LiYe Stock/
Now can a balance be struck either way, what
! without first having made clear the flues. Me*ent
iB \S ood,
[Official Kepojt.]
SHORT-HORN BREEDERS' CON--
.    VENTION.
Indianapolis, Ind.,    )
Tuesday, May 2Cth, 1874: j
FIRST DAY—TWO OCLOCK P. M.
The Couvention met, the President, Dr.
A. C. Stevenson, in the chair. The Secretary, Claude Matthews, being absent, J.
W. Robe was appointed Secretary,i>ro tem.
The following members were present: Dr.
A. C. Stevenson, Greencastle; Chas. Lowder, Plainfleld ; Wilhoit and son, Middle-
town, Henry county; J. M. Woodruff,
Nineveh, Johnson county; Dr.W. C. Bice,
Bluff Creek, Johnson county; and J. W.
Robe, Greencastle.
On motion of S. M. Woodruff, the Convention adjourned till to-morrow morning
at ten o'clock.
SECOND DAY—TEN O'CLOCK A. M.
Convention met, the President in the
chair. .Chas. Lowder was chosen Secretary, pro tem.
The President, Dr. A. C. Stevenson,
made a few very appropriate remarks,
showing the importance of the conventions
being kept up aud attended by, not only
the professional breeders, but also our
common breeders :md graziers. He showed that Indiana had as good cattle as any
State in the Union, and that the number
of such cattle in the State is sufficient to
supply the demand, without our buyers
going to other States to make their purchases.
Mr. Lockridge, of Putnam county, offered the following resolution, which was
adopted: .  •
Whereas, The members of this Association
failed to receive due notice of this meeting,
Resolved, That an extra session be .held in this
city on tlie second Wednesday of November next,
and that the officer whoseduty it is, be requested
to give tlie necessary notification.
A communication, written by Mr. Cravens, of Anderson, Indiana, was received
and read, aud referred to the next meeting
for consideration.
The Treasurer, Charles Lowder, made
the following satisfactory report, which
was received and placed ou file :
Dr.—To  amount  received   of  Alexander
Heron, former Treasurer    SS.25
To 23 membership lees    23.00
Total receipts S31.25
Cr.—By easli paid J. G. Kingsbury,  May
27th, 1S73  S10.00
Balance on hand S23.25
On motion the Secretary pro tem. was
requested to notify the Secretary, Mr.
Matthews, of the action of this meeting.
The following resolution was adopted :
Resolved, That S. F. Lockridge, the Chairman of
the Executive Committee be empowered to issue
a circular letter to the Short Horn Breeders of
Indiana, informing them of the time of holding
tlie next Convention, also, to appoint proper persons to prepare and read essays before tlie Convention.
The following resolution was presented
by Dr. A. C. Stevenson, for the consideration of the Association at the afternoon
session:
.KVso'i-ed^That the science of breeding should be
studied and practiced as a science by our farmers.
Adjourned till 1**- o'clock P.M.
AFTERNOON SESSION.—1J o'clock P. SI.
The Association met, the President in
the chair. The resolution of Dr. Stevenson at the forenoon session was taken up
and discussed by Dr. Stevenson, Charles
Lowder, and_S. F. Lockridge, in pointed
and instructive remarks, after which it
was adopted.
The Association then adjourned to meet
in this city, the second Wednesday in
November nest.
Dr. A. C. Stevenson, Chairman.
Charles Lowder. Secretary pro tem.
[For the Indiana Farmer.
PROFITABLE STOCK.
tion of cost ?   In a brief reply to Dr. S.'e
we now possess, thus adding to our
and  future  stores.    Mr.    De'os|
iu his article   before alluded  to
In the Farmer of Jan. 21th, Delos
Wood writes about an article contributed
by me to the North- Western Farmer two
years ago, wherein I argued in favor of the
common or native cattle ofthe country as
against the high-priced, blooded stock,
claiming the former to be most profitable
with such care and treatment as cattle usually get. If I was wrong I ask to have it
proven. Dr. Stevenson replied with
" Facts and Figures." He had fed Shorthorns and common stock alike, i. e., they
had the same amount of corn, and the same
pasture and fodder, and when he sold he
found a balance in favor of the former.
