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DOMESTIC AlilMALS.

PUBLICATIONS OF GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD,
37 PARK ROW, N. Y.

Woodward^ s Country Monies,

A practical work, with 122 Designs and Plans of Country
Houses 01 moderate cost, with illustrated description of the man-
ner of conslructing Balloon fiames. Extra binding. $1.50.

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tural J^iiildings,

A practical work on the r>esign and Construction of all classes
of Buildings for Growing Plants and Ripening Fruit under Glass.
60 illustrations. $1.50.

The Mouse,

A New Manual of Rural Architecture; or. How to Build
Dwellings, Barns, Stables and Out- Buildings of all kinds.
With a Chapter on Churches and School-Houses. Cloth. $1.50.

The Garden,

A New Manual of Practical Horticulture ; or. How to Culti-
Tate Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers. With a Chapter on Orna-
mental Trees and Shrubs. Cloth, $1,00.

The Farm.

A New Manual of Practical Agriculture ; or, How to Cul-
tivate all the Field Crops. With an Essay on Farm Manage-
ment, etc. Cloth- $1.00.

The Barn- Yard,

A New Manual of Cattle, Horse, and Sheep Husbandry; or,
How to Breed and Rear the Various species of Domestic
Animals. Cloth. fl.OO.

Either of tJte above sent post-paid on receipt of price.

ESTABLISHED 1846.

Two Dollars and fifty Cents per Annum,
A MONTHLY MAGAZINE

For every one who has a grapevine, a city yard, an acre lot, a
garden, a vineyard, an orchard, a country seat, a farm, who has
a liouse to build, outbuildings to erect, or a home to embellish
and beautify.

GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWAED, Publishers, No. 37 Park Row, N. T.

THE BARN-YARD:

A MANUAL

OF

Cattle, Jorst nnH Sljeep Jasknkj;

OR, HOW TO BREED AND REAR

THE VARIOUS SPECIES OF DOMESTIC AXIMALS:

EMBRACING

DIRECTIONS FOE THB BBEEBING, REAE1N6, AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT OP
HORSES, MULES, CATTLE, SIIEKP, SWINE AND POULTRY; THE GENERAL
LAWS, PARENTAGE, AND HKRIDITART DESCENT, APPLIED TO ANI-
MALS, AND now BREEDS MAY BE IMPROVED ; HO"W TO INSURE
THE HEALTH OF ANIMALS ; AND HOW TO TREAT THEM
FOE DISEASES WITHOUT THE USE OF DRUGS ;

WITH A

By D. H. JACQUES,

Author of "The Home," ''The Garden," "The Farm," "How to "Write,"
" How to Do Business," etc.

Our power over the lower animals, If righMy exercised, redoandB to their elevation and happiness
o less than to our convenience and profit — The Author.

E,E "VISED EI3ITI02sr.

New ffiork:
GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD

No. 37 Park Eow, Office of " The Horticulturist."

1866.

L. C. Dup,

^i

°"'-'*- //„.■/ li''^

QmiiiEiiL^

4 34

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by

D. H. JACQUES,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for tho
Southern District of New York.

NEW

EDWARD 0. JENKINS, PRINTER,
NORTH WILLIAM ST.

SOlOB

PREFA.CE.

We commenced this little manual with the intention of making
the most useful compilation possible, within the space allowed us,
from the great number of larger works on the subjects treated to
which we had access. In the progress of our work, however, we
found occasion to depart, in some degree, from our original plan,
and introduce more new matter and re-write and condense more
that is, in substance, derived from others, than we at first in-
tended ; but our claims on the score of originality will not be
large. If the matter and arrangement of our book shall prove
acceptable to the public, and serve the purposes intended, we
shall be satisfied. The humble merit of having presented, in an
attractive and available form a mass of useful information, prac-
tical hints, and valuable suggestions, on a number of important
topics, is all that we purpose to insist upon. This the great pub-
lic, for whose good we have labored, will, we are sure, readily
accord to us.

"We have given credit in the body of the work, whenever prac-
ticable, to the authors from whom we have derived aid in the
- various departments of our labor ; but we here gladly make an
^' additional record of our indebtedness to the works of Youatt,
^ Martin, Stuart, Randall, Wingfield, Dixon, Bement, Browne,

Quimby, etc. The Country Gentleman, the American Agriculturist,
the Southern Cultivator, and other agricultural papers, have been
examined with satisfaction to ourselves and with profit to our
readers.

vi Preface.

"We have endeavored to make our little work thorough and re-
liable, so far as it goes, and to give the largest possible amount
of useful information that can be condensed into so small a num-
ber of pages. We have occupied a large field, we are aware, and
can not hope to have been so full on all points as many readers
will desire. "We have not aimed, of course, to render the larger
works on the special topics to which our chapters are devoted un-
necessary. We hope rather to create a demand for them ; but
there are thousands whom this little manual will furnish with all
the information they desire on the subjects on which it treats,
and on whom the details with which the larger and more expen-
sive works are filled would be thrown away. To such, in an es-
pecial manner, we commend it, hoping that it will not wholly fail
to meet their expectations.

CONTENTS

I.— THE HORSE.

A Historical Sketch— Eange of the Horse in Eeference to Climate— Effects of
Climate and Food— Varieties or Breeds— The Eace-Horse- Origin and
Characteristics— Half-bred Horses— The Arabian Horse— Wonderful Gene-
alogiea- Description— The Arabian " Tartar"'- The Morgan— Opinions in
Eeference to the Morgans — Sherman Morgan— The Canadian Horse— The
Norman— " Louis Philippe"— The Cleveland Bay— The Conestoga— The
Clydesdale Horse— The Virginian — Wild Horses— American Trotting Horses
— Points of a Horse Illustrated— Color, and what it Indicates— Common
Terms Denoting the Parts of a Horse— Stables— Stables as they are— Situation
of Stables— Size— Windows— Floors— Draining— Eacks and Mangers — Ven-
tilation of Stables— Warmth, etc.— The best Food for Horses— Work and Di-
gestion— Bulk of Food— Quantity— Water— General Management of the
Horse — Air — Litter— Grooming — Exercise — Vices and Habits — Eestiveness
— Backing and Balking— Biting — Kicking— Eunning Away — Eearing — Over-
reaching—Eolling— Shying— Slipping the Halter— Tripping— Hints to Buy-
ers-Warranty—Form of a Eeceipt Embodying a Warranty- Wha' a War-
ranty Includes — What constitutes Unsoundness Page 9

II.— THE ASS AND THE MULE.

Why the Ass has been Neglected and Abused — Eastern Appreciation— The
Ass compared with the Horse— The Ass in Guinea and Persia— The Mule-
Adaptation as a Beast of Burden — Trade in Kentucky— Use on a Farm-
How to hare large and handsome Mules 45

ni.— CATTLE.

Historical Sketch— Breeds— The Devons-New England Cattle— The Hereford
Breed— The Sussex Breed— The Ayrshire Cattle— The Welsh Breeds— Irish
Cattle— The Long Horns- The Durham or Short-Horned Breed— Alderney
or Jersey Cattle— The Galloway Breed or Hornless Cattle -Other Polled
Cattle— The Cream-Pot Breed— Points of Cattle — General Management of
Cattle— The Cow-House Feeding— Eearing Calves — Milking— How to Esti-
mate the Weight of Livestock 49

IV.-SHEEP.

Characteristics of the Sheep — Mutton— Breeds in the United States— The Na-
tive Breed- The Spanish Merino — American Merinos — Saxon Merinos— The
New Leicester Breed— The South-Downs— Mr. Taylors Facts and Fig area
—The Cotswold Breed— New Oxfordshire Sheep— The Cheviot Breed— Tha

7iii Contents.

Lincoln Breed -On the Choice of a Breed— The Improved English Yarieties
as Mutton Sheep — The Merinos as "Wool-Producers— General Management
— Barns and Sheds— Feeding Eacks — Feeding — Salt— Water — Shade —
Lambs— Castration— Docking— Washing — Shearing— Value of Sheep to the
Farmer- An Anecdote 73

V— SVvqNE.
Natural History of Swine— The Wild Boar— Opinions Eespecting the Hog—
The Hog among the Greeks and Eomans— Swine Breeding in Gaul ana
Spain— Abhorrence toward Swine's Flesh among the Jews, Egyptians, Mo-
hammedans, and Others- Cuvier's Opinion— Unwholesomeness of Swine's
Flesh in Warm Climates— Breeds of Swine— The " Land Pike"— The Chi-
nese Hog— The Berkshire Breed— The Suffolk Breed— The Essex Breed—
The Chester Hog— Points of the Hog— Feeding— The Piggery 95

VI.— IMPROVEMENT OF BREEDS

Selection of the Sire and Dam — How the Cream Pot Breed was Produced—
In-and-in Breeding — Youatt's Opinion — Crossing— Origin of La Chamois
Sheep — The best Breeds most Profitable — How to Improve One's Stock —
How Improvements may be bred Out as well as In 108

VIL— DISEASES AND THEIR CURE.
About throwing Physic to the Dogs — Wild Animals seldom Sick— The Eeason
why — Causes of Disease among Domestic Animals— How they may be kept
in Perfect Health — Treatment of their Diseases — The Water-Cure for Ani-
mals 114

Vm.— POULTRY.

The Domestic Fowl— Wild Origin Unknown— General Characteristics of the
Domestic Fowl— The Spanish Fowl— The Dorking— The Polish Fowl- The
Hamburg Fowl— The Dominique Fowl— The Leghorn Fowl — The Shang-
hais and Cochin Chinas— The Bantam— The Game Fowl— Mongrels — Choice
of Breed — Accommodations— Incubation — Bearing Chickens — Five Eules —
The Guinea Fowl — The Domestic Turkey— The Principal Eequisltes in
Turkey Bearing — General Directions — The Domestic Goose - How to Eear
Geese— Shearing instead of Plucking— The Domestic Duck— Best Varieties
—How to Eeaf Ducks— Fattening— Preparing Poultry for Market 118

IX.— BEE-KEEPING.

Wonders of t\te Bee-Hive — The three kinds of Bees— The Queeu and her Du-
ties—Curious Facts— How the Cells are Made— Bee-Bread— Ventilation by
the Bees on Scientific Principles— The Apiary— Bee-IIives- How to Make
them— Sectional Hives— Mr. Luda's Hive - Swarming— Bobbing the Hive-
Wintering— Feeding— Killing the Drones 148

APPENDIX.
Horse Taming 161

DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

I.

THE HORSE.

A horse I a horse I My kingdom for a hoi-se l—Shakspeare,
I.-HISTOET.

HE horse is probably a native of the warm coun-
tries of the East, where he is found wild in a
considerable state of perfection. Its use, both
as a beast of burden and for the purposes of war,
earlj attracted the attention of mankind. Thus
when Joseph proceeded with his father's body from Egypt into
Canaan, "there accompanied him both chariots and horsemen"
(Gen. xix.) ; and the Canaanites a^e said to have gone out to fight
against Israel " with many horses and chariots" (Joshua ii. 4).
This was more than sixteen hundred years before Christ.

The horse was early employed on the course. In the year
1450 B. 0. the Olympic games were established in Greece, at
which horses were used in chariot and other races.

No horses were found either on the continent or on the
islands of the New World ; but the immense droves now ex-
isting in parts of both North and South America, all of which
have descended from the two or three mares and stallions left
by the early Spanish voyagers, prove very clearly that the
climate and soil of fhese countries is weU adapted to their
propagation.

Professor Lo\i/ says : " The horse is seen to be affected in hig
I*

10 Domestic Animals.

character and form by the agencies of food and climate, and it
may be by other causes unknown to us. He sustains the tem-
perature of the most burning regions ; but there is a degree of
cold at which he can not exist, and as he approaches this limit
his temperament and external conformation are affected. In
Iceland, at the Arctic Circle, he has become a dwarf; in Lapland,
at latitude 65°, he has given place to the reindeer ; and in Kamt-
schatka, at 62° he has given place to the dog. The nature
and abundance of his food, too, greatly affect his character and
form. A country of heaths and innutritions herbs will not
produce a horse so large and strong as one of plentiful herbage;
the horse of the mountains will be smaller than that of the
plains ; the horse of the sandy desert than that of the watered
valley."*

II.— BREEDS.

The genus Equus, according to modem naturalists, consists
of six different animals — the horse {E. caballus) ; the ass (E.
asinus) ; the quagga {E. quagga) ; the dziggithai {E. Tiemionus) ;
the mountain zebra {E. zebra) ; and the zebra of the plains
{E. hurcheUi).

Of the horse there are many varieties or breeds. Ineffect-
ual attempts have been made to decide which variety now
existing constitutes the original breed ; some contending for the
Barb and others for the wild horses of Tartary. It is of the
latter that Byron thus speaks in "Mazeppa:"

With flowing tail and flying mane.
With nostrils never streaked with pain,
Mouths bloodless to the bit or rein,
And feet that iron never shod,
And flanks unscarred by spur or rod,
A thousand horse— the wild, the free—
Likes waves that follow o'er the sea,
Came thundering on.

The principal breeds of horses now bred in the United States
are the Race-Horse, the Arabian, the Morgan, the Canadian,

♦ niiistrations of the Breeds of A.nimal8.

The Hoese. 11

the N"onnan, the Cleveland Bay, the Conestoga, the Virginia
Horse, the Clydesdale, and the Wild or Prairie Horse.

1. The Race- Horse. — "There is much dispute," Mr. Youatt
says, " with regard to the origin of the Thoroug'h-'bred Horse.
By some he is traced through both sire and dam to Eastern pa-
rentage ; others believe him to be the native horse, improved
and perfected by judicious crossings with the Barb, the Turk,
or the Arabian. The Steed Book, which is an authority with
every English breeder, traces all the old racers to some Eastern
origin; or it traces them until the pedigree is lost in the
uncertainty of an early period of breeding.

" Whatever may be the truth as to the origin of the race-
horse, the strictest attention has for the last fifty years been
paid to pedigree. In the descent of almost every modern racer
not the slightest flaw can be discovered."

The racer is generally distinguished, according to the same
authority, by his beautiful Arabian head ; his fine and finely-
set neck; his oblique, lengthened shoulders; his well-bent
hinder legs ; his ample muscular quarters ; his flat legs, rather
short from the knee downward, although not always so deep
as they should be ; and his long and elastic pastern.

The use of thorough-bred and half-bred horses for domes-
tic purposes is becoming common in England. The half-bred
horse is not only much handsomer than the common horse, but
his speed and power of endurance are infinitely greater.

" The acknowledged superiority of Northern carriage and
draught stock," the editor of the New York Spirit of the Times
says, " is owing almost entirely to the fact that thorough-bred
horses have found their way North and East from Long Island
and New Jersey, where great numbers are annually disposed of
that are unsuited to the course."

For the farm, the pure thorough-bred horse would be nearly
useless. He lacks weight and substance to give value and power
for draught. For road work the same objections will apply,
although not to the same extent, perhaps. The best English
road horse is a cross of the thorough-bred and the Cleveland.

12 Domestic Animals.

2. The Arahian Horse. — The genealogy of the Arabian
horse, according to Arab account, is known for two thousand
years. Many of them have written and attested pedigrees ex-
tending more than four hundred years, and, with true Eastern
exaggeration, traced by oral tradition from the stud of Solo-
mon. A more careful accoimt is kept of these genealogies than
of those of the most ancient family of the proudest Arab chief,
and very singular precautions are taken to prevent the possi-
bility of fraud, so far as the written pedigree extends.

The head of the Arabian horse is inimitable. The broadness
and squareness of the forehead, the shortness and fineness of the
muzzle, the prominence and brilliancy of the eye, the smallness
of the ears, and the beautiful course of the veins, are its char-
acteristics. In the formation of the shoulders next to the head,
the Arabian is superior to any other breed. The withers are
high and the shoulder-blades inclined backward, and so nicely
adjusted that in descending a hill the point or edge of the ham
never ruffles the skin. The fineness of the legs and the oblique
position of the pasterns may seem to lessen his strength ; but
the leg, although small, is flat and wiry, and its bones uncom-
monly dense.*

Eichardson says : " Often may the traveler in the desert, on
entering within the folds of a tent, behold the interesting spec-
tacle of a magnificent courser extended upon the ground, and
some half dozen little dark-skinned, naked urchins scrambling
across her body, or reclining in sleep, some upon her neck,
some on her body, and others pillowed upon her heels ; nor do
the children ever experience injury from their gentle playmate.
She recognizes the family of her friend, her patron, and toward
them all the natural sweetness of her disposition leans, even to
overflowing."

The Arabian horse Tartar, whose portrait we give on the next
page, is thus described in the New England Farmer : " Thia
beautiful horse was bred by Asa Pingree, of Topsfield, Masa

* Youatt.

14: Domestic Animals.

He now stands fifteen and one fourtli hands high; weighs
nine hundred pounds ; is of dark-gray color, with dark mane
and tail. He was sired by the imported, full-blood Arabian
horse 'Imaum,' and is seven years old this spring. This
engraving, copied from life, gives the figure of ' Tartar,' but can
not represent the agile action, flashing eye, and cat-like nimble-
ness of all his movements. It shows the beautiful Arabian
head and finely-set-on neck ; his ample muscular quarters ;
his flat legs, rather short from the knee downward ; and his
long and elastic pastern. All his motions are light and exceed-
ingly graceful, and his temper so docile that a child may
handle him."

3. The Morgan Horse. — This celebrated American breed is
probably a cross between the English race-horse and the com-
mon New England mare. It is perhaps, all things considered,
the very finest breed for general usefulness now existing in the
United States. Mr. S. W. Jewett, a celebrated stock breeder,
in an article in the Cultivator^ says :

" I believe the Morgan blood to be the best ever infused into
the Northern horse. The Morgans are well known and esteem-
ed for activity, hardiness, gentleness, and docility ; well adapted
for all work ; good in every spot except for races on the turf.
They are lively and spirited, lofty and elegant in their action,
carrying themselves gracefully in the harness. They have
clean bone, sinewy legs, compactness, short, strong backs,
powerful lungs, strength, and endurance. They are known by
their short, clean heads, width across the face at the eyes,
eyes lively and prominent; they have open and wide under
jaws, large windpipe, deep brisket, heavy and round body,
broad in the back, short limbs in proportion to size (of body);
they have broad quarters, a lively, quick action, indomitable
spirit, move true and easy in a good, round trot, and are fast
on the walk ; color dark bay, chestnut, brown, or black, with
dark, flowing, wavy mane and tail. They make the best of
roadsters, and live to a great age."

All do not agree, however, with this estimate of the Morgans.

The Hoese,

15

A distinguislied judge of horses in Vermont, quoted bj Eandall
in his Introduction to Youatt on the Horse, says :

" They [the Morgans] are good for an hour's drive — for short
stages. They are good to run around town with. They are
good in the light pleasure-wagon — prompt, lively (not spirited),
and 'trappy.' There is no question among those who have
had fair opportunities of comparing the Morgans with horses
of purer blood and descended from different stocks, in regard to
the relative position of the Morgan. He is, as he exists at the
present day, inferior in size, speed, and bottom — in fact, in all
those qualities necessary to the performance of ' great deeds'

SHtltMAN MOKGAX.

on the road or the farm, to the descendants of Messenger, Du-
roc, imported Magnum Bonum, tmd many other horses of de-
served celebrity."

Sherman Morgan, whose portrait we are permitted to copy
from Linsley's "Morgan Horse," was foaled in 1835, the prop-
erty of Moses Cook, of Campton, K H. Sired by Sherman, g
sire, Justin Morgan. The pedigree of the dam not fully estab-
lished, but conceded to have been a very fine animal, and said to

16 Domestic Animals.

be from the Justin Morgan. Sherman Morgan is fifteen hands
high, weighs about 1,050 lbs., is dark chestnut, and very much
resembles his sire Sherman, but heavier, stockier, and not as
much action. A fine horse, and is now kept in the stable at
Lancaster, N. H., where the Sherman died. He is owned bj
A. J. Congdon.

4. The Canadian Horse. — This horse abounds in the Cana-
dian Provinces and in the Northern States of the Union, and is
too well known to require a particular description. It is mainly
of Norman-French descent. It is a hardy, long-lived animal,
is easily kept, and very useful on a farm, although generally too
small for heavy work. A cross between stallions of this breed
and our common mares produces a superior horse, and such
crosses are finding favor among farmers.

5. The Norman Horse. — The French or Norman horse, from
which the Canadian is descended, is destined to take a more
prominent place than has hitherto been assigned to it among
our working horses. We introduce an engraving of one of this
breed, called Louis Philippe, which was bred by Edward
Harris, of Moorestown N. J., by whom the breed was imported
from France.

The Norman horse is from the Spanish, of Arabian ancestry,
and crossed upon the draught horses of Normandy. Mr.
Hai-ris had admired the speed, toughness, and endurance of the
French stage-coach horses, and resolved to import this valuable
stock, and deserves the thanks of the American public for his
perseverance and sacrifices in this enterprise. The Norman
horses are enduring and energetic beyond description, and keep
their condition on hard fare and brutal treatment, when most
other breeds would quail and die. This variety of horse is
employed in France to draw the ponderous stage-coaches, called'
*' diligences," and travelers express astonishment at the extra-
ordinary performances of these animals. Each of these huge
vehicles is designed for eighteen passengers, and when thus
loaded are equal to five tons weight. Five horses are attached
to the clumsy and cumbrous carriage, with rude harness, and

18 Domestic Animals.

their regular rate of speed with this enormous load is seven
miles an hor.r, and this pace is maintained over rough and
hilly regions. On some routes the roads are lighter, when the
speed is increased to eight, nine, and sometimes to ten miles au
hour.

6. Clevelaiid Bay. — According to Mr. Youatt, the true Cleve-
land Bay is nearly extinct in England. They were formerly
employed as a heavy, slow coach-horse. Mr. Youatt says:
" The origin of the better kind of coach-horse is the Cleveland
Bay, confined principally to Yorkshire and Durham, with
perhaps Lincolnshire on one side and ^Northumberland on the
other, but difficult to meet with pure in either county. The
Cleveland mare is crossed by a three-fourths or through-bred
horse of sufficient substance and height, and the produce is the
coach-horse most in repute, with his arched crest and high
action. From the thorough-bred of sufficient height, but not of
so much substance, we obtain the four-in-hand and superior
curricle-horse.

Cleveland Bays were imported into western New York a
few years since, where they have spread considerably. They
have often been exhibited at our State fairs. They are mon-
strously large, and for their size are symmetrical horses, and
possess very respectable action. Whether they would endure
on the road at any but a moderate pace, we are not informed,
and have some doubts. Whether they spring from the genu-
ine and unmixed Cleveland stock, now so scarce in England,
we have no means of knowing. The half-bloods, the produce
of a cross with our common mares, are liked by many of our
farmers. They are said to make strong, serviceable farm
beasts — ^though rather prone to sullenness of temper.*

Y. The Gonestoga Horse. — This horse, which is found chiefly
in Pennsylvania and the adjacent States, is more remarkable
for endurance than symmetry. In height it sometimes reaches
seventeen hands ; the legs being long and the body light.

* EandalL

The Horse,

19

Tlie Oonestoga breed makes good carriage aud heavy draft
horses.

8. The Clydesdale Horse. — The Clydesdale horse is descended
from a cross between the Flemish horse and the Lanarkshire
(Scotland) mares. The mare is derived from the district on the
Clyde where the breed is chiefly found. Horses of this breed
are deservedly esteemed for the cart and for the plow on
heavy soil. They are strong, hardy, steady, true pullers, of
sound constitution, and from fourteen to sixteen hands high.
They are broad, thick, heavy, compact, well made for durabil-

THE CLYDESDALE H0E8B.

ity, health, and power. They have sturdy legs, strong shoul-
ders, back, and hips, a well-arched neck, and a light face and
head.

9. The Virginia Horse. — This breed predominates in the
State from which it takes its name, and abounds to a greater
or less extent in all the Southern, Western, and Middle States.
It derives its origin from English blood-horses imported at
various times, and has been most dihgently and purely kept
in the South. The celebrated Shark, the best horse of his day,

20 Domestic Animals.

was sire of the best Yirginian horses, while Tally-ho, son of
Highflyer, peopled the Jerseys.*

10. The Wild or Prairie Horse. — In the Southwestern
States wild horses abound, which are doubtless sprung from
the same Spanish stock as the wild horses of the pampas and
other parts of the southern continent, all of which are of the
celebrated Andalusian breed, derived from the Moorish Barb.
The prairie horses are often captured, and when domesticated
are found to be capable of great endurance. They are not,
however, recommended by the symmetry or elegance of ap-
pearance for which their type is so greatly distinguished,
being generally rather small and scrubby.t

11. The American Trotting-Eorse. — " We can not refrain,"
H. S. Randall says, in the Introduction to Youatt on the Horse,
already referred to, "from calling attention to our trotting-
horses, though in reality they do not, at least as a whole, con-
stitute a breed, or even a distinct variety or family. There is
a family of superior trotters, including several of the best our
country has ever produced, the descendants of Abdallah and
Messenger, and running back tlirough their sire Mambrino to
the thorough-bred horse, old Messenger. But many of our
best trotters have no known pedigrees, and some of them,
without doubt, are entirely destitute of the blood of the race-
horse. Lady SuflTolk is by Engineer, but the blood of Engineer
is unknown (she is a gray mare, fifteen hands and two inches
high). Dutchman has no known pedigree. Other celebrated
trotters stand in the same category — though we are inclined to
think that a decided majority of the best, especially at long
distances, have a greater or less infusion of the blood of the
race-horse.

" The United States has undoabtedly produced more superior
trotters than any other country in the world, and in no other
country has the speed of the best American trotters been
equaled."

* Farmers' Eegister. t Farmers'. En-yelopedia.

The Hoese. 21

iii.— points of hokses.

Every one who has anything to do with the horse should
know something of the "poirts" by means of which a good
animal is distinguished from a bad one. It is necessary to
understand this, no matter for what particular service the horse
may be required ; and the qualities indicated by these points
are universal in aU breeds.

To illustrate this subject and teach the uninstructed how to
correctly judge the horse, we introduce the accompanying let-
tered outlines.

It is evident that to be a good judge of a horse, one must
have in his memory a model by which to try all that may be
presented to his criticism and judgment.

Fig. 5 represents such a model. It is a thoioagh-bred
horse, in which the artist has endeavored to avoid every fault.
Fig. 6 is designed to represent a horse in which every good
point is suppressed. It may not be common to see a horse
totally destitute of every good point ; but injudicious breeding
has so obliterated the good ones, that the cut fig. 6 is not a
caricature, though we confess that its original is little less than
a caricature on the true ideal of a horse. Such a head is com-
mon, so is such a shoulder, such a back, quarters, and legs;
and if they are not very often all combined in one animal, they
are, unfortunately, often found distributed among the common
breeds in such abundance as to mar the beauty and the service
of three quarters of all the horses in ordinary use. The letters
are alike on both figures, and will enable the reader to draw a
comparison between the respective points of each. "We copy
the description of the cuts from the Farmer's Companion :

"The most important part of all is probably the direction of
the shoulder, from A to B. Next to this, the length from the
hip to the hock, 0 to D. The point which next to these prob-
ably most contributes to speed and easy going, is the shortness
of the canon bone between the knee and the pastern joint, E
to F, a point without which no leg is good. A horse which
has all these three points good wiU necessarily and infallibly

22

Domestic Animals.

stand over a great deal of ground, W to X, that is, the distance
between his fore and hind feet will be great ; while one which
is deficient in all of them, or, indeed, in the two first, wiU as

Fig. 5. G.,

assuredly stand like a goat with all its feet gathered under him,
and will never be either a fast horse or safe under saddle. A

horse, not in motion, may be more speedily judged of by this
feature than by any other. One consequence of a fine recediug
Bhoulder is to give length in the humerus, or upper arm, from

The Hoese. 23

B to P, without which a great stride can hardly be attained,
but which will seldom if ever be found wanting if the shoulder-
blade be well placed. A prominent and fleshy chest is admired
by some, probably because they think it indicative of powerful
lungs and room for their use. We object to it as adding to
what it is so desirable to avoid — the weight to be lifted forward
in the act of progression — while all the space the lungs require
is to be obtained by depth instead of breadth,, as from A to H,
in which point, if a horse bo deficient, he will seldom be fit
for fast work. The other points which we have marked for
comparison are G to E, or the width of the leg immediately
below the knee, which in a well-formed leg will be equal all the
way down ; in a bad one it will be narrowish immediately below
the knee, or what is called ' tied in.'' The shape of the neck
is more important than might at first thought be supposed, as
aflfecting both the wind and the handiness of the mouth ; no
horse with a faulty neck and a head ill-attached to it, as at Q
to K in fig. 6, ever possesses a good or manageable mouth.
The points of the face are not without significance, a feebly
developed countenance generally showing weakness of courage
if not of constitution. We therefore like to see a large and
bony protuberance above the eye, as at L in fig. 5, giving the
appearance of a sinking immediately below, followed by a
slightly Boman or protruding inclination toward the nose.
These when present are generally signs of 'blood,' which is in
some proportion or other a quality without which no breed of
horses will ever improve or long entitle itself to rank as other
than a race of drudges, fit only for sand or manure carts."

Bearing these points in mind, you may, by observing and
comparing the different animals which fall under your eyes,
soon qualify yourself to give an intelligent opinion of a horse.
One can not become perfect in this branch of knowledge in a
week or in a year. Certainly no careful student of tliis little
book will allow himself to be imposed upon in tli£ purchase of
an animal having many of the bad points represented in fig. 6.
The perfect horse (fig. 5) you will not expect to meet every day.

24

Domestic Animals.

