342 
THE BORAL WEW-VOBKEB. 
MAY IS 
Some rather emphatio instances of this 
habit of cattle have recently been put on 
record, in the London ioumal “Nature.” Mr. 
H. C. Donovan, writing from South Africa, 
says, “ In the colony of Natal the cattle have 
an extraordinary liking for bones. They will 
stand for hours with a bone in the mouth quiet- 
ly munching, sucking, or, perhaps more cor¬ 
rectly speaking, levigating the bone with the 
tongue. I have not heard that cattle have the 
same habit in the other colonies of South Af¬ 
rica, but I have been told that cattle exhibit 
the same taste in some parts of South Aus¬ 
tralia. In Natal there is, I believe, a scarcity 
of chalk and limestone in the geological for¬ 
mation. Will this fact account for the habit ? 
Do the cattle lick the bones in search of lime ? 
I may mention that horses and other herbiv¬ 
orous animals in Natal do not exhibit the same 
taste.” 
In corroboration of the above letter, Mr. W. 
M. Williams remarks that in some parts of 
Norway the cattle have a similar habit of 
munching bones, “especially at the upper pas¬ 
turages around the ' sitters,’ or mountain cha¬ 
lets, where they are commonly supplied with a 
daily modicum of fish bones and salt, which 
they eat with great avidity." He adds, “there 
is but little lime on the Norwegian “fjelds" the 
prevailing rock is mica schist." 
In connection with these accounts, Prof. 
John Le Conte, of the University of California, 
recalls the fact that many years ago (in 1845), 
he published in one of our medical journals, 
an account of the same habit in cows in one 
of the Southern States. He says :—“ The cows 
which live on the extensive savannas and pine- 
barrens lyiug on the north side of the Alta- 
maha River, in McIntosh Co., Georgia, BubsiBt 
upon very coarse species of grasses, which 
are probably deficient in some of the phosphatic 
or calcareous ingredients essential to healthy 
nutrition, for these animals are constantly ob¬ 
served to chew bones. They frequently re¬ 
main stationary for hours, with the head 
elevated to prevent the saliva from escaping 
from the mouth ; they will, by constant tritu¬ 
ration, gradually rednee the bony mass to a 
very small size, when it is rejected as an un¬ 
manageable morsel. The cattle in ibis section 
of the State, are usually rather lean, aud cows 
brought from the fertile plantations in the 
neighborhood, if allowed to subsist on what 
they can procure in the savannas and pine- 
barrens, in the course of a year or two become 
equally thin; and ultimately fail into the habit 
of eating bones.” 
The Norwegian use of fish bones is plainly 
commendable, and it could readily be imitated 
iu this country by feeding out the better sort 
of fish-scrap, such as is prepared in Maine ex¬ 
pressly for foddering purposes. It is to be 
remarked, however, that in most cases such 
as were just now supposed, of an insufficient 
supply of the inorganic constituents of food; 
it is a lime-compound rather than a phosphate 
that needs to be given to the animals, as such. 
Phosphates had better be supplied to the ani¬ 
mals in the form of grain or oil-cake or shorts, 
which contain much phosphate of potash, 
while the lime may be administered either iu 
the form of whiting scattered upon the moist¬ 
ened food, or by placing a lump of chalk or 
other soft limestone where the animals can 
lick it when they please. 
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STOCK NOTES. 
Pleuro-pneumonia. —Com. Le Due has sent 
to the Hon James W. Covert, Chairman of 
the House Committee on Agriculture, the re¬ 
port of Dr. C. P. Lyman on the subject of 
“ pleuro-pncumonia, or lung plague of cattle, 
telling where and to what extent the disease 
exists in this country. It is merely a diary of 
his travels in the infected districts in Febuary 
and March, together with the results of his 
inquiries aud personal examination of the cir¬ 
cumstances attending the outbreak of the dis¬ 
ease in the localities he visited. He sums up 
the outcome of his investigation as follows 
“ As a result of my investigation thus far, 
I find this ruinous foreign plague actually ex¬ 
isting among the cattle in the following States; 
Connecticut, in Fairfield county; New York, 
in New York; Westchester, Putman, King and 
Queen’s counties; New Jergey, in Atlantic, 
Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, Ocean, Mer¬ 
cer, Monmouth, Middlesex, Hunterdon,Morris, 
Essex, Union, Bergen, aud Hudson count) 
Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Chester, Mont¬ 
gomery, Bucks, Lehigh, Cumberland, York. 
Delaware, Lancaster, and Adams counties; 
Maryland, in Carroll, Baltimore, Harford, and 
Cecil counties. 
