V 
You XXXIX. No. 13. 
Whole No. 1574. 
NEW YORK, MARCH 27, 1880. 
i Price Five Cents. 
) $2.00 Per Year. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S80, by the Rural New-Yorker, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
Itoiu.-m, 
our country, and so great the wealth and 
prosperity, especially in the wide pork re¬ 
gions of the West, that was certain to follow 
from keeping up his peculiar good qualities 
wherever suitable to the requirements of our 
farmers. 
The first volume of a Herd Book of these has 
just been published in Ohio, under the name 
and-Chinas, till they have become the excel¬ 
lent fixed breed we now find them. I trust 
their history is fully established as published 
in their Record, and that all disputes as to it 
may end. It is sufficient to say, hereafter, that 
they are well worthy of being perpetuated as 
we now find them, and that the various breed¬ 
ers in the Western States, who have united in 
bringing them to their present state of perfec¬ 
tion, may well be satisfied with the great good 
to the public which they have accomplished. 
SWINE, 
The Importance of Possessing the Best Breeds, 
Swine have increased so rapidly in the 
United States and its Territories during the 
past 10 years, that an indefinite guess only can 
be given as to the number which the census 
of next June will show us on its completion. 
A recent report which I have seen of the hogs 
packed at the West, in the season of 1878, puts 
the figures at 5,850.000, while those of 1879 are 
represented as somethiug less. 
The Hon. J. R. Dodge, In a late article in the 
N. Y. Weekly Tribune, estimates the live and 
dead swine exported In 1879 at 6,000 000 head ; 
and the annual product of our country at the 
enormous weight of 5,000 000,000 pounds. 
How nearly exact this may be I cannot say ; 
but in any event, if a perfectly correct weight 
could be had at this moment, there is no doubt 
we should be astounded at the additional fig¬ 
ures it would show over those of tlv.year 1JJ70. 
Suppose the live weight of swine, as stated 
above was of the best breed, as the Berkshire, 
it would be a low figure to set down its aver¬ 
age at four cents per pouud. In this case, it 
would amount to $200 000,01)0. If of amedinm 
breed, an average of three cents per pound 
would probably he as much as could be real- 
STOCK NOTES FROM IOWA 
PRIMA- DONNA 2ni.*U 
It is the opinion of our oldest settlers that 
never before within their recollection has 
January shed so mauy tears as she did in 
1880. The weather, up to the present time, 
has been very mild, with prevailing cloudy 
and foggy days. Even the noted London fog 
can scarcely equal the watery vapor that set¬ 
tles down upon us to remain three or four days 
at a time. Occasionally we get a day of bright 
sunshineupd of exceptional beauty. 
Our markets are good. Just now pork stands 
at 4 cents, but the usual figures are $4 25 and 
$4.50 per cwt. We have one of the best mar¬ 
kets/or butter in the West—Manchester. That 
staple article is worth, fresh from the churn, 
25c@30c. per pound; corn sells for SOc. per 
ushel; oats, 35c.; fat cattle are handled by 
BERKSHIRE SOW.—FIG. 94 
and perpetuating them in purity, that on Feb¬ 
ruary 25ih, 1875, an association of enterprising 
and enlightened breeders was formed at 
Springfield. Uliuois, to more fully insure this de¬ 
sideratum. It took the name of the American 
Berkshire Association, was incorporated 
March, 18th 1879, uDd fixed its headquar¬ 
ters at Springfield, Illinois, electing a Presi¬ 
dent and other necessary officers. The Hon. 
Phil. M. Springer was made Secretary, who 
still continues iu the office and is also the chief 
manager of affairs. 
The Association proceeded to get up a Herd 
Book for the record of pedigrees, the first 
volume of which was published in May 1876. 
This has been succeeded by volumes, II , III, 
and IV., and with these are incorporated in 
their introductions, valuable prize essays of 
the history of Berkshires, the best method of 
breeding and rearing, as also that of the pre¬ 
vention of disease and of treating it whenever 
happening to occur. 
The Poland-Chiiia. 