A badij formed horse is not profitable for any pnrpose;
because, if so formed, they are either clumsy, inactive, dull
in mind, or tender and easily broken down. It costs just as
much to breed, raise, and keep a poor horse as a good one, and
the poor one is low in value and unsalable; besides, he is un-
able to do good service in any sphere, or to endure.

We copy from Lavater six heads of horses, which indicate
Fig. 7. different temperaments and a great

diversity of character and disposition.
The accompanying remarks are from
the American FTireTwlogical Jour-
nal :

" Fig. 7 has a slow, heavy temper-
ament ; is without spirit, awkward in
motion, lazy, stupid in intellect, diffi-
cult to teach, bears the whip and
needs it, though it is soon forgotten. He is too lazy to hold up

Fig. 8.

his ears or under lip, and is a

•regular hog-necked, heavy-footed

animal.

"Fig. 8 has more intelligence

and spirit, a more active temper-
ament, and is disposed to anger,

will not bear the whip, and shows

his anger, when teased or irritated,

in a bold, direct onset with the

teeth.

"Fig. 9 is a very active temperament; is a quick, keen,
Fig. 9. active^ intelligent animal, but is sly,

cunning, mischievous, and trickish;
will be hard to catch in the field, in-
clined to slip the bridle, will be a great
shirk in double harness, and will re-
quire a sharp eye and steady hand to
drive him, and will want something
besides a frolicsome boy for a master."

The Hoese.

2r

" Fig. 10 is obstinate, headstrong, easily irritated, deceitfal,
and savage ; will be hard to drive. Fig. lo.

unhandy, unyielding, sour-temper-
ed, bad to bick, inclined to balk.

disposed to fight and crowd his ^/i
mate, and bite and kick his driver."
"Tig. 11 has a noble, proud dis-
position, and a lofty, stately car-
riage, but he is timid, restive, and
easily irritated and thrown off his
mental balance. Such horses should
be used by steady, calm men, and on roads and in business
which have little variety, change, or means of excitement.

Fig. 11. Fig. 12.

"Fig. 12 is a calm, self-possessed animal, with a noble, eleva-
ted disposition, trustworthy, courageous, good-tempered, well
adapted to family use, but not remarkable for sharpness of

mind or activity of body.
'' Figs. 13 and 14 show a
great contrast in shape of
head, expression of coun-
tenance, temperament, dis-
position, and intelligence.
The first is a most noble
animal.

"Fig. 13 is broad be-
tween the eyes, full, round-
ed, and prominent in the

Domestic Animals.

forehead, indicating benevolence and intellect ; broad between
the ears, showing courage; broad between the eyes, evincing
quickness of perception, memory, and capacity to learn. He
can be taught almost anything, can be trusted, and loves and
trusts man ; is not timid, w^ill go anywhere, and stand without

fastening ; never kicks, bites,
or runs away.

"Fig. 14 shows a marked
contrast with fig. 13 in almost
every respect ; his narrow and
contracted forehead shows a
lack of intelligence, kindness,
and tractability ; is timid and
shy in harness, vicious, un-
friendly, disposed to kick,
bite, balk, or run away, and
is fit only for a mill or horse-boat. For all general uses he
should be avoided, and by no means should such an organiza-
tion be employed for breeding purposes."

IV.— COLOR.

W. 0. Spooner, author of several veterinarian works, l^as the
following remarks on color as a sign of other qualities in the
horse:

"We have found both good and bad horses of every color,
and the only rule we can admit as correct is, that certain colors
denote deficient breeding, and therefore such animal is not
likely to be so good as he looks, but is probably deficient in
bottom or the powers of endurance. These colors are black,
which prevails so much with cart-horses, and sorrel, dun, pie-
bald, etc. ; the possessors of which come from the North, and
possess no Eastern blood. Black horses, unless evidently high
bred, are very often soft and sluggish, with breeding insuf-
ficient for their work; the pedigree of the majority of theiri
may be dated from the plow^-tail, whatever admixtures there
may have been since. White hair denotes a thin skin, which

The Horse. 27

is objectionable when it prevails on the legs of borses, as such

Fig. 15.

NMuzzle

Common Teoms denoting thk Pakts op a Hobse.

animals are more disposed to swelled legs and cracked heels
than others. Bay horses with black
legs are greatly esteemed, yet we
have known many determined slugs
of this hue. Their constitution is,
however, almost invariably good.
Chestnut is the prevailing color
with our race-horses, and conse-
quently chestnut horses are gener-
ally pretty well bred, and possess
the good and bad qualities which
obtain most among thorough-breds.
The Suffolk cart-horse is also dis-
Secxion of a noESE's FootT tinguished by his light chestnut col-

28 Domestic Animals.

or ; and it is no small recommendation to find that this treed
has, for several years past, carried away the principal prizes at
the annual shows of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.
Gray is a very good color, and generally denotes a considerable
admixture of Eastern blood."

v.— STABLES.

"We condense from Stewart's admirable " Stable Book" the
larger portion of the following useful hints and suggestions in
reference to stables and their management.

1. Stables as they Are. — Stable architects have not much to
boast of. When left to themselves they seem to think of Httle
beyond shelter and confinement. If the weather be kept out
and the horse be kept in, the stable is suflScient. If light and
air be demanded, the doorway wiU admit them, and other
apertures are superfluous.

The majority of stables have been built with little regard to
the comfort and health of the horse. Most of them are too
small, too dark, too close, or too open ; and some are mere
dungeons, destitute of every convemence.

2. Situation of Stables. — When any choice exists, a situation
should be chosen which admits of draining, shelter from the
coldest winds, and facility of access. Damp places are especiallj
to be avoided. It is in damp stables that we expect to find
horses with bad eyes, coughs, greasy heels, swelled legs, mange,
and a long, dry, staring coat, which no grooming can cure.
Take every precaution, then, against dampness in your stables.

3. Size of Stables. — They are seldom too large in proportion
to the number of stalls ; but are often made to hold too many
horses. Horses require pure air as well as human beings ; and
the process of breathing has the same eflfect in their case as in
ours — changing it to that poisonous substance, carbonic acid
gas. With twenty or thirty horses in a single apartment no
ordinary ventilation is sufiicient to keep the air pure. Large
stables, too, are liable to frequent and great alterations of tem-
perature. When several horses are out, those which remain

The Hokse. 29

are often rendered nncomfortably cold, and when the stable is
full the whole are fevered or excited by excess of heat. Effi-
cient ventilation — a very important object — is also much more
difficult in a large than in a small stable.

In width the stable may vary from sixteen to eighteen feet ;
and in length it must have six feet for each stall. Large cart-
liorses require a little more room both in length and breadth of
stable. The number of stalls should not exceed sixteen, and it
would be better if there were only eight.

Double-rowed stables, or those in which the stalls occupy
both sides, require least space, and for horses kept at full work
are sufficiently suitable, but for carriage horses single-rowed
stables are better. If the double-rowed are used, the gangway
should be wide, to prevent the horses from kicking at each
other, as they are apt to do when they grow playful from half
idleness.

4. Windows^ — Windows are too much neglected in stables, and
where they exist at all are generally too few, too small, and ill
placed. Some think horses do not require light — that they
thrive best in the dark; but many a horse has become blind
for the want of light in his stable. When side windows can
not be introduced, a portion of the hay loft must be sacrificed
and light introduced from the roof. Side windows should be
60 arranged that the light wiU not faU directly upon the eyes
of the horse.

5. Floors. — Stable floors may be of stone, brick, plank, or
earth. One of the best kinds of stable floor, where the soil is
dry, is made of a composition of lime, ashes, and clay, mixed
up in equal parts into a mortar and spread from twelve to fif-
teen inches deep over the surface of the ground forming the
bottom of the stable. It will dry in ten days and makes a very
smooth, fine flooring, particularly safe, easy, and agreeable for
horses to stand upon, and free from aU the objections to stone,

* A. B. Allen.

30 Domestic Animals.

6. Draining. — A gutter or other contrivance for carrying off
the nrine should always be made in a stable, otherwise it will
be foul and damp. It should be conveyed into a tank and care-
fully saved as manure.

7. JRacl's and Mangers. — These should be so placed that the
horse can eat from them with ease. The face of the rack next
the horse should be perpendicular, or as nearly so as possible.
Sometimes the face is so sloping and the rack so high tliat the
horse has to turn his head almost upside down to get at his food.

The mangers or troughs from which the horse eats his grain
are now sometimes made of cast u'on, which we deem a great
improvement over wood. The manger should be concave and
not flat at the bottom. Mangers are generally placed too low.
The bottom should be from three feet and a half to fom* feet
from the ground, according to the height of the horse.

8. Ventilation of Stahlcs. — Impure air, as we have already
remarked, is hurtful to the horse as well as to the human being
inducing disease and shortening life. To avoid it in our own
case, we (sometimes I) ventilate our houses. K we would have
our horses healthy we must do the same for the stable. Aper-
tures, one for each stall, should be provided for carrying off the
impure air. These should be so near the top of the building as
practicable. It should be eight or ten inches square. Smaller
apertures near the floor or not far from the horse's nostrils wiU
serve to admit fresh air.*

9. Warmth, etc. — If you wish to have your horses thrive
and continue healthy, you can not pay too much attention to
their comfort. Then* stables should be warm in winter and
cool in summer. To secure these conditions, they should be
properly constructed. [For plans, see " The House."] To keep
stables suflSciently warm, no artificial means are required. It
is enough that the outside air, except so much as is required
for ventilation, be excluded during the coldest weather. "Warm
blankets should of course be used at the same time.

• See Chaper on Barns and Stables, in " The House **

The Hokse. 81

vi.— feedixg.

1. The Best Food for Horses. — Considerable care and system
are necessary in feeding horses, so as to keep them in the best
health and the highest working order,

'• The best food for ordinary working-horses in America,"
A. B. Allen says, "is as much good hay or grass as they will
eat, corn-stalks or blades, or for the want of these, straw, and
a mixture of from sixteen to twenty-four quarts per day, of
about half and half of oats and the better quality of wheat bran.
When the horse is seven years old past, two to four quarts of
corn or hominy or meal ground from the corn and cob is
preferable to the pure grain. Two to four quarts of wheat,
barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, or beans, either whole or ground,
may be substituted for the corn. A pint of oil meal or a gill of
flax-seed mixed with the other food is very good for a relish, es-
pecially in keeping up a healthy system and the bowels open, and
in giving the hair a fine glossy appearance. Potatoes and
other roots, imless cooked, do not seem to be of much benefit
in this climate, especially in winter — ^they lie cold upon the
stomach and subject the horse to scouring; besides, they are
too watery for a hard-working animal. Corn is fed too much
at the South and West. It makes horses fat, but can not give
them that hard, muscular flesh which oats do; hence their
softness and want of endurance in general work and on the
road, in comparison with Northern and Eastern horses, reared
and fed on oats and more nutritious grasses."

2. Trt>/'X- and Digestion. — Slow work aids digestion, empties
the bowels, and sharpens the appetite. Hence it happens that
on Sunday night and Konday morning there are more cases of
colic and founder than during any other part of the week.
Horses that never want an appetite ought not to have an un-
limited allowance of hay on Sunday; they have time to
eat a great deal more than they need, and the torpid state of
the stomach and bowels, produced by a day of idleness, renders
an additional quantity very dangerous. Farm and cart horses
are fed immediately before commencing their labor, and the

32 Domestic Animals.

appetite with whicli they return shows that the stomach is not

fuU.

During fast work digestion is suspended. In the general
commotion excited by violent exertion, the stomach can hardly
be in a favorable condition for performing its duty. The blood
circulates too rapidly to permit the formation of gastric juice
or its combination with the food ; and the blood and the nerv-
ous influence are so exclusively concentrated and expended
upon the muscular system, that none can be spared for carry-
ing on the digestive process.

3. Bulh Essential. — Condensed food is necessary for fast-
working horses. Their food must be in less compass than that
of the farm or cart horse. But to this condensation there are
some limits. Grain affords all, and more than all, the nutri-
ment a horse is capable of consummg, even under the most
extraordinary exertion. His stomach and bowels can hold
more than they are able to digest. Something more than nu-
triment is wanted. The bowels must suffer a moderate degree
of distension ; more than a wholesome allowance of grain can
produce.

When hay is very dear and grain cheap, it is customary in
many stables to give less than the usual allowance of hay, and
more grain. The alteration is sometimes carried too far, and
is often made too suddenly. The horses may have as much
grain as they will eat, yet it does not suffice without fodder.
Having no hay, they will leave the grain to eat the litter.
When the ordinary fodder, then, is very dear, its place must
be supplied by some other which will produce a wholesome
distension, though it may not yield so much nutriment. Straw
or roots, either or both, may be used in such cases. The ex-
cessively tucked-up flank, and the horse's repeated efforts to
eat his litter, show when his food is not of sufficient bulk, and
this indication must not be disregarded.

4. Quantity of Food. — The quantity of food may be insuffi-
cient, or it may be in excess. The consumption is iufluenced
by the work, the weather, the horse's condition, age, temper,

The Hoese. 33

form, and healtli; these circumstances, especially the work,
must regulate the allowance.

When the horse has to work as much and as often as he is
able, his allowance of food should be unlimited.

"When the work is such as to destroy the legs more than it
exhausts the system, the food must be given with some restric-
tion, unless the horse be a poor eater.

When the work is moderate, or less than moderate, a good
feeder will eat too much.

When the weather is cold, horses that are much exposed to
it require more food than when the weather is warm.

When the horse is in good working condition, he needs less
food than while he is only getting into condition.

Young growing horses require a little more food than those
of mature age ; but, as they are not fit for full work, the dif-
ference is not great.

Old horses, those that have begun to decline in vigor, require
more food than the young or the matured.

Hot-tempered, irritable horses seldom feed well ; but those
that have good appetites require more food to keep them in
condition, than others of quiet and calm disposition.

Small-bellied, narrow-chested horses require more food than
those of deep and round carcass ; but few of them eat enough
to maintain them in condition for full work.

Lame, greasy-heeled, and harness-galled horses require an
extra allowance of food to keep them in working condition.

Sickness, fevers, inflammations, all diseases which influence
health so much as to throw the horse off work, demand, with
few exceptions, a spare diet, which, in general, consists of
bran-mashes, grass, carrots, and hay.*

5. Watering. — This is a part of stable management little
regarded by the farmer. He lets his horses loose morning and
night, and they go to the nearest pond or brook and drink their
fill, and no harm results, for they obtain that kind of water

* Stewart's Stable Book.

2*

34: Domestic Animals.

whicli nature designed them to have, in a manner prepared
for them by some unknown influence of the atmosphere, as
well as by the deposition of many saline admixtures.

The difference between hard and soft water is known to
every one. There is nothing in which the different effect of
hard and soft water is so evident as in the stomach and di-
gestive organs of the horse. Hard water drawn fresh from the
well will assuredly make the coat of a horse unaccustomed to
it stare, and it will not unfrequently gripe and otherwise injure
him. He is injured, however, not so much by the hardness of
the weU-water as by its coldness — -particularly by its coldness
in summer, and when it is in many degrees below the tempera-
ture of the atmosphere. The water in the brook and the
pond being warmed by long exposure to the air, as well as
having become soft, the horse drinks freely of it without danger.

If the horse were watered three times a day, and especially
in summer, he would often be saved from the sad torture of
thirst, and from many a disease. Whoever has observed the
eagerness with which the over-worked horse, hot and tired,
plunges his muzzle into the pail, and the diflBculty of stop-
ping him until he has drained the last drop, may form some
idea of what he had previously suffered, and wiU not won-
der at the violent spasms, and inflammation, and sudden
death that often result. There is a prejudice in the minds of
many persons against the horse being fully supplied with water.
They think that it injures his wind, and disables him for quick
and hard work. If he is galloped, as he too often is, immedi-
ately aft^r drinking, his wind may be irreparably injured ; but
if he were oftener suffered to satiate his thirst at the intervals
of rest he would be happier and better. It is a fact unsuspect-
ed by those who have not carefully observed the horse, that
if he has frequent access to water he will not drink so much
in the coui-se of the day as another will do, who, to cool his
parched mouth, swallows as fast as he can and knows not
when to stop.

On a journey a horse should be liberally supplied with

The Horse. 35

water. "When he is a little cooled, two or three quarts maj be
given to him, and after that his feed. Before he has finished
his corn, two or three quarts more may he offered. He will
take no harm if this is repeated three or four times during a long
and hot day."^-

VII.— GEXEPwU. MANAGEMENT.

1. Air. — We have spoken of the necessity of ventilation.
Hear what that great authority, Youatt, says :

"If the stable is close, the air will not only be hot but foul.
The breathing of every animal contaminates it ; and when in
the course of the night, with every aperture stopped, it passes
again and again through the lungs, the blood can not undergo
its proper and healthy change ; digestion will not be so per-
fectly performed, and all the functions of life are injured. Let
the owner of a valuable horse think of his passing twenty or
twenty -two out of the twenty-four hours in this debilitating
atmosphere ! Nature does wonders in enabling every animal
to accommodate itself to the situation in which it is placed,
and the horse that lives in the stable-oven suffers less from it
than would scarcely be conceived possible: but he does not,
and can not, possess the power and the hardihood which he
would acquire under other circumstances.

" The air of the improperly close and heated stable is still
further contaminated by the urine and dung, which rapidly
ferment there, and give out stimulating and unwholesome
vapors. When a person first enters an ill-managed stable, and
especially early in the morning, he is annoyed not only by the
heat of the confined air, but by a pungent smell, resembling
hartshorn ; and can he be surprised at the inflammation of the
eyes, and the chronic cough, and the f lisease of the lungs, bj
which the animal, who has been all night ihut up in this vitiaA
ted atmosphere, is often attacked; or if glanders and farcy
«hould occasionally break out in such stables ? It has been
ascertained by chemical experiment that the urine of the horse

* Youatt,

36 Domestic Animals.

contains in it an exceedingly large quantity of hartshorn; and
not only so, but that, influenced by the heat of a crowded
stable, and possibly by other decompositions that are going for-
ward at the same time, this ammoniacal vapor begins to be
rapidly given out almost immediately after the urine is voided."

a. Litter. — The facts just stated in reference to the plenti-
ful escape of ammoniacal gas from the urine, show the necessity
of frequently removing the litter which is soon saturated with
it. It rapidly putrefies, emitting noisome odors and contami-
nating the air. Everything hastening decomposition should be
carefully removed where life and health are to be preserved.
Litter that has been much wetted and has begun to decay
should be swept out every morning.

No heap of fermenting dung should be suffered to remain
during the day in the corner or any part of the stable.

3. Grooming. — Of this little need be said to the farmer in
reference to his working horses, since custom, and apparently
without ill effect, has allotted to them so little of the comb
and brush. " The animal that is worked all day and turned
out at night," Youatt says, " requires little more to be done to
him than to have the dirt brushed ofT his limbs. Regular
grooming, by rendering his skin more sensible to the alteration
of temperature and the inclemency of the weather, vv^ould be
prejudicial. The horse that is altogether turned out, needs no
grooming. The dandruff or scurf, which accumulates at the
roots of the hair, is a provision of nature to defend him from
the wind and the cold.

"It is to the stabled horse, highly fed and little or irreg-
ularly worked, that grooming is of so much consequence.
Good rubbing with the brush or the curry-comb opens the
pores of the skin, circulates the blood to the extremities of
the body, produces free and healthy perspiration, and stands in
the room of exercise, '^o horse Avill carry a fine coat without
either unnatural heat or dressing. They both effect the same
purpose ; they both increase the insensible perspiration ; but
the first does it at the expense of health and strength, while

The Hokse. 37

the second, at the same time that it produces a glow ou the
skin and a determination of blood to it, rouses all the energies
of the frame. It would be well for the proprietor of the horse
if he were to insist — and to see that his orders are really obeyed
— that the fine coat in which he and his groom so much delight
is produced by honest rubbing, and not by a heated stable and
thick clothing, and, most of all, not by stimulating or injurious
spices. The horse should be regularly dressed every day, in
addition to the grooming that is necessary after work.

" When the weather will permit the horse to be taken out,
he should never be groomed in the stable, unless he is an
animal of peculiar value, or placed for a time under peculiar
circumstances. Without dwelling on the want of cleanliness,
when the scurf and dust that are brushed from the horse lodge
in his manger and mingle with his food, experience teaches,
that if the cold is not too great, the animal is braced and invig-
orated to a degree that can not be attained in the stable, from
being dressed in the open air. There is no necessity, however,
for half the punishment which many a groom inflicts upon the
horse in the act of dressing ; and particularly on one whose
skin is thin and sensible. The curry-comb should at all times
be lightly applied. With many horses, its use may be almost
dispensed with ; and even the brush needs not to be so hard,
nor the points of the bristles so irregular, as they often are.
A soft brush, with a little more weight of the hand, will be
equally effectual and a great deal more pleasant to the horse.
A hair-cloth, while it will seldom irritate and tease, will be
almost sufficient with horses that have a thin skin, and that
have not been neglected. After all, it is no slight task to dress
a horse as it ought to be done. It occupies no little time, and
demands considerable patience as well as dexterity. It will be
readily ascertained whether a horse has been v/ell dressed, by
rubbing him with one of the fingers. A greasy stain will detect
the idleness of the groom. When, however, the horse is chang-
ing his coat, both the curry-comb and the brush should be
ased as lightly as possible.

38 Domestic Animals.

""Whoever would be convinced of the benefit of friction to
the horse's skin and to the horse generally, needs onlj to ob-
serve the eftects produced by well hand-rubbing the legs of a
tired horse. While every enlargement subsides, and the pain-
ful stiffness disappears, and the legs attain their natural warmth
and become fine, the animal is evidently and rapidly reviving ;
lie attacks his food with appetite, and then quietly lies down
to rest."

4. Exercise. — Of this the farm horse generally has enough.
His work is tolerably regular, not exhausting, and he generally
maintains his health and has his life prolonged to an extent
rare among horses of " leisure." But a gentleman's or a trades-
man's horse sufiers a great deal more from idleness than he
does from work. A stable-fed horse should have two hours'
exercise every day, if he is to be kept free from disease. Noth-
ing of extraordinary, or even of ordinary, labor can be efifected
on the road or in the field without suflicient and regular exercise.
It is this alone which can give energy to the system or devel-
ope the powers of any animal. The animal that, with the
usual stable feeding, stands idle for three or four days, as is the
case in many establishments, must suflfer. He is predisposed to
fever, or to grease, or, most of all, to diseases of the foot ; and
if, after three or four days of inactivity he is ridden far and
fast he is almost sure to have inflammation of the lungs or of
the feet.

VIII —VICES AND BAD HABITS.

The vices and bad habits of the horse, like those of his mas-
ter, are oftener than otherwise the consequence of a faulty ed-
ucation. We are convinced that innately vicious horses are
comparatively few. We condense from Youatt the following
bints on this subject.

1. Eestiveness. — At the head of all the vices of the horse is
restiveness, the most annoying and the most dangerous of all.
It is the produce of bad temper and worse education; and,
like all other habits founded on nature and stamped by edu-
cation, it is inveterate. Whether it appears in the form of

The Horse. 39

kicking or rearing, plunging or bolting, or in any way that
threatens danger to the rider or the horse, it rarely admits of
cure. A determined rider may, to a certain extent, subjugate
the animal ; or the horse may have his favorites, or form his
attachments, and with some particular person he may be com-
paratively or perfectly manageable ; but others can not long
depend upon him, and even his master is not always sure of
him.

2. Baclcing or Balking. — Some horses have the habit of
backing at first starting, and that more from playfulness than
desire of mischief. A moderate application of the whip will
usually be effectual. Others, even after starting, exhibit con-
siderable obstinacy and viciousness. This is frequently the
effect of bad breaking.

A large and heavy stone should be put behind the wheel be-
fore starting, when the horse, finding it more difficult to back
than to go forward, will gradually forget this unpleasant trick.
It will likewise be of advantage as often as it can be managed,
80 to start that the horse shall have to back up-hill. The dif-
ficulty of accomplishing this will soon make him readily go
forward. A little coaxing or leading will assist in accomplish-
ing the cure.

3. Biting. — This is perhaps sometimes the consequence of
natural ferocity, but is more frequently acquired from the fool-
ish teasing play of hostlers and stable-boys. At first his biting
is half playfal and half in earnest, but finally becomes habitual
and degenerates into absolute viciousness. It is seldom that
anything can be done in the way of cure. Kindness will aggra-
vate the evU. and no degree of severity will correct it. "I have
seen," Professor Stuart says, " biters punished until they trem-
bled in every joint and were ready to drop, but have never in
any case known them cured by this treatment or by any other.
The lash is forgotten in an hour, and the horse is as ready and
determined to repeat the offense as before. He appears unable
to resist the temptation, and in its worst form biting is a spe-
oiod of insanity."

40 Domestic Animals.

But if biting can not be cured it may almost always be pre-
vented, and every proprietor of horses, while he insists upon
gentle and humane treatment of his animals, should strictly
forbid this horse-play.

4. Kicking. — This, as a mce^ is another consequence of the
culpable habit of grooms and stable-boys of teasing the horse.
That which is at first an indication of annoyance at the pinch-
ing and tickling of the groom, and without any design to injure,
gradually becomes the expression of anger, and the effort tso do
mischief. The horse, likewise, too soon recognizes the least
appearance of timidity, and takes advantage of the discovery.
There is no cure for this vice after it has become a confirmed
habit, and he can not be justified who keeps a kicking horse
in his stable. Before the habit is inveterately established, a
thorn-bush or a piece of furze fastened against the partition or
post will sometimes eifect a cure. When the horse finds that
he is pretty severely pricked he will not long continue to
punish himself.

5. Rearing. — This sometimes results from playfulness, car-
ried, indeed, to an unpleasant and dangerous extent ; but it is
oftener a desperate and occasionally successful effort to unhorse
the rider, and consequently a vice. The horse that has twice
decidedly and dangerously reared should never be trusted
again, unless, indeed, it was the fault of the rider, who had
been using a deep curb and a sharp bit. Some of the best
horses will contend against these, and then rearing may be
immediately and permanently cured by using a snafl&e bridle
alone.

6. Running Away. — There is no certainty of cure for this
vice. The only method which affords any probability of suc-
cess is, to ride or drive such a horse with a strong curb and
sharp bit; to have him always firmly in hand; and if he will
run away and the place will admit of it, to give him (sparing
neither curb nor whip) a great deal more running than he likes.

Y. Overreaching. — This unpleasant noise, known also by the
term "clicking," arises from the toe of the hind-foot knocking

The Horse. 41

against tlie shoe of the fore-foot. If the animal is young, tlie
action of the horse may be materially improved ; otherwise
nothing can be done, except to keep the toe of the hind-foot as
short and as round as it can safely be, and to bevel oif and round
the toe of the shoe, like that which has been worn off by a
stumbling horse, and, perhaps, to lower the heel of the fore-foot
a little.

8. Rolling. — Some horses have the habit of rolling in the
stable, by which they are liable to get cast, bruised, and half
strangled. The only remedy is to tie such a horse with just
length of halter enough to lie down, but not allow of his resting
his head on the ground. This is an unpleasant means of cure,
and not always a safe one.

9. Sliying. — This vice is often the result of cowardice, or
playfulness, or want of work, but at other times it is the con-
sequence of a defect of sight ; and in its treatment it is of great
importance to distinguish between these different causes. For
the last, every allowance must be made, and care must be taken
that the fear of correction is not associated with the imagined
existence of some terrifying object. The severe use of the whip
and the spur can not do good here, and are likely to aggravate
the vice ten-fold. A word half encouraging and half scolding
will tell the horse that there was nothing to fear, and will give
him confidence in his rider on a future occasion.

The shying from skittishness or affectation is quite a different
affair, and must be conquered : but how ? Severity is altogether
out of place. If he is forced into contact with the object by
dint of correction, the dread of punishment will afterward be
associated with that object, and on the next occasion his start-
ings will be more frequent and more dangerous. The way to
cure him is to go on, turning as little as possible out of the road,
giving a harsh word or t-wo and a gentle touch, and then taking
no more notice of the matter. After a few times, whatever
may have been the object which he chose to select as the pre-
tended cause of affright, he will pass it almost without notice.

10. Slipping tlie Halter. — Many horses are so clever at this

42 Domestic Animals.

trick that s .arcelj a night passes without their getting loose.
It is a habit which may lead to dangerous results, and should be
cured at once by some extra means of securing the halter in its
place, or by a strap attached to it and buckled securely (but
not tight enough to be a serious inconvenience), around the
neck.

11. Tripping. — He must be a skillful practitioner or a mere
pretender who promises to remedy this habit. If it arises from
a heavy fore-hand and the fore-legs being too much under the
horse, no one can alter the natural frame of the animal ; if it
proceeds from tenderness of the foot, grogginess, or old lameness,
these ailments are seldom cured. Also, if it is to be traced to
habitual carelessness and idleness, no whipping will rouse the
drone. A known stumbler should never be ridden or driven
by any one who values his safety or his life.

If the stumbler has the foot kept as short and the toe pared
as close as safety will permit, and the shoe is rounded at the
toe, or has that shape given to it which it naturally acquires in
a fortnight from the peculiar action of such a horse, the animal
may not stumble quite so much ; or if the disease which pro-
duced the habit can be alleviated, some trifling good may be
done, but in almost every case a stumbler should be got rid o^
or put to slow and heavy work. If the latter alternative is
adopted, he may trip as much as he pleases, for the weight of
the load and the motion of the other horses will keep him upor
his legs.

IX.— HINTS TO BUYEES.

1. Warranty. — A man should have a more perfect knowledge
of horses than falls to the lot of most men, and a perfect knowl-
edge of the seller also, who ventures to buy a horse without a
warranty. This warranty is usually embodied in the receipt,
which may be expressed as follows :

Keceived at Louisville, August Iftth, 1858, from C. D., one hundred dollars
for a gray horse warranted only five years old, sound, free from vice, and quiet
to ride or drive. A. V.

