1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
5i i 
THREE POLLED DURHAM HEIFERS. HORNS ARE USELESS. Fig. 232. 
O. C. Halstead, of Rens¬ 
selaer, Ind., says there 
are several families of 
Polled Durhams, some of 
which are pure Short¬ 
horns that are naturally 
hornless. None are ad¬ 
mitted to register if they 
have other than Short¬ 
horn blood, except, it 
may he, the native mulley 
blood. Polls caused by 
crossing on the Red Poll 
or the Plack Scotch cat¬ 
tle would not he accepted. 
The Polled Durhams arc 
a beef breed, and have 
the docile habits of the 
Short-horn. For this 
reason, Mr. Halstead pre¬ 
fers them to any other 
polled breed. 
John Raker, of Plym¬ 
outh, I nd., says that most 
of the Polled Durhams were bred from the common 
mulley cow, and the Short-horn bull. Hornless heif¬ 
ers were saved and bred back to the Short-horn until 
the calves contained 90 per cent of Short-horn blood. 
With this per cent of the blood, they can be registered. 
Mr. Baker says that about 90 per cent of the calves 
come hornless, and he considers them superior to 
the Red Polls or the Black Scotch cattle. By breed¬ 
ing the hornless bulls to Short-horn cows, the calves 
can be recorded at one year old, provided they are 
hornless. The pure Short-horns without horns which 
were descended from the Minnesota cow, Oakwood 
Ciwynne, are called the Polled Short-horn or double 
standard, as they may be recorded in both herdbooks. 
Double standard cattle are, of course, preferred to the 
other, although for practical purposes, the Polled 
Durhams are about as useful. One great advantage 
with these cattle is the fact that they can be crossed 
with the Short-horns, and produce high grades with 
the Short-horn mai’ks, and not produce a mongrel, too 
often the case when the other polled breeds are used. 
L. E. Jones, of Rob Roy, Ind., says that, in the 
single standard Polled Durhams, about 80 per cent of 
the calves will be polls, and a larger per cent in each 
succeeding cross. He has no fault to find with either 
Red or Black Polled cattle, but as compared with the 
Black Polls, the Polled Durhams are equal to them in 
beef quality, and superior for milk. They are equal 
to the Red Polls as milkers, and superior for beef. He 
thinks that the double standard Polled Durham, being 
a pure Short-horn without horns, will make the ideal 
general-purpose cow, and he considers that this is the 
coming breed. 
purpose cows. These cattle are gentle and orderly in 
disposition, their color is red and roan, their size and 
form are that of the Short-horn. 
“ An association has been formed, known as the 
American Polled Durham Breeders’ Association, and 
the first volume of the herdbook is now out. J. n. 
Miller, of Mexico, Ind , is secretary. Since the origin 
of this breed, there has sprung out of a Short-horn 
herd, a sport or freak of Nature in the shape of a 
purebred Short-horn, born without horns ; this bull 
was kept and used with good results in some of the 
herds. Fig. 232 shows three of our heifers taken two 
years ago, when shown as yearlings. They were 
known as the ‘Three Roses.’” 
A FARM BOUNDED BY WATER. 
FEATHERS AND FUR ON FAMED FISHER’S ISLAND. 
[EDITOKIAL COUKESPONDENCE.] 
Part VI. 
Odds and Ends. —On such a farm there are many 
appliances and methods that are of great value in the 
successful prosecution of the work. Anything that 
tends to reduce the labor required, or to economize 
time, is of much value in the long run. Economies 
are possible in many directions that would not be 
practicable in a business conducted on a smaller scale. 
On the other hand, there are risks connected with 
poultry keeping on a large scale that do not confront 
the smaller grower. The larger establishment must 
be run on correct business principles, and every detail 
be carefully looked after. The employment of labor 
necessarily requires careful planning and intelligent 
The Water Supply.— 
This is one of the most 
important matters in 
connection with the poul¬ 
try business. Pure water 
in abundance is as neces¬ 
sary to the fowls as food. 
It is obtained here from 
wells, is pumped by wind¬ 
mills into tanks, and 
from these is led by pipes 
all over the place. A 
plentiful supply is ob¬ 
tainable in any part of 
the grounds and build¬ 
ings by simply turning a 
faucet. In only one way 
could it be furnished 
more easily, and that is 
by having it arranged so 
that it is constantly run¬ 
ning, and there are ob¬ 
jections to this plan. 
The Engine Room. 
—The steam engine fur¬ 
nishes steam for cooking 
feed, runs a feed grinder, 
green - bone cutter, and 
any other desired ma¬ 
chinery. Last year, for 
the first, a crop of corn was raised, grain being 
generally bought by the car-load. At the time of my 
visit, this corn was being shelled with a hand shellcr 
preparatory to grinding, but a power sheller had been 
ordered, and was on the way. The advantages of 
having a feed grinder are many. Mr. Crangle said 
that they want two different sizes of cracked corn, 
and with their own grinder they can make it any de¬ 
sired size. Then any desired mixture of feed can be 
made and ground, so they know just what they are 
feeding. The advantage of having steam power to 
run a green-bone cutter is evident to any one who has 
tackled the job of turning one by hand. This steam 
power is one of the economies rendered possible by 
doing business on a large scale. The same advantages 
might be secured in any farm neighborhood by 
cooperation. 