That looks well, and seems conclusive to
Mr. Wood, but for my part I cannot see the
"-■balance, for I don't know how much more
Lfodder and grass the Short-horns atejthan
Jthe others, for the doctor has not told us.
before alluded
.. ,. ,..  savs : " I  advocate   the privation, short-
article I niade.this same objection to his feeij] neglectaud abuse system" of keep-
conclusions,-and Icannot see why it did ing stock.   Very well, if Mr. W. thinks so
not attract Mr. Wood's attention.   Per- let him say it, if it will do him or the read-
haps he did.not want to see it, and perhaps ers ofthe Farmer anygood.   I never be-
it has no weight, or value, or bearing on lieved in such treatment of stock and nev-
the question.   Be that as it may. I am not er said I did, that I know of.   I will
convinced that it is more profitable to feed waste no words on the spirit or good taste
Short-horns than good, fair specimens of of such, a' charge." In the article  from,
native stock.   It may be more profitable, which he quotes I-said ''of course, no one j briefly
but I have never seen satisfactory proof of ought to keep stock poorly," but Mr. W. ■
it.   It is possible to settle the question by thinks this protest', was "so faintly made
repeated  careful experiments.    Dr. Ste- that it scarcely counts.   Then don't count
venson's attempt shows that it is not even it,'friend W., and let it go at that.   I am
very difficult.   One or two more points, in also spoken of as advising people to keep
his statement would have made it satisfae- 'cigar of a'* fine stogk,   0a the contrary,
[For the Indiana Farmer.
THE GRANGERS AND THE NEW
SCHOOL LAW.
We infer from the actioa taken in a few
counties that the nature and scope of the
new school law is not fully understood
among farmers. There are two points
which seem to give most trouble, viz.: 1.
Change of Text-books. 2. County Super-
intendency.   Let us consider each of these
I.     CHANGE OF   TEXT-BOOKS.
Under the old law, there vfas no limit to
the change or tha variety of the books used
in a school. If the trustee undertook to
control the matter, he was at liberty tg
vcreatv- wopls.
Thoroughbred Essex Sow.'
," r ' 1BEAU1Y.
Weight at ten months, ZQEfpounds.
Bred by Isaac V. Wilber, Charleston, Illinois.
tory. But if it should be proven more [ I advise and urge all who keep stock to
profitable to feed Short-horns for the sham-(keep the very finest, aud that which will
bles, the main question remains still un- pay best. But what is the finest? Some
answered, whether it wpjld be an advan- would answer, blooded stock. That doesn't
tage to replace the native stock of the   mean any particular ./omm-, for the Alder
The natives1-— --•> C1—*■ ' *---- --'*--'--  ■- —
country with other breeds,
adapt themselves to a greater variety of
conditions than any others.    Give them
good care, and feed from  calves  up—as
good as "blooded" stock usually receives
—and they will not suffer by comparison
with the latter.   They may not equal the
Short-horns in weight and symmetry, but
will excel them as milkers; their milk will ]
make less butter than that of the Jersey,
but will make more cheese, and thus it is
they have more good qualities than any
other kind of cattle—indeed I was about
to say they combine in one the good qualities of all' other breeds.   Call me a '"fo^y"
if you want to. or what you please, reader,
I care not.   These are my views.   It may
be you don't know what surprising results
can be obtained with  common stock by
proper management.   Surely I have been
surprised many times by   the   size and
quality givento steers, and by the yield of
milk and butter from cows.   They will
amply and abundantly repay all favors.   I
speak of the better class of this kind of
stock—not scrubs.   Just think of it, how
these cattle have been treated !   How badly managed their breeding; how have the
calves and heifers been neglected ; how are
the eows used.   And yet here they are almost in full possession of the land.    It
needs no further evidence to establish their
hardiness and endurance than that they
are still here.   Let me not be misunderstood.   I have no interest in this question
distinct from the great mass of farmers,
and others who keep cows.   I only desire
that the truth may be promulgated. _ I am
not conscious of having any prejudices to
gratify or sway my judgment.    What farmers want to know is, where their interest
lies.   Will it pay to introduce this high-
priced stock and discard the old ?   Let the
matter be discussed in a friendly spirit. It
is fashionable now-a-days to cry up the
" improved stock."   Very well; that is just
what I believe in, only I say, let us improve what we have.   Let us expend our
efforts on our native stock.   This needs
no extra investment.   We have them now
and can begin our system of improvement
immediately.   Do as well by the natives as
you would by the blooded stock if you had
it, and they will pay you   as well; but
right here is the trouble. _ Stock for which
a man has paid a high price is almost certain to receive better treatment than cheaper animals.   It pays better to keep stock
well than to neglect it; therefore the high-
priced stock yields more profit, and thereupon the owner concludes the breed is superior, whereas the increased profit was
the_ result of good keeping.    What a pity
it is that keepers of stock will not give
more heed to the call for better treatment.
In a general way, nearly all will agree that
it pays best to keep stock well, but their
recognition of the_ truth lacks the practical, meal-tub quality, that alone can make
it of use to them.   Very few, comparatively, do as well as they are able to.   There
is a prevalent habit   of carelessness to
which most conform.   In so far as the
dissemination of high-priced stock tends
to break up this habit, it does good, if in
no other way.   But would it not be better
to act rationally, by taking good care of
aey and Short-horn are antipodes in an
pearance. though equally blooded. So
then as to looks, the native is not behind
the rest, and the finest stock is that which
is most profitable. On this question there
is a difference of opinion, and it must be
settled by careful experiment. For one, I
shall be glad to be convinced that there is
something better for us than our native
cattle, for I do know they are very goad
when we are good to them.
