VoLX.
IKDI^^OlJS.-'.iHDIAW^ FEBRUARY 27, 1875.
No. 8.
.#.
Liyq Stock.
LIVE STOCK IN EUROPE.
-! An Interesting Letter  from   Calvin
-5 Fletcher.
'!>' Naples,-Italy, January 23, 1875.
"s Editor Indiana Farmer:
A stray number of your paper has
"■'found its way to this classic ground, and
" has been read and re-read by the   ■
3 BAND OF nOOSIERS
• n
•j who have stolen a march on Old Winter
_. and are testing this much-lauded clime.
u. I find, in a former letter sent yon from
_, Edinburgh, that I promised to write
2 again from London—and now I essay to
;; do so a good way from that city. When
•■jl   made   that   promise   I   knew that
for two thousand years London had
/.■existed—that its present population was
■j from, five to seven millions—that the
•,1 Thames—the new Parliament House—
...Westminster Bridge and Abbey—Tem-
. .pie Bar and the Town—Billingsgate—
; ,the British Museum—Regents' Park—
-j South   Kensington—the   Underground
Railroads—Theatres and Markets were
scattered around promiscuously—but I
_ did not.know that it was impossible to
make the days forty-eight hours long
iu there. In a broad country like ours
ii one may do two or three days' work in
.,:one day. Never attempt such a feat in
,a London, with four ladies and two fifteen
■„ ;year old lads under your care. How-
.-ever, I made out to amuse myself for a
• nfortnight, and then decided that it was
«,.a lifetime's labor to learn the ins and
I outs of: that wonderful city, properly
J a called the very heart of the' civilized
-iword. '■■..■■■■
1    Resuming my story of
-I .    WANDERINGS IN SCOTLAND,
I will stato that I found many attrac-
'.'tions for my agricultural eye on every
.'hand.     I   saw and   understood   many
oi things that before had been mysteries to
•-As        •     .       THE LIVE STOCK
• 'Was  a   continual   source  of   interest.'
I watched the changes of blood from the
''Highlands onward    to   the  South   of
*: England;   and noted   everywhere that
;:jgreat intelligence  had  been displayed
/Jin    adapting    the    kind    of    cattle,
f °horses, and sheep, to the soil and situation in various localities.   And if the
experience of the English farmer (and
"'that experience   has   been a long one
based on no guesswork—but with cash
'1!lodk   in   hand) is worth anything—it
father suggests that our efforts in the
'•States to confine our work.to the dis
"''gemination of the Short-Horn blood for
'all soils is of doubtful policy.   I desire
"to say nothing that may provoke any
''thing but diligent inquiry.. The breed
J'(ers of Short-Horns have the entire field
".'and   they  are   doins   their  part well.
"^England pays homage to our success—
"'and, save here and there,' a little local
. .breeze to favor the Devon—the Jersey
^jjand the Alderney for their respective
.  specialties—we work on, encouraged by
a,.good results; and it is hoped  the day
<xwill come that the mongrel tribes of
scrub cattle will sooner or later disap-
..ipear.   But,  if; the   British  Isles,  no
s larger than Ohio, Indiana and Illinois,-
jjhave found that they require no less
than eight distinct breeds of cattle to
ajjmeet the peculiarities of soil and-cli
mate—does it not seem reasonable that
te within .our wide borders we shall: find
j^many places where other types than the
,;;8hort-Horn will prove more profitable
-than that glorious strain?   And again,
may it not be that in obliterating the
mongrel natives, toe blot out our'chance*
ofa worthy."peer suited to the grasses and
'circumstances unfriendly to our blue grass
'.'.royalty f   These thoughts occurred to
<'me as I gazed on plump, proud natives
^of the  Highlands—where Short-Horns
(.are not raised successfully—when I felt
itihe buffalo-robe-liko coats of the glossy
^Oalways—when the clean faces of the
" Herefords invited my admiration—when
„ jolly Devons walked to the head of prize
<;- lists in beef-eating England—when Jer
»• seys and Alderneys grace many a Short-
Horn   breeder's dairy yard—when the
Angus and Suffolk breeds are found in
high favor at the  Christmas shows—
?when I met with foreign cattle at the
|livestock market that were far ahead of
jail others present—and when much to
my astonishment I found that Short-
Horns always stand second tn prVctr per
pound to three or four kinds of cattle.
