296 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Western New York Fair at Rochester, and 
other county fairs in the State. 
At Fig. 156 we present to our readers a like- 
ness(drawn from a pbotograpb)of the Cleveland 
Bay stallion Baronet, the property of F. S. 
Peer, of Mount Morris, Livingston County, N. 
Y. He was imported in 1883, is lOtcf hands 
high, and is a bright bay with black points. 
Mr. Peer has now a stud of 37 head of this 
breed, including five imported Cleveland Bay 
stallions and as many mares, besides 18 half- 
blood colts from native mares. The cross of 
pure-bred Cleveland stallions on native mares 
is found to give excellent results. 
<T1) t ijerirsmati. 
“THE EARLY MATURITY CRAZE.” 
PROFESSOR S. A. KNAPP. 
In the Rural of April 11th are the follow¬ 
ing "Notes by Stockman,” under the above 
general topic: 
••Tins style of feeding Is not a practical thing at alL 
It Is written about a good deal hy some Pmfessors 
who follow foreign Ideas and consult Gorman feed¬ 
ing tahles, nud is made use of by a few professional 
stock feeders to get large premiums at the exhibi¬ 
tions, and that is about all. It is not a business 
allair The only reason why it should be noticed at 
all Is that the constant writing about It vitiates and 
misleads public opinion, and does harm In unsettling 
the minds of farmers who are misled to believe they 
canuot profitably grow meat except in this fussy 
and costly way.” 
Unless fully explained, to relieve them of 
what appears to be their evident meaning, 
such statements will do harm and ought uot 
to pass unchallenged. A criticism that can 
be justly passed upon "Stockman’s” Notes, in 
general, is that they have not been carefully 
considered, or the writer has many things yet 
to learn about stock. 
Iu almost every case the statements are too 
sweeping. Possibly, in this instauce “Stock- 
man” intended to object only to the forcing 
process, a very different thing from early 
maturity. Forcing is just as applicable to 
one age as to another; just as damaging to 
old animals as to young, and has been quite 
generally condemned by intelligent breedors. 
Feeders may favor forcing—uot the breeders. 
Upon the other hand, to secure earlier ma¬ 
turity has been one of the objective points of 
every eminent breeder since the breeding of 
domestic animals became a science. Before 
wo strike cut, with the dash of a pen, all the 
experience of these men, it will be safe to 
ponder quite a while. 
The domestic animal is a creature molded 
largely by -m h environment as man has seen 
fit to establish. The care aud the kind and 
quantity of the food are not only constantly 
operating to an immediate end, but to the 
establishment of fixed conditions of growth. 
Liberal feeding tends to early maturity; 
stinting, to late maturity. Constant stinting 
dwarfs the body; occasional stinting produ¬ 
ces an unequal development, as some parts 
will draw ratious from the blood at the ex¬ 
pense of others. 
An animal left to its own resources for food 
is sometimes famished and sometimes gorged. 
This induces unsymmetrical development and 
slow maturity. Generally the horns or nose 
are well developed, and the chest and shoulders 
are considerably larger than the hind-quart¬ 
ers. Liberal feeding at all times tends to 
early maturity aud symmetrical development. 
By "liberal feeding” is meant two things—1st, 
providing such food as will meet all the re¬ 
quirements of every portion of the body for 
growth, flesh or fat: 2d, feeding at all times 
such quantities as the animal can digest aud 
assimilate. This iB intelligent feeding, upon 
the basis of a thorough understanding of what 
the animal requires, and of the value of cer¬ 
tain foods to meet it. It has been clearly 
demonstrated that certain foods contribute 
mainly to growth, and others to fat. By a 
proper combination of these, and science in 
feeding, the animal rapidly matures. Liberal 
feediug must be distinguished from gorging 
and from crowding with an uubalaueed 
food. Because some feeders have given their 
animals more food than they could digest, or 
have forced them to a so-called early matur¬ 
ity, by withholding food for the hone or mus¬ 
cle and giving a surplus for fat, is that a valid 
argument against early maturity ! This is not 
liberal feeding; it is stinting the bone; it is 
ignorant feeding, except for such animals as 
are intended for the block in a short time. 
That injury has been done to animals by 
over-feeding and by ignorant feeding is no 
valid argument against liberal feeding and 
early maturity. We must admit that nature 
has placed a limit to healthful early maturity. 
The question is, What is the limit? "Stock- 
man” seems to assume that this limit is reach¬ 
ed under such conditions as develop the Texas 
steer and the "Razor-back” hog. Upon the 
alternate full aud scant feed system under 
which those animals are matured, the former 
requires six years and the latter four; under 
liberal feeding the improved breeds mature in 
half that time. "Stockman” assumes that 
slow maturity, which is another name for al¬ 
ternate starving aud stuffing, is more health¬ 
ful than early maturity, it has not been 
found thus in the human race. 
