DEC. 20 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
do with successful feeding, and mustboeou- 
sidored in the older Staten, if great loss is to 
be avoided. In the Went, where corn iB reck¬ 
oned at 20 cents per bushel, some successful 
feeders think they can warm up the animals 
cheaper with corn than with warm stabling. 
This may have some plausibility for a few 
years, but cannot stand as a permanent sys¬ 
tem. Utider the best system of feeding, it is 
difllcull to make much profit upon the animals 
themselves j the controlling profit must bo 
sought in the manure.—keeping up the fertility 
of the farm for future crops. 
As I design to touch shortly upon the va¬ 
rious classes of stock, we will take, as first in 
order:— 
Feeding Work Horses. 
The horse is the principal motive power on 
the farm, and therefore needs the best atten¬ 
tion. This class of stock is kept wholly for its 
muscle, and the working and culture of the 
farm must depend greatly upon the character 
and condition of the horses. The winter sea¬ 
son is one of comparative leisure for horses, 
as farms are usually inauaged, and fanners 
appear to think horses require little attention 
when they are not in bard labor. They are 
quite in the habit of keeping them upon poor 
hay and straw at this season, reserving all 
grain for spring feeding. Hut this is very bad 
policy. Horses generally come to Wiutor-quar¬ 
ters in thin condition from their summer’s 
labor, and require judicious feeding and good 
care to recover their full working capacity; 
aud farmers should remember that it is much 
cheupcr to pul horses In condition when work 
is very light, and that all the extra llesh put on 
in winter represents so much extra labor avail¬ 
able iu spring. Besides it should alwuya be 
the aim of team owners to keep their horses in 
good working condition, tor it takes less food 
to keep up condition than to recover it when 
lost. 
Lotus examine a few rations for work horses 
in winter. Horses are often subject to colic 
from improper feeding. When fed upon corn 
meal alone, its large percentage of starch ren¬ 
ders it too heating, ami, besides, it is a very 
concentrated food, aud being just moistened 
with saliva so as to be swallowed, it goes into 
the stomach iu the compact torm of dough, 
and the gastric Juice cannot circulate through 
it so as properly to perform its office, and iu- 
tcrnal heat, fever and colic often occur Iroui 
want of proper digestion. All such concen¬ 
trated food should be mixed with cut hay, the 
hay beiug just moistened so that the meal will 
adhere to it. Tills mixes the concentrated 
with the bulky food, and the buy separates the 
particles of meal so as to render the mixture 
porous, and the gastric Juice now circulates 
freely through the mass aud operates upon the 
whole contents of the stomach at once. The 
host way to use corn meal, as a single grain 
food, Is to mix it with moistened clover bay. 
If the clover is of good quality, it contains a 
larger percentage of albuminoids (imiecle- 
fornilug food) than com meal, and thus helps 
to balance the constituents. 
But one of tlic best rations for work horses Is 
corn, oats and flaxseed, ground together—the 
corn and oats in equal weight, and to I'd bush¬ 
els of thu mixture of corn und oats add one 
bushel of floxsued, and grind tine all together. 
The corn and oats make a well bulancud ration, 
and the flaxseed Is rich in oil, luusclo-formlug 
and bone-building elements; but its oil is its 
greatest sanitary element. This small propor¬ 
tion of oil is Just suUlcicnt to keep the bowels 
iu excellent condition, the coat sleek, and 
every part of the system iu well balanced ac¬ 
tivity. And then by feeding this ground mix¬ 
ture with twice its bulk of moistened cut hay, 
you have as perfect a rail»u for work horses 
as can be compounded. Ail regular grist-mills 
now have an apparatus for mixing different 
grains together, so that Hie farmer has only 
to carry the oats, corn or tiax seed, in proper 
quantity to mill, and they will ail he mixed 
without hand labor. If the farmer has no 
Straw-cutter, ho may use oat, or wheat chaff 
to mix with the meal to render it porous. 
