Chinese Swine, the property of John Delafield, Oak- 
lands, near Geneva, N. Y., presented forexhibition only, 
at the show of the New-York State Agricultural Socie¬ 
ty of 1851. There are several distinct varieties of swine 
in China, some of which have a remarkable tendency to 
fatten, and have been the source of the principal im¬ 
provement which has been made in the aboriginal stocks 
of Great Britain, from whence most of our stock has 
been derived. The Chinese swine are frequently very 
prolific, producing from twelve to fifteen pigs at a litter. 
One of those herewith delineated, was suckling thirteen 
pigs at the time of the show. 
less waste in it than in the others noticed above; yet the 
quality of the wool is far inferior to our best wool in this 
country; and the cost of these sheep will prevent men 
of ordinary means from profiting by them, although I 
doubt not but it will prove a profitable speculation to 
those enterprising gentlemen who are interested in it. 
Many who have not yet changed from light fleece to 
heavy, tell me they will do so next year, but most are 
desirous of obtaining a finer variety than those noticed 
in this article. 
Any person owning a flock of pure merinoes, with 
heavy fleeces, with but little waste in the fleece, and 
who would sell at a price which men with common 
means could afford to pay, would do well to give notice 
of the same in the Cultivator, stating the average weight 
of their wool for some three or four years past, and also 
the price obtained for it the same length of time; the 
time of year when sold, and if possible, the amount of 
waste in cleansing. Could sheep of this description be 
obtained, to cross with our grade Saxons, we might yet 
hope to preserve a remnant of our fine sheep from de¬ 
struction. W. M’C. West Hebron, N. Y. Dec. 15, ’51. 
Indelible Ink for Marking Labels for Trees, &c. 
Eds. Cultivator — I am so much pleased with an ar¬ 
ticle of ink for writing on zinc, made by Mr. Henry 
H. Kelley, No. 288 North Second street, Philadelphia, 
that I am induced to inform you of it, that you may 
publish it for the benefit of your readers. 
It is a black ink, writes beautifully on zinc, and will 
bear exposure to the weather for many years. It can 
be obtained of Mr. Kelley for $1.00 per pint. 
I know of no method of labelling trees so economical 
as to cut small cards of zinc, mark them with this ink, 
and attach them to the trees by a loop of copper wire. 
John W ilkinson. Mount Airy Agricultural Institute, 
Germantown, Pa., Dec. 6, 1851. 
Stock for the Dairy. 
Considering the importance of the dairy in this coun¬ 
try, it is a matter of surprise thas so little attention is 
paid to the character of the stock devoted to this object. 
According to the statistical returns of New-York for the 
year 1845, the whole number of milch cows in the state, 
was 999,490. The total produce of butter is stated at 
79,501,7384 pounds, and the total produce of cheese, 
36.744,976 pounds—equal to 79| pounds of butter and 
86 pounds of cheese to each cow. The greatest quantity 
of butter, returned from any one county, where no cheese 
was mentioned, was 110 pounds, from Kings. The great¬ 
est quantity of cheese per cow, returned.from any one 
county, was 226 pounds, from Herkimer ; but it is pro¬ 
bable that some butter was produced from the same 
cows, in addition to the cheese. From the township of 
Fairfield, Herkimer county, 350 pounds of cheese were 
returned per cow. The dairy produce of cows, in quan¬ 
tity and quality, depends on their natural constitutions, 
and the treatment given them in reference to food and 
other requisites. Both these points should receive from 
daiiymen the strictest attention, if they expect to re¬ 
ceive the greatest profit. Every farmer may know that 
there is a great difference in the constitutional properties 
of animals. Some, from an inherent principle in their or¬ 
ganization, can produce from a given amount of food a 
greater amount of flesh, or fat, than others; some yield 
a greater quantity of milk or butter, under the same 
circumstances. It may have been noticed that these 
constitutional traits are, to a certain extent, hereditary, 
and that families or breeds are characterised by peculiar 
propensities, which greatly effect their value for special 
purposes. 
The difference in the amount of butter yielded by cows 
in the same dairy and subjected to the same treatment 
in every respect, often amounts to 100 per cent—some 