**A receipt, including merely the word 'warranted,' ex«

The Hoese. 43

tends only to soundness ; ' warranted sound' goes no further ;
the age, freedom from vice, and quietness to ride and drive,
should be especially named. This warranty comprises every
cause of unsoundness that can be detected, or that lurks in the
constitution at the time of sale, and to every vicious habit that
the animal has hitherto shown. To establish a breach of war-
ranty, and to be enabled to tender a return of the horse and
recover the difference of price, the purchaser must prove that
it was unsound or viciously disposed at the time of sale.

" JSTo price will imply a warranty or be equivalent to one ;
there must be an express warranty. A fraud must be proved
in the seller, in order that the buyer may be enabled to return
the horse or maintain an action for the price. The warranty
should be given at the time of sale. A warranty, or a promise
to warrant the horse, given at any period antecedent to the
sale, is invalid ; for horse flesh is a very perishable commodity,
and the constitution and usefulness of the animal may undergo
a considerable change in the space of a few days. A warranty
after the sale is invalid, for it 15 given without any legal con-
sideration. In order to complete the purchase, there must be
a transfer of the animal, or a memorandum of agreement, or
the payment of the earnest-money. The least sum will sufilce
for earnest. No verbal promise to buy or to sell is binding
without one of these. The moment either of these is effected,
the legal transfer of property or delivery is made, and what-
ever may happen to the horse, the seller retains, or is entitled
to, the money. If the purchaser exercises any act of owner-
ship, by using the animal without leave of the vender, or by
having any operation performed, or any medicine given to him,
he makes him his own.

" If a person buys a horse warranted sound, and discovering
no defect in him, and relying on the warranty, re-sells him,
and the unsoundness is discovered by the second purchaser,
and the horse returned to the first purchaser, or an action com-
menced against him, he has his claim on the first seller, and
may demand of him not only the price of the horse, or the dif-

i4 Domestic Animals.

ference in value, but every expense that may have been in-
curred.

"Absolute exchanges of one horse for another, or a sum of
money being paid in addition by one of the parties, stand on
the same ground as simple sales. If there is a warranty on
either side, and that is broken, an action may be maintained :
if there be no warranty, deceit must be proved."

2. What constitutes Unsoundness? — " That horse is sound in
whom there is no disease, and no alteration of structure that
impairs or is likely to impair his natural usefulness. The horse
is unsound that labors under disease, or has some alteration of
structure which does interfere, or is likely to interfere, with
his natural usefulness. The term ' natural usefulness' must
be borne in mind. One horse-may possess great speed, but is
soon knocked up ; another will work all day, but can not be
got beyond a snail's pace ; a third with a heavy fore-hand is
liable to stumble, and is continually putting to hazard the neck
of his rider ; another, with an irritable constitution and a loose,
washy form, loses his appetite and begins to scour if a little
extra work is exacted from him. The term unsoundness must
not be applied to either of these ; it would be opening far too
widely a door to disputation and endless wrangling. The buy-
er can discern, or ought to know, whether the form of the
horse is that which will render him likely to suit his purpose,
and he should try him sufficiently to ascertain his natural
strength, endurance, and manner of going. Unsoundness, we
repeat, has reference only to disease, or to that alteration of
structure which is connected with, or will produce, disease and
lessen the usefulness of the animal."*

* Touatt.

The Ass and the Mule.

45

n.

THE ASS AND THE MULE.

0, that 1 had been writ down an ass l—Dogberrv,

I.— THE ASS.

UrrON lias well observed that the ass is de-
spised and neglected only because we possess a
more noble and powerful animal in the horse,
and that if the horse were unknown, and the
care and attention that we lavish upon him
were transferred to his now neglected and despised rival, the
latter would be increased in size and developed in mental qual-
ities to an extent which it would be difficult to anticipate, but
which Eastern travelers, who have observed both animals in
their native climates, and among nations by whom they are
equally valued, and the good qualities of each justly appreci-
ated, assure us to be the fact.

The character and habits of the horse and the ass are in
many respects directly opposed. The one is proud, fiery, im-
petuous, nice in his tastes, and delicate in his constitution;
subject, like a pampered menial, to many diseases, and having
many wants and habits unknown in a state of nature. The
other, on the contrary, is humble, patient, quiet, and hardy.

For food the ass contents himself with the most harsh and
disagreeable herbs, which other animals will scarcely touch;
m the choice of water he is, however, very nice, drinking only
that which is perfectly clear, and at brooks with which he is
acquainted.

The qualities of the ass as a working animal are almost or
quite unknown in this country, but in other lands he is found

4c6 Domestic Animals.

very serviceable to the poor who are not able to huj or to keep
horses. He requires verj little care, bears correction with
firmness, sustains labor and hunger with patience, and is sel-
dom or never sick.

The varieties of the ass, in countries favorable to their de-
velopment, are great. In Guinea the asses are large, and in
shape even excel the native horses. The asses of Arabia
(Chardin says) are perhaps the handson^est animals in the
world. Their coat is smooth and clean ; they carry the head
elevated; and have fine and well-formed legs, which they
throw out gracefully in walking or galloping. In Persia alsc
they are finely formed, some being even stately, and much used
in draught and for carrying burdens, while others are more
lightly proportioned, and used for the saddle by persons of
quality ; frequently fetching the large sum of 400 livres ; and
being taught a kmd of ambling pace, are richly caparisoned
and used by the rich and luxurious nobles.*

II.— THE MULE.

The principal objection to the ass, as a beast of burden, being
his small size, the ingenuity of man early devised means to
remedy this defect by crossing him with the horse ; thus pro-
ducing an intermediate animal with the size and strength of
the latter, and the patience, hardiness, and sure-footedness cf
the former.

The mule is the offspring of the ass and the mare, or the
female ass and the horse. In the latter case the produce is
called a jennet, and is much less hardy, and therefore rarely
bred.

Mules are much used in warm climates, where they are pre-
ferred to horses for many purposes. They are very numerous
in our Southern States and not uncommon in the Middle and
Western States.

Kentucky is the great mule-breeding State. Many thou-

* Blane's Encyclopedia of Eural Sports.

The Ass axd the Mttie. 47

sand's are annually i-aised there for the N"ew York and Southern
markets. A correspondent of the American Veterinary Jour-
nal sajs :

" The mule trade is one of the largest of Kentucky, Jind af-
lords one of her chief sources of revenue. The mule is fed from
v.eaning time (which is generally at the age of five or six
months) to the full extent of its capacity to eat, and that,
too, on oats and corn, together with hay and fodder. In lieu
of the long food, soiling is usually adopted in the summer, as
they are kept confined in a pound or paddock, containing an
acre or two of ground, which is usually partially shaded, in
herds of one hundred or one hundred and fifty. In this way
they are kept until the faU after they are two years old, receiv-
ing a sort of forcing hot-house treatment. At this age they
are taken to the Southern market, not always by the feeder,
but more generally by the speculator or trader ; there they are
sold to the planter entirely unbroken. The planters are too
cautious to buy a broken mule, lest it should prove to be an an-
tiquated, broken-down beast, fattened up and sold for a young
one — as it is more ditlicult to judge of his age than that of a
horse. The external marks of time and service are not gener-
ally so apparent upon him. But it is a small job to break a
mule. It is only necessary to have a steady horse to work him,
with a second hand to drive him an hour or two to keep him
ap, after which he is considered ready for any service that the
farmer may require of him. He may kick once or twice, but
is unlike the spirited horse, who when he commences is apt to
kick himself out of the harness before he stops.

" Persons who have tried them on the farm are pleased with
them. They never get sick and rarely get lame, will do as
much work as horses which will cost twice as much money,
and at the same time will subsist on less and inferior food ; for
a mule will work very well on wheat straw and corn shucks,
whereas the horse must have grain as well as a good allowance
of long food. They are better for our servants to handle, as
they can stand neglect and violent treatment better than the

48

Domestic Animals.

horse, and a blemish, such as the loss of an eye, does not
impair their value so much as that of the horse."

To have large and handsome mules, the mare should be of a
targe breed and well proportioned, with rather small limbs, a
moderate sized head, and a good forehead ; and the ass should
be of the large Spanish breed.

Cattle,

^9

III.

CATTLE.

The noble, paMent ox and gentle cow
Kind usage claim ; and he's a brute Indeed,
Unwoi thy of companionship with them.
Who with neglect or cruelty repa\'S
The debt he owes their race.— ^nor.

I.-HISTOET

F the ox tribe (Bovidm) there are eight species
— the ancient bison (Bos urns)\ the bison or
American buifalo {B. hiso7i); the musk ox (B.
moschatus)\ the gayal {B. frontalis) \ the grunt-
ing ox {B. grunniens) ; the buffalo of Southern
Atnca (B. ca^er) ; the common buffalo (j5. lul)ulus)\ and the
common domestic ox {B. taurus). It is with the last only that
we have to do in the present work.

The ox has been domesticated and in the service of man
from the remotest antiquity. The Bible informs us that cattle
were kept by the early descendants of Adam (Gen. iv. 20).
That their value has been duly appreciated in all ages and in
all climates, is shown by authentic history. Both the Hindoos
and the Egyptians placed the ox among their deities ; and no
quadruped certainly is more worthy to be thus exalted.

The parent race of the ox is supposed by some to have
been much larger than any of the present varieties. The urus,
in his wild state at least, was an enormous and fierce animal,
and ancient legends have thrown around him an air of mys-
tery. In almost every part of the continent of Europe and in
England, skulls, evidently belonging to cattle, have been found
far exceeding in size those of the present day ; but these may
have belonged to exceptional individuals,

3

60 Domestic Animals.

Of the original race of British cattle no satisfactory descrip-
tion occurs in any ancient author ; but it is believed that, with
occasional exceptions, they possessed no great bulk or beauty.
They were doubtless numerous, for Caesar tells ns, in his Com-
mentaries, that the ancient Britons neglected tillage and lived
on milk and flesh. It was that occupation and mode of life
which suited their state of society. A few specimens of the
pure ancient breed, descendants of cattle which escaped from
their masters centuries since and became wild, may now be
seen in the parks of gentlemen in England. They are very
wild, and are said to be untamable.

The breeds of cattle in England are remarkable for their
numerous varieties, caused by the almost endless crossings of
one breed with another.

The breeds of cattle now found in America are all derived
from Europe, and those of the United States mainly from Eng-
land. The early importations were of inferior grades, as the
grand improvements in British cattle, commenced by Bake-
well, date back no farther than about the time of the Revolu-
tion. In New England the primitive stock is believed to have
undergone considerable improvement, while in parts of the
Middle and Southern States it has undoubtedly deteriorated.

II.— BKEEDS.

A strict classification of the numerous breeds of cattle now
existing in the United States would be diflScult. Youatt
arranges British cattle under three heads, according to the com-
parative size of their horns — ^the Long Horns, the Short Horns,
and the Middle Horns. These classes are all represented here.
The prevailing stock of the Eastern States is believed to be
derived from the Middle Horns or North Devons, most of the
excellent marks and qualities of which they possess. They
have frequently been called the American Devons, and are
highly esteemed. The most valuable working oxen are of this
breed, which also contributes largely to the best displays of
beef found in the markets of New York, Philadelphia, and Bos*

Cattle

51

ton. The Long Horns or Craven cattle, although not numer-
ous, are occasionally met with. The Short Horns are of more
recent introduction, but this breed, with various crosses, is now
perhaps the predominant one of the country.

Jt will be profitable to speak somewhat in detail, although
briefly, of the several breeds — at least the more prominent ones
— and we will begin with

Fisr. 17.

A Detox Bull.

1. The Devon Breed. — This is a handsome and valuable
breed. The bull should have fellow horns ; clear, bright, and
prominent eyes ; small, flat, indented forehead ; a fine muzzle ;
small cheek ; a clear yellow nose ; a high and open nostril ; a
thick neck, with the hair about the head curled ; a straight
back ; and be well set upon the legs. The head of the ox is
smaUer, otherwise he does pot diflfer materially in shape from

52

Domestic Animals.

the bull. He is quicker in his motions than any other ox, and
is generally docile, good tempered, and honest.

The cow is nmch smaller than the bull, but roomy for breed-
ing, and distinguished for her clear, round eye and general beau-
ty of features. "^V^ith regard to the comparative value of the
Devon cows for the dairy there is much difference of opinion,
it being pretty generally asserted that their acknowledged
grazing qualities render them unfit for the dauy, and that their
milk is rich but deficient in quantity. Many superior judges,

Fig. 18.

Devcx Heitbk.

however, prefer them even for the dairy. Both cows and oxen
fatten faster and with less focd than most others.* In color
Devon cattle are generally red.

Our New England cattle, as we have said, are generally de-
rived from this breed. Their horns are moderately long,

* Touatt

Cattle.

5a

smooth, and slender, and their prevailing color deep red ; but
sometimes they are dark brown, brindle, or nearly black. The
oxen are remarkable for their docility, strength, and quickness,
The cows are fair milkers. Both oxen and cows fatten readily.
2. The Hereford Breed. — Cattle of the Hereford breed are
larger than those of the Xorth Devon. They are broad across
the hind-quarters ; narrow at the sirloin ;• neck and head well
Fig. 19.

The Hbeefoed Bttll, Thomp.

proportioned; horns of a medium size and turned up at the
points ; color a deep red, with the face, throat, and belly gener-
ally white. A spirited contest has been kept up for some time
between the partisans of the Herefoids and those of the Short
Horns, both here and in England, each stoutly maintaining the
superiority of their favorite breed. "We are not disposed to
take part in the controversy. The experience of persons not

54: Domestic Animals.

engaged in breeding either sort as a special business must finally
settle it ; in the mean time, candid people will acknowledge that
both are excellent, each in its way.

Youatt says that the Herefords fatten to a much greater
weight than the Devons, and that a Hereford cow will grow fat
where a Devon would starve. They are very hardy, and will
do well with only the same care required by our native breeds.

8. The Sussex Breed. — The Sussex ox holds an intermediate
place between the Devon and the Hereford ; with much of the
activity of the first and the strength of the second, and the pro-
pensity to fatten, and the beautiful fine-grained flesh of both.
Experience has shown that it combines as many of the good
qualities of both as can be combined in one frame. The Sus-
sex cow does not answer for the dairy, her milk, although of
good quality, is so small in quantity that she is little regarded
for making butter and cheese. The prevailing color of the
Sussex cattle is a deep chestnut red.*

4. Ayrshire Breed. — The Ayrshire breed, which is considered
the most valuable in Scotland, is of the small size and middle-
horned race. In modern times it has been much improved. Mr.
Alton, in his Survey of Ayrshire, thus describes this fine breed :

" The most approved shapes in the dairy breed are, small
head, rather long and narrow at the muzzle ; eye small, but
smart and lively; the horns small, clear, crooked, and their
roots at considerable distance from each other ; neck long and
slender, tapering toward the head, with no loose skin below ;
shoulders thin ; fore-quarters light ; hind-quarters large ; back
straight, broad behind ; the joints rather loose and open ; car-
cass deep, and pelvis capacious and wide over the hips, with
round, fleshy buttocks; tail long and small; legs small and
short, with firm joints; udder capacious, broad, and square,
stretching forward, and neither fleshy, low hung, nor loose;
the milk-veins are large and prominent ; teats short, all point-
mg outward, and at considerable distance from each other;

• Youatt

Cattle. 66

Bkin thin and loose; liair soft and woolly; the h^ad, bones,
horns, and all parts of least value, small ; and the general fig-
ure compact and well proportioned,"

" The qualities of a cow," adds Mr. Alton in another place,
*' are of great importance. Tameness and docility of temper
greatly enhance the value of a milch cow. Some degree of
hardiness, a sound constitution, health, and a moderate degr^
of spirits, are qualities to be wished for in a dairy cow, and
w^hat those of Ayrshire generally possess. The most valuable
qualities which a dairy cow can possess are that she yields
much milk, and that of an oily, butyraceous, and caseous na»
ture ; and that after she has yielded very large quantities of
milk for several years, she shall be as valuable for beef as any
ether breed of cows known ; her fat shall be much more mixed
through the whole flesh, and she shall fetten faster than any
other."

There have been several importations of Ayrshires into the
United States, but they have, up to the present time, failed to
establish themselves in general favor.

5. Welsh Cattle, — " The cattle of Wales are principally of
the Middle Horns, and stunted in their growth from the poverty
of their pastures. Of these there are several varieties. The
Pembrokeshire are chiefly black, with white horns ; are shorter
legged than most other Welsh cattle ; are larger than those of
Montgomery, and have round and deep carcasses ; have a lively
look and good eyes ; though short and rough, not thick ; have
not large bones, and possess, perhaps, as much as possible, the
opposite qualities of being very fair milkers, with a propensity
to fatten. The meat is equal to the Scotch. They will thrive,
says Mr. Youatt, where others starve, and they rapidly outstrip
most others when they have plenty of good past are. The Pem-
broke cow has been called the poor man's cow. The Pembroke
ox is a speedy and an honest worker, and when taken from hard
work fattens speedily. Many are brought to London, and rarely
disappoint the butcher."

6. Irish Cattle, — Of the Irish cattle there are two breeds—

56 Domestic Animals.

the Middle Horns and the Long Horns. The Middle Horns are
the original breed. "They are," Mr. Youatt says, "small,
light, active, and wild ; the head commonly small ; the horns
short but fine, rather upright, and frequently, after projecting
forward, turning backward ; somewhat deficient in hind-quar-
ters ; high-boned, and wide over the hips, yet the bone not
commonly heavy ; the hair coarse and long, black or brindled,
with white faces. Some are finer in the bone and in the neck,
with a good eye and sharp muzzle, and great activity ; are
hardy, live upon very scanty fare, and fatten with great rapidity
when removed to a better soil ; they are good milkers. The
Kerry cows are excellent in this respect. These last, however,
are wild and remarkable leapers. They live, however, upon
very little food, and have often been denominated, like those of
Pembroke, the poor man's cow."

The other breed is of a larger size. It has much of the blood
of the Lancashire or Craven breed, or true Long Horn. Their
horns first turn outward, then curve and turn inward. Of
each of these kinds, an immense number of both lean and fat
stock are annually exported to England.

7. The Long Horns. — The Long Horns of England came
originally from Craven, in Yorkshire, and derived their name
from the length of their horns.

" The improved breed of Leicestershire is said to have been
formed by Webster, of Cauley, near Coventry, in Warwick-
shire. Bake well, of Dishley, in Leicestershire, 'afterward got
the lead as a breeder, by selecting from the Cauley stock ; and
the stocks of several other eminent breeders have been traced
to the same source.

"The Lancashire breed of long-horned cattle may be distin-
guished from other cattle by the thickness and firm texture of
their hides, the length and closeness of their hair, the large
size of their hoofs, and their coarse, leathery, thick necks.
They are likewise deeper in their fore-quarters, and lighter in
their hind-quarters than most other breeds ; narrower in their
shape, less in point of weight than the Short Horns, though

Cattle.

57

better weighers in proportion to their size ; and though they
give considerably less n ilk, it is said to yield more cream in
proportion to its quantity. They aro more varied in color
than any other breed; but whatever ihe color may be, they
have in general a white streak along their back, which the
breeders term Jlnched, and mostly a white spot on the insid3 of
the hough."*

8. The Short Horn or Durham Breed. — Durham and York-

._..--- Fig. 20.

Thb Short-Hoeited Bull, Lobd Eetholm

shire, England, have for ages been celebrated for a breed of
short-horned cattle possessing extra#dinary value as milkers,
" in which quality," the Kev. Henry Barry says, " taken as a
breed, they have never been equaled. The cattle so distin-
guished were always, as now, very different from the improved
race. They were generally of large size, thin skinned, sleek
haired, bad handlers, rather delicate in constitution, coarse in

♦ Culley.
3*

68 Domestic Animals.

the offal, and strikingly defective in the substance of girth in
the fore-quarters. As milkers thej were most excellent, but
when put to fatten, as the foregoing description will indicate,
were found slow feeders, producing an inferior quality of meat,
not marbled or mixed as to fat and lean ; the latter sometimes
of a very dark hue. Such, toe, are the unimproved Short
Horns of the present day."

The improved Short Horns are even more celebrated as
feeders than as milkers, and in other respects differ widely from
the original breed.

" The colors of the improved Short Horns," Mr. Youatt says,
" are red or white, or a mixture of both;" "no pure iraproved
Short Horns^^"^ he adds, "are found of any other color but
those above named. That the matured Short Horns are an
admirable grazier's breed of cattle is undoubted ; they are not,
however, to be disregarded as milkers ; but they are inferior,
from their fattening qualities, to many others as workers."

Mr. Dickson, an eminent cattle breeder, thus eloquently de-
scribes the Short Horn :

" The external appearance of the short-horned breed is hre-
sistibly attractive. The exquisitely symmetrical form of the
body in every position, bedecked with a skin of the richest
hues of red, and the richest white approaching to cream, or
both colors, so arranged or commixed as to form a beautiful
fleck or delicate roan, and possessed of the mellowest touch ;
supported on clean, small limbs, showing, like those of the race-
horse and the greyhound, the union of strength with fineness ;
and ornamented with a small, lengthy, tapering head, neatly
set on a broad, firm, deep neck, and furnished with a small
muzzle, wide nostrils, prominent, mildly-beaming eyes, thin,
large, biney ears set near the crown of the head and protected
lu front with semicircularly bent, white, or brownish colored
short (hence the name), smooth, pointed horns ; all these parts
combine to form a symmetrical harmony, which has never been
surpassed in beauty and sweetness by any other species of the
domesticskted ox."

Cattle. 59

The graziers of Kentucky and other parts of the "West have
heretofore shown the greatest preference for the Short Horns,
hut, in their case, they are found to he subject to one serious
objection. It is this : while they take on fat so readily when
well fed and become so heavy, they are unable to retain it
during the long journeys to the Eastern markets, where they
generally arrive in too meager a condition to command the
price of fat cattle. They require some breed which will be
able to carry their fat along with them.*

9. The Alderney or Jersey Breed. — This breed of cattle is
from Normandy and the Isle of Jersey, and, although small and
awkwardly shaped, are much esteemed on account of the rich-
ness of their milk, of which, however, the quantity is small.
English noblemen keep Alderney cows in their parks to ftir-
nish cream for their coffee.

When dried, the Alderney cow fattens with a rapidity that
would hardly be thought possible from her gaunt appearance.
In color, the Alderney breed is light red, dun, or fawn colored.

10. The Galloway Breed. — The Galloway breed of cattle is
well known for various valuable qualities, and is easily distin-
guished by the want of horns. The Galloways are broad across
the back, with a very slight curve between the head and the
quarters, and broad at the loins, the whole body having a fine
round appearance. The head is of moderate size, the ears
large and rough, the chest deep, and the legs short. The pre-
vailing color is black. This breed is highly esteemed, as there
is no other kind which arrives at maturity so soon ; and then-
flesh is of the finest quality. Their milk is very fine, but is
not obtained in very large quantities. It is estimated that
30,000 of these cattle are annually sent out of Galloway.

Another valuable breed of polled (or hornless) cows is bred
in Angus, which much resemble, in appearance, those of Gallo-
way ; they are, however, rather larger and longer in the leg,
flatter sided, and with thinner shoulders.

t American Farmer's Encyclopedia.

60 Domestic Animals.

In Norfolk and Suffolk a hornless breed of cows prevails,
wMch are almost all descended from the Galloways, " whose
general form," Mr. Youatt says, "they retain, with some of,
but not all, their excellences ; they have been enlarged, but not
improved, by a better climate and soil. They are commonly
of a red or black color, with a peculiar golden circle around
the eye. They are taller than the Galloways, but thinner in
the chine, flatter in the ribs, and longer in the legs; rather
better milkers; of greater weight when fattened, though not
fattening so kindly, and the meat is not quite equal in quality.''

The Suffolk Dun cow, which is also of Galloway descent, is
celebrated as a milker, and there is little doubt is not inferior
to any other breed in the quantity of milk which she yields :
this is from six to eight gallons per day. The butter produced,
however, is not in proportion to the milk. It is calculated that
a Suffolk cow produces annually about IJ cwt. of butter.

The Suffolk Duns derive the last part of their name from
their usual pale yellow color. Many, however, are red, or red
and white. They are invariably without horns, and small in
size, seldom weighing over 700 lbs. when fattened.*

11. The Cream-Pot Breed. — This is an American breed, and
was originated by Colonel Jaques, of Ten Hills Farm, Somer-
ville, Mass. It is a cross between the Short Horn and the na-
tive breed of ISTew England. Mr. Jaques gives the following
account of the origin of this famous breed :

"Hearing of cows that produce seventeen pounds of butter
each per week, the inquiry arose, why not produce a breed of
such cows that may be depended on ? This I attempted, and
have accomplished. I have made from one of my Cream-Pot
cows nine pounds of butter in three days on grass feed only.

^'The bull Coelebs, an imported thorough-bred Durham, and
Flora, a heifer of the same breed, and imported, and a native
cow, whose pedigree is entirely unknown, comprise the ele-
ments of the Cream-Pot breed of cattle. The native cow was

* American Farmer's Encyclopedia.

Cattle. 61

bought in consequence of her superior quality as a milker, giv-
ing eighteen quarts a day, and averaging about fifteen. In the
month of April the cream of two days' milk produced two and
three-fourths pounds of butter, made of two and one-sixteenth
quarts of cream, and required but two minutes' churning. Thus
much for the mother of the Cream-Pots.

"I have bred my Cream-Pots with red or mahogany colored
hair and teats, and gold-dust in the ears, yellow noses and skin,
the latter silky and elastic to the touch, being like a fourteen-
dollar cloth. My Cream-Pots are fuU in the body, chops deep
in the flank, not quite as straight in the belly, nor as full in the
twist, nor quite as thick in the thigh as the Durhams; but in
other respects like them. They excel in affording a great
quantity of rich cream, capable of being converted into butter
in a short time, with little labor, and with a very small propor-
tion of buttermilk, the cream producing more than eighty per
cent, of butter. I have changed the cream to butter not unfre-
quently in one minute, and it has been done in forty seconds."

The late lamented Henry Colman, while Commissioner for
the Agricultural Survey of Massachusetts, wrote as follows :

" Mr. Jaques is entitled to great credit for his care and judi-
cious selection in continuing and improving his stock. I have
repeatedly seen the cream from his cows, and its yellowness
and consistency are remarkable, and in company with several
gentlemen of the Legislature, I saw a portion of it converted to
butter with a spoon in one minute. The color of Mr. Jaques'
stock is a deep red, a favorite color in New England ; they are
well formed and thrifty on common feed; and if they continue
to display the extraordinary properties by which they are now
so distinguished, they promise to prove the most valuable race
of animals ever known among us for dau-y purposes, and equal
to any of which we have any information."

III.— POINTS.

Were an ox of fine symmetry and high condition placed be-
fore a person not a judge of livestock, his opinion of its

Cattle. 63

excellences would be derived from a very limited view, and
consequently from only a few of its qualities. He could not
possibly discover, witbout tuition, tbose properties wbich bad
cbiefly conduced to produce tbe bigb condition in whicb be
saw tbe ox. He would bardly believe tbat a judge can ascer-
tain merely by tbe eye, from its general aspect, wbetber tbe ox
were in good or bad bealtb ; from tbe color of its skin wbetber
it were of a pure or a cross breed ; from tbe expression of its
countenance wbetber it were a quiet feeder ; and from tbe na-
ture of its flesb wbetber it bad arrived at maturity. Tbe
discoveries made by tbe band of tbe judge migbt even stagger
belief. He understands tbe "points" of cattle, and experience
enables bim to appreciate tbeir individual and aggregate value.
Tbe "points" by wbicb cattle are cbaracterized may profit-
ably be described in detail :

1. Tbe nose or muzzle in tbe Durbams or Sbort Horns sbould
be of a ricb cream color. In tbe Devon, Hereford, and Sussex it
is preferred wben a clear golden color. A brown or dark color
indicates a cross.

2. The forehead sbould be neitber narrow nor very broad.
Tbe eye sbould be prominent, and the nostril between tbe eyo
and tbe muzzle tbin, particularly in tbe Devons.

3. Tbe horn^ sbould be small, smooth, tapering, and sharp
pointed, long or sbort, according to tbe breed, and of a white
color Ibrougbout in some breeds, and tipped with black in
others. Tbe shape is less essential than the color.

4. Tbe nech should be of medium length, full at tbe sides, not
too deep in tbe tbroat, and sbould come out from tbe shoulders
nearly on a level witb the chine.

5. Tbe top of tbe plate lones sbould not be too wide, but,
rising on a level witb the chine, sbould be well thrown back,
80 tbat there may be no bollowness behind.

6. Tbe shoulder point sbould lay flat witb tbe ribs, witbout
any projection.

7. The Ireast should be wide and open, projecting forward.

8. Tbe chine sbould lay atraigbt and be well covered with flesh.

64: Domestic Animals.

9. The loin should be flat and wide ; almost as wide at the
fore as the hinder part.

10. The hip hones should be wide apart, coming upon a level
with the chine to the setting of the tail,

11. The Up of the rump should be tolerably wide, so that
the tail may drop to a level between the two points ; and the
tail should come out broad.

12. The thigh should not be too full outside nor behind;
but the inside or twist should be full.

13. The lach should be flat and rather thin.

14. The hind leg should be flat and thin ; the legs of medium
length, and the hock rather turning out.

15. The feet should not be too broad.

1 6. The flanTc should be full and heavy when the animal is fat.

