WEEKtf
Gardes^
VOL. XXI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, MAY 29,1886.
NO 22
SHELBY COUNTY.
Its Blooded Stock—Notes and Comment?.
Last week a Farmer reporter visited
some of the leading thoroughbred stockmen of Shelby county, and was pleased
to find that the farmers of that section are
rapidly takiog hold of improved stock,
especially horses, cattle and chickens. In
the matter of chickens, Shelby county
probably leads the United States, as there
are more than 100 breeders of fancy poultry within its borders, some of them of
world wide reputation. Among cattle,
Shorthorns take the lead in numbers.
Probably the most extensive breeder of
Shorthorns in Shelby county Is Mr. T. A.
Cotton, proprietor of the
COTTON HILL HERD.
Mr. Cotton's postoffice is Manilla, Rush
Co., but his land lies in Shelby. He has
been breeding Shorthorn cattle about 12
years, and has at present 48 head of registered animals, which of course does not
include young calves. The bull now at
the head of his herd is Sharon's Favorite,
Vol. 29, No. 67,079. He is of the Miss Wiley strain and from a Renick's Rose of
Sharon bull. He is young, squarely built,
large in heart girtb, has a good length and
is a first class animal. There are also on
the farm five young bulls, ready for service, which Mr. Cjtton will dispose of at
reasonable prices. Two of them are two-
year-olds, the others younger. They are
richly bred, some of them, if not all, being
)by Warfield's Cardinal Vol. 29, No. 56,019,
'one of the best bulls ever in this country.
•Cardinal took more premiums than any
'other animal in that section of the State,
so far as we know, and has been of great
value as a breeder. His get compose the
larger part of Mr. Cjtton's herd. We were
taken to inspect a bunch of hti'er calves 10
in number, and averaging something near
one year of age. They are Young Marys,
Rosemarys, Elizabeths, etc., some of them
having a Miss Wiley top. They are all red,
and are as neat and thrifity a lot as one
could wish to see. Mr. Cotton will in all
probability exhibit some of them at the
fairs the coming fall, and will rightfully
expect to take a fair share of premiums
with them. He has had unusual success
at the fairs for some years, and the great
amount of Cardinal's blood now in his
herd greatly enhances its value for show
purposes, for, as was stated above, Cardinal was an excellent show bull, and
those that are acquainted with the characteristics of that animal say that his
calves resemble him strongly. Mr. Cotton
has a great many breeding cows that deserve especial mention, but want of space
compels us to be brief. They are in most
cases far ahead of the average, and are in
good condition. There is no lack of blue
grass upon the farm, and in consequence
the cattle are in thriving condition. Mr.
Cotton does not neglect milking qualities
and we noticed that the cows appeared to
be heavy milkers, in moat instances, having large, fully developed udders, and the
general indications of being able to produce any amount of beef or milk, or both,
that might be called for. Mr. Cotton's
farm comprises 500 acres, and about half
of this is grazing land. His cattle are
never stinted but are kept growing from
calf hood to  maturity, and with first-class
pedigrees, strong individual merit and
good care, they are what they should be,
an excellent let of Shorthorns. Mr. Cotton is, in a small way, interested in thoroughbred swine, having at this time three
Poland China sows, of Mr. Ollmour's
stock, from which he will probably build
a herd.
THE RANOE LINE HERD
of Shorthorns is the property of Mr. [W.
R. /.ike, of Morristown. Mr. Zike recently sold his old breeding bull, Forest Duke,
in the Cincinnati beef market, realizing
$86 from the sale. Forest Duke was six
years old, weighed 2,300 pounds at time of
sale. He was for a long time at the head
of Mr. Zike's herd, and his calves show
him to be possessed of excellent qualities.
Among Mr. Zike's cows we noted Emma
Klnsley,an Adelaide by Magnum Bonum.
This is a splendid brood cow, raising
strong, vigorous calves, and is a number
one milker. Lillie Linden is one of Mr.