“Themiddle and southern portions of these 
State* have not yet been visited. No examina¬ 
tion has as yet been made in the District of 
Columbia, or of the infected territory of Vir¬ 
ginia; but, as the plague prevailed quite ex¬ 
tensively in both of these localities last season, 
It will no doubt be found still in existence 
when the investigation takes place." Now, 
prompt upon this trustworthy report, let us 
have legislation for the speedy suppression of 
the plague—a perilous manace to the West. 
The Shibe ob Midland Counties Horse.— 
This is one of the largest and most powerful 
horses bred in England for heavy farm, road 
and city truck work, Their weight is usually 
from 1,700 to 2,100 pounds. In breeding, special 
attention is paid to obtain extra-wide (not 
round), flat leg6, to support such a weight of 
body and be capable, without injury, of draw¬ 
ing the heavily-loaded vehicles to which thej 
are attached. The fetlock joint, or pastern, 
must be at the proper angle, neither too oblique 
nor too upright; the hoof clear and open; the 
sole so thick as not to wear down to the pave¬ 
ments, and so strong that the shoe-nails will 
hold well in it. The value of these horses in 
England alone, Is estimated at sixty to sixty- 
five million dollars, while their annual cost of 
keep, harness aud shoeing, is as much more. 
%\t Stomt-ieri). 
SUFFOLKS. 
The Different Families or Tribes; Breeding, 
Origin and Points. 
COL. V. D. CURTIS. 
The white hogs of England have been so 
mixed and interbred that it is very difficult to 
determine where one breed begins and another 
ends. MoBt of the importations of white hogs 
of any name brought into this country cannot 
trace back, for purity of blood, beyond the 
breeder from whom they were purchased. 
They may be called by the general name of 
Yorkshire or Suffolk, but it will be found 
that the two breeds differ but Blightly in some 
cases, and then agaiu it will be found that the 
different importations of the same named 
breed will also differ. 
These similarities and differences go to show 
that the white pigs of England have been 
mixed aud croBS-bred according to the fancies 
of breeders, or the notions of localities. While 
some breeders in England have adhered to 
the more common names of Yorkshire and 
Suffolk, others have given their pigs which 
were families of Yorkshires, fancy names, 
either after the county in which they resided 
or the town, or in some cases the pigs were 
called after the manor name. Thus there 
were Lancashire, large, small and medium: 
Leicester, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, 
Middlesex, Manchester, Coleeliiil, Bushey 
Breed—probably the same as the Bush Abbey, 
and the Windsors. The latter were bred by 
the late Prince Albert and named by him after 
the castle of that name, which is one of the 
residences of the royal family. These pig* 
were afterwards called by others, Prince Albert 
Suffolks. Prince Albert when living, was a 
regular exhibitor at the fairs, and as emulous 
of prizes as other breeders. Iu 1846 he showed 
Bedfordshire pigs, aud won a prize. The next 
year he exhibited Bedfordshire and Yorks, 
then Yorkshires, alternating with Bedfordshires 
and Suffolks; then Suffolks, and in 1854 he ex¬ 
hibited for the first time his pigs under the 
name of Windsors. The above list tells the 
story of English breeding, and explains the 
multiplicity of names given to pigs of the same 
blood. In many cases these same families of 
pigs we have enumerated, were called by 
different persons either Yorkshire or Suffolk, 
aud, no doubt, pigs of the same family have 
been imported into America and have been 
designated by different names, when in reality 
they were of the same blood. It would puz¬ 
zle a good judge to tell the difference between 
a well-bred Yorkshire or Suffolk, and the 
Lancashires which have been introduced into 
Ohio and some other States, All of these pigs 
are white and have essentially the same char¬ 
acteristics and good qualities. 
Latterly the English breeders have begun, 
very properly, to designate these different 
families which they used to denominate 
“breeds," aB the “small white breed," and the 
“ large white breed." The term breed has been 
misapplied very often by English breeders. 
It takes yearB of careful breeding in a direct 
line to establish a breed; but a family may 
be started by eroas-breeding, which was fre¬ 
quently done by English farmers who had an 
ambition to emulate other counties or other 
farmers,In originating pigs with a new name 
although the blood might be the same. Such 
families, by long breeding In a direct line, if 
they did not run out—which is usually the 
case—would become thoroughbred. Cross-bred 
pigB always show to better advantage than 
these thoroughbreds, because they will bear 
heavier feeding, and have stronger appetites 
and inclination to grow; that iB to say, they 
possess the fine and delicate qualities of the 
thoroughbred, united with the strength of con¬ 
stitution and ability to consume and assimilate 
food, natural to grades. This gives them rapid 
growth and a precocious development, with 
the native roughness and coarseness so toned 
down that they often out-match the pure-bred 
progenitors to whom they owe their excellence. 