17. The helly should not drop below the breast, but on a line
with it.

18. The shoulder should be rather flat, not projecting.

19. The/(?r6 leg should also be flat and upright, but not fleshy.

20. The round should not project, but be flat with the outside
of the thigh.

21. ThQJaws should be rather wide.

22. The ribs should spring nearly horizontally from the chine
and form a circle.

23. The sHn should be loose, floating, as it were, on a layer
of soft fat, and covered with thick, glossy, soft hair.

24. The expression of the eye and fa/^e should be calm and
complacent.

A writer in the Farmer''s Magazine, a number of years ago,
described what are properly considered the good points of a
cow, as exhibited in the Short Horn breed, in the following
doggerel lines :

She's long in her face, she's fine in her horn ;
She'll quickly get fat without cake or corn ;
She's clean in her jaws, and full in her chine;
She's heavy in flank, and wide in her loin ;
She's broad in her ribs, and long in her rump ;
She's straight in her back, with never a hump ;

Cattle. 65

She's wide in her hip, and calm in her eyes ;
She's fine in her shoulders, and thin in her thigha
She's light in her neck, and small in her tail ;
She's wide in her breast, and good at the pail ;
She's fine in her bone, and silky of skin ;
She's a grazier's without, and a butcher's within.

IV.— GENEEAL MANAGEMENT.

1. The Cow-house. — The cow-house should be a capaciou?,
well-lighted, and well-ventilated building, in which the cows
or oxen can be kept dry, clean, and moderately warm. It is a
mistaken idea that cattle suffer materially by dry cold. It is
the wet and the damp walls, yard, and driving rains and fogs
of winter, that are so injurious to them. In this respect the
Dutch farmers are very particular. They have their cows
regularly groomed, and the walks behind them sprinkled with
sand.*

As a general thing, our farmers pay too little attention to
the health and comfort of their cattle, and especially the cows.
In many cases they are kept in a shamefully dirty condition.
The floor of their stalls is allowed to be disgustingly filthy, the
floors and walls fuU of vermin, and the hides of the animals
covered with dust and dung. It is not only at the expense of
their comfort that cattle suffer this neglect, but to the farmer's
loss also. "When you see a cow rubbing herself against a post,
you may depend upon it that the animal is ill kept and requires
a good scrubbing. Cattle, as well as horses, are greatly injured
by want of proper attention to the cleanliness and ventilation
of their habitation. They should stand on a slightly raised
platform, which should be well littered with straw, refuse hay,
leaves, sawdust, or some other dry material.

For tying up cattle, chains, leather straps, wooden bows,
and stanchions are used. The stanchions are the most conve-
nient for the person having charge of the cattle, but, we think,
less comfortable for the cattle themselves than the other con-

* British Husbandry.

6Q Domestic Animals.

trivances mentioned. A good and cheap stanchion is con-
structed as follows :

" The sills of the stanchions are of oak joist, six by twc
inches ; the top timbers are of hemlock, of the same dimen-
sions ; the stanchions of ash, one and a half by four inches ;
one of each set of stanchions is pinned between the sills and
the corresponding top pieces. From the bottom of the sills to
the top of the stanchions is five and a half feet. The slip stan-
chions are of the same size and material as the first named,
but only pinned at the bottom, which allows of their sliding
back at the top about sixteen inches, to admit the animal's
head ; it is then pushed to an upright position and fastened at
tlie top by a drop-button or clapper, which is much more
secure than when fastened by pins.

" For oxen and large cows, there is allowed a space for each
of three and a half feet ; for younger cattle about three feet to
each. We have frequently seen the sill and top piece for stan-
chions made of solid timber, and mortices made for the stan-
chions. But there is much labor required in morticing, espe-
cially the top timber, so as to allow of the sliding back and for-
ward of the slip stanchions. The kind we have attempted to de-
scribe can be readily and cheaply made by almost any farmer."*

2. Feeding. — While confined to the barn or cow-house and
barn-yard, during the cold season, cattle should be fed with
the utmost regularity ; and a sufficient quantity of nutritious
food supplied to keep them in good condition. In this country,
hay is the principal common food of our oxen and cows. Eoots
are too seldom employed in ordinary feeding ; and we have no
doubt but that the health and, consequently, the condition and
value of our cattle would be improved by giving them more
turnips, beets, carrots, parsneps, etc., during the winter.

An English writer says : " Supposing a cow to calve early in
April or May, there is no keeping to be compared with a sweet
pasture for affording the best flavored milk and butter ; therefore,

* Country Gentleman.

Cattle. 67

althonga on a principle of economy I have always recommend-
ed the house feeding of a cow (as one acre of good clover will
support three cows during the summer, whereas an acre of pas-
ture will but barely suffice for one during the same period, irre-
spectively of the manure saved by the former management), I
make a decided exception where there is no necessity for
minutely regarding economy at the expense of the discomfort
of the cow, and the inferiority in flavor, if not in quantity, of
cream and butter. Yet, even with liberty, and the animal's
enjoyment of picking her food as she pleases, there will be
necessity in summer for some artificially grown grasses, to sup-
ply any deficiency that may occur in the pasture, and provide
for the house feeding, when the heat of the sun, the stinging-
of flies, or the bursting of a storm may render the shade and
security of the cow-shed very grateful to your cows. In the
early and cold spring, and before the grass has sufficiently
sprung up, it is not any kindness to the cow, and it is a decided
injury to the ground and vegetation to turn her out ; at that
season she requires the warmth which her stall aftbrds, and the
nourishment that nutritious hay and roots and bran impart."

The following hints from the pen of Henry Colman should
be well heeded by every farmer. It is their own fault if Amer-
ican agriculturists do not profit by such truthful warnings.

" The farmers prejudice very greatly theii* own interest in
Buffering their milch cows to come out in the spring in low
condition. During the time they are dry, they think it enough
to give them the coarsest fodder, and that in limited quantities ;
this, too, at a time of pregnancy, when they require the kind-
est treatment and the most nourishing food. The calf itself
under this treatment of the cow is small and feeble. He finds
comparatively insufficient support from his exhausted dam ;
and the return which the cow makes in milk during the sum-
mer is much less than it would be if she came into the spring
in good health and flesh. It requires the whole summer to
recover what she has lost. The animal constitution can not be
trifled with in this way.

68 Domestic Animals.

"It is so with all livestock, and especially with young ani-
mals, at the period of their most rapid growth. They should
not be prematurely forced ; but, on the other hand, they should
not be stinted or checked.

" In the feeding of cattle for market a great deal of practical
skill is required, and constant observation of their condition,
otherwise they may be surfeited and their appetite destroyed,
or their digestive powers be overtasked, and the feed fail of its
object.

" The articles usually employed in fattening cattle are hay
and Indian meal, or corn and rye meal mixed, or pease and
oats, or oats and corn ground together. Besides this, many
farmers are in the practice of giving their stall-fed cattle occa-
sionally certain quantities of potatoes. An excellent farmer,
of fifty years' experience in the fatting of cattle, is of opinion
that potatoes are good feed for fatting cattle in the fall and
spring, when the weather is warm; but they do no good in
cold weather unless they are cooked. I rely much upon his
judgment and experience. The value of potatoes is differently
estimated by different individuals ; some considering five bush-
els, others rating four bushels, as equivalent to one bushel of
corn."

An extensive cattle-dealer who has tried a variety of mix-
tures of feed, such as oats, brown-corn seed, etc., prefers Indian
meal to every other feed. He disapproves of excessive feed-
ing, and thinks it a great error to give too much. He deems
four quarts, with hay, ordinarily enough ; and ten quarts a day
sufficient for any animal. He feeds twice a day with great
regularity. His present cattle have never received over eight
quarts per day each ; and at first putting up, a much less quan-
tity. He deems it best to reduce their feed of provender a few
days before starting for market. He buys his cattle for feeding
in the fall ; and his present stock averaged in the cost seventy-
five dollars per pair.*

♦ American Farmer's Encyclopedia.

Cattle. 69

"It is sometimes asked," Mr. Colman savs, "whether oxen
Rre injured in their growth from being worked. If their
strength is prematurely and too severely taxed, or if they are
subjected to severe usage, undoubtedly it must prove injurious ;
but, if otherwise, if reasonably worked and carefully and kindly
attended, there is no doubt that their health and growth are
promoted by it. It is often matter of inquiry, whether fatting
cattle should be kept in close stalls, or be suffered to lie out-
doors. The experience of all the farmers whom I have consult-
ed, who have made any trial, is conclusive in this case, in favor
of the superior thrift of animals kept constantly in the barn, or
turned out only for watering and immediately put up again,
over those which are kept in open sheds, or tied up for feeding
only, and at other times allowed to lie in the yard. No exact
experiments have been made in this country in relation to this
subject; but experiments made abroad lead to the conclusion,
that cattle thrive best in a high and equable temperature, so
warm as to keep them constantly in a state of active perspi-
ration, and that their thrift is much hindered by an exposure
to severe alternations of heat and cold. It is certain, that in
order to thrift, cattle can not be made too comfortable ; their
mangers should be kept clean ; their stalls be well littered ;
and the cattle protected from currents of air blowing through
crevices or holes in the floors or the sides of the stables, which
prove often much more uncomfortablo than an open exposure."

3. Rearing Calves.— }A.2inj different opinions prevail on the
subject of rearing calves. The following plan, detailed by a
Western breeder, we deem an excellent one :

" I have my cows so managed that they come in early in
spring. I wean the calves after they have drawn the milk
two or three times, while I milk at the same time, all clean,
that which the calf may not be strong enough to draw. Then
I allow the calves nearly all the milk the cows give, for four
or six weeks, which gives them a good start ; next, I teach
them, when two or three weeks old, to eat some little of meal
or threshed oats, and lick a little salt ; at the same time I let

70 Domestic Animals.

them have access to some good haj; next, I reduce the quan-
tity of new milk, and give them sweet milk minus the cream,
and by degrees teach them to drink coppered milk, feeding ten
or twelve together in a trough. This I consider better than
milk which is just on a change from sweet to sour. As soon as
practicable after there is a good bite of grass, I turn them into
pasture, even with the cow^s, for they know not their dams.
I still feed them with milk until about three months old, and
all through the season if it can be had. In this wise calves are
hearty, learn easy to eat anything v.'hich may be offered, and
wiU winter better than calves which have drawn the milk from
cows, and have received 'more knocks than nubbins.' They
are also more gentle, easier turned to the yoke, or to milk, and
are not afraid of their masters ; but, on the contrary, learn to
know the hands that feed them. By giving them a good
chance the first winter, they generally make good thrifty
cattle."

4. MilTcing. — In reference to milking, Martin Doyle says:
" Cows in general are milked but twice a day, morning and
evening ; but some of the Durham cows, particularly when in
full season and abundantly fed, will require to be milked at
noon also. In this case nothing is really gained in the quantity
of milk, and its quality is weakened, as twelve hours are re-
quired for the due chemical preparation of the milk. There-
fore the tendency to this want of retention in a cow is not to
be encouraged ; the milk should only be drawn off at supernu-
merary times, if the udder be excessively distended, and the
milk flows spontaneously. At each regular time of milking,
the contents of the udder should be completely drawn off— the
last drop is the richest : when there are two, three, or more
cows, the dairy-maid, if she understands her business, will go
with a separate vessel and milk the strippings into it until
each udder is perfectly dry. This small portion of rich milk
will give her more cream than a larger quantity, and she re-
serves it, if she be a prudent person, for her own tea.

" A cow should be handled with exceeding gentleness, other

Cattle. 71

wise milking may become an unpleasant or even a painful
operation to her. If a cross-grained man or woman, with a
vinegar face, handles the teats ronghly, and bullies a cow of
sensitiveness, she may refuse to let her milk flow, though she
would yield to the first touch of a good-tempered person. If
the udder be hard, it wiU require fomentation with lukewarm
water and gentle rubbing. It sometimes happens that the teats
become sore ; in this case an application of sweet oil, after
washing the affected part with soap and water, wiU probably
cure it.

" A cow may be milked until within a month of calving,
provided the milk does not curdle on being slightly warmed, or
possess a salt taste ; either would be an indication that no more
milk should be taken."

y.— WEIGHT OF LIVE CATTLE.

Experienced drovers and butchers are in the habit, in buy-
ing cattle, to estimate their weight on foot. Long experience
and much practice enables them to judge with considerable
accuracy. They thus have the advantage of the less experi-
enced farmer, who, for this reason, very often comes oif
"second best'' in a bargain. We recommend to them the
following rule, by means of which the weight of cattle may be
ascertained with a very close approach to the accuracy of the
scales.

Rule. — Take a string, put it around the breast, stand square
just behind the shoulder-blade, measure on a rule the feet and
inches the animal is in circumference ; this is called the girth ;
then, with the string, measure from the bone of the tail which
plumbs the line with the hinder part of the buttock; direct
the line along the back to the forepart of the shoulder-blade ;
take the dimensions on the foot rule as before, which is the
length ; and work the figures in the following manner : Girth
of the animal, say 6 feet 4 inches, length 5 feet 3 inches,
which multiplied together, makes 31 square superficial feet,
and that multiplied by 23, the number of pounds allowed to

72 Domestic Animals.

each superficial foot of cattle measuring less than 7 and more
than 5 feet in girth, makes Y13 pounds. When the animal
measures less than 9 and more than 7 feet in girth, 31 is the
number of pounds to each superficial foot. Again, suppose a
pig or any small beast should measure 2 feet in girth and 2
along the back, which multiplied together makes 4 square feet,
that multiplied by 11, the number of pounds allowed to each
square foot of cattle measuring less than 3 feet in girth, makes
44 pounds. Again, suppose a calf, a sheep, etc., should meas-
ure 4 feet 6 inches in girth, and 3 feet 9 inches in length,
which multiplied together make 15^ square feet; that multi-
plied by 16, the number of pounds allowed to cattle measuring
less than 5 feet and more than 3 in girth, makes 265 pounds.
The dimensions of girth and length of horned cattle, sheep,
calves, and hogs, may be exactly taken in this way, as it is all
that is necessary for any computation, or any valuation of
stock, and will answer exactly to the four quarters, sinking
ofial.*

This rule is so simple that any man with a bit of chalk can
work it out, and its application will often save the farmer from
.asses which mere guess work is liable to occasion.

* Yalley Farmer.

Sheep. 73

IT.

SHEEP.

Thy flocks the verdant hillside range — Anon.
I.-CHAEACTEEISTICS.

HE sheep (Ovis aries) is naturallv a denizen of
the hills. Its instincts, even in its domesti-
cated state, attach it to the upland slopes ; and
when free to do so, it always seeks the highest
grounds, where aromatic plants abound and the
herbage is less succulent than in the valleys. The wild sheep,
like the deer, is found to fi-equent all those places where saline
exudations abound and to lick the salt earth. In its wild
state it generally has horns, but these have nearly disappeared
in most of the domestic breeds. The female goes with young
twenty-one weeks, and usually produces only one at a birth.
Twins, however, are not uncommon.

Immense flocks of sheep have been kept by man in all ages,
but more generally for their wool and skins than for their flesh ;
for that is by no means generally relished. The Calmucks and
Cossacks still prefer that of the horse and the camel, an<? the
Spaniard, if he can procure other flesh, rarely eats that ofthd
Merino. To a majority of Americans it is an object of dislike,
although it is gaining in favor among us. Englishmen consume
more mutton than any other people, but the taste for it is of
modern origin with them.

The natural age of the sheep, according to Youatt, is about
ten years, up to which age they will breed and thrive well ;
but there are instances of their breeding at the age of fifteen,
and living twenty years.

4

74 Domestic Animals.

ii.— bkeeds.
Specimens of nearly or quite all the valuable breeds of sheep
now known may, it is believed, be found in the United States.
The principal of these are the i^ative (so called) ; the Spanish
Merino ; the Saxon Merino ; the New Leicester or BakeweU ;
the South-Down ; the Cotswold, the Cheviot, and the Lincoln.
Between these breeds an almost infinite variety of crosses have
taken place ; so that, comparatively speaking, few flocks in the
United States preserve entire the distinctive characteristics of
any one breed, or that can lay claim to purity of blood.*

1. The Native Breed. — This name is applied to the common
coarse-wooled sheep existing here previous to the importation
of the improved breeds. They are, however, of foreign, and
mostly of English origin, and probably are the result of the ad-
mixture of various breeds. This common stock of sheep, as a
distinct family, has nearly disappeared, having been univer-
sally crossed, to a greater or less extent, with foreign breeds of
later introduction ; and especially with the Spanish and Saxon
Merinos.

2. The Spanish Merino Breed. — Of this excellent breed there
have been many importations from France and Spain. There
are several varieties of the Merino, differing essentially in
form, size, and quality of wool. American Merinos may be
classed under three general heads, and are thus described :

" The first is a large, short-legged, strong, and exceedingly
hardy sheep, carrying a heavy fleece, ranging from medium to
fine, somewhat inclined to throatiness, bred to exhibit external
concrete gum in some flocks, but not commonly so.

" The second general class of American Merinos are smaller
than the preceding, less hardy ; -wool, as a general thing, finer,
and covered with a black, pitchy gum on its extremities. The
fleece is about one third lighter than in the first class.

" The third class, which have been bred mostly at the South,
are still smaller and less hardy, and carry hghter and finer

* Kandall's Sheep Husbandry.

Sheep,

75

fleeces, destitute of external gum. The sheep and the wool
bear a close resemblace to the Saxon, and if not actually n.ixed
with that blood, thev have been formed into a similar variety
by a similar course of breeding.

" Class first are larger and stronger sheep than those orig-
inally imported from Spain, and in well-selected flocks or indi-
viduals the fleece is of a decidedly better quality."*

The Merino, although a native of a warm climate, becomes
readily inured to the greatest extremes of cold, flourishing even
so far north as Sweden without degenerating in fleece or form.

Fig. 22.

The Spanish Meeino.

It is patient, docile, hardy, and long lived. Its flesh, in spite
of the prejudice which exists on the subject, is short-grained,
and of a good flavor when killed at a proper age. It is longer
in coming to maturity than most other breeds, and does not
attain its fall growth till it is about three years old.t

Randall.

t Transactions of New York State Agricultural Societj'.

76 Domestic Animals.

3. The Saxon Merino Breed. — The Saxon Merinos are de-
Bcended from the Spanish, having been imported from Spain
into Saxony in 1765. They have been considerably modified
by their German breeding, the German shepherds having
sacrificed hardiness, and indeed almost everything else, to fine-
ness of staple.

There are very fevr flocks of pure Saxon sheep in the United
States, the importations in several instances having been grade
sheep, although sold as pure stock. Most flocks have again
been crossed with Native or Spanish Merino sheep or with
both ; but the mixed breed thus produced, which we may call
the American Saxons, have so long been bred toward the Sax-
ons, that their wool equals that of the pure breed. They are
hardier than the parent German stock, but still comparatively
tender, requirmg regular supplies of good food, protection from
storms of all kinds, and good shelter in winter. In docility,
patience under confinement, late maturity, and longevity, they
resemble the Spanish Merinos.*

4, The New Leicester Breed. — This celebrated English breed
comprehends the most excellent of the breed of Mr. BakeweU,
their great improver, and of Mr. Culley's variety or improve-
ment upon it. " The principal recommendations of this
breed," Culley says, " are its beauty and its fullness of form ;
in the same apparent dimensions greater weight than any other
sheep ; an early maturity and a propensity to fatten equaled by
no other breed ; a diminution of the proportion of ofial, and
the return of the most money for the food consumed."

"The wool of the New Leicester," according to Randall, "is
long, averaging, after the first shearing, about six inches, and
the fleece of the American animal weighs about six pounds. It
is of a coarse quality, and is little used in the manufacture of
cloths. As a combing wool, however, it stands first, and ia
used in the manufacture of the finest worsteds, etc."

In England, the mutton of this breed is in great demand, and

* EandaU.

78 Domestic Animals. .

brings good prices. It is not generally considered a profitable
breed in this country, except, perhaps, on rich lowland farms
in the vicinity of considerable markets.

5. The South-Down Breed. —The South-Down is an upland
sheep of medium size, and its wool, in point of length, belongs
to the medium class. There has been considerable controversy
in reference to the value of the Downs in comparison with the
other favorite breeds. Mr. Randall does not rate them very
high for wool-bearing. But they are cultivated in England
more particularly for their mutton, which in the English mar-
kets takes precedence of every other sort.

" The Down is turned off at two years old, and its weight at
that age in England is from eighty to a hundred pounds. Not-
withstanding its weight, the Down has a patience of occa-
sional short keep, and an endurance of hard stocking equal to
any other sheep. It is hardy, healthy, quiet, and docile. It
withstands our American winters weU. A sheep possessing
such qualities must of course be valuable in upland districts in
the vicinity of markets."*

Mr. J. C. Taylor, of Holmdel, N. J., in a communication
published in the Country Gentleman^ says :

"I contend that under a high state of management, the
South-Downs are a very profitable sheep to keep, in proof of
which (for I have the figures) I will cite my now yearling ram.
Last July he was worth five dollars to sell for butchering,
without anything more than good pasture ; he served several
ewes from the middle of September to the first of December,
which was much against his growth. At seven cents per
week, from July to December, say $1 50 — cost of keep from
December to May 2d, $5 41, making, with his worth in July, a
total of $11 91. Had he been a wether I could have sold him
on May 2d for $22 for butchering, leaving a clear gain of over
$10 at from thirteen to fourteen months old ! I ask the stock-
raiser and feeder if this is not as profitable as long wools, or

* EandaU.

80 Domestic Animals.

any other stock ? Is it not more profitable ? But the Downs
are a superior sheep for crossing with common ewes to pro-
duce butcher's h^mbs, superior to any long wools.

" A few years ago a Mr. Beers went to Canada and procured
a large lot of the Canada Leicester, and many of our farmers
were induced by their large size (with their wool on) to buj'
them. I expected to be driven out of the market with my
South-Downs ; but at the first county fair (South-Downs hav-
ing to show against long wool) I made a clean sweep of it, and
there has never been one of them shown since. A certain
farmer procured one of Mr. Beers' bucks, and also a South-
Down ; he divided his flock of ewes as nearly as possible be-
tween the two bucks ; the result was, the half-blood Down
lambs were all fat, and sold before any of the half-blood Leices-
ters were fit for market. This farmer finds the South-Downs
so profitable that he keeps no other than a South-Down buck."

6. The Cotswold Breed. — "The Cotswold," Spooner says,
" is a large breed of sheep, with a long and abundant fleece, and
the ewes are very prolific and good nurses. They have been
extensively crossed with the Leicester sheep, by which their
size and fleece have been somewhat diminished, but their car-
casses considerably improved, and their maturity rendered
earlier. The wool is strong, mellow, and of good color, al-
though rather coarse, from six to eight inches in length, and
from seven to eight pounds per fleece. The quality of the mut-
ton is considered superior to the Leicester."

We believe the Cotswolds have not been extensively bred in
the United States, although there have been several importa-
tions. An improved variety of the Cotswolds, under the name
of the New Oxfordshire sheep, have lately attracted consider-
able attention, and have frequently been successful candidates
for prizes ofi'ered for the best long-wooled sheep at agricultural
shows.

7. The Cheviot Breed. — The Cheviot sheep are a peculiar
breed, which are kept on the extensive range of the Cheviot
Hills. They are described as having " the face and legs gen-

Sheep. 81

erallj white ; the eye lively and prominent ; the countenance
open and pleasing ; the ear large, and with a long space from
the ear to the eye ; the body long ; and hence they are called
'long sheep,' in distinction from the black-faced breed. They
are full behind the shoulder, have a long, straight back, are
round in the rib, and well-proportioned in the quarters ; the
legs clean and small-boned, and the pelt thin, but thickly cov-
ered with fine, short wool ; they possess very considerable fat-
tening qualities, and can endure much hardship, both from
starvation and cold."*

We have no acquaintance with this breed. There are prob-
ably but few of them in this country. Mr. Randall speaks very
disparagingly of those which had fallen under his observation,
but which may have not been fair specimens of their breed.

8. The Lincoln Breed. — Culley described the old breed of
Lincolnshire sheep, half a century ago, as having " no horns,
white faces, long, thin, and weak carcasses ; the ewes weighing
from 14 to 20 lbs. per quarter, the three-year old wethers from
20 to 30 lbs. ; thick, rough, white leg, large bones, thick pelts,
and long wool, from 10 to 18 inches, and weighing from 8 to
14 lbs. per fleece, and covering a slow-feeding, coarse-grained
carcass of mutton." Culley, however, ran into the opposite
extreme ; if the Lincolnshire farmers bred only for the wool,
he regarded only the mutton. A cross between the two pro-
duced a very profitable and much improved animal.

III.-CHOICE OF BEEED.

"In selecting a breed for any given locality," Mr. Randall
says, " we are to take into consideration, first, the feed and cli-
mate, or the surrounding natural circumstances ; and second,
the market facilities and demands. We should then make
choice of that breed which, with the advantages posssessed,
and under aU the circumstances, will yield the greatest net
value of. marketable product.

* American Farmer's Encyclopedia.

4*

82 Domestic Animals.

"Eich lowland heibage, in a climate which allows it to re-
main green during a large portion of the year, is favorable to
the production of large carcasses. If convenient to markets
where mutton finds a ready sale at good prices, then all the
conditions are realized which call for a mutton as contradis-
tinguished from a wool-producing sheep. Under such circum-
stances, the choice should undoubtedly, in my judgment, rest
between the improved English varieties — the South-Down, the
New Leicester, and the improved Cotswold or New Oxford-
shire. In deciding between these, minor and more specific
circumstances are to be taken into account."

For wool-growing purposes he thinks the Merino " possesses
a marked and decided superiority over the best breeds and
families of coarse- wooled sheep ;" and its inferiority as a mut-
ton sheep, he thinks is not so great as is generally supposed.

IV.— GENEEAL MANAGEMENT.

The following hints are all condensed from Randall's excel-
lent work on Sheep Husbandry, to which the reader who may
desire further details is referred.

1. Barns, Sheds, etc. — "Humanity and economy both dictate
that sheep be provided with shelters to lie under nights, and
to which they can resort at will. In our severe winter storms
it is sometimes necessary, or at least by far the best, to feed
under shelter for a day or two. It is not an uncommon cir-
cumstance, in New York and New England, for snow to fall to
the depth of twenty or thirty inches, within twenty-four or
forty-eight hours, and then to be succeeded by a strong and in-
tensely cold west or northwest wind of two or three days' con-
tinuance,* which lifts the snow, blocking up the roads, and piling
huge drifts to the leeward of fences, barns, etc. A flock without
shelter will huddle closely together, turning their backs to the
storm, constantly stepping and thus treading down the snow
as it rises about them. Strong, close-coated sheep do not

* These terrible wind-storms are of much longer continuance in many parts
of New England.

Sheep. 83

seem to suffer as much from the cold, for a period, as would
be expected ; but it is next to impossible to feed them enough
or half enough, under such circumstances, without an immense
waste of hay — entirely impossible, without racks. The hay is
whirled away in an instant by the wind ; and even if racks are
used, the sheep leaving their huddle where they were kept
warm and even moist by the melting of the snow in their wool,
soon get chilled and are disposed to return to their huddle.
Imperfectly filled with food, the supply of animal heat is low-
ered, and at the end of the second or third day the feeble ones
have sunk down hopelessly, the yearlings and oldish ones have
received a shock which nothing but careful nursing will recover
them from, and even the strongest have suffered an injurious
loss in condition.

"The simplest and cheapest kind of shed is formed by poles
or rails, the upper ends resting on a strong horizontal pole sup-
ported by crotched posts set in the ground. It may be ren-
dered rain-proof by pea-haulm, straw, or pine boughs.

" In a region where lumber is very cheap, planks or boards
(of suflBcient thickness not to spring downward, and thus open
the roof), battened with slabs,- may take the place of the poles
and boughs ; and they would make a tighter and more durable
roof. If the lower ends of the boards or poles are raised a
couple of feet from the ground, by placing a log under them
the shed will shelter more sheep.

"These movable sheds may be connected with hay-barns,
'hay-barracks,' stacks, or they may surround an inclosed space
with a stack in the middle. In the latter case, however, the
yard should be square^ instead of round^ on account of the
divergence in the lower ends of the boards or poles, which the
round form would render necessary."

2. Feeding-RacTcs. — " When the ground is frozen, and esjje-
cially when covered with snow, the sheep eats hay better on
the ground than anywhere else. When the land is soft, muddy,
or foul with manure, they will scarcely touch hay placed on it.
It should then be fed in racks.

64: Domestic Aximals.

" These are of various forms. Fig. 25 gives the common
box rack in the most general use in the North. It is ten feet
long, two and a half wide, the lower boards a foot wide, the
upper ones about ten inches, the two about nine inches apart,

Fig. 25.

Box Eack.

and the corner posts three bj three, or three and a half by two
and a half inches. The boards are spiked on these posts by
large flat-headed nails wrought for the purpose, and the lower
edges of the upper boards and the upper edges of the lower
ones are rounded so they shall not wear the wool off from the
sheep's necks. . The lower boards and the opening for the
heads should be two or three inches narrower for lambs. If
made of light wood, as they should be, a man standing in the
inside and middle of one of these racks, can easily carry it
about — an important desideratum. Unless over-fed, sheep
waste very little hay in them."

An improvement upon the common box rack has holes eight
inches wide, nine inches high, and about eighteen inches apart,
instead of the continuous opening represented in the foregoing
cut ; but it is a little more expensive.