Regularity and abundance of food have 
hastened the maturity, increased the size and 
added to the longevity of men: why not to 
that of domestic animals? Under liberal feed¬ 
ing the improved breeds are always ready for 
the market, aud this can be secured with per¬ 
fect health. It is only a question, then, at 
what point is the greatest profit for sale- 
"Stockman’ calls ripening hogs aud sheep at 
20 and 24 months old "forced feeding,” aud in 
another article states: 
“Sixty pounds dressed is a common weight for a 
Canadian lamb ot nine months, bnt. It is not mutton, 
and T defy any man to grow firm, high flavored mut¬ 
ton In less than two years: he may have sweet, soft, 
flabby lamb and a lot of tullow, but not the delici¬ 
ous mu I t on ot a mat ure sheep.” 
A few facts will constitute my answer to 
this. For 12 years I kept an average of 400 
hogs upon my farms, and sold a large number 
of pigs annually for English bacon, receiving 
a premium of fifty cents per hundred. They 
were bred and fed to produce the largest 
amount of muscle, aud were sold to an Eng¬ 
lish packing house at from seven to nine 
months old, weighing from 200 to 250 pounds 
each. After nine months old, they were 
ready for the general market at any time. It 
is presumable that this English packing com¬ 
pany was a good judge of the quality of 
meat. Again, a growth of one pound per day 
on a hog for 850 days may be made without 
excessive fat. 
Last year the lambs, upon the Iowa Agri¬ 
cultural College Farm, dropped in March, 
dressed 50 pouuds the first of September, and 
65 pounds the first of November. They ran 
on clover without grain. Last season several 
of the college heifers and colts gained over 
100 pounds each iu the month of June on past¬ 
ure aloue. The best cattle grazers of Iowa 
make, on an average, a gain, on Blue Grass 
pasture, of 300 to 500 pounds, on each steer 
daring the grazing season, without feediug 
grain. Clearly something must be done to our 
Iowa grasses if we would avoid early maturity; 
for if the cattle are kept growing aud make a 
fair gain in the Winter, the grass will push 
them to early maturity in spite of us I If 
"Stockman” will direct his vigorous English 
against over-feeding with unbalanced food.be 
will have attentive readers; but as long as 
there are 999 farm animals iu the United 
States under fed fhogs excepted) to one that 
is over-fed, aud a much greater number that 
are relatively unprofitable, because of too 
slow maturity, to one that matures too early, 
it seems idle to waste much space in talking 
about "the early maturity craze.” The crazes 
that should be fought are, the scrub craze, 
the slow maturity craze, the shiftless farming 
craze, etc. 
Ames, Iowa. 
NOTES BY A STOCKMAN. 
I beg Dr. Salmon not to believe that lever 
smarted under Prof. Morrow’s criticisms, as 
he remarks in bis communication on page 241. 
I am not that kind of man. I have no personal 
interests to foster further than that, being 
largely interested in the live-stock business, I 
am opposed to everything that might be in¬ 
jurious to it, as T believe the popular excite¬ 
ment which has been fostered and culti¬ 
vated by interested persons has been. Dr. 
Salmon is justly open to the charge of dis¬ 
guising the truth aud misleading your readers 
when he says, in regard to foot and mouth 
disease, that it was a mistake made by "people.” 
He knows very well that the bluuder was 
made by veterinary surgeons so-called, and 
this he states under bis own hand in his re¬ 
port in the last volume (1884) of the Agricul¬ 
tural Reports. At the very same time, I stated 
in these columns, for the purpose of allaying 
the popular fear of this disease, that it was 
uot, and could not he. foot-and-mouth disease, 
for the symptoms differed widely from those 
of that malady. 1 have no personal feeling 
against Dr. Baltnon, but what I object to is 
that he, as a professional aud a government 
official, should so industriously keep alive all 
this undue excitement about contagious dis¬ 
eases, which exist nowhere, except iu the 
herds of speculators in Jerseys and a few swill 
dairies. 1 am not attacking Dr. Salmon in 
any way; I refer to him only for the reason 
that he takes the strange view of the subject, 
that contagious diseases canuot originate spon¬ 
taneously, and that contagious pleuro pneu¬ 
monia can be proven ted only by the slaughter 
of every sick and infected animal. This every 
reasonable person must see will only perpetuate 
the evil und can never stop it. It is like pulling 
down houses which are on lire und exceedingly 
inflammable, instead of making them fire 
proof, and so preventing the mischief. It is 
one of the most important subjects in regard 
to live-stock interests, and the Rural is doing 
a great service in permitting this discussion, 
the effect of which will be to bring out the 
truth about it. 
