THE CULTIVATOR. 
43 
that the offspring was so disproportionally deep through the chest 
—thick and bony through the shoulders, as greatly to endanger 
the life of the mother—-and I have known several valuable mares 
that have died or been ruined from that cause. The offspring has 
very commonly a deep chest, rendered flat by the pressure of large 
heavy shoulders; along back; narrow weak loin; narrow short 
contracted hips; long large boned limbs, with small muscles and 
tendons or cords. It is not asserted that such is the invariable re¬ 
sult, but it is believed there are few colts from such parents, but 
show more or less of the above cited disproportions. On the other 
hand it is be'ieved, that our best horses are the product of males 
of a larger variety than the females, and often when the dispro¬ 
portion was very great ; and I have no recollection of any injury 
to a small mare, from being in foal by a large horse. 
On the subject of breeding cattle from a male of a variety far 
larger than the female, I have had but a short opportunity of wit¬ 
nessing its results. Not far from the year 1800, some English 
bulls of a large variety, I think they were called the Yorkshire 
breed, were purchased at or near Frogs Neck, and taken to Addi¬ 
son county, Vermont; when G years old, they were the largest 
and handsomest cattle I have ever seen—were remarkably broad 
through the breast and stifle. They were put to cows of the com¬ 
mon breed; the calves, when dropped, were commonly smaller 
than those from bulls of the common breed, but without any extra 
feed, they attained a much larger size, and were far handsomer 
animals; the heifers better milkers; § blood calves approximated 
nearer in form to full blood; but one of | blood could readily be dis¬ 
tinguished from the common breed. But as I left that county in 
1806, I had but a short time to witness the result of the cross. 
Mr. Cline recommends crossing the large English sow, with the 
small China boar, but your friend, L. F. Allen, Esq. has probably 
adopted a more rational method, by a vice versa cross. I have ne¬ 
ver derived much benefit by crossing the common sow with the 
China boar. A 
I have only seen the result on sheep, by crossing the common 
ewe with the Merino or Saxon buck. The result has been a smaller 
and less hardy breed of she^p, with shorter and finer wool; but I 
think not any larger quantity. I should like to learn the result of 
crossing the large fine wooled English buck, with the Merino, or 
Saxon ewes. _ F. 
ADVANTAGES OF MIXED HUSBANDRY. 
* JYortk Canton, March 20, 1835. 
J. Boel —Much is said in this section on the subject of farming, 
and particularly on raising stock, as being more profitable than 
raising grain. There are contrary opinions maintained with consi¬ 
derable spirit on both sides. Some contend that farmers should 
turn their whole attention to raising cattle and sheep, except grain 
and pork sufficient for the family’s use—while on the other hand it 
is maintained that grain should be the staple of our country, con¬ 
nected with a sufficiency of stock to eat the grass that grows on 
our lands that are not tilled. I propose to examine the subject, and 
commit the result to your consideration. If you think it worthy 
of a place in the Cultivator, it is at your service. 
In treating this subject it is necessary to turn our attention to 
an earlier period of the settlement of this country. Thirty years, 
or thereabouts, have passed away since the settlement first com¬ 
menced ; and about 25 years may be considered the time when this 
section began to excite the attention of the eastern emigrants, and 
for 15 years the settlement advanced with considerable rapidity, 
since which time the emigration to the west has occasioned a stand 
in respect to the settlement of this county by emigrants. It hap¬ 
pened in this county, as in all others, the ridge lands (foi our lands 
principally lie in swells) were cleared first, and produced excellent 
crops of winter wheat, consequently we believed that we had an 
excellent wheat country. But since our farms have become clear¬ 
ed, we have found our mistake; and great losses have been experi¬ 
enced by summer fallowing, which has had a tendency to divert the 
attention of those farmers who had been fortunate enough to pay 
for their farms (by good economy or good luck while raising new 
land crops) from the raising of grain almost entirely, and substi¬ 
tuting the raising of cattle and sheep, except so much grain as is 
necessary for the consumption of their families. Although the rais¬ 
ing of stock is considerably practised and more considerably advo¬ 
cated here, as being by far the most profitable way of farming, yet 
[ will undertake to show the contrary,—that is, that the farmer 
first should raise all the grain that he can without injuring his farm; 
