THE CULTIVATOR. 
67 
couraging. But the circumstance which brought the improved 
Short Horns into most extensive notice, was the production of the 
“Durham ox,” an animal which speaks volumes in favor of a single 
cross from this blood ; for the ox was the produce ot a common cow, 
which had been put to Favorite. At five years old, the Durham ox 
was sold to Mr. Buhner, for public exhibition, at the price of ,£140. 
This was in February 1801. He was at that time computed to 
weigh 1G8 stones, of 141bs. (the quarters) his live weight being 216 
stones; and this extraordinary weight did not arise from his sup ri- 
or size, but from the excessive ripeness of the points. Mr. Buhner 
having obtained a carriage for Ins conveyance, travelled with him 
live weeks, and then sold him and the carriage, at Rotherham to 
M. John Day, for £250. 
“ On the same day Mr. Day could have sold him for.£525 
“ On the 10th June for... 1000 
“ On the 8th July for...... 2000 
“Mr. Day travelled with him nearly six years, through the prin¬ 
cipal parts of England and Scotland, till, on tho 19th Feb. 1807, the 
ox dislocated his hip-bone, and continued in that state until the 15th 
April, when he was obliged to be slaughtered, and, notwithstanding 
he must have lost considerably in weight during Ins eight weeks o! 
illness, his carcase weighed—• 
Stones, /is. 
Four quarters,.. 165 12 
Tallow,... H 2 
Hide,... 10 2 
To effect further improvement, Mr. Colling resolved to resort to 
the Galloway. 
He was much favored by circumstances in promoting his object, 
which was to take one cross, and then breed back to the Short Horn, 
—the only course, by the way, in which crossing can be successful¬ 
ly adopted. To breed from the produce of a cross directly among 
themselves will lead to the results which have induced many persons, 
without due consideration, to believe conclusive against crossing; 
but to take one cross, and then return and adhere to one breed, will 
in the course of a few generations, be found to stamp a variety of 
sufficient certainty. 
“Mr. Coding’s Short Horned bull, Bolingbroke, was put to a red 
polled Galloway cow, and ihe produce, being a bull calf, was in due 
time, put to Johanna, a pure Short Horn,—she also producing a bull 
calf. This grandson of Bolingbroke was the sire of the cow Lady, 
by another pure Short Horn dam, and from Lady has sprung the 
highly valuable family of improved Short Horns, termed in reproach, 
Alloy. 
“It will probably be admitted that the prejudice against this cross 
was at the highest at the time of Mr. Coding’s sale. The blood 
had then been little, if at all, introduced to other stocks, and it was 
manifestly the interest, whatever might be the inclination, of the 
manly breeders who had it not, to assume high ground for the pure 
blood, and to depreciate the alloy. Under these untoward circum¬ 
stances for the alloy, what said public opinion, unequivocally certifi¬ 
ed by the stroke of the auctioneer’s hammer 1 Lady, before men¬ 
tioned, at fourteen years old, sold for two hundred and six guineas. 
Countess, her daughter nine years old, for four hundred guineas.— 
Laura, another daughter, four years old, for two hundred and ton 
guineas. Major and George, two ot her sons, the former three 
years old, the latter a calf) for two hundred guineas and one hun¬ 
dred and thirty; besides a number of others, more remotely de¬ 
scended from Lady, which all sold at high prices—in fact, in a sale 
of forty-eight lots, realizing £7,115 17s. Lady and her descendants 
sold for a larger sum than any other family obtained.” 
Vernon, Oneida co. June 3, 1834. 
Dear Sir— Will you be good enough to publish in your valuable 
paper, the Cultivator, Bolton’s recent communication, on the result 
of crossing the improved Short Horns and Devon cattle, and much 
oblige A SUBSCRIBER. 
J. Buel, Esq. 
[From the British Farmers' Magazine ] 
RESULT OF CROSSING THE IMPROVED SHORT HORNS AND DEVON 
CATTLE. 
