THE CULTIVATOR. 
may almost go to perfection in sheep. This, I hope, will 
Boon be the case with America, if we continue to import 
from first breeders only. All that is wanted is study, sci¬ 
ence and enterprise; and if farmers could meet bodily, 
with feelings directed toward them, she would expand in 
improvement like flowers in the sunshine. 
Now for our pigs. I have carefully selected sows in 
pig by different boars, so that we have sufficient crosses 
for a whole generation ; some of them are descended from 
the well-known herd of Richard Smallbones, Esq. Hordly, 
Oxfordshire. Others from R. Lovell, Esq. Edgcot, War¬ 
wickshire, and others from the first markets in Berkshire. 
The former has won as many prizes as any other swine 
breeder. 
I shall not make any remarks on these animals farther 
than this, that color in Berkshires is not hereditary; they 
vary in many instances; I have seen pure bred of all co¬ 
lors among the best prize herds in England. To discard 
good animals for their color only, are quibbles that seem 
to me profitless discussions, too much like quackery to be 
noticed. I believe color varies with age and sometimes 
with climate in swine ; it varies in cattle of all breeds; 
erroneous quotations deter the practical man from reading, 
and do much injury. Matchless has a black spot on her 
off side, but it was unnoticed by judgment. 
Having been favored so far with a safe arrival of valua¬ 
ble horses, cattle, sheep and pigs, the next consideration is, 
to impress on the minds of the American farmers, those 
who are fortunate enough to possess them, the important 
item of protecting them from injury; not only from the 
evil of low breeding and degeneration, but from the in¬ 
clemency of weather and careless feeding. This know¬ 
ledge must be sought with unflinching zeal, and supported 
with manly firmness ; the farmer’s care must be devoted to 
his animals ; they must be wedded to their continued 
superiority, success, comfort, and a judicious, economical 
disposal of provender, or the introduction of splendid stock 
will be a useless operation. 
In my opinion, good hips and rumps, with an expanded 
chest in a cow or bull, are very prominent points. A 
kind chop, a straight chine, well lined with a good quan¬ 
tity of flesh, backed up by good round sides, straight with 
the shoulder, are valuable acquisitions when you can¬ 
not get perfection. There are more cattle fail behind the 
shoulder than any other point, and when this is the case they 
are apt to show much paunch, which, to me, is a very 
great objection ; reason seems to say, an exorbitant belly 
consumes much food very unprofitably, and are not so apt 
to fatten ; this I have frequently noticed minutely, and in¬ 
variably found it so. Flesh hides a multiplicity of faults, 
but will never hide this, which I consider a very important 
one. 
There is also much to be learnt in feeding cattle, and it 
is very essential to discover the daily consumption of each 
beast, so as to give them just as much as they will eat, 
leaving a clear manger to sleep over; if they have hay 
before them to blow on, it weakens the appetite almost 
equal to satiety.. If a beast is cloyed with any kind of 
food, he does not relish it again in many days. Cattle, 
when feeding, require mueh water, and it is very essential. 
A person who has a thorough knowledge of feeding, sees 
immediately he enters the stalls, whether his cattle have 
been regularly and sufficiently fed and watered; if they 
are at all restless, they are not satisfied, and it is a certain 
omen of something wrong. They should not be disturbed 
more than absolutely necessary; the more quiet they are 
kept the better they thrive. Much has been said on feed¬ 
ing raw potatoes to cattle; I think them valuable, given 
in a limited degree; the generality of farmers give too 
many, which loosen the bowels without aiding the body. 
They can be well applied with meal, once a day, so as not 
to effect the quietness of the stomach. The Swede (or 
better known in America as ruta baga) may be fed more 
extensively; they suit both pallet, and constitution, and is 
a very profitable root to the farmer ; England would be 
lost without it; it is fed to advantage to many kinds of 
animals. 
The breeders of stock and tillers of soil ought to be inti¬ 
mately united, or the anticipated improvement in husband¬ 
ry will end in disappointment. Could we establish agri¬ 
cultural societies, and combine in friendship, the more we 
met together, and the oftener we discussed subjects con¬ 
nected with agricultural matters, the greater would be the 
advantages that would ensue. I hope this feeling will be 
established in Jefferson county, and that we shall be able 
to meet together to awaken the farming interest and pro¬ 
mote the public good. 