There are families among thoroughbreds, as 
certain sires and dams often possess special 
peculiarities, which are indicated in their 
offsprings. 
American importers have been disposed to 
accept these different families as established 
breeds without question ; hence, we have in 
this country a variety of Suffolks, which it 
would jequire considerable variation in a scale 
of points and description to fit exactly to the 
different tribes. This last term may be used 
as a synonym for family, and would be a 
better title for the branches of a breed rather 
than to call them each a breed with a different 
name. These tribes of Suffolks vary most iu 
size and coating. Some of them are nearly 
naked, their coats being so thin ; while others 
have a thick coat of hair. One tribe, often ex¬ 
hibited at the fairs of the N. Y. State Agricul¬ 
tural Society, may very properly be called the 
doll pigs, they are bo small and fine. Suffolks 
are very handsome and the easiest to keep 
of any white pigs. 
The young Suffolks are small and it takes 
them some time to make a start in growth. 
The mothers are prolific, kind and exceeding¬ 
ly docile. The maximum weight of full- 
grown Suffolks may be put down at 400 pounds, 
although 350 pounds would be nearer the 
average; while the minimum weight is about 
250 pounds for grown hogs, and 150 pounds 
for pigs under a year old. The greatest objec¬ 
tion to the Suffolks is the exceedingly fat 
character of the flesh, which unfits them for 
bacon, and makes the hams not so.desirable as 
those of other breeds in which tne lean meat 
Is more largely mingled with the fat. 
Stickney Brothers, of Mass., a number of 
years ago, were large importers of Suffolks. 
They have been extensively imported and bred 
by Hon. John Wentworth, III., and by Mr. Dins- 
more, N. Y. These and other importers have 
selected strains or styles of the breed which 
suited their taucies, with thin or thick coats; 
or large or small in size as the case might be. 
A true type of Suffolk should correspond to 
the following standard:—Head small, very 
short; cheeks prominent and full; face dished; 
snout small and very short; jowl flue; ears small, 
thin, upright, soft and silky ; ueck very short 
and thick, the head appearing almost as ifseton 
front of.shoulders, no archlug of crest; chest 
wide and deep, elbows standing out; brisket 
wide but not deep; shoulders and crop—shoul¬ 
ders thick, tather upright, winding outward 
from top to elbows ; crops wide and full; sides 
and flauk—ribs well arched out from back; 
good length between shoulder and ham ; Hank 
well filled out aud coming well down at ham ; 
back broad, level and straight from crest to 
tail, uot falling off or down at tail; hams wide 
and full, well rounded; twist very wide aud 
full all of the way down; legs aud feet—leg6 
small and very short, stauding wide apart, 
in sows just keeping belly from the ground, 
bone fine ; feet small; hoofs rather spreading; 
tail small, long and tapering; skin, hair aud 
color—skin thin, of a pinkish shade, free from 
color ; hair fine and silky, not too thick; color 
of hair pale yellowish-white, perfectly free 
from spots or other color ; size small to med¬ 
ium. 
Certainly this is a formidable scale of points 
for so small a pig. 
ijfftjr luskiikj. 
THE BEST BREED OF SHEEP FOR THE 
WEST ? 
In the Rural of Feb. 14, Mr. A. B. Allen 
lands highly the English middle-woolcd sheep, 
giviug weights of choice specimens at various 
ages, aDd consequently the gain they made in 
given intervals. Now I think that such state¬ 
ments are apt to mislead the average farmer, 
at least here in the West, with regard to the 
most profitable sheep to keep. Is it possible 
for any considerable flock of his favorite Ox¬ 
ford Downs to attain such weights on what is 
ordinarily considered good feed. Id the above 
article not a word is said as 10 the care, feed 
or numbers In the flock of the specimens ex¬ 
tolled, and I will venture to maintain that the 
owner cannot obtain anything near such 
weights as those given with even a huudred 
kept together. I doubt not but the Oxford 
Downs arc profitable sheep in some localities 
in the Eastern States, where land is poor, herb¬ 
age scant and grain high-priced ; but from my 
own observation I have come to the conclusion 
that the various sorts ®f Dowu sheep are vastly 
inferior as wool producers to the Leicester or 
Cotewold, to say nothing of the American 
Merino. Then again, while we of the West 
have to transport our stock such long dis¬ 
tances to the seaboard, it would not be profit¬ 
able to raise lambs either for the Eastern or 
European markets, for they shrink so rapidly 
when deprived of suitable food and care, that 
the starvation and rough usage incident to 
shipping would reduce them to a miserable 
condition by the time they arrived at their 
destination. It is paitly due to the great 
shrinkage in transportation, most likely, that 
shippers here will pay the highest price per 
pound for animals of the greatest weight, pro¬ 
vided they are well fatted, regardless of quality. 