Mr. Editor —In the 27th number of your valuable Magazine, 
when giving an account of my two years old steer, you also gave an 
extract from my letter on the advantages attendant on crossing cows 
of different breeds with improved Short Horn bulls, and in confirma¬ 
tion of this opinion, (not hastily adopted, but the result of several 
[years’ practical experience, and a close attention to the experiments 
of several friends during the last seventeen years,) t send you the 
portrait and a short account of a two years old Durham and Devon 
heifer of mine, lately slaughtered by Mr. Win. Daniel, of Aberga¬ 
venny, and accompanying it with a few brief statements of the ad¬ 
vantages derived from this system by several of my own personal 
friends. 
This heifer was the second cross, and was of a light grey colour, 
She weighed 35 scores and 8 ibs. rough fat 98 lbs. She was al¬ 
lowed to be the fattest and best beast of her age, in all points, ever 
seen in Abergevenny. She had a dead calf about six weeks before 
Christmas, was dried on the 17ih January, and killed the 10th of 
June. She sold for £19 3s. 6d. 
Her live weight, on the 8th June, was 1232 lbs. 
do 17th January, 840 
Increase in 140 days, 392 
Being aware that strong prejudice and much incredulity existed 
on the subject of crossing, I courted the attention of alt the re¬ 
spectable farmers, breeders and feeders, in this neighborhood; ma¬ 
ny caine to see her when first put up, and repeatedly afterwards du¬ 
ring the five months she was feeding, and they all concurred in say¬ 
ing, she went on faster than any beast they ever had seen. She 
never had any oil cake. 
I have seen many excellent beasts bred from improved Short 
Horn bulls and Long Horned cows ; indeed, I never knew any of 
these hulls put to any cow where the produce was not superior to 
the dam. But the cross which I advocate, and with which I am 
best acquainted, is that with the Devon cow. I have uniformly re¬ 
marked, that each succeeding cross was attended with a proportion¬ 
ate impiovement in size, quality of flesh, and aptitude to fatten ; in 
every instance they have shown themselves superior milkers, and 
stand to the pail till within six or eight weeks of calving, and seve¬ 
ral instances have come under my own knowledge where they have 
never been dry since they first calved. And so highly are they 
prized as milkers, that a friend of mine, who hired out dairies, in¬ 
formed me that the dairymen gave him nearly £2 per cow per year 
more for the half and three quarter breeds, than they would give for 
cows of any other breed. 
A friend of mine had about a dozen North Devon cows, small in 
size, but nice in quality, and from these he commenced, about twen¬ 
ty years since, breeding with Short Horn bu is. He has since 
invariably used those bulls. With each succeding cross the 
stock have rapidly improved in every essential, and the only 
trace of the Devons which I could perceive when I last saw 
them, about two years since, was a peculiar richness in their 
colouring. He breeds about thirty annually, and generally sells 
his three years olds in the autumn, at from 17 to £22 ; and I have 
known him sell in calf, heifers to jobbers, at fairs, as high as thir¬ 
ty guineas each. All his stock are superior milkers. Here we have 
twenty years experiments, and continued improvement. Within 
the last eight years 1 have sent many North Devon heifers to Ire¬ 
land, to friends residing in different counties, and some of them oc¬ 
cupying land of very inf. rior quality. 1 also sent over two young 
Durham bulls, from the stock of the Rev. Henry Berry, to cross 
them with. They have all crossed them with Short Horn bulls at 
my recommendation, arid the accounts they give are most satisfac¬ 
tory. They say the two years old half breeds are as good as the 
three years old Devons, and are all good milkers. One of these 
bulls, by Mr. Berry’s Mynheer, has been four times exhibited in 
three different counties, and has each time taken the first prize. He 
I was last year sold for sixty guineas, and is now serving cows at £1 
each. 
If any testimony were wanting to corroborate the statement, 
in No. 26 of your Magazine, of the benefit to be derived from Mr. 
Knight’s methods of cultivating potatoes, I should be happy to add 
mine. I have for several years been in the habit of planting the en¬ 
tire potato, and making the rows three feet six inches apart, and 
have found this plan always succeed. 1 gave them raw to my cattle: 
to fatting beasts about 40lbs. per day, with hay : to store beasts, about 
half that quantity with straw : and to my milking cows, I allow 241bs. 
daily, with hay. I have given them steamed, but found the cattle did 
not do well after them when put to grass. After the raw ones, they 
thrive rapidly on grass. I am sir, yours, very obediently, 
C. H. BOLTON. 
Brynderry, Abergavenny June, 30, 1833. 