I am, dear sirs, yours most sincerely, 
WM. H. SOTHAM. 
Perch Lake Farm, Jefferson County, N. Y. 1840. 
N. B. I have met with the three last numbers of your 
valuable paper since writing the above, and will answer 
all references to my communications in your next. 
LETTERS FROM THE WEST—No. 2. 
Circleville, Ohio, Oct. 8, 1840. 
Editors Cultivator-— The Ohio State Agricultural 
Society held its annual Meeting and Fair, here yesterday. 
About one hundred head of Durhams alone, were on 
the ground, and I must confess that they presented one 
of the most gratifying sights that my eyes ever beheld, 
this being my first step on the borders of the great plain 
of the almost immeasurable and fertile west, that is 
said in truth, from beginning to end, to be the home of 
the lordly Short Horns. Notwithstanding the rage of 
politics, and the extreme pressure of the times upon the 
agricultural interest, the show was numerously attend¬ 
ed, and went off very spiritedly. Felix Renick, Esq. 
President of the Society, was present, and took his seat ; 
and I was heartily glad to see the principal originator 
of the Ohio Cattle Importing Company, still so active 
and efficient in the noble cause of stock improvement. 
He has now the gratification of seeing his eff orts crown¬ 
ed with complete success, and his country vastly bene¬ 
fited by his liberal and praiseworthy exertions ; it was 
him who visited England, and to whose good taste and 
judgment, principally, was confided the selection of the 
best importations that have graced this fertile valley. 
I was very happily disappointed in the appearance of 
the animals brought on to the stand, as I had expected 
to see size and condition exhibited, as commanding more 
merit than we of the north are in the habit of allowing 
them. But I am assured that quite a revolution has ta¬ 
ken place in these matters within a few years, and a 
great, overgrown, coarse, or high fleshed beast., has no 
chance at all with the fine taste and critical judgment 
of the gentlemen who now compose the awarding com¬ 
mittees. A reasonable size to be sure, is requisite—18 
to 22 hundred for a full grown bull, and 14 to 16 hun¬ 
dred for a cow in good show condition, are perhaps the 
most desirable weights now sought for here, and these 
are about such as are more generally cultivated with 
us at the north; nor are they behind us in regard to 
deep pedigree, mellow handling, quick feeding, dairy 
qualities, fine points, and general harmony of shape. 
The most fashionable color at present, is a rich full roan; 
but taste in that respect fluctuates, and the pure white, 
and full red, have their numerous advocates, and upon 
the whole, the different shades known to exist in the 
pure Short Horn are not stood upon, provided other 
things are right. 
I had a very good opportunity, yesterday and to-day, 
of comparing those animals that were bred here, with 
the several imported ones, and I am free to say, that if 
this was a fair exhibition, that there is a very decided 
improvement in the natives, showing skill and taste in 
their breeders, and I have little to add derogatory to 
their splendid forms, except that I do not think suffi- 
cientregard is yet paid to the set of the tail and a small 
dropping over the rump from the hip bones. This, 
however, is by no means a general fault, and if they 
continue to use the bulls that I hear are most in request, 
this in a few years, will almost entirely disappear. 
1 I did not hear of any sales, though several gentlemen 
177 
were present from abroad. Prices at present may be 
said to be nominal; choice animals however, are held 
quite as high as formerly, but middling or inferior, may 
be purchased somewhat lower than usual. Choice 
grades are very reasonable, and I am glad to see them 
spreading; and to those that cannot afford to buy a tho¬ 
rough-bred, I have only to say, get as near it as you can 
possibly afford; that man ought not to sleep nights, that 
has grass and hay to feed, and no Durham blood in his 
cattle. 
The first prizes for the bulls and calves, were taken 
by Messrs. Watts, Van Meter, Faux and Walker; of 
cows, heifers, and calves, by Messrs, and Mrs. Renick. 
It may seem odd at the north, for a lady to enter stock 
for a premium at an Agricultural Fair, but it is a matter 
of business here, and I believe is the same in England. 
Mrs. R. also took a 3d premium on Aurora, a heifer 
calf, and I am not sure, had I been on the committee of 
awards, that my gallantry would have got the better of 
my judgment, and that I should hav r e placed it first. 