3. Feeding. — " In Germany great stress is laid on variety
in the winter fodder, and elaborate systems of feeding are
given. Variations of dry fodder are well enough, but hundreds
and thousands of Northern flocks receive nothing but ordinary
hay, consisting mainly of timothy {Phleum pratense), some red
and white clover {TrifoUum pratense et repens), and frequently
a sprinkling of June or spear-grass {Poa pratensis\ during the
entire winter. Others receive an occasional fodder of corn-
stalks and straw, and some farmers give a daily feed of grain

Sheep. 85

througli the winter. Where haj is the principal feed, it may
be well, where it is convenient, to give corn-stalks (or 'blades')
every fifth or sixth feed, or even once a day ; or the daily feed,
not of hay, might alternate between blades, pea-straw, straw
of the cereal grains, etc. Should any other fodder besides hay
be the principal one, as, for example, corn-blade* or pea-
hanlm, each of the other fodders might be alternated in the
same way. It is mainly, in my judgment, a question of conve-
nience with the flock-master, provided a proper supply of pal-
atable nutriment within a proper compass is given. Hay,
clover, properly cured pea-haulm, and corn-blades are palatable
to the sheep, and each contain the necessary supply of nutri-
ment in the quantity which the sheep can readily take into its
stomach. Consequently, from either of these, the sheep can
derive its entire subsistence. Sheep should not run or be fed
in yards with any other stock.

" The expediency of feeding grain to store sheep in the win-
ter depends upon circumstances. Remote from markets, it is
generally fed by the holders of large flocks. Oats are com-
monly preferred, and they are fed at the rate of a gill a head
per day. Some feed half the same amount of (yellow) corn.
Fewer sheep — particularly lambs, yearlings, and crones — get
thin and perish, where they receive a daily feed of grain ; they
consume less hay, and their fleeces are increased in weight.
On the whole, therefore, it is considered good economy.
"Where no grain is fed, three daily feeds of hay are given. It is
a common and very good practice to feed greenish cut oats in
the bundle, at noon, and give but two feeds of hay — one at
morning and one at night. A few feed greenish cut peas in the
same way. In warm, thawing weather, when sheep get to the
ground, and refuse dry hay, a little grain assists materially in
keeping up their strength and condition. This may furnish a
useful hint for many parts of the South. When the feed is
shortest in winter, in the South, there are many localities
where sheep would get enough grass to take off* their appetite
for dry hay, but not quite enough to keep them in prime con-

86 Domestic Animals.

dition. A moderate daily feed of oats oi peas, placed in the
depository racks, would keep them strong, in good plight for
the lambing season, and increase their weight of wool.

"Euta-bagas, Irish potatoes, etc., make a good substitute for
grain, as an extra feed for grown sheep. I prefer the ruta-
baga to tke potato in equivalents of nutriment. I do not con-
sider either of them, or any other root, as good for lambs and
yearlings as an equivalent in grain. Sheep may be taught to
eat nearly all the cultivated roots ; this is done by withholding
salt from them, and then feeding the chopped root a few times
rubbed with just suflBcient salt to induce them to eat the root
to obtain it, but not enough to satisfy their appetite for salt
before they have acquired a taste for the roots.

" If there is one rule which maybe considered more impera-
tive than any other in sheep husbandry, it is that the utmost
regularity be preserved in feeding. First, there should be reg-
ularity as to the times of feeding. However abundantly pro-
vided for, when a flock are foddered sometimes at one hour
and sometimes at another — sometimes three times a day and
sometimes twice — some days grain and some days none — they
can nofbe made to thrive. They will do far better on inferior
Tceep^ if fed with strict regularity. In a climate where they
require hay three times a day, the best times for feeding are
about sunrise in the morning, at noon, and an hour lefore darlc
at night. Unlike cattle and horses, sheep do not eat well in
the darlc, and therefore they should have time to consume their
food before night sets in. Noon is the common time for feed-
ing grain or roots, and is the best time if but two fodderings of
Lay be given. If the sheep receive hay three times, it is not a
matter of much consequence with which feeding the grain is
given, only that the practice be uniform.

" It is also highly essential that there be regularity preserved
in the amount fed. The consumption of hay will, it is true,
depend much upon the weather. The keener the cold, the
more sheep will eat. In the South, much would also depend
upon the amount of grass obtained. In many places a light,

Sheep. 87

dailj foddering would suflace— in others, a light foddering
placed in the depository racks once in two days would answer
the purpose. In the steady cold weather of the North, the
shepherd readily learns to determine about how much hay will
be consumed before the next foddering time ; and this is the
amount which should, as near as may be, be regularly fed. In
feeding grain or roots there is no difficulty in preserving entire
regularity^ and it is vastly more important than in feeding hay.
Of the latter a sheep will not over-eat and surfeit itself; of the
former it- will. And if not fed grain to the point of surfeiting,
but still over-plenteously, it wiU expect a like amount at the
next feeding, and failing to receive it will pine for it and manifest
uneasiuess. The effect of such irregularity on the stomach and
system of any animal is bad, and the sheep suffers more from
it than any other animal. I would much rather that my flock
receive no grain at all than that they should receive it without
regard to regularity in the amount. The shepherd should be re-
quired to measure out the grain to sheep in all instances — instead
of guessing it out — and to measure it to each separate flock.

" In the North the grass often gets very short by the 10th or
15th of November, and it has lost much of its nutritiousness
from repeated freezing and thawing. At this time, though no
snow has yet fallen, it is best to give the sheep a light, daily
foddering of bright hay, or a few oats in the bundle. Given
thus for the ten or twelve days which precede the covering of
the ground by snow, fodder pays for itself as well as at any
other time during the year."

4. Salt. — " Salt, in my judgment, is indispensable to the health
of sheep, particularly in the summer ; and I know not a flock-
master among the hundreds, nay, thousands with whom I am
acquainted, who differs with me in this opinion. It is common
to give it once a week while the sheep are at grass.

"It is still better to give them free access to salt at aU times
by keeping it in a covered box, open on one side."

5. Water. — " Water is not indispensable in the summer pas-
tures, the dews and the succulence of the feed answering as a

88 Domestic Animals.

substitute. But my impression is decided that free access to
water is advantageous to sheep, particularly to those having
lambs ; and I should consider it a matter of importance, on a
sheep farm, to arrange the pastures, if practicable, so as to
bring water into each of them."

6. Shade. — " No one who has observed with what eagerness
sheep seek shade in hot weather, and how they pant and
apparently suffer when a hot sun is pouring down on their
nearly naked bodies, will doubt that, both as a matter of hu-
manity and utility, they should be provided, during the hot
summer months, with a better shelter than that afforded by a
common rail fence. Forest trees are the most natural and best
shades, and it is as contrary to utility as it is to good taste to
strip them entirely from the sheep-walks. A strip of stone
wall or close board fence on the south and west sides of the
pasture will form a passable substitute for trees ; but in the
absence of all these, and of buildings of any kind, a shade can
be cheaply constructed of poles and brush, in the same manner
as the sheds of the same materials for winter shelter already
described."

T. Lambs. — " Lambs are usually dropped in the North from
the first to the fifteenth of May. In the South, they might
safely come earlier. It is not expedient to have them dropped
when the weather is cold and boisterous, as they require too
much care; but the sooner the better after the weather has
become mild, and the herbage has started sufficiently to give
the ewes that green food which is required to produce a plenti-
ful secretion of milk. It is customary in the North to have
fields of clover, or the earliest of grasses, reserved for the early
spring feed of the breeding ewes ; and if these can be contigu-
ous to their shelters, it is a great conv^enience — for the ewes
should be confined in the latter, on cold and stormy nights,
during the lambing season.

"If warm and pleasant, and the nights are warmish, I prefer
to have the lambing take place in the pastures. I think sheep
are more disposed to own and take kindly to their lambs thus,

Sheep. 89

than iu the confusion of a small inclosure. Unless particiflarly
docile, sheep in a small inclosure crowd from one side to another
when any one enters, running over young lambs, and pressing
them severely, etc. Ewes get separated from their lambs, and
then run violently round from one to another, jostling and
knocking them about. Young and timid ewes get separated
from their lambs, and frequently will neglect them for an hour
or more before they will again approach them. If the weather
is severely cold, the lamb, if it has never sucked, stands a
chance to perish. Lambs, too, when just dropped, in a dirty
inclosure, in their first efforts to rise, tumble about, and the
membrane which adheres to them becomes smeared with dirt
and dung — and the ewe refuses to lick them dry, which much
increases the hazard of freezing.

'* Lambs should be weaned at four months old. It is better
for them and much better for their dams. The lambs when
taken away should be put for several days in a field distant
from the ewes, that they may not hear each other's bleatings.
The lambs when in hearing of their dams continue restless
much longer, and they make constant and frequently successful
efforts to crawl through the fences which separate them. One
or two tame old ewes are turned into the field with them, to
teach them to come at the call, find salt when thrown to them,
and eat grain, etc., out of troughs when winter approaches.

"The lambs when weaned should be put on the freshest and
tenderest feed. I have usually reserved for mine the grass and
clover sown, the preceding spring, on the grain fields which
were seeded down.

" The dams, on the contrary, should be put for a fortnight on
short, dry feed, to stop the flow of milk. They should be looked
to once or twice, and should the bags of any be found much
distended, the milk should be drawn and the bag washed for a
little time in cold water. But on short feed they rarely give
much troii.ble in this particular. When properly dried off they
should be put on good feed to recruit, and get in condition for
winter."

^ Domestic Animals.

8. Emasculation and Docking. — " These shonld usually pre-
cede washing, as at that period the oldest lambs will be about
a month old, and it is safer to perform the operations when
they are a couple of weeks younger. Dry, pleasant weather
should be selected. Castration is a simple and safe process.
Let a man hold the lamb with its back pressed firmly against
his breast and stomach, and all four legs gathered in front in
his hands. Cut off the bottom of the pouch, free the testicle
from the inclosing membrane, and then draw it steadily out, or
clip the cord with a knife, if it does not snap off at a proper
distance from the testicle. Some shepherds draw both testicles
at once with their teeth. It is common to drop a little salt into
the pouch. Where the weather is very warm, some touch the
end of the pouch (and that of the tail, after that is cut off)
with an ointment, consisting of tar, lard, and turpentine. In
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, however, they wiU do just
as well, here, without any application.

" The tail should be cut off, say one and a half inches from the
body, with a chisel on the head of a block, the skin being slid
np toward the body with a finger and thumb, so that it wiU
afterward co^er the end of the stump. Severed with a knife,
the end of the tail being grasped with one of the hands in the
ordinary way, a naked stump is left which takes some time to
heal.

" It may occur to some unused to keeping sheep, that it is
unnecessary to cut off the tail. If left on, it is apt to collect
filth, and if the sheep purges, it becomes an intolerable nui-
sance.

9. Washing. — " This is usually done here about the first of
June. The climate of the Southern States would admit of its
being done earlier. The rule should be to wait until the water
has acquired sufficient warmth for bathing, and until cold rains
and storms, and cold nights are no longer to be expected.

10. Shearing. — " It is difficult, if not impossible, to give intel-
ligible practical instructions which would guide an entire nov-
ice in skillfully shearing a sheep. Practice is requisite. The

Sheep. 91

following dii-ections from the American Shepherd* are correct^
and are as plain, perhaps, as thej can be made :

" ' The shearer may place the sheep on that part of the floor
assigned to him, resting on its rump, and himself in a posture
with one (his right) knee on a cushion, and the back of the animal
resting against his left thigh. He grasps the shears about half-
way from the point to the bow, resting his thumb along the
blade, which affords him better command of the points. He
may then commence cutting the wool at the brisket, and pro-
ceeding downward, all upon the sides of the belly to the ex-
tremity of the ribs, the external sides of both thighs to the
edges of the flanks ; then back to the brisket, and thence up-
ward, shearing the wool from the breast, front, and both sides
of the neck — but not yet the back of it — and also the poll or
fore-part, and top of the head. !N"ow the "jacket is opened" of
the sheep, and its position and that of the shearer is changed, by
being turned flat upon its side, one knee of the shearer resting
on the cushion, and the other gently pressing the fore-quarter
of the animal, to prevent any struggling. He then resumes
cutting upon the flank and rump, and thence onward to the
head. Thus one side is complete. The sheep is then turned
on to the other side, in doing which great care is requisite to
prevent the fleece from being torn, and the shearer acts as upon
the other, which finishes. He must then take his sheep near
to the door through which it is to pass out, and neatly trim
the legs, and leave not a solitary lock anywhere as a harbor
for ticks. It is absolutely necessary for him to remove from
his stand to trim, otherwise the useless stuff from the legs be-
comes intermingled with the fleece wool. In the use of the
shears, let the blades be laid as flat to the skin as possible, not
lower the points too much, nor cut more than from one to two
inches at a clip, frequently not so much, depending on the part
and compactness of the wool.'

" Cold storms sometimes destroy sheep, in this latitude, soon

♦ Pages 1T9, ISO.

92 Domestic Animals.

after shearing — particularly the delicate Saxons. I have known
forty or fifty perish out of a single flock, from one night's
exposure. The remedy, or rather the preventive, is to house
them, or in default of the necessary fixtures to effect this, to
drive them into dense forests. I presume, however, this would
be a calamity of rare occurrence in the ' sunny South.' "*

v.— VALUE OP SHEEP TO THE FAEMEE.

The following suggestive remarks are from the Country
Gentleman^ and are worthy of every reader's attention :

" Sheep are profitable to the farmer, not only from the pro-
duct of wool and mutton, but from the tendency which their
keeping has to improve and enrich his land for all agricultural
purposes. They do this :

" 1. By the consumption of food refused by other animals in
summer; turning waste vegetation to use, and giving rough
and bushy pastures a smoother appearance, and in time erad-
icating wild plants so that good grasses and white clover may
take their place. In this respect sheep are of especial value to
pastures on soils too steep or stony for the plow. In winter,
the coarser parts of the hay, refused by horses and cows, are
readily eaten by sheep, while other stock wiU generally eat
most of that left by these animals.

"For these reasons, among others, no grazing farm should be
without at least a small flock of sheep, for it has been found
that as large a number of cattle and horses can be kept with
as without them, and without any injury to the farm for other
purposes. A small flock, we said — perhaps half a dozen to
each horse and cow would be the proper proportion. A va-

* Sheep Husbandry ; with an Account of the DiflFerent Breeds and General
Directions in regard to Summer and Winter Management, Breeding, and
Treatment of Diseases. With Portraits and other Engravings. By Henry S.
Eandall. New York : A. 0. Moore. This work is bound with " Youatt on
the Sheep," under the general title of " The Shepherd's Own Book," and the
volume should be in the hands of every one who would make sheep-breeding
his principal business.

Sheep. 93

riety of circumstances would influence this point ; sLch as the
character of the pasturage, and the proportion of the same
fitted and desirable for tillage.

" 2. Sheep enrich land by the manufacture of considerable
quantities of excellent manure. A farmer of long experience
in sheep husbandry, thought there was no manure so fertilizing
as that of sheep, and (of which there is no doubt) that none
dropped by the animal upon the land suffered so little by waste
from exposure. A German agricultural writer has calculated
that the droppings from one thousand sheep during a single
night would manure an acre sufficiently for any crop. By using
a portable fence, and moving the same from time to time, a
farmer might manure a distant field with sheep at less expense
than that of carting and spreading barn manure.

" The value of sheep to the farmer is much enhanced by due
attention to their wants. Large flocks kept together are sel-
dom profitable, while smail assorted flocks always pay vrell, if
fed as they should be. To get good fleeces of wool, and large,
healthy lambs from poor neglected sheep, is impossible. It is
also true that the expense of keeping is often least with the
flocks that are always kept in good condition. The eye and
thought of the owner are far more necessary than large and
irregular supplies of fodder. Division of the flock and shelter,
with straw and a little grain, will bring them through to spring
pastures in far better order than if kept together, with double
rations of hay, one half of which is wasted by the stronger
animals, while the weak of the flock pick up bat a scanty liv-
ing, and oftentimes fail to get that through the whole winter.

" We commend this subject to the consideration of our corre-
spondents ; it is one which needs greater attention on the part
of the farming public."

VI.— AFFECTION OF ^THE EWE.

The Ettrick Shepherd tells the following story of the con-
tinued affection of the ewe for her dead lamb :

" One of the two years while I remained on the farm at Wil-

94: Domestic Animals.

lenslee a severe blast of snow came on by night, abont tbe lat-
ter end of April, which destroyed several scores of our lambs,
and as we had not enow of twins and odd lambs for the mothers
that had lost theirs, of course we selected the best ewes and
put lambs to them. As we were making the distribution, I
requested of my master to spare me a lamb for a ewe which he
knew, and which was standing over a dead lamb in the end ot
the hope, about four miles from the house. He would not let
me do it, but bid me let her stand over her lamb for a day or
two, and perhaps a twin would be forthcoming. I did so, and
faithfully she did stand to her charge. I visited her every morn-
ing and evening for the first eight days, and never found her
above two or three yards from the lamb ; and often as I went
my rounds, she eyed me long ere I came near her, and kept
stamping with her foot, and whistling through her nose, to
frighten away the dog. He got a regular chase twice a day as I
passed by ; but however excited and fierce a ewe may be, she
never offers any resistance to mankind, being perfectly and
meekly passive to them.

" The weather grew fine and warm, and the dead lamb soon
decayed ; but still this affectionate and desolate creature kept
hanging over the poor remains with an attachment that seemed
to be nourished by hopelessness. It often drew tears from my
eyes to see her hanging with such fondness over a few bones,
mixed with a small portion of wool. For the first fortnight
she never quitted the spot ; and for another week she visited
it every morning and evening, uttering a few kindly and heart-
piercing bleats ; till at length every remnant of her offspring
vanished, mixing with the soil, or wafted away by the winds."

Swine.

05

SWINE.

Wbere oft the swine, from ambuah warm and dry,
Bolt out and scamper headlong to their sty. — BloomJUld.

I.— NATUEAL HISTOKY.
HE hog {SuidcB sus of LinnEeus), according to
Cuvier, belongs to "the class Mammalia^ order
Pachydermata, genus SuidcB or susy

Professor Low remarks, that " the hog is sub-
ject to remarkable changes of form and charac-
ters, according to the situation in which he is placed. When
these characters assume a certain degree of permanence, a
breed or variety is formed ; and there is no one of the domes-
tic animals which more easily receives the characters we de-
sire to impress upon it. This arises from its rapid powers of
increase, and the constancy with which the characters of the
parents are reproduced in the progeny.

There is no kind of livestock that can be so easily im-
proved by the breeder and so quickly rendered suited to the
purposes required ; and the same characters of external form
indicate in the hog a disposition to arrive at early maturity of
muscle and fat as in the ox and the sheep. The body is long in
proportion to the limbs, or, in other words, the limbs are short
in proportion to the body ; the extremities are free from coarse-
ness; the chest is broad and the trunk round. Possessing
these characteristics, the hog never fails to arrive at early ma-
turity, and with a smaller consumption of food than when he
possesses a different conformation."

The wild boar, which was undoubtedly the progenitor of all
the European varieties, and also of the Chinese breed, was for-

96 Domestic Animals.

merly a native of the British Islands, and very common in the
forests until the time of the civil wars in England.

The wild hog is now spread over the temperate and warmer
parts of the old continent and its adjacent islands. His color
varies with age and climate, but is generally a dusky brown
with black spots and streaks. His skin is covered with coarse
hairs or bristles, intersected with soft wool, and with coarser
and longer bristles upon the neck and spine, which he erects
when in anger. He is a very bold and powerful creature, and
becomes more fierce and indocile with age. From the form of
his teeth he is chiefly herbivorous in his habits, and delights in
roots, which his acute sense of smell and touch enables him to
discover beneath the surface. He also feeds upon animal sub-
stances, such as worms and larvae which he grubs up from the
ground, the eggs of birds, small reptiles, the young of animals,
and occasionally carrion ; he even attacks venomous snakes wdth
impunity.

The female produces a litter but once a year, and in much
smaller numbers than when domesticated. She usually carriea
her young for four months or sixteen weeks.

In a wild state the hog has been known to live more than
thirty years ; but when domesticated he is usually slaughtered
for bacon before he is two years old, and boars killed for brawn
seldom reach to the age of five. When the wild hog is tamed,
it undergoes the following among other changes in its conforma-
tion. The ears become less movable, not being required to
collect distant sounds. The formidable tusks of the male
diminish, not being necessary for self-defense. The muscles of
the neck become less developed, from not being so much exer-
cised as in the natural state. The head becomes more inclined,
the back and loins are lengthened, the body rendered more
capacious, the limbs shorter and less muscular ; and anatomy
proves that the stomach and intestinal canals have also become
proportionately extended along with the form of the body.
The habits and instincts of the animal change ; it becomes diur-
nal in its habits, not choosing the night for its search of food ;

Swine. 97

is more insatiate in its appetite, and the tendency to obesity
increases.

The male forsaking its solitary habits, becomes gregarious,
and the female produces her young more frequently, and in
larger numbers. With its diminished strength and power of
active motion, the animal also loses its desire for liberty. These
changes of form, appetites, and habits, being communicated
to its progeny, a new race of animals is produced, better
suited to their altered condition. The wild hog, after it has
been domesticated, does not appear to revert to its former state
and habits ; at least the swine of South America, carried thith-
er by the Spaniards, which have escaped to the woods, retain
their gregarious habits, and have not become wild boars.*

II.-OPINIOXS EESPEOTENG THE HOG.

From the various allusions to the hog in the writings of the
ancient Greeks and Romans, it is plain that its flesh was held
in high esteem among those nations. The Romans even made
the breeding, rearing, and fattening pigs a study, which they
designated as Porculatio.

' Varro states that the Gauls produced the largest and finest
swine's flesh that was brought into Italy ; and according to
Strabo, in the reign of Augustus, they supplied Rome and
nearly all Italy with gammons, hog-puddings, and sausages.
This nation and the Spaniards appear to have kept immense

di"oves of swine, but scarcely any other kind of livestock

In fact, the hog was held in very high esteem by aU the early
nations of Europe ; and some of the ancients have even paid it
divine honors.!

On the other hand, swine's flesh has been held in utter abhor-
rence by the Jews since the time of Moses, in whose laws they
were forbidden to make use of it as food. The Egyptians also
and the followers of Mohammed have religiously abstained from
it. Paxton, in his " Illustrations of Scripture," says :

* A msrican Farmer's Encyclopedia. t Youatt.

5

98 Domestic Animals.

"The hog was jnstly classed bj the Jews among the vilest
animals in the scale of animated nature ; and it can not be
donbted that his keeper shared in the contempt and abhorrence
which he had excited. The prodigal son in the parable had
spent his all in riotous living, and was ready to perish
through want, before he submitted to the humiliating employ-
ment of feeding swine."

"Swine," Heroditus says, "are accounted such impure beasts
by the Egyptians, that if a man touches one even by accident,
he presently hastens to the river and, in all his clothes, plunges
into the water. For this reason swine-herds alone of the
Egyptians are not auowed to enter any of their temples ; neither
will any one give his daughter in marriage to one of that pro-
fession, nor take a wife born of such parents, so that they are
necessitated to intermarry among themselves."

The Brahminical tribes of India share with the Jews, Moham-
medans, and Egyptians this aversion to the hog. The modern
Copts, descendants of the ancient Egyptians, rear no swine, and
the Jews of the present day abstain from their flesh as of old.

It was Cuvier's opinion that "in hot climates the flesh of
Bwine is not good;" and Mr. Sonnini remarks that "in Egypt,
Syria, and even the southern parts of Greece, this meat, though
very white and delicate, is so far from being firm, and is so
overcharged with fat, that it disagrees with the strongest
stomachs. . It is therefore considered unwholesome, and this
will account for its proscription by the legislators and priests
of the East. Such abstinence was doubtless indispensable to
health under the burning suns of Arabia and Egypt." How
is it under the burning suns of Carolina and Georgia?

III.— BREEDS.

The various breeds which have been reared by crosses be-
tween those procured from different countries are so numerous,
that to give anything like a detailed description of them would
fill a large volume. We shall refer to only a ftrw of the more
important of them.

SwixE. 99

1. TTie Land Pike. — The old common breed of the conntrj,
Bometimes called "land-pikes," may be described as "large,
**ough, long-nosed, big-boned, thin-backed, slab-sided, long-leg-
Fig. 26.

The Land Pike Hog.

ged, ravenous, nglj animals." Speaking of this race, A. B. Allen
says: "]!^o reasonable fence can stop them, but, ever restive
and uneasy, they rove about seeking for plunder ; swilling
grunting, rooting, pawing ; always in mischief and always de-
stroying. The more a man possesses of such stock the worse
he is off." But this breed is rapidly disappearing. Crosses
between the land-pike and the Chinese or the Berkshire pro-
ducing a fine animal, the original breed is being very generally-
improved.

2. Tti^ Chinese Bre^d. — This breed was introduced into this
country from China some forty years ago. The Chinese hog is
small in limb, round in body, short in head, and very broad in
cheek. When fattened, it looks quite out of proportion, the
head appearing to be buried in the neck, so that only the tip of
tlie nose is visible. It has an exceedingly thin skin and fine
bristles.

The pure-blooded Chinese hog has been bred to only a limited
extent in the United States, on account of the small ness of its
size (it seldom attaining more than two hundred and fifty
pounds), and its lack of hardiness in a cold climate. In thiar
last respect, however, it is well adapted to the South. Crossed

100

Domestic Animals,

with the native hog it forms an excellent breed, which we may
call the improved China breed. Hogs of this mixed breed are
various in color — black, white, spotted, and gray and white ;
they are longer in body than the pure Chinese breed ; small in
the head and legs ; broad in the back ; round in the body ; the
hams well let down ; skin thin ; flesh delicate and finely flavor-
ed. They are easy keepers; small consumers; quiet in dis-
position ; not disposed to roam ; and when in condition may be
kept so upon grass only.

3. The Berl'sMre Breed. — This was one of the earliest im-
proved of the English breeds, and is deemed by many the most
excellent of all the varieties at present known. It is certainly
the most widely distributed and most generally approved. It
is a breed which is distinguished by being, in general, of a
tawny white, or rufous-brown color, spotted with black or
brown ; head well placed, large ears, generally standing forward,
though sometimes hanging over the eyes; body thick, close,
and well made ; legs short, small in the bone ; coat rough and
curly, wearing the appearance of indicating both skin and flesh
of a coarse quality. Suchj however, is not the case, for they

Fig. 27.

The Beekshieb Ho&.

have a disposition to fatten quickly : nothing can be finer than
the bacon, and the animals attain to a very great size.

SWI]N'E.

101

The Berkshires, from which most of the present American
Btock has sprung, were imported in 1822. The hreed has spread
very rapidly over the comitrj.

Fig. 28.

The Suffolk Hog.

4. Tke Suffolk Breed. — The improved Suffolk breed originated
in a cross between the original Suffolk hog and the Chinese.
It is a very valuable breed, but much smaller in size than the
Berkshire. The Suffolks are thick through the shoulders, very
handsomely proportioned in body, and possessing beautiful
hams. Their color is either white or light flesh color, when
of the pure breed, and they are indeed an ornament to the
farm.

It is said that they are less inclined to cutaneous diseases
than numerous others, and do not, under any circumstances,
produce that strong, musky flavored pork we sometimes find in
market. They are not a gross, xmwieldy animal, generally
ranging from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds

102

Domestic Animals,

weight at twelve months of age, which latter weight they sel-
dom exceed. They are clean feeders, and require much less
than any other breed known. ^

For large hogs, a cross between these and the Berkshire is
very desirable, and is preferred by Western breeders ; but for a
small breeder, or for femily use, the pure Suffolks are prefer-
able.*

5. The E88€X Breed. — The Essex hogs are mostly black and
white, the head and hinder parts being black and the back and
belly white. The most esteemed Essex breeds, Youatt says,
are entirely black, and are distinguished by having small teat-
like appendages of the skin depending from the under part of
the neck. They have smaller heads than the Berkshire hogs,
and long, thin, upright ears ; short bristles ; a fine skin ; good
hind quarters, and a deep, round carcass. They are also small
boned, and their flesh is delicately flavored. They produce
large litters, but are reputed bad nurses.
Fie. 29.

6.

The Essex H-jg.
T7i€ CTiester Breed. — This breed originated in Chester

County, Pennsylvania, and is not so widely known as, according

* Country Gentleman.

Swine. 103

to an acconnts, it deserves to be. A correspondent of the Couii'
try Gentleman gives the following account of the Chester hog :

" The Chester hog is the result of continued careful breeding
and judicious crossing iu this county during the last thirty-five
or forty years. The first impulse to this improvement, it is
said, was the importation of a pair of handsome hogs from
China, some forty years since, by a sea-captain then residing in
this vicinity. Of late years, however, many of our breeders
have been laboring to bring the Chester hog up to an acknowl-
edged standard of excellence — to define its points, and make it
as distinctive in character, and as easily recognized, as a Berk-
shire or Sufiblk. Their efforts, we think, have been successfuL

" The genuine Chesteir is a pure white, long body and square
built, wjth small, fine bone, and will produce a greater weight
of pork, for the amount of food consumed, than any other breed
yet tried among us. A very important characteristic of the
breed is, that it wiU readily fatten at any age. Many hogs, it
is well known, will not fatten while they are growing, or until
they have reached their fuU size.

" The average weight of the Chester stock, at sixteen montlw
old, is from 500 to 600 lbs., and when kept till two years old,
they frequently run up to 700 and 800 lbs. Our spring pigs,
when killed the following fall, weigh from 300 to 400 lbs.,
which is considered the most desirable weight for pork — pro-
ducing hams of a more salable size and better quality. As a
general rule, our farmers do not care to have their hogs weigh
over 350 to 400 lbs. To reach this weight at nine months old,
our hogs, of course, must be well fed. The Chester is not dif-
erent from other stock in this respect — ^to thrive well, it must
be well taken care of.

"Experiments have been made in crossing the Chester with
other breeds — such as the Berkshire, Suffolk, etc., and the re-
sult has been an inferior stock to the pure Chester. It does
improve the Berkshii-es to cross them with the Chester, but
we have found no advantage in crossing the Chester with aiij
other."