I have the Ynarkst reports of twenty
best centers of . the trade for several
months in succession, and in no instance
do the Short-Horns stand first. None of
the above goes to prove that the profit
to the raiser of beef is ^more or less in
any particular case or breed. Were I
not too old to he inspired to experiment,
I think I should decide some questions
that-have arisen in my mind on this
subject.
the snEEP   '
seemed everywhere present, and their
quality has been tho subject of great
study by the breeder and butcher.
Every type seems more represented and
in higher favor than the fine wools.
Manufacturers are not troubled thereby,
for their wants are met from Australia
and many other sources. The many
families of cross-breed sheep (such as
the result of using the South Down
tup with Cotswold or other long wool
ewes) please me muoh. I never ceased
to admire them. I can't'say whore 1
saw the best—but venture to commend
those around Oxford.
I set aside one day at London to visit
THE   LIVE 8T0CK MARKET.
I found that "Smithfield" was a name
and thing of the past—that " Barns-
hurry" was the place for drovers and
their stock of all kinds, including shepherd dogs. A friend told me when and
how to go.' When near tho spot a polite
policeman: informed me that I was
"either one day too late, or two days
too soon-^r-he didn't ; know which."
lie said, "there was no stock present
except a large lot of foreign cattle that
were arriving from Quarantine; but no
person but owners or attendants were
permitted in tho yard—still I might
catch a glimpse of them as they were
hurried along the street prior to entering the gates." I had spoiled the day
and traveled too far to enjoy defeat—so
I determined to seo what I could. A
tall rail fence—or even a close plank-
fence might have afforded me some
comfort through the cracks or an
unstopped knot hole. These, however,
were denied me—fore there, before my
hungry eyes, stood a great stone wall,
twelve feet high—the gateways solid
iron. On I plodded, determined to
settle the question how to become an
oioner or attendant, when the right time
came. Soon I saw the dust rising like a
column of smoke before me, and heard
the barking of dogs. A boy ran past
me with a long stick—the way was open
now to me. When that boy heard my
command to "stop," he thought he was
sent for, surely. In a moment a penny
was in his pocket, and the stick in my
hand—my pants were hastily stuffed into
my boots—I hit my old California hat a
side-lick, to give it a proper drover's
style—kicked my toes in the first
digested grass I met, and by the time the
first lot of beautiful black and white
Dutch cattle were at the gate I was in
full command of a half dozen German
servants, who seemed to obey my orders
without understanding a word. Once
within the forbidden grounds, I resigned
my authority and stood about resting on
my stick as though too tired to further
exert myself. Suffice it to say I saw and
studied the cattlo from Denmark, Germany. France and Portugal, to my
heart's content. True their condition
was not the best; but two days afterwards I was able to examine them in
the sale pens more satisfactorily. The
attendants had done a good deal of
washing and brushing, and each sex and
age was assorted, to make the best
show. I cannot give you the peculiarities' of the various breeds from the
various countries—for if well done it
would be.a large volume. No sheep
of fifteen thousand foreign were equal
to the home-bred. With thc cattle it
was different. The English cattle and
those from other countries were about
on a footinfi except those from Portugal.
To my great surprise, I found that variety of cattle more uniform in size, age,
quality, and appearance than any others,
and I never before saw as many good
beeves together. They had evidently
been stall-fed and were very kind to
handle. The market was dull—but I
noticed that before noon thc entire lot
of about three hundred were driven
away by the butchers, at the highest
price. I learn since my arrival hero as
to their rearing and feeding in Portugal,
and find tbat they are an offshoot of the
Cape Buffalo family that prevails in
Southern Europe, that was carried by
the Spanish and Portuguese to North
and South America—and is to-day found
roaming over the pampas of Brazil and
Paraguay—in the everglades of Florida;
and the plains of Texas. Here, and in
Southern France, they are light dun to
white in color, and make good travelers
as work oxen, and fair beef. A darker
color seems preferred for milk.
But to return to " Barnsburry," I
confess that the London live stock
market disappointed me, both as to
numbers and quality. The pens were
numerous enough, but not well filled.
