1846. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
19 
ORIGIN OF TH I MORGAN HORSE- 
The following statement, for which we tender Mr. 
Wier our thanks, fully confirms the account heretofore 
given in “ The Cultivator,” of the origin of this cele¬ 
brated breed of horses. Our own inves:igations long 
since satisfied us of its truth. It will be seen that Mr. 
W. has been able to add a very important item to the 
history, having ascertained the pedigrees of both sire 
and dam of the original Morgan horse. 
Mr, Editor —I noticed in your last number an arti¬ 
cle ok this subject, so interesting to all lovers of a good 
hoi'Je, which closes with an inquiry where the Chelsea 
horse, the last surviving stallion by the original Justin 
Morgan horse, now is. In reply to that inquiry, I have 
to inform you that this horse, for the last ten or fifteen 
years, more generally known in Vermont by the name 
of the Morgan Bulrush , is now owned by me, and is at 
this time in good health at my stable in Walpole, New- 
Hampshire. 
For the last fifteen years my business has called me 
frequently into almost all parts of Vermont, and I have 
been led to make very extensive and particular inqui¬ 
ries into the history of the Morgan horse. Although 
there are six or eight, or more, different stories in cir¬ 
culation in relation to his origin, and several of them 
attempted to be supported by affidavit, yet I perfectly 
agree with you that the account given by Justin Mor¬ 
gan’s son, Justin Morgan 2d, who is a merchant now 
in business at Stockbridge, Vermont, and a gentleman 
of intelligence and standing, extended and confirmed 
by that of Mr. John Morgan, is the only one entitled to 
belief. 
From my correspondence with Justin and John Mor¬ 
gan, and others, I am enabled to state the pedigree on 
both sides of the Morgan horse. He was foaled in 1793, 
was sired by True Britton, or Beautiful Bay, owned by 
Sealy Norton, of East-ITartford, Conn., and then kept 
by John Morgan at West Springfield, Mass. True Brit¬ 
ton was sired by the imported horse Traveller. 
The dam of the Justin Morgan horse, at the time he 
was sired, was owned by Justin Morgan himself, at 
Springfield, Mass., where he then lived. The dam is 
described by Mr. John Morgan, who knew her, as of 
the Wild-air breed, of midtiling size, with a heavy 
chest, of a very light bay color, with a bushy mane 
and tail—the hair on the legs rather long, and a smooth, 
handsome traveller She was sired by Diamond, a thick 
heavy horse of about the middling size, with a thick, 
heavy mane and tail, hairy legs and a smooth traveller. 
Diamond was kept by Justin Morgan himself, at the 
time the dam of the Morgan horse was sired. He was 
raised in East-Hartford, Connecticut. His sire was the 
Wild-air, known as the Church h >rse. His dam was the 
noted imported mare Wild-air , owned by Capt. Samuel 
Burt, of Springfield, Mass. The Church horse was 
sired by the horse Wild-air, imported by Delaney, of 
Long Island, and, as it was said, was afterwards taken 
back to England. 
Mr. John Morgan describes True Britton as being a 
high-headed and hollow, or sway backed horse, and his 
stock of such a description; and states that the Wild-airs 
also, were generally so. 
I have ascertained that there is a man now living in 
Royalton, Vermont, who recollects that Justin Morgan, 
when taking to Randolph the two years old colt, in 
1795, called at his father's tavern in Royalton, and when 
asked what he was going to do with the colt, said he 
was going to keep him for a stallion; and recollects re¬ 
marks that were made upon the colt’s heavy mane and 
tail. 
Judge Griswold, of Randolph, also tells me that he 
was invited by Justin Morgan, the morning after the 
colt came there, to go into the pasture and see him, 
and was told he should keep him for a stallion. He also 
says that the colt came there from the south, and fixes 
the date in the fall of 1795. Similar facts are also in 
the recollection of other persons now living in Ran¬ 
dolph. 
