Vol XLI. No. 169(5. 
NEW YORK, JULY 29, 1882. 
PRICE FIVE OE-VTS, 
$2,00 PER YEAR, 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1882, by the Rural New-Yorker, tn the offtee of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
OUE ANIMAL POETEAITS, 
DEVON CATTLE. 
In quality of beef no English breed equals 
the Devon. It is also easily the first as a trained 
work animal. It is then sagacious, docile, 
active, patient and enduring, and will follow 
a pair of horses in the furrow or upon the 
road with equally rapid pace. Those of our 
readers who have witnessed the frequent ex 
hibitions of trained steers and oxen at the 
various agricultural fairs in New England, 
where this kind of training is a specialty, will 
easily recognize in our description of the 
Devons the deep red, neatly and compactly 
formed animals which have amused and sur¬ 
prised them by their wonderful evolutions 
and performances. These trained steers will 
readily kneel, lie down as if dead without 
moving, and perform intricate evolutions at 
mere sigus given to them by their trainers 
and without a word being spoken, and young 
boys will often thus exhibit yearling steers 
that are equally well trained. New England 
is the home of the Devon in this country, and 
there are several well and carefully bred herds 
in the different Eastern States. 
The Devon is the oldest domesticated breed 
of cattle. Its home is in Devonshire, a county 
bordering on the Atlantic Ocean on the south¬ 
ern Bhores of England. Not having been 
favored with any “ boom” of popular excite¬ 
ment it bas remained in obscurity, filling a 
most useful place as a most useful animal for 
the dairy, the yoke aud the butcher. It is 
only medium in size, although when well fed 
and fat it bas reached a weight considerably 
over 2,000 pounds. The Devon cows are ex¬ 
cellent milkers, but not so lasting as the Ayr- 
sbires or Jerseys, but for a time they will 
equal the best of these, and yield as good a 
quality of butter. Devon milk is, in fact, 
unusually rich and at the same time is pro¬ 
duced on comparatively light feed. Being 
very active animals, they are suited to the 
rough, hilly pastures of New England and 
the adjoining counties of New York, where 
they form the largest proportion of the “ na¬ 
tive" cows. Indeed, this breed has been so 
long introduced and has been so long un¬ 
mixed by new importations, that it may well 
be considered a native breed. 
In color it is deep red, with no white except 
the switch and perhaps a fight streak under 
the belly. It is handsomely proportioned, as 
may be seen from the illustration; the horns 
are rather long, tine and black in color. The 
head is well proportioned and neat. The flesh 
of the beeves is intimately mixed with the 
fat which thus adds to the dressed weight of 
the carcass and is not wasted as offal, besides 
greatly improving it in quality and tender¬ 
ness. It is n rapid feeder, turning its food to 
flesh and fat quickly and is thus a very prof¬ 
itable animal for the farmer’s use. It is doubt¬ 
less a misfortune that it is so little heard of 
and is thrown into an undeserved seclusion 
by the more pretentious aud popular rivals 
which, after all, are really no more worthy 
than this example of modest greatness. Many 
Devons are kept in the South, where they 
are found equally as useful and valuable as 
they have been in the North. 
■■ — ■» ♦♦- 
NOTES BY A STOCKMAN. 
It is amusing to read of the appearance of 
"a new breed” of dairy cattle, here and there, 
in some of the agricultural papers, under the 
name of Guernseys. This breed is one of the 
best known of the old breeds and Is as old as 
the Jerseys. It is in every respect the equal 
of the Jersey and in some respects superior. 
But it has not been popular, that is all. 
Twenty years ago a herd of Guernsey cows,of 
12 in number, kept by a wealthy “ Pennsyl¬ 
vania Dutchman" known to me, averaged 14 
pounds of butter per head all through one 
Summer, and on pasture alone. This herd 
was kept up for several years and the produce 
of it was distributed among the neighboring 
farmers at the regular price of $100. for a 
cow, $50. for a heifer calf and $25. for a bull 
calf. In a few years the stock was pretty 
well scattered through the county where it 
was kept, to the great benefit of the public. 
