i HegEy oy : ¥ rials sate es fy tetitatoreter sty mney St e os Rrositat ig : : toed aN Prieta ; i 4 : x ; Hess : . HPA es . “+ ‘ -. ‘tnd, * a dias ; sim aie Ftelie : ' i He) ~ ef ¥ yt : ’ 4 tit Pe el pee . r ’ Hariqhtig j cs : : Wine hedged th 4 - bea fab « +* J = > s aa iy ter Tce ath Se teres 4 . ‘SY be dgtet italia See ltt abasfe , ao Wig ehd-nselt 84 Spitl¢oe oe ick Sistd’e ted WIV alate st nae 7 Pat * ~s “ ba ac: Ea aula ite ta - Wheat ae HL y gianetardea cede dilenete be ths$) , ate slodatdiet eo eekie M8 ieee tt ley h aes" : a tare vie ae as vast | Wi iilinetidte Saeed ‘ « ‘ * - ia Pages ’ . ” akeis! yt Ron ba dusa} by * « ere ea 5 ' mah . AO Bt reerskesss i i ‘ ret Pat : on 7 esricnt stat ye Welae ase» oH) tse Mii y steer + rere. Lttanthanies fy eye aay yah tat rie) she ae r10 jabra sranasety ay Messreinay atuievetpsoataesy why Cia pager oreeeas Tas ee 4 Way Tae ET Rtas! Bator Siero tena fern eaese use tt eee Ss euitnir tert sant Ni PaaS it se oeteyar “a ee = ibe erip art ‘ ry Srrmerny Tae ebyiaye oe Aterbsl © is) Sasass eye we . f 8 if Feats Parti tries d rend ae oy i = CYCLOPEDIA OF FARM ANIMALS THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK - BOSTON + CHICAGO - DALLAS ATLANTA + SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limrtrp LONDON + BOMBAY - CALCUTTA : MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Lrp, TORONTO alia Piate I. The native bison, noblest of American jaa and the only North American Danna 4 that promises to contribute much to agriculture. (See page 287.) CYCLOPEDIA OF Farm ANIMALS EDITED BY ; LY Hw BAILEY Netw Work THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1922 All rights reserved Copyricut, 1908 By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1908 301208 LL PREFACE The resourcefulness of an agricultural population depends very largely on the mastery of animals. The effective use and the skillful breeding of animals express one of the main elements in man’s dominion over nature. The animal servant multiplies the man’s power. The constant care of these servants, even the crudest response to their welfare, develops in the man a sense of responsibility. He has obligations. He may not leave his animals defenseless or in need of water and food. Tn our own time, the needs of the animal are more exacting. The practice of feeding for present-day results requires not only excellent care but close knowledge of rations and of the materials that compose them. It has come to be a clever art, that may not be considered casually or lightly. The literature is technical, and it must be understood. The current practices in safeguarding the health of the animal and in treating its ailments rest on good science and much recent discovery. We begin to understand the relation of animal health to human health. The veterinary profession has been greatly ennobled, and its contribution to human welfare is of vast importance. The quotations of farm animals in the markets of the world afford one of the fundamental measures of values. These values are indices to the food supply of mankind and to the stability and welfare of the vast populations that live from the land. The economies associated with live-stock markets and values is one of the major concerns of the day. : The relation of the animal to plans and departments of farming has taken on new significance, with the careful studies of farm management. The place of the animal in the agr cultural scheme of things must be exactly understood, not only that individual farms may be better organized but also that the national domain may be effectively utilized. No longer is the animal a more or less accidental inhabitant of a piece of land or merely a population of barns. How many to the farm or to the acre, for what purpose, what relation to the cropping plan, what connection with the climate of the region, in what way the labor and other supply are involved, the fertilizer increment, the marketing facilities, the probable demand over a series of years, the particular breeds and kinds, the whole relation to the food supply, the capital to be invested, the buildings required, the risks in disease and otherwise, the plans for breeding, these and many other problems as insistent and as difficult come to the mind of the farmer of ability when he considers the rearing of animals. Good experience, much knowledge and clear thinking are required for the satisfactory approach to such questions. The literature of the animal husbandries is now not only large but it is able, exact, the result of much new study. It is a notable contribution to knowledge. Strong societies and associations have developed in these industries, both on the side of production and of distribution. The manufacturing and com- mercial interests are very large. The live-stock products afford vast supplies for the arts as well as contri- bute largely to the food support of the race. The live-stock industries have come to be one of the prime concerns of society. The interest in the subject is not alone agricultural, but in,a very important sense itis general. The census figures provide the subject for much study, reflection and prophecy. For these and many other reasons, this Cyclopedia of Farm Animals is separately published. It is Vol. 3 of the Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. The four volumes of that Cyclopedia are out of print, at least until manufacturing conditions are more auspicious; but this volume, together with the one on crops, is reprinted to supply the special need for them. The reader will see that this Cyclopedia is in three parts, more or less coordinate. Part I treats of the animal in general, as to the character of its domestication and its place in contemporaneous affairs; the physiology of the animal as a basis for understanding its life and its welfare; the feeding, with extensive figures for the computing of rations; diseases; exhibition of animals; the wild animals in their relation to agriculture, lacking knowledge of which the farmer misses much of his opportunity as a naturalist. The relation of birds and mischievous mammals to farming is of great importance. The manufacture and manipulation of animal products is the theme of Part II. It carries discussion of the dairy products, as milk, condensed and powdered milk, ice-cream, butter, and the many kinds of cheese; also of meats as they relate to the home industry, as the dressing, curing and preserving, the canning, the shipping of meat, and the making of leather. These various subjects, together with consideration of the nutritive value of meats, are approached particularly from the farm and community point of view. The many animals are discussed in Part III, in alphabetic sequence. ‘Farm animals’ is conceived broadly, to include pets, fish, birds, game and productive insects as well as the usual poultry and live-stock. PREFACE Special attention is invited to such unusual articles, in a farm manual, as those on the cat and its care, dogs, pets in general including many animals about which questions are asked; frogs, fish, turtles, shell- fish, sponges, that may be adjuncts of farming in many places; camels, bison, buffalo, reindeer, hare, goat, ostrich; the fur-bearing animals; silkworm, bees. The main burden of Part III, however, is naturally taken with the major domestic animals of American agriculture,—the cattle, horses and donkeys and mules, sheep, swine, poultry. Each of these great classes is introduced by a general discussion of origin and zoological position, statistics, management, diseases, breeds, with many illustrations, and the text prepared by good authorities. The drawings of representative cattle are intended to show the salient features in outline without too much confusing detail. ‘ It is often said that the machine is to take the place of the work animal. This is an error. The automobile and motor-truck will take horses from the highway but the animals are needed on the farm for many kinds of work for which machines are unadaptable or uneconomical. The tractor will perform much of the large-area work, making it possible to till more land and yielding, thereby, more work for horses. Horse work may be more specialized but it cannot be eliminated. As for animals that yield food and by-products, the need of them increases daily, L. H. BAILEY. November 28, 1921. CONTENTS PART I—THE ANIMAL AND ITS RELATIONS CHAPTER I PAGE EE MMOMESTICATION) OF ANIMALS: W.H. Brewer. 4 . 0 3 sa 6 = se ew 8 se wes 4 The Place of the Domestic Animal in Our Civilization. Thomas F. Hunt ........ tf CHAPTER II RESO O Cita OR MTHEMPAUNTNUAT: |) rest reis sive) Woe cay ces cb ace fe) Gee) iepuies ely ie Mei Ss) iste) wa 15-26 iphysiolosy,of Domestic) Animals; (S.J: Jd) Harger, 2. 2 5 2 6 3 5 es es we 17 CHAPTER III THE BREEDING OF ANIMALS. Eugene Davenport ......... ; OOO Ooch dome nome 26-55 Some of the Principles of Animal-Breeding. Frederick B. Mumford ........... 28 Animal Types and Score-Cards. Frederick B. Mumford ........ LOR boas oee 44 CHAPTER IV RNG HEMDINGIOROANIMALS Wij. JOLGAN) 3.5, = ss 6 spy ev te 6 et ws gey Soe) lass 56-122 Principles of Stock-Feeding. Henry Prentiss Armsby .........4.+..+4+-+.4.-e 58 HeedinewandaCompubanionmlableStese vu is) <) So cu eit) oy eeerieenen ule RSet uel: Peer TAS 92 Methodwotehxacty Balancine of Wkations. Jal. Wallardie) eel ey mienicinenicn lent =) eilep ee 103 Commins Bhleieccl INO Ne, doin WSS 5 G50 6 5 ooo ooo oo 6 oO Oog oO 6 106 SHOGK=BOISOnINOsmmINS Say OMed ic) ot c/a re. ec pence nctercty tet heerat ace Fey We meerey Serara) s. foniiay a 118 Poisonous Weeds and Their Hradication. E. V. Wilcox ......2..2.2.-..... 119 CHAPTER V DISEASES AND MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS. James Law .........2.2..+.+.-+-- 122-151 infectious» Diseases! of Animalss. Weranus) Aj Moores) 4 4 5 5 66 6 ee. se ae ee 124 Some Details of Stock Management. N.S. Mayo and H.W. Mumford .......... 146 CHAPTER VI “LHD DATONG OF AMUMUNS 2 5 5 oo ooo oo eo oOo DDO oD GOK OG 152-162 Y iin Epil Wadley Ibinesiele (Caibiluil) 5 5 56555050005 od obo oe 158 | Markebinosbanme stocks Oasssblumbi (sites Mememremcti a ays r ca velirel tel kel, ected ep tite en site) os 158 CHAPTER VII (H/iacD) Weiiai) Ania) TS) IRIAN, WO WANE) S595 5 0 5 6 od Ole Oooo UO 163-173 Wild Mammals in Their Relations with Agriculture. Clarence M. Weed .........- 163 Birds in Their Relations with Agriculture. Edward Howe Forbush ........... 169 (v) vi CONTENTS PART II—THE MANUFACTURE OF ANIMAL PRODUCTS CHAPTER VIII PAGE DAIRY PRODUCTS! ©. is cet rete cued Sener ernment TAS vest “DGS ee . 175-246 Milk as a Market Product. Raymond A. Pearson2). ..". . -. + « =) s/o 176 Bacteria of Milk. W. A. Stocking; Irs . 20. © =) es ace. 60 8 es 2 ei 187 Manufacture of Condensed Milk. ©) F) Hunziker wo; 5 =). 292 5. =). + cl sueeneene 190 Milk-Powder: Geo. W.'Cavanaugh’. -. 2. 20. 55 2u 2 sey citce ee ee e 194 Manufacture of Ice-Cream and Other Frozen Products. H.E. Van Norman. ....... 195 Butter-Making. Edwin H. Webster <2 = ¢ 5° % = = oo couse lee jeer en cil) tenner 198 The: Making: of Cheddar’ Cheese. J. A. Ruddick, << 255.) civen re) encoun 208 Other Varieties of Hard Cheese. Charles Thom, and others .............. 218 Soft Cheeses in America. Charles ‘Thom’..). 20...) 5%. "0 sw 0) oles tele n 220 Creameries and Skimming Stations. H. Iu) Ayres) 3 = =). 5) re) eee el ene 226 Refrigeration of Dairy Products. Osear Bri <7). 2 12 yee) reste) choc 232 CHAPTER IX MEATS, AND) RELATED PRopucrs) We DiiHloard) =) 4-3) © ee seen nee 246-272 Dressing, Caring for and Preserving Meats. Andrew Boss. .........++.+.-.-.-. 248 Shipping Meat and Hides) W.H.Tomhave .*:). . 20. . 2s | wee lel ol ee 260 The Canning of Meat and Bish: W.D: Richardsom = . | . . 5. 3 =) c) cee 261 Meat: Its Nutritive Value, Selection and Preparation. Flora Rose .......2...-. 263 Tanning Hides. John F. Porter 0. 2 3 3S % $5 55 0s os oi yeu ee 271 The Leather and ‘Hide: Industry, . /.. . <2) coGis scaas © = oe) ohio. 3 Sen ee 272 PART IIJI—NORTH AMERICAN FARM ANIMALS Nermps IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY. James Wilson’) <=. sajjaue) = = =) =) els a) nee 274 Ass, 'C.'S.. Plumb! 2. ye. 4 cca bah Sie Ye Se is, Seem ap nts Ss ace an 276 Beés.. “W. K.,Morrisom (0. se) 8 a oe. sk eet ey oto) oy Stoo On 278 Bison ‘and: Cattalo 23. 06 e te eee) Ste Oy A ee ol 2S 2 287-292 Bison; E.‘H..Baynes: 2 2 8 ele ye ei Jeter os wipe RL cr 287 Cattalo wk eae we ede kk ele fel ie tienes toh rr 289 Buffalo or. Water-Buffalo. F. Lamson-Seribner,: . 2: «9. © « «© = © =) )eis) =iiest sinenneennemn 292 Camels in North America: .G, A: Mack. . < 2. 60 ec, © tie) ss 5) een el rr 296 OF) re ner ee ere een ere Gs 44a ca a 5 Me SG 299 Cats and Their Care: E.R. B:Champion® <1.) 5 .@ey eee cecrtsn sie nen eet ee 299 Oe er Aer rm 3 2 Salsa sk Goto S56 8 2s 301 /Origin of Domestic Cattle. Prederick B: Mumford) 95 5 S)-) 2025. . =). sce 302 Selection and Management of the,\Dairy Herd. J.M.Trueman ............. 303 The: Production’ ‘of Milk: HH. oWingas = <7.” =. seen emeciesl tren ele) oleae 309 Feeding. Dairy ‘Cattle. FW. Woll) .j"2e.. w=. op simeypeteee es) 0) es) =) oe 313 Feeding Beef Cattle. Howard RiiSmithys ~ 9. 2 eeemeem sic) co) elt) iene 317 Determining) the Age: of Cattle. Ho HiWiney. |. vesmesmreiie rey. su cite neneunte tanta 321 Common Ailments of Cattle. John R. Mohler and George H. Hart. ..........-. 321 Aberdeen-Angus Cattle. John §.Goodwin. ........2.2....-. SAIS SoS aa 330 Ayrshire Cattle. Harry’ Hayward. “03-2 - Garters) Senemritee ne nemne tear sies tare 335 Brown’ Swiss)Cattle. ‘Charles:D. Nixon) j.0542) Sees step cee es oor eS 331 Devon ‘Cattle. Le PiSissonys 292) .) ene ene Py i eCeay A) oy De OuCeeoRrOmiomec : cic 339 ; CONTENTS Mtchmbeltede Cattle.) PranksRe Sanderstguj ost wees ake es ere ae sg) (3) RNR ORR HreneneGanadianGatilex iG. baWayer sear Ghehee etek ests! a) otccia ee de Sallowave Cattle: (Charles Gray ein) ces) riser ct et Gt es) stot ate Se oe OR GnennseyaGattles Williamy He Caldwelliancuepucmitl cbc shicl ch ch ct cf aw: ets alos) AMA Eercrond: Gatules (Charles: Gudcelll@y 1) ei) Rese Soe 2 oer Sons ee WonblesStandard PolledtHenefordsye sy cys) yotst x yee sore te Pe) Se eT cel Se et SIS Eo Stem niesiane Cabttlese SOLOMON HORIC\.) = atest ne at si «Pc lel ee fee i's el eee PRES evan Galil eum Mee A ST SCOVEI orem Misiem cee hiten teat et ce crs cor cheat eA ed Sete Ns to la) See OESCrinm Crna UM Diese cee epi cuten Sa Ste st ath Sos eneeadawanies ater gion ee MetE ey ee Polligd! IDR {CRAG S Gees, Goch es exh co Gls Ditch Craech ice ote ean ca SHSSEMaE titles Overton Wear mars. cease lt reenter SEE ee ge leah Ao AEE wat RT BIGGIE VYGIS: CERI, eG ish, én 20. FOR SEIICy Onno: acai tnio! | Go Ows ols Chi cineca emt cease arr REAM SACECGm CabllevOr“Zepuse veils ca jah wl cP cd ee seseh 38 cae sekietyey tates sae eteat cay ue RIO Or yeHieimy CeIn, eos. 3 ometoeeaic) UstGtD Md elon circ 6 aHecel UotmouNr acieses hee OldennessmOatuloMy tymomtene cir cp ciel. sine paetn st ccin.s® lairien les cpa evel eerie a ier os Man arctan Wernygande Wexuer-Nernya Cattle: sy tl ir eta chustehich «ol ihtetist oh ele), ee ty akc fee Hon hornm Gaull one cenciestesh er rt oy ee ae ECR CYA cP Ret CAND ig) oct) ces yget oe BEANE, ey oe onmtancivanCabtlcimn preteen cese perm (aut sMont ueRrehmen ft coupe as) vee ysetiast (a7 tem to) vast coro RhatioN int ns Simmenthale Gatley: Wi trc: sural yametenya RMD lat bs cst Cathal caine mie ite: - yMaumncatld reciie lee ek behing exasmnonehorne@attleke, vies) sale chesl thaw as) siesieeNel onus! yet ah co yReRe Reece atch van lee AVES imei oil anda Gat blele yt scr cse< Syars} ce ict lo det (ated wolcta eto otanwhar re ants SON aut rar omer IDGVES, IPR 5. 9° 6 Mere: lewtO cao. FES Pero mRER eeimeRia dic. cy kode MIS gio ee inmate Min anrimichiics treet ee thes@olhe;WocsvHerbert) \W- Mumford. <3) 3 . sa es 2 hese es ements The Old English Bobtail Sheep-dog. Frederick Freeman Lloyd ............. Shegmiloe Mini, igacleriols Wigsemaen IOC S06 6 lo ole 6 6 6 of od 6 oe 6 6s oo RSMMC UNA T iret ret cee cih hee ates, 4 cater VE yay catalan Ca en rchuretcemremmagh ts, Tag, Gk ig WnSbeculuures, milo Mechanic ee Je) ya ta a Eepehia, US scree RIOR tS cig Fish Food and Feeding-grounds. James G. Needham .........2..2.2.4.2..-. iplamichon-culture: Julius: Nelsones= 4 (ees. <1 va. «) A Uae ss se ate ete ee cere, 1S a & Carommamesa cw NecdhamiAc ty Suture cf 0s acs cites wel, uch os Reet, alle at eval HroocMmaN-aHagMeehaniand) H.eAs Amdrews 5 = 5 (0 ao ha oh ts oe Sts. Bia Sek a Fur-Bearing Animals of North America. K. T. D. Chambers ........2.2..2.... (GOBUS > o.65o! So RRO eno iion eee tic epee mre ta bias, SS) cinta Gee Saeaine ear IE Sane S (aera NTIS ORAM G Oats) Hil ShaWeserecns Sack voy cop creme tore fo) conic MRBia a eet yaiyie naa meer es MilchaGoats:. 1Walliami@.s@losicecs is) 20 co iste sy estat ee atts RES oe eye eeanommbeloran= | Ws (Gi Conover: ha Vays isos t's eth Chee Geno eh wy et te ee ewe le LOTS CMMMPRMe Mae srs ied Sotete en tnitoe Puede Tia sss wt wat ee ate gheMMPMey ee) iat ey oak fel Yet at Cat se Sat tlel ve) AP be eee Origin of the Domestic Horse. Frederick B. Mumford ......-...2.2....:.. The Education, Harnessing and Gaits of the Horse. Thomas F. Hunt ......... Practical Horse-training and Handling. Merritt W. Harper. .......2..2.2..., Heedine sthesHonrses Merritbe Wea banper .\ yan emey eli shoe cles mde se eee WeternnnimsathemAcewotsHOrsesas hia yb.) \Win Seren (eee nsieehicn a cuey epee qi use Bloe Common Ailments of Horses. John R. Mohler and George H. Hart. ......2.2.2.. Arab wr OrsesmeH omer Davenport: iy <3 ose la ae aie, eh ies Taos ce) CUR aS Barppandb luricaHorsess. (Carle Wi Gay y- .) cwynemtneels: che rece Selig ve oy eM HH emus Ke MET OLSChereisa ze! Wepie ar us! iol, asap MMMeaRe nena Sedma rel TS Ae cay ce petiids saan eh Belsianw rattan orse mm Wes Es Carlyle. ts |