Hence the sheep raisers of the Western 
States must look to the production, not of 
market lambs, but of wool and mutton sheep, 
for a profit, and hence the question arises, 
what kind of sheep are best for these purposes. 
The Cotswoids, while great favorites with many 
on account of their large size, aptitude to fat¬ 
ten and great prolificacy, yet, although they 
grow a long, lustrous wool that sells well at 
the factories, they have the drawback tnat 
owing to the openness of their fleeces, they yield 
a light dip in proportion to their weight. The 
Leicestere are open to the same objection, be¬ 
sides being not quitehardy and far less prolific. 
A sheep, to bo w r ell adapted to the needs of 
Western sheep raisers, should be of large size, 
produce a very heavy fleece of valuable wool, 
and thrive well in flocks of several hundreds ; 
for the sheep raiser here must have but few 
flocks, as the cost of fencing is very great—in 
many instances exceeding that of the land— 
which would preclude many divisions in their 
pastures. 
I have read of a breed of sheep called the 
Improved Kentucky, originated by Robert 
Scott, of Frankfort, Ky., and described ashav- 
iug wool from ten^to twelve Inches long, sur¬ 
passing the Cotswold's in fineness, softness and 
the number of fibers to the square inch, the 
fleece being so close as to scarcely allow of 
any parting; sheep extremely hardy, healthy, 
fattening on common pastures in the shortest 
time, and very prolific. Mr. Scott's flock often 
producing a third more lambs than the number 
of his breeding ewes ; while another authority 
describes them as heavy-bodied, loug-wooled, 
and prodneing a weighty tteeee, good mutton 
and a heavy market lamb. 
Now, if this descriptiou approximates any¬ 
where near the truth, are not these the sheep 
that supply a long-felt want? for as they have 
a dash of Merino blood in their make-up, they 
would probably do to mass in large flocks, 
while from the length of staple aud density of 
fleece, they would yield an unsurpassed clip ot 
wool. Will not some one who knows all about 
them tell Rural readers the “ truth about it." 
Gallatlu, Mo. j. w. s. 
ilairj) f)iisbaiiDri). 
GREAT YIELDS OF MILK AND BUTTEK. 
When reports of these are made, it seems 
proper that the owners of the animals ought to 
state whether they themselves have kept tho 
daily record, or trusted this to hired help who 
might be liable to make mistakes. 
A Holstein cow is said to have given 12 385 
pounds of milk in ten consecutive months. If 
she kept on at this rate for 12 months the yield 
would amount to the extraordinary weight 
of 14,802 pounds. I would like to ask what 
feed was given to this cow to produce so much 
milk, and its cost? It would, doubtless, fetch 
a fair price in a city market, where people are 
fortunate who obtain such as is not more than 
half water; but what weight of cheese would 
this milk make, and what would be the value 
per pound of such cheese? Again, how much 
butter would it make and its value per pound ? 
I have been told that it takes 20 to 35 quarts 
of Holstein milk to make a pound of butter; 
but with a Guernsey or Jersey cow, five to six 
quarts often make a pound. Now, if we add 
four times the quantity of water to the latter’s 
milk, we have it just as rleli as the former. 
Would this not be au easier process than to be 
obliged to draw from the udder of a cow such 
an excess of water contained in her milk, if 
quantity, irrespective of quality, is alone to be 
the boast. 
As to the beef of HolsteiuB, I see it asserted 
by some of their breeders that it equals that of 
the Short-horn and Hereford in the London 
market. I have seen hundreds of fat cattle 
there from Holland, but the butchers informed 
me that it was not generally worth so much as 
the Short-horn and Hereford by a half-penny 
to a penny per pound—one to two cents of our 
money. 
Jersey cowb are represented as giving from 
500 to 705 pouuds of butter per annum. I do 
uot wish to be understood as disputing the 
truth of these reports; but I assert that it is 
quite extraordinary for any cow to average 
over one pound of butter per day throughout 
the year—365 pounds in all; and when any¬ 
thing above this Is reported, the evidence of it 
should be fully stated and indisputable, other¬ 
wise the great majority of dairymen will come 
to the conclusion that there is some mistake in 
making up the record. A. n. a. 
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A New Premium. 
The corresponding Secretary, Mr. Ingalshc, 
of the Washington County Agricultural So¬ 
ciety, has suggested to me the excellent idea 
that agricultural Societies should offer premi¬ 
ums for the best records of dairy cows iu con¬ 
nection with the National Dairy Cattle Club. 
Such premiums could be awarded upon the 