104 Domestic A:n-imals.

lY.— porsTs. ^

"There is evidently much diversity in swine in different
circumstances and situations. Like other descriptions of stock,
they should he selected with especial reference to the nature
of the climate, the keep, and the cu-cumstances of the manage-
ment under which the fai-m is conducted. The chief points to
be consulted ui judging of the breeds of this animal are the
form or shape of the ear, and the quality of the hair. The
pendulous or lop ear, and coarse, harsh hair, are commonly
asserted to indicate largeness of size and thickness of skin;
while erect or prick ears show the size to be smaller, but the
animals to be more quick in feeding.

'*In the selection of swine, the best formed are considered
to be those which are not too long, but foil in the head and
cheek ; thick and rather short in the neck ; fine in the bone ;
thick, plump, and compact in the cai'cass ; full in the quarters,
fine and thin in the hide ; and of a good size according to the
breed, with, above all, a kindly disposition to fatten well and
expeditiously at an early age. Depth of carcass, lateral exten-
sion, breadth of the loin and breast, proportionate length, mod-
erate shortness of the legs, and substance of the gammons and
fore-arms, are therefore absolute essentials. These are quali-
ties to produce a favorable balance in the account of keep, and
a mass of weight which wiQ pull the scale down. In propor-
tion, too, as the animal is capacious in the loin and breast, will
be generally the vigor of his constitution; his legs will be
thence properly distended, and he will have a bold and firm
footing on the ground.-'*

Y.— FEEDING.

Have regular hom-s for feeding your hogs ; nothing is more
important. Irregularity irritates the digestive organs, and
prevents the system from receiving the full benefit of the meal
when it doe5 come. Do not give them too much food at onc«.

* Americaik Farmer's Encvclopedia.

SwinE. 106

as they are apt to gorge themselves ; or, if any be left in the
trough, to return to it frequently till it is all gone. In both
cases their digestive organs, and consequently their ability to
fatten, are unpaired.

Swine will eat animal food, but it is not favorable to the
flavor of their flesh, and should always be withheld while they
are fattening.

Pigs always eat more when first put up to fatten than they
do afterward, therefore the most nutritious food should be re-
served tiQ they are getting pretty fat.

In reference to fattening the hog, a writer in the Boston
Cultizator remarks :

" If circumstances are favorable, he is inclined to lay up such
a supply of fat during antumn as would render it unnecessary
for him to undergo much exercise or exposure during inclement
weather. With plenty of lard oil to keep his lamp burning,
he would prefer dozing in a bed of leaves in the forest while
the ground is covered with snow, rather than to grub daily for
a living. He fattens most rapidly in such a state of the atmo-
sphere as is most congenial to his comfort — neither too hot nor
too cold; hence the months of September and October are
best for making pork. The more agreeable the weather, the
less is the amount of food required to supply the waste of life.

" Against fattening hogs so early in the season, it may be
objected that Indian com. the crop chiefly depended on for the
purpose, is not matured. Taking everything into considera-
tion,' it may be better to begin to feed com before it is ripe, or
even at the stage of considerable greenness. After the plant
has blossomed it possesses a considerable degree of sweetness ;
hogs will chew it, swallow the irfce, and leave nothing but the
dry fibrous matter, which they eject from their mouths when
no more sweetness can be extracted. They thrive on this
fodder, and will continue to eat it till the nutriment is concen-
trated in the ear, and then they will eat the cob and grain
together tiU the cob gets hard and dry. Farmers who have
practiced this mode of feeding consider it more advantageous

5*

106 Domestic Animals.

than to leave the whole crop to ripen, unless thev liave a sup-
ply of old com to feed with. Even in the latter case, it is
questionable whether hogs will not do better on com some-
what green than thej wonld on hard corn, nnground. Tme,
it is not necessarv that com should be fed nnground, but much
is fed in this condition, no doubt at a loss.

" In manj parts of the conntrv, swine are fed considerably
on articles which are not readily marketable, as imperfect
fruits, vegetables, etc. Where such articles are used, cooking
them is generally economical. A mixture of squashes (either
summer or winter squashes), pumpkins — the nearer ripe the
better — potatoes, beets, and apples, boUed or steamed, and a
fourth or an eighth of their bulk of meal stirred in while the
mass is hot, forms a dish on which hogs wiQ fatten fast. If
skimmed mUk or whey can be had, the cooked food may be
put with it into a snitable tub or vat, and a slight degree of
fermentation allowed to take place before the whole is fed out.
The animals wiU eat it with avidity, and probably derive more
benefit from it than if it had not been fermented. Articles
which are of a perishable nature should be used first in fatten-
ing swine, in order to prevent waste and turn aU the products
of the farm to the best account.

" Another quite important advantage of early feeding is the
less trouble in regard to cooking the food and keeping it in
proper condition to feed out. The cooking may be done out
of doors, if convenience of feeding would be promoted by it,
and there is no expense or trouble to guard the food against
freezing."

Tl\p manner of fattening hogs, where Indiah corn is used, as
at the South and West, is t^S^ut them up in large, open pens
on the ground^ without litter and without shelter. Here they
are left to burrow and sleep in mud and mire, exposed to all
weathers, consuming, probably, before they get "ripe fat," one
third if not half more than would be necessary were they shel-
tered in a warm pen, with clean litter, clean water, and rich
^ood LQ abundance, free alike from exposure and excitement.

Swine. 107

An ample supply of good drinking -water slionld be kept
within the reach of every animal.

VI.— THE PIGGEBT.

In constructing a piggery, reference should be had to the
comfort of the animals as well as to convenience in feeding
them. It should he large, airy, and weU- ventilated, and should
have (at least in a large estabhshment) conveniences for cook-
ing their food. It should by all means be comfortable and clean.
It has been generally believed that the hog is naturally a filthy
animal, dehghting in mud and mire. This is certainly, in part
at least, untrue. No animal more fully appreciates a clean, dry
bed. To illustrate the value of cleanliness, a gentleman in
Norfolk (England) put up six pigs of almost exactly the same
weight, and all in equal health to fatten ; treated them all,
except in one particular, exactly alike, giving equal quantities
of the same food to each for seven weeks. Three of these pigs
were left to shift for themselves, so far as cleanliness is con-
cerned, while the other three were carefully curried, brushed,
and washed. The latter consumed, during the seven weeks,
less food by five bushels than the former, and yet, when killed,
weighed more by thirty-two pounds on an average. [For a
plan for a piggery, see "The House."]

i08 Domestic Animals.

VI.

IMPROTEIENT OF BREEDS.

Like produces like.

I.-SELECTION.

ITH sucli examples before us as are famished
by the English Race Horse, the Durham Cow,
and the South-Down sheep, where shall we
place limits to the improvability of our various
domestic animals ? The ameliorations through
which these improved breeds have been established were not
accidental. They took place according to the fixed laws of
animal life, brought to bear by the intelligence of man upon
special points and for special objects. Other breeds even bet-
ter than these may be produced by simUar means. Bakewell,
Culley, Seabright, Jaques, Knight, and other distinguished
breeders and improvers of stock, have made use of no patented
or secret process. "What they have done, any intelligent farmer
may do by the use of the same easily available means. To
furnish a few hints in reference to these means is the purpose
of this chapter.

In setting about originating a new breed of any particular
species of animal, the first grand point is the selection of sire
and dam. This must be made with reference to the particular
qualities to which you desire to give prominence, as well as to
the general excellence of constitution, form, and disposition
which should distinguish the species. Thus Colonel Jaques,
in originating the Cream-Pot breed of cows, already referred
to, had the dairy and not the butcher in view, and took his
measures accordingly. The results of a continued selection of

Impkovemekt of Breeds. 109

breeders with reference to their qualities as milkers has heen
the estabhshment of a permanent breed distinguished probablj
above all others as dairy cows. So the sheep breeders of
England, having the production of mutton as their principal
object, have produced the ITew Leicester, the South-Down, and
the New Oxfordshire breeds, distinguished for form, size, flavor,
and fattening qualities ; while the Spanish and German breed-
ers of Merinos, caring only for the wool, have given their breeds
pre-eminently excellent fleeces. Breeding carefully for a few
generations with a distinct purpose in view, will not fail to pro-
duce astonishing and satisfactory results.

" The alteration," Sir John Seabright says, " which may be
made in any breed of animals by selection can hardly be con-
ceived by those that have not paid some attention to the sub-
ject."

To breed in the most successful manner, the male and female
should be taken when they are in the highest state of health,
and when all the powers and attributes which are wished for
and which it is designed to propagate are in the most complete
order and state of perfection.

n.— m-AND-m beeeding.

It is a well-established fact in human physiology that the in-
termarriage of near relatives tends to both physical and mental
degeneracy. Analogy would lead us to infer that the same
results must follow close breeding among the lower animals ;
and facts, we think, prove conclusively that this is- the case.
Youatt, high authority on this subject, says ;

" Breeding in-and-in has many advantages to a certain ex-
tent. It may be pursued until the excellent form and quality
of the breed are developed and established. It was the source
whence sprung the fine cattle and sheep of Bakewell, and the
superior cattle of Colling ; but disadvantages attend breeding
'in-and-in,' and to it must be traced the speedy degeneracy,
the absolute disappearance, of the new Leicester cattle, and in
the hands of many an agriculturist, the impairment of consti-

110 Domestic Animals.

tution and decreased value of the new Leicester sheep and
the short-horned beasts. It has therefore become a kind of
principle with the agriculturist to effect some change in his
stock every second or third year; and that change is most
conveniently effected by introducing a new bull or ram. These
should be as nearly as possible of the same sort, coming from
a similar pasturage and climate, but possessing no relationship,
or at most a very distant one, to the stock to which he is in-
troduced." These remarks apply to all descriptions of live-
stock. In cattle, as well as in the human species, defects of
organization and permanent derangements of function obtain,
and are handed down when the relationship is close.

III.— CROSSING.

It is by judicious crossing of breeds that some of our best
varieties of domestic animals have been obtained. A cross
between a superior and an inferior breed results in a progeny
superior to the latter, and, for a particular use, climate, or
locality, often better than the former. Thus the cross between
the English thorough-bred horse and the inferior mare of the
common breed of IsTew England gave us the Morgan breed,
which for all the common purposes for which a horse is used
is superior to the thorough-bred animal himself.

In breeding from stock with qualifications of different descrip-
tions and in different degrees, the breeder wiU decide what are
indispensable or desirable qualities, and wiU cross with animals
with a view to establish them. His proceeding will be of the
" give-and-take" kind. He will, if necessary, submit to the in-
troduction of a trifling defect in order that he may profit by a
great excellence ; and between excellences perhaps somewhat
incompatible he will decide which is the greatest, and give it
the preference.

The following account of the way in which the new French
breed of sheep. La Chamois, was originated, throws light upon
an important principle in breeding; namely, that the influence
of the male upon the offspring will be the stronger the purer

. Improvement of Breeds. Ill

and more ancient in the first place his own race may be ; and
in the next place, the less resistance is oflTered by the female
through the possession of those qualities of purity and long
descent which are so valuable in the sire.

The French writer says : " With a view to the experiment
proposed, it was necessary to procure English rams of the
purest and most ancient race, and unite with them French
ewes of the modem breeds, or rather of mixed blood forming
no distinct breed at all. It is easier than one might have
supposed to combine these conditions. On the one hand, I se-
lected some of the finest rams of the Kew-Kent breed, regen-
erated by Goord. On the other hand, we find in France
many border countries lying between distinct breeds, in which
districts it is easy to find flocks participating in the two neigh-
boring races. Thus, on the borders of Berry and La Sologne
one meets with flocks originally sprung from a mixture of the
two distinct races that are established in those two provinces.
Among these, then, I chose such animals as seemed least defect-
ive, approaching, in fact, the nearest to, or rather departing
the least from, the form which I wished ultimately to produce.
These I united with animals of another mixed breed, picking
out the best I could find on the borders of La Beauce and
Touraine, which blended the Tourangelle and native Merino
blood of those other two districls. From this mixture was ob-
tained an offspring combining the four races of Berry, Sologne,
Touraine, and Merino, vrithout decided character, without
fixity, with little intrinsic merit certainly, but possessing the
advantage of being used to our climate and management, and
bringing to bear on the new breed to be formed, an influence
almost annihilated by the multiplicity of its component ele-
ments.

" Now what happens when such mixed-blood ewes are put
to a pure New-Kent ram ? A lamb is obtained containing
fifty hundredths of the purest and most ancient English blood,
with twelve and a half hundredths of four different French
races, which are individually lost in the preponderance of

112 Domestic Animals.

Englisli blood, and disappear almost entirely, leaving the im-
proving type in the ascendant. The influence, in fact, of this
type was so decided and so predominant, that all the lambs
produced strikingly resembled each other, and even Englishmen
took them for animals of their own country. But what was
still more decisive, when these young ewes and rams were put
together they produced lambs closely resembling themselves,
without any marked return to the features of the old French
races from which the grandmother ewes were derived. Some
slight traces only might perhaps be detected here and there by
an experienced eye. Even these, however, soon disappeared,
such animals as showed them being carefully weeded out of
the breeding flock. This may certainly be called '■fixing a
lyreed^ when it becomes every year more capable of repro-
ducing itself with uniform and marked features."

IV.— ADDITIONAL HINTS.

Farmers, like men in other branches of business, have an eye
on the profits of their industry ; and the more intelligent of
them are now fully convinced of the fact, that with proper car©
and protection the improved and finer breeds do give a greater
product with the same amount of food than the inferior and
coarser breeds. It costs but little if any more to keep a cow
that will give a large quantity of rich milk than one that does
not pay for her food ; strong, active horses are far more profit-
able than poor, lazy ones ; a bushel of corn will make twice as
much pork when fed to a Berkshire or a Suffolk as to a Land-
Pike or Racer, and the best sheep will yield double the wool
and bring triple the price of the poorer kinds.

Now every farmer may, in a few years, make great improve-
ment in his stock by selecting his best animals to breed from,
with an occasional infusion of fresh blood from other flocks
and herds (without reference to any of the celebrated improved
breeds), combined with proper attention to their feeding and
general management ; but unless he has a particular taste for
breeding animals, and unusual facihties for the business, he will

Improvement of Beeeds. 113

find it more convenient and cheaper to make an infusion of the
improved blood into his stock, choosing such as is best fitted
for his purpose. A bull or a ram of one of the best breeds
will soon, if judiciously managed, make a great change for the
better in his stock.

Another important fact must be borne in mind. " Improved
breeds owe their present degree of perfection, whatever it may
be, only to the skill which has been exercised in their selection,
breeding, and management for a number of generations and a
long series of years. This attention, we learn from the extract
above, must 1)6 continued if we wish to retain the valuable
qualities that it has placed within our reach ; and careful atten-
tion to the selection, the wants,' the comfort, and the health of
one's stock is thus shown to be not only the dictate of economy
for the time being, but a matter of importance in the future,
from the influence it exerts on the progeny as well as on the
parent. Improvements may be 'bred out as fast or faster than
it can be lyred in. Until the average of care which our farm
stock now receives becomes much greater, it may be inexpedi-
ent to advise the maintenance of a herd or flock of pure im-
proved blood for ordinary farm purposes'; but, by beginning
with grades — employing the services of an improved male to
engraft upon "native" stock — and by degrees acquiring the
habit of paying closer attention to their necessities and com-
forts, not only will om* cattle and sheep be gradually and fun-
damentally bettered, but the farmer v/ill be preparing to avail
himself of breeds already rendered capable of giving, with
proper attention, the greatest product for a specified amount of
food ; and animals bred to this point will then come into his
hands to be improved, not to be deteriorated. "+

* Ocunt»y Gentleman.

114 Domestic Animals-

YJL

DISEASES AND THEIR CURE.

Throw physic to the dosB.—Shakspeare.

I.-HTGIENE.

HKOW physic to the dogs," if you will, but,
be assured, they are quadrupeds of too much
good sense to swallow it ; and the other domes-
tic animals will hardly take, except under com-
pulsion, what their canine companions and pro-
tectors thus reject. You will find less difficulty in forcing it
down the throats of their more frequently diseased and oftener
doctored masters.

A large portion of almost every work on domestic animals
is taken up with directions for the treatment of their diseases.
Our limits do not permit us to dwell long on this point, nor do
we deem it necessary.

In their wild state, animals are ordinarily subject to few if
any diseases. They live according to the laws of their being —
hve naturally and healthfully, and, unless they meet a violent
death at the hands of man or of some of their natural enemies,
die a natural death. Our domestic animals, as they are gener-
ally managed, live under conditions less favorable to health,
and sometimes, although with comparative infrequency, get sick.
The fault is generally in the keeper or breeder, and not in the
animal or in the conditions inseparable from its domestic
state. "With animals, as with men, disease arises from some
infringement of the organic laws ; but their masters, and not
themselves, are responsible for the infringement. When they
get sick, however, in consequence of the false conditions under

Diseases and theie Cuee. 115

which they are forced to live, man adds insult to injury by
forcing his nauseous and poisonous drugs down their reluctant
throats. If they recover in spite of both the disease and the
remedy, drugs get the credit.

Well, let those use drugs who have faith in them, either in
the treatment of themselves, their families, or their domestic
animals; but the reader who looks in this little manual for
directions for their use will be disappointed. We can not con-
scientiously give them.

Animals born of well developed and perfectly healthy parents
(and none but perfectly healthy and well developed animals
should ever be permitted to become breeders) may almost uni-
versally he Icept in perfect health. With a sufficient quantity of
wholesome food, pure water, protection against storms and cold
in winter, complete ventilation and perfect cleanliness in their
habitations, and general attention to their comfort and health,
there will be little call for medical treatment of any kind ; and
in the rare cases which may occur, we would trust mainly to
Nature, co-operating with her as we could by means of diet, air,
exercise, and water, on the same principles precisely that are
applied in the treatment of human beings without drugs.

The Water-Cure or Hydropathic system has not yet been ex-
tensively applied to animals ; but so far as it has been adopted,
it has produced the most satisfactory results ; and for the bene-
fit of such of our readers as may have lost their faith in drugs,
and desire to make a trial of a more rational method, we lay
before them the following essay, kindly furnished for this work
by that distinguished physician and writer, R. T. Trail, M.D.,
Principal of the New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College.

n.— WATEE-CUEE FOR DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

BY B. T. TBALL, M.D.

The habits of domestic animals being, on the whole, less
nnphysiological than those of human beings, their diseases are,
as a necessary consequence, less numerous and less complicated.
They may all be grouped under the head of fevers^ influm-

116 Domestic Animals.

mations, spasms or colics, Jluxes, eruptioTis, and glandular
affections. And for all of these disorders we are satisfied that
proper attention to hygiene, as understood by the term Hy-
dropathy or Water-Treatment, is as much superior to drug med-
ication as it has proved to be in the case of human beings
similarly affected.

Fever is easily known by the languor and lassitude which
the animal manifests, with great indisposition to exercise, fol-
lowed by chills or shivering, and this succeeded by preternatu-
ral heat on the surface, loss of appetite, furred tongue, frequent
or hard or bounding pulse, etc. The animal should be placed
in a clean, quiet, well- ventilated room, protected from currents
of cold air in winter or the scorching rays of the sun in sum-
mer, and^ the temperature should be kept at a uniform and
moderate degree continually.

When the skin becomes very hot, it should be washed or
bathed all over, and a blanket or two immediately applied, so
as to promote moderate perspiration. Or the wet sheet may
be applied, taking care to cover it well with blankets, so as
to arrest chilliness. When the sheet becomes quite warm, it
should be removed, and the surface washed with cold water ;
and if the fever heat continues, it may be re- applied for an hour
at a time, two or three times a day, until the morbid heat is
entirely subdued.

The same general plan of treatment, with a slight modifi-
cation, applies to all inflammatory complaints. With domestic
animals as with human beings, the organs most liable to acute
inflammation are the lungs and the bowels, and the only spe-
cialty of treatment in these affections, in addition to the gen-
eral plan applicable to the constitutional disturbance we call
fever, is the continual application of wet cloths well covered
with dry ones to the chest or bowels, as either is the seat of
the inflammation, and the employment of copious enemas of
tepid water to free the bowels.

Spasmodic diseases of all kinds, and all the varieties of colic,
are the results of local obstruction caused by over-exertiou»

Diseases and theie Ctjee. 117

over-heating, or something improper or indigestible in the food.
Grain, and especially Indian meal, fed to a horse while in a
state of great heat or great fatigue from violent exertion, is fre-
quently the immediate cause of colic and spasms. In these cases
the animal should have his abdomen fomented with wet cloths
applied as warm as can be borne ; warm water should be given
the animal to drink, or poured down his throat from a bottle,
and copious enemas of warm water should be administered.

Fluxes — as diarrhea^ dysentery^ cholera^ influenza^ catarrh^
etc. — are the indications of a general obstruction of the system
or impurity of the fluids, with an effort at depuration in a par-
ticular direction. The usual practice of checking the discharge
suddenly by pungents, stimulants, and astringents is always
injurious and generally dangerous. On the contrary, the action
of the surface should be restored by bathing, with friction or
the dripping-sheet, and all irritating matters removed from the
stomach and bowels by means of warm and tepid water, as in
the case of colics. There wiU be no danger from the discharges
if the cause is removed, and if it is not removed, the sudden
suppression of the evacuations may terminate in a worse in-
flammation or speedy death.

Affections of the skin and glands are only to be cured by
purifying the whole mass of blood. To repel an eruption from
the surface, or rather a glandular tumor, is not curing the ani-
mal ; indeed, it is only changing an external disease to an inter-
nal one. Thus attention to a pure diet, to fi-esh air, and to
clean apartments, each and all are essential to recovery. Many
of these cachexies^ as they are called in medical books, originate
from the effluvia of their own excretions, as in cases where
the urine and feces are permitted to accumulate iu the stalls,
or under the floors of the stables.

118

Domestic Animals.

vin.

POULTRY

Also fowls were prepared for me. — Ifehemiah ▼. 18.

I.— THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

OBODY knows when or by whom fowls were
first domesticated. There are at most only two
(^ or three allusions to them in the Old Testa-
iW ment, and these are of doubtful import. In
our motto, for instance, the word fowls may
mean simply birds.

In the time of Aristotle, who wrote three hundred and fifty
years before Christ, however, they were evidently common ;
for he speaks of them as familiarly as a naturalist of the pres-
ent day. Everybody is familiar with the beautiful allusions to
them in the New Testament.

The wild origin of our domestic fowl is entirely unknown.
The race, like that of the Dodo, is probably extinct. The Wild
Turkey will sooner or later share the same fate.

Crested or top-knotted fowls appear to have been unknown
to the ancients. The earliest notice of them occurs in Aldro-
vandi, who speaks oi a hen with " a crest like a lark."

Domestic fowls now abound in all warm and temperate
climates, but disappear as we approach the poles. They were
found in abundance on the islands of the Pacific Ocean by their
earliest discoverers. How they got there nobody knows.
Probably in the same way that their human inhabitant found
their insular homes. EUis, in his "Polynesian Eesearches,"
says: "The traditions of the people state that fowls have
existed on the islands (Tahiti) as long as the people ; that they

POULTKT. 119

came with the first colonists by whom the islands were peo-
pled ; or that they were made by Taarva at the same time
that men were made."

The courage of the cock is emblematic, his gallantry ad-
mirable, his sense of discipline and subordination most exem-
plary. See how a good game-cock of two or three years' ex-
perience wUl, in five minutes, restore order into an uproarious
poultry -yard ! He does not use harsh means of coercion when
mild will suit the purpose. A look, a gesture, a deep chuck-
ling growl, gives the hint that turbulence is no longer to be per-
mitted ; and if these are not efiectual, severer punishment is

fearlessly administered His politeness to females ia

as marked as were Lord Chesterfield's attentions to old ladies,
and much more unaffected. Nor does he merely act the agree-
able dangler ; when occasion requires, he is also their brave
defender, if he be good for anything.

" The hen is deservedly the acknowledged pattern of mater-
nal love. When her passion of philoprogenitiveness is disap-
pointed by the failure or subtraction of her brood, she will
either go on sitting till her natural powers fail, or will violent-
ly kidnap the young of some other fowl and insist upon adopt-
ing them."*

The varieties of the domestic fowl are almost numberless,
but only a few of them are worthy of more than a mere men-
tion here. Among these we give the first place to —
t 1. The Spanish Fowl. — The thorough-bred Spanish fowl is
entirely black, so far as feathers are concerned, with a greenish
metallic luster. The combs of both the male and the female
are very large and of a brilliant scarlet ; that of the hen droops
over on one side. Their most singular feature is a large white
patch, or ear-lobe, on the cheek, which in some specimens ex-
tends over a large part of the face. It is a fleshy substance,
similar to the wattle, and is small in the hens but large and
oonspicuous in the cocks, giving them a very striking appear-

* Eev. Edmund Saul Dixon.

120

Domestic Animals.

ance. There are few, if any, handsomer fowls than the genuine
Spanish ; although some that are called bj that name, but are
really nameless mongrels, are ugly enough for scarecrows.

The hens are great layers, being in this respect, we believe,
superior to every other breed. Their eggs are very large, quite
white, and of a peculiar shape, being quite thick at both ends,
although tapering off a little at each. A correspondent of the
Country Gentleman^ relating his experience with them, says :
" My last year's June pullets commenced to lay in December,
and the first of February all of my Spanish hens laid more or
less. I got, in the six months, from the first of March to the
first of September, eighty-five dozen of eggs from seven pullets,
and I now get from four to six eggs per day ; and my honest

Fig. 30.

The Spanish Fowl.

conviction is, that the true Black Spanish hen will lay from
*fiv6 to t^n per cent.' more weight of eggs than any other
breed."

POULTKT. 121

On the other hand, it must be confessed that these Spanish
dames are not good mother^ or nurses, even ^vhen they do sit,
"which," as Dixon remarks, " they will not often condescend
to do." This last trait of character will prove a recommend-
ation rather than otherwise with those who care for eggs
rather than chickens. When the latter are wanted, it is better
to place the eggs under a hen of another and more motherly
breed — a Dorking, for instance.

The Spanish fowls bear confinement very well; are not
large eaters ; grow rapidly ; mature early ; and are only excel-
led for the table by the Game fowl and the Dorking. The aver-
age weight of the mature birds is about six pounds for the male
and five for the female.

It is important, but somewhat diflScult at present, to procure
the true, unmixed, white-faced Black Spanish breed.

There is another breed called the Gray or Speckled Spanish,
but, however excellent they may be (and they are highly
spoken of), they are probably a mixed breed.

2. The Dorlcing Fowl. — The Dorking takes its name from
a town in Surrey County, England, where it is supposed to
have originated.

The Dorkings are divided into the Colored and the White
varieties ; the former including the Gray, Speckled, Spangled,
Japanned, etc. These are not permanent varieties, however,
as they can not be bred true to color. The Gray and Spangled
comprise the more common forms in which the Colored Dork-
ing family is presented to us.

The White D(»rking is a smaller-framed bird than the Gray,
and should be perfectly white in plumage, bill, and legs. They
should have rose-combs. They are less hardy than the colored
variety, and not well adapted to a northern climate.

The Dorking is a fowl of rare beauty, large in size, symmet-
rical in form, and often gorgeous in plumage. Its flesh is
white, firm, and of excellent flavor ; and for the general pur-
poses of the table it is inferior to none, although, as regards
fla\*)r alone, the Game fowl would perhaps take precedence.

6

122

Domestic Animals.

As layers, the Dorking hens take high rank, but are, we think
inferior to the Spanish. They are persistent sitters, and make
excellent mothers and nnrses. The editor of the American

Fis. 31

The Doekln-g Fowl.

Agriculturist says: "A little knowledge in keeping them
[the Dorkings] justified ns in pronouncing them entitled to the
same rank among barn-yard fowls that the Short Horns have
taken among cattle ; and years of experience in breeding them
have confirmed us in this opinion."

John Giles, a well known poultry" breeder of Woodstock,
Conn,, expresses the following opinion: "After forty-odd
years' experience with the gallinaceous tribes, I say that, in my
humble opinion, no breed of fowls will compare with the true
Dorking as good mothers, sitters, and layers, giving eggs in
abundance, chickens easily reared, and which come to perfec-
tion sooner than any other poultry. The flesh is of a delicate
white, fine in the grain, and delicious flavor. The Black Span-

POTTLTET.

123

isli is only second to the true Dorking, in not raising their ovtr
young, seldom or ever wanting to sit ; but what they lose in
that point is more than made up by the abundance of eggs
By some they are called the everlasting layers ; eggs large ;
flesh and skin beautifully white and juicy; chickens grow rap
idly."

A cross between the Dorking and the Game fowl is greatly
esteemed, and is thought to be more profitable than the thor-
ough-bred Dorking.

The possession of the fifth claw is generally considered as an
essential characteristic of the Dorking, but it is not always
present, and might and should be " bred out." The weight of
the Dorking at maturity varies from five to eight pounds.

3. The Polish Fold. — The origin of this family of fowls is

entirely unknown. They do not exist in Poland at the present

time, and there is no evidence that tfey were ever known

there ; but this is a matter of small moment. Their beauty

Fig. 3-2.

The Polish Fowl.

124: Domestic Animals.

and excellence are nndispnted. The large top-knot is on^ of
the principal characteristics of the Polish fowl, and is conspic-
uous in all its varieties.

The varieties of the Polish or Poland fowl are numerous ;
but the principal ones are the White-Crested Black, the Golden
Spangled, and the Silver Spangled.

In the White-Crested Black Poland cock the plumage, with
the exception of the crest, should be uniformly black, with rich
metallic tints of green. The shorter crest feathers at the base
of the bill are black, the rest of the purest white. The beak
and legs are generally black. The same colors are required in
the hen. Their form and bearing are remarkably good. The
cock should weigh from five to five and a half pounds, and the
hen about four pounds.