lo GOCCP en Ret roe shane Canc. 572 Grouse Domesticationok theykuiceds) Cara Hodge mS eal alice ss 6 aye aaUlscreh alee 576 Seled-f Owl geri HNC OLE Wier meme mene aera sped faye) ots ah sifu arthee. ey Je hele MEPS Sane 578 iBheasants ands Related Howls.) sHomersDavenpottryl. is sie sla). cle + ss ts wt ly es 579 BYP Senseand y SONA Dama eM OMAsm VVicL On Gpewrant eat steia te (fen 5 ace vey ve) ceyibiay "ict | cv cian aay Meversunehaine 582 Quail, Domestication of the Bobwhite or American. C. F. Hodge ........2... 584 Swamy, Chevdles IMGOEN GO. 6 G6 Oa ho ous lads) cll ce Ch Olaita ence nntnen er mnnO ren eyes 585 unken steal NG Grew eect et etek ken wuts ents ene a, ye oF Gi, OSE TOES MCh. Ra Ra 586 Feed COT mmm (aun rom Cre OLS CSOV a c= miep NSM au a Cuter a val dey) ey Ge JefaeL GD er ovis leila t@ioierete, wean ote ps 588 Remecciat Ons lia pradora sD siWarbrOwSOrmwic) to 28/5, cuts Git ects Sel ie, o: 10 Give eee) POO ee Frontispiece I. The American turkey... 5 2066 0 es 8 @ ew ew fol le) one) er 26 Ill. Cattle-feeding scene in the Far West 2 2 2.767). ew is lees wy cla 80 IV. Fairfield dairy, where certified milk was first produced (see p.175) ......... 174 V. A modern sanitary dairy stable . . 5) 4 2s oss 6 ole oe ee 224 SV. A farm apiary, and forms’ of honey-making bees...) « « «ee :)eennnenennennS 279 VII. Forms of the cattalo . 006.56 «0 6 © 6% © © efi «ce ve) elle) oietcn nr 287 WII. Types of beef cattlo . 6 4 6 6 ee ee fh le Sw ew em es en er 302 IX. Types of dairy cattle’. <6 6 fe lee alee al ele a ee ws 6 ee) er 320 X. Galloway cow and Guernsey’ bull . 2) 5/0) 0. 5 3 5 ae 02m le pe en 345 RTL Jerse yACOW oor ia. cei co ssa Revues w. fas Soran ce) tole Gos cu) ror niece (US okey: potatoe ue nn 361 XI. Shorthorn bull and cow 23 2. siete = 5 es se wie oe en 369 XIII. Shahwan, a famous Arab horse... 2. < ce 2 6 «6 6 ees) oy cee 415 MMV. Draft Worses: 2 ta is) orev 5: lev fe 6 shunt lel fauonteMesy ene) fel ab etelol oh on oats en nn 460 XV. Hackney and Saddler. Courtesy of Breeders’ Gazette ......4.+.++-++c+-+4-+-e-. 468 XVI. Shetland pony and broncho. 5 . 3... . 5 ele © @ <)> «) © st et =) 0 ete nn 481 XVILf. Morgan horse and trotter. Trotter photogragh from T. A. Knight ......... 500 XVII. Poultry: establishment; turkeys’. . . . «© sn. 6 « « « « « © © le) ¥en 525 XIX. Prominent’ breeds -of fowls 2. i... 5 5 6 0s es © = © & 0) slope ts) alee 546 - XX. Prominent breeds of fowls . . ... 5s ss S60 © 5 = o 0) & lovey ce) (enbepeneenn 563 XXI. Sheep range in Far West ... 2.5 6s 2 5 6 se te © © fo 6)! 19) One 592 XXII. Breeds of long-wool sheep . . . 2... ss os © © oe 609 XXII. Merino sheep at pasture). 5... 5 2 + ee else) oie Pals cee ee 618 MAIV. White hogs. a. ..ikje. i, cay ww 1s 0 sisi bol /e) faungatel To) OM oilicol emetic te a 644 XXV.. Colored: hogs, oi) § ches 60S Gluet wees. bie ce) ACM ote Ue nS one an oe . 672 COLLABORATORS LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Many of the contributors have assisted in reading proof and in other ways Anprews, E. A., Associate Professor in Biology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. (Frogs, in conjunction with W. E. Meehan. Crayfish. Turtles and Turtle-farming.) ArmsBy, HENRY PRENTISS, Director, Institute of Animal Nutrition, The Pennsylvania State College, State Col- lege, Pa. (Principles of Stock-feeding.) Ayres, H. L., Creameryman, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Creameries and Skimming Stations.) Bacon, W. C., Assistant Manager, New England Farm Stock Company, Greenfield, Mass. (Hunter Horse.) BAYNES, ERNEST HAROLD, Secretary of the American Bison Society, Meriden, N. H. (Bison.) Boss, ANDREW, Professor of Agriculture and Animal Hus- bandry, College of Agriculture and Experiment Sta- tion, University of Minnesota, St. Anthony Park, Minn. (Dressing, Caring for and Preserving Meats.) BREWER, W. H., Professor, Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, New Haven, Conn. (The Domestica- tion of Animals.) BURKETT, CHARLES Wm., Director, Kansas Experiment Stations, Manhattan, Kans. (Mule.) CALDWELL, Wm. H., Secretary and Treasurer, The Ameri- can Guernsey Cattle Club, Peterboro, N. H. (Guern- sey Catile.) CARLYLE, W. L., Dean of Agriculture, The State Agricul- tural College of Colorado, and Agriculturist, Agricul- tural Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colo. (Belgian Draft Horse, French Draft Horse, Ryeland Sheep.) CASTLEMAN, DAvip, Clifton Farm, Pleasant Hill, Mercer County, Ky. (Saddle Horse, American.) CAVANAUGH, Gro. W., Assistant Professor of Chemistry, New York State College of Agriculture, Ithaca, N. Y. (Mhilk-powder.) CHAMBERS, EH. T. D., Secretary-Treasurer, North American Fish and Game Protective Association, Quebec, Can.; Librarian, Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, Can. (Fur-bearing Animals of North America.) CHAMPION, Miss ETHEL R. B., Recorder, Cat Fanciers’ Association, Manor Road, Staten Island, N. Y. (Cats.) Cuos, W. C., Inspector of Grazing, Forest Service, Wash- ington, D. C. (Milch Goats.) Conover, U. G., Proprietor, The Pleasant Ridge Rabbitry, Cozaddale, Ohio. (Hare, Belgian.) Craic, JoHN A., Oakmore Farm, San Antonio, Texas. Ex- Dean and Director, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, Texas. (Cleveland Bay and Yorkshire Coach, Clydesdale, French Coach, Hackney, Shire, Suffolk, American Standardbred Trotting and Pacing Horses. Percheron Horse, in conjunction with Charles F. Curtiss. (The Feeding of Sheep. Black- face Highland, Wensleydale, Romney Marsh, Herd- wick Sheep.) Curtiss, CHARLES F., Dean of Agriculture, Iowa State College, and Director, Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, Ames, Ia. (Percheron Horse, in conjunction with John A. Craig.) CYPHERS, CHARLES A., President, Model Incubator Com- pany, Buffalo, N. Y. (Incubation and Brooding.) DAVENPORT, CHARLES B., Director of Department of Ex- perimental Evolution, Carnegie Institute of Washing- ton, Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. (Origin of the Domes- tic Fowl. Breeding of Poultry.) DAVENPORT, EUGENE, Dean of the College of Agriculture, and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. (The Breed- ing of Animals.) DAVENPORT, Homer, President, Davenport Desert Arabian Stud, Morris Plains, N. J. (Arab Horse. Pheasants and Related Fowls.) Day, G. E., Professor of Animal Husbandry and Farm Superintendent, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario, Can. (French-Canadian Cattle. Descriptive articles on the Breeds of Swine.) DECKER, JOHN W., State Professor of Dairying, College of Agriculture, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. (Gouda, Cococavallo, Ricotte, Brick and Limburger Cheese.) DINSMORE, WAYNE, Associate Professor of Animal Hus- bandry, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Ames, Ia. (The Feeding of Swine, in conjunction with W. J. Kennedy and J. A. McLean.) ELLARD, C. H., Secretary-Treasurer, American Fur- Fanciers’ Association, Great Neck, N. Y. (Pets.) Exiot, S. B., Proprietor, Belle Meade Farm, Bedford, Mass. (Ponies.) Err, Oscar, Professor of Dairying, College of Agri- culture and Domestic Science of Ohio State Uni- versity, Columbus, Ohio. (Refrigeration of Dairy Products.) Forsusi, HE. H., State Ornithologist State Board of Agri- culture, Boston, Mass.; Organizer in New England for the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals. (Birds in Their Relations with Agriculture.) Gay, CarL W., Professor of Animal Husbandry, Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. In charge of horse-breeding, Dept. of Agriculture, Harrisburg. (Barb and Turk Horses. Thoroughbred Horse.) GrorcEson, C. C., Special Agent in Charge of Alaska Tnvestigations, United States Department of Agricul- ture, Sitka, Alaska. (Reindeer.) Goopwin, JouNn S., of Black & Goodwin, Lawyers, 304 The Temple, Chicago, Ill. (Aberdeen-Angus Cattle.) GRAHAM, W. R., Manager and Lecturer, Poultry Depart- ment, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Can. (Fattening Poultry.) : ; (xi) xii COLLABORATORS Gray, CHARLES, Secretary, American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders’ Association, 17 Exchange Ave., Chicago, Ill.; formerly Secretary of the American Galloway Breeders’ Association. (Galloway Cattle.) GREINER, T., Editor, LaSalle, N. Y. (Capons and Capon- izing.) GUDGELL, CHARLES, of Gudgell & Simpson, Breeders of Hereford Cattle, Independence, Mo. (Hereford Cattle.) Harcer, 8. J. J., Veterinarian, Veterinary Department, University of Pennsylvania. Address, 2108 Locust St., Philadelphia, Pa. (Physiology of Domestic Animals.) Harper, M. W., Assistant Professor of Animal Husbandry, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Practical Horse-training and Handling. Feeding the Horse. German Coach Horse. Lard- and Bacon-Production.) Hart, Georce H., Assistant, Pathological Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C. (Common Ailments of Cattle, Horses and Swine, in conjunction with John R. Mohler.) HAYWARD, Harry, Dean of the Department of Agriculture, and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Delaware College, Newark, Del. (Ayrshire Cattle.) Hoarp, W. D., Editor, “ Hoard’s Dairyman,” Fort Atkinson, Wis. (Meats and Related Products.) Hopes, C. F., Professor, Biology, Clark University, Wor- cester, Mass. (Domestication of the Ruffed Grouse. Domestication of the Bobwhite or American Quail.) Howarp, L. O., Chief, Bureau of Entomology, Depart- ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. (Silkworm.) Hoxie, S., Ex-Superintendent of the Advanced Registry, The Holstein-Friesian Association of America. Ad- dress, 6649 Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, Ill. (Holstein- Friesian Cattle.) HumpPurey, GeorGeE C., Professor of Animal Husbandry, College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Station, Madison, Wis. (Wool- and Mutton-Production.) Hunt, Tuomas F., Dean of the School of Agriculture, and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pa. (The Place of the Domestie Animal in our Civiliza- tion. The Education, Harnessing and Gaits of the Horse.) Hunziker, 0. F., Professor of Dairying, School of Agri- culture of Purdue University and Agricultural Experi- ment Station of Indiana, Lafayette, Ind. (Manufacture of Condensed Milk.) JORDAN, WuiTMAN H., Director, New York State Agricul- tural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y. (The Feeding of Animals.) Kennepy, W. J., Professor of Animal Husbandry, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and Vice-Director, Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. (The Feeding of Swine, in conjunction with Wayne Dinsmore and J. A. McLean.) KLEIN, Louis A., Deputy State Veterinarian, State Live- Stock Sanitary Board, Harrisburg, Pa. (Common Ail- ments of Sheep.) Lampert, D. J., Instructor in Poultry Husbandry, Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Kingston, R. I. (Preparing and Marketing Poultry Products, and The Care of Eggs.) Law, JAMES, Director, New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Diseases and Management of Animals.) LEA, OVERTON, Lealand Farm, Nashville, Tenn. (Sussex Cattle.) Lioyp, F. FREEMAN, Willow Mount, Norwood, N. J. (The Old English Bobtail Sheep-dog. Sheep-dog Trials.) Mack, G. A., Pleasantville, N. Y. (Camels in North America.) Martin, H. A., Secretary, Red Polled Cattle Club of America, Gotham, Wis. (Red Polled Cattle.) Mayo, N. S., Chief of Department of Animal Industry, Re- public of Cuba, Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba. (Stock- Poisoning. Some Details of Stock Management, in conjunction with H. W. Mumford.) McCLave, CHARLES, Linwood Poultry Yards, New London, Ohio. (Ducks. Geese. Swan.) McCrag, Lizut.-Cot. Davin, Breeder and Importer of Galloway Cattle, Clydesdale Horses and Cotswold Sheep, Guelph, Can. (Cheviot, Cotswold, Leicester, Lineoln, Suffolk Down and Tunis Sheep.) McGrew, T. F., Associate Editor of ‘The Feather,” Washington, D. C. (Guinea-fowl. Turkeys.) McLean, J. A., Associate Professor of Animal Husbandry, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and Agricultural Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. (The Feeding of Swine, in conjunction with W. J. Kennedy and Wayne Dinsmore.) MEEHAN, W.E., Commissioner of Fisheries, Department of Fisheries, Harrisburg, Pa. (F%ish-Culture. Frogs, in conjunction with E. A. Andrews.) MILLER, H. P., Secretary, The Ohio Sheep Breeders’ and Wool Growers’ Association, Westerville, Ohio. (Dorset- Horn, Hampshire Down, Oxford Down, Shropshire Down, Southdown Sheep.) MouLerR, JoHN R., Chief, Pathological Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D.C. (Common Ailments of Cattle, Horses and Swine, in conjunction with George H. Hart.) Moore, VERANUS A., Department of Comparative Pathol- ogy and Bacteriology and Meat Inspection, New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Infectious Diseases of Animals.) Morrison, W. K., Department Editor, “Gleanings in Bee Culture,” Medina, Ohio ; formerly Bee-Expert, Imperial Department of Agriculture (British) ; part author of the A B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture; author of Bee-keeping in the West Indies, etc. (Bees.) Mumrorp, F. B., Animal Breeder, Missouri Agricultural College Experiment Station, Columbia, Mo. (Some of the Principles of Animal-breeding. Animal Types and Score-cards. Origin of Domestic Cattle. Origin of the Domestic Horse.) MumrorD, Hersert W., Professor of Animal Husbandry in the College of Agriculture, and Chief in Animal Husbandry, Experiment Station of the University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. (Some Details of Stock Manage- ment, in conjunction with N. 8. Mayo. Shorthorn Cattle. The Collie Dog.) NEEDHAM, JAMES G., Assistant Professor of Limnology, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Fish Food and Feeding- grounds. Carp.) NELson, JuLius, Professor of Biology, Rutgers College and Rutgers Scientific School, and Biologist, New Jersey Agricultural College Experiment Station, New Brunswick, N. J. (Plankton-Culture. Clam. Crab. Lobster. Oyster. Shrimp. Sponge.) COLLABORATORS Nixon, C. D., Secretary, Brown Swiss Breeders’ Associa- tion, Owego, N. Y. (Brown Swiss Cattle.) Orr, T. E., Late Secretary-Treasurer, American Poultry Association, Beaver, Pa. (Judging Poultry. Breeds and Types of Chickens.) PEARSON, R. A., Professor of Dairy Industry, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Milk as a Market Product.) PICKRELL, WATSON, Late President, Tempe Ostrich Farm, Tempe, Ariz. (Ostrich.) PLuMB, CHARLES S., Professor of Animal Husbandry, College of Agriculture of Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. (Fitting and Exhibiting Live-stock. Marketing Farm Stock. Ass. Some of the Lesser Known Breeds of Cattle. Oxen. Orloff Trotting Horse.) POLLARD, GEORGE H., Greenbush, Mass. (Feeding Water- fowl.) Porter, J. F., Robe and Fur Tanner, Amery, Wis. (Tan- ning Hides.) Prowse, JuDGE D. W., Writer and Late Judge, Central District Court of Newfoundland, St. Johns, Newfound- land. (Reindeer for Labrador.) Rice, JAMES E., Professor of Poultry Husbandry, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Feeding Poultry. Feeding Turkeys. Poultry-house Construction.) RIcHARDSON, W. D., Chief Chemist for Swift & Company, Chicago, Ill. (The Canning of Meat and Fish.) Ross, Fitora, Lecturer in Home Economics, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Meat: Its Nutritive Value, Selection and Preparation. ) Ruppick, J. A., Dairy and Cold Storage Commissioner, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, Can. (The Making of Cheddar Cheese.) SANDERS, FRANK REED, Breeder of Dutch Belted Cattle, Mountain Lawn, Bristol, N. H. (Dutch Belted Cattle.) SCOVELL, M. A., Director and Chemist, Kentucky Agri- cultural Experiment Station, State University, Lexing- ton, Ky. (Jersey Cattle.) SCRIBNER, FRANK Lamson, Special Agent and Agrostol- ogist, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Chief of In- sular Bureau of Agriculture, Manila, P. 1, 1901-04. (Buffalo or Water-Buffalo.) SHAw, HE. L., Assistant in Animal Husbandry, Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C. (Angora Goats, Barbados, Persiacot and Persiarino Sheep.) Sisson, L. P., Secretary-Treasurer, American Devon Cattle Club, Newark, Ohio. (Devon Cattle.) Suit, H. R., Professor of Animal Husbandry, The Indus- trial College of the University of Nebraska and Agri- cultural Experiment Station of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb. (Feeding Beef Cattle.) xiii StockinG, W. A., JR., Assistant Professor of Dairy Bac- teriology, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Bacteria of Milk.) STONE, JOHN L., Professor of Farm Practice, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. (Computing Balanced Rations.) THOM, CHARLES, Assistant in Charge of Investigation of Varieties of European Cheese, Dairy Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture. Address, Storrs, Conn. (Varieties of Hard Cheese. Soft Cheeses in America.) TOMHAVE, W. H., Assistant in Animal Husbandry, School of Agriculture of the Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pa. (Shipping Meat and Hides.) TRUEMAN, JOHN M., Professor of Dairy Husbandry, Con- necticut Agricultural College; Dairy Husbandman, Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, Storrs, Conn. (Selection and Management of the Dairy Herd.) Van Norman, H. E., Professor of Dairy Husbandry, School of Agriculture and Experiment Station of the Pennsylvania State College, State College,Pa. (Manu- facture of Ice-cream and Other Frozen Products.) WessTER, HE. H., Chief of the Dairy Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C. (Butter-making.) WEED, CLARENCE M., Teacher, State Normal School, Lowell, Mass. (Wild Mammals in Their Relations with Agriculture.) Witcox, EH. V., Editorial Department, Office of Experi- ment Stations, Department of Agriculture, Washing- ton, D. C. (Poisonous Weeds and Their EHradi- cation.) WILLARD, J. T., Professor of Chemistry, Chemist Agri- cultural Experiment Station, Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kan. (Method of Exact Balancing of Rations.) Witson, Hon. James, Secretary of Agriculture, Depart- ment of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. (Needs in Animal Husbandry.) WI1nG, Henry H., Professor of Animal Husbandry, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell Univer- sity, Ithaca, N. Y. (Lhe Production of Milk. Deter- mining the Age of Cattle, Horses, Sheep, Swine. Swine notes.) WING, JosePH H., Secretary, Continental Dorset Club and Editorial Correspondent for the “ Breeders’ Gazette,” Mechanicsburg, Ohio. (Merino Sheep.) WOLL, Fritz WILHELM, Professor of Agricultura: Chemis- try, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. (Feeding Dairy Catile.) Woops, Prince T., Editor and Writer on Poultry and Agricultural Subjects, Middleton, Mass. (Common Ail- ments of Poultry.) Wricut, THomas, Manager, Kirkland Pigeonry, Scarboro Beach, Maine. (Pigeons and Squabs.) xiv COLLABORATORS A PARTIAL LIST OF THOSE WHO HAVE ASSISTED IN READING PROOF AND IN OTHER WAYS ALEXANDER, A. S., Professor of Veterinary Science, and in charge of Department of Horse Breeding, College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. ANDERSON, S. W., Farmer, Blaker Mills, W. Va. Avery, J. D., Lumberman and Farmer, Buckland (Post- office, Shelburne Falls), Mass. BAILEY, VERNON, in charge of Geographic Distribution, Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. BAKER, FRANK, Superintendent, National Zodlogical Park, Washington, D. C. Bai, E. N., Secretary, American Tamworth Swine Record Association, and Secretary, International Von Homeyer Rambouillet Club, Ann Arbor, Mich. BaTTELL, JOSEPH, Registrar, Vermont Morgan Horse Breeders’ Association, Middlebury, Vt. BELL, G. ARTHUR, Assistant Animal Husbandman, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. BENEDICT, F. H., President, Clover Leaf Live-Stock Com- pany, Mclean, N. Y. BENKENDORF, G. H., Instructor in Dairy Husbandry, Col- lege of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. BENNETT, Miss C. R., Librarian United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. BENTON, RALPH, Instructor in Entomology, University of California, Berkeley, Cal. Best, FRANK E., Registrar, American Trotting Register Association, Chicago, Il. BonuaM, L. N., Farmer, Oxford, Ohio. BouskA, F. W., Associate in Dairy Bacteriology and in Dairying, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Me- chanic Arts and Agricultural Experiment Station, Ames, Ia. Boyp, Mossom M., Breeder of Cattle, Bobcaygeon, Ontario. Boyer, MIcHAEL K., Editorial Department, “Farm Journal,” Philadelphia, Pa. “ BREEDERS’ GAZETTE,” A Weekly Journal for the Ameri- can Stock Farm, Chicago, IIl. Broome, F. H., Librarian, Tennessee Agricultural Experi- ment Station, Knoxville, Tenn. Brown, C. G., Editor, “The Holstein- Friesian World,” Ithaca, N. Y. Brown, R. W., Secretary and Treasurer, American Gallo- way Breeders’ Association, Chicago, III. BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Burns, JOHN C., Instructor in Animal Husbandry, Agri- cultural and Mechanical College of Texas, College Station, Texas. BurRELL & Co., D. H., Little Falls, N. Y. Cuesnut, V. K., Assistant Chemist, Bureau of Chemis- try, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. CLARK, VERNON L., Arizona Ostrich