The only person engaged in these investiga¬ 
tions, who has decided that the universal slaugh¬ 
ter of infected animals is the only method of 
preventing the disease, is Dr. Salmon. I refrain 
from suggesting any reason why he should 
stand alone from his associates in this respect, 
but there must be a reason, because his opinion 
is illogical and opposed to all reason and ex¬ 
perience. Human diseases of these kinds, 
formerly so prevalent and destructive of life, 
have wholly disappeared in some cases, and in 
others have been greatly mitigated, simply by 
proper sanitary precautions, chief among 
many of which are cleanliness and wholesome 
feeding. 
If we look around and consider the results 
of all the exaggerated and senseless excite¬ 
ment in regard to contagious disease of our 
live stock, we shall see the enormous losses 
which have been inflicted upon our business 
with foreigu countries. Oar trade in pro¬ 
visions has largely gone into other hauds, and 
the absurd cry about diseased meats has been 
made the excuse for loading our products with 
heavy tariffs. The large business we might 
have done in shipping live feeding cattle 
abroad has been entirely prevented, and our 
live stock interest has lost millions of dollars 
yearly. As an instauce, let me give the fol¬ 
lowing figures: A lot of 417 steers, averaging 
about 1,200 pounds each, was sold last Fall, at 
Omaha, to a gentleman who is eugaged iu 
feeding such cattle, for about #49 per head. 
The same kind of cattle were worth in ling- 
laud, at that, time, for the same purpose, about 
#90. If we could ship such animals abroad 
aud supply the large demand, which this price 
indicates, it would be a profitable business. 
But our stock is looked upon abroad as reeking 
with all the diseases imaginable, and is forbid¬ 
den entry in foreign ports; while at the same 
time it is the healthiest in the world. Tbisis the 
serious part of the business; the farce of it is 
the constant investigating business; the highly 
sensatioual and chromo-lithographed reports 
of the doctors, and the hundreds of thousands 
of dollars which have been spent among vete¬ 
rinary doctors who would otherwise have 
fouud no use for their talents. 
But farmers east of the Plains may turn all 
this to their own advantago ami bonotit. Tho 
instauce above given is worth note. Two 
gentlemen of Omaha, Nebraska, are engaged 
iu feediug stock cattle for market. One is a 
large stock owner, and the other is a linseed 
oil manufacturer. Here is a favorable com¬ 
bination certainly. The cattle fed last Win¬ 
ter for 18 weeks, have gained 17 pounds per 
week; at a cost of $20 per head, or about 320 
pounds. There is this gain aud another of 
or 2 cents per pound on the whole finished 
weight besides, showiug a large profit. A 
farmer could do better than this because these 
cattle were fed iu an open lot, und exposed to 
the weather, and some weeks went back iu- 
steud of gaining. In a comfortable stable 
they would have made a larger gain and 
more profit; and under good management on 
a grain farm, where plenty of straw could be 
had for litter, a very large lot of manure 
would be made to pay all the cost of labor. 
It is a great wonder to Western stockmen, 
why Eastern aud Central farmers do not take 
a hand in this business. 
Here is a strange claim made for the Jersey 
cows. Is it ignorance or whut? Perhaps 
“what.” In a long list of cows whose aver¬ 
age product of milk is given, all the Swiss 
and German breeds are mentioned first, vary¬ 
ing from 2,568 to 5,400 pouuds; then follow 
Ayrshire 5,502; Holsteiu, (Holland, Dutch or 
Friesian) 6,000; Jersey, 6,08U, and Flemish 
6,215 pouuds. This claim of the Jersey to ha 
the largest milkers but one, is so preposter¬ 
ously absurd as to be laughable. And yet it 
is credited to the Jersey Bulletin! it is ex¬ 
pressly stated that phenomenal cows are uot 
considered; and only "the severe herd aver¬ 
age” is given 1 _ 
A friend writes me from east of the Missouri, 
thut ho has been selling hay for $5.00 a ton, 
oats 15 cents per bushel nud corn for 33 cents. 
How much better would it have been to have 
bought up a bunch of good steers, and fed all 
the hay and grain to them. A bushel of corn 
would have made eight pounds of live weight 
worth at least 40 cents, including hay; and on 
my friend’s farm the manure would be worth 
as much as the hay. 