The owner of the herd was a millionaire, hut 
he put his wealth where it would do the most 
good. This is in great contrast with the ways 
and methods of the majority of owners of 
fine stock. 
One creditable exception to the common 
practice deserves a separate note and honor¬ 
able notice,and for the benefit of the interested 
farmers I assume the responsibility of mention¬ 
ing the gentleman's name. It is Lawson 
Valentine Esq , the owner of Houghton Farm, 
in Orange Co., N. Y: and one may see in the 
standing advertisements of Houghton Farm 
stock the unusual notice that “ farmers prices 
are the rule.” I don’t know if farmers appre¬ 
ciate as they should the great advantage of 
enjoying the fruits of Mr. Valentine’s large 
expenditures and great care at tb« 'owest 
cost, and without contributing to speculative 
profits. If they don’t, “ they oughter." But 
perhaps they do and the Houghton Farm 
order book may show that orders are ahead 
of supply. I hope they do for the farmers’ 
sake. 
But “to return to our muttons,” I would 
merely remark, in a casual way, that the 
Guernsey boom does not inflate or rise as the 
Jersey boom, and that Guernsey bulls and 
cows may be procured at quite moderate 
prices. A very excellent herd was scattered 
a few years ago by the Massachusetts Society 
for the Improvement of Agriculture, which 
imported some Guernseys and after a time 
disposed of them at public sale. There is no 
reason why a few farmers who wish to have 
some Guernsey stock should not associate, 
or combine aud import a few cattle,and so get 
them at reasonable prices. The Guernsey 
farmers have not yet been inoculated with the 
American gold fever as the Jersey breeders 
have, and so they will sell a very good animal 
for a hundred dollars or so. There Is no doubt 
that the infusion of Guernsey blood into our 
common dairy stock would have an excellent 
effect and be a profitable enterprise if it can 
be done reasonably. 
The stock business is getting down (if the 
joke can be excused) when it is made to in¬ 
clude geese. A Texan ranch, it is reported, 
has been stocked with geese, and 1,600 of them 
have been put on it as a beginning. Curiously 
enough the enterprising goose rancher must 
be a goose himself for his name is G. Anderson 
—goose in this sense one understands is free 
from sex. But a goose sometimes makes a 
“hit,” and a hard one. 
The end of $27,000 has come to Mr. A. J. 
Alexander of Kentucky, who paid that price or, 
at least within about $25. of it. for the pedL 
gree of a five-months-old calf, 10th Duchess of 
Oneida, sold to him at the great New York 
Mills sale in 1372. This animal has never 
raised a calf and is the last of her name in the 
United States. Here we have a clear instance 
of the purchase price of a pedigree, and it 
raises the question of how much of the $380.- 
800 realized at that sale was profit or loss to 
the purchasers. 
English sheep-meu are striving to outdo 
themselves in their efforts to destroy their 
sheep. Only a short time ago one-half (?) the 
entire number of sheep iu England died of 
disease in one year. And now the following 
surprising foolishness is committed. We read 
that at the recent fat cattleshow at Smith field 
one pen of three Liaeolns weighed 1,020 
pounds; a pen of three Cotswolds weighed S59 
pounds; three Leicesters weighed 770; three 
South Downs. 700; three Shropshire?, S20; 
three Oxfords, 866; and three Hempshire 
lambs, only 40 weeks old, weighed 603 pounds. 
These lambs would give a dressed weight of 
480 pounds, equal to a growth of four pounds 
a week from birth. No wonder that animals 
BULL.— Fig. 231. 
so ruiuously fed should be diseased and shoul 
rear a weak and diseased progeny. Aud yet 
these prize winners will be sold and bought at 
enormous prices because of their unwholesome 
prize-winning. 
Americans do not emulate the Russians or 
the Esquimaux in the soap and tallow eating 
proclivities. We cannot take our chops with 
“three fingers ” of fat on them, and an almost 
invisible spot of lean meat in the center of the 
tallow. And so enormously heavy sheep are 
not made so much of here. We are learning 
to become mutton eaters and shall succeed if 
we will rear good, healthy, meaty sheep. 
