1851 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
131 
partake more or less of the Devon; most of them are 
half; occasionally some are more. The cows which pro¬ 
duce them are frequently mixed with Short-horn blood ; 
hut some of the best we saw, were produced by cows 
which had a dash of the Bakewell Long-horn, derived 
from some animals of this breed which were imported 
several years since by the late Mr. Adcock, of Gilberts- 
ville. We did not learn that any full blood Devons had 
yet been tried for work in this section—the demand for 
males rendering them too valuable for this purpose. 
Whether the Devons unmixed, will have sufficient weight 
for the most valuable oxen, remains, therefore, to be 
proved. It is proper to remark, however, that their 
size has latterly been much increased in England, and 
we can discover no reason why, with proper attention 
in selecting, breeding, and rearing, the requisite size 
may not be attained here, and that, too, without any 
sacrifice of the other valuable qualities of the breed. 
Mr. David Bundy has a flock of about sixty long- 
wooled sheep. They are descended from the Leicesters 
imported by the same Mr. Adcock who imported the 
Bakewell cattle. They appear to be a valuable stock, 
and many of Mr. B.’s are prime sheep. 
Dairying. —Otsego county produces large quantities 
of butter and cheese. We had not the opportunity of 
visiting many of the farms devoted specially to dairying, 
but obtained some facts in reference to a few. 
Mr. Peter Bundy, Otego, states that he kept ten 
cows in 1850—three of them were two-year-old heifers. 
They 11 came in” as follows: 1st and 2nd, March 25th; 
3d, April 10th; 4th, April 14th; 5th and 6th, April 
19th; 7th, May 11th; 8th, May 12th; 9th and 10th, 
May 19th. The whole amount of butter made, was 
1720 lbs. Made cheese 19 days—462 lbs.—weighed from 
the press. Mr. B. says, “ Allowing three two-year-old 
heifers equal to two cows, the dairy would stand at nine 
cows—allow 2\ lbs. of cheese equal to one pound of 
butter, and the account will stand at 211 lbs. 10 oz. per 
cow, besides a liberal use of milk and cream in a family 
of seven persons.” 
Mr. Rensselaer Day, Otego, states that he kept 
eleven cows in 1850, the income of which was as follows: 
Sold 1633 lbs. butter for,. $249 81 
Made 325 lbs. cheese, worth 7c.,. 22 75 
Sold four calves in August for,. 31 00 
Raised three calves, for which he was offered, in 
December,... 36 00 
Total,.$339 61 
Equal to $30.87 per cow. 
Mr. Walter L. Moore, Butternuts, keeps usually 
from seventeen to twenty cows, the milk of which is 
used chiefly for cheese, but butter is made in the fall. 
The average weight of cheese to each cow, for the sea¬ 
son, (making the customary allowance of one pound 
of butter being equal to two and a-half pounds of cheese,) 
is 400 lbs. It is of superior quality, and a large portion 
of it is sold at the close of the season at nine cents per 
pound. Some two-year-old cheese from this dairy, 
which we tasted, was scarcely inferior to the best we find 
anywhere. * 
“ Industry and economy will get rich, while sagacity 
and intrigue are laying their plans.” 
Memoir of Colonel Timothy Pickering. 
{Concluded from p. 102.) 
It is of Col. Pickering as a farmer, that we feel it to 
be our privilege to speak. This we should not have done, 
had not our solicitations toothers, better qualified to say 
what ought to be said, been ineffectual. 
In 1818, an association of the farmers of Essex was 
formed, under the name of the 11 Essex County Agri¬ 
cultural society,” over which he was invited to preside. 
It was done in accordance with the offer of the state for 
the encouragement of such societies. There is good rea¬ 
son to believe that Col. P. was not ignorant of the move¬ 
ment that prompted these offers. Whatever may have 
been the origin, it met his entire approbation and active 
co-operation. He continued thus to preside for a period 
of ten years, until the autumn of 1828, when, he said 
he felt it to be his duty to withdraw, lest he should be 
thought to be in his dotage —an idea that never occurred 
to any one but himself. We know not how to express 
our opinion of the efforts of Col. Pickering, in connec¬ 
tion with this society, better than in the language of the 
address, in 1844. Says the speaker—“ I have ever es¬ 
teemed the hints and observations that fell from Col. 
Pickering at our meetings, as among the most valuable 
lessons ever taught to the farmers of Essex. At an age 
when most men think their labors should be ended, he 
was in his prime, in handling the plow and instituting 
new experiments. He was not ashamed to soil his hands 
or his clothes, in the labors of the field. In whatever 
he engaged, he took the part of the working man. When 
he spoke, it was not to display his own acquirements, 
but to instruct his hearers. While others were admir¬ 
ing his superior wisdom, he, himself, appeared to be the 
only one not conscious of it. Like Franklin, he always 
had some illustrations that would not fail to make a last¬ 
ing impression.” 
During his presidency, (as it was our privilege to be 
his secretary,) we can bear testimony that he was 
scrupulously attentive to all the meetings and interests 
of the trustees, and of the society; always ready to il¬ 
lustrate by precept and example, his accumulated ex¬ 
perience. He loved farming for its own sake, and for 
the good of his fellow men. He was never happier 
than when he commanded the listening attention of a 
group of practical farmers, catching the words of wis¬ 
dom from his lips,—spoken, as it were, from the inspira¬ 
tion of the genius of sound philosophy. We recollect 
many instances,when, upon questions incidentally arising, 
he would go on and talk “ like a book,” for fifteen or 
twenty minutes, to the admiration of all around. He 
had read most that was then valuable of English, Scotch, 
and Flemish husbandry; his memory was uncommonly 
retentive; and what was of most value, he thought 
closely and carefully, upon what he saw and read. He 
was never satisfied to take any man’s say so, unless he 
could be made to understand the reason for saying it. 
It may be interesting to notice some of the topics, on 
which he was accustomed to dwell with special emphasis, 
connected with the advancement of husbandry in New 
England. Among these, the improvement of our native 
breed of neat cattle is entitled to the first place. i( I 
have long entertained,” said he, (( and repeatedly ex- 