The buildings and fixtures extensive
enough, but showed that they were
made for other conditions. Grass was
cropping up between the stone pavement*—the iron chains and hinges were
rusty, and the wood work was showing
signs of neglect and decay. All this
was explained to my mind the next day,
when, at 4 A. St., I hurried to the Central
DEAD MEAT MARKET,
and Baw the thousands of tons of prime
beef, brought dressed, by railroad
and steamer from every good cattle district within twenty-four hours of London. The meat is brought together by
underground railroad tracks, and is
elevated forty feet into the market
house, and passes direct into the hands
of tho commission merchant, or butcher.
All is clean and inviting, presenting a
marked contrast with that killed after
having been shipped alive. A company
is now being organized to construct
refrigerating cars to transport meat in
the hottest weather. That you may
have some idea of tho extent of this
dead meat market, I will say that the
building will hold about ten of our
Union Depot.
My observations of
BTOCK IN FRANCE
were limited to a three days' trip by
rail—going from Calais to Paris; thence
to Lyons; thence to Marseilles—stopping over night at each place, that I
might be able to see as much'of the
country- by daylight as was possible.
The novelty was great to all of us—
especially that part most aggravating to
Americans—the language. My French,
of twenty-seven years' standing, had
soured a little, and it was with difficulty
I could understand what was said tome,
and utterly impossible to make myself
understood—except by tbe Indian language of signs. What I did see and
enjoy I may tell you some other time.
My brother, Stoughton A. Fletcher,
arrived recently, and my time will be
much occupied in traveling with him
and caring.for him, on account of his
health. We may make a trip to Egypt
and the Holy Land prior to thc warm
weather, and then through the different
countries of Europe, apdget to England
in time for the summer shows of live
stock. Should nothing prevent the carrying out of this plan, I would sail for
America about the last of July, and
hope to take a few select sheep and
calves of breeds to suit the wishes of
my friends. Any one having any particular fancy to subserve, and willing to
trust to my judgment, may address me
up to June 1st. "Care of B. W.
Pycock, Esq., 33 Surrey Street, Strand,
London." .     •
I have seen neither frost nor snow,
except on distant mountains, this winter.   '      Yours, with esteem,
Calvin Fletcher:
THE DEVONS.
Eds. Indiana Farmer.
I beg to offer my opinion on Devon
cattle which is the result of about thirty
years in the country. Your correspondent's experience, Mr. Parker, and mine
does not agree exactly. I never found
them at all extra for the dairy. I don't
think them as good as the common cattle
of this country. I have seen quite a
number of the very best of them in point
of symmetry that scarcely gave milk
enough to raise their calves. Some of
them are fair in this respect and but few
extra. They are I think about equal to
other full blood animals in proportion to
their size. I will give you a few of
■what I consider excellencies in this class
of cattle. First, they are very handsome, both in color, symmetry and horns,
then they are very hardy, will do on less
feed than the Short-Horn, will fatten on
shorter pasture than Short-Horn and
are better adapted to land not very rich;
when fat have more flesh in proportion
to the bone, have far less coarse beef,
have more beef on thc best cuts and the
fat and lean is more evenly interspersed
and sells ata higher price in most leading
markets here they are largely kept. They
are much heavier in proportion to their
size. I think them on the whole the
most profitable bullocks know. Perhaps
on very rich, strong land, with extra
care and attention the Short-Horn may
be made just as profitable, but not under
ordinary circumstances. I have tried
them in England side by side, fed in the
same house, same feed, and I give the
preference to the Devon, I should like
to see them fairly represented. I think
you have some of the very best Short-
Horns in this country.   As to Devons I
NOTES 05 THE JERSEYS.
the
the
Stock Sales.—W. H. Fall, of Thorn-
town. Indiana, has recently, made the
following sales of Berkshire pigs: To
G. P. Winters, of Lafayette, Indiana,
three pigs; Alvin Burkit, of Logansport,
three pigs; .John Anderson, Templeton,
Indiana, one pig; Silas Beal, Stockwell
Maryland, one pig; Z. Furgason, Thorn
town, Indiana, one pair of pigs; William
Taylor, Clarks Hill, Indiana, one pig;
James Haslet, Delphi, Indiana,'' three
pigs; William Miller, Atwood, Indiana,
one pig; Milton Kidwell, Elwood, Indiana, one pair of pigs; G. H. McConnel,
Rigdon, Indiana, one pig;IA. D. Moore,
Butler, Indiana, one pair- of pigs;
Franklin Cook, Fairland, Indiana, one
pig; Johnson, Colfax, Indiana, one
aged hog.
