THE CULTIVATOR. 
17 
IMPROVED SHORT HORNED BULL “METEOR / 9 
Bred and owned by George Vail., Esq. Troy. 
Meteor, now two years and three months old, re¬ 
ceived the first prize at the cattle show of the American 
Institute, in Oat. 1843, as the best bull of any age, and 
also the first prize as the best bull in the first class at the 
Rensselaer County Agricultural Society’s Fair, Sept. 
1843. He was got by Duke of Wellington, out of Duch¬ 
ess, both bred by Thomas Bates, Esq., of Kirkleaving- 
ton, Yorkshire, England, and whose pedigrees have been 
heretofore given in the Cultivator. 
Meteor is a fine animal, of good size, small bone, and 
excellent handling; with all the essential indications of 
good constitution, tendency to fatten, and quality of flesh, j 
His dam, (Duchess,) is a fine cow—her head and eye 
show good breeding—and her points show a very good 
combination of fattening and milking qualities. She now 
has her third bull calf—not yet having had a heifer. The 
calves are all well shaped, and are good handlers. 
Mr. Vail has handed us a letter, recently received by 
him from Mr. Bates, from which, at his request, we 
make the following extract: 
“I showed the above gentlemen the Oxford premium 
Cow of 1839—the dam of your bull by Short Tail, (2621,) 
and her half sister, (same dam, and by Short Tail)—also 
the own brother to this half sister, Cleveland Lad 2d. 
(3408) and own brother to the bull that got the highest 
premium of the Royal English Agricultural Society at 
the Liverpool exhibition in 1841, named Cleveland Lad,' 
(3407,) and which own brother I sold last year to Lord 
Feversham. In 1841, he also gained the first or highest 
premium given at the meeting of the Yorkshire Ag. Soc. 
“ These two cows and two bulls, all of the same cow, 
with a steer sold when two years old, and weighing then 
72 st. 8 lb. of 14 lb. per stone, were in succession from the 
same cow, after putting her to bulls of the Duchess fami¬ 
ly. She had bred five inferior calves previously to other 
bulls—the best of their day—but not having any Duchess 
blood in them. My tenants, whom I had furnished this 
cow at her prime cost, £11, after having had her first 
five calves, offered her for sale in Darlington market, a 
month after calving, and could not have above £9 15s. 
for her, though a very good milker, giving 12 quarts of 
milk, ale measure, when on hay only in winter; no tur- 
neps or other hard food, and straw at nights. As they 
wished to sell her, I took her again of them at prime 
cost, £11; telling them previously, that if put to bulls of 
the Duchess family, this cow, called Matchem cow, 
would not breed a calf worth less than 100 guineas; and 
the Oxford pr.emium cow was her first calf afterwards— 
and her half sister by Short Tail bull, (2621) is a better 
cow than even the Oxford cow. She has brought me 
two roan bull calves to Duke of Northumberland, and 
is now turned four years old; these calves are both very 
promising. And as a proof of the great improvement 
this tribe make, 2d Cleveland Lad went into Northum¬ 
berland before he was tw*o months old, in May, 1838; on 
the 6th of June last, he left Northumberland, having been 
kept on one of the highest hills there on which grain is 
grown; he was weighed on coming here and his weight 
160 stones; on the 30th of July, he was again weighed, 
and had gained 24 stones in the 54 days; or 12 lb. over 
6 lb. per day—or 3 stones of 14 lb. per stone, per week 
—weighing then 184 stones; a greater growth than I 
ever knew gained in the same space of time, and he was 
regularly served to cows during the time. The Oxford 
premium cow, calved Oct 5th, 1838, and was milked re¬ 
gularly every meal, twice a day, till Oct. 1841, bringing 
a calf annually; and in September, 1841, would have 
weighed above 100 stones of 14 lbs. per stone, and on 
grass only during the summer of 1841, she and two others 
going on two acres of grass, till so bare that they leaped 
the fence to get better food.” 
OHIO SILK GOODS. 
Mr. J. R. Howard advertises in the Zanesville Ga¬ 
zette, vestings, ladies’ dress silks, hosiery, drawers, shirts 
and caps, from the manufactory of John W. Gill, of Mt. 
Pleasant, Jefferson county, Ohio. Mr. Gill seems to be 
rapidly improving the quality and increasing the quantity 
of his fabrics, and we are happy to see the prosperity of 
this branch of industry. 
