niniiHiw-— 
VOL. XXXVIII. No. $8, 
WHOLE No. 1337. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
g-J.OO PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. — Entered at the Post-Office at New York City, N. Y., as second-class matter.] 
each year in the State of Kansas alone, and the 
same loss is taking place to a greater or less 
extent over all these Western States and TerriJ 
tories. 
It is evident, therefore, that not only can 
cattle be raised, but that they can be raised 
cheaply. Where abundant pasture can be had 
for nothing, or next to nothing, and hay can 
be pnt in the stack at one dollar per ton, and 
where calves can be bought in the fall at five to 
seven dollars each, it is evident that beef cattle 
can be put In the market at quite low prices. 
The people of the West are waking ap to the 
importance of this industry more than ever. 
Efforts are being made to raise the grade of 
the stock by crossing the native herds with 
8hort-horns, Herefords, and other improved 
breeds of cattle. More care is also being given 
to providing winter food and shelter for herds* 
The result is the grade of the stock is being 
raised, and animals of a better class are gradu* 
ally making their way to the market. What 
is wanted now more than anything else in this 
connection, is more capital invested in this en¬ 
terprise. Within reasonable limits, the larger 
the herd the less it costs for each individual 
animal. This interest is growing, and the 
world may well look to the great American 
Desert for an unending supply of choice beef to 
feed the hungry millions of the East and Eu¬ 
rope. 
Reno Co., Kansas. 
CATTLE RAISING IN THE WEST 
Making allowance for the falling-off during 
the war—which was not quite regained in 1870 
—there has been a healthy increase during each 
decade. A large part of this increase has been 
in the States west of the Mississippi River, 
and it is to this region we are to look for the 
principal part of the cattle to meet the grow¬ 
ing demand for beef. A few of these new 
States show the following results : 
1850. I860. 1870. 1878. 
Texas. 333,000 4,397,414 3,990,168 4,008,300 
Kansas. . 128,397 701,347 892,243 
Colorado.. .. 159,456 420,000 
Nebraska.. 39,681 392,716 298,8i>7 
.Minnesota. 2,003 149,080 365,241 639,800 
Total. 835,003 4.7isl68 6,608,918 6,159.150 
In this enumeration I have taken no account 
of New Mexico and other parts of the West 
from which many thousands of cattle are an¬ 
nually sent to the Eastern market. Supposing 
the older States tocoutiuue to produce as many 
as heretofore — which is probably about as 
much as is to be expected—it is evident the 
principal increase to meet auy enlarged de¬ 
mand, must come from the newer States of the 
plains and mountain regions of the West. 
This being the case, two questions arise for 
solution : first, has the West the facilities for 
producing an unlimited supply of beef cattle; 
and. second, can they be produced at such 
prices as will place the meat in market at liv¬ 
ing prices to the consumer ? It is evident that 
tbt Western stock-growers must produce cat¬ 
tle more cheaply than the farmer of the East¬ 
ern States, lest when they have paid the often 
enormous transportation charges levied by the 
railroad compauies of the country, the balance 
shall be fouud on the wrong side of the ledger. 
A statement of the facts as they exist, will be 
a sufficient answer to both of the above ques¬ 
tions. The five States named above, have 
neatly one and a quarter millions of milch 
cows now on hand. With such a start, they 
are capable of almost unlimited increase of 
their herds within a few years. The facilities 
lor grazing in these States and the adjojniug 
Territories are almost without limit. Thou¬ 
sands, and even hundreds of thousands, of 
square miles of unbroken prairie furnish grass 
in such abundance that it seems it can never be 
exhausted. Even in this part of the country, 
where almost every quarter-section is occu¬ 
pied, there is probably ten times as much grass 
burned by the annual fires as is consumed by 
all the stock kept here. Millions of tons of ex¬ 
cellent hay thus uselessly pass away in smoke 
L. J. TEMPI,IN. 
EARL BECTIVE’S “DUKE OF UNDERLET, 
Importance of our meat rnpply ; slight increase 
in hog production in thirty years ; increase in 
cattle during the same period; capacity of the 
West to increase the supply indefinitely and 
chea])ly; efforts of that section to improve its 
herds. 
The question of the future meat supply is 
one of personal interest to every individual of 
every civilized community. This question has 
recently assumed unwonted importance in this 
country. The successful shipment of both live 
and dressed beef to Europe, with a demand 
that is constantly and rapidly growing, opens 
up the prospect of a demand for our meat, to 
which wc cannot assign any limits. There is 
also likely to be an increasing demand in this 
couutry with the increase of manufactories, 
that will doubtless follow a return of financial 
prosperity which is already dawuiug upon the 
country. Considering the foreign and home 
markets, the future demands for American 
meats promise to be as great as the farmers 
and gruziers of this country can easily meet, 
even when their facilities are taxed to their 
utmost. The prevalence of disease among hogs 
has rendered their production so precarious iu 
many parts of the country, that if this state of 
affairs eontinnes, we can hardly expect any 
great development in this industry- Indeed 
the past history of hog-raising does not prom¬ 
ise any great increase in this business. The 
following table shows the number of hogs in 
the United States at the dates given : 
I860.30,.354,213.1870. 29,475,500 
1860 . 36,980,772. 1875. 25.726,800 
1866. 13,616,876 1878. 32,262,500 
From this it appears that for nearly thirty 
years the number of hogs iu the country has 
fluctuated between less than fourteen and near¬ 
ly thirty-seven millions, the diminution beiug 
greatest at the close of the war. Duriug a part of 
this time their production has been stimulated 
by extraordinarily high prices -, and yet in thirty 
years there has been an increase of only between 
two and three million hogs in the country. It 
appears, therefore, that we are to look to our 
cattle for a supply to meet the growing de¬ 
mand for meat both on this and the other side 
of the Atlantic. 