The Golden Spangled and the Silver Spangled Polands are
splendid birds. " The beautiful regularity of their markings,
the vivid contrasts in their colors, together with their unique
appearance generally, entitle them to the first rank among the
more ornamental varieties."

The Polands, and especially the Black variety, are gener-
ally but not invariably great layers, commencing early in the
spring, and seldom wanting to sit till late in the summer, if
at all. They can not always be depended upon to hatch a
clutch of chickens, even when they manifest a desire to sit, fre-
quently deserting the nest after five or six days' occupation.*
They are not quke so hardy as some other breeds, but with a
fair degree of attention are easily reared. As a table fowl, the
Polish is among the best.

4. The Hamburg Fowl. — Of the Hamburgs there are sev-
eral varieties. The Silver Penciled, known also as the Bolton
Gray, have the plumage white, with the exception of the wings
and tail, which are furred with black. The aferage weight of
the cock is about four and a half pounds. The hen usually
weighs about a pound less. The Golden Penciled Hamburg

* Wingfield.

POTJLTKY.

125

differs fi-om the Silver Penciled chiefly in the ground color of
its plumage, which is a yellowish buff or yellowish bay, and in
being rather larger. The legs of both these varieties should be
blue. The Silver Spangled and Golden Spangled differ from
the Penciled sorts, in having black, circular, oval, or crescent-
shaped spangles on the tail and wing, instead of bars. They
are somewhat larger than the Penciled birds and have dai'kei

The Silver Spangled Hambttrg Fo-wx.

legs. The Black Hamburg has a plumage of a uniformly rich,
glossy-green black.

All the Hamburgs are beautiful fowls, rich in plumage and
fine in form ; great layers (the eggs, however, are small) ; sel-
dom desire to sit ; and are good for tlie table, falling but little
below the best varieties in this respect, although not so large
as some others.

They are impatient of confinement, and to do well must have

126

Domestic Animals.

Fig. 34.

TuE Golden Spangled Hambiteg Fowl.

a -widcr range of grassy lawn or pasture. Of the different vari-
eties we prefer the Golden Spangled, but others may choose
differently.

5. The Dominique Foicl. — This is a very common breed lis

Fig. 85.

Thk DoiuNiQUE Cock,

Poultry. 127

this country, but none the less valuable or beautiful on that
account.

" The prevailing and true color of the Dominique fowl is a
lightish ground, barred crosswise, and softly shaded with a
slaty-blue, as indicated in the portrait of the cock figured on
the previous page. The comb is variable, some being single,
while others are double — most, however, are single. The iris,
bright orange; feet, legs, and bill, bright yeUow ; and some
light flesh color. We prefer the yellgw legs and bill, and con-
sider them well worthy of promotion in the poultry-yard.

" We seldom see bad hens of this variety ; and take them
'all-in-all,' we do not hesitate in pronouncing them one of the
test and most profitable fowls, being hardy, good layers, care-
ful nurses, and affording excellent eggs, and the quality of their
flesh highly esteemed. The hens are not large, but plump and
full breasted. The eggs average about two ounces each, and
are of porcelain whiteness."*

6. The Leghorn Fowl. — The Leghorns are believed to be
cousins of the Spanish, whom they resemble in general form.
They have been considerably experimented with in this country,
and are highly extolled by some breeders ; but the general ver-
dict is that they are inferior to the Spanish. t

7. The Shanghai Fowl. — The Shanghai fowl Avas originally
brought from the northern part of China, particularly about
the city of Shanghai, from which it takes its name. It is the
common domestic fowl of that part of the country.

The Shanghai cock is a large, bold, upright bird, strongly
distinguished for the length, loudness, hoarseness, and awk-
wardness of his half guttural crow. Most of the sub-varieties

* Country Gentleman.

t A correspondent of one of the agricultural papers, however, gives the fol-
lowing testimony in their favor: " I have kept in different inclosures six of tiie
most approved varieties of fowls, for four months (from the 1st of April to the
present) — have registered the number of » ggs laid by each variety every day,
and the Leghorns hav e laid almost three eggs to any other bird's one, not ex-
cepting the far tamed Black Spanish."— E. W. Peabsall, Harlem^ N Y

128

Domestic Animals.

have large, single, serrated combs, the top running considerably
beyond its point of attachment to the head. His neck is about
nine inches long, and is somewhat arched ; wings short, round-
ed outward, their shoulders concealed in the breast-feathers,
and their tips covered by the body-feathers and the saddle-
hackle. His breast is broad, but wanting in fullness; the
thighs are wide a])art, large, comparatively short, smooth in

Fig. 36.

The Suanguai Fowl.

some, in others heavily feathered quite down to the knees;
shanks should be short, and, with the booted, more or less
feathered down the outer edge, quite to the end of the outer
toe ; the stern is densely covered with long downy feathers,
technically called "fluff," well rounded out; the hackle, both
of neck and saddle, is long and abundant; while the tail is
short and sometimes covered by the long saddle-feathers. Th<»

Poultry. 129

weight of a full-grown bird is from ten to twelve pounds,
while a few have weighed more. The hen agrees in general
character with that of her liege lord, but is two or three pounds
lighter.

The legs of both sexes should be yellow, though we have
seen some very fine white birds with a greenish-blue leg, and
superior black ones with dark legs.

The principal sub-varieties of the Shanghai family are the
"White, the Buff, the Cinnamon, the Partridge-colored, the Gray,
or Brahmapootra of a few writers, the Dominique, and the
Black.

About ten years ago there raged among our fowl fanciers a
most alarming Shanghai fever. It had its "run," and its vic-
tims mostly survived. "We presume they will never have a
second attack.

We can not advise our readers to breed Shanghai fowls, and
regret being obliged to mention them at all.

8. The Cochin Chirut, Fowl^ etc. — A missionary in China
says: "There is no difference at all between the Shanghais
and Cochin Chinas. In reality they all are Shanghais. Coch-
in Chinese fowls are a small^ inferior kind, not equal to the
natives of the United States, and it is not believed that any
have ever been taken to America;" and the editors of the
" Poultry Book," lately published in London, quote from a let-
ter they received from Mr. Robert Fortune, who has passed
many years in various parts of China, as follows: "I firmly
believe that what are called ' Cochin Chinas' and ' Shanghais'
are one and the same.

Whether this testimony should be considered conclusive or
not we leave the reader to judge, and believing none of the un-
couth, awkward, and coarse-grained Asiatic fowls desirable, we
herewith dismiss them.

9. The Bantam Fowl.—ThQ Bantam is the smallest specimen
of fowl, and may with propriety be called the Tom Thumb of
the gallinaceous tribe, and stands comparatively, in size, to the
Malay and Cochin fowl as that of the noble and stately Dur

fi*

130

Domestic Animals,

ham to the diminutive Alderney cow. Though extremely
small ^n size, the Bantam cock is elegantly formed, and remark-

Fig. 37.

White Bantam Cock and Hbn.

able for vis grotesque figure, his courageous and passionate
temper, bir> amusing pompousness of manner, his overweening
assumption and arrogance ; and his propensity to make fight,
and force every rival to "turn tail," has caused him many diffi-
culties.
The Bantam must be considered more as an object of curios-
Fig. 38.

Black Bantam Cock and Hen.

ity than utility, and of course must expect to be received with
no peculiar favor, in this country, except as a "pet," Thejr

POTJLTKT.

131

arrive at maturity earlj, are faithful sitters, good mothers, and
will lay more eggs, though small, than anyjother variety. They
are very domestic, often making their nests in the kitchen, de-
positing their eggs in the cradle or cupboard of the dwelling
when permitted.*

The most beautiful of the Bantams is the Seabright, of which
there are two sub-varieties — the Gold-laced and the Silver-
laced. '

The ground color of the Gold-laced should be a clear, gold-
en, yellow-white ; while in the Silver-laced it should be a pure
silvery-white. The accompanying cut will give the reader a
good idea of the form and bearing of these remarkable and
beautiful fowls, as well as of the markings of their plumage.

The Seabright Bantam is emphatically the English gentle-
man's Bantam. Even lords and duchesses strive for the mas-
tery in breeding this beautiful bird. This bird was first bred

Fig. 39.

The Seabbioht Bantam.

and introduced to the notice of English fanciers by th* late Sir
John Seabrip A, from whom they received their name.t

Bement

t Country Gentleman.

i32 Domestic Animals,

10. The Game Fowl. — The Game fowl is hardj, easily kept,
and extra good for the table. The hens are fair layers, excel-
lent sitters, exemplary mothers, and in every way well behaved

Fig. 40.

Gamb Cock and Hew.

fowls. The cocks have the reputation of being quarrelsome
and tyrannical; but those who have studied their character
most closely are of the opinion that, on this ground, they have
been unjustly condemned. They are brave and powerful, but
not pugnacious or vindictive. Bement says : " For those who
do not wish to give much attention to fowls, there is, accord-
ing to our opinion, no breed equal to the Game."

11. Mongrel Folds. — The collections usually known under
the name of Barn-door fowls or Dunghill fowls are merely rab-
bles of" mongrels, in which the results of accidental or injudi-
cious crosses have become apparent in all sorts of ways. There
is a tendency among them to revert back to some one of the
original breeds, and good fowls for all common uses are often
found among them.

12. Choice of Breed. — We have mentioned the leading char-
acteristics of the different kinds of fowls, in order to enable the
reader to decide which is best adapted to his purpose. Were
our advice asked in reference to the choice of a breed, we would
recommend the Spanish where e<jgs are to be made the prin

POULTET. 133

cipal object, and the Gray Dorking where chickens are wanted
for the table or for market. In reference to merely ornamental
poultry, let "fancy" rule.

13. Accommodations. — No one should attempt to keep fowls
without providing for them the proper accommodations to in-
sure their comfort and health. These need not be expensive.
A very simple house with appropriate accessories in the form
of a yard, -nests, feeding troughs, water basins or fountains,
roosts, etc., can all be very cheaply furnished; or they may be
more extensive, elaborate, and costly, if the proprietor's wants
require and his means permit. For plans and descriptions of
these structures we must refer the reader to "The House,"
which forms another number of this series of manuals. We
need only say here that they should be such as to secure
warmth and eflBcient shelter from storms, without excluding
light or air, both of which are essential to the well-being of
fowls as well as human beings.

"Most farmers," Mr. Bement truly says, "pay little or no at-
tention to their fowls, suffering them to roam and run about
when and where they please ; to lay and hatch where it suits
them best, and to roost on trees, under sheds, on the wagon,
cart, hay-rigging, etc. — soiling by their droppings plows, har-
rows, or whatever may chance to be within reach. This treat-
ment is no less unprofitable than inhuman. No wonder such
farmers get no eggs during the winter, and generally come to
the conclusion that poultry keeping does not 'pay.'"

Whatever may be the form or size of your poultry-house, it
should be so constructed as to secure as equable a tempera-
ture as possible. This end is best attained by having the
walls and roof lined, leaving an open space of from four to six
inches between the outer and inner walls, which may be filled
in with chaff, saw-dust, or dry tan. This will make it warm
in winter and cool in summer. In addition to the inclosed por-
tion, the house should have a broad piazza or shed attached,
to which the fowls may retire for shelter in stormy weather.

Hens always* seek to avoid observation v/hen laying, and it is

134 Domestic Animals.

well to gratifj this natural feeling in the construction of their
nests. A screen of lattice-work in front of the boxes, or a few
evergreen boughs properly placed, will secure the required
seclusion without preventing the circulating of the air.

In reference to the poultry-yard Mr. Bement says :

"Where it is intended to keep a large number of fowls, let
the yard be of ample dimensions, which of course must be reg-
ulated by the number intended to be kept. Those contracted
seven-by-nine pens which meet our eyes throughout the country
are not calculated to answer the purpose for which they were
intended. Half an acre, at least, for every hundred fowls (and
more than that number should never be kept in one flock), is
little space enough for them to roam in ; and in order to unite
all the advantages desirable in a poultry-yard, it is indispensa-
ble that it neither be too cold during winter nor too hot during
summer ; and it must be rendered so attractive to the hens as
to prevent their laying in any chance place away from it. To
shield them from the chilling blasts of winter and the scorch-
ing rays- of the sun in summer, we would recommend planting
evergreens on the borders of the yard, and shade trees in the
center. This, with a good covering of grass, would leave little
to be desired on that part. And if the fowls can have access to
a grass field occasionally, and the soil dry^ then, so far as the
ground and situation are concerned, nothing to be wished for
remains.

" A picket fence, from six to seven feet high, will be suffi-
cient to prevent the fowls from flying over."

14. Feeding. — The fowl is as omnivorous as a pig or a man,
and perhaps a little more so ; nevertheless grain is their staple.
Of this they ought to have a variety, as they do not thrive so
well when fed constantly with one kind. Corn, wheat, barley,
oats, and buckwheat make good feed for them. It is better to
nave all kinds of grain, intended for feeding fowls, and espe-
cially corn, coarsely ground or cracked. It will be found that
they require a smaller quantity in this state. It should be
scalded, or at least mixed to the consistency of a stiflT battet

Poultry. 135

with water, before feeding it to them. Vegetables, such as
potatoes, carrots, parsneps, beets, etc., boiled and mashed, are
acceptable and wholesome. Lettuce, cabbage, Scotch kale, etc.,
chopped up fine, are excellent for all kinds of poultry in the
winter. A few. chopped onions may occasionally be added;
and also a little flesh-meat, either raw or cooked, cut into small
pieces.

The editor of the Country Gentleman thinks that it is better
to feed poultry in winter from three to four times daily, than
twice, which is the ordinary custom. By frequent feeding, the
birds eat but a little at a time, and never injure themselves ;
but when fed but once or twice daily, there is danger of theu
overeating, which frequently produces fatal results. Our rule
is, to so regulate the quantity given at each time, that each
fowl shall have all it wishes, and have nothing left. Our ex-
perience confirms what many have said, that regular and fre-
quent feeding is better for the health of the fowl, at any season
of the year, than it is to fill a vessel with grain and allow them
access to it at all times. We also think that poultry will eat
less with frequent feeding than by twice feeding daily.

Lime is necessary for the formation of egg-shells, and should
always be accessible. The best form is that of calcined oyster
ehells, pounded* in small fragments. A box of sand and gravel,
and another of ashes, should be added.

Pure water is another essential that can not be too strenuously
insisted upon, impure water being a grand source of the dis-
eases of poultry.

Cleanliness must be strictly attended to in all your arrange-
ments for fowls ; and the inside of the poultry-house should be
whitewashed twice, at least, during the year, as a preventive
against vermin.

15. Incubation^ and Rearing Chickens. — ^For sitting, choose
good-sized hens. Those with short legs, broad body, and large
wings are best adapted to the duty. It is also generally re-
marked that the worst layers are the best sitters. All^the
eggs for a brood, which should not exceed thirteen, should be

136 DoMESTio Animals.

BO nearly, as possible of the same age. l^one of them should
be more than ten days old ; and the reason why they should
be of about the same date is, that they may be hatched Isimul-
taneously. Select eggs of average size and ordinary shape.
Give the hen a quiet place to sit, and take care that she be not
disturbed. In twenty-one days (sometimes a day or two earlier
in warm weather) a good sitter will bring out the chicks. The
first day after hatching they do not want food and should be
left in the nest. The next day they may be put into a good
coop in a dry, sheltered situation, and fed with coarse corn-
meal mixed up with water, hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, or
fresh curd. Feed a little at a time and often, and beware of
overfeeding. When a little older, cracked corn, millet, wheat,
barley, etc., may be fed to them. Have plenty of pure water
in a shallow dish (so that they may drink without getting into
it and wetting their feathers) always before them. After five
or six days they may be allowed to range at wUl outside of the
coop, but should not be allowed to come out while the dew is
on the ground. When two or three weeks old, or, indeed,
with the hardier breeds much earlier, the hen may be permit-
ted to lead them out. The most important caution now is to
guard them well against sudden unfavorable changes of tem-
perature, and especially against cold rain-storms.

16. The Poultry Pentalogue. — Somebody in England has
written a little wgrk which he calls the " Poultry Pentalogue,"
in which the whole art of fowl-breeding is summed up in five
grand rules :

1. Pure breed ;

2. A constant infusion of fresh blood, and the careful avoid-
ance of in-and-in breeding ;

3. A varied diet ;

4. ■ Equable temperature ; and —

5. Strict cleanliness.

Good rules and easily remembered. We commend them to
ou^ readers, who may profitably apply them to other stock
besides fowls.

POULTKY.

137

II.— THE GUINEA FOWL.

"There is no doubt," Wingfield says, "from the description
given by Columella and Varro, that the Guinea fowl was
reared on the fa'ms of the Eomans, and that it was first made
known to them during their wars in Africa." They have
hardly found the favor among poultry keepers that their merits
would warrant. They are prolific layers of excellent eggs, and
as table birds are by no means to be despised. They are
shy, and love to make their nests in dark, obscure places, far
Fig. 41.

The Gthnea Fowl.

from home ; for which reason their eggs are generally placed
under a common hen to be hatched and fostered. They give
«fc.4io notice of laying or sitting.

A brood of Guinea fowls is an excellent guai-d. They- love
roosting in the trees ; and at night, if any footstep disturb them,
their loud cries are sure to give notice to the farmer that a
trespass is committing.

The Guinea fowl is delicate eating, and is in fine season about

138 Domestic Animals.

Lent. Tlie young chickens must be treated in the same man-
ner and with the same food as young turkeys, and they must
be kept warm and dry. In fatting, they should be shut up in
a house for a fortnight, and fed four or five times a day with
sweet barley-meal, moistened with milk and good lard. They
pine if confined any length of time.

The great drawbacks to the rearing of Guinea fowls are the
vigilance required to watch for their nest, and the harsh scream-
ing of their cry.

III.— THE DOMESTIC TUKKEY.

The domestic turkey is not so far removed from the wild
Btate as the domestic fowl. There is no dispute about his ori-
gin, the wild turkey not being yet extinct, and not differing so
widely from the tenants of our barn-yards as to give room for
doubt on that point. In fact, as it is stated in the "American
Poulterer's Companion," if kept in the neighborhood of large
forests they will often stroll thither, without any design to
return, such is the natural wildness of their species.

We have three varieties of the domestic turkey in this
country — the Black, the Buff-colored, and the "White. The
Black is generally preferred, it being the most hardy. The
Buff-colored is placed next in the order of merit. The White
variety is very beautiful, but is smaller and less hardy.

Turkeys are generally considered very difficult to rear ; and
it is undoubtedly true that considerable care, patience, and skill
are required to insure uniform success. Mr. Bement says:
"If attempts to rear turkeys have not been crowned with suc-
cess, it is entirely owing to the unskillfulness and inexperience
of those to whom they have been intrusted ; and so long as one
persists in thwarting the females when sitting ; in opening the
shells of the eggs in order to help the passage of the tardy
chicks; in pressing them, so soon as they are born, to eat
against their will ; and in leaving them exposed to intense heat,
or to cold and dampness, so long will their death, in the course
of a month, be the undoubted consequence. It is less trouble

Poultry. 139

to say the breed is difficult to rear, than to acknowledge at once
that negligence, unskillftdness, and barbarity are the causes."

The principal requisites for the successful rearing of turkeys,
according to the experienced author of the "Poulterer's Com-
panion," are :

1. Good stock to breed from, both male and female. Both
should be large and fully grown. They ought to be at least
two years old.

2. Fresh blood, secured by changing the cock every year.

3. Good keeping through the winter.

4. No unnecessary interference with the process of incuba-
tion, which lasts four weeks.

5. Shelter, protection, and careful feeding of the chicks for a
few weeks, after which the mother may be liberated from the
coop to lead them out.

Curd chopped fine, crumbs of bread softened in water or
milk, are good for their first food ; but they will soon eat any-
thing that is fit for the parent turkey, except unbroken grain.

Early in the fall they should be fed night and morning with
dry corn ; and when the weather becomes colder they may
profitably be supplied at frequent intervals with boiled potatoes,
mashed with corn meal and skimmed milk, given to them
warm. On this diet they will grow and fatten rapidly.

The turkey is an out-door bird and requires, at most, only an
open shed for shelter during severe storms, and even this will
seldom be occupied if a good tree be at hand. They have not
yet acquired all the effeminate artificial habits of the domestic
fowl.

The critical periods with the turkey are about the third day
after they are hatched, and when they have thrown out the
*'red head," as it is called, which they do when about six weeks
old. To carry them safely through the first, avoid overfeeding,
and secure them against unfavorable Changes of temperature.
In the latter case, give them a plenty of food, and render it as
nutritious as possible by adding boiled eggs, wheaten grits,
bruised hemp seed, or bruised beans.

140

Domestic Animals.

Cobbett says: "As to fattening turkeys, the best vray is to
never let them get poor. Barley meal mixed with skimmed
milk and given them fresh will make them fat in a short time.
Boiled potatoes mixed with corn meal will furnish a change of
sweet food which they relish much, and of which they may
eat as much as they can."

IV.— THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

The domestic goose has acknowledged the sway of man for
ages — perhaps since the days of Noah. Homer mentions them,
where Penelope, relating her dream, says : "I have twenty
geese at home, that eat wheat out of water, and I am delighted
to look at them." Their cackling, it will be remembered, saved

Fig 42.

Embden OB Bremek Geesk.

Poultry. 141

Rome from the Gauls, b.o. 388. Their wild original is unknown,
the wild geese of the present day being of a different species.

Of the common domestic goose there is really but one vari-
ety divided into several sub- varieties, marked by more or less
permanent distinctive characteristics — of these the Toulouse
goose and the Bremen goose are probably the best. The for-
mer is gray and the latter white. The White China goose prob-
ably belongs to a distinct species. It is a beautiful bird, but
comes properly under the head of ornamental poultry, of which
we have little to say. It can be kept with advantage only Li
a warm climate.

Where there are facilities for keeping them, geese are consid-
ered the most profitable of all our domestic birds. The chief
requisites for goose keeping are a pond or pool of water and a
pasture for grazing.

The domestic gander is polygamous, but should not. Mormon-
like, be allowed an unlimited number of wives. Three is suf-
ficient, and some recommend to allow only two geese to each
gander. Comfortable and well-ventilated apartments should
be provided for geese, so constructed as to secure them against
rats, weasels, skunks, etc. A separate room for the sitting
goose is desirable. Her period of incubation is about thirty
days. Thirteen eggs are the usual number given to the goose.
She always covers them when absent from the nest.

" On the first day after the goslings are hatched," Mr. Bement
says, "they may be let out, if the weather be warm, care being
taken not to let them be exposed to the unshaded heat of the
sun, which might kill them. The food given them is prepared
with some barley or Indian meal coarsely ground, bran, and
raspings of bread, which are stiU better if soaked and boiled in
milk, or lettuce leaves and crusts of bread boiled in milk. On
the second day a fresh-cut turf is placed before them, and its
fine blades of grass or clover are the first objects wLich seem
to tempt their appetites. A little boiled hominy and rice, with
bread crumbs, form their food for the first few days, fresh
water in a shallow vessel, which they can dabble in and out

14:2 Domestic Animals.

without difficulty, being duly provided. Afterward advantage
must be taken of a fine warm sun to turn them out on grass
for a few hours ; but if cold and damp, they should remain in
their house, in which every attention should be paid to cleanli
ness by a constant supply of clean straw. After two weeks
we cease these special precautions against exposure to the
weather, and find them perfectly able to shift for themselves,
in company with their mothers and the others of their race.
For some weeks, however, extra supplies of food, such as bran
or corn meal mixed with boiled or steamed vegetables, may be
given them twice a day, morning and evening, continuing to
give them this food till the wings begin to cross on the back,
and after this, green food, which may be mixed with it, such
as lettuce, cabbage, beet leaves, and such like. The pond is
strictly forbidden them under all circumstances for the first two
weeks, and in severer weather for a longer period. Exposure
to heavy rain out of doors, and a damp floor in the house where
they are placed at night, are the main hazards to be avoided."
One of the greatest sources of profit in goose keeping is the
sale of the feathers ; but plucking them from the living geese
is a practice so full of cruelty that we can not conscientiously
give any directions for the process. A writer in one of the
magazines recommends shearing instead of plucking. He
says: "Feathers are but of a year's growth, and in the moult-
ing season they spontaneously fall off", and are supplied by a
fresh fleece. When, therefore, the geese are in full feather, let
the plumage be removed, very close to the skin, by sharp scis-
sors, clipping them off as sheep are shorn ; they will be renew-
ed at moulting in the usual course of nature. Th§ produce
would not be much reduced in quantity, while the quality
would be greatly improved, and an indemnification be experi-
enced in the consciousness of not having tortured the poor bird,
and in the uninjured health of the fowl, and the benefit obtain-
ed in the succeeding crop. After this operation shall have
been performed, the down from the breast may be remove(3
by the same means."

POTJLTKT. 143

v.— THE DOMESTIC DUCK.

The origin of the tame duck is not a well settled point.
Dixon supposes it to have been imported from India and China
in or about the year 1493.

Of the numerous varieties known to the poulterer, Mr.
Giles, of Woodstock, Conn., whom we have already had occa-
sion to quote, recommends, for those who desire to keep ducks
for use and not for ornament merely, the Rouen, the Java, and
the Aylesbury.

The Rouen duck, originally from Rouen, France, is of a
dark-brown plumage ; legs and feet a dark dusky red ; bill at
the base black, tapering down toward the point a dark green,
sometimes streaked with yellow ; long in the body, with a
small neck. The drakes are invariably the color of the wild
Mallard drake, having a white ring around the neck ; legs and
feet a bright red ; bill a bright yellow ; flesh darker and higher
flavored than the common duck. Very prolific, hardy, and
easy to raise ; will weigh at full maturity from eighteen to
twenty pounds a pair.

The Java duck, originally from Java. Plumage a glossy
black ; neck long ; round body ; legs and feet black, and black
bill. Drakes are black, head and neck bordering on a dark
green ; yellow bill ; with bright red legs and feet. The Java
ducks will attain to nearly the same weight as the Rouens —
flesh similar.

The Aylesbury duck, originally from the town of Aylesbury,
England. Plumage a beautiful white, with white bill; legs
and feet a bright pink, ornamental in appearance; easy to
propagate; producing white downy feathers, white skin, and
delicate, savory flesh ; will weigh from fifteen to eighteen pounds
the pair. Sit the eggs under hens, and have them hatch out
early. With care you can have large ducks.

The Wild Mallard duck is often domesticated. It is a very
beautiful bird and becomes quite tame, rearing broods hke the
common duck ; but no permanent tame race has j et been de-
rived from them.

144: Domestic Animals.

The Musk or Brazilian duck is from the tropical regions ot
South America. It is a singular bird in appearance and in
habits, but we see little to recommend it, either for use or orna-
ment.

The Wood duck, the most beautiful of its genus, so common
in all parts of the !N"orth American continent, is. also easily
domesticated. It also will breed in its domesticated state.

Ducks are easily kept where there is access to a pond, pool^
stream, or swamp. They will eat almost anything, animal or
vegetable. The refuse of the kitchen garden is always accept-
able to them, and where grass is not attainable, something of
this kind must be regularly supplied.

•'The duck-house," Bement says, "should, if possible, be of
brick, and paved with the same material, with considerable in
clina^lon, so that the wet, when the floor is sluiced down, may
ajt once pass off. Wood is seldom secure against rats, and does
not so weU suit the cleaning process of water and the lime-
brush, and few places require their application more frequently.
Do not crowd your birds, and always arrange for good venti-
lation. When the flock is large, separate the young ones, that
they may thus have the advantage of better food, and that no
risk may be incurred of finding the eggs of the older ones trod-
den under foot and broken at your morning visit. On this ac-
count the laying ducks should always have plenty of room, and
be kept by themselves. Ducks, for these reasons, as well as
for the sake of cleanliness, should never share the habitation of
fowls, and from geese they are liable to persecution. Yet,
where fowls are kept, a little contrivance will suflSce to make
their berth, even in a fowl-house, tolerably comfortable. In
winter, a thin bedding of straw or rushes should be placed on
the floor, and frequently changed."

The duck is a prolific layer, and her eggs are very rich and
highly flavored, and are much .relished by some persons. One
duck's egg is considered of equal culinary value to two fowl's
eggs.

According to Mr. Parmentier, one drake is sufficient for

'O//

146 Domestic Animals.

eight or ten ducks, but others limit the number to from four
to six.

Ducks are not so easily persuaded to lay in nests prepared
for them, but prefer to choose a place out-of-doors to deposit
their eggs. If the nest selected be tolerably secure, it is better
to allow them to sit there than to attempt their removal.
Thirteen eggs are a full allowance for a duck, and these should
be as fresh as possible. The period of incubation varies con-
siderably, but twenty-eight days is perhaps about the average
time. The treatment of the young brood should be similar to
that recommended for goslings. Boiled potatoes and hominy,
or coarse corn meal, make excellent food for them. It is better
to give them no uncooked food for several weeks after they are
hatched. •

To fatten ducks you must give them a plenty of good grain
(corn and oats are to be preferred), and not allow them access
to too much garbage. All fisli and flesh, and especially putrid
animal matter, of which they are fond, must be excluded from
their diet, or the flavor of their flesh will be destroyed.

YI.— PREPAEATIOX OF POULTRY FOR MARKET.

Messrs. Drew &; French, extensive dealers in farm and
market-garden produce, fruits, eggs, poultr^^, etc., 85 Barclay
Street, ^ew York, in answer to various inquiries addressed to
them, carefiiUy prepared and published, some time ago, the fol-
lowing directions, which should be as carefully followed by all
who send poultry to the city markets and wish to get the
highest price for it :

" First — Give no food for twenty -four hours previous to
killing. Food in the crop is liable to sour, and always injures
tlie sale. Purchasers object to paying for undigested food.