This is the most popular breed of swine at 
present among us for the production of fat 
pork suitable for salting for general family 
use, sea-stores and shipping abroad. They are 
usually larger than the Berkshire, spotted with 
rather more black than white ; mature almost 
as soon, and are equally hardy, vigorous aud 
thrifty. As this now distinguished breed is of 
American origin and completeness, we may 
well be proud of it, and give it the preference 
of the Poland-China Record. In this the his¬ 
tory of the breed is given, the foundation of 
which, it is asserted, was begun in the Miami 
Valley in the year 1816. with three breeds of 
swine, then known there as the Russia, the 
BylMc^vd the Bi;r China. Males of these 
were crossed ftiori? or less upon tLe native 
females of the Valley, and from time to time 
this produce was crossed with other breeds, 
the main improver, after the year 1838, being, 
as I have been informed, the Berkshire. 
I well recollect when first visiting the 
Miami Valley in December 1S41, seeing there 
a considerable number of very large white 
swine, closely resembling the English York¬ 
shire of that day. These were called the 
Miami breed. Females had been crossed to 
some extent with Berkshire boars, and most 
of this produce which was pointed out to me, 
had grown up large, splendid animals, quite 
Berkshire-like in form and points, and spotted 
black and white nearly equally. At the same 
time I saw an Irish grazier or two there, which 
I was told had been crossed on the Miamis. 
This was a white breed, of the size of the larger 
class of the Berkshires with prick-up ears, and 
about as fine in the points, but not so fully 
developed in the hams. I have been informeu 
that they originated from Yorkshire swine, 
taken to Ireland many years before. 
For years past various accounts have ap¬ 
peared iu the Western agricultural papers of 
the origiu and subsequent breeding of the Po- 
IRISH GREYHOUND PIG.—FIG. 93. 
ized, thus making the value $150,000,000. If 
of an inferior breed, two cents per pound are all 
it would be worth, reducing the value to 
$100,000,000. If, like the Irish Greyhound 
Pig, fig. 93, small account 
could be made of it; for by 
no Bystem of feeding can 
such au animal be made 
good pork; and it would 
only bo a waste of provi¬ 
sions to dole them out to It. 
The United States during 
the last fiscal year exported 
$79,438,936 worth of these 
products: $51,074,433 being 
in ham«; $22,856,673 in 
lard; $4 807.563 in pork and 
$700,263 in live hogs. 
The Berkshire. 
Of all our breeds of swine, 
I do not hesitate to place 
the Berkshire in the very 
front rank for general pur¬ 
poses, as a cross from him 
on any other always results 
in un improvement, while 
he is sure to be deteriorated 
i any other breed is crossed 
upon him. Then for the 
particular purpose of ob¬ 
taining extra choice hams 
and shoulders for 6moking, 
and side pieces for bacon, 
of a tender, lean, juicy 
quality, no other breed of 
swine within my knowledge 
can be compared to him. 
So highly esteemed had 
the Berkshire become in 
jvN'iq-i' 
COPY RIGHTED 
amounted to a trifle over 
four dollars, when an idea 
occurred to me which saved 
me considerable money be¬ 
sides a vast amount of in¬ 
convenience. 1 went to my 
grocer and procured for 
eighty cents salt and sugar 
barrels enough to answer 
my purpose. I then sawed 
off the bands at the third 
hoop and nailed a piece of 
board at the bottoms, and 
now have as good aud sub¬ 
stantial slop ouekets as I de¬ 
sire. I feed shorts and find 
that it pa\s me, and am 
more convinced now than 
ever before that the belter 
farmers keep their cows, 
the moi e profit is realized 
from them, consequently 
the better it is for them. If 
those farmers who are al¬ 
ways “ going to try the ex¬ 
periment ” of giviug their 
cows bran or shorts, to see 
if it pays, will “stand not 
upon the order of going but 
go at once," I am certain 
that the end will justify the 
means. Never mind the 
trouble 1 There is uothing 
in our Line of business that 
w ill pay us so well for our 