eeondly, he should keep all the cows he can on the remainder; 
thi:dly, make all the butter and cheese he can—and lastly, fatten 
as much pork as the dairy will keep well. And for a fair test, I 
will suppose two farms of 100 acres of improvement, each of equal 
goodness ; the one to be stocked with as many cattle as is neces¬ 
sary; the other to raise grain and keep a dairy. In the first place, 
the cattle farm shall be taken into consideration, and in order that 
a fair trial should be had, I will allow the farmer only one acre for 
tilling, which is enough for a garden, for I would not be willing 
that he should confute his position in the beginning—for it is very 
plain that if he can raise cattle to greater profit, that he had better 
do so, and buy his bread stuff, and spread his manure on his mow¬ 
ing land. We will suppose then, that a farm of one hundred acres 
improved land will keep 60 head of cattle, besides a team, which 
will be necessary in both cases—-say 15 calves, 15 yearlings, 15 
two-year olds, and 15 cows, making 60 in all, which I know to be 
rather over, than under the true number; he will have 60 cattle to 
winter, which will take 60 acres of meadow to furnish the fodder, 
leaving 40 only for summering his stock. He can sell yearly 15 
two-year-olds in the fall, after they are wintered and summered, 
$12 per head, 12 15 = 180 dollars: butter and cheese, $15 per 
cow, 15 -[-15 =225 dollars; 15 pigs fattened on the dairy slop, 150 
pounds each, $4 per hundred, $90; two old cows, fattened, $18 
each, $36, and supplied by three year old heifers, to keep the stock 
good. You have then left for tlie nett proceeds of the farm, after 
deducting $60 for securing hay, $471. I then suppose that 60 out 
of 1 00 acres improved land, is a fair average of plough land in this 
county, and that three crops is all that should be taken from a field 
before it is seeded down, and should be seeded with the third crop 
invariably. I then have six fields for the plough ; one field to be 
ploughed yearly, one to be laid down yearly; making thirty under 
the plough at once, and leaving 70 for grass and cattle, which I 
will reckon at the same rate that I did the other 100 acres. Sup¬ 
posing then, the 60 head of cattle from cows to calves to be equal 
to 50 cows, putting the calves on to the yearlings and two-year- 
olds, making them equal to the two-year-olds and cows; then 70 
acres would keep 35 cows; then as above the butter and cheese at 
$15 per cow 35 -f- 15 = 525 dollars; 36 pigs fattened on the dairy 
slops, 150 lbs. each, $4 per hundred, $210; three fattened cows, 
$18 -f-3 = 54 dollars; 30 calves $3 per head, $90, making $879. 
I then have 10 acres corn, 40 bushels per acre, 50 cents per bushel, 
$200; 10 acres of spring wheat, 15 bushels per acre, $1 per bushel, 
$150. Spring wheat is the only wheat crop that we can depend 
upon in this county, as a general rule. Ten acres oats, 30 bush, 
per acre, 25 cts. per bush. $75, making $425.—-Total $1,804..— 
To be deducted from this amount, there is the wages of two hired 
men for six months, $12 per month, $144; one boy, $5 per month, 
$30; one woman $4 per month, to take care of the dairy, $24; 
two years’ board at $1 per week, $104, making $302, taken from 
$1,304—leaves a balance of $1,002 for the nett proceeds of the 
grain and dairy farm; deducting the nett proceeds of the cattle 
farm, $471, from this, leaves a balance in favor of the grain and 
dairy farm of $531. I have supposed each farm to be equally well 
fenced, and all necessary farming tools and carriages. If it be ob¬ 
jected that more worth of farming tools is required on the grain 
farm, it will not balance the amount of capital owned by the cattle 
grower, for when you take into consideration the capital employed 
by each, you will find that much the greatest profit is realized from 
the same amount of capital on the grain farm,—and that certainly 
is the best way, that makes the greatest profit from the same capi¬ 
tal. It may be seen from the above calculation that a family may 
be supported, whose support costs $500, from the grain and dairy 
farm, and leave a handsome income saved at the year’s end; while 
on tlie other farm, the husbandman with as expensive a family, 
would find himself in the rear at the year’s end. It may be seen 
that a dairy and grain farm is more profitable than a cattle farm— 
that it is more profitable than a dairy farm—and that it is more pro¬ 
fitable than a grain farm; for it would be impossible to keep a farm 
in good heart, without cattle to make manure, and it would be 
equally impossible to make our dry lands produce as good pasture 
without the plough. For a short time our lands would produce 
good grasses by what is called top-dressing with manures, but too 
soon the grass would become wiry and tough, and our cattle would. 