It has been remarked recently that the 
Berkshire breed of swiue couuot be improved 
by admixture of tho Neapolitan. This iB cer¬ 
tainly true, but not for tho reason given— 
that the Neapolitan is too tender and too 
much given to fat. The true reasou is that 
there is quite enough Neapolitan blood in the 
Berkshire already. The slaty-blue tinge, 
fine, thin hair, and fine lines of a good many 
of the Berkshires are all due to the Neapoli¬ 
tan crosses, which were liberally put in a 
dozen years ago and previously. The Berk¬ 
shire, when well bred and reared, is a hog 
which would be as bard to beat for bacon and 
hams as the Poland-China is for the packer’s 
use, 
• * • - 
"STOCKMAN” TO DR. SALMON. 
There are a few points in Dr. Salmon’s 
remarks on page 240, which ought to be no¬ 
ticed particularly, because they are not true 
aud might mislead. He speaks of "Stock- 
man’s ability to sit iu his office and give judg¬ 
ment on cases of disease which be has uot 
seen.” Now, I do uot sit in an office. I ven¬ 
tures to sav Dr, Salmon does much more sit¬ 
ting in an office than I do. I am not an editor 
of the Rural, and what I know about stock 
was learned among herds and flocks, and 
something of what I know of diseases was 
learned iu a college and from study of the 
regular literature aud some practice. It is 
ouly right to readers of the Rural that this 
should he said. Any reasonably sensible vet¬ 
erinary surgeon would feel hirnself quite able 
to say whether any published report of a case 
contains facts sufficient to base an opinion 
upon as to the existence of contagious pleuro¬ 
pneumonia, because the peculiar character 
of this disease differentiates it in a marked 
manner from simple pleuro pneumonia. I 
have, and will not. disguise a want of confi¬ 
dence in "experienced veterinarians,” as Dr. 
Salmon calls them, who alarm the country 
by faDe statements of the appearance of 
dangerous diseases, and stick to them until 
scores of stockowners who know better make 
their protests known, and until Dr. Salmon 
comes on to the scene aud tells all these "ex¬ 
perienced veterinarians” they are mistaken, 
(see Dr. Salmon in Agricultural Report 1884). 
I claim to have known, from the published 
reports made at the times, that if they were 
true, the so called foot-and-mouth disease was 
not that disease at all, and that the so-Called 
rinderpest was uot that disease either. If 
that is superlative egotism, 1 certainly must 
confess to haviug that disease myself in a bad 
way. Lastly, Dr. Salmon should not smart 
under criticism because he stands entirely 
alone in his peculiar view of the nature of 
these diseases, as any person may see who will 
read through the mass of investigation and 
reports published In the agricultural reports 
for several years past. He differs with all 
his associates, and is the only tuaa I know of 
who insists upon the impossible theory that 
contagious diseases never had a source or be¬ 
ginning excepting contagion. This is the 
whole difference between biruself aud myself, 
aud when he explains how this can be, or if 
he cannot explain it, tukes back his absurd 
theory, then we can be at peace. I do not in¬ 
tend to add another word or make any more 
defence, or notice any other criticisms, until 
this matter, which is now brought down to a 
tine point, is disposed of. Leave personalities, 
Dr. (Salmon, and discuss this point reasonably 
with "a stockman.” 
. - ♦ - »■ ♦ - 
A CRIME AGAINST THE PEOPLE. 
The author of "Notes by a Stockman.” in 
the Rural New-Yorker is reported as 
writing: 
“I have charged, and do now charge, that 
the bother about animal disease has been 
greatly exaggerated; that our stock in Amer¬ 
ica is not generally affected by, or in any seri¬ 
ous danger from contagious diseases; that the 
danger lias come from importations of dis¬ 
eased animals; aud that there never has been 
uny reason why our native stock should have 
the gates of Europe shut against them; aud 
that, this embargo has been the direct result of 
the exaggerated fuss which has beeu made 
about contagious diseases.” 
It has never been claimed that lung plague 
is iuhereut in American cattle, or that Amer¬ 
ican cattle are generally infected, even east 
of the Alleghenies, The disease, howevor, is 
there, and has been for years. It has even 
reached isolated localities West, and the dan¬ 
ger of contagion fs so groat that only the 
most streuuous and energetic measures can 
prevent it from spreading. Those who have 
cried "No danger” are only less reprehensible 
thun that small class who, knowing the disease 
to be preseut, have held their peace. Lung 
plugue is no respecter of breeds of cattle, and 
tho time to stamp it out is while it can yet 
be isolated. 
The question of moment is not "Are Amer¬ 
ican cattle generally affected?” The cattle of 
En g land have never been generally affected, 
and yet to stamp out this disease there has 
cost the British Government more money 
than would a great war. Once let this dis¬ 
ease become as well defined iu the great herds 
of the West, as it has been for years in some 
States east of the Alleghanies, whence it 
1 was sent West, aud a sum sufficient to pay 