Zike's bsst cows. She is a daughter of
Jenny Dean, imp., who was out of Duke
of Linden; Lillie Linden is a finely bred
Bates cow and traces to Paragon, one of
Abe Renick's bulls. Nora Bell Is a Young
Adelaide, a splendid four-year-old, short
legged, with neat head and horn, and fine
quarters, she gives very rich milk. Ignore Napier is a Young Mary, by Jupiter.
She has dropped two calves within 12
months and is now bred to Mazurka K. 2d.
At the head of his herd Mr. Zike now has
Larry Duke,one of Lenore Napier's calves,
and by Loudon Duke 47. He is 16 months
old, weighs over 1,000 pounds, is of a fine
cherry red color.has fine brisket and quarters, and in all respects is well fitted to
head the herd. It will be noticed in our
For Sale columns that Mr. Zike has some
young bulls for sale. They are by Forest
Duke and will find ready sale. Mr. Zike
is the owner of two breeding stallions; one
of them a Cleveland Bay, called Hia Stega
Coach, the other a Clydesdale, imported
from Canada, and named Sir Walter Scott,
Jr. The latter is a seven-year-old and
weighs 1610 pounds. While upon Mr.
Zike's farm we were supplied with a substantial repast by Mrs. J. W. Brown, wife
of Mr. Zike's farm manager.
THE VALLEY VIBW   HERD OF   SHORTHORNS
is so called because the house and buildings pertaining to the farm are situated
upon a rise of 30 or 40 feet from the bottom lands of Blue river, south of Morris-
town, and command a view of three miles
straight across and five or ten miles up
and down that fertile and highly cultivated valley. The farm, consisting of both
bottom and uplands, and the Shorthorn
cattle upon it, belong to Mr. J. W. Robinson, postoffice Morristown. He has at
present about 12 head of Shorthorns, consisting of Adelaides, Raspberries, etc., and
is making the milk qualities prominent,
as well as beef, so that his cattle are of the
general purpose kind, heavy milkers and
of course, being Shorthorns, excellent beef
producers. We noticed also that they
were evidently selected with due regard
to size and individual merit, being considerably larger than the average and well
up to the standard in shape and build.
One or two young bulls are for sale and
Mr. Robinson will take pleasure in answering all inquiries concerning them.
MR. MADISON TALBERT,
of Morristown, has lately embarked in the
Shorthorn business and has built up a
herd, mostly of the Theodocia strain. He
has 14 head of thoroughbred Shorthorns
and a few grades, but intends selling off
all grades this summer and fall, and will
winter nothing that is not pure bred. In
his selections Mr. Talbert has been
careful to obtain animals with good milk
qualities and has one cow which he considers as good a milker as there is in that
section. She yields six gallons of very
rich milk daily. His cattle are all nice,
large and straight and have been selected
and bred with special regard to individual
merit. Mr. Talbert has some grade cows
and heifers; good milkers, which he will
sell; also a thoroughbred bull calf, nine
months old, and another that is two years
old. Mr. Talbert is a bee fancier and has
97 stand of pure Italians, from which he
expects to take this season about 100
pounds each from those arranged for extracted honey and about 50 pounds each
for that sold in the comb—a total of perhaps 7,000 pounds. He makes a specialty
also of producing queens for all in need of
them. He has a 15 acre field of Alsike
clover which promises abundant nectar for
his bees, as well as a heavy crop of hay.
The field was sown, partly as an experiment, with but two pounds of seed per
acre, and has apparently as thick a growth
as if it had the regulation six pounds.
A short distance  south   of  Meltzer, we
found
MR. WM. B. HIQQIN8,
one of Indiana's foremost Jersey breeders.
