Vol. IX.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, NOVEMBER 7, 1874.
No. 44.
Live Stock*
Hoos are being slaughtered here now
at tbe rate of six thousand head per day.
The amount of money going out for bogs
it is to be hoped will make it a little
plentier.
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- • The numerous stockbreeders who exhibited their herds at our late State Fair
were greatly pleased at their success here.
The large breeders of Ohio and Michigan
say that our exhibition of stock was the
finest this year of any in the United
States, and predict that the Indiana State
Fair, here in the center of the great stock-
breeding district of the West, must become the great show-ground for the breeding States. These gentlemen speak in the
highest terms of their success in the sale
of stock while here.
A Wonderful Colt.
The Turf, Field and Farm is responsible for the following: "Among horsemen
it has been known for a long while that a
Methodist minister owned a colt of which
marvelous things are told. The animal
was black as a raven, and bore the name
of Blackwood. The value of the horse,
in the estimation of the owner, may be
seen by the pleasant little price that was
put upon him. The horsemen on. the
street laughed that a plain Methodist parson, in the wilds of Kentucky, offered his
animal for $60,000. A gentleman from
New York heard so much about this colt
that he took a trip down to_Kentucky to
look at him. He saw ' him move. He
describes him as a marvel. His nostrils
become red as fire; his eyes dilate, and he
seems transformed, The captivated New
Yorker offered $30,000 for the colt. The
owner received the proposal with disdain.
He did not even reply; ordered the horse
back in the stable, and went into the
house. Another visit was made and the
horse changed owners, $50,000, it is said,
being the price."
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Short-Horn Cow, BRIGHT LADY, the property of M. H. Cochrane, Compton, P. Q.
Large Sale of Short-Horn Cattle at
Paris, Kentucky.
The short-horn cattle sale of E. G.
Bedford, wliich took place is the largest
sale that has ever been made in Kentucky. Twenty-one cows and heifers
were sold at an average of $1,095, and
fourteen bulls at an average of $1,105, a
total of $5S,715. The Sale was largely attended by traders from all parts of the
United States and Canada. The principal
animals sold were London Duchess, ninth,
to John Kennedy, of Paris, at $6,000;
London Duchess, seventh, at $5,100, and
London Duchess, eleventh, at $4,400, to
T. J. Megibbon, of Cynthiana, Kentucky;
the Twenty-first Duke of Airdrie at $7,-
025, to J. H. Spears & Sons, of Illinois;
London Duke 19th, six months old, at
$3,500, to Wm. K. Duncan, of Illinois.
The sale was made by Colonel L. P. Muir,
live-stock auctioneer. After the sale of
Mr. E. G. Bedford, Messrs. Hall and Bedford sold twenty-seven cows and heifers
at an average of $442, and sixteen bulls at
an average of $258; total, $15,825.
American Beef for England.
English papers mention the arrival at
Liverpool or 270 head of cattle from
America, by steamer, to be disposed of in
the Liverpool market. The appearance
ofthe cattle is spoken of as excellent;
they weighed 1,800 to 2,000 lbs,, and
realized from £17 to £29 each. The Liverpool butchers are anxious to encourage
the trade, and it is contemplated to run a
steamer to Galway, which would be a saving of time on the voyage.— Country Gentleman.
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A curious specimen of Nature's handiwork is exhibiting about the country in
the_ shape of a calf, born in Moravia, Cayuga county, in this State,
and now more than three months old,
which has a perfect body, but two distinct
though exactly similar heads. It breathes
through all four of its nostrils, and takes
its food from both of its mouths, holding
its head squarely to the front, and giving
no preference to either.—Cin. Gazette.
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The Los Angeles (Cal.) Express is of
of the opinion that the Fall wool clip of
that county will reach 2,000,000 pounds,
and for the entire year 5,000,000., It believes there are fully 600,000 head of
sheep in the county. The clip this year
shows an increase over that of last year of
1,500,000 pounds; this too, notwithstanding that the needs of agriculture are
steadily encroaching on the old ranges of
| the sheep.