At any rate it was a pretty affair, and might be address¬ 
ed without flattery in the same language as her name¬ 
sake of old— 
“Now come fair daughter of the dewy lawn.” 
The display of swine was much less than I had ex¬ 
pected in a country where so many are annually fatten¬ 
ed, for single farmers here keep their 500 head or more, 
large and small. But the improved breeds have not 
gained much general ground here yet, and gentlemen 
seem to be rather shy of showing anything else. The 
Berkshires and crosses of them, had it all their own 
way. Of the grown boars, Mr. Thomas Huston won 
the first premium, on a thorough bred Berkshire I sold 
him a year ago; and of the male pigs, Mr. C. L. Scott, 
took the prize on a cross of the Berkshire and Russia. 
To Doct. Watts, was awarded the premiums on sows 
of all ages, and to Mr. Hasley, that of the best fat bar- 
row, which was a three parts cross of the Berkshire on 
the Russia. He was a noble hog, and so full and round, 
that like a ball, he might be rolled any way. I have 
never yet seen a cross of the Berkshire in any other 
breed of swine, however small, that did not immediately 
tell in huge messes of pork, soon after the commencing 
of feeding for fatting. In looking over a field of seve¬ 
ral hundred head of Mr. Huston’s hogs to-day, the Berk¬ 
shire crosses might be picked out as far as they could 
be seen, and by their form too, more than the color, for 
many of the pigs had retained the complexion of their 
dams, and were pure white or sandy. ^ 
The influence of the State Agricultural Society has 
thus far been very beneficial; it is proposed now, to or¬ 
ganize it next year, and render it still more extensive 
if possible. In order to do this, it is proposed to make 
the premiums more various, giving them to horses, asses, 
mules and sheep, as well as cattle and swine, and also 
to the best cultivated farms, and different crops of 
grains, grasses, roots, &c. It is also proposed to widen 
the range of its meetings, and stretch them alternately 
from the center of the State, to the north, east, south, and 
west. This I have no doubt, will interest a much lar¬ 
ger portion of the citizens of Ohio in its doings, and as 
all these extremes are now in the broad road of improve¬ 
ment, it is probably no more than just and liberal, that 
the meetings should have a wider circuit. That the 
Society may continue to flourish, and go on increasing 
in influence and interest, is the ardent wish and desire of 
Your ob’t servant, A, B. A. 
REMEDY FOR TIIE BOTS. 
Messrs. Gaylord &. Tucker —In my early days, my 
father, being fond of good horses, paid great attention 
to their health, and whenever he apprehended that his 
horse was aff ected with the bots, had recourse to strong 
salt water, generally brine in which beef had been salt¬ 
ed, and it appeared to have a favorable effect on the 
animal. The brine was given first without any thing 
preceding it; but after my neighbor made the following 
experiments, we changed our course of practice. A two 
years old horse having died of the disease, our neighbor 
opened him, and taking the oesophagus (or ozen, as it 
is perhaps more generally called,) from the stomach, 
split it open, and exposed the grub to fair view—he 
found their heads deeply embedded in the cellular sub¬ 
stance ; he then dropped a few drops of brine on some 
of them, which induced those that it touched to contract 
and adhere with greater tenacity—he then dropped on 
some others some molasses, which instantly produced a 
different effect; they appeared to expand and slacken 
their hold ; on to these he then dropped some beef brine 
as at first, which caused them immediately to let go 
their hold and fly off from their former station. He 
found that by this course, he could dislodge them when¬ 
ever he pleased ; hence the expediency of administering 
something sweet and agreeable before the brine is given, 
is clearly suggested. As there is no doubt that the in¬ 
sect which is called the bot bee, depositing the egg or 
nit on the hair of the horse, produces the grub in the 
stomach by being taken in at the mouth, it is very de¬ 
sirable to prevent their continuance on the horse where 
he would be likely to take them into his mouth by bi¬ 
ting himself, which I have seen one horse show great 
reluctance to do ; he deliberately viewed the part thick¬ 
ly covered with nits, and after some hesitation contract¬ 
ing his lips, with his teeth, bit the part, and then as if 
to avoid all adhesion of the nits, he gave a very sudden 
motion to his lips. These little eggs or nits are easily 
removed and destroyed, by rubbing on them almost any 
kind of oil or greasy substance. An Agriculturist. 
Fast Greenwich, R. I. Sept. 1840. 
