THE CULTIVATOR. 
99 
trary, owing to my farm being at some few miles distance 
from my residence, and therefore not having my daily atten¬ 
tion, my herd always received but ordinary care, and some¬ 
times, I regret to say, not even that. But I do say, that so far 
as my experience has proved, they have, from the highest bred 
Herd Book heifer, down to the lowest grade, (never less than 
half blood,) been as healthy and as hardy as the common 
stock of the country, kept side by side with them. The opi¬ 
nion, therefore, that Durhams are to be rejected for want of 
hardihood, or constitution, is but a prejudice that deserves to 
be exploded. 
Still I am no enthusiast in this matter. I would not recom¬ 
mend every farmer to introduce into his farm the Durham 
cow. On the contrary, on very thin and light soils, I would 
not introduce them; nor any thing else that'ever lived on a 
luxuriant one. But I do say, on lands natural to grass, w T hich 
afford a fair yield of pasture and of hay, where either the dairy 
or the fatting' of beef, or even the rearing of cattle for sale, be the 
object, judging from my own experience, and corroborated 
by that of others who have tried a single cross upon our na¬ 
tive, or any other breed of cattle, no matter what, even up to 
high grades, the Durhams are altogether the most desirable, 
both for appearance and for profit; with the exception, per¬ 
haps, of the Devonshire, if the climate be very rigid ; and they 
are no milkers. Were I a dairyman, and desired to grow up 
a race of the best and most profitable milkers, I would select 
the best native cows within my reach, then obtain a tho¬ 
rough bred Short Horn bull of a good milking family, and 
raise my heifers to as high grades as in their natural course 
would be produced, always using a thorough bred bull, for in 
no other way can the excellence and the true characteristics 
of the race be perpetuated. Did I, however, admit of any 
other foreign admixture, it should be a cross of the Devon to 
give additional snugness to the form; and then but a single 
cross, for more than that would degrade the milking qualities 
of the herd. These animals, bred as they would be from na¬ 
tive cows, would inherit their constitutions and habits, and be¬ 
come identified, as much as the most ordinary stock, with our 
soils and our habits of keeping. In this way should we at 
once gain all that we desire, without sudden or prejudicial 
change. 
In 1835, my father imported a most beautiful and valuable 
cow from England, one of the finest animals and best milkers 
I ever knew; a very hardy, thrifty, and easily kept animal. 
She brought us three very superior bull calves, all from Short 
Horns. They were like herself, of peculiar conformation and 
character, being the most compact in their figures, possessing 
more weight in a given compass than any animals 1 ever saw. 
In the fall of 1839, the cow, and her then sucking bull calf, 
were sold to Norman C. Baldwin, Esq. of Cleveland, Ohio, 
for $800; her two year old bull calf, “Red Jacket,” to Mr. 
Sullivant, of Columbus, Ohio, for $400; and her yearling bull 
calf, “Sam. Patch,” to J. H. Hepburn, Esq. of Jersey Shore, 
Lycoming co., Pa., for $200. Had I at that time known the 
exceeding value of that family of Short Horns, I should cer¬ 
tainly have reserved one of them. My bulls have proved in 
the highest degree valuable as stock getters, stamping their 
calves in the first cross with deep characteristics of their own 
blood, and no doubt, laying the foundation of a race of milk¬ 
ers that will yet be famous in their respective localities. They 
are estimated as they should be, almost beyond price. I 
name these particular animals, because they develop in all 
points of hardihood, endurance and kindly feeding, the valu¬ 
able characteristics we desire in our farming stock, and fully 
corroborate all that I have remarked of rearing up a native 
stock from judicious crosses of pure Short Horn bulls. 
Many years ago, the agent of the Holland Land Company, 
Mr. Otto, purchased a thorough bred Short Horn bull from 
Mr. Powell, of Philadelphia, for the benefit of the settlers of 
the company lands in the counties of Genesee, Cattaraugus, 
and Chautauque, comprising some of the best grazing and dairy 
counties of the State. As the services of the bull were ob¬ 
tained for little or nothing, and as he was kept in successive 
seasons in each of the counties above named, a general 
sprinkling of his stock was soon scattered throughout those 
regions, and some as high as three-quarter bred animals were 
raised from his progeny. The bull lived many years, and 
proved an excellent stock getter. Many of the cows now 
ranging about the streets and commons of Buffalo and Black 
Rock, which have been brought in and sold from these coun¬ 
ties, are of this stock, and are distinguished for their superior 
appearance, and so far as my inquiries have extended, they 
are of the finest quality as milkers ; and yet none but those 
who are conversant with the Durham blood know that they 
are any thing but common cows. These cows are celebrated 
among many of our dairy farmers for milkers; and numerous 
fine and extraordinary fat oxen that have been slaughtered at 
Buffalo from the surrounding country, were descendants of 
the “ Otto Bull,” either of the first or second generation. 