2P%
Sheep Husbandry.
.." It seems wonderful to me there are so
many drawbacks mentioned in regard to
sheep husbandry. I had never less than
leveraThtifidreds of' sheep when in England, and never had any disease of the
skin, or any kind of check to prosperity
with sheep, and never saw any casualties
which could not be accounted for by bad
management or from causes outside of any
tendency to delicacy of condition in sheep,
or liability to disease. Here in the
United States I have had hundreds of
sheep in my charge, and I positively declare there is no truth whatever in any
statement about the sheep or wool being
injured by rain in any mild weather, or
any weather in mild climates. It is the
coddling aud close confinement which injures sheep. It is a common custom in
some parts of England to soak and wash
the sheep which have been lying in the
turnip fields all winter, and to do this in
March, or as soon as the muddy soil dries
up so that the dirt can be cleaned out
from the wool before it becomes dried in.
These sheep suffer no inconvenience, for
the wool soon dries next to the skin ; and
where any long wooled or short-wooled
sheep are fed regularly and have good
shepherds in attendance, rain does not
hurt them. In fact, I believe it is injurious to cattle as well as to sheep to be kept
dry always, and I am Quite sure that in
any mild season, the very best provision
for_ horses, cows or sheep, is a shelter
which they can resort to just when they
please.
Sheep are not at all liable to skin diseases unless mismanaged. Scab is easily
cured by dressings of various kinds, but
it is a contagious disease, and though no
one knows better than myself how good
roots are for sheep, I know they will not
cure the scab. Rain does strong, healthy
sheep good, and it is the alternate fattening and starving of sheep which causes
cotted fleeces. They require one uniform
kind of good treatment, so that there will
be no sudden changes in their food or lodging. Some people think when change of
food is recommended either in cattle or
sheep, it means to give them one kind of
food one week and a different kind
another. The only change that does any
good is_ a variety, and a change of any of
the articles as occasion may demand, and
which any one acquainted with them
would see was necessary—not a change of
dry, astringent food for a time, and then
to soft, relaxing feed; and close confinement for one period, and then liberty for
another while, for this is what would produce shocks to the animal system, and interfere with the even growth of a fine
quality of wool. Change only when necessary.— Cor. Country Gentleman.
Notes for Horsemen.
Poll Evil Remedy.—A correspondent
of the Wester Rural says :—Probe the
pipe to the bottom; take equal parts of
corrosive sublimate; and white vitriol,
about what you can pickup on the point
of a small penknife. Put it in a thin muslin cloth, tie a thread around it, put it
down the pipe with the probe, letting the
end of the thread hang out at the top, repeat this ouce a week for three or four
weeks, until the pipe comes out. If prop-
perly done I will warrant a cure without
the use of the knife or causing a stiff
neck. 1 have cured many horses both for
myself and others and never had a failure.
Young horses are particularly worth the
trial. After the pipe conies out, there is
nothing to do, but keep the parts clean
with soap suds and water.
Don't I\ed Ripe Hungarian Hay lo
Horses.—An Illinoisan writes:—"I have
had quite an experience in feeding ripe
unthrashed Huugarian to horses. In
every instance, if continued long, the results were bad, in some cases rendering
the horse unfit for service ever afterwards.
I have always supposed too, that millet
would produce the same effect. _ My plan
ii to let either variety get first ripe enough
for the seed to grow, I then cut with
self-raking reaper, set low. I bind up
like grain and let it lie in sheaf a few days.
Then it is stacked, and threshed when
convenient. When threshed, the straw is
stacked again carefully, and fed out to
stock through the winter."
India Rubber Horseshoes.—A rubber
horseshoe has been invented by a gentleman in Newark, N. J., which is made and
lined in a similar manner to the rubber
shoes worn by humans. It is made of the
best quality of India rubber and is designed as a substitute for the iron shoe
and as a means of preventing many maladies to which horses' feet are subject, it
being claimed that horses suffering from
cracked or contracted hoof, and similar
hurts are generally cured by the substitution of this for the metal shoe. It is
easily removed and put on the hoofs, and
thus the animal, while in stalls or pasture,
may go barefoot. It cost about one-third
more than overshoes'and weighs 40 per
cent. less. It is claimed to be durable.—
Rural New. Yorker.