Company, Phoenix, Ariz. CiAy, JOHN, of Clay, Robinson & Co., Chicago, IIl. Cosurn, F. D., Secretary, State Board of Agriculture, Topeka, Kans. Correy, W. C., Associate in Sheep Husbandry, College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. Couture, J. A., Secretary, French-Canadian Cattle Breeders’ Association of Canada, Quebec, Province of Quebec. Cowan, B. 0., Assistant Secretary, American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association, Chicago, III. CroucH, CLIFFORD M., Farmer, Naples, N. Y. Croucu, J., Secretary, German Hanoverian and Oldenburg Coach Horse Association of America, Lafayette, Ind. DARLING, ELMER A., President, American Jersey Cattle Club, Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York City. Dawson, ALDEN, Magazine Illustrator, 57 Hast 59th S&t., New York City. DEAN, H. H., Professor of Dairy Husbandry, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario, Can. DIETRICH, WILLIAM, Assistant Professor of Swine Hus- bandry, College of Agriculture of the University of Illinois, and Assistant Chief of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Urbana, Il. DRYDEN, JAMES, Poultryman, Oregon Agricultural Experi- ment Station, Corvallis, Ore. DuNHAM & FLETCHER, Importers and Breeders of Per- cheron and French Coach Horses, Oaklawn Farm, Wayne, Ill. Eckes, C. H., Professor of Dairy Husbandry, College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts of the University of Missouri, and Agricultural Experiment Station, Co- lumbia, Mo. Essex, Ropert H., Secretary, Cyphers Incubator Com- pany, Buffalo, N, Y. EVERMANN, Dr. BARTON W., Assistant in Charge of Scien- tific Inquiry, Bureau of Fisheries, Department of Com- merce and Labor, Washington, D. C. FAIRCHILD, Davip, Agricultural Explorer in Charge, Foreign Explorations, Office of Seed and Plant Intro- duction, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States De- partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. FAIRFIELD Darry Company, Montclair, N. J.; Stephen Francisco, President, Caldwell, N. J. FARRINGTON, E. H., Professor of Dairy Husbandry, College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. Fe.cu, Isaack K., Breeder of Poultry, Natick, Mass. Fisu, N. S., Ex-Secretary, Brown Swiss Breeders’ Associa- tion, Groton, Conn. FisH, P. A., Professor of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. FRANDSEN, PETER, Biologist and Consulting Zodlogist, College of Agriculture of the University of Nevada, and Agricultural Experiment Station, Reno, Nev. Fuertes, L. A., Ithaca, N. Y. FuLTon, JOHN W., Secretary, The American Angora Goat Breeders’ Association, Helena, Mont. GacE, S. H., Professor of Histology and Embryology, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. GALBRAITH, ALEX., Importer of Clydesdale, Shire, Suffolk, Percheron and Hackney Horses, Janesville, Wis. a COLLABORATORS XV GarpIner, E. V. R., Civil Engineer and Surveyor, Middle- town, N. Y. Grsss, G. G., Breeder of Dutch Belted Cattle, Vail, N. J. GicauLt, G. A., Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Quebec, Province of Quebec. GiLmore, JOHN W., Agronomist, Pennsylvania State Col- lege Agricultural Experiment Station, State College, Pa. GLEN, C. C., Secretary, The Percheron Registry Company, and also of The French Coach Horse Registry Com- pany, Columbus, Ohio, 1319 Wesley Ave., Columbus, Ohio. GOODNIGHT, CHARLES, Breeder of Bison and Aberdeen- Angus Cattle, Goodnight, Texas. Goopwin, WILLIAM R., Vice-President, Sanders Publish- ing Company, Chicago, Ill. Associate Editor, “The Breeders’ Gazette.” GRANGE, HE. A. A., Veterinarian, 467 West 164th Street, New York City. GRENSIDE, F. C., Durland’s Riding Academy, New York City. GRINDLEY, H. S., Professor of General Chemistry, College of Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, III. GRISDALE, J. H., Agriculturist, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada. GRovES, JoHN W., Secretary, American Shorthorn Breed- ers’ Association, Chicago, Ill. GuTsELL, H. S., Instructor in Freehand Drawing and Modeling, College of Architecture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. HAECKER, THEOPHILUS L., Professor of Dairy Husbandry and Animal Nutrition, Agricultural College of the University of Minnesota, St. Anthony Park, Minn. HALE, Partie H., Editor and Manager, “The National Farmer and Stock Grower,” St. Louis, Mo. HALL, EUGENE J., Portrait, Landscape and Commercial Photographer, Oak Park, Ill. HALL, L. D., Associate in Animal Husbandry, College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. Hansom, TeD., The Grand Circuit Photographer, New York City. Hays, WILLET M., Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. HENDERSON, P. G., President, Red Polled Cattle Club of America, Central City, Iowa. Henry, W. A., Emeritus Professor of Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. HILDEBRAND & SmirTH, Specialists in Live-stock and Rural Photography, Chicago, Ill. Hout, RENFREW & Co., Furriers, Quebec and Toronto, Canada. Hopkins, G. §., Professor of Veterinary Anatomy and Anatomical Methods, New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. HOpLEY, PETER, Importer and Breeder of Suffolk, Belgian, Percheron and Shire Horses, Lewis, Iowa. Hornanay, Dr. W. T., Director, New York Zodlogical Park, New York City. HORSEMAN AND SPIRIT OF THE TIMES, THE, Chicago, III. Houcuton, F. L., Editor and Proprietor, “The Holstein- Friesian Register,” and Secretary, The Holstein- Friesian Association of America, Brattleboro, Vt. Hunter, A. F., Associate Editor, “American Poultry Advo- cate,” Abington, Mass, HuTcHinson, W. Z., Secretary, National Bee-Keepers’ Association, and Editor, “The Bee-Keepers’ Review,” Flint, Mich. JACKSON, Mrs. ALFRED, Vice-President, Cat Fanciers’ Association, and President Lockhaven Cat Club, Rochester, N. Y. JAcos, Mosss, Veterinarian, Tennessee Agricultural Experi- ment Station, Knoxville, Tenn. JOHNSTONE, J. H.S., “The Breeders’ Gazette,” Chicago, Ill. JONES, C. J., Breeder of Bison, Cattalo and Persiarino Sheep, Garden City, Kans. KENNEDY, P. BE¥YERIDGE, Professor of Botany, Horticul- ture and Forestry, Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, Reno, Ney. Kinzer, ROLAND J., Professor of Animal Husbandry, Kansas State Agricultural College, and Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kans. Knicut, THomas A., Photographer, Lexington, Ky. Krum, Hersert J., Proprietor, The Indian City Horse Farm, Pontiace, Ill. LAntz, D. E., Bureau of Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. LAntTz, WILLIAM M., Breeder of Dutch Belted Cattle, Monroe, N. J. LaumMAn, G. N., Assistant Professor of Rural Economy, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. LEVERING, Mortimer, Secretary, American Shetland Pony Club, Lafayette, Ind. Lewis, L. L., Veterinarian and Bacteriologist, Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, Stillwater, Okla- homa. LINFIELD, F. B., Professor of Agriculture, Montana State College of Agriculture, and Director, Montana Experi- ment Station, Bozeman, Mont. Lovesoy, A. J., Vice-President, Illinois State Board of Agriculture, Roscoe, Ill. MAcGILiivray, ALEX. D., Assistant Professor of Ento- mology and Invertebrate Zoology, New York State Col- lege of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Marks, W. F., President, New York State Association of Bee-Keepers’ Societies, Clifton Springs, N. Y. MARSHALL, F. R., Professor of Animal Husbandry, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. MATTESON, SUMNER W., Lecturer, Writer and Illustrator, 1515 University Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. McCuure, R. L., Photographer of Fine Horses, Lexing- ton, Ky. _ McDona.p, W.T., Professor of Animal Husbandry and Farm Superintendent, Oklahoma Agricultural and Me- chanical College, and Agricultural Experiment Station, Stillwater, Oklahoma. McGmu11, A., Chief Analyst, Laboratory of the Inland Rev- enue Department, Ottawa, Canada. McGrecor, J. H., Professor, Department of Zodlogy, Columbia University, New York City. McInngs, J. C., President, Dutch Belted Cattle Associa- tion of America, Worcester, Mass. McKissick, N. E., Cattle Salesman for McKissick Bros.’ Commission Firm, Union Stock Yards, South St. Paul, Minn. McLAvucHLIN BrotHers, Importers of Percheron and French Coach Horses, Columbus, Ohio. McLaury Brotuers, River Meadow Farm, Portland- ville, N. Y. xvi COLLABORATORS McSparRAN, W. F., Breeder of Registered Jersey Cattle and Berkshire Swine, Fairfield Farms, Furniss, Pa. MELICK, CHARLES W., Dairy Husbandman, Maryland Ag- ricultural Experiment Station, College Park, Md. Merriam, C. Hart, Chief, Bureau of Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. | Moors, J. Percy, Assistant Professor of Zoélogy, Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. Morris, Dr. J. CaesTcn, President, American Devon Cattle Club, Philadelphia, Pa. Morton, G. E., Professor of Animal Husbandry, State Agricultural College of Colorado, Fort Collins, Colo. Nat, I. B., Secretary, American Saddle Horse Breeders’ Association, Louisville, Ky. OciLvin, R. B., Secretary, American Clydesdale Associa- tion, Union Stock Yards, Chicago, IIl. OsBorn, HENRY FAIRFIELD, Da Costa Professor of Zodlogy, Columbia University, and Curator, Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York City. PABLO, MICHAEL, Breeder of Bison, Elk, Horses and Cattle, Ronan, Mont. Passt, FRED, Oconomowoc, Wis. Peer, F. §., Manager, New England Farm Stock Co., Greenfield, Mass. Pup, JAMES, Breeder of Cattle, Fort Pierre, S. D. Puitures, E. F., In Charge of Apiculture, Bureau of Ento- mology, Department of Agriculture, Washington, C PiatH, Lupwic G., Pet Stock Breeder, York, Pa. Preston, G. L., M. D., Canisteo, N. Y. Purvis, Mituer, Editor of “Poultry” and “Pigeons,” Peotone, Ill. RAMSDELL, J. A. P., Proprietor, Powelton Farm, New- burgh, N. Y. REID, CHARLES, Photographer, Wishaw, Scotland. Rice, W1LuiAM E., Breeder of Homing Pigeons for Squab Breeding, Bridgeton, N. J. RicHarbs, H. B., Secretary, Dutch Belted Cattle Associa- tion of America, Easton, Pa. Rosinson, JOHN H., Editor of “Farm-Poultry,” Boston, Mass. RomMEL, Gro. M., Animal Husbandman, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. . RussELL, Dr. H. L., Dean of the College of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin, and Director of the Wiscon- sin Experiment Station, Madison, Wis. RUTHERFORD, J. G., Veterinary Director General and Live-Stock Commissioner, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, Canada. Sanpers, A. H., Sanders Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill. SCHREIBER & SONS, Photographers, Philadelphia, Pa. SHIELDS, G. O., Editor and Manager “‘Shields’ Magazine,” New York City. Skinner, J. H., Dean of the School of Agriculture of Purdue University, and Professor of Animal Husbandry in College and Experiment Station, Lafayette, Ind. SMITH, ARCHIBALD, Professor of Animal Husbandry, Mis- sissippi Agricultural and Mechanical College, Agri- cultural College, Miss. Situ, C. D., Ex-Director and Agriculturist, Experiment Station of Michigan, Agricultural College, Mich. SPILLMAN, W. J., Agriculturist in Charge of Farm Man- agement Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Spracue, E. C., Cincinnati, Ohio. SPRINGER, F. S., Secretary, American Berkshire Associa- tion, Springfield, Ill. STEVENS, F. C., Attica, N. Y. STEVENS, HENRY, Proprietor, the Stevens Herd of Hols- tein-Friesian Cattle, Brookside Stock Farm, Lacona, N.Y. : Stusss, C. E., Secretary, National French Draft Horse Association, Fairfield, Iowa. Surrace, H. A., Economic Zodlogist, Department of Agri- culture, Harrisburg, Pa. Tuomas, C. R., Secretary, American Hereford Cattle Breeders’ Association, Kansas City, Mo. Towar, J. D., Professor of Agriculture, College of Agri- culture and Mechanic Arts of the University of Wyoming, and Director, Wyoming Agricultural Ex- periment Station, Laramie, Wyo. TRUEMAN, J. G., President, The American Shire Horse Association, Bushnell, Ill. TURNBULL, Dr. THOMAS, President, Ayrshire Breeders’ Association, Casanova, Va. VAN Natta, W. S., Fowler, Ind. VAN Siykg, L. L., Chemist, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y. VAN WAGENEN, JARED, JR., Farmer, Lawyersville, N. Y. Waters, H. J., Dean and Director, College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion, Columbia, Mo. WEBBER, HERBERT J., Professor of Experimental Plant Biology, New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. WuartTon, J. R., Manager, Butte Electric Railway Com- pany, Butte, Mont. WHEELER, WILLIAM Morton, Curator, Department of In- vertebrate Zodlogy, American Museum of Natural History, New York City. WILDER, Burt G., Professor of Neurology and Vertebrate Zodlogy, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. WIiteT, D. E., 2112 Michigan Ave., Chicago, III. Wiuiiams, Dr. W. L., Professor of Surgery, Obstetrics, etc., New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. WILSON, JAMES W., Director and Animal Husbandman, South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Brook- ings, 8. D. Winstow, C. M., Secretary, Ayrshire Breeders’ Associa- tion, Brandon, Vt. Woops, CHarLes D., Director, Maine Agricultural Ex- periment Station, Orono, Me. Woopworts, ©. W., Associate Professor of Entomology, University of California, and Entomologist of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University c2 California, Berkeley, Cal. York, GEORGE W., Editor, ‘‘American Bee Journal,” Chicago, Ill. Zion, J. F., Prescott, Ariz. ’ PART I THE ANIMAL AND ITS RELATIONS There are about 12,000 known living species of mammals and about 15,000 species of birds. From the time when man began to emerge from the lower creation, he has possessed and enslaved his fellow animals. Great numbers of species have been brought into captivity, yet it is surprising how few of these have really been domesticated. The Editor of this book has made a diligent effort to record every species of animal of any kind that is now domesticated for agricultural uses in North America (north of Mexico), and he has interpreted the field of agriculture broadly; yet the book does not contain accounts of twenty really domesticated species of mammals, not more than a dozen of birds, only one species of fish, and two of insects. In other words, the numbers of species of animals of all classes with which North American agriculture is really concerned do not much, if any, exceed thirty, or say, one species to every one thousand species of mammals and birds that are known to exist on the earth today. This means either that the dcmesticable species are exceedingly few, or that man has not yet improved his opportunities in adapting the animal kingdom to his uses; or else that his necessities are now all supplied. More than thirty species are described in this volume, however, but many of them are not domesti- cated, and others are not really agricultural animals. Some occupations or sources of income directly or indirectly associated with agriculture —in the sense of being the products of land more or less under the control of man—rest on the capture or exploitation of wild animals. Of such are the fur- bearing animals, although some fur-bearers are bred under captivity. Other animals included in this volume are pets or companions, and are agricultural only in the sense that they may be bred and Fig. 1. Urus, the source of domestic cattle (see page 302). The original of this illustration is considered by A. Nehring, of Berlin, an eminent anthority, to be the best known picture of the now extinct urus. This picture was found at an art dealer’s establishment in Augsburg, Bavaria, in 1827, and was published in Vol. 4 of Griffith’s edition of Cuvier’s ‘“Animal Kingdom,” London, 1827; and from Griffith’s print the above illustration is made, somewhat reduced. This picture was probably made for an Augsburg merchant about the year 1500. Three more or less reliable pictures of the urus are Enown. (See Nehring, in Landwirtschaftliche Jahrbicher, Vol. 25, 1896, p. 927.) Cl (1) 2 THE ANIMAL AND ITS RELATIONS sold by land-owners. Certain wild animals may be merely controlled or protected to a certain extent, when conditions require it, and their propagation and welfare are thus promoted. Of such are the various animals classed as shell-fish and frogs and turtles. Some animals, as fish, may be bred or propagated under captivity and then turned loose. Some animals are bred in captivity only to supply zoological parks and game-preserves, as pheasants, bison, wapiti or elk. The rearing of animals for park purposes is in the hands of a few specialists here and there, and the subject has not been dis- cussed in this volume to any extent. Many of them are kept as curiosities, because of some special interest that attaches to them rather than because of any immediate economic value they may possess. These animals have not been truly domesticated, and the rearing of them consists, for the most part, in protecting the animals and in learning enough of their habits to enable the operator to supply their natural wants and to facilitate their breeding. The Americas have contributed very few agricultural animals. The most important examples are the llama (Fig. 11) and turkey (Plate Il), the former not being reared in the territory covered by this work. The bison (Plate I) is capable of domestication, and the hybrids with domestic cattle promise to produce an agricultural race. The elk is easily tamed and kept. The meat is good, and the animals may be readily broken to drive. The cochineal insect of Mexico has been much grown, under conditions of control nearly as complete as those that are organized for the rearing of the silkworm; but it is doubtful whether the animal can be said to be domesticated in the sense of having produced domestic variations or races; this insect is less reared in Mexico than formerly, owing to the competition of the chemical dyes. Many of our wild animals could undoubtedly be domesticated if the effort promised to be worth the while. Of such, for example, are the musk-ox of the arctic and sub-arctic regions, with good flesh and very useful pelts ; species of the deer, antelope and moose tribes ; prairie chicken, one of the staple game birds and said to be readily tamed; wild geese and ducks; various other game birds; species of fish. It is worthy of note that certain families have contributed most of the important domestic animals, as, for example, the Bovide, including the bovine or cattle-like and sheep-like ruminant animals; the Kquidz, including the horses and asses; and the groups comprising the domestic fowls and the ducks. Certain great families or groups have contributed few or no domestic animals. No real agricultural animals are of the Carnivora, although the dogs and cats belong to that group. The great group of rodents has contributed only the hares, although cavies, rats and a few others, are reared as cage animals. The sea has yielded no domestic animal; and the fresh water has given only the carp as a domesticated food fish. Although man has always captured and enslaved others of his own kind, no species of the man-like animals, as apes, have ever been domesticated. Contrary to his expectation, the Editor has found the compilation of this volume much more difficult than the making of the volume on crops. Animals are less tractable to investigate than plants, and the scientific method does not seem to have been so successfully applied to the study of them as to crops. In the matter of breeds, the expert knowledge is likely to be in possession of advocates or even of par- tisans, and it is very difficult to arrive at agreement or a common basis of comparison and judgment. Existing writings are largely descriptive and historical. Even on questions of feeding and general management, there are almost irreconcilable differences of opinion. The Editor hopes, however, that the compilation has brought together the soundest opinions and practices, and he is sure that the names of the contributors to this volume will make the work authoritative. The articles on breeds are largely from men engaged in practice and from specialists in the breed, whereas the articles on crops in Vol. II are largely from teachers and investigators; this dissimilarity is representative of the kinds of interest that attach to these two great groups of agricultural products. Any work of this kind is necessarily tentative. It is intended that it shall express and record the status of live-stock knowledge of the present day. The reader must make his choice if opinions conflict. The reader may be confused by the lack of a strictly alphabetic arrangement, but such arrangement is impossible, as he will discover if he tries seriously to make one: he will find that the index will land him at the right place. The Editor will be glad of any suggestions that may enhance the value of future editions, CHAPTER I THE DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS By W. H. BREWER , NIMALS ARE BRED BY MANKIND FOR NUMEROUS USES AND FANCIES. }’ Although common biological laws govern all higher animals, wild and tame alike, the truly domestic animals constitute a class by themselves, differing in several characteristics from wild ones or from the direct offspring of wild ones that have been tamed individually by man for similar uses and fancies. All species of animals and birds can probably be tamed as individuals if we begin at the right period of their lives; yet few have been transformed into domestic animals. As defined here, the term “domestic animals” implies that the animals may be bred by man for an indefinite number of generations. They are the animals cherished in our homes and on our farms, and belonging solely to the higher groups of the animal kingdom, the mammals and the birds.’ Animals belonging to a few other species are so abundantly tamed and used for the same purposes as truly domestic ones, that in common speech and in certain laws and ordinances they are made domestic animals for legal consideration, < inasmuch as they may constitute property. Indeed, many species that are nat- : urally wild may be bred and protected in captivity for a certain time and then =. allowed to live the remainder of their lives as wild ones. Various kinds and : species of birds and animals for hunting, turtles among the reptiles, honey- bees and silkworms among insects, fishes and lobsters in the sea, even so low as oysters in our harbors, are multiplied by artificial means on an enormous scale, protected for a time from the many dangers that beset them, and then turned loose to spend their lives as wild creatures. They are sometimes classed legally as domestic animals and sometimes not. Y Characteristics of domestic animals. The term “domestic animals” as here used and limited practically applies to a distinct class having aptitudes and characteristics that distinguish them from wild and even from tamed individuals. These special characteristics differ greatly in degree according to the species or the breed. Two especial char- acteristics they must have, and incidentally a third they do have, especially those long bred by man. First, they must breed freely in captivity for an indefinite number of generations; second, they must be able to thrive under the artificial conditions man imposes; third, and incidentally, they are naturally tamer, and their instincts are often modified and some are lost. The mental capacity for education with some species is also modified, better to adapt the creature to man’s uses and fancies. Although many animals are tamed for use, but relatively few species have been transformed into domestic ones as here defined. Innumerable unsuccessful experiments have been made with many species. Carnivorous animals have been trained for the chase for ages, and herbivorous animals have been semi-domesticated for a long time, but may never have become strictly domestic. The number of species that have become truly domestic is perhaps not greater than three score in all the many thousands known to science. The actual number of species that are used is scarcely two score in any one country. (1) While very many species have been tamed by man to do.his bidding, which live long and healthy, and, as far as we know, happy lives, very few breed freely in captivity. Some never breed at all; of those that breed at all, the offspring die young or the descendants die out in two or three generations. For example, the tame elephant has rarely if ever raised offspring. Of all of the animals of the cat kind, but a single species has ever become “domestic,” although enormous numbers have been tamed and many of them have produced young. This same law holds good for birds. On the contrary, domestic animals increase greatly in their fertility when such increase is desirable, hogs among mammals, hens among poultry, being sufficient examples. (8) 4 THE DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS Seman teegake Wh Satin unt Wee en heegi Les yee ie ‘ Wart e e,.. Ah os Fig. 2. Variation in the horse, from draft horse to trotter, coach, Celtic pony and Shetland pony. (2) The second requirement needs no explanation. For example, take the horse. While probably originally a native of an open country and leading the freest of lives and easily reverting to wildness, yet in domestication it will live to healthful old age in stables or other enclosures, and in unnatural con- ditions. It will live in mines without light for years, and under the artificial conditions of cities for a longer term of life than it ever could have done as a wild horse. During the long ages and the many generations that they have been bred by man, some animals have slowly become adapted so completely to the conditions man has imposed that now many kinds could not exist for two generations if turned loose in any large country of the world, to make their own living and to bring their young to maturity. (3) Their instincts and mental requirements have been modified. Some have lost instincts that were useful in their wild state but have now become reduced from lack of use. Thus they become, as a whole, a new class depending on mankind. He is, in one sense, their creator. They would not have existed but for him. He provides their parents; he furnishes them their food; he protects them from the dangers that await them in nature ; he builds shelter from storms for them; he educates doctors to cure them when ill, and to prevent their epizodtic diseases. They are an artificial production. Nature has provided man with the raw material; he has turned this to a more ideal and useful animal for his purposes. It is tamer to deal with; it is less intelligent as a whole than the wild creature that was its ancestor. Its form, its strength, its size, its various physical characteristics and mental capacities have been molded, the better to suit the environment and the better to serve the uses and pleasures of man- kind. These improvements have been made according to the ideals of the people among which the ani- mal has been developed. In its relations to mankind as well as to nature, it is as truly artificial as is wood or stone wrought to new shapes and adapted to new uses or new ideals. Plasticity of animals. In the scheme of nature, each species is given a certain degree and kind of plasticity as it were, by virtue of which it adapts itself to a new environment when the old one changes. The whole dogma of the evolution of species in nature is founded on this law. Species differ in the degree of plasticity, but every species and every individual of each species has it to some degree. If the environment changes faster than the species, then in nature it dies out. A very iarge proportion of the wild animals in exis- Hie aK Ay ARS ve ‘\\! Ni RENN QUOC) TA AAD ‘i Sh SK ap SANS ra Fig.3. Variation in the sheep, showing fine-woolled wrinkled Merino, long-woolled Black-face Highland, flat-tailed Persian, small Farée island sheep, and a four-horned sheep. THE DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS 5 EE aye 44 Oy A aA bit 5 BeepMyey eS I Alas Ne Ze) Fig. 4. Variation in dogs, represented by St. Berard, poodle, dachshund, greyhound. tence cannot change from their wild to a domestic environment fast enough for man’s convenience and profit, and hence we have domesticated but few species. The most of the useful species we now have were domesticated so early that we have no record of the process. Most kinds originated in the Old World. But few have been domesticated since the Christian era. America, since its discovery, has contributed three—the turkey, the guinea pig and the llama. Some breeds we wish to keep essentially as they are, and further improvement is practically limited to retaining and enhancing the special excellencies now possessed. For such we have devised a way of preserving the breeds pure by means of pedigrees, recorded in studbooks, herdbooks, or other publica- tions. Along with the pedigrees, for some breeds we record the excellencies of the individual animal thus registered ; and we have also devised ideal “scales of points” of especial excellence to be recorded. History of mankind as affected by domestic animals. j The part that domestic animals have played in the history of mankind is intensely interesting. What kind of civilization might have risen without them is scarcely a subject for speculation. Low savagery may be lifted into a respectable scale of barbarism by them. We have many illustrations of this; the most familiar is that of the Indians of the plains. Those of a century ago were feeble tribes, following the bison on foot and with dogs, and remained feeble until they adopted the horse ; then they became the most powerful foe to the advance of the white race in America. The material foundation of civilization is agriculture. In all civilized countries, agriculture is con- sidered in its two great branches,—the production of animals and the production of crops. With animals alone, a tolerably respectable barbarism may be attained, intermediate between savagery and civiliza- tion. In all ages, and especially in new communities, there is a certain antagonism between the two branches. It is a belief with many persons that the story of the first human conflict in history is an allegory of the conflict between the grower of live-stock and the tiller of the soil. That conflict goes on still between roving peoples and settled farmers ; and the story of Cain and Abel is reflected in our own peaceful times in the ‘‘fence” and “no fence” struggles in this country. When the “man with the hoe” ultimately prevails, as he always does if the climate permits, it does not mean the expulsion of the animals, but merely the restraint of the owner. MEE Zs S ; TIN, UMS nen © 0?! ype ODIOU 4 SL We PE An Zi ZAG BEY game-cock, long-tailed oriental fowl, jungle-fowl and others. THE DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS for} In this country, the economic relations of farm animals to material wealth is interesting history. In colonial times, they and their products formed a relatively small part of our foreign exports. So, too, during more than one-half of our existence as a republic, the exports of animal products constituted a small part of our agricultural exports. It is only within the last few years that the animal products have constituted such a large percentage of our home wealth and our export trade. From the nature of the case, the industry must increase with the growth of the country. Large areas are suited for pasturage which cannot be devoted to tillage. In the great areas tilled, the production of animal products will fluctuate as other products fluctuate in production, according to the rules of economics. Under present and increasing knowledge, the production will surely increase in excellence and in quantity. In considering their purely economic relations to mankind, the capital they represent, their value as property, they are so widely distributed and so vast in their numbers that the immense total can only be guessed. We have many statistics relating to the farm animals of various civilized countries,—statis- tics, so-called, but in fact statistics of only a part and estimates of the remainder. This is true not only for their numbers but also for their money value. With some kinds, as poultry, for example, while grown for their economic value, we have so little knowledge as to the actual numbers grown in the world that we have never seen so much as a guess as to the number. With other of the domestic animals useful to man, as cats and dogs, sentiment as well as use plays an important part. This is especially true of the latter animal, the most widely distributed among man- kind and of every grade of usefulness. Among certain tribes and peoples dogs are the most important part of their material wealth, their very lives depending on it. They could not exist in the country without their dogs; and so through every grade of economic use down to the pets of expensive luxury. While insignificant in size, little, perhaps, in usefulness, nevertheless the dog is sometimes rated at thousands of dollars for a single animal. So it is with various other pets also, as the canary, for example, —one of the most harmless luxuries of rich and poor alike, representing no economic use, yet whole communities living on its breeding and education. Domestic animals have played an interesting part in the religions, myths, and superstitions of man- kind. How early this relation began, we do not know. We need not trace it back before Zoroaster wrote, nor discuss the part it played-in the old civilization of Egypt and Assyria. It is enough to say that it still exists in every degree of intensity of belief, from that which considers the slaughter of sacred cattle and the eating of their flesh a most heinous sin and crime, down through every shade of belief to the innocent superstition that many persons do not like to tolerate or even to see a black cat. Its importance in some countries as a religious belief is such that it has been an excuse for war. Pedigree. A pedigree is a record of the parents and ancestors of an animal for a specified number of genera- tions, extending through all the lines of descent. In all our important breeds, ancestry has been the prime factor in their making and betterment. From the nature of the case, each breed has been a long time in the process of formation, and has been produced by the selection of parents and ancestors. For the preservation of the purity of the breeds and to enhance their excellencies, a system of record- ing the pedigrees of animals has been devised. Studbook, herdbook or register, is the general term applied to the record in which all the individual ancestors are named, while flockbook or similar term is used for the record of such classes of animals as sheep and swine, of which whole flocks may be recorded as a unit. Without the help of these or similar publications, the present excellence of most of our better breeds could never have been attained nor their excellence preserved. The greater the purity of the breed, the greater the probability of the transmission of its peculiar excellencies ; and there has been no better way devised to lessen the uncertainties of breeding, than through purity of pedigree. Varia- tion is so universal that no two animals are ever exactly alike. Some are better than others. Crossing breeds or varieties of animals promotes variation ; hence, any breed is more uniform and fixed in charac- ter than are mongrels, which represent the extreme of indiscriminate crossing. Among the latter we sometimes find an animal very much better than its parents and the average of its ancestors; but it rarely or never transmits its excellencies to the majority of its offspring. The keeping of studbooks for horses began with that of the English Thoroughbred in 1808. With cattle, the Shorthorn herdbook was begun in 1820. At the present time, similar publications are issued for many breeds and species of farm animals. The aim of all is the same: To make the breed more uni- form, to improve it until it reaches the highest practical excellence, and to increase the proportion of animals in it which reach an excellence near the highest. THE PLACH OF THE DOMESTIC THE PLACE OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION By Thomas F. Hunt Domestic animals may be considered in three aspects, namely, (1) their relation to human de- velopment, (2) the extent and progress of animal husbandry in the United States, and (8) the relation of domestic animals to farm management. Figs. 6— 17 suggest some of the animals and their uses that are closely related to human development. (1) Animals in their relation to human development. Animals as a primary motor.—lf one visits a certain farm along the Olentangy river in Delaware ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION 7 paratively inefficient llama and alpaca, the peoples of America failed to develop as did those in the Old World. Domestic animals are a prime requisite of civilization. Man has developed just as rapidly as he has been able to subjugate the forces of nature to his own use. Working alone and unaided, man would have a sorry existence. By the aid of domes- tic animals he has been able to increase his produc- tive power. Formerly, transportation that was not by boat was largely on the backs of animals, the draft animal being chiefly used at the plow. Since the moving of commodities has come to be done largely on wheels, and since coal, oil and gas have been applied to the moving of wheeled vehicles, and more recently a large application of falling water through electric transmission to the same purpose, the use of animals as a motive power has declined rela- tively. Notwithstanding the tremendous improvements in transportation by means of mechanical motors which took place in the last half of the last century in the United States, the number of horses in proportion to population has not changed materi- ally. This is more significant in view of the fact that so much larger proportion of the population now lives in cities. The following table Fig. 6. Dogs as a primary motor. county, Ohio, he will find other evidences of a former race of people than that indicated by the good Indian names. Here may be seen a large circular embankment which, in connection with a bend in the river, encloses perhaps twenty- five acres of land. The high bluff, which here con- stitutes the bend in the river, suggests the use to which it may have been put, especially as no other such vantage ground exists for miles around. The large embankment, several feet in height and width, now entirely overgrown with timber, re- quired a large amount of labor in its construction. A building contractor, who appreciates the amount of work required to move a small amount of earth, remarked that it would take a great deal of labor with teams and scrapers to make such an embank- ment. The reply was that the people who made this embankment did not have teams, much less scrapers, with which to do the work. These North American Indians built their fortifications, as well as their mounds, without draft animals or beasts of burden. While the Indian was not lacking in native ability or even a consider- able degree of intelligence, it may be confidently asserted that, under such conditions, he never would have developed beyond the stage of bar- barism. Because there were on the gives the number of horses and mules in the United States, exclu- sive of those in cities, the popula- tion of the United States, and the number of per- sons in the United States for each horse or mule kept on farms : H ear jon’ Persons per mules, millions| millions” |R0rS® or mule 1850... 