1847. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
19 
who uses an open fire-place, contributes to the winds. 
Feeding Domestic Animals. —If one cow daily- 
treads three pounds of hay under foot in the mud, she 
will waste about a hundred pounds per month ; or a 
herd of twenty cows would waste a ton per month. At 
this rate, how many times, every ten years, would the 
quantity wasted pay the expense of making feeding 
boxes and racks ? 
Watering Cattle. —Many farmers suffer a loss by 
not providing good and convenient water for their cat¬ 
tle. An animal that is compelled to go half a mile 
over a slippery road, and chased perhaps by dogs, can¬ 
not gain in flesh by the operation. If a cow has to 
travel twice a day half a mile to water, and return, 
she. travels two miles a day ;—or ten cows perform 
twenty miles of travelling per day, and two thousand 
miles each winter. 
Gates. —Every field on the farm should be entered 
by a good self-shutting and self-fastening gate. Far¬ 
mers, who are too busy in summer to make them, or 
get them made, should see to it now. How long does 
it require to take down and put up a set of ba rs ? At 
least two minutes ; which if repeated three times a 
day for a year, amounts to thirty hours, or three days 
of working time—which would yearly pay for a good 
gate. Or, exau-ine it in another point of view.—three 
times a day, is eighteen hundred times a year ; now, is 
there any man between Halifax and California, who 
would take down and replace a set of bars eighteen 
hundred times in succession, in payment for a farm 
gate % Hardly—yet this is the price yearly paid by 
those who use bars that are constantly passed, and the 
gate is not obtained by it. Again—how much better 
is a well-hung gate, than one half-hung or one with 
a good self-fastening latch, than one with a pin crowded 
into an auger-hole ? Try it by dragging a badly hung 
gate over the ground, eighteen hundred times in con¬ 
stant succession, securing it each time with a pin, and 
see if you do not think this labor would pay for good 
hinges and a latch. T. 
SKETCHES OF MASSACHUSETTS FARMING. 
During the latter part of November and the begin¬ 
ning of December, we made a hasty excursion through 
some portions of Massachusetts. From the season of 
the year, we could see no growing crops, nor make 
particular examinations of soils, yet we had the oppor¬ 
tunity of seeing and conversing with the farmers, of 
viewing their stock, buildings, fences, and stored pro¬ 
ducts, and of learning something of their general man¬ 
agement. We give, under their appropriate heads, 
some remarks on the different subjects which came 
under our notice. 
Swine. —Massachusetts has been long in possession 
of excellent swine-stock. The celebrated Bedford or 
Woburn breed, was first introduced here by the late 
Col. Timothy Pickering, many years since, and from 
its extensive dissemination, perhaps, effected a more 
general improvement than any other variety has done. 
Most of the other esteemed English breeds have been 
introduced at various times, and in the hands of differ¬ 
ent individuals, have received a pretty thorough trial. 
Though but few of these breeds can now be found in 
their purity, yet such has been the improvement result¬ 
ing from their introduction, that many animals can be 
found which are well adapted to the circumstances in 
which they are placed, and the purposes for which they 
are designed. 
In our November number, (last volume,) in speaking 
of the different varieties of swine, we mentioned the 
Mackay breed, and expressed some doubt, whether 
many of the genuine stock could now be found. We 
are gratified, however, in being able to state, that dur¬ 
ing our recent visit to the Bay State, we ascertained, 
for a certainty, that there are still “ a few more left of 
the same sort.” Col. Jaq.ues, of the Ten Hills’ farm, 
near Boston, has three boars, and one sow of the true 
Mackay breed. In 1831, Col. J. purchased of Capt. 
Mackay, his entire breeding stock of swine, consisting 
of several boars and sows. Many obtained the stock 
from Col. J., and, among others, J. P. Cushing, Esq., 
and the Hon. Daniel Webster. From these gentle¬ 
men it became still more widely scattered. Mr. W’s. 
famous Mackay boar, now as well known in Massachu¬ 
setts as tjie horse Black Hawk is in Vermont, or the Gif¬ 
ford Morgan in New Hampshire, was bred by Col. J. and 
by him sold to Mr. W. August 20th, 1834. He is, 
therefore, now nearly thirteen years old, though still as 
vigorous as ever. The four animals mentioned as now 
in Col. Jaques’ possession, are of his get. His pro¬ 
geny, though but few of them are from sows of his 
blood, are very numerous—he having at various times 
traversed portions of the country, from Hadley, on Con¬ 
necticut river, to Marshfield, on the sea-coast. 
Col. Jaques’ swine are from fifteen to sixteen months 
old. He offers to sell one of the boars at $50, and w T e 
really believe that his value to a pork-making neighbor¬ 
hood would be ten times that sum. There is no ques¬ 
tion that this Mackay stock possesses a remarkable 
tendency to fatten. We know this from our former 
experience with the breed, and our conclusions from 
this source are fully supported by observations during 
our late tour. 
On the 5th of December, w r e saw four pigs of one lit¬ 
ter, owned by Mr. John Moore, of Warren, Mass., 
which he stated w T ere farrowed on the last day of 
Feburary, 1846. They were, therefore, when we saw 
them, nine months and five days old. It was estimated 
by butchers in the neighborhood, that their average 
dressed weight, if slaughtered at that time, would have 
been four hundred pounds ! We have no hesitation in 
giving it as our opinion, that one of them would have 
overrun this weight at that time. We thought them 
the most wonderful pigs we had ever seen, both for 
weight, according to age, and weight, in proportion to 
bone. One of them was utterly unable to stand, or get 
upon his legs at all, and Mr. Moore was intending to 
kill him that day. Another, the largest of the four, 
could only with the greatest difficulty support himself 
on his legs, for a few minutes at a time. Mr. M. 
stated that these pigs were half Mackay, to which 
blood he attributed their remarkable tendency to fatten, 
they being, on the other side, of the common stock of 
the neighborhood. We expect to be furnished with the 
precise dressed weight of these pigs. It may be as 
well, however, to state, here, the manner in which they 
were fed ; and, in so doing,we shall be under the neces¬ 
sity of adding a cow story to the story of the pigs. 
Mr. Moore kept, last season, four cows. The pro¬ 
duct of these four cows for the season, (nine months.) 
was six hundred pounds of butter, which sold at twen¬ 
ty cents per pound, and thirteen hundred quarts of 
milk, which sold at four Cents per quart. The four 
pigs above mentioned had the skimmed milk . from which 