I have now done with the speech of Mr. Colman, which, 
for his own sake, and the welfare of our agriculture, I regret 
he had not more maturely considered. Yet, if he be still san¬ 
guine in his confidence of the superiority of the Massachu¬ 
setts “native stock” as milkers, could the thing be made 
practicable, I would gladly make a trial of merit by actual 
test. I would propose that Mr. C. or his friends produce ten 
or twenty cows, which should be a fair average of the native 
stock, without admixture of foreign blood; against which, I 
would produce a like number of grade, or thorough bred 
Short Horns, of average quality, or taking them as they rise, 
in any fair herd. The time of their calving should be noted, 
and the cows should be of nearly corresponding ages—the 
trial should commence on the first of June, and continue one 
month; the cows all to be kept in one field, or in as good 
grass, and on pasture only, as each party should please, if not 
convenient to bring them together. The quantity of milk 
should be accurately weighed, and the produce, either of but¬ 
ter or cheese, duly registered. When the trial should be fully 
made, the winning party to be entitled to the whole herd, with 
the product, after paying expenses. If the advantage should 
be on the side of the native owners in value, as it probably 
would, each animal should be appraised, and a sufficient sum 
to make up the difference should be deposited to render the 
premiums thus submitted of equal value. This would test the 
whole question, and give it sufficient of interest to engage in 
the trial with spirit. The season is, perhaps, now too far ad¬ 
vanced to make the trial this year; but if this proposition 
be accepted, I would enlarge it, and name the first day of 
November next, for selecting the animals on both sides; they 
should be then placed together on one farm, and both sub¬ 
jected to the same treatment through the winter, and kept to¬ 
gether till the trial was thoroughly made, which, if either party 
preferred, might extend through the next season, or until the 
first day of October following. 
If it be objected, that this proposition will incur too much 
expense, or inconvenience, I will at once propose that Oneida 
county, in this State, shall be the place of trial; and that my¬ 
self or my friends, the advocates of the Short Horns, will fur¬ 
nish a farm for the operations, the fitness of which shall be 
assented to by the other party. The importance of an accu¬ 
rate knowledge on this subject is a sufficient object for such 
a trial, and it is perhaps the only method of testing this moot¬ 
ed question fairly. It will be readily seen, therefore, that this 
proposition arises in no spirit of banter, or gambling, but in 
that of an earnest desire to settle an important and doubtful 
point, of great interest to our agriculture generally. 
I may, at a future time, pursue this subject further, but have 
for the present trespassed sufficiently upon your patience. 
Very truly yours, LEWIS F. ALLEN. 
Black Rock, April 10, 1841. 
Hawthorn Hedges of England. 
Messrs. Editors —There appears to be considerable desire 
to introduce into our meadows and fields, that most beauti¬ 
ful of all fences, the Hawthorn hedge. But the prevailing 
opinion, that it will not thrive here, seems to retard its intro¬ 
duction; the severity of the winter, and dryness of summer, 
are both urged as causes of its failure. 
In England the thorn is considered to be one of their most 
hardy plants ; and it makes a fence which endures for ages. 
It grows and preserves its beauty on hills which are almost 
bare of soil, and are, consequently, liable to be parched with 
the summer’s sun, and are also exposed to the severities of 
winter; it bears the extremes of seasons, and difference of 
situations, much better than several other English plants 
which flourish here ; hence it is, at least, reasonable to sup¬ 
pose that its failure must arise from some other cause than 
that of change of climate. Its proper cultivation may not be 
well enough understood; or, some little alteration may be re¬ 
quired to adapt its cultivation to the difference of climate; 
such, for instance, as trenching very deep where the plants are 
to stand, which would have a greater tendency to preserve 
them from the injurious effects of the extreme heat and dry¬ 
ness in summer. 
The general mode of cultivation, in England, is as follows: 
The plants are those of the white thorn. This thorn will, if 
left to grow singly, attain the bulk and height of an apple tree. 
It bears white flowers in great abundance, of a very fragrant 
smell, which are succeeded by a little egg-shaped berry, which, 
when it is ripe in the fall, is of a red color. Within the red 
pulp is a small stone; and this stone being put in the ground 
produces a plant or tree, in the same manner that a cherry¬ 
stone does. The red berries are called haws; whence this 
thorn is sometimes called the hawthorn. The leaf is precise¬ 
ly like the gouseberry leaf, only smaller; the branches are 
everywhere armed with sharp thorns, and the wood has a fine 
grain, and is very flexible and very tough. 