4.9 23.2 4.8 1860... TA 31.4 4.2 WO oo 6 8.2 38.6 AT ISSOM- are 12.2 50.2 Al NERO 6 a 6 17.6 62.6 3.6 1900 . 20.0 75.6 3.8 The fact that horses continue in as large num- bers as ever, relative to population, is due to a well American continent no domestic ani- mals except the dog and the com- SORT Fig. 7. Reindeer as a primary motor. 8 THE PLACE OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION known attribute of human progress. The activities of man increase with his ability and his opportuni- ties. A number of instances have been reported in | Fig. 8. Camel as beast of burden. which better and cheaper parallel transportation has been provided without reducing materially the transportation on the original road. The better and cheaper facilities not only cause more people to travel but also the same people to travel more often. Every invention which enables mechanical power to supplant animal power is a distinct advantage to society. The great advancement in material wealth in recent times has been due largely to the increased application to the world’s work of the stored up carbon derived from coal, oil and gas. It is not probable, however, that these improved methods will supplant horse-power. They will merely augment man’s resources. Animals as a source of clothing.—Animals have enabled man to conquer nature not only by adding their force to his relatively weak body, but they have furnished him clothing which has made it possible for him to extend his habitat. The exten- sive cultivation of cotton, which came about in the nineteenth century, has made wool and silk rela- tively less important, but it may be doubted whether the demand for leather was ever greater Fig. 10. The dog as a working animal. “A dog of Flanders.” than at the present time. In this age of substitu- tions there have been few attempts to supplant leather. Although relatively less extensively used than formerly, silk and wool possess qualities found in no other fiber. Flax has suffered more than silk and wool from the competition of cotton. Animals as a source of food.—Much the larger part of the vegetation which grows on the earth’s surface is unsuited for human consumption. Ac- cording to the United States Census in 1900, only 12 per cent of the land surface in this country was cultivated in any other crop than grass; therefore 88 per cent of the land area was either woodland, grassland, or waste land. Of the 12 per cent in farm and garden crops other than grass, 10 per cent was in cereals. A large part of these cereal grains and parts of the straw and stover are con- verted int~ milk, butter, cheese, meat or animal fats. As an example, over 80 per cent of all the corn raised in the United States is consumed in the county in which it is raised, a large part of this being fed locally to the domestic animals. Not only do animals add to the quantity of available food, but it must be admitted that their flesh and other products have added greatly to the quality of man’s dietary. Among all the food products of Fig. 9. Bactrian, or two-humped camel. man, none are more efficient or more refined than dairy and poultry products. The domestication of animals has also added to human progress by increasing the stability of the food supply. Like grain elevators in primary markets, domestic animals are storehouses of food to be called on when soil products are temporarily limited, and allowed gradually to accumulate when these products are plentiful. A nation in which a considerable part of its food supply is stored in meat-giving animals seldom suffers from famine. Animals as civilizing agents.— While domestic animals have occupied such an important role in advancing the material welfare of the human race, they have not been less important to our spiritual ,, Welfare. Whether animals are kept merely as /, companions (pets) or as slaves (for labor, clothing -. and food), they compel habits of care and responsi- bility and inculeate habits of merey. Such habits are essential to the highest success in the rearing of dumb animals. These habits, together with the sympathetic influences involved, in all ages, have THE PLACE OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION 9 had and still continue to have, an elevating and civilizing influence. Shaler puts it thus: “Té is perhaps too much to attribute the advance of the agricultural classes of our civilized peoples, in all that serves to remove them from the brutal- ity of their savage ancestors, altogether to the nature of their work,—to the very large element of kindly care for which it calls, and which is the price of success in the occupation. Yet when we note the immediate way in which the people bred in cities, under circumstances of excitement are wont to behave like savages of the lower kind, showing in their conduct a lack of all sympa- thetic education, and contrast their behavior with that of their kinsmen from the field, we see essential differences in character which cannot well be explained save by the diverse natures of the training which the men have received. Thus, in the French Revolution, the baser, more inhu- man deeds were not committed by the peasants, who had been the principal suf- ferers under the régime which was over- thrown, but by the people of the great towns who had been less oppressed by the iniquities of the old system of govern- ment. “Tf it be true, as my personal experi- ences and observations lead me firmly to believe is the case, that man’s contact with the domesticated animals has been and is ever to be one of the most effective means whereby his sympathetic, his civil- ; ized motives may be broadened and affirmed, there is clearly reason for giving to this side of life a larger share of attention than it has received.” Characters essential to domestication.— Besides having the ability to make effective use of the available food and render this food into products or service useful to man, animals must possess other characters to be domesticated. The most obvious of these characters are readiness with which they become subject to the will of man and their ability to breed freely and abundantly in cap- tivity. The elephant is much more easily brought under the will of man than the lion or the jaguar, the horse than the zebra, the ox than the rhi- noceros. Although one of the most intelligent of animals, probably because his brain has been trained in guiding his proboscis just as man’s brain has been trained through the necessity of guiding his hands, the elephant has never been domesticated, and man has always depended on taking him into captivity from the wild state. The reason for this practice is that the elephant has seldom been known to breed in captivity. Further, an elephant is not matured until thirty years of age. Useful domestic animals breed freely in captivity and are fairly prolific. (2) The extent and progress of animal husbandry. Extent.—Practically every farm in the United States keeps domestic animals of some kind, either for their labor or their products, or both, and nearly every household in the land keeps one or more animals for companionship. On about one- Fig. 11. third of the farms of the United States, constitut- ing 47 per cent of the total farm area, 40 per cent or more of the gross income was in 1900 from animals or animal products. The total value of farm products produced in the United States was in round numbers $3,000,000,000, of which $1,000- 000,000 was fed to live-stock. The value of ani- mals and animal products sold and animals slaught- ered on the farm was approximately $1,750,000,- 000. The value of animal products, therefore, is only slightly less than the soil products not directly Use of lamas as beasts of burden. South America. fed to animals on the farm. Animals sold and slaughtered were valued at $900,000,000, dairy products at $472,000,000, and poultry and eggs at $180,000,000. Increase in production.—For purposes of com- parison, the statistics concerning domestic animals are unsatisfactory both because the basis of enumeration has varied and because it is uncertain just what the basis has been at different times. The Twelfth Census is probably the most complete and accurate enumeration of domestic animals that has ever been made, and hence some apparent in- crease in numbers may be attributed to this greater completeness of enumeration. Taking the census figures as they stand during the last half of the last century, horses and mules have increased about four times, neat cattle about three times, milch cows rather less and other cattle rather more than three times, while sheep and swine have each doubled in numbers in the fifty years. The popula- tion in the same period increased about three and one-third times. Considering horses, mules and cattie as units, and assuming five sheep and five hogs to be a unit, in 1850 there were 1.4 animal units per capita, while in 1900 there were 1.2 animal units per inhabitant. Improvement.— While animals have increased about three times in numbers in fifty years, in value they have increased six times. In the same way, while the number of animals in proportion to farm area was the same in 1900 as in 1850, the value has doubled in proportion of the area of the land in farms. Perhaps part of this increase in 10 THE PLACE OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION value is due to the greater cost of producing ani- mals, but, without question, it is in part due to the greater intrinsic worth of the animals. In 1850, sheep in this country produced 2.4 pounds of wool per fleece; in 1900 they produced 6.9 pounds per fleece. While in fifty years sheep have not quite doubled in numbers, the amount of wool produced has increased more than five times. A large part of this improvement in wool production is due to breeding and not to feeding, and offers one of the most striking illustrations of the economic applica- tion of the principles of breeding. This constitutes a present to society on the part of American breeders annually greater than the combined chari- ties of the captains of industry. The increase per cow in the production of milk, and more particu- larly of butter-fat, in the same period would hardly be less striking if statistics existed to show it. When the first American Fat Stock Show was instituted in Chicago in 1878, prizes were offered for four-year-old steers. Today, no Fat Stock Show in America offers premiums for a steer that has reached the age of three years. If animals can be matured in their third instead of their fifth year, it is obvious that a much less number of animals must be kept on the farm in order to supply the same number for slaughter. In 1848, Randall, writing of Cleveland Bay horses, then recently imported to America, spoke of them as enormously large horses. With the importation of Louis Napo- leon into Ohio in 1351, the breeding of draft horses began in earnest in this country. The ordinary farm horse in America today is probably 25 per cent more effective than it was then. In riding thirty miles on a railway train in northern Illinois recently, twenty-five teams were observed working on the land. Two were two-horse teams, six were four-horse teams, and the remainder were three- horse teams. Thirty-five years ago in this region the common team was a pair of thousand-pound horses ; today it consists of three horses weighing nearer 1,500 pounds each. This is an important factor in the economy of production and hence has materially influenced the price of land in that region. ‘ Comparative progress:—While animals have not kept pace with the population in numbers, they have probably done so in intrinsic worth. Notwithstanding, the production of domestic animals has not kept pace with that of farm crops. Furthermore, the number of animals kept in the United States is much less per land area than in older countries. For example, in the United States there are nine acres of land, of which four and a half acres are improved, per animal unit, while in Great Britain there is one animal unit for every two and a half acres. Recent progress.—It may be of interest to note the trend in numbers and values in recent years. The following table gives the estimates of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1897 and 1907, of the num- ber and value of farm animals. These figures are estimates and not the result of enumera- tion. There is reason to think that part of the increase shown in the table is the result of changes in the basis of making the esti- mates rather than actual changes in the num- ber and value of the animals themselves : ieee Value, in millions 1897 1907 1897 1907 Horses and mules} 17 23 $550 00] $2,275 00 Milch cows. . .| 15 21 370 00 645 00 Other cattle . .| 31 52 508 00 882 00 Sheepis «2/3 5 37 53 67 00 204 00 Swine olin 41 55 166 00 418 00 141 204 /$1,661 00} $4,424 00 This table shows a marked increase in the num- ber of all classes of domestic animals during the decade, and the still more marked increase in values. Of this enormous increase in values—some- what more than two and a half times in ten years— none is more surprising than that in horses and mules, which have, in the period named, increased over four times in value, while increasing 35 per cent in numbers. Future progress.—The economic conditions inci- dent +o a rapidly increasing farm area have led toa distribution of domestic animals which is not likely to continue. While the white man has been subdu- ing the North American continent, a large part of the meat- and wool-producing animals have been reared on soil still untouched by the plow. In 1875, about 65 per cent of the live-stock of the United States was reared east of the Mississippi river; fif- teen years later, less than 38 per cent. In 1875, only 7 per cent of the live-stock was reared on the ranches of the far West; fifteen years later one-fifth of all live-stock was raised in this territory. Over this vast area, cattle and sheep have been reared without cost for land and at a trifling expense for labor. It was in 1805 that beef cattle first reached an THE PLACE OF THE DOMESTIC eastern market from beyond the Allegheny moun- tains. From that time until very recently, govern- ment land, or land on which conditions are similar, has constituted the cattle and sheep pasture of the nation. Here most of the sheep and many of the beef cattle have been reared, large numbers of which have been subsequently fattened on farms where hay and grain have been produced cheaply and in abundance. The reason for rearing meat and wool on these areas has not been due to their natural adaptation to the production of grass, but to the uncapitalized condition of the land and to the fact that animals could be cared for in large numbers, therefore at little expense for labor. During the last century, the farmers in the culti- vated areas in the older section of the country have suffered not alone because of the lack of profit from the rearing of domestic animals, but also because the cultivated areas have decreased in the crop-producing power from the lack of sufficient numbers of domestic animals. There is every evidence that the number of domestic animals kept on a cultivated area has begun to increase in recent years. As the country develops internally, rather than tangentially, and as the capital invested in land and improvements becomes somewhat equalized, the breeding and rearing of young animals may be expected to develop in those regions where the soil and climate especially favor the growth of grass and forage crops. Those regions where cereals are produced cheaply and in great abundance will furnish the materials for fattening the cattle. (8) The relation of domestic animals to farm man- agement. (a) Purposes and advantages of keeping live- stock:—(1) Animals furnish labor and food on the farm. Even when it is not considered profit- able to rear domestic animals for sale, the cost of living on the farm may be reduced by the judicious production of the home food supply. The number of acres of land that can be cultivated by each horse manifestly depends on the character of the farming, the character of the soil and the topography of the land. In England it is estimated that two horses will cultivate eighty acres of light and sandy soil and sixty acres of heavy or clay soil. In the United States it appears that one horse or mule of working age is kept for every thirty acres of improved land. The horses are kept not only for their labor but also for breeding purposes. Formerly a considerable number of oxen were kept as draft animals on the farm, and even today about one animal in twenty-five kept for draft purposes is an ox. While, as a draft animal, the power which an ox can exert is relatively large in proportion to his weight, the slowness of his movement has caused him to be discarded with the increasing value of human labor. (2) Animals make use of land that would other- wise be wholly or partly unproductive. Such, for example, is land next streams, land partially Fig. 13. Use of water-buffalo in plowing for rice. ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION 11 covered with trees, and land too hilly or too stony to cultivate. Even today only one-half of the farm area in the United States is improved land, and only two-thirds of the improved land is in farm crops, including meadows. The other third of the improved land, and a considerable part of the un- improved land, are utilized as pasture for domestic animals. (8) They make use of farm crops which would be wholly or partly wasted. For example, straw, corn-stalks, clover, alfalfa and many other legumi- nous forage crops would not have sufficient value to pay for raising, if animals were not kept to con- vert them into useful products. (4) Animals act as machines for manufacturing raw materials which are coarse and bulky into finished products which are more concentrated and valuable. It takes ten pounds of dry matter to pro- duce a pound of beef, and thirty pounds of dry mat- ter to produce a pound of butter. The farmer not only has the profit which comes from the manufac- turing of this thirty pounds of raw material into one pound of butter, but, while the butter may be sent a thousand miles to market, it might not be pro- fitable to ship ten miles the products from which the butter is made. (5) In manufacturing these finer products, ani- mals leave much fertilizing material on the farm. In fattening animals the experiments of Lawes and Gilbert show conclusively that more than nine pounds out of every ten of the essential fertilizing ingredients of the food reappear in the solid and liquid excrement. A Flemish proverb reads: “No grass, no cattle, No cattle, no manure, No manure, no crop”; or, as Prothero says, “Farming in a circle, unlike logic, is a productive process.” Philippines. (6) Live-stock enabies a farmer to arrange more readily a good rotation of crops. So far as main- taining the fertility of the land is concerned, and reducing the cost of production, a five-course rota- tion is better than a four-course, and a six-course is better than a five-course rotation. It enables the farmer to keep a larger proportion of his land in 12 THE PLACE OF THE DOMESTIC grass and clover, thus requiring less plowing; it enables him to keep each piece of land longer in grass and thus reduce the exhaustion of his land, provided these products are fed to live-stock on the farm. . Use of oxen in haying. (7) Animals enable the farmer to make a more constant use of his capital. The wheat-farmer in North Dakota sows his wheat in April and May, and harvests and threshes it in July and August, and is practically without employment for himself, his men or his teams from September 1 to April 1. When live-stock is kept, the labor that is used in the summer to raise crops is needed in the winter to care for the animals. The teams and tools are also more constantly used. (8) The management of live-stock and the manipu- lation of dairy products, and the rearing of poultry, may be made to require higher skill than the ordi- nary extensive production of farm crops. The prod- uct of skilled workmen always commands higher return than that of unskilled workmen. In this country the communities that have given the most attention to live-stock have in general been the most prosperous, although to this there are some exceptions. (9) It is interesting to observe that with certain methods of farm management more land can be farmed with the same labor when live-stock is kept than when almost exclusively hay-and-grain- farming is practiced. This is the case when sheep are grazed over large areas, or when beef cattle are reared, especially young animals. The War of the Roses in England so reduced the laboring population of Great Britain as to cause a revolution in the agriculture of the island, the raising of live-stock taking the place of grain-farming. The land was en- closed, and, in consequence, the communal use of land largely, if not wholly dis- appeared. On the other hand, the keeping of live-stock may greatly increase the amount of labor required to manage a farm, especially when dairy cattle are kept, and when partial or complete soiling is practiced. ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION (b) Disadvantages of keeping live-stock.— (1) It requires large capital. This is especially true when animals are kept as usual in connection with the production of hay and grain. Ona 160- acre farm, forty head of cattle, worth $1,500, forty head of sheep, worth $2U0, and ,twenty hogs, worth $100, may be kept and the farm made to raise the necessary food for them. This increases the capital required $1,800, as practically the same other capital would be required for the production of hay and grain. In addition to the capital for live-stock, usu- ally more capital must be invested in farm buildings. In a self-contained farm, that is, one which raises food enough for the animals kept, ten dollars an acre may be considered a moderate investment for live-stock. If, how- ever, the farm is to raise only the coarse feed and the necessary grain is largely purchased, a farm may easily carry twenty-five to thirty- five dollars’ worth of live-stock per acre. (2) This live-stock capital is of a perish- able nature. Not only the products of a sin- gle year but all the capital may be destroyed by disease. Thus, not only may several crops be lost but also the capital invested in producing these crops, which has been the accumulation of years. Tuberculosis in cattle, cholera in hogs and liver rot in sheep are striking examples. Formerly, many farmers kept one hundred hogs where now they keep only twenty-five or fifty, because they dare not take the risk of disease. (8) Products when grown cannot be indefinitely held. If held for a better market they must often be held at an expense. Cold storage and the pres- ervation of meats have lessened this difficulty slightly, but there is still a great difference be- tween animal products and the cereals, which can be held for long periods, either by the farmer or in great elevators of primary markets. (4) A scarcity of food and consequent rise in Fig. 15. A still frequent use of animals as motive power. THE PLACE OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION 13 price of hay and grain may cause a loss instead of a gain from feeding. Many illustrations of this fact could be quoted. For example, in 1890 a de- crease of about 30 per cent in the yield of grain caused an increase in the price of over 50 per cent, so that if the whole crop could have been sold it would have brought more than the crop of the pre- vious year. Facts like these have frequently caused people to assert that, although society suf- fered, the farmers were benefited by a short crop. Fortunately, this is not the fact, because only about 20 per cent of the corn is sold by farmers, and when there was a decrease of 30 per cent many farmers not only had no corn to sell but they either had to purchase corn or use other crops, such as oats, which they would otherwise have sold. \Y\ Nn Nil yf weighing 125 to 250 pounds, followed three steers or heifers on a two-acre pasture. The cattle were fed shelled corn liberally but the pigs were given none. The pigs made a gain of a little more than a half pound per day, and when subsequently put on full feed made in one trial a gain of nearly seven- teen pounds for one bushel of corn, while in general about eleven pounds of pork are produced from a bushel of shelled corn. Second, swine are noted for their prolificacy. Ten sows, worth $100 to $150, are sufficient to produce 100 pigs; 75 to 80 ewes, worth $300 to $500, will be required to produce an equal number of lambs; 110 cows, worth $4,500 to $5,500, to produce 100 calves; and 200 mares, worth $20,000 to $30,000, to produce 100 foals. To put it in another way, the capital invested in Hy I) a UN SA ine SS (| WY es eA), WAN aig WN ee WN ee BGS Fig. 16. (c) Cost of producing live-stock—In estimating the amount of food required to carry live-stock through the year for the purpose of determining what part of a crop may be sold, twenty-five pounds of dry matter per day may be allowed for each thousand pounds of live-weight of horses, cattle and sheep, and forty pounds per thousand pounds of swine; or, in calculating the amount of food required for swine it may be more convenient to do so on the basis of the increase in live-weight, allowing five pounds of dry matter for each pound of increase. Cost of producing hogs.—Pigs are unique in two particulars: (1) They are usually fed on concentrated foods only, and (2) they produce nothing but meat and fat. From cows we get milk, in addition, from sheep, wool, and from poultry, eggs. Because of this limited range of usefulness and because of the high value of much of the food consumed, it would not be possible economically to rear swine were it not for two characters which they possess. First, the pig is ascavenger. Many corn-fed cattle of the central West are fed without direct profit. The profit comes from the pigs which follow the cattle. In many other ways pigs use up products which would otherwise be wasted. In an experiment at the Illinois Station during two seasons, two pigs, Simmenthaler oxen. The best draft type of cattle. pigs may be reproduced in the offspring ten times in one year, the capital invested in horses perhaps once in five years. In general, 500 pounds of corn will produce 100 pounds of pork, which is equiv- alent to eleven pounds of pork from a bushel of corn. Since hogs are so largely produced from corn, the relation between the price of corn and the price of pork is very intimate. For example, when corn is worth fifty cents a bushel, the food required to produce a pound of increase will be about five cents; for forty cents a bushel, four cents ; and-for thirty cents a bushel, three cents ; and so on. Relative cost of producing sheep and swine. — In experiments at the Wisconsin Station it was found that the expense of producing a pound of increase in sheep was less than in swine because of the less expensive character of the food. It was also found that sheep required less food per pound of gain than steers. These agree with Lawes’ and Gilbert’s experiments, who found that eleven pounds of increase in sheep and nine pounds in steers were obtained for every 100 pounds of dry matter eaten. Comparative cost of producing meat and milk. —American experiments show that 100 pounds of dry matter will produce ten pounds of increase in 14 THE PLACE OF THE DOMESTIC steers, or, when fed to cows, seventy-four pounds of milk containing three and one-fourth pounds of butter-fat plus one pound of increase. In general, therefore, the food required to produce a pound of butter-fat is about three times that required to produce a pound of increase in steers. So far as food consumed is concerned, therefore, assuming it to be of equal quality, steers at five cents a pound would be equivalent to butter-fat at fifteen cents per pound. If butter-fat sells at thirty cents a pound, half the income may be charged to labor or profit. By selling butter-fat at thirty cents a pound instead of steers at five cents a pound, the gross in- come per acre of the farm may be doubled; or, what is perhaps more to the point, when animals are kept for the produc- tion of meat instead S of the production of butter-fat the farm area should be doub- led. Cost of producing milk and_ butter- fat. — Well - selected and properly fed grade cows may be expected to produce 240 pounds of butter- fat annually. This is equivalent to 8,000 pounds of 3 per cent milk, 6,000 pounds of 4 per cent milk, or a trifle less than 5,000 pounds of 5 per cent milk. If each cow is dry six weeks, the daily average of the herd in milk will be three-quarters of a pound of butter-fat per day. Occasional herds will make a daily average of .9 of a pound of fat, but this requires superior cattle, careful feeding and more than ordinary care. The standard ration for milch cows weighing 1,000 to 1,200 pounds is twenty-five pounds of dry matter, two-thirds of which is digest- ible material containing not less than two pounds of digestible protein. In ordinary practice, about ten pounds of dry material of the ration is secured from corn silage, nine pounds from hay and about six pounds from grain or other concentrates. In general, this is obtained by feeding thirty-five pounds of corn silage, ten pounds of hay and seven to eight pounds of concentrates. In general, the silage may be estimated at one-tenth of a cent a pound, hay at one-fourth to one-half a cent per pound and concentrates at three-quarters to one and a quarter cent per pound, although these prices will vary somewhat with the different sec- tions of the country. The amount of food needed will vary with the size of the cow, although not in direct proportion to weight, and should be varied more largely in proportion to the milk and butter-fat produced. Careful feeders vary the amount of concentrates fed to the individual Fig. 17. Horseman with panniers, showing method of riding. Porto Rico. ANIMAL IN OUR CIVILIZATION animals in the herd, although maintaining substan- tially the general averages given above. Cost of maintaining work horses.—The cost of maintaining work horses depends both on the size of the horses and on the work done. Since the work capable of being done varies greatly with horses of different size, and since the work which horses of the same size are called on to do often varies greatly, the amount of food consumed is perhaps more variable than that of any other class of domestic animals. In general, horses weighing 1,200 to 1,500 pounds consume twelve to eighteen pounds of grain, ten to twenty pounds of hay at full work and half the amount of grain when idle. The expense of each day’s labor depends not alone on yearly expense but on the number of days of labor. At the Ohio State University, a record was kept in order to determine the number of days of labor performed, as well as the cost of food con- sumed and other expenses. It was found that four draft-horses, averaging a little less than 1,400 pounds each, performed 2,185 hours of labor per year, and that four horses weighing 1,225 pounds averaged 1,641 hours. The average work done for the horses was thus about 200 days per horse, equivalent to two-thirds of the secular days of the year or about six and two-thirds hours per day for each secular day of the year. Taking no account of three colts, one two-year old and two sucklings, the average cost of care, including feeding, groom- ing, harnessing and cleaning stables was $23.50. The cost of shoeing, repairs on harness and stable supplies was $6.50, and the cost of food $54, making the average total expense of keeping each horse $84 per year, not counting interest on the investment of stables, horses or harness, nor anything for depreciation of horses through age. It is possible that under ordinary conditions the growth of the three colts may more than cover the latter point. As each horse worked approximately 200 days per year, the average cost of each day’s work was a trifle less than 42 cents. At the Minnesota Station, the total cost of feeding and maintaining a farm work horse for one year, including interest on investment and depreciation, was estimated to be $75 to $90, of which about $20 was charged for interest and depreciation. On the basis of 3.3 hours for the length of the working day, the cost per horse per hour was estimated at seven and a half cents. Literature. The references to literature on this subject are neither numerous nor direct. N.S. Shaler, Domes- ticated Animals, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York; R. H. Thurston, The Animal as a Machine and a Prime Motor, and the Laws of Energetics, John Wiley & Sons; Rowland E. Prothero, The Pio- neers and Progress of English Farming, Longmans, Green & Co., London (1888); Report of the Twelfth Census of the United States (1900), Vol. V, Part I, pp. exliii-eexxxvi; L. H. Bailey, Principles of Agriculture, Macmillan Co., New York (1901); H. C. Taylor, An Introduction to the Study of Agricultural Economics, Macmillan Co. (1905). CHAPTER II PHYSIOLOGY OF THE ANIMAL HYSIOLOGY IS THE SCIENCE OF THE PROCESSES OF LIFE. A knowledge of it underlies all rational sreatment of animals and plants. Very little funda- mental knowledge of physis!ogical laws and phenomena has been available to the farmer, and he has been greatly handicapped thereby. Lacking this foun- dation and a point of view, his attempts to explain what he has seen have too often followed his prejudices and the traditions that have come down to him. It is not necessary that the layman’s knowledge of physiology be deep, but it should be rational: that is, whether much or little, it should be founded on fact and be true as far as it goes, his mind should be free of prejudice, and his point of view should be correct. But in order that the public point of view may be rational, somebody must delve for the fundamental facts. We are greatly in need of a recognized body of leaders in these matters, who shall shape public opinion. There are already many such men, but not enough as yet to fertilize the agricultural mind. The farmers are willing to learn and to accept sound doctrine. The necessity, therefore, is for a more liberal organization and support of chairs and institutions that shall be devoted to research into the central facts of physiology, as well of plants as of animals. The study of animal physiology is involved in special difficulties because of the fact that animals are what may be regarded as personalities and because experimental physiology demands large numbers of animals and extensive quarters. Physiology is not merely the study of the vital processes within the animal body, as text-books would lead us to think: it is quite as much a study of the whole life relation. Life processes express themselves in welfare. This welfare is the result not only of alimen- tation and reproduction, and the processes of the internal organs; it results also from the whole relation or reaction of the animal to heat and cold, to altitude, to contest with fellows and to the habits of life that are imposed upon it. Heology, or the study of habits and seasons of animals and plants, is properly a department of physiology. All good artificial breeding must proceed on a knowledge of physiological laws. It will be seen, therefore, that the study of physiology has a broader significance than merely to enable us to understand the nature and treatment of disease. Veterinary instruction, as ordinarily conceived, covers chiefly the pathological phases of physiology, much as the instruction in human medi- cine has looked to the treatment of disease more than to the preservation of health. Veterinary colleges range themselves with medical colleges rather than with agricultural colleges, and their chief purpose seems to have been to turn out practitioners. This is well, but veterinary practice is of right only a means to an end: the end is the welfare of the animal industries. It is to be expected that the association of veterinary colleges in the future will be with colleges of agriculture as well as with colleges of medicine. In fact, this association is already working itself out in the veterinary departments of colleges of agriculture; these departments may not train veter- inary practitioners, but they align their subject directly with agricultural welfare. It is certainly worth while to give all agricultural students a point of view on animal health and disease and to instruct them in the methods of handling common ailments and accidents, although there are those who fear that all knowledge of this kind, short of a degree in veterinary medicine or its equivalent, is dangerous. It is a fact that most stockmen will handle a certain part of the treatment of their animals themselves anyhow, and it is better that they have some instruction. It is due all stockmen that they be afforded the opportunity to receive instruction that will enable them to handle their herds; and it is not true that partial training is worse than no training. All training, even the best, is partial or fragmentary. (15) 16 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE ANIMAL On the other hand, there has never been so great need as now for well-trained professional veter- inaries. The animal husbandries are expanding; intercommunication is spreading parasites and diseases ; the value of individual animals is increasing; the relations of live-stock to public health are being understood ; governmental regulation is extending. A few colleges have set the mark for very high attainments in the veterinary profession, and this idea should spread. The training of the veterinary physician should be every bit as good as that of other physicians and should be enforced by equally rigid statutes. The endowments of these schools or colleges of veterinary science need to be much increased. The office of the well-educated veterinarian is only beginning to be appreciated. He will exert great influence on public health and on agriculture. The point is that all farmers should be put in touch with the real facts in regard to the main physiological laws and phenomena, that a person can be of great service to himself by knowing some- thing of the treatment of his herds, and that there should be over all a larger body than now of highly trained veterinary physicians. There is need that the formal etiquette of the medical profession do not handicap the welfare work of a good veterinary practitioner by forcing him into mere profes- sionalism, nor of a good veterinary college by preventing it from engaging in some kinds of extension work. The veterinary profession needs to range itself very closely with agriculture, rather