Mr. Higgins now has on his farm about 50
head of registered Jerseys headed by Blue
Bonnet, imp., two years old next October,
and one of the finest young bulls in the
country. Blue Bonnet is a Pierrot, and
was imported by Mr. Higgins. He was
selected on the Island of Jersey as being
one of the finest bulls in both breeding
and individual qualities that could be obtained, and Mr. Higgins counts his value
very high. He has some calves by him
for sale. Among the cows, Mr. Higgins
pointed out Dairy Girl, tracing to the
Champions, one of whose heifer calves
sold for $400 in 1884; Vertueuse 22144, a
Farmer's Glory and Lemon Peel cow; an
Alphea heifer, which has 56 per cent of
Alphea blood, and has a heifer calf from
an 84 per cent Alphea bull, making the
calf 70 per cent Alphea, and as finely bred
as could be. The strains repres nted in
.Mr. Higgins's herd are such as Alpheas,
Pierrots, Farmer's Glorys, Coomassies,
etc., etc. One of his best cows gives five
gallons of milk daily and her milk has in
two instances tested 46 per cent cream,
which is somewhat remarkable, even for
a Jersey. Another of his cows, Fltz Gip-
sey, took 1st premium at Indianapolis in
1884 and was in the sweepstakes herd at
that time. Another, Blanche Dewdrop,
has tested 17J4 pounds of butter in one
week on grass alone. In fact his herd Is
full of excellent Jerseys and fully deserves
the high reputation it has attained.
MR. JASPER HECK,
of Waldron, is a breeder of pure blooded
Berkshire swine and Shorthorn cattle, and
in the first named has built up an extensive trade and an established reputation;
he has not been a breeder of  Shorthorns
long enough to be generally known as
such but is working himself into the business and expects to give it a large share of
his attention in the future. Looking at
the hogs first we saw Sterling, 10217, a famous animal, that was a prize winner at
Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis in
1883, and was sold at the last named place
for f 100. Sterling has been of immense
benefit to Mr. Heck as a breeder, many of
his pigs being shew animals and prize
winners. Mr. Heck's pigs this spring are
from Sterling. We also saw Prince Regent, a young boar, purchased in Canada
at a high price, and a well made pig.
Among the brood sows are Clara Louise,
12218,the best breeding sow Mr. Heck ever
owned, nearly all of her pigs being prize
winners; Mayflower, who took sweepstakes over all breeds at Crawfordsville
last fall, also 1st and sweepstakes at both
Shelbyville and Edinburg, sweepstakes at
Greensburg, 2d at State fair and was one
of 2d herd at State fair. She is a beauty
and is proving a fine breeder. Duchess,
13901, is a show sow and has a litter of
seven, two of which are extra fine and
will go with Mr. Heck's show herd this
fall. We would like to mention others,
but want of space c impels us to be brief.
In the Shorthorn line Mr. Heck has some
show cows and heifer calves and is well
started in the business. We can mention
only Lady Brocq, a cow that took first at
Greensburg and Lawrenceburg as a yearling and was one of the finest herd at
Greensburg at that time.
NEIGHBORHOOD FAIR.
The farmers in the northeastern part of
Shelby and the western part of Rush counties have tried the experiment of a "neighborhood fair," with unqualified success.
They will hold another next August or
September, probably on the farm of Rioh-
ard Phillips, and will perhaps make a permanent institution of it.
^=^ i
THE WOOL MARKET.
Justice, Bateman A Co.'s wool circular,
dated Philadelphia, May 20th, 1886, says:
The wool market continues quiet and uneventful. The labor troubles seem to be
diminishing and their settlement will
have much to do with the revival of the
general trade of the country which has
been seriously affected. It is cause for
congratulation that these troubles no
longer wear that menacing attitude which
has weakened confidence and checked
trade.
Low and medium wools continue in fair
request, and fine territorial wools are inquired for, at the recent decline, but fine
washed fleeces, grown east of the Mississippi river, are neglected, owing largely
to the determination of importers of Montevideo and Australia to dispose of their
stock even at a heavy sacrifice.
New wools are arriving in small amounts,
but manufacturers as a class seem willing
and able to wait and are not eager competitors for them.
Lower prices abroad are likely to act as
a check for the present at least, upon any
tendency towards higher prices here, and
it seems as if the new clip should be
bought on the basis of last July's lowest
prices for low and medium fleeces.
Dealers in Indianapolis quote prices as
follows: Medium, 19 o. to 2uo.; one quarter blood, 18o. to 19o.; braid, I6c. to 17c.;
fine Merino, 14c. to 15c.; fine Merino
bucks, 10c. to lie, burry, chaffy and unmerchantable, r>o. to 10c. less.