GENERAL NEWS.
We find the following notes on
celebrated Jersey dairy stock* in
Country Gentlemen of a recent date :
The breeders of .Jersey cattle, who are
aspiring to greater improvement in_ this
breed, are being educated to higher
prices than were formerly looked upon as
extreme. WTe have hardly yet reached
the point quoted by Mr. Thornton for
some animals at the Gilbey Sale in England (about $1,400in currency), although
there.are some cows in this country
whose owners would not part with them
for that price. Mr. F. M. Churchman,
of Indianapolis, has just paid $500 for
the bull Marius (7C0), bought of T. J.
Hand, Sing Sing. Marius is out of Lady
Mary, and closely bred to his dam. Lord
Lawrence (1415), out of same dam, by
Lawrence (ill), will succeed Marius in
Mr. Hand's herd. Lawrence was sold
several years ago to Mr. E. Delafield
Smith for *G00.
The price paid for the Jersey bull calf
Royal Duke, mentioned in this paper of
the 7th, as purchased by Mr. D. F. Ap-
pleton, Ipswich, Massachusetts, from C.
L. Sharpiess, of Philadelphia, was $500.
Mr. John Thornton, London, writes
us with regard to the recent Sale of
sJerseys at Hargrave Park:
" Mr. Gilbey's Sale was a complete
success, the prices far exceeding the anticipations of the public; but then the
herd was very choice, and had doubtless
more prize-winners in it than any other
herd. You will have had a detailed list
of prices ere this. Mr. Sharpiess took a
great fancy to Milkmaid when in this
country, and sent his son over from
France expressly to buy her. It was the
only animal on which there was foreign
competition, the others being sold to our
home breeders. Someof the lots, beautiful specimens, especially the younger
cows, went cheap; and no doubt had the
sale taken place in May, on grass and
sunshine, instead of bleak December,
with snow two inches deep, we should
have realized more moneyt inasmuch as
have not  seen one good   one, what are  the cheaper  animals would   have  sold
called Devons, would not pass for  half bigher.. It is a great compliment to Mr.
Gilbey for rearing this breed solely for
their dairy properties."
: At this Sale, fifty-one head of cattle
were offered by Mr. Thornton, and the
following are among the highest prices
made—prices far ahead of anything ever
before attained by Channel Island stock
in Great Britain : Cows and heifers—
Duchv. 3 yrs., 255 gs., the Duke of Bedford; Lightsome, 20 mos., 255 gs., Mr. H.
Jenkins; Duchess, nearly 7 yrs., 215 gs..
Col. Wilson Milkmaid, nearly 8 yrs., 155
gs., Mr. Sharpiess, Philadelphia;   Milk
Gold is quoted at $1.14.
Washington's birth-day was generally
observed throughout the country.
Fresh strawberries can be had in New
York City for twelve dollars a quart.
In Vermont two years' imprisonment ;
must precede an execution.
The proposed new territory of Pembina embraces 71,200 square miles,1 and
contains about 10,000 inhabitants.    <
The Hon. M. L. Dunlap. of Champaign, Illinois, died on, the 14th inst.
He was will known throughout the
Western country as "Rural," an agricultural writer of ability.
The Kansas House Committee- on
Federal Relations, Saturday, reported a
resolution and recommended its passage,
ceding to the United States all tnat part
of Kansas lying west of the sixth principal meridian.
It is claimed the Central road will
have to pay about $50,000 for forty carloads of cattle which were frozen and
injured by eold a few nights since.;
In the recent snow storm a favorite
breeding ewe of the Cheviot class, belonging to Mr. Elliott, of Hindhope in
England, was imprisoned in the snow for
a month. Notwithstanding this long
imprisonment, the ewe when recovered
was alive, and is now doing well.
From the Massachusetts Railroad
Commissioners' report for 1874 it is
shown that the total receipts of flour
have fallen off at Boston the past year
slightly—corn over 400,000 bushels, and
oats nearly 350,000 bushels, while wheat
is not given.
It is announced that the will of the
late Gerrit Smith proves than an estate
worth over $1,000,000 was left by him.