than too closely with medicine, if it is to accomplish the greatest good for the people. The profession will grow in power in proportion as it aids directly in the development of the live-stock interests, not only in subjects of disease but also of sanitation and in its influence in developing the right conditions under which animals may be reared. From the point of view of the state, animal physiology and pathology are primarily agricultural subjects. If these various results are to be secured, it follows that instruction in physiology should begin long before the student enters college. The point of view on physiology should be established in earliest youth, inasmuch as the first concern of every person is to live; and but very few persons have the opportunity of going to college. The very general lack of any sound understanding of the commonest physiological laws is evidenced in the wide extent of the medicine habit. If only a bottle has a reassuring label, persons will immediately deposit the contents in their stomachs without the least knowledge of what the stuff contains and in the sublimest faith in its possibilities. This is a most astonishing mental attitude, but so common that we do not challenge it. It is astonishing that we should consider a medicine to be a sufficient antidote or corrective to the plain faults of the daily living. [Consult the editorial on pages 278, 279, in Vol. I.] The ordinary school teaching of physiology is not likely to put a pupil into real touch with the common necessities of his daily life: it is likely to be a reflection of the physician’s anatomy and physiology. The teaching of physiology that is enforced by organizations, whereby great emphasis is placed on the injuries of certain substances, is likely to be partisan, and to that extent is peda- gogically unsound. All partisanship should be eliminated from school teaching: science is impartial. The fact is, that knowledge of physiology should be the natural result of the teaching of plants and animals. The farm youth should have a distinct advantage here, for his whole experience is an experiment in making animals and plants to thrive. We have been teaching fragmentary views of “botany” and “zodlogy,” but we should teach animals and plants in such a way that the pupil shall have a real conception of the processes of life. When the farmer once realizes that his daily experi- ence with his live-stock may constitute a real study in physiology, he ought to arrive at a new point of view on the means of studying himself and of caring for his body. If a person once gains an understanding of the underlying laws of physiology, his common practice with his animals will be rational. He will see, for example, that bovine tuberculosis is not occult and is not a matter of course or of chance. There are certain conditions that make it pos- sible for the disease to spread, and these conditions can be overcome. He will see, then, that the mere slaughtering of all tuberculous animals will not stop the disease, any more than the death of all patients in a tropical seaport will annihilate yellow fever. All the conditions and circumstances under which the animals are kept must be made sanitary, and the elimination of the disease will proceed with the increase in care. This care will include the destruction of animals that are dan- gerously diseased, the control of commerce in infected animals, and the isolation of infected and suspicious cases. The control of tuberculosis, as of other diseases, is a question of rational popular education rather than of statutes. PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 17 PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS By S. J. J. Harger The exploitation of live-stock is one of the great sources of national wealth. By means of special precautions by the breeder in selecting and mat- ing animals, economic feeding and farming, good hygiene and proper surroundings, the domestic breeds have been much improved. To act on the animal organism so as to increase its productive- ness, develop special qualities and create new breeds, requires some knowledge of the natural functions of the body. Digestion. The animal body is constantly excreting certain waste products representing wear and tear. To ' maintain the nutritive balance, this expenditure must be replaced by nutrients elaborated from the food. The principal nutritive ingredients in all food-stuffs are proteids,—represented by albumen and its derivatives,—starches and sugars, cellulose in the diet of herbivora, and fats. These must undergo certain transformations for absorption and assimilation. Preparation of food. Mouth digestion. Mastica- - tion.—Mastication is performed principally by the molar teeth or grinders, the jaws being moved by powerful muscles. The surface of the grinders is flat and roughened. The jaws in herbivora move from side to side. The food is chewed on only one set of lateral grinders at a time, and this may continue in the horse for an hour. When the muscles become tired the action is reversed. Unilateral mastication is possible because the upper jaw is wider than the lower and the apposi- tion of the teeth such that the inner edge of the upper and the outer edge of the lower molars are worn most. Thus, the external and internal borders of the molars, respectively, become long and sharp and may require filing or “floating.” A horse re- quires two and one-half hours to chew ten pounds of hay, the jaws moving eighty times per minute ; one pound of hay makes sixty-five boluses. In the pig, dog and cat, mastication is chopping; the teeth overlap and a perfect hinge-joint unites the lower jaw to the skull. Mastication mixes the food and saliva, facilitates swallowing and, by crushing the hard envelopes of the food particles, prepares them for action of digestive juices. Hay absorbs four times its weight of saliva, and oats an equal weight. Swallowing.—In swallowing or deglutition, the tongue forces the bolus into the back part of the mouth and squirts it into the pharynx. Here it is grasped by the constrictor muscles and passed into the esophagus or gullet. Its downward course can be seen best in the left side of the neck. The food cannot pass into the larynx and wind- pipe for the following reasons: Muscles close the opening (glottis) of the larynx by adducting the vocal cords and arytenoid cartilages, breathing and swallowing at the same time being impossible; the base of the tongue pushes the epiglottis, like a lid, over the opening; certain muscles pull the larynx forward under the tongue. The muscle C2 movements of swallowing are controlled by a swallowing center in the brain. The pharynx of the ox, sheep and goat is very capacious and very large objects can be swallowed. Saliva.—The saliva is a watery opalescent fluid secreted by three principal salivary glands,—the parotid on the side of the throat below the ear, the submaxillary and the sublingual between the branches of the lower jaw. These discharge their secretion into the mouth by special ducts. In the Fig. 18. Transverse section through body of horse, as seen from behind. a, Abdominal surface of the diaphragm; b, bi, bu, lobes of the liver; c, right broad ligament; d, round ligament; e, glandular part of stomach; e,, non-glandular part of stomach, ‘blind sac’’; ey. pylorus; f, duodenum; g, vight kidney; h, spleen; 7. left kidney; k, splenic liga- ment; m, cut edge of splenic ligament; n, pancreas; 7, left pancreatic lobe; ny. right pancreatic lobe; 0, portal vein; p, aorta; 7, inferior vena cava. horse 84 and in the ox 112 pounds are secreted in twenty-four hours (M. Smith). The saliva assists (1) in swallowing. (2) It contains a soluble ferment (ptyalin) that converts the starch of the food into sugar (maltose) and, in the horse, converts cane-sugar into grape-sugar (glucose). This amylolytic action, beginning in the mouth, is continued in the stomach until arrested by the hydrochloric-acid acidity of this organ. The salivas of the pig, dog, sheep, horse and ox possess this property in the order named. (Ellenberger). When the saliva is diverted, swal- lowing is difficult and the animal loses flesh. Stomach digestion.—The stomach of the horse has a capacity of twelve to fifteen quarts. In the left compartment (cardia), the mucous lining is non-secretory ; in the right (pyloric) side it is vel- vety, reddish, and has numerous glands to secrete gastric juice. The gastric juice contains pepsin,— a soluble ferment,—free hydrochloric acid (.02 per cent), rennin and lactic acid. Pepsin, in the presence of free acid, converts the proteids of the food into absorbable peptones. In the left compartment the saliva continues to 18 PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS act for several hours on starch. Ellenberger and Hofmeister hold that starch conversion takes place in the stomach through the development of fer- ments from the food itself. Oats yields such an enzyme; it is destroyed by boiling. These facts help to explain the universal use of oats as a food and its lessened digestibility when boiled. Fig. 19. ulna; 4, radius; Side view of internal organs of mare. 5, ribs; 6, vertebral column; small intestine; k, kidney; m, small colon; mn, uterus; 0, rectum; p, vagina; r, urocyst or bladder; s, anus; ¢, vulva. The duration of stomach digestion varies. A hay ration requires six to eight hours; one of oats, five to six hours. When no other food is given, the stomach empties itself in fifteen to twenty-four hours. A sudden change of diet retards digestion and thus predisposes to indigestion and fermenta- tion. The food undergoes a sort of churning motion and becomes mixed toward the pylorus. After entering the left sac it is rapidly forced to the right side and its passage into the small intes- tine, regulated by a constrictor or sphincter muscle around this orifice, is rapid at the beginning of feeding and then slows until the stomach is about two-thirds filled. In this state, digestion is most active; over-distension arrests it. After this period the outgo equals the income until digestion is completed. The stomach, being small, empties itself two or three times during a meal. Different foods leave the stomach successively in the order fed. Hence, since proteid digestion is the principal function of the gastric juice, proteid concentrates, as oats, should be given after the hay to secure the benefit of prolonged stomach digestion. The incorrect practice of giving grain first is partly mitigated by some hay remaining in the stomach from the previous meal and retarding the passage of the grain into the intestine. Water may pass into the intestine two minutes after drinking, and car- ries with it some undigested food. Horses should be watered before feeding. The stomach of the ox is divided into four compartments: (1) The rumen or paunch, hold- ing 40 to 60 gallons or nine-tenths of the total stomach capacity, occupies the major part of the abdominal cavity. Its mucous lining is covered 1, Seapula; 2, humerus; 3, 7, ilium; 8, pubis; 9, ischium; 10, femur; 11, tibia; a, heart; b, pulmonary artery; c¢, aorta; d, stomach; e, liver; f, cut edge of diaphragm; gg, hh, large colon; i, with long leaf-like eminences and always peels off immediately after death. (2) The reticulum, honey- comb or water-bag has its mucous surface arranged in large honeycomb-like spaces. The contents are liquid and often contain foreign bodies—nails, wire, stones and the like,—which may penetrate through the diaphragm into the chest cavity and cause traumatic pericarditis, or ‘nail in the heart.” The reticulum in its interior shows the esophageal groove. This is an inverted gutter with thick borders extending from the gullet to the third stomach. The muscular arrangement is such that during its contraction the gutter forms a canal to convey food from the gullet into the manyplies without dropping into the paunch or the honeycomb. (3) The third stomach, omasum or manyplies, has numerous large, flat, fleshy leaves projecting from the inner wall and studded with pointed horny eminences. (4) The abomasum is the true digestive stom- ach. The arrangement of the stomach of the sheep and of the goat is almost identical. In the rumen the action of the saliva is continued, and 60 to 70 per cent of the cellulose is digested. In the third stomach the food is further triturated by the fleshy leaves, and the liquid parts squeezed out into the abomasum. The contents are always hard and dry. In the abomasum proteids are con- verted into peptones. The stomach of the pig is of a type between that of ruminants and carnivora. The digestive secre- tion contains pepsin, hydrochloric acid, lactic acid, milk-curdling and starch-converting ferments. The stomach of the dog is capacious. The digestive juice is very strong, although dogs have lived for four years after removal of the stomach. It con- tains pepsin, more hydrochloric acid (1.7 per cent) than in other species, and is four times as strong as that of sheep. Twelve hours are required to digest a full meal of meat. Meat and liver are most digestible when fed raw. Rumination.—Cud- chewing animals or ruminants include, among others, the ox, sheep, goat and camel. Food is partly masti- Fig. 20. Section through stomach cated and enters the paunch. It must be returned to the mouth for a further chewing. This is called rumina- tion. Finely divided of horse. aaa, End of esoph- agus, showing muscular wall and mucosa; 6, non-glandular mucosa (fore-stomach) ; ¢, the villous mucosa or true diges- tive part; ¢c,, pyloric orifice; d, duodenum; e, orifices of bile and pancreatic ducts. semi-solid food may pass into the third stomach through the esophageal groove without rechewing. Liquids pass into all four compartments, but the greater part enters the paunch. PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 19 The mechanism of rumination is as follows: A churning movement by the paunch forces the con- tents toward the orifice of the gullet. A deep inspiration followed by compression of the paunch by the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles forces the macerated contents of the paunch into the funnel-shaped orifice of the gullet, which cuts off a bolus and by reverse peristalsis conveys it into the mouth. The water-bag (second stomach) also shares in this contraction and supplies water to saturate the mass. After swallowing the second time, the bolus either passes into the rumen again or reaches the third stomach through the esophageal gutter. The formation of the bolus and its ascent require three seconds, mastication fifty seconds and the descent one and one-half seconds. A given amount of water in the rumen and a certain degree of dis- tention are necessary. After a meal cattle may not begin to ruminate unless watered. At least seven out of twenty-four hours are given to rumination. It is a voluntary act. “‘ Losing the cud” is a myth. During sickness rumination ceases; when the appetite returns the cud returns of its own accord. This imaginary disease belongs to the same cate- gory as the “hollow horn” and “wolf in the tail.” All horned cattle, excepting the very young, nor- mally have hollow horns. Vomiting.—Vomiting is a reflex act caused by stimulation of the vomiting center in the brain, inducing spasmodic contraction of the stomach, diaphragm and abdominal muscles. The pig, dog and cat vomit readily; it is nature’s method of relief. Cattle vomit infrequently, and horses only in extreme circumstances for the following rea- sons: (1) The esophagus, where it enters the stomach, has a thick and contracted wall. (2) There are spiral muscular fibers in its wall at this Fig. 21. The stomach of a sheep. point. A stomach inflated artificially with gas through the small intestine will rupture under compression before leaking through the esophagus. The inability of the horse to belch makes acute indigestion with bloating of the stomach very dan- gerous. (8) Close to the constricted orifice of the ays esophagus is the relaxed intestinal opening, giv- ing exit to the contents under compression. (4) The stomach is not in contact with the abdominal wall. Vomition in the horse nearly always causes a rup- tured stomach and is fatal. In horses and cattle the vomiting center seems to be insensitive to nauseating drugs. Z Z Liver of horse. c, right lobe; veins; f, left broad ligament; g, right broad ligament; h, round ligament; i, coronary ligament; k, esophageal fissure or notch. a, Left lobe; b, left part of middle d, vena cava inferior; ee, hepatic Fig. 22. lobe; Intestinal digestion.—The contents of the stomach on entering the small intestine constitutes chyme. Here it is acted on by three digestive secretions— the intestinal and pancreatic juices and the bile. The intestinal juice (succus entericus) is secreted by numerous small glands in the mucous lining of the large and small gut. It contains three ferments: Proteids are converted into peptones, starch into sugar, cane-sugar into grape-sugar and, according to some, maltose into dextrose. A vermicular move- ment (peristalsis) rapidly forces the contents into the czecum ; considerable liquid is absorbed and the gut is never found in a state of repletion. The liver is a large gland weighing in the horse eleven pounds. A large blood-vessel (portal vein) returns from the digestive tract and carries to the liver sugar, peptones and certain products of intes- tinal decomposition to be elaborated for the nutri- tion of the tissues. The functions of the liver are: (1) Seeretion of the bile. The bile is a yellowish green liquid conveyed by the bile duct into the small intestine. In the horse nine ounces and in the ox four ounces are secreted per hour. Its main solid constituents are coloring matter or pigment (bilirubin and bilivirdin), bile acids (glycocholic and taurocholic) and salts (glycocholate and tauro- cholate of soda). The bile emulsifies fats for ab- sorption. Fatty acids develop in the intestine from fermentation ; these unite with the sodium salts to form soaps, which emulsify the fats. When the bile duct is ligated, fat absorption is reduced 50 per cent and the stools become “clayey.” Bile also acts as a natural laxative or aperient. (2) The liver has an emunctory function. Intes- tinal putrefaction of proteids develops certain toxic products. These, when conveyed to the liver, are there converted into benign compounds, as urea, excreted through the kidneys. The liver also converts the muscle break-down (creatin) into urea and uric acid. After obstruction of the bile duct, 20 PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS the coloring matter is absorbed by the blood-ves- sels and we have biliary jaundice. The bile acids also are toxic ; when formed in excessive quantity and absorbed as free acids they cause hepatic tox- emia or poisoning. Most of the solids of the bile represent waste products. (3) The glycogenetic function of the liver is, in a word, as follows: The sugar conveyed from the intestines to the liver is by a special function of the liver cells converted into a form of animal starch called glycogen and stored up here as a sur- plus nutrient to be called on by the body as needed. Then it is reconverted into sugar and as such enters the circulation. Thus, besides its intimate association with the digestion of foods, the neutral- ization of, and elimination from the body of waste materials, the liver plays an important part in nutrition. , The pancreas, called the abdominal sweetbread, is a gland weighing two pounds, placed against the backbone close to the kidneys. It secretes a clear fluid called the pancreatic juice. In the horse and