the owner 
of the original heifer, and are still noted as 
extra-good cows, and the marks of the Alder¬ 
ney breed can be traced, as well as the superior 
merits. Nearly half a century has elapsed 
since Henry W. D jlaiow imported from E g- 
land two cows and a bull, '• Durham ” cattle. 
These cows were good milkers, and receutly I 
saw two cows, descended from this importa¬ 
tion, which showed the old D irham type in 
great perfection, although several generations 
removed bv crosses upon natives, and they 
were remarkably good cows. Another farmer 
began with a half-bred Jersey cow, and by sav¬ 
ing aDd retaining all his heifers for J .rsey 
bulls he has established a herd of grade J rs yi 
which produce more butter than any other 
dairy of like number, and twice the amount he 
used to obtain when all of his stock were na¬ 
tives. Other farmers in the neighborhood have 
followed his example, and have secured there¬ 
by the same results. Grades are nearly, if not 
quite, as valuable as pure-breds for use in the 
dairy. They possess the hardiness and strong 
constitutional qualities of the natives, which 
keep them free from disease and give them the 
ability to eat and assimilate almost anything 
and turn it to the best account. This Is proven 
by the fact that in experiments in feeding to 
attain great Wei^htB, grade Sborl-horne are 
usually selected. They combine the frames of 
the pure-breds and the strong stomachs of the 
natives. 
Grade pigs are by far the most profitable for 
fattening, on this acc mnt. They possess the 
fineness of bone and fl 38h and aptitude to fat¬ 
ten of the thoroughbreds, and also the vigor¬ 
ous appetites and stamina of tbe natives. A 
thoroughbred sire will add, on this acc aunt 
alone, 25 per cent, to the value of the pig 3 on 
those got by a sire of mean or no bio >d. One 
South D >wn ram can double the mutton value 
of the progeny of more than 100 M jrino sheep, 
and the offspring of these grades, if kept for 
breeders, may be made more desirable by an¬ 
other cross by a pure-bred sire. The income 
of the average, daity can be increased one-third 
by j idicious crossing of the best native cows 
with pare-blood bulls. This statement resolves 
itself into a sort of mathematical problem by 
considering the average yield of the dairies of 
N;w York, for instance,—which is about 1300 
quarts—and that of a good Ayrshire herd— 
which will run np to 2,500 quarts. Grade Ayr¬ 
shires or H dsteins will add to tbe native side 
of this proportion from 300 to 500 quarts of 
milk and grade Gaerneeya or Jerseys would 
add an equal proportion to the average yield 
of batter. It should be added that the butter 
of grade? i6 almost identical with that of the 
purc-breds in color and quality. In fact, the 
milk of a half-bred J usey in Charlton, in sev¬ 
eral cases, has given a yellower color to the 
hotter of the whole dairy. Oue cross will not 
often carry with it a close resemblance to the 
pure-bred ancestors, but three-quarters and 
seven-eighths—second and third crosses—will 
generally stamp tbe progeny with the same 
markings in color, form of bodj, the size being 
graduated by the siz ! of tbe dam. 
The instances we have cited where an orig¬ 
inal half-blood cross was made without any 
additions of blood other than native, and 
which have preserved the special qualities of 
tbe original blood so long, not only prove the 
value of pure blood, but establish the principle 
of pedigree, and also demonstrate that graded 
blood has an intrinsic value which may be per¬ 
petuated many years. It is poor economy, 
then, for farmers to shut their eyes to these 
ficts and j er at"fancy stock” when they 
should encourage breeders as real benefactors. 
- ■«« » 
HOLDER NESS CATTLE. 
The earliest accounts I have seen place these 
cattle in Rolderness, a district of Yorkshire, 
E gland, from which they take their name. 
Tney were chief! p noted for their great milking 
qualities. Although coarse and ungainly in 
appearance, they possessed valuable character¬ 
istics in their high and broad carcasses, and 
contained within themselves the elements of 
refinement; which has been amply proven in 
the beef-producing Short-born and the milk- 
producing Ay shire, both of which owe their 
existence in a great measure to the Holder- 
ness. 
It was not until the present centuiy that 
thiy were introduced into the United States, 
where they have been greatly improved in 
their form and general appearance by carelul 
breeding, until they stand unrivaled for beauty 
and excellence They produce large quanti¬ 
ties of milk of a veiy superior quality. Thiy 
are now called American n dderness, as thiy 
are essentially an American breed. Fur the 
past 80 years their breeding and management 
have, vn many respects, been similar to that 
of all the successful breeders of pure-bred 
cattle in England. Th<y have been closely 
in-and-in bred and imprev.d only ly selec¬ 
tions made from their own number, with a 
view of fixiag and concentrating their good 
points still more strongly in the blood and 
constitution. Sire has been bred to his daugh¬ 
ter, the sons and daughters with each other, 
sons to mothers, etc. This practice has proved 
eminently successful, producing stock of cer¬ 
tain and positive qualities of excellence when 
heed among themselves, and when crossed up¬ 
on Btock of other families or tribes, stamping 
their own characteristics upon the progeny 
with a certainty and strength that could be 
reached iy no kind of miscellaneous breeding 
whatever. Thus bred, they have become, in a 
measure, the natural outgrowth of the climate 
of the country, and their product of butter 
has been increased from 200 to more than 
300 pounds per annum. 
It is true that natural causes and condi¬ 
tions have contributed to this end, yet great 
care and vigilance have been exercised to 
counteract the smallest tendency to imperfec¬ 
tion. Tbe color has gradually deepened from 
light red atd white to a rich brown or almost 
black, with white along the back and belly and 
encircling the legs at the body. The shin is so 
very yellow that it often gives the white the 
appearance of having been colored. The in¬ 
terior of the ears is like orange peel. The 
animals are of good siz >, deep-bodied, with 
large udders and teats, and with excellent 
escutcheons. Thty have a good temper and 
a kindly, docile disposition, and have a fear¬ 
less confidence in those who care for them. 
They are held in high esteem by those who 
are fortunate enough to possess some of them. 
S dsville, NY. t a. c. 
