SS4 THE RURAL WEW-YORKER JURE <1 
TWO LIVE-STOCK MARKETS. 
F. D. COBURN, 
Ed. Kansas City Live Stock Indicator. 
Probably very few people not brought 
directly in contact with one or the other com¬ 
prehend the magnitude of the business trans¬ 
acted at the stock yards of Chicago and Kan¬ 
sas City, or that they far surpass any other 
two live-stock markets in the world, and are 
undoubtedly by far the most extensive that 
man has ever known anything about. The 
immensity of this business seems the more re¬ 
markable too, when it is considered within 
what, a brief period the bulk of it. has been 
systematically established, the yards in Chi¬ 
cago where the sources of so much wealth 
change hands having been opened only in the 
last days of 1865, and those of Kansas City in 
1871. 
In the first full year the Chicago yards were 
there in a single day, of the different sorts, 
were as follows: January 12, 1886, cattle, 
16,966 head; September 1, 1885, calves, 1,773; 
December 5, 1884, bogs, 66,597; February 24, 
18S5, sheep 10,937; October 5, 1874, horses, 
460. On December 10, 1884, the largest num¬ 
ber of cars were received, aggregating 1,522, 
Of the 6,718,761 hogs received there in 1886, 
the average weight was 228 pounds. 
If crowded to their utmost capacity, the 
Chicago yards are calculated to furnish ac¬ 
commodation for 30,000 cattle, 150,000 hogs, 
10,000 sheep and 1,500 horses. 
Kansas City, considering that for some 
years later than the close' of the rebellion, it 
was scarcely regarded as more than a frontier 
steamboat landing, has made a growth as a 
live-stock center even more remarkable than 
Chicago’s. During the 16 years of their ex¬ 
istence Kansas City's yards have furnished 
accommodation to and facilities for the sale 
and purchase of 4,715,204 cattle, 12,386,485 
hogs, 1,209,722 sheep, ami,193,338 horses and 
mules—an aggregate of 429,029 car loads. 
They have in a single day received and ac- 
know that with their improved methods of 
artificial refrigeration these houses consume 
from 25 to 40 por cent, more hogs in the sum¬ 
mer thau m the winter season. During the 
past year the average weights of Kansas City 
hogs by months have varied from 216 pounds 
in July to 355 in December, or an averago for 
the entire year of 230 pounds, or two pounds 
more than the Chicago average. 
TWO-HEADED COW. 
We are indebted to the Scientific American 
for the picture shown at Fig. 216. The sketch 
was made from life. It represents an animal 
now being on exhibition at a circus about the 
Country. Aside from the strange appearance 
of its head, the cow is well formed. The left 
head, the one nearest; to the front of the pic¬ 
ture, appears to be inferior to the other. The 
cow cats and drinks with the right-hand 
mouth, having full command of the jaw. The 
jaw of the left-hand head has but little power 
of motion, as it is imbedded in the neck. 
There are three good eyes. The fourth eye 
A CORRECTOR CORRECTED. 
A bumptious correspondent of the Live 
Stock Record, of Kansas City, referring to 
the sketch of the Shire Horse in the RuRALof 
April 2, insinuates the question whether the 
writer had ever seen a Shire Horse, or “would 
know one if ho met it.” lie assorts that he, 
himself, has known such horses “for over 30 
years.” How much over? The Rural writer 
has known them for at least 10 years more 
than SO; has known them in London and Liv¬ 
erpool and several other large towns in Eng¬ 
land, where the finest specimens arc to be seen 
at work, and in Derbyshire, Lancashire and 
Yorkshire, where the finest specimens are 
bred. 
“Tho absurdity of calliug this ancient breed a 
‘composite’ one because the Staid Book was 
only started in 1879, Is an edifying example of 
the writer’s gross ignorance,” says this truly 
TWO HEADED COW. Fig. 216. 
open (1866) the receipts there were, of cattle, 
393,007; hogs, 961,746; sheep, 207,987, and 
horses, 1,553. During the year 1886 they were; 
Cattle, 1,063,900; calves, 51,290; hogs, 6,718,- 
761; sheep, 1,008,790, and horses, 27,599, with 
a total valuation for the year of $166,791,754. 