In wintering horses that are doing but little 
work, straw may bo fed with the last ration 
and the horses will do well. From eight to 
ten pounds of this meal to each horse dally 
will bring them through finely, even on good 
straw. When oats arc too expensive, eorn- 
inoal and wheat bran mixed iu equal weights, 
with oue pint of oll-moa! to each horse, will 
give a good result. If hay is scarce, two 
pounds of decorticated cotton-seed meal, four 
pounds of corn meal, four pounds of bran and 
straw will winter horses well. Bulthere should 
always bo variety in the food. If the farmer 
has clover hay and straw, these should lie 
mixed together—better If both bo cut before 
mixing, but they may bo mixed iu the uiauger 
without cutting. 
Feeding Foils. 
Ihe first winter is a trying time to the wean¬ 
ling colt. il the dam was a large milker and 
it had abundant nutriment, grow finely till 
weaned, aud was then made dependent on 
grass, it lias had a set-back before cold weather 
came. And If Jt }s still to be dependent upon 
hay and straw for growth through the winter, 
it will be but little heavier in spring than when 
weaned. It iB food only that develops young 
animals, and a good digestion is all-important. 
If a colt has been fed well bofore weaning, 
and after weaning has had deficient nourish¬ 
ment, this lias not only cheeked itfl growth 
but commenced contracting its powers of di¬ 
gestion, and will soon incapacitate It for di¬ 
gesting sufficient food to make a vigorous and 
rapid growth. Many a fine horse has been 
spoiled ill the defective growth of the colt. 
But the food given to the weanling should be 
appropriate for the development of frame 
and muscle. Such food as will produce fat 
rather than muscle cannot be too strongly 
condemned. No corn meal should be given 
to the young colt. 
If the colt Is In the poorly nourished condi¬ 
tion I have been describing, the best chance of 
recovery is with the milk ration. The colt 
may be taught to take fresh, warm miJk and 
when it lias learned to take this, skim milk 
may gradually bo substituted. Even sour 
milk will generally be taken greedily, but in 
the winter skimmed milk need not be sour. 
This milk contains so large a proportion of 
COSeiu, or muscle-forming food, and phosphate 
of lime, that it is exactly adapted to the growth 
of muscle and bone. I once saved, by the use 
of sour milk, a very likely colt that had got 
extremely poor by had management, aud it 
afterward made a fine growth. Cow's milk 
will do what no other food can for a stunted 
coil. The heat grain ration for a colt is one to 
two quarts of oats with a pint of oil meal 
twice per day. Tins and good hay will keep a 
colt in Hue condition through the first winter. 
Although the eoit should lie well sheltered in a 
good stable, yet it should have an opportunity 
for exercise every day. 
-♦♦♦ ■ 
OUR ANIMAL PORTRAITS. 
This week we present to our readers the 
portalts of two celebrated Short-horn prizc- 
wiuuers at the English cattle shows—thu bulls 
Royal Windsor and Rear Admiral. They 
were bred by Mr. T. Willis, of Carperby, 
one of the oldest Short-horn breeders in Great 
Britain. They an; closely akin both by re¬ 
cent crosses and by collateral deaccut from 
famous ancestors. Both belong to the old 
Rachel tribe aud.both are also large inheritors 
ol the Warlahy branch of the Blossom or 
Falrholme blood. This is the oldest tribe of 
the Booth Short-horns. Awuy back before 
lT'.K), Thomas Booth, the first of the famous 
breeders of that name, purchased three heifer 
calves of Mr. Broader of Falrholme, the pos¬ 
sessor of one of the finest herds of Short-horns 
of those remote days. Under the Booth man¬ 
agement thoso became the ancestresses of 
several celebrated tribes, the most renowned 
of which was the Blossom. In the days of 
the elder Booths this became divided iuto four 
branches, two of which wore sold to outsiders, 
while one was kept by John Booth when he 
settled at Killorby on his marriage iu 1819. 