Do- Horses Reason.
O. AV. Fiske, in Our
says:   For many years
Dumb Animals,
I have made the
hoTSe a subject of thought and study. At
times I have been led to believe that
horses have reasoning powers, and can
understand and apply them in various
ways.
For the last two years I have driven my
mare nearly every day over the same road.
About one mile from my home are two
roads, one leading to the church, the other
leading to the depot. Now six days in
the week I drive to the cars, and on Sunday to the church. At the point where
these roads separate, I give my mare her
head, leaving her free to make herchoice,
and on week days she will go straight to
the depot, and on Sundays she goes of her
own free will, io the church; I never knew
her to fail me jet. It puzzled me for a
long time to learn hov," she should know
any difference in days; and I have come to
the conclusion that she reasons from
facts—facts connected with every-day
life.
On week days I start from my stable in
a two-wheel carriage ; on Sundays I start
my horse in a carryall, thus making an
entire change, both in time, place and carriage; and from these facts she must be
guided in her choice of roads.
Many think this is instinct; if so, where
does reason begin?
Registration of Stallions.
This is a subject that is attracting considerable attention just now, and in view
ofthe importance of improving our stock,
is one that should command thc attention
of our coming General Assembly. As a
model of directness aud brevity, and as
showing also the importance of such an
act, we copy from the statute of one of
the Eastern States an act on the subject
which became a law last year :
Section 1. Any person or persons owning or keeping a stallion for breeding purposes, shall be required before advertising,
by written or printed notices, the services
of said stallion, to file a certificate with
the register of deeds in the county where
said stallion is owned or kept, stating
name, color, age, size, together with tho
pedigree of said stallion as full as attainable, and the name of the person by whom
said stallion was bred ; and it shall be the
duty of the register to record such certificate in a book kept for that purpose,
properly indexed, upon receipt of a fee of
fifty cents for each certificate of not more
than one page, and a further sum of
twenty-five cents for each additional page.
Section 2. Any person who shall
neglect to make and file the certificate
required by the provisions of this act shall
not recover any compensation for the
services named in section one, and if he
shall knowingly and wilfully make and
file a false certificate of the statements
aforesaid, shall forfeit the sum of one
hundred dollars, to be recovered by complaint, indictment, or action of debt in
any court of competent jurisdiction ; and
all penalties recovered shall be for the
use of the county where the offense is
committed.
The Nebraska Sufferers.
The Angora Goat.
Speed in Milkino Cows.—A correspondent of the Country Gentleman, who is
a disbeliever in the ability of one to milk
a cow in five minutes, writes as follows: I
occasionally read in the different agricultural papers of men milking eight and ten
cowsanhour. Iwouldliketo knowif they
milk only just as long as the milk runs
free, and Jet thestrippinggo. Ihavedone
my very best (have milked cows over ten
years) on two cows, and cannot milk and
strip them thoroughly under twenty minutes. One yields six, the other five quarts/
at a mess. I should be very much obliged
for a_ little information as regards the
quantity of milk taken in the hour.
Importation of Holsteins.
We find the following in a New York
paper of the 21st:
Mr. John H. Comer, whose stock and
dairy farm is situated at Goshen, Orange
Co., N. Yr., has imported a herd of Hol-
stein cattle which is now at his stable,
No. 323 West Twenty-first street. The
herd includes a fine two-year old bull
and six cows, all of which are splendid
specimens of the animal creation, and in
admirable condition. These cattle are
very large and heavy, weighing at three
years of age from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds
apiece, and the cows giving twenty quarts
and upwards of milk per day. Their disposition isvery quiet, they are good feeders, and will prove a valuable addition to
the breedingstock of the dairy districts
ofthe State. The cost of importing the
herd was over $5,000, but the money has
been well expended.
