24 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Among the various descriptions of horses published ini 
the Cultivator, I have no recollection of having - noticed 
a description of the Clydesdale breed. The above por¬ 
trait is copied from Mr. Stephen’s st Book of the Farm.” 
In the Complete Grazier they are described as being 
“ strong, active, hardy animals, of the middle size, re¬ 
markably steady, true pullers, of sound constitution, and 
well adapted to all the purposes of husbandry. They 
are, therefore, deservedly in esteem among the northern 
farmers, particularly on heavy soils; they are not, how¬ 
ever, so active, nor, consequently, so well adapted for 
light land, as the Cleavelands; neither are they so hand¬ 
some. They are said to have been descended from a 
cross, made by one of the Dukes of Hamilton, between 
some Flemish stallions, imported many years ago, with 
the Lanarkshire mares, and they derive their appellation 
from the district on the Clyde where they are chiefly 
found. They have already made their way into the j 
bordering counties of England, and there can be little 
doubt that, as their good qualities become more appreci¬ 
ated, they will yet travel still further south.” 
This valuable breed of horses, is described by Mr. 
Aiton as “ rising from 14 to 16 hands in height: if be¬ 
yond that, they are generally unshapely mongrels, and 
greatly deficient in spirit; the effects of crossing small 
jaded mares with overgrown stallions. They are sound, 
fleshy, well-proportioned, strong, and heavy, without 
being too coarse or clumsy. The head is in due propor-l 
tion to the body; rather small than large, and not so full 
and prominent below the eyes as some of the English 
oreeds: the nostrils are wide, the eyes full and animated, 
and the ears erect. The neck is neither long nor slen¬ 
der, but strong, thick and fleshy, with a good curvature, 
and the mane strong and bushy. They are broad in the 
breast and thick in the shoulders, the blades being nearly 
as high as the chine, and not so much stretched back¬ 
ward as those of road horses. The arm tapers to the 
knee: the leg rather short, bone oval and strong, but so¬ 
lid and clean. The hoof round, of a black color, tough 
and firm, with the heels wide, and no long hair on the 
legs except a tuft at the fetlocks. The body round and 
heavy; the belly of a proportional size, neither small 
nor large, and the flank full. The back straight and 
broad, but not too long; the loin broad and raised a lit¬ 
tle; hucks visible but not prominent, and but a short space 
between them and the ribs. The sides from the shoul¬ 
ders to the hips, nearly straight. The thighs thick and 
meeting each other so close under the fundament, as to 
leave only a small groove for the tail to rest on. The 
tail strong, heavy to lift, and well haired.” “ The most 
common colors of the Clydesdale horse are black, or, more 
frequently, grey.” 
This description combines most of the best points pe¬ 
culiar to a perfect draught horse for the cart or plow; 
but it must be apparent that they are not often found uni¬ 
ted in one animal. C. N. Bemknt. 
Albany , Dec. 5,1844. 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
Agricultural Book for Schools. —We see it stated 
in our foreign papers, that c *' A Catechism of Agricultural 
Chemistry and Geology ,” drawn up by Prof. Johnston, 
at the request of the schoolmasters of Ayrshire, has alrea¬ 
dy passed through ten or twelve editions in Great Bin- 
tain. From the high terms in which we have seen it al¬ 
luded to, as well as from the practical and common sense 
views which the author takes of the connection of these 
sciences with the practice of agriculture in his lectures, 
we are rejoiced to learn that he has prepared an edition 
of his Catechism for publication in this country, by ma¬ 
king such alterations as were deemed necessary to adapt 
it to the use of our schools, and that it is soon to be pub¬ 
lished, with an Introduction and Notes, by our correspon¬ 
dent, Mr. J. P. Norton, who, it will be remembered, 
is now pursuing his investigations in agricultural che¬ 
mistry, with Prof. Johnston. 
The Herd Book. —The 5th vol. of this work, consist¬ 
ing of two parts of 620 pages each, has been recently is¬ 
sued in England, and we have been favored by Geo. 
Vail, Esq. of Troy, with a copy of it. It is devoted ex¬ 
clusively to Cows and their progeny, and contains the 
, pedigrees of a large number of animals owned and bred 
in this country. We are not aware that any copies of it 
are for sale in this country. 
« Ohio Cultivator.” —Mr. Bateham, whose retire- 
i ment from the New Genesee Farmer, tve noticed in our 
last, has removed to Columbus, Ohio, from whence he 
i has sent us his prospectus for “ The Ohio Cultivator,” 
the publication of which he proposes to commence in 
: that city on the first of this month. It will be published 
semi-monthly. 8 pages quarto, at $1.00 a year. Success 
I to him. 