Thomas Booth, having resigned Killerby to 
his newly wedded sou, removed to Warlahy, 
taking with him the remaining branch of the 
Blossom tribe along with most of his herd, 
and there continued breeding until his death 
in 1835. His son Richard and his grandson 
T. G. Booth who, oue after the other, suc¬ 
ceeded to the estate, continued to increase the 
fame of the Warlahy herd until the deatli of 
the latter a few months ago, the representatives 
of the Blossom tribe being always among 
the best of their stock. Of these, two re¬ 
nowned bulls were Fitzclarenco anil Windsor, 
both of which are In thu pedigrees of the two 
fine beasts here represented. 
It Is from this source probably that have 
come the strong frames and excellent outlines 
which have secured so many victories for both 
auimals. As a young bull Royal Windsor 
won wherever ho was exhibited, aud now at 
eievcu years of age, with sons, grandsons and 
great-granddaughters in the show-yard, the 
fine old animal still holds a front rank, has 
kept his rtuu shape, and stands comparison 
well with the youngest of Ids competitors. 
Rear Admiral is also a famous prize-winner 
at several shows, the chief fault, ever noticea¬ 
ble in him, being confined to Ids mean horns, 
a defect which of late he lias measurably out¬ 
grown. The portraits are drawn from the 
English Agricultural Gazette. 
BERK8HIRES,—THEIR HISTORY AND 
CHARACTERISTICS. 
COL. F. I). CURTIS. 
Every breed of swine lias its merits, arising 
either from natural differences which fit it for 
a specific purpose, or from local wants, or to 
correspoud to some fancy or prejudice, which 
is often stronger than anything else; thus 
many people will not breed black pigs on ac¬ 
count of the color, when there Is really no dif¬ 
ference between such a one aud a white one, 
except a darker shadiug iu the outer cuticle 
which is Hot black, but a bluish-wldte. This 
is the chief objection to the Berkshire breed, 
unless to it may be added, a want of large size 
with those who demand excessive weight. 
BorkshiroB possess all of the good qualities of 
other breeds and also a characteristic of hav¬ 
ing more lean meat mixed wlili the fat than any 
other. Tills characteristic was formerly more 
uniform aud deeply marked than now. In the 
early history of Berkahircs it was a peculiar 
feature and gave the breed great favor us pro¬ 
ducing the best bacon and hams. 
The origin of Berkshire hogs dates back longer 
titan that of any other improved breed. The 
name is derived from the Shire, or county of 
Berkshire, England. They were originally 
saiuly or buff-color, or spotted with black. 
They were of large size aud slow to mature. I 
can remember seeing Berkshire hogs of this 
description, when a small boy, and this was 
the character of some of the hogs originally 
imported. Improvements were made by selec¬ 
tion, and the bodioB were rounded and short¬ 
ened with greater aptness to fatten aud for 
early maturity. The peculiar markings of 
the modem Berkshiros were not then estab¬ 
lished, hut were made afterwards by crosses. 
About a half a century ago some breeders of 
Berkshires began crossing them with the 
Siamese tiog—a smaller and Ouer pig, with a 
dished face, erect ears, and very broad, with 
extra heavy hams and shoulders. The old- 
time Berkshires had lopped ears. Tlie Siamese 
cross changed the form of the ear aud the 
whole contour of the pig. It also Introduced 
more uniformity iu the color of the breed, mak¬ 
ing more black and plum colors. It is not au 
uncommou thing now-a-days to meet with pigs 
of a rich plum-color, showing the effects of 
this cross. Pigs entirely black are also often 
seen, which demonstrates to my mind that sub- 
seqneut crosses have been made with either 
the Essex or the Neapolitan hogs, both of 
which are pure black. Thu latter cross is the 
more likely to have occurred, since the pigs are 
sometimes almost without hair, which is a fea¬ 
ture of the Neapolitan, aud sometimes of the 
Essex, which they, too, have derived from the 
same source. We have soeu iu the same litter 
of pigs out of imported Btoek, a pure black 
pig, a plum-colored one, and the others with 
sparse hair, or heavy coats, showing without 
doubt the double crosses which had left their 
taint lu the blood of the Berkshire, which a 
half a century of breeding had not eradi¬ 
cated, ami which will not be eliminated for a 
aentury more, it it ever is. 
