1874] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
53 
Morgan Abdallah. 
The engraving represents a four-year-olcl 
colt, Morgan Abdallah, the property of the 
Rev. W. H. H. Murray, whose farm is at Guil¬ 
ford, Ot. We had an opportunity of examin- 
i n g this promising 
young horse with one of 
his colts at the New 
England Agricultural 
Fair at Boston a few 
months ago, and were 
much pleased with him. 
He is a very handsome 
and beautifully formed 
animal, of a rich dap¬ 
pled bay color with 
black points. His dis¬ 
position is remarkably 
geutle, and his training 
or rather his manage¬ 
ment up to the present 
time has been judicious 
and successful in mak¬ 
ing him perfectly docile, 
although he is not in 
the least wanting in 
spirit. He possesses a 
large share of Morgan 
blood, being descended 
from Justin Morgan on 
the side of both sire and 
dam. He has also the 
blood of Old Abdallah, 
through his grand-dam 
on his sire’s side, who 
was by that renowned 
horse. He has trotted a quarter of a mile 
in 43 seconds, although he has been har¬ 
nessed but twenty times, and has never 
been shod. But while we do not undervalue 
in the least the attribute of speed in a horse, 
we look upon this as well as all other worthy 
representatives of the Morgan race as being 
in an especial degree the farmers’ horse—the 
general utility horse in fact. Docile yet active 
and spirited in temperament; hardy in consti¬ 
tution ; stout and 
trustworthy in the 
draft; sagacious 
and ready to learn, 
and, possessed of 
a good memory, 
remembering what 
he has once 
learned; a good 
worker; a good 
traveler and easily 
kept; he is prob¬ 
ably the best horse 
upon a farm that 
can be had, and 
will do as much 
work as many a 
larger- horse, and 
at a less cost and 
in a more satis¬ 
factory manner. 
Without disparag¬ 
ing in the least any 
other of our val¬ 
uable and worthy 
classes of horses, 
we feel justified 
in giving at least this credit to the Morgans. 
Many farmers find it best for them to keep 
a moderate-sized horse adapted for use in 
She plow as well as in the buggy, and avail¬ 
able for heavy draft upon the roads, 
and in the Morgans he finds precisely the 
horse he needs. Those who desire heavy 
horses will seek the heavier breeds, which have 
greater weight but at the same time less speed 
and activity. But it is a question if heavy 
horses are the most economical upon farms 
MORGAN ABDALLAH—PROPERTY OF THE REV. W. H. H. MURRAY. 
where the labor is of a varied character, and 
where activity is more desirable than weight. 
Shropshire-Down Sheep. 
A portrait from life is here given of a pair 
of Shropshire-Down sheep imported recently 
with a considerable flock by Mr. Joseph Hoyt 
of Suisun city, California. This class of sheep 
fleece, which reaches in good specimens a 
weight of eight or nine pounds of medium 
wool, produce a heavy carcass of good lean mut¬ 
ton, are hardy, and bear a change of ciimate 
and pasture well, and are more prolific of 
lambs than some of the others of this class of 
black - faced breeds. 
I ■ - .-MJliiBHBiS They are favorite sheep 
in the west of England, 
and have their home 
mainly in the county 
of Shropshire, although 
they are pretty widely 
scattered now through 
the central part of Eng¬ 
land. There they have 
acquired the reputation 
of being the “ rent pay¬ 
ers,” which to an Eng¬ 
lish farmer is indicative 
of the very highest val¬ 
ue, for the rent is not 
only a serious item of 
necessary outlay, but it 
has to be met punctu¬ 
ally when due, and any 
day a flock of Slirop- 
shires may be drawn 
upon as so much cash. 
Although not as yet 
very well known here, 
there is no breed better 
adapted to our varying 
circumstances. For Cal¬ 
ifornia they are remark¬ 
ably well adapted, and 
will undoubtedly make 
their mark there in improving the native Cali¬ 
fornian sheep. For this reason it is to be hoped 
that Mr. Hoyt’s enterprise in personally select¬ 
ing his flock from amongst noted prize winners 
in England, at a large cost of time and money, 
may be rewarded by abundant success. 
IMPORTED SHROPSHniE-DOWHS, 
is cross-bred, but has been bred so carefully for 
the last twenty years that they may now justly 
be considered as an established breed. They 
have the good points of both the South-Downs 
and the Cotswolds combined, bear a heavy 
Early Eggs. —Fresh eggs in the winter are 
one of those luxuries that farmers may com- 
_ mand more read¬ 
ily than any other 
people. A fresh 
egg at this season 
is a rarity upon a 
farmer’s table. 
Yet they are easily 
to be had. For 
many years we 
have never been 
without them. A 
few early pullets 
well fed through¬ 
out the fall, or 
even at this sea¬ 
son, early in the 
winter, will lay 
by the end of De¬ 
cember, or sooner, 
if they have been 
well cared for. 
Our plan was to 
prepare especially 
for a dozen select¬ 
ed young hens or 
pullets a warm dry 
house; to feed 
them some meat scraps, boiled potatoes given 
warm, warm parched corn, and scalded wheat 
. also fed warm, with some pounded bones and a 
few peppers occasionally mixed in their feed. 
Warm milk or curdled buttermilk was also oc- 