Justin Morgan, senior, died at William Rice's, in 
Woodstock, Vermont, in March, 1798. He then had 
the horse with him, and shortly before he died sold him 
to Rice, who sold him to Robert Evans, who sold him 
to Mr. Goss, of East-Randolph, for $100, to be paid in 
neat stock in a year without interest: as I am informed 
by Mr. Rollins, a son-in-law of Mr. Goss, now living 
in Chelsea, and by others. This Mr. Goss took him to 
his brothers in St. Johnsbury. He was kept in that 
family a number of years, and after passing through 
several other hands, finally died at Chelsea, the property 
of Mr. Bean. I am satisfied from my inquiries, that 
these facts can be amply supported by the testimony of 
many persons now living, from their own personal 
knowledge. 
There were only four of the old Morgan horse’s colts 
kept as stallions. These were the Revenge, who died at 
24 years of age; the Sherman korse, who died at 26; the 
Woodbury horse, who died at 22, and the Chelsea horse, 
or Bulrush, now living here. 
We also have, in this town, Morgan mares, selected 
with care for their good qualities, and of the highest 
Morgan blood now existing, obtained expressly with a 
view to preserving the Morgan breed in its greatest 
possible purity. 
Frederick A. Wier. 
Walpole , N. H., Nov. 34, 1845. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH GUANO. 
Luther Tucker, Esq.— In looking over the Culti¬ 
vator of Nov. 1845, I observe some experiments with 
guano, made by Mr. R. Parnell, with no regard to 
quantity of land or guano, without which I do not think 
you can make any fair comparison. Having made some 
experiments by measuring the land and weighing the 
guano, I herewith hand you the result. 
First, I measured three pieces of land adjoining each 
other, each containing one-fortieth of an acre. 
In the drills’of the first, I put 5 pounds of guano in 
the raw state, scattered evenly through the drills, and 
planted with potatoes, which upon digging yielded at 
the rate of 215 bushels per acre. In the drills of the 
second one-fortieth of an acre I put 7-§ pounds of guano, 
or at the rate of 300 pounds per acre, scattered evenly 
through as before, which yielded at the rate of 207^ 
bushels. In the third one-fortieth of an acre, I put 10 
pounds of guano, or at the rate of 400 pounds per acre, 
in same manner as above, which yielded at the rate of 
212-§ bushels per acre. Adjoining the above, I mea¬ 
sured another one-fortieth of an acre, one-third of 
which, the one-one hundred and twentieth part of an 
acre, I put in the drill as above, poudrette at the rate of 
$20 per acre, which yielded at the rate of 142| bushels 
per acre. In the next, I put poudrette at the rate of 
$40 per acre, scattered evenly through as before, which 
yielded at the rate of 180 bushels per acre. In the next, 
I put poudrette at the rate of $80 per acre, scattered as 
before, which yielded at the rate of 155 bushels per 
acre. Adjoining the above, I measured another one- 
fortieth of an acre, the drills of which I filled with a 
mixture of horse, hog-pen, and cow-yard manure, in 
about the quantity that farmers generally use; this last 
yielded at the rate of 135 bushels per acre. 
I would also remark, that I arrive at the cost of the 
poudrette by what I paid, 12s. per barrel; the potatoes 
were all planted on the 16th day of March, and were 
all of the same kind, (Mercers.) The ground, a light 
sandy loam, broken up last fall, and in very poor heart. 
There was a middle sized apple tree stood in one of 
the furrows of the second experiment of guano, and 
one in the third of poudrette. There was little or no 
difference in the size or appearance of the potatoes in 
any of the drills; the ground I do not think was wet 
through to the manure from the time of planting to 
digging; the guano was part of the cargo imported by 
Messrs. E. K. Collins & Co., in the ship Shakspeare. 
Samuel Bradhurst 
Tslip, L. 7., Nov. 17, 1845. 