Notwithstanding these exceptional markings, 
Berkshires have long been established as a 
thoroughbred breed of swine, and j ustly Btand 
at tlie head of the list for their antiquity and 
uniformity. The peculiar markings of white 
feet and white blaze in the forehead, with a 
while brush, are probably the result of another 
aud still later cross with the Chinese hog. 
The white markings are not always confined to 
the extremities, but ate quite frequently found 
ou the checks and sides, andsometimes allover 
the body in the form of patches and flecks. 
The later crosses of the Berkshires have re¬ 
duced the size so that they are now mostly 
medium, or below medium in size, weighing, 
when full-grown, from 300 to 400 pounds, aud 
the so-called improvements have also lessened 
the amount of leau meat in the sides, so that 
a rasher of bacon from a modern Berkshire is 
nothing in leuu meat compared to what it was 
before the crosses were made to thicken the 
sides, shorten the noses and enlarge the cheeks. 
Berkshires were imported into this country 
early in the present century and at the latter 
end of the 18th century. Although there is 
now no record, larn of the opinion that impor¬ 
tations were made fully a hundred years ago 
in the vicinity of Baltimore and Washington. 
Importations were made in 1833, says A. B. 
Allen, who is excellent authority, by Mr. 
Brentwood of Now Jersry, followed iu 1833 by 
Mr. Haws, Albany, N. Y. Subsequent impor¬ 
tations wore made by thoso euterprisiug aud 
leading mou, Samuel Thornu and lien. Morris, 
who did so much oven iu those early days for 
the improvement of American stock. A. B. 
Allen was also an early aud prominent impor¬ 
ter and to him the Amcricau public is iudebted 
more than to any one else for an authentic his¬ 
tory of this valuable breed of swine. 
Berkshires will improve almost any breed of 
swine for fattening, when crossed upon them. 
So extensive haB their breeding bocome that 
several years ago an association of breeders 
was formed aud a Hurd Book established, in 
which the pedigrees of pure-bred animals were 
recorded. The Berkshires arc suited to any 
climate. The following is the adopted stand¬ 
ard of characteristics ami marks: 
Color, black, with while on feet, face, tip of tail 
and au occasional splash of white ou the arm. 
While a small spot of white on some other part 
of the body does not argue au impurity of 
blood, yet it is to be discouraged, to the end 
that uniformity of color may be attuiued by 
breeders. White upon one car or a bronze or 
copper spot on some part of the body, argues no 
impurity, hat rather a reappearing of original 
colors. Markings of white other than those 
named above are suspicious, aud a pig so 
markedshouldberejected. Face, short, flue and 
well dished, broad between the eyes. Ears, 
generally almost erect, but sometimes inclining 
forward with advancing age’, small, thin, soft 
and showing veins. Jowl full. Neck, short 
and thick. Shoulder, short from neck to 
middle; deep from back down. Back, broad 
and straight or a very little arched. Ribs, long 
ami well sprung, glviug rotundity af body: 
shoit ribs of good length, giving breadth aud 
lovelness of )oiu. Hips of good length from point 
of hips to rump. Hums, thick, round and deep, 
holding their thickness well back and down to 
the hocks. Tail, flue and small, set ou high 
up. Logs, short and flue, but straight und very 
strong, with hoofs erect, logs set wide apart. 
Size, medium. Length, medium; extremes 
are to be avoided. Hone fine aud compact. 
Offal very light. Hair, flue aud soft, no 
bristles. Skin, pliable. 
A, j* j 
- ' k • r-- ' 
Shorthorn Bull “Rear Admiral." 