This article is rather long, and has a
great many I's in it, but I could not help
it. I can bear a great deal if need be, but
I will not bear the odium of being an advocate of carelessness and shiftlessness on
the farm, nor even of being its apologist.
If I ever suffer martyrdom it shall be for
the faith I really hold, and not for an imputed heresy. F. H. o.
Aiwa, N~. Y.       ,,-
[For the Indiana Farmer.
"LORD STRATHALLAN."
chauge the books every year, or oftener,
and could allow any book used that „ child
might happen to bring; but, asa rule, the
trustees paid but little attention to this,
and the matter was left eutirely with the
teachers, and thc tendency was for each
teacher to recommend the text-book with
whieh he was most familiar. As a result,
books became wonderfully mixed, not only
in the same township, but in the same
school. We, ourselves, have visited a
school in which there were used five different kinds of geographies. three_ different kinds of arithmetics, three different
kinds of readers, and two different kinds
of grammars. It is needless to say to any
intelligent person that such a state of
things is ruinous; that in such a school
the time of both teacher and pupil is absolutely wasted. Allowing tho best classification possible, one of the greatest drawbacks in our country schools is the great
variety of classes the teacher is compelled
to hear. As you reduce the number of
classes, you give more time to each. Then
uniformity of text-books in each school is
absolutely essential. Uniformity throughout the county is not so essential, but im-
Eortant. Its advantage's are: 1. It ena-
les the county superintendent to grade
the schools and compare the work of different schools, thus producing a healthy
emulation. 2. It saves a person, moving
from one district to another, or from one
township to another, from having to buy
new books for his children. The new law
does not recommend changes in text-books.
It simply provides for uniformity where
practicable, and stipulates that when a
book is once adopted it can not be changed
in less time than three years. The object
of the law is, the effect of the law will be
to prevent frequent changes in books, and
thereby to protect the people from unnecessary expense.
II.     COUNTY SUPERINTENDENCY.
Neither time nor space will admit of a
full discussion of this important feature
of the law at this time. It must suffice at
present to consider only a few of the more
important points. The principal objections may be summed up in the txro following statements: 1. A county superintendent is not needed. 2. It costs too much
money. Let us first consider the necessity
of a superintendent. The average number
of schools in a county is about one hundred, and of course a teacher for each
school. Now what business man, what
railroad man, what manufacturer, what
mechanic, what farmer, what intelligent
man carrying on any kind of labor and
employing a hundred men, would not place
over them at least one superintendent?
Yes, what business man employing twenty
laborers, or even half that number, would
not place over them a superintendent?
and where is the man of experience that
 „__            _  would   doubt   his wisdom   or   economy.
winner of prizes from a calf up, and just! though he paid his "leader" a fair salary;
before   leaving Canada  for . tne  United j This'custom is universal among business
No wise man ever
hand does good, faithful work.   Now, if
this principle of superintendency is not
only good, but universal and essential in
carrying on successfully all other kinds of
labor, why is it not equally applicable in
the educational work?   The old plan is
for each teacher to take his own course—
choose his own books, make his own rules,
ride his own hobbies, require children to
study what he understands or likes, discourages the study of everything else, advances pupils or turn them back as he
himself may determine;  in  short, each
teacher does just as .he pleases, and it
generally happens that no two please to
do just alike.   As a result, it not unfre-
quently happens that one teacher spends
the first fourth or half of his term in tearing down what the previous teacher had
been building  up.   To say that, under
these circumstances, half the labor of the
teachers throughout the State is absolutely wasted, and thereby half the school
fund squandered, is not exaggerating the
truth.   It is thc work of the eo'tftify superintendent to organize  those schools, to
bring system out of disorder, to so plan
the work that there shall be a regular progression from the lowest to the highest
grade.   A train of cars leaving Indianapolis for New York will change conductors
several times, but each new conductor will
take the train where his predecessor leaves
it, and carry it forward on the given road
to its destination, without a thought of
changing its course to suit any peculiar
notion of his own. A well-organized school
may bc likened to such a train, the teacher representing the conductor.   Teachers
may chauge, but each new one will take up
the worbwhere his predecessor left it, and
carry it forward without loss of time or
change of plan. _ This is not theory.   The
idea is fully realized iu our graded city and
town schools, and it may be closely approached in the country schools under the
direction    of    efficient   superintendents.