The cultivation of the Angora goat is
attracting some attention in Australia,
where it appears to thrive very well. The
hairis said _ to make a good "mohair"
fabric, but its quality depends very much
onthe nature ofthe locality in which the
animal is reared. Undulating prairies
with a good supply of pure water are best
adapted to the habits of this goat. In
sandy, hilly districts it thrives admirably,
but the hair is inferior and falls off very
quickly. The flesh is excellent, and is
preferred in some parts of Australia to
the best mutton. The milk is of good
quality, and yields a good supply of butter
and cheese. The hair is worth about four
shillings a pound, and one ram will yield
about four pounds at each shearing. The
best plan is to shear twice a year, as this
prevents the hair from falling off and from
splitting; at each shearing it is about six
inches long. Compared with the merino
sheep, the Angora goat seems to have the
advantage in the fact that the former produces only three and a half pounds of
wool, worth two shillings and sixpence a
pound, and that six merinos will eat as
much as seven Angoras. These facts are
important in view of the acclimatization
of the Angora goat in other parts of the
world.
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A horse in Lockport, in this State recently made his appearance in a blacksmith's shop where he had been shod the
day before. His lameness attracted the
attention ofthe blacksmith, and on pulling off one of his shoes it was found that a
nail had been driven so as to hurt his
foot.
A fine light bay mare was stolen from
Samuel M. Carter, of Amo. Hendricks
county, on last Tuesday night. Her only
mark is a white hind foot. Look out for
her.
To the People of Indiana:
There are ten thousand people in the
western part ofthe State of Nebraska who
are reduced to tho verge of starvation.
Nebraska, usually so prolific, has this
year met with a sad mishap in the loss by
grasshoppers of all the crops grown in the
border counties. I lately traveled over
the devastated region, and found tho inhabitants in a most deplorable condition
in Gundy, Hitchcock, Jasper ISoon, Furnas, Franklin, Phelps, Howard, Greeley,
Valley, Buffalo and Sherman counties.
Fully one-third of the people had no shoes
and were clothed in rags. Many were
livins on little pieces of black bread,
watermelons, squashes, and a few were already suffering from hunger. There was
not over ten days' supply of anything in
the counties. Three counties had no
meat, and most of the inhabitants had
not tasted animal food for six weeks.
When houses burn, food is generally at
hand, and the people live on in comfort;
but when crops fail, then suffering and
death must soon follow. The roar of the
flames and the crash of falling buildings
awaken the most lively sympathy of more
fortunate neighbors, and they give liberally; but in the loss of crops the bony hand
of starvation comes silently to grasp the
vitals and wring life from the body. The
people of Nebraska have suffered a worse
disaster than fire. #
For ten years this State has not only
maintained its own people, but "exported
largely and contributed liberally to the
wants ofthe unfortunate of other States.
Omaha gave twenty thousand dollars in
cash to the Chicago sufferers after the fire,
which was more than one dollar per head
for every man, woman and child in the
city. The Nebraskians are now struggling
manfully to maintain their unfortunate
people, but they cannot do it unaided.
There are ten thousand destitute to be
fed from now until crops grow again. To
feed, clothe and warm these will require
at least four dollars each per month for
seven or eight months, a sum equal to
$280,000 or $300,000. Not to seed the people would be to leave them where we
found them, without any means of living,
and we must therefore give them seed to
plant in the spring.   This will take $100,-
000 more. The people are our frontiersmen, and we are equally interested in the
settlement of the West.
People of Indiana, the facts are before
you. What will you do in the matter?
What is done should be done quickly.
The destitute Nebraskians live in a
beautiful section of country. They are
loth to leave their new-found homes, and
1 think it is our duty to maintain them
until crops can be grown again. It would
not be good policy to break up fourteen
new counties of the Wes?t, yet this must
be done unless the people are fed
rich city of Indianapolis should
this matter, and do it promptly
James S. Brisbin
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