The Turkeys. —Formerly two breeds of turkeys 
were kept, but the difficulty, if not impossibility, of 
keeping them separated led to the discarding of one, 
and the Mammoth Bronze now holds full sway, 
although there are several distinct strains of these, so 
that inbreeding is entirely avoided. Mr. Crangle says 
that inbreeding is more detrimental to turkeys than 
to any other class of fowls. Fisher’s Island turkeys 
are noted all over the world. The breeding stock has 
a strain of wild blood, and the nearly natural con¬ 
ditions under which the young are raised render them 
very hardy and less susceptible to disease. The toms 
used as breeders weigh 30 to 40 pounds, and the hens 
18 to 25 pounds each. They have a large range. The 
hens make their nests in the bushes to suit them¬ 
selves. When one has begun to lay, a stake is set up 
Getting Rid of the Horns. 
Mr. S. R. Clawson, of Clawson, O., thus tells us how 
the single standard cattle were produced: “In pro¬ 
ducing these cattle, the object of the breeders has 
been to produce all the characteristics of the Short¬ 
horn, minus the horns. A strong prejudice existed 
against the polled or mulley cattle, by cattle dealers, 
but by studying the many advantages of hornless 
stock, such as disposition, less danger of injury to 
other stock and to themselves (and I might say to 
man), feeding and sheltering in close yards, and in 
shipping, the breeders were taught the fact that the 
horns must go. The Angus and Galloway cattle were 
objectionable on account of their color, the Red Polled 
on account of their size, so the breeders concluded 
that the native mulley or grade mulley cow was the 
starting point; so selecting a few native mulley cows, 
of good size and form, very likely graded with Short¬ 
horn blood, the breeders started out by breeding these 
mulley cows to purebi’ed Short-horn bulls. These 
native cows and their polled progeny were bred to 
Short-horn bulls for three crosses, saving only the 
heifer calves that came up to the standard. These 
third-cross heifers were then bred to a third-cross 
polled bull, making a slight inbreeding here, but 
strengthening the polled characteristic. The heifers 
from this inbreeding that came up to the standard, 
were then bred to the Short-horn bulls again, casting 
off as before ; these cattle can now show from 6 to 10 
crosses of Shoit-horn blood. 
“Especial care has been taken to improve the milking 
qualities of this breed, so that cows of our herd are 
above the average Short-horn cows for milk. The 
Polled Durhams may well be considered the general- 
supervision. Five men are regularly employed here; 
a larger part of the building constantly going on is 
done by them during odd times. This sort of economy 
of time might make the difference between profit and 
loss on many a farm. The large number of small 
houses and coops scattered o^er the farm represent a 
large economy of time saved in small sections. 
Feeding by Horse Power. —The scattering of 
the stock over so much territory, involves a good deal 
of travel in feeding. Some pails of feed were set on 
a buckboard wagon drawn by an active little pony, 
and away we went across lots, dodging rocks and 
bushes, up hill and down dale, stopping here and 
there at the small houses and coops to replenish the 
feed troughs. Often, very few chickens were visible, 
as they rushed for shelter to the numerous clumps 
of bushes, growing wild everywhere. These half¬ 
wild birds may not be so tame as hand-raised ones, 
but this kind of life makes them strong and vigorous. 
Excellent and Cheap Paint. —Nothing is so 
necessary to preserve buildings, especially in sea air, 
as good paint. Good paint and cheap paint are not 
always synonymous terms. The buildings here are 
all thoroughly painted. Many of the smaller houses 
are covered with the Neponset Red Rope paper. For 
this as well as for painting the wood, a very durable 
and satisfactory paint is made from a mixture of 
metallic paint, Venetian red and linseed oil. The last 
is purchased by the barrel, and this paint costs when 
ready to apply, about (30 cents a gallon. Mr. Crangle 
said that, if applied to the Neponset paper when the 
latter is first put on, a gallon of paint will cover a 
good deal of surface, so it is comparatively inexpen¬ 
sive. Not only does paint preserve the buildings, but 
it adds immensely to 
their appearance. 
the time of moulting may be somewhat influenced by the 
method of treatment and feeding, but there is nothing 
definite as to what extent this is so. Early-hatched pul¬ 
lets, properly fed and cared for, ought to begin laying 
during the Fall. He has no trouble in making Leg¬ 
horns lay in September. Pullets which lay early in 
the Fall will be through laying earlier the next Sum¬ 
mer, moult earlier, and begin laying earlier the next 
season than pullets that did not lay until January or 
February. 
THE POLLED DURHAM CATTLE. 
HOW THE SHORT-HORNS LOST TUKIU HORNS. 
We frequently see statements in the western papers 
concerning a breed of Polled or hornless Short-horn 
cattle. The ordinary Short-horn has well-formed 
horns, and in order to learn how the Polled Durham 
originated, and how it compared with other cattle, we 
have obtained information from a number of breeders. 
.T. M. Hughes, of Luray, la., says that the originator 
of the breed was Oakwood Gwynne 4th, a registered 
Short-horn cow owned in Minnesota. This cow had 
small and imperfect horns, and she produced twin 
heifers that had perfect polled heads. These twins 
were recorded as Nelly and Molly Gwynne, and from 
them has come the stock which produced the Polled 
Durham. Mr. Hughes says that there are some Polled 
Durhams, so-called, which originated from the native 
mulley cow, and which are really high-grade ; because 
they have a large per cent of Short-horn hlood, they 
are accepted in the Polled Durham herdbook, but not 
in the Hhdrt-horn herdbook. Mr. Hughes's cattle are 
all recorded in both Short-horn herdbook and Polled 
Durham herdbook* and 
the only noticeable differ¬ 
ence between the pure 
Short-horn and Polled 
Short-horn is that the 
latter are naturally horn¬ 
less ; in fact, there has 
been no other breed 
mixed with them. 