The berries are ripe in November. They are beaten from 
the trees, and cleared from leaves and bits of wood; then 
they are mixed with sand, or earth, four bushels of sand or 
earth to a bushel of haws, and kept in a cellar, or other cool 
place ; and, soon as the frost is out of the ground in spring, 
they are sown as thick as peas, in drills one foot apart; here 
they come up and stand till the next year, when they are 
taken from that situation, assorted, the strong from the weak 
ones, and planted very thick in rows one foot apart in a nur¬ 
sery, where they stand another year; then they are ready to 
be planted to become a hedge. In England, there are two 
ways of planting a hedge as to position of ground. One on a 
bank, with a ditch on the side; the other on the level ground. 
The soil is prepared by plowing twelve or fourteen inches 
deep; or, which is better, by trenching two feet deep and 
making the earth very fine. The plants are selected, from 
the nursery, as near as possible of equal size, else some get 
the start of others, subdue them, and keep them down, and 
this makes an uneven hedge, with weak parts in it. If the 
plants be two years old, have been transplanted, and are at 
the bottom as big as a large goose quill , they are every thing 
that is required. 
The roots of the plants are pruned to within four inches of 
the part that was at the top of the ground, or, in other words, 
the root is left but four inches long, and all the fibres are cut 
clean away, or they would die and do harm if left. 
The ground and the plants being thus prepared, a straight 
cut or drill is made about six or eight inches deep, and the 
plants are put in, but not deeper than they stood before taken 
from the nursery. The distance between each plant is six or 
eight inches ; some people prefer them twelve inches apart, 
and plant another line drawn six inches from the first, and 
put in the plants, not to stand opposite those in the first row, 
but opposite the middles of the intervals. When the plants 
are in, the soil between and around them is gently pressed 
down with the foot, then hoed a little and left neat. 
This work is done early in October, or as soon as the ground 
is suitable in the spring. The first or second week in Octo¬ 
ber would be the most proper time to plant here, even though 
the leaves should yet be on the plants, as the roots would 
strike, in this fine month, before the severe frosts commence, 
and the plants would be more vigorous and start earlier in the 
spring. If the planting could not be done in the fall, it should 
be done as soon as the ground is fit in the spring; or the heat 
and drouth might come and retard the growth of the plants. 
In both cases, the plants are cut down almost close to the 
ground. If planted in the fall, they are cut down as soon as 
the frost is out of the ground in the spring, and before the buds 
begin to swell; if planted in spring, they are cut down as soon 
as planted. This cutting down to within half an inch of the 
ground is indispensably necessary, for without it there would 
be no hedge. The ground between and all about them is also 
kept clean and frequently hoed. 
Some people cut down again the next spring, but it is much 
better to defer the second cutting until two years after the first 
one, and then to cut all close down to the ground as possible 
in the spring; the shoots then come out so thick and so strong 
that they never need to be cut down any more. But about 
the middle of the following July, the top and sides near the top 
are clipped off a little, and the bottom left still less clipped, so 
that the hedge may be wide at bottom and narrow at the top. 
In October, the new shoots are clipped again, but not quite 
down to the last cut, the sides being still left in a sloped form, 
wide at bottom and sharp at the top; when kept in that form 
the hedge grows close and bushy down to the ground, so as 
to form a completely close fence; but if left broad at the top, 
the bottom becomes open and the fence is not so good. 
The clipping is performed twice in each of the first four or 
five years, with shears to be had for that purpose ; afterwards 
with a long handled bill-hook. 
The ground is also hoed and kept clean near the roots of 
the plants for the first five or six years from the time of plant¬ 
ing ; the fence will then be about five feet high, and is usual¬ 
ly allowed to attain the height of seven or eight feet in mea¬ 
dows and fields, and ten or twelve feet around gardens and 
orchards, and from two to five feet wide at the bottom. 
Of the beauty of such a hedge it is impossible for any one, 
who has not seen it, to form an idea. The leaf is beautiful in 
color and in shape; it is one of the very earliest in the spring, 
and preserves its bright hue during the summer heats. Its 
blossoms, which are white and fragrant, burst forth in the 
middle of May, and give the most gay and fruitful appear¬ 
ance to the meadows, fields and gardens which they encircle. 
Its usefulness in giving protection, shelter and shade, render 
it superior to any other sort of fence. The branches grow so 
thick and present thorns so numerous, and those so sharp, as 
to make the fence impenetrable. The shelter it gives in the 
spring and fall, and the shade it gives in the heat of summer, 
are so much more effectual than those given by wood or stone 
fences, that there is no comparison between them. This is 
important to the farmer whose profits depend much upon the 
good condition of his cattle, which improve more rapidly, and 
are in every respect more profitable, when thus protected from 
the chills of cold and wet weather, and also from the scorch¬ 
ing rays of the summer’s mid-day sun. 