In the 21 years ending Dec. .31, 1886, the re¬ 
ceipts there represent these bewildering totals; 
Cattle, 22,195,072; calves (in lust six years), 
266,279; hogs, 90,983,553; sheep, 9,352,855; and 
horses, 280,590; altogether worth $2,414,467,- 
259. These, fl-sulc from what were driven on 
foot, were shipped on 19 different lines of rail 
roads. The receipts in 1886 made 208,461 car¬ 
loads, and of these one rood, the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy, hauled 56,899 cars or 
27 per cent,, and another the Northwestern 
system, 89,064 or nearly 19 per cent. The 
shipments out of these, awuy from the city 
during the year, amounted to 64,212 cars, 
leaving to be consumed or packed there 1,259,- 
525 head of cattle, 32,633 calves, 1,627,077 
hogs, 741,878 sheep, and 1,281 horses. In 1883, 
when prices were very much higher than 
since, the value of live-stock received at Chi¬ 
cago was $211,252,272. The largest receipts 
coinmodated 21,372 hogs; on another, 6,760 
cattle, or 466 care; on another, 5,163 sheep, 
and another 730 horses and mules. 
During 1386 the receipts wore: Cuttle, 490,- 
971; hogs, 2,264,484; sheep, 1.72,859; horses and 
nudes, 33,188, or in all, 58,924 carloads. Of 
the yeur’s receipts there were driven out of the 
yards for packing or consumption in Kansas 
City, 120,556 cattle; 1,720,318 hogs; 89,163 
sheep, and 8,010 horses and mules. The stock 
brought in comes by ten different lines of rail¬ 
way; one, the Missouri Pacific, brought dur¬ 
ing the past year 13,116 car loads, unothor, the 
Atchison, Topeka and Hanta Fd, 13,039 loads, 
and the Union Pacific 10,148. Ono road, the 
Chicago and Alton, carried away 9,850 care. 
Like those of Chicago tho packing facilities of 
Kansas City are immense, as shown by the 
figures above giving the number of cattle, 
sheep and hogs driven out of the yards, which 
are worked into net product before being 
ugaiu on the market. For the year ending 
March 1, 1885, one house consumed 530,734 
hogs, and another 412,885, and a third 131,101, 
besides the cattle, of which the figures are not 
at hand. It will surprise many persona to 
was destroyed in a railroad accident, where 
one horn was knocked off. The left head is 
comparatively pass’ve, yet while the right 
mouth is eating, tho left, one emits saliva—in 
fact, “waters.” It is believed that aside from 
its cranial peculiarities this cow would be 
found to be perfectly organized. Other mon¬ 
sters have repeatedly proved free from other 
than the local deformities or weaknesses. 
Among human monsters, the famous Siamese 
twins may l>e cited as an instance of this fact. 
In spite of their deformation, they lived in 
good health to the age of 113. They were mar¬ 
ried, and each had several children, who were 
free from deformity. It is very ruro that true 
monstrosity is transmitted as a hereditary 
quality. It is also noticed that among animals, 
monsters predominate in the female sex. 
--»>» 
TO PROTECT HOUSES FROM FLIES. 
Remember that fresh Buhach iu water kept 
tightly corked in a bottle, one tablespoonful 
to two gallons, is excellent to keep llios from 
worrying our work horses. We have only to 
bathe the animals on various parts of the body 
once in an hour or so. 
polite writer. It was stated iu the Rural as 
a matter of fact that the Stud Book of tho 
breed was not started until 1879, but this fact 
was not given as a reason or a proof that the 
breed is a “composite” one. The formation of 
the breed is a matter of history, and to history 
the Record and Rural writers must alike 
refer. 
In an introduction to the first volume of t he 
Shire Stud Book, published in 1880,IJ. S. Rey¬ 
nolds,M. R.C. V.S.,speaking with tho authority 
derived from much research and as the histo¬ 
rian of thebreed till that date, says: “The 
draft # horse of the present 'lay, undoubtedly 
and unfortunately, is one of mixed and im¬ 
pure breed; there exist few, if any, whose 
genealogy on both dam’s and sire’s side can be 
traced back for even four generations. Tho as¬ 
sumption of an admixture of extrinsic blood is 
made more evident, by comparison of the con¬ 
formation and color of the exist ing race with 
the Shire Horse of 70 years ago.” Further 
oloug he says; “It. is perhaps worthy of obser¬ 
vation that there were, and still remain, some 
specimens of three apparently distinct types 
of draft horses exemolified by differ- 