The number of cattle in the United States 
has been for the different dates as follows : 
1850. 17,778,9OT.1870. 28,071,580 
1860. 28,967,028.1877. ... 30.522,400 
MASON C. WELD, 
The portrait carries with it conviction of 
its accuracy, and simply as a picture it is 
worthy of great praise. When will the time 
come when American photographers and ar¬ 
tists will co-operate to produce such a portrait? 
The Duke of Underlet numbered 29.389 
and (33,745), bred iu this country, and dropped 
in England, was sold in his dam, 10th Duchess 
of Geneva, at the famous New York Mills 
6ale in 1873,—which I had the pleasure of 
attending. His sire, 2d Duke of Oneida, 9,926 
and (33,702), was bought at the same sale 
by Mr Megibben of Kentucky for $12,000, who 
used him with extraordinary success. His 
death was chronicled a year or so ago, in many 
an honorable “ obituary," and his numerous 
offsprings perpetuate his fame. Tenth Duchess 
sold for the startling sum of $35,000, and many 
an enthusiastic admirer of this peerless family 
shook his head as if that was far more than 
her buyer would ever realize from her. But let 
us see: The Agricultural Gazette, from which 
this portrait is taken, says: “It is easy now, 
after several years, to see that (this) one pur¬ 
chase, at all events, was worth her cost”—and 
goes on to describe the cow and her sons and 
daughters iu England. It is enough for us 
perhaps that, bred and handled as they are at 
Underley. they do full credit to American 
breeding. The Usurer cross appears in the 
pedigree of this cow, aud this the Gazette fan¬ 
cifully surmises may account for the unusual 
and beautiful color ot the Duke of Uuderlcy, 
his get, and others of the progeny of the old 
cow. I say fancifully because Usurer (9763) was 
u roan. The color is described as “ a peculiar, 
warm-looking, burnt-earth-like red. It is pleas¬ 
ant to look at aud it need not be said that 
his offsprings' coats are pleasant to handle.” 
The Gazette also says of the bull, “He satis¬ 
fied the most fastidious breeders, whatever 
their preferences might be." The best cows of 
the most famous “Bates" herds iu Eugland 
are being sent to him with such results that 
his service price is fixed at 100 guineas. 
It is, perhaps, uot necessary to remind the 
readers of the Rural that the merit ot these fine 
animals consists in the fact that they possess 
the most perfect beef points ; 
that is, superior form, be- ^ 
ing largely developed where rira 
the best and most meat lies, 
smallness of the less useful 
parts, good handling—which 
indicates to the expert the 
quality of rapidly laying on 
tlcsb—and evenness iu the de- 
position of fat; nor that these 
qualities are so strengthened 
by the fact that they have de¬ 
scended without deterioration 
through a long line of illus¬ 
trious ancestry that they are 
almost unerringly perpetuated 
in the offspring, riiis is really 
that which gives Short-horns 
their chief value, namely, that 
for beef they are the bestrbred 
race in the world. 
This is the best picture of a 
Short-horn bull I ever saw. 
It is drawn from a photograph, 
by Williams, with great faith¬ 
fulness not ouly to the out¬ 
line but to the light aud shade, 
and his drawing is copied by 
the photo-engraving process, 
with, of course, perfect accu¬ 
racy, but losing much of the 
delicacy of the pencil which 
is usually retained in the 
ordinary process of hand 
engraving on wood. 
FARM HORSES AND BREEDING HORSES 
FOR SALE. 
HENRY STEWART. 
The whole business of rearing farm horses 
for sale needs revising. Those who have 
watched the tendency of the markets perceive 
a growing export business and a constant de¬ 
mand from farmers, who, living near the large 
cities, are compelled to grow market crops 
upon their high-priced land, and cannot give 
time to the rearing of horses. The number of 
horses in the United States is largely in excess 
of that of England and other European coun¬ 
tries (excepting Russia), and the introduction 
there of horse railroads, or, as they call them, 
“tram" roads, has greatly enlarged the demand 
for draft horses. Every week 
horses are shipped to Europe 
to supply such demands as 
well as for driving and car¬ 
riage uses ; and it is but re¬ 
cently that mules have been 
sought and purchased in 
( America for military purpos¬ 
es in Europe or for the for¬ 
eign uses of European gov¬ 
ernments. Everything prom¬ 
ises well for a large foreign 
demand for American horses 
and mules, and it is not only 
necessary that this demand 
should be met in advance, but 
i that it should be filled with 
4 useful animals. 
Ml As a rule, demands are ere- 
|| ated by the existence of a 
pM surplus for sale. The man 
succeeds best in business who 
fljcp ! offers something that creates 
a new want. He must be 
H/ shrewd enough to perceive 
RJ that there is a need for what 
he proposes to supply, and an 
opening for him to push lu 
an< * The whole history of 
successful business proves 
this. We did not wait until 
Europe was starving to push 
our breadsiuffs, and provis¬ 
ions and cattle into their mar¬ 
kets, but we seat them; and 