The sum of $40,000 is distributed in
small bequests, and of the remainder
one-half was left to his wife, one-quarter to Col. Green Smith and one-quarter
to Mrs. Col. Miller.
breeds in Devonshire, England,
A. Menhinick.
Atherton, Indiana.,
 s    s»    s	
"TJ. S." ALDEENEYS.
Breeding to a Type.
Alderney Farm, Near Matsville, )
Ky., January 18,1875.    j
In the year 1803. the theory of Prof.
Thury, of Geneva, Switzerland,
"THE   PRODUCTION   OK 8EX AT WILL."
was undergoing investigation on my
farm. For that purpose I selecfod a lot
of Alderney heifers and a bull. None
of them were marked or branded, nor
were their ancestors subsequent to 1850.
In the month of July the cattle were
placed in a woodland pasture well provided with water and blue grass, and in
the pasture were placed a number of
government horses where they remained
several weeks. Each and every horse
was branded ou the lower part of the
left shoulder with the letters " \J. S."
In the spring and summer of 1864, the
heifers had calves; one of the number
produced a fawn-colored or reddish
calf, and on the lower part of the shoulder were the letters "U. S." formed
of white hairs plainly to be seen
by casual observers, was shown by me
to friends and visitors and in due time
my " U. S." heifer had a calf which was
marked with " U. S." in the same place
as her dam. The letter "S." was not so
perfectly formed as on the dam, but was
too plain to be taken for anything other
than the letter "S."
In the growth of these cattle or cows,
the letters moved higher upon the shoulder and appeared to elongate, and five or
six years the character or form of letters
was lost, and appeared only as numerous
small wbite specks or spots. This is the
statement in full which I propose to substantiate by the statements of others,
sworn to before the proper authorities of
this county. , John. B. Poyntz,
This day appeared John B. Poyntz,
who is well known to me, signed the
above statements, and made oath that
they were true. C. B. Pearce,
[seal.], Notary Public.
State of Kentucky, V „ ,
■ Mason County.    J "  •
F. II. Bierbower, a resident of Maysville, in the State above written, being
first duly sworn, states that in the summer of 18(53, while he was Captain of
Company A, of 40th Kentucky Mounted
Infantry, he pastured some 20 or 30 head
of horses on the farm of JohnB. Poyntz,
near the city of Maysville; the said
horses were the property of the United
States, and were distinctly branded on
the left fore shoulder with the letters
"U. 8.," the affiant further states that
cattle were confined at the same time
with said horses in the same pasture.
F. H. Bierbower.
This day appeared F. H. Bierbower,
who is well-known to me, signed'the
above statements and made oath that
they were true.   Chas. B. Pearce
girl, about 2J yrs., 150 gs.; Day Star, 2
yrs.,-125 gs., and Tal. nearly 2£ yrs., 110
gs., the Duke of Bedford: Smirk, nearly
1 yr., 90 gs., Mr. Brown; Margin, 20 mos ,
80 gs.. Mr. Tower; Milklike, 17 mos., 75
gs., Mr. Beadel; Milkly. 4 mos., 70 gs.,
Mr. Simpson. Other females made from
00 gs. down to 20 gs. The eighteen cows
reached the extraordinary average of
£90 16s. 6d. The nine bulls varied from
12 gs. to _ 52 gs. Banboy fetching the
latter price from Captain Fairman; Ducal, a very promising bull, 2 yrs., made
46 gs., to Mr. Gibson. The total amount
of the sale was 3.0S6 gs.
Mr. Editor:—I have a valuable mare
having had a blow on the eye-lid, a
large wart is formed over the eye. It is
raw and sore. It cannot be cut off
Would some of your correspondents
give a remedy? A. M.
The Brownstown Banner learns from
Cartain Enoch Baughman, the great or-
chardist, that the cold weather has
played sad havoc with the peach trees,
so thoroughly destroying the buds as to
leave no prospects for even the least
moiety of a crop next summer. From
the information we have, it is safe to
assume that the peach buds are entirely
destroyed upon high ground, and probably also upon the low lands. There
may possibly be a few seedling peaches
the coming sesson in this county, but
they will not amount 'to as much as a
drop in the bucket.' By the failure of
the peach crop,_ Jackson county, will be
deprived of an income of not less than
$20,000, a loss that will be severely felt
in these days of hard times and scarcity
of money.