Surely this English story ought to “ point the 
moral” which I have so often tried to enforce, 
viz., that we ought to breed our stock and 
feed it our owu way and stop importing 
foreign-bred and fed stock, and pouring our 
money at the same time into foreign pockets, 
“ for that which profiteth not." Let our own 
native breeders do our work for us and make 
their profit out of it. 
Mr. Le Brocq, of the Island of Jersey, in a 
communication to a contemporary on the * 
subject of “the points of excellence in Jerseys” 
very fully corroborates the views which I 
have so often expressed in respect of the 
intrinsic value of the fashionably bred Jersey 
cow. He says, “ The ‘working cow’ on the 
Island will be found in the hands of the farm¬ 
ers rather than in the herds of breeders whose 
sole aim is such beauty as will fulfill a certain 
number of points which enables them to taka 
prizes over the Island.” To this I might 
justly add—and will enable them to sell their 
animals to American breeders (?) at enormous 
prices, and these breeders to sell to each other 
or to the credulous public at a good profit on 
the strength of these prizes. Mr. Le Brocq’s 
explanation is also pertinent, when he says, 
“These men (the farmers) depend entirely on 
the amount of butter their animals make, to 
Jive and pay their rent.” But these animals 
do not go to the exhibitions aud do not take 
the prizes because the butter yield ia not con¬ 
sidered in the scale of points by which an 
animal eutirely without an udder could scale 
86 points out of 100, and one with the very 
best udder might only scale 14 out of the 100, 
Now is there not much justice in even severe 
criticism of the prevailing fashion and mania. 
GARDEN TALKS. NO. 8. 
Waldo F. Brown. 
Sowing, Keeping and Marketing Turnips. 
“Almost time to sow turnips, ain’t it?” said 
the Squire, as he dropped in to spend an even¬ 
ing with me early in July. 
“ Na,” I replied, “I would not sow before 
the first of August, unless I was intending to 
put in a large cron, and then 1 would begin 
sooner. The later you can sow turnips and 
get growth enough so they will be of market¬ 
able size, the better will be the quality. I 
grew a fine crop last year, sown the first of 
September, but that is later than I would re¬ 
commend sowing, but during the first ten 
days of August is a seasonable time. It is 
now time the ground was prepared for them, 
however, for it is almost impossible to grow a 
crop of turnips ou freshly plowed land. Farm¬ 
ers often come to me for seed for several acres 
of turnips just at sowing time, and when I ask 
if their land is m good coudition they will say, 
‘Oyes.it is freshly plowed and harrowed, 1 
and when I tell them they can't grow a crop 
of turnips ou such land they will not believe 
me, but a few trials will convince them.” 
“How and when do you prepare the land, 
then? ” 
“ I generally sow on laud that has been 
plowed in the Spring where early peas or 
other crops have been grown, and among the 
melons and cucumbers; but if 1 am intending 
to grow them on land which has not been 
cropped, I plow as early as possible and quite 
shallow, aud roll and drag aud then if I get a 
heavy rain or two on the laud to settle it, I 
can get just the kind of a seed bed I want. I 
have grown an excellent crop on wheat stub¬ 
ble by scattering a little extra straw and 
burning off the stubble and working two or 
three inches of the surface fine aud mellow, 
and I have grown some excellent crops by 
plowing a clover sod after cutting a crop of 
hay; for, as we cut our clover early in June, 
the land has time to settle.” 
“ Won’t the laud sometimes get too hard?” 
asked the Squire. 
“ Not if you harrow the surface at the right 
time. In New England the farmers would 
fold the sheep all Summer on a lot plowed in 
the Spriug, and they would tramp it as hard 
as a turn-pike, and then they would sow the 
turnips and harrow the land j ust enough to 
cover the seed and grow enormous crops.” 
“ I always sow when a rain is coming up so 