^^ Second — 'Sticking' in the neck with a penknife is the best
mode of killing. If the head is cut off, the skin recedes, and
the neck bone looks repulsive.

" Third — Most of the poultry coming to this market is badly
' scalded' or ' wet picked.' ' Dry picked' is preferred, and sells

Poultry. 147

a little higher, other things being equal. Great care should
be taken in picking to remove all the pin-feathers, and to avoid
tearing the skin, particularly upon the legs, where it is most
likely to be broken. If properly scalded, it looks best.

'■''Fourth — The intestines should not be drawn. After pick-
ing, the head may be taken off, and the skin drawn over the
neck bone and tied. This is best, though much comes with
heads on>

'■''Fifth — Next in order, it should be 'plumped,' by being
dipped about two seconds into water nearly or quite boiling
hot, and then at once into cold water about the same length of
time. Some think the hot plunge sufficient without the cold.
It should be entirely cold but not frozen, before being packed.
If it reaches market sound without freezing, it will sell aU
the better.

" Sixth — For packing, if practicable, use clean hand-threshed
rye straw. If this can not be had, wheat or oat straw will an-
swer, if clean and free from dust. Place a layer of straw at
the bottoin of the box, then alternate layers of poultry and
straw — ^taking care to stow snugly, backs upward, filling vacan-
cies with straw, and filling the package so that the cover will
draw down snugly upon the contents. Boxes holding not over
300 lbs. are the best packages.

'■'■Seventh — I^umber the packages; mark the contents of
each on the cover ; place the invoice of the lot in one package,
marked 'bill,' sending duplicate by mail; direct plainly to the
consignee, placing the name of the consigner in one corner."

148

Domestic Animals.

IX.

BEE-KEEPING.

Oh, Nature kind ! Oh. laborer wise I

That roam'st along the summer ray,
Gleau'st ev'i-y bliss thy life supplies,

And meet'st prepared thy wintry day :
Go— eu vied, go — with crowded galea.
The hive thy rich return awaits ;
Bear home thy store iu triumph gay,
And shame each idler on thy way.— ^non.

I.— THE WONDEES OF THE BEE-HIVE.

HE accounts given, by naturalists and writers on
bee-keeping, of the instincts and habits of the
bee seem truly fabulous ; and yet they are all
founded on observation, and there seeras to be
no reason for calling them in question.
A hive of bees, we are told, consists of three kinds — females,
males, and workers. The females are called queens, and only

Eig. 44.

Fig. 45.

The Queen Bee.

The Deone.

one is permitted to live in the same hive ; but one is essential
to its establishment and maintenance. The males are called
drones, and may exist in hundreds, or even thousands, in a

Bee-Keepixg.

14:9

The Woekee.

hive. The workers, or neuters, are the most numerous, and
perform all the labor, collecting the honej, seci-eting the wax^
and building the cells. The females Fig. 46.

and workers have stings at the end
of the abdomen, but the drones have
none. The queen lives in the inte-
rior of the hive, and seldom leaves
it except to lead forth a swarm. If
she be removed from the hive, the
whole swarm wUl follow her. The
queen is not only the governor, but also the mother of the com-
munity, she being the only breeder out of 20,000 or 30,000
bees, on which account she is loved, respected, and obeyed with
all the external marks of devotion which human beings could
give to a beloved monarch.

The queen deposits her eggs in cells previously prepared by
the workers to receive them. The eggs producing vrorkers are
deposited in six-sided horizontal cells ; the cells of the drones
are somewhat irregular ; those of the queens are larger than
the others, circular, and hang perpendicularly. The eggs pro-
ducing workers are laid first, the queen laying about two hun-
dred eggs daily. The eggs of the drones afterward laid are less
numerous than those of the workers, in the proportion of about
one to thirty. Eggs for queens are deposited in their proper cells.
Fig. 47. one in each, at intervals of one or two days.

The eggs and larvae of the royal family do not
differ in appearance from those of the work-
ers, but the young are more carefully nurs-
ed, and fed with a more stimulating kind of
food called "royal jelly," which causes them
to grow so rapidly that in five days the larva
is prepared to spin its web, and on the six-
teenth day becomes a perfect queen. But
as only one queen can reign in the hive,
A EoTAL Cbll. the young ones are kept close prisoners; and
earefully guarded against the attacks of the queen mother

150

Domestic Animals.

BO long as there is any prospect of her leading out a swarm.
When the old queen departs with a swarm, a young one is
liberated, who immediately seeks the destruction of her sisters,
but is prevented by the guards. If she lead forth anothei
swarm, a second queen is liberated, and so on until further
swarming is considered impossible, when the reigning queen is
permitted to destroy her sisters. In cases where no new
swarm is to be sent off, the queen mother is permitted to
assume the 9ffice of destroyer. If at any time two queens
happen to come out simultaneously, it is said that a mortal
combat takes place at once, and the victor is acknowledged t&
be the rightful sovereign. On the loss of a queen, the whole
swarm is thrown into the greatest confusion, and if there be
no worker eggs or brood oat of which a queen can be mad©
by the peculiar process of feeding already mentioned, all laboi
ceases and the bees soon die.

There are three substances for which the bees forage tha
fields. First, a resin, or gum, which is on trees; next, the
pollen, or fine dust, of flowers ; and lastly, the saccharine mat-
ter that is in the flowers. When the cells are to be built, they
*»ring home the resin, and stop all the cracks or crevices in the
Fig. 48. hive, so that neither the

rain nor any insect can
get in to trouble them.
Then they set forth to
bring materials for wax,
to construct their cells.
The wax is made from
pollen. The bees swallow
it, and then hang them-
selves in festoons in the
hive. In the course of
twenty-four hours small

rings make their appear-
Festoons of Bees Secreting Wax. ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ r^.^^^

the bee detaches itself from the rest of the group, and, descend-

Bee-Keeping.

151

Fiir. -49.

iug to the bottom of the hive, removes the substance which
has now become wax. Each bee fol-
lows in its turn, and deposits its con
tribution, whicli is directly made use
of by the architects in building the
cells.

A "Wax-Woeker. The honey-cells are all six-sided, and

of the most p-erfect regularity. Yv^ere they squares, or trian-
gles, or circles, they would Fis:. 5 '.
not fit as closely together,
consequently there would
be a waste of room.

"There is a substance
called bee bread, which is
necessary to the life of the
bee. It is made from pol-
len, but is entirely unlike
wax. In securing it, the
bee darts into a flower, Celt^.

and covers its body with the yellow dust. Now it must con-
trive some way to get rid of it, and God has made the last joint
but one of each leg like a brush. These brushes are passed all
Fig. 51. Qygj. ii^Q body, and the pollen is collected

in two little heaps. The thighs of the last
pair of the bees' legs are furnished with
two cavities, and these make nice little bas-
kets to carry home their treasure. The
dust collected from a thousand flowers is
now kneaded into little baUs, and when
these have increased to the size of a grain
of pepper, the bee flies home, and enters
the cell head foremost. The balls are then
Bee'8 Leg Magnified, taken from the baskets, and, being moist-
ened with a little honey, become bee bread." *

* student and Schoolmate.

152 Domestic Animals.

One of the greatest wonders of the bee-liive is the mode in

wliicli it is ventilated. Fresli air is no less necessary to bees
■pig 52, than to human beings, and as

no provision is made for its sup-
ply in the construction of their
dwelling, they secure it in this
way: "They arrange them-
selves in files along the bottom
of the hive. Those outside
place their heads toward the
entrance, and those within in
an opposite direction. When
thus stationed, they flap their
wings so rapidly that we can

Glass Hive, Showing the Aeeange- not see that they have any
MENT OF Comb. wings at all. This rapid motion

di'ives a current of air into the hive, to keep the honey and

comb cool."

II.— THE APIAET AND HIVES.

The situation selected for an apiary or bee-house should be
well sheltered from strong winds, and should not be near any
large sheet of water. The hives should face the south, the
east, or the southeast. They should be placed in a right line ;
and it is better to place them on shelves, one above another,
than in rows upon the ground. The distance between the
hives should be not less than two feet, and their height from
the ground about the same. Near the apiary should be some
small trees and shrubbery, on which swarms may alight ; but
large trees are objectionable. The grass should be frequently
mowed around the bee-house, to prevent dampness and destroy
the lurking-places of noxious vermin.

Much difference of opinion exists in reference to the best
form and construction for a bee-hive, and many ingenious plans
have been offered by the inventive genius of our country for
their improvement. Some of these have pecuUar excellencei

Bee-Keeping. 153

and are worthy of a careful trial, but few if any of them are
without some serious objections ; so that practical bee-keepers
generally prefer hives of the simplest construction. One of the
best hives is made of pine boards an inch or an inch and a
quarter thick. The best size is twelve inches square inside and
fourteen inches deep. The top should be made of boards fifteen
inches square. The boards should be joined carefully, and it is
well to apply a coat of paint to the edges before putting them
together. Small notches should be made aj; the bottom for the
passage of the bees ; and cross sticks put in for the support of
the comb. If the inside of the hive be planed and covered with
a thin coating of melted beeswax, it will save the bees much
labor. Boxes for caps or covers may be fitted to these hives.
These may be about seven inches deep and twelve square.
They must fit closely the tops of the hives, and may be furnished
with glass jars or other vessels for the reception of the honey.
Several holes should be made in the top of the hive for the pas-
sage of the bees.

In Poland, where finer honey is produced and bees more
successfully cultivated than anywhere else, the excavated trunks
of trees are used for hives. Logs a foot or more in diameter
and nine feet long are scooped or bored for the length of six
feet from one end, the bore being from six to eight inches in
diameter. A longitudinal slit is made in this hollow cylinder
nearly the whole length and four inches wide. Into this slit is
fitted a shp of wood with notches on the edges large enough to
admit a single bee. This slip is hung on hinges and forms "a
door, by the opening of which the condition of the swarm can
be seen and the honey be taken out. The top being covered,
the trunk is set upright, with the opening toward the south.
Sections of hollow trees are often used in this country for hives.

It is often desirable to carry honey to market without re-
moving it from the hive in which it was made, and as few
persons will purchase the contents of a large hive, one con-
structed in sections has a great advantage in that particular at
least. • - •■ ^ ■ ■■■■ - ^ • ;• . x -

154

Domestic Animals.

According to the views of Mr. Harasti, a skillful bee-cultiva-
tor, as quoted in the "Farmer's Encyclopedia," a good bee-hive
ought to possess the following properties : First, it should be
capable of enlargement or contraction according to the size of
the swarm. Secondly, it should admit of being opened with-
out disturbing the bees, either for the purpose of cleaning it
from insects, increasing or dividing the swarm, etc. Thirdly,
it should be so constructed that the produce may be removed
without injury to the bees. Fourthly, it should be internally
clean, smooth, and free from cracks or flaws. All these prop-
erties seem best united in the section-] live, which is constituted

of two, three, four, or more
square boxes of similar size
as to width, placed over
each other. Such hives
are cheap, and so simple
that almost any one can
construct them.

The boxes A, B, 0, F
may be made from ten to
fourteen inches square and
about five inches in depth,
inside measure. Every
bee-keeper should have his

A Sectional Hive. ^q^CS made of the same

size, so as to fit on to each other. Every hive must have a
common top-board, a, which should project over the sides of the
hive. The top-board of each section should have about sixteen
boles bored through at equal distances from each other, and not
larger than three fourths or smaller than four fifths of an inch.
Or, instead of such holes, chinks of proper size may be cut
through to allow the bees to pass up and down. At the lower
part of each box or section, in front, there must be an aperture
or little door, c, c, c, ^, just high enough to let the bees pass,
and about an inch and a half wide. The lo^vermost aperture,
d, is to be left open at first, and when the hive is filled the upper

Bee-Keepii^g.

155

ones may be successively opened. By placing over the holes in
the top of the upper section, glass globes, jars, tumblers, or
boxes, the bees will rise into and fill them with honey. These
may be removed at any time after being filled. The holes in the
tops of the hive which do not open into the glasses or boxes
should of course be plugged up. These glass jars, etc., must
be covered over with a box, so as to keep them in the dark.
Every box or section, on the side opposite the little door,
should have a narrow piece of glass inserted, with a sliding
shutter, by drawing out which the condi- rig. 54.

tion of the hive can always be inspected.
To make the bees place their combs in par-
allel lines, five or six sticks or bars may be
placed at the top of every section, running
from front to rear. The bees will attach
their combs to these bars, and the interme-
diate space will afford sufficient light to see them work. The
slides covering the glasses should never be left open longer than
is just necessary for purposes of inspection.

When one section is removed from the top, a wire or long
thin knife must be previously run between this and the one
immediately below, so as to destroy the attachments. Then
remove the upper section, placing the top upon the one below,
which is now the highest division of the hive. Another section
is to be placed beneath, lifting up the whole hive for the pur-
pose. Sometimes a second section has to be put under during
a good season. If the swarm is not very large, three or even
two boxes will be sufficient for its accommodation. The boxes
or sections may be secured upon each other by. buttons, 5, 5,
or rabbets, and the joints closed with cenient.

The plan of Mr. Luda, of Connecticut, by which the bees are
made to build their cells and deposit their honey in the cham-
ber of a dwelling-house appropriated for the purpose, in neat
little drawers, from which it may be taken fresh by the owner,
without killing the bees, has obtained deserved celebrity. The
hive has the appearance of, and is, in part, a mahogany bureau

156 Domestic Aximals.

or sideboard, with draTrers above and a closet below, with
glass doors. This case or bureau is designed to be placed in
the chamber of a house, or any other suitable btiilding, and
connected with the open air or outside of the house by a tube
passing through the waE. The bees work and deposit their
honev in drawers. When these or anv of them are foil, or it
is desired to obtain honey, one or more of them may be taken
out, the bees allowed to escape into the other parts of the hive,
and the honey taken away. The glass doors allow the work-
ing of the bees to be observed ; and it is said that the spacious-
ness, cleanliness, and even the more regular temperature of
such habitations, render them the more industrious and suc-
cessfuL

HL— 6ENEEAL DIEECTIOXS.

1. Swarming. — Huish, in his "Treatise on Bees," says:
" The swarming of bees generally commences in June ; in some
seasons earlier, and in cold climates or seasons later. The first
swarming is so long preceded by the appearance of drones and
hanging out of working bees, that if the time of their leaving
the hive is not observed it must be owing to want of care.
The signs of the second are, however, more equivocal, the
most certain being that of the queen, a day or two before
swarming, at intervals of a few minutes, giving out a soimd a
good deal resembling that of a cricket. It frequently happens
that the swarm will leave the old hive and rettirn again several
times, which is always owing to the queen not having accom-
panied them, or from having dropped on the groimd, being too
young to fly to a distance. Gooseberry, ctirrant, or other low-
bushes, should be planted at a short distance from the hives,
for the bees to swarm upon, otherwise they are apt to fly
away."'

When they collect where they can not be shaken ofi'and the
hive can not be placed near them, they may be brushed off
into a gatize sack, or any vessel in which they can be kept and
carried to the hive, which should be set upon a table a little

Bee-Keepixg. 157

raised on one side to allow their passage. If seen before they
alight, thev may often be secured by drawing a large woolen
stocking npon the end of a pole and holding it up among them,
as they are apt to consider it a favorable object on which to
collect,

" When a hive yields more than two swarms, these should
uniformly be joined to others that are weak, as, from the late-
ness of the season and deficiency in number, they will other-
wise perish. This junction is easily formed, by inverting at
night the hive in which they are, and placing over it the one
you intend them to enter. They soon ascend, and apparently
with no opposition from the former possessors. Should the
weather for some days after swarming be unfavorable for the
bees going out, they must be fed with care nntil it clears up,
otherwise the young swarm will run great risk of dying."

Some recommend drawing off swarms without waiting for
them to set forth of their own accord. We find the process
thus described in the Southern Hom^sUad:

"Those who are using a conmion hive when desiring to
draw off a swarm, should let the hive be turned bottom up-
ward, and the new hive set upon it ; strike lightly upon the
lower hive, and many of the bees will ascend into the upper
hive ; when a sufficient number has collected in the new hive
for a swarm, take it off and set it upon the bench, and retnm
the old one to its former position. In doing this, to insure
success, it is necessary that one of the queens should accompany
the new swarm, which may be known in the course of a day
or two, for if they have no queen, they will not stay in the
new hive, but will retnm to the old one ; but if they have a
queen, they soon manifest a disposition to conunence work, and
in^ the course of twenty-four hours some of the bees may be
seen standing near the Entrance of the hive, amusing themselves
by raising their bodies to the full length of their legs, and giv-
ing their wings a rapid motion, making a steady buzzing
noise. This may be considered as an indication of their satis-
faction and the success of the operation. Some consider mid-

15S Domestic Animals.

dav the most favorable time for doing this ; others again prefer
the evening — but either will answer, and the trouble attending
is not greater than that of hiving them when the swarms are
allowed to come out in the common manner, and the danger of
having them go off is avoided. Another verv great advantage
of this method is, the young swarms commence working early,
by which they are more likely to lay up sufficient food for the
winter."

2. EobMng the Hives. — The old practice, still followed by
many, is to kill the bees by suffocation, whenever the most
favorable time has arrived for taking the honey. To snflbcate
the bees, the hive is in verted, over an empty hive or a hole in
the ground in which some rags smeared with sulphur are burn-
ing. The bees drop down and are buried to prevent resuscita-
tion. This is believed by some shrewd and experienced bee-
keepers to be the most profitable if not the most humane plan.

Polish apiarists cut out the comb annually to lessen the
tendency to swarming, and thus obtain the largest amount of
honey. In sectional hives it is readily taken out without killing
the bees ; and where these improved hives, as they are called,
are not used, the comb may be cut out by merely stupefying
the bees with sulphur or tobacco smoke. The time for taking
up hives depends somewhat upon the season and pasturage;
but the quantity of honey does not generally increase after the
first of September.

3. Wintering. — To winter safely a swarm of bees, thirty
pounds of honey are considered requisite. Only strong swarms
are profitable to winter ; therefore those that are found in the
fall to be weak in numbers and with little honey had better be
taken up. In the northern portions of the United States means
are generally used to protect the swarms in winter, by removal
to some cool and dry out-house or cellar ; but many apiarists
contend that this practice is not only useless but hurtful, and
that hives should not be removed from their usual situations.

4. Feeding. — Bees are sometimes fed, when not able to sup-
ply their own Avants, with a syrup made by dissohing brown

Bee-Keeping. 159

sugar in water and then boiling it to evaporate the water.
Honer is the best food, but is general! v (nnless '' Sonthem'' or
"West India honev be used) too expensive ; and, in fact, as a
matter of profit, feeding should never be attempted.

5. Killing the Drones. — Knowing that the drones consume
an immense amount of honev without producing any, and be-
lieving that a few of them will answer all the purposes required,
Mr. P. J. Mahan, of Philadelphia, recommends getting rid of
them, and thus saving the honev that thev would consume.
His plan for accomplishing this is to cut out the comb contain-
ing the cells in which they are to hatch. This, he says, is dif-
ficult in the common or box-hive and quite impossible in nearly
all patent hives; but quite easy in Pev. L, L. Langstroth's
Movable Comb Hive, in which the combs are built in a frame,
similar to a slate or a picture in a frame, which being suspend-
ed on a narrow rabbet do not touch or come in contact with
the hive at the top, bottom, or sides. Old combs can be put
into the frames and be given to the bees to fill for their own
use or for breeding combs.

" By cutting out the combs referred to," Mr. Mahan contin-
ues, " the bee-keeper makes a saving of all the honey fed to
them before they are matured; the time occupied by .the bees
in feeding and nursing them ; and last, though not least, assum-
ing one foot as the average, which is capable of producing over
4,000 drones, by destroying this there is space sufficient to build
combs in which 7,200 cells for hatching the workers will be
erected ; which, as we have done away with the drones, is folly
equal to an accession of 14.400 working bees."*

This matter is certainly worthy of the attention of bee-keep-
ers, and should be fully investigated, t

* Southern Planter.

t A large portion of the matter in ths chapter, not credited to other source*,
has been condensed from the excellent articles on " Bees and Bee-K^a>>ng/'
In the " New American Encyclopedia."

APPEXDIX.

HOESE-TAiCDf^— RASITTS 5T5TZ5L

L Taa Tzr.iT

bjAea9eatf;fiMrc€
iag. Tew MB* ror^

bai

fctiteiiiliii rfahor?

1. Ok>r*»<T
awl is t-

162

Appexdix,

judgment to tnow when lie is choked sufficient'y, as there is a bare possililitv
that he might get more than -w-ould be good for him. We advise persons not
perfectly familiar with a horse to resort rather to the strapping and throwing-
down process (unless he is very vicious) described below ; this, in ordinary
cases, will prove successful. It is the fault of most people who have owned a
horse to imagine that they are expert in his management ; white, on the con-
trary, many professional horsemen are the very worst panies to attempt a sub-
jugation. Unless a man have a good disposition, he need not attempt horse-
taming.

In practicing the method exhibited in fig. 55. retire with the animal to be
operated upon into a close stable, with plenty of litter upon the floor tan-bark
■pitr^ 55 or sawdust is preferable). In

the first place fasten up the left
fore-leg with the arm strap, in
such a manner that it will be
permanently secured. Then
take a broad strap and bnckle
and pass it around the neck
just back of the jaw-bone.
Draw the strap as tight as
possible, so tight as to almost
arrest the horse's breathing.
The strap must not be buck-
led, hut held in this position
to prevent slipping back. The
animal wUl struggle for a few
minutes, when he will become
perfectly quiet, overpowered
by a sense of suflFocation : the
veins in his head wUl swell ; his eyes lose their fire ; his knees totter and be-
come weak ; a slight vertigo will ensue, and growing gradually exhausted, by
backing htm around the stable, he will come down on his knees, in which po-
sition it is an .easy matter to push him on his side, when his throat should be
released. Xow pat and rub him gently for about twenty minutes, when, in
most instances, he will be subdued. It is only in extreme cases necessary to
repeat the operation of choking. The next lesson is to teach htm to lie down
which is described in the acc< -unt of the fourth method of taming. Xo hprse
can effectually resist the terrible effects of being choked.

It must be constantly borne in mind, that the operator must not be boisterous
or violent, and that the greatest possible degree of kindness is absolutely es-
BentiaL "When the horse is prostrate, he should be soothed until his eyes show
that he has become perfectly tranquil.

2. Second Method.— The plan described in fig. 56 is very simple, though not
aa expeditious as the previous one. Buckle or draw a strap tight'around the
neck, lift a fore-leg, and fasten around it the opposite end of the strap, the
shorter the better. In the engraving, for the sake of clearness, the strap ii

Appendix,

163

represented too long. It ■will be seen that in this plan the horse is made the
tnstniment by which the punishment is inflicted. When he attempts to pol

his foot aown, his head goes with it, and he thus chokes himself. Care should
be taken that he does not pitch on his head, and thus endanger his neck.

3. Third JfitTi-od. — Secure the horse with a stout halter to the manger. If
extremely unruly, muz- p,>_ .-7

zle him. Sooth him
with the hands for a
few minutes, unrH he
becomes somewhat pa-
cified. Then seize him
by the throat (as in fig.
57), close to the jaw-
bone, with the righi
hand, and by the mane
with the left. Now forc-
ibly compress his wind-
pipe until he becomes
so exhausted that, by
lightly kicking him on
the fore legs, he will lie
down, after which he
should be treated as

previously described. This process requires courage
great muscular strength.

4. FourtA JIeth<Hi.—T:he horse to be operated upon should be led into a close
stable. The opv». k)r should be previously provided with a stout leather hal-
ter ; a looped strap to slip over the animal's knee ; a strong surcingle, and a
long and short stnip— the first to fasten round the fore-foot which is at libexty,

the operator, and als«

16i

Appzjs^dix.

and Hie second to permijaetily secure the leg irhich is looped up. The apph-
eatoa of the straps win be better otdastood br reference to fi^. ^S. '

In the Srst place, if the h<Mtse be a biter, muzzle him ; then lift and bend hia
left tore-leg, and slip a loop orer it. The leg which is looped up mast be secur-
ed by applying the short strap, buctJing it around the pastern joinl and fcvre-
; p«t OB the sBToagle, and fasten the long snap around the right fore-
B the end ftro^^ a loop attached to the surcingle : after which
OB a cookie of thick leather knee-pads — these can be put on in the first
'^aee if eoBTeakaiL The pads are necessary, as stxne horses in their smggles
ease noleaay oa their knees, abrading them badly. Xow take a short hold
of the Vemg s£r^ with yotir right hand : stand on the left side of the horse,
graap the l«t in your left hand : while in this p.Toition back him gently about
the etatde, unffl he becomes so eihatrsied as !«:> exhibit a desire to lie down,
vhieh desire should be gratified with as lirtle yi.^lence as p<>5sible : boar your

weight firmly against the shoulder of ihe horse, and pull steadily on the strap
with yocr right b£nd ; this win force him to raise his loot, whi^ should be im-
■■der him. This is the critical moment : cling to the
• a few stm^es he will lie down. In bearing against the ani-
polling and pushing until you hare him on his side.
Prereat liai fivat atUamptiug to rise by pulling his head toward his shoulder.
As !OOD as he iB dnae stragg^iBg. earess his face and neck ; also, handle every
part of his body, aad reader yoorself as familiar as possible. After he has lain
^paeQj far trtatj mim^beB let him rise, and immediately repeat the operanon.
isoon as he is down ; and if his hea-l is pulled toward his
! Ibc him to get up. After throwing him from two to
fre 6bms the —"■»*» w31 beeotne as submissire and abject as a weD-trained
do^ aod JOB Beed Bot be afraid to indulge in any liberties with him. A young
bene IB BBbdaed buuIi qoicker than an old one, as his habits are not confirm-
ed. Ab iBeQtTis9>ie horse shocld hare two lemao* a day ; about the fourth

Appendix. 165

lesson he -win be permsnentlT conquered. IffbeapeaOammmpadedaerenl
tiine&, be can be made to lie doim by smptf UKagwp kis iare-jeg sad repeat-
ing the words, ^ Lie down, sir," vhidi he BiBsit be ptctkiMiy made gnnniaT
wilh-

5. Additional Hint*. — The loDowing rales wiH aore as a gside to Ike ama*
tenr operator, and should be strictlr observed :

First The horse must not be forced down by Tiolenee, but must be tired out
tai he has a strong desire to lie down.

Second. He must be kept quiet on the groond untfl the expresgi<« of the eye
shows that he is tranquillized, which inrariablT takes place by patiently waiting
and gently patting the horse.

Third. Care must be taken not to throw the b<xse npoo his netk when bent,
jis it may easUy be broken.

Fourth. In backing him, no violence rasift be vaed, or he mxj be forced oa
his haunches, and his back broken.

Fifth. The halter and off-rein are held in the Irft hand, so as to keep Am
head away from the latter; while, if the horse attempts to plunge, the ;
drawn tight, when, the off4eg being raised the animal is brought <m hi
and rendered powerless kx offesare purpoees.— jr«?«r York Tribwm&.

INDEX.

AM. The

Apiary . .

46
152

42

Buyers, Hints to

Barns and Sheds : . 82

Breeds, Improvement of lOS

Breeding In-and-in 109

" Hints on 112

Bee-Keeping . 14S

Bee-Hive, Wonders of 14S

Bees, Swarming of 156

" General Management of 156

C.

Cattle, Breeds of .^ 49

" Devon 51

" Hereford 51

" Sussex 54

Ayrshire ^ 54

Welsh.

Irish

Long Horn .

Short Horn

Alderney

Galloway

Cream-Pot

Points of

General Management.

"Weight of Live

Calves, Rearing

55
55
56
56
59
59
60
61
65
71
79
Crossing Breeds 110

Diseases of Animals 114

Duck, The 143

E,

Ewe, Anecdote of.

93

F.

Feeding Horses 31

" Sheep 84

" Cattle 66

" Swine 104

" Fowls 134

PACK

Fowl, The Domestic ns

" Spanish 119

" Dorking 121

" Polish 123

" Hamburg 124

" Dominique 126

" Leghorn 1-27

" Cochin China I29

" Bantam 129

" Game i.^^

" Mongrel 132

" Accommodations for 133

" Feeding 134

" The Guinea 137

G.

Guinea Fowi, The 137

Goose, The 140

H.

Horse, The . .. 9

Horse, Breeds of 10

" The Racer 11

" Arabian 12

" Morgan 14

" Canadian 16

" Norman 16

" Cleveland Bay IS

" Conestoga IS

" Clydesdale 19

" Virginia 19

" Wild 20

" American Trotting 20

" Points of 21

" Color of 26

" How to Feed 31

" G eneral Management of . . . 35

" Vices and Habits 38

" How to Tame 161

Hives 152

L.
Lambs 88

M.

Mule, The 46

" Trade in Kentucky 47

168

Index,

PAGE
P.

Piggery 107

Poultry 118

" Pentalogue 186

" Preparation of for Market .. &46

S.

Sheep, Breeds of 73

" Native 74

" Spanish Merino 74

" Saxon do. 76

" New Leicester 76

" South-Down 78

" Cheviot 80

" Lincoln 81

•< Choice of Breed 81

" General Management of . . . 82

" Value of to the Farmer 92

Bwine, Natural History of 95

r.\r-K

Swine. Opinions respecting 97

" Breeds 98

« The Land Pike 99

" Chinese 99

" Berkshire lOO

" Suffolk 101

" Essex 102

" Chester 102

" Points of Ic4

*' Feeding 104

Stables 29

Swarming 1S6.

T.

Turkey 138

Taming Horses 161

"Water-Cure Jo? Axi;- aala Ill

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