LATE  PUBLICATIONS.
Recent Purchases.—D. W. Voyles,
New Albany, Indiana, has bought recently of Thomas S. Kennedy, of Fair-
view, Jefferson ceunty, Kentucky, the
following thorough-bred Jersey cattle:
Spring Beauty, No. 2839, out of Welcome Beauty, No. 1268, by Prize Duke,
No. JM2. ■ ;
Prize Maid, out of Jersey Prize, No.
1267, by Prize Duke.
Clive Duke, out of Welcome Beauty,
by Prize Duke.
Heifer calf, out of Jersey Duchess,
No. 1267, by Prize Duke; also heifer
calf, out of Prizetta, No. ——, by Prize
Duke.
He has also purchased of L. S. Hardin, at a large price, the Jersey bull.
Philip, out of Formosa, N. 1132, by
Milo, No. 590; grand dam, Niobe, No.
514; grand sire, Imperial Lawrence.
[8EAL.]
The Peru Republican says: A son of
Edward Jackson, aged sixteen or seventeen, living in the west end of town, was
fooling with a pistol when the thing went
off and shot him in the tbigh, the ball
passing entirely through the fleshy part.
A book lying on his knee received the
ball and checked its force; otherwise the
bone would probably have been shattered. The strangest thing connected
with the accident is that there was no
cap on the tube of the pistol, which
proves that a gun is dangerous without
Notary Publio.     lock, stock, or barrel
tye have received the following:—
Waldo F. Brown's Ninth Annual Illustrated
Catalogue of Field, Garden and Flower Seeds,
Oxford, Butler county, Ohio.
J. A. Foote's 10th Annual Catalogue of Seeds,
Bulbs, etc., Terre Haute, Indiana.
It. H. Allen _ Co.'s Annual Descriptive Catalogue of Garden, Flower and Field Set-ds and
Grains, 189 and 191 Water street, New York.
Crossman Bros.' Illustrated Catalogue and
Guide to the Flower and Vegetable Garden—
for 1875.
Cascade Nursery Company's Catalogue of
Roses', Greenhouse and Bedding Plants, Etc.—
E. Y. Teas at Co., Richmond, Ind.
T. C. Maxweil A Brothers* Descriptive Cata-
alogue of Clematis, No. 3, Geneva, N. Y.
F. K. Phoenix's Plant Catalogue and Wholesale Price List, Bloomington, Illinois.
James Fleming's Descriptive Catalogue of
Flower, Vegetable and Agricultural Seeds, Garden Implements, etc., 6" ^Nassau St., New York.
Peter Henderson's Spring Catalogue of new,
rare and beautiful Plants; also, an Illustrated
Seed Catalogue for 1875. Accompanying these
| Catalogues was a handsome rose chromo, picturing 12 choice new' varieties. No. 35 Cortlandt
street, New Yprk.,
Briggs A Bro.'s Quarterly Illustrated Floral
Work, for 1875. This is a superb number, fully
and splendidly illustrated, two of the illustrations being colored.   Address, Rochester, N. Y.
Ellwanger A Barry's Series of Catalogues:—
No. 1, Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits; No. 2, of
Ornamental Trees; No. 3, of Plants, arranged
in 10 classes; No. 4, Wholesale Catalogue of the
Mount Hope Nurseries,   Rochester, N. Y.
How to Hatch and Raise every kind of Poultry:
By A. Corbctt, Hempstead, L. I.   Price, 50 cts.
D. Landreth ct Son's price list of Seeds, Philadelphia, Penn.
The Woman's Crusade, or a Novel Temperance
Movement in Delhi, N. Y. By Dr. A. II. Mann.
A pamphlet of 21 pages, priee 15 cents.
Music: "Down by Dot Orchard," comic, Song
and chorus. By F,W. Helmlck, Cincinnati, O.
Price 35 cents.
The February number of the Indianapolis /
Railway and Business Guide, published by M.
Hazzard A Co., of this city, is certainly worth
many times the price—25 cents a year.   It gives I
the time of departure and arrival of trains at<
each terminus of the road, also at each station, J
the distance, fare, connections, telegraph sta-|
tions,express companiesoperating on the road,
population Ofthe principal towns, and many J
other very valuable statistics.
u>
._2i__i-