What superintendency has done for the
city schools it will do for the couutry
I send you this afternoon a few notes
concerning my bull Lord Strathallan,
17,591. His number in the A. H. B. is
17,591. The number sent with the cut
should have been enclosed in brackets,
which refer to the Canada Herd Book, instead of parentheses, which refer to the
English Herd Book, Lord Strathallan
was bred by Mr. J. Cursie, of Halkerston,
Gorebridge, Scotland, and imported (in his
dam) by Mr. John Miller, Brougham, Ontario, Canada. He was calved March 23,
1871; got by Prowler (2*2,662), out of Imp.
Rose of Strathallan, by Allan (21,172),
Prowler, bred by Mr. Wood, Stanwick
Park, England, was by Mr. R. Booth's
Knight Errant (18,154),   dam  Pride by
Valasco (15,443), g. d. Prudence by Prince
Arthur._ He is descended through pure
Booth sires from the old Rosebud tribe of
Mr. Wood, which has proved so successful of late years as prize winners at Royal
of England, and Highland of Scotland
shows. Vivandiere, the dam of Knight
Errant, was the grand dam and Valasco
the sire of T. C. Booth's celebrated prize
bull Commander-in-chief. Rose of Strathallan was bred by Viscount Strathallan,
Strathallan Castle, Auchintarder, Scotland. She is the winner of many prizes,
both in this country and in Scotland;
among them first prizes and g^old medal at
Highland Society Show in Scotland, and
Provincial Fairs in Canada. Her sire
Allan (21,172) was by the celebrated bull
Forth (17,866), a noted prize winner,_never
having been beaten for first place in any
show yard.    Lord Strathallan has been a
         ving   .       _
States he won the $40 silver cup of Mark- i men ;  it is business.
ham;   best bull of any age, contending j thinks of employing any considerable num-
among_others with the celebrated imported ; ber' of hands without either overseeing
bulls British Baron and The Doctor,
imported him into the United States at
cost of $2,500. S. F. Lockridqe.
Greencastle, Ind., June.A, 1874.
er'or   nanas witnout either overseeing
I  them himself or placing at their head a
a  man whose duty it is to see that the work
is properly planned, arranged and appor
schools, if allowed to do its legitimate
work. There is no theory or guess-work
about this. While county superintendency is new in this State, it has been thoroughly tested in others. _ Most of the
Northern States have tried it—some of
them for many years, and the universal
testimony, where it, has been given a fair
trial, is, "It is the great right arm of our
school system." In this State, though it
has been in operation but one year, and
while for local reasons it has failed in certain counties, according to the testimony
of the_ State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and other persons who have had
the best opportunities for knowing and
judging, it has increased the efficiency of
the country schools at least fifty per cent.
In establishing the fact that this officer is
necessary to the success ofthe schools, the
seeond objection in regard to cost is answered. If the superintendent, by his occasional visits, by systematizing and giving
direction to the work, by assisting young
teachers, t>y "weeding out the old sticks,'
by requiring reports that will stimulate a
healthy emulation between teachers and
school, if by these and other means he
shall make the schools more effective, of
course it will pay to employ him. No
teacher in the county more truly earns his
salary than does the faithful superintendent. Grangers can not afford to take a
stand against a law fraught with so much
good to themselves and the whole country. W. A. Bell.
GENERAL TOPICS.
THE STATE AT LARGE.
—There are 400 inmates in the Michigan City
prison.
—Asbury University will graduate thirty-five
pupils this year.
—The soldiers of Sullivan county will hold a
re-unlon on the 3d and 4th of July.
—A colony of young men is being organized In
Ft. Wayne to go to Salem, Oregon, this fall.
—South Bend proposes to have the largest plow
factory in the world, in less than two years.
—Fourteen persons were poisoned in Jefferson-
ville, a few days ago, by drinking buttermilk.
—Mr. Colfax will deliver the address at the Odd
Fellows' celebration, at Logansport, June 11th.
—The DePaw College (New Albany) commencement will take place June 11th; twelve graduates.
—It is proposed to have a grand Masonic celebration at Connersville June 21th, St. John's Day.
—A reform council is the Logansport city council, as it works for nothing but the good of the
city.
—The Rush county fair will be held September
8th to 12th, instead of October, as erroneously
published.
—Our present State officers are very generally
endorsed by the county conventions as faithful
and efficient.
—Brazil ls hoping to secure the county seat of
Clay county. The question of removal is before
the Supreme Court.
—A Jackson county jury has fixed the penalty)
for horse stealing at eight years imprisonment'
and disfranchisement for twenty-five years.
—The Occidental Hotel, of this city, so longjj
known as tlie Palmer House, has been re-fitted
and re-furnished in splendid style, and is again \
fc
tioned, and to see1 most especially that each ! open .for the accommodation of the public.
■j"***."