Another advantage which a quickset hedge possesses over 
any other sort of fence, is, that it effectually protects gardens 
from the depredations of poultry. Fowls will alight on wood¬ 
en, brick and stone fences; but never on a quickset hedge, 
which affords no steady lodgment for the feet, and which 
wounds their legs and thighs and bodies with its thorns. It 
not only gives protection against intruders, but also affords 
shelter in cold weather and shade in hot. On the south side 
of a high fence, peas, lettuces, raddish, and many other things, 
can be had ten or twelve days earlier in the spring than in the 
unshaded ground; and during the heat of summer ail these, 
and many others, thrive best in the shade, and continue to do 
so long after they will no longer produce in the sun. 
The hawthorn is the favorite plant of England ; it is seen 
as a flowering shrub in pleasure grounds; it is the constant 
ornament of paddocks and parks; the first appearance of its 
blossoms is hailed by old and young, as the sign of pleasant 
weather; the youth, of both sexes, adorn themselves with gar¬ 
lands made with flowers, and join in merry dance and rural 
sports around the hawthorn bush on the village green ; whilst 
the more aged, seated beneath its shade, direct the joyous 
throng; ana recount, with pleasing recollections, all the pas¬ 
times and pleasures of their youth. In short, take away the 
hawthorn, and you take away the greatest beauty of the Eng¬ 
lish fields and gardens. 
And why should America not possess this most beautiful 
plant? She has some of the English follies and English vices; 
and, why not Etiglish hedges, instead of post-and-rail and 
board fences ? Iff instead of these steril looking and cheer¬ 
less enclosures, the gardens and meadows and fields, in the 
neighborhood of cities and towns were divided by quickset 
hedges, what a difference would the alteration make in the 
look, and in the real value too, of those gardens, meadows and 
fields? With due regard, yours, R. M. 
N. B. If the white thorn plants cannot be procured here, 
they may be had from Liverpool, or London, in the spring; 
or the berries may be shipped from any port in Great Britain, 
in barrels, half sand and half berries, in November. Three 
barrels would fence a farm ; and might be had for little more 
than two dollars a barrel, at any port in England. 
Albany, March 22, 1841. 
Letters from West Tennessee—No. X. 
Messrs. Editors —Observing but few communications in 
in the “Cultivator” from this section of the country, I have 
thought that some thing interesting, and, perhaps, instructive, 
could be made out of the materials which surround us here; 
and the following remarks on the Cotton region of Tennessee 
may not be unacceptable to you and your readers. 
This part of the State, called commonly the “ Western Dis¬ 
trict,” is a newly settled portion of Tennessee, and contains 
the essentials of great future wealth and prosperity. It is of 
very recent settlement—a settler of a dozen years being con¬ 
sidered very aged indeed. I allude in this more particularly 
to the counties of Shelby, Fayette and Tipton, occupying the 
extreme south-western corner of the State. The interior por¬ 
tion of West Tennessee was settled a little earlier, though the 
entire “District,” that is the country lying between the Ten¬ 
nessee and Mississippi rivers, including a dozen or fifteen 
counties in all, has grown up within twenty years. 
The interior counties were settled first, because the river 
counties were supposed to be little better than so many Pan¬ 
dora boxes—luxuriant in disease and death. But the very 
superior advantage they possessed in proximity to market, 
soon found adventurers, who, for the sake of the prize, were 
willing to encounter the risk ; and it was then found out that 
the immediate borders of the Mississippi river were but little, if 
any, more sickly than the Mississippi Valley generally. 
About ten years ago, Jackson, in Madison county, was the 
largest and most flourishing town, being a nearly central loca¬ 
tion in the “District;” but since then, Jackson has rather de¬ 
clined, and Memphis is rapidly supplanting it in size and in 
importance. As a commercial location there are few, if any, 
in the entire South West of equal promise with Memphis. 
Situated on a high bluff, on the great Father of Waters, and 
central to a large scope of cotton growing country, it must in¬ 
evitably prosper. 
The cotton region includes the two southernmost tiers of 
counties, and those bordering on the Mississippi river are, of 
course, mostly to be prized as such. Shelby and Tipton on 
the river, and Fayette and Haywood immediately in the rear, 
and Iiardiman in the rear of Fayette, are the best cotton 
counties; and of these, Fayette contains most agricultural 
wealth. In the year ending June 1st, 1840, the shipments of 
cotton from Memphis amounted to 60,000 bales; from Ran¬ 
dolph (some sixty miles higher up the river,) about half that 
amount. Yielding in a gross estimate, at the present reduced 
prices, three or three and a half millions of dollars. But the 
whole of this is not the produce of Tennessee—the northern 
counties of Mississippi, (late the Chickasaw nation,) send a 
goodly portion, and some is from Arkansas. 