ox, seven to nine ounces are secreted per hour. This secretion contains three digestive ferments: (1) Trypsin, converting proteids into peptones; (2) amylopsin, changing starch into sugar; (8) steapsin, splitting up fats into fatty acids and glycerine, the fatty acids emulsifying fats in the same way as in the case of the bile. ing villi with central lacteal duct and blood vessels, and on the surface the absorbing epithelial cells. Removal of the pancreas from the body is followed by diabetes or sugar in the urine, emacia- tion and death. The blood will not hold more than .3 per cent of sugar without excreting it in the urine. From this it is surmised that the pancreas secretes a sugar-destroying ferment. The large intestine comprises the cecum and the large and small colon. The cecum or blind gut of the horse lies in the right flank, is about three feet long and blind at its anterior end. The oppo- site end has the two openings for the entrance and exit of the food, which in passing out is moved against gravity. It is capacious and compensates for the smallness of the stomach. The contents are soft. The large or folded colon has six times the capacity of the stomach. Its contents are firmer than those of the cecum. It terminates in the horse in the small colon by an abrupt narrowing, where frequently impactions take place. It is thought by some that in the cecum and colon, fat, starch and proteids are acted on by various species of bacteria. Cellulose in particular is digested here and large quantities of water are absorbed. Water rapidly passes from the stomach into the cecum, which is also thought to act as a recep- tacle for water for the needs of the body. The food remains in the colon about forty-eight hours. In the small colon the ingesta lose their water, become drier as they approach the rectum and are moulded into balls by its sacculated wall. An animal may be nourished through the rectum and colon, or narcosis can be produced by drugs. In the ox, the rumen partly takes the place of the cecum and colon of the horse. In the small intestine absorption is most active. The ox digests more cellulose than the horse, and can thrive better on coarse, woody forages. In the pig, intestinal digestion is of short dura- tion. The same is true of the dog, whose intestines are relatively short. The character of the feces varies with the species. Their softness depends on the moisture in the food and the movements of the bowels and not on the quantity of water drank. The horse defe- cates ten to twelve times in twenty-four hours. and more during the night than during the day. It requires in the horse ninety-six hours and in the ox seventy-two hours for the food to pass through the body; in the goat as much as seven days for some foods. In the horse and ox, 40 per cent of the nutrients of the food are lost in the feces; in the dog, only 2 per cent. Circulation of the blood. The heart is the propelling organ in the circu- lation of the blood. In circulation, it distributes nutrient matter throughout the body and collects waste materials to be excreted by the lungs, kidneys and skin. The blood cycle is as follows: The blood leaves the left side of the heart (left ventricle) as red or arterial blood, and passes through the arteries and capillaries. Here it gives off nutrients to nourish the tissues as well as oxygen for oxidation, especially in the muscles, in order to produce heat and energy. It also takes up carbonic acid gas and other waste products. It is now venous blood and reaches the right side of the heart (right ventricle) through two large veins,—anterior and posterior vena cava. From the right ventricle the blood passes through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, where it is oxidized into arterial blood that reaches the left side of the heart again through the pulmonary veins. Every beat of the heart is accompanied by two sounds separated by a short interval. These can be heard very distinctly on the left side behind the shoulder. They furnish valuable information as to the state of health and disease of the cardiac apparatus. The blood from a vein is blue-red and flows in a continuous stream; that from an artery is light red and escapes in intermittent streams corre- PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 2l sponding to the heart-beats. Venous hemorrhage is more easily arrested than arterial. The velocity of the blood varies at different points; the farther away from the heart the slower the current: hence the legs, the parts farthest from the heart, become “stocked” when this organ becomes weakened and the blood vessels re- laxed. The velocity is greatest in the large arteries and veins,— 12 to 16 inches per second in the carotid artery, and 8.85 inches in the jugular vein. A complete cycle is made in the horse in 31.5 seconds, and in the dog in 16.7. The pulse is a dila- tation of the elastic wall of an artery at the moment of the heart-beat. Its char- acter is some indica- Fig. 24. Heart of the horse. a, Right lateral wall of the heart; 6b, left side of the heart; c, coronary artery; ¢1, deseending branch; cu, right branch; d, e, superior vena cava; d, terminal part; f, in- ferior venacava; g, appendage of right auricle; h, azygous vein; 7, left auricle; k, pul- monary veins; m, stem of the aorta; m,, descending aorta; muy, ascending aorta; o, pulmonary artery. tion of the state of health. It is felt in the horse on the lower jaw-bone ; in the ox on the jaw, the inside of the elbow and can- non and the base of the tail ; in the dog on the inside of the thigh. The number per minute varies: Horse, 36 to 40; ox, 45 to 50; sheep and pig, 70 to 80; dog, 90 to 100; camel, 28 to 32; elephant, 25 to 28. It is slower in the male than in the female. It is more rapid in the young than in the old, as, for example, in the foal, 100 to 120; in the calf, 90 to 130. The daily work of the heart is estimated at 1,539, 000 foot-pounds, or one-third of a horse-power. The normal temperature of animals varies: Horse, 100° Fahr.; ox, 101 to 102.5; sheep and swine, 103; dog, 102.5 and very changeable. It is lowest about 4 a.m., and highest at 6 p.m. The liver, of all the organs, has the highest tempera- ture, 106.2° Fahr. The amount of blood in the body varies consider- ably: In the horse, -/s (6.6 per cent); ox, 7s (7.7 per per cent); sheep, 7s (8.01 per cent); pig, os (4.6 yer cent); dog,ys to #,(5.5-9.1 per cent) (Sussdorf). An average horse has about 66 pounds, or nearly 50 pints of blood. In bleeding horses, about one pint of blood for every hundred pounds of body weight is removed. The principal formed elements in the blood are the red and the white blood-cells or corpuscles, in the proportion of 1 red to 800 white. The red cells have a diameter of z5455 t0 sqoo Of an inch. One cubic centimeter (16 drops) contains 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 red cells. They contain ared coloring mat- ter called hemaglobin, essential to respiration. The white cells are larger than the red. They destroy bacteria in the blood and in this way protect the bedy against germ diseases. Respiration. Respiration comprises two distinct acts—inspi- ration and expiration. Inspiration or inhaling of air is a purely muscular act. Contraction and descent of the diaphragm increases the antro-pos- terior depth of the chest by four tofiveinches. The forward rotation of the ribs widens the chest later- ally; only the last twelve or thirteen ribs participate in this action inthe horse, and the saddleshould never be so fitted as to interfere with their movements. The pleural cavity, or the space between the lungs and the chest wall, having a negative pressure, the inspiratory movements create a vacuum in this space, which, as it were, sucks in the air and dilates the lungs in a mechanical manner. In forced inspi- ration other muscles are called into play. Expiration is largely mechanical. The inspiratory muscles suddenly relax, the chest walls collapse, the abdominal muscles bulged out during inspira- tion contract, compress the abdominal organs and force the diaphragm up into the chest cavity. All this tends to expel the air from the lungs by com- pression. The elasticity of the lungs also plays an important role. The air-sacs or vesicles have elastic walls and act like a rubber bag inflated by blowing air into it; when distended it will recoil and expel the air. At repose the expiration in the horse is longer than the inspiration, and is continuous. In chronic diseases of the lungs, such as heaves, in which the air-sacs are permanently dilated or ruptured and therefore not amenable to treatment, the expiratory movement of the flank has a double jerk. The fetal lung contains no air and sinks in water. This fact indicates whether a fetus was born dead or alive. The number of respirations per minute are: Horse, 8 to 10; ox, 12 to 15; sheep and goat, 12 to 20; dog, 15 to 20; pig, 10 to 15. They are con- trolled automatically by the respiratory center in the medulla of the brain. They increase rapidly during exercise. The respiratory changes in the blood consist principally in the interchange of oxygen and carbon dioxid. Atmospheric air contains by volume 20.96 per cent of oxygen, 79.01 per cent of nitro- gen, .03 per cent of carbon dioxid and a small amount of moisture (Smith). The interchange of gases between tbe pulmonary air-sacs and the blood-vessels is based on the law of the diffusion of gases. The pressure of the oxygen in the lungs is higher than that in the capillaries ; the pressure of the carbon dioxid in the lungs is lower than that inthe capillaries. The gases will diffuse until the pressure on both sides is equalized. Carbon dioxid passes from the blood into the air-sacs, and oxygen from the air-sacs into the blood. Oxygen forms a weak combination with the hemaglobin of the red blood-cell, called oxyhemaglobin. No free oxygen is found in the muscles. It forms a new combina- tion from which it is liberated as needed. The carbon dioxid taken up from the tissues converts hemaglobin into reduced hemaglobin. Some carbon dioxid is fixed in the blood by the sodium carbonate. The lungs also give off free nitrogen and other organic products that render the expired air impure and unfit for respiration. 22 PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS The lungs of the horse contain about one and one-half cubic feet of air. During repose, between eighty and ninety cubic feet are inhaled per hour ; three and one-half cubic feet of oxygen are absorbed and three cubic feet of carbon dioxid exhaled. The volume of the expired air, however, is greater than that of the inspired because of its expansion by the heat of the lungs. An average inspiration represents about 250 cubic inches or one-tenth of the total lung capacity. The lungs are never entirely emptied during expiration. A certain amount, called residual air, always remains. These phenomena are rapidly increased by mus- cular exercise. Training in the horse is based largely on the amount of blood pumped into the lungs by the heart and that going from the lungs back into the heart. If more blood is pumped into the lungs than leaves it in a given congestion \ time, “f] } ) and breathlessness Ee. A) result and the Bel Yh VEA\\ /\ animal becomes 7a ; yt “choked.” - Fig. 25. Lungs of horse. a, Trachea; b, left bronchus; bi, bronchia, or branch of bronchus; e, left lung; c. cephalic lobe of left lung; d, right lung; e, medial lobe. In the nose and the facial sinuses,—large cavi- ties within the sides of the face,—the air is warmed, receives moisture and loses dust particles. The absence of these changes explains the unsatisfac- tory results obtained from the use of permanent tubes in the windpipe. In a horse full of spirit a peculiar vibrating or “flopping” noise is some- times made by the nostrils. It is not an unsound- ness. The horse and ox do not breathe through the mouth except when in great distress; the soft palate is so large and pendulous that it practically closes the opening between the mouth and the throat. The larynx, the organ of voice, is composed of five articulated cartilages surrounded and moved by muscles. In its interior it has a V-shaped pas- sage, called the glottis, prolonged by the windpipe, though much smaller. The to and fro movements of the membranous vocal cords and the arytenoid cartilages widen the glottic opening during inspi- ration and narrow it during expiration. Vibration of the vocal cords produces the voice. Degenera- tion of the left inferior laryngeal nerve often causes an atrophy of the muscles on that side. This immobilizes the corresponding vocal cord and the arytenoid cartilage, and the air rushing through the insufficiently dilated glottis produces in the horse a sound called “roaring” or “broken-wind.” In the ox, sheep and goat the nostrils are small and immobile. The respiratory organs are less active, less adapted for muscular exercise and not so susceptible to disease as those of the horse. The urine. The kidneys are like a filter in removing from the blood noxious materials. Urine has a specific gravity of 1015 to 1086, is turbid, and yellow or yellowish red in color, due to broken-down blood pigment. It contains urea, uric and hippuric acids, creatin and creatinin ; also sodium, potassium, cal- cium and magnesium combined with chlorine, oxalic, sulfuric, phosphoric and carbonic acids. In meat-eating animals the urine is acid. Urie acid only is found; it exists as urates. Where it is formed is not known. In herbivora the urine is alkaline, and hippuric acid replaces the uric acid. Hippuric acid, existing as hippurates of lime and potash, is derived from the benzoic acid of plants combined with glycin from albumen decomposition. The organic group of urine constituents repre- sents the nitrogen combustion. The more albumen in the food, as in carnivora, the more the urea. Urea itself is not found in the muscles. It exists here as creatin, the conversion of which into urea takes place in the liver and possibly some other glands. After removal of the kidneys, urea accumulates in the blood and gives rise to uremic poisoning. The inorganic salts are derived from the food. The horse excretes nine to twelve pints of urine daily, and less at work than at rest. In herbivora, 30 per cent of the water escapes through the kid- neys and 70 per cent through the lungs and skin; in carnivora, 60 per cent escapes through the kidneys, showing that there is relatively more urine in the latter. The ox secretes ten to forty pints daily. The urine of the pig resembles that of the dog. The urine passes, drop by drop, from the kidney through a tube called the ureter into the bladder. The relaxation of the neck of the bladder and the contraction of its wall during urination are con- trolled by a spinal center in the loins. ‘Disease of the spinal cord may cause paralysis of the bladder with incontinence of urine. In short, the kidneys, together with the lungs and skin, save the organ- ism from rapid auto-intoxication by removing waste materials from the blood. The kidneys of the domestic animals are much less susceptible to disease than in man because animals work more constantly and the dietetic violations are not so flagrant; the organs are not so overtaxed by excreting surplus food. The layman’s conception PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 23 of “trouble with the kidneys” or with the “ water” when the horse shows colicky pain from indigestion, is purely traditional and mythical. The skin. The skin or external integument of the body has several functions : (1) It acts as an organ of touch. The long hair (tentacles) on the lips and nostrils have a special tactile function. (2) It is a protec- tion to the body. With its hairy covering on top and a layer of fat underneath it retains the animal heat. The horn of the hoof, especially, is a poor conductor of heat. The length of the coat depends on the surrounding temperature. It changes twice a year in fall and spring. Work horses with a long winter coat sweat freely and are predisposed to “cold” and diseases of the lungs. This can be remedied by clipping if they are properly cared for. In the dog and cat, under excitement, and in the horse exposed to cold or to the direct rays of the sun after coming out of the stable, the hair becomes erect. This is caused by the contraction of the muscle fibers in the skin attached to the base of the hair. Blisters and other injuries to the skin may cause white hair to grow, which may be evidence of a previous disease of the parts. White horses can not stand heat so well as those of dark colors. The coat of the young animal often changes before it is adult. The black horse is a mouse- colored foal; brindle is yellow or lemon-colored in the puppy; the coach-dog puppy is entirely white. (8) The skin has numerous glands secreting sweat or perspiration. Solipeds are the only do- mestic animals perspiring over the entire body. The glands in these species are most abundant. Perspi- ration is seen first at the base of the ear, then at the side of the neck and shoulders, and lastly over the hind-quarters. The ass and mule sweat less profusely than the horse. The quantity of perspira- tion in the horse in 24 hours varies with the tem- perature and humidity of the atmosphere ; at rest, > about 6.4 pounds are given off; working on a trot, 14 pounds, and 7 pounds emitted by the lungs. Perspiration and radiation regulate animal heat. Perspiration lowers the body temperature ; a horse that does not sweat on a hot day is liable to suffer from “heat stroke.” Some animals, as the frog, breathe through the skin, and it is asserted that in the horse oxygen and carbon dioxid interchange in minute quantities. The sweat glands also abstract from the blood waste products, such as urea, in inverse ratio to the kidneys. This is witnessed in eczema and other inflammatory eruptions. Sweat contains serum-albumen and is rich in soda and potash. The loss of serum makes exces- sive sweating weakening and can be remedied by clipping. The serum mats the hair together and the salts form a fine sand-like coating. The ox sweats on the muzzle and but rarely.over the body ; the dog and cat sweat on the nose and foot-pads and the pig on the snout only. The dog really “perspires” through the lungs. (4) Numerous sebaceous glands in the skin secrete a fatty substance, called sebum, which im- pregnates the skin and hair, keeps the skin pliable Fig. 26. and the coat glossy. It lessens heat radiation and drains off the water. Horses living in the open need it for protection from rain and cold and should not be groomed too much. The sebum contains lan- olin. The fleece of sheep contains large quantities of sebum which is used as a base for ointments. It is also found in the hoof and feathers. In cows the abundance of these glands gives to the ear, thigh and other parts the yellow color indicating butter qualities. glands are similar to the sebaceous glands. Dandruff consists of dried epithelial scales, fat, silica, dirt and chlorophyl (the coloring matter of plants). Good grooming removes the dandruff, opens the orifices or pores of the gland ducts, stim- ulates the circulation and activates the sweat and sebaceous secretion. The skin is also an absorbing surface for drugs. Extensive Spanish-fly blisters may cause suppres- sion of the urine and even inflammation of the kidneys. In cattle, mercurial poisoning may be produced by mercuric blisters. The skin of bovines is very dense; blisters are therefore not very effective and are little used. Morphologically, the mammary Reproductive functions. The organs of sex are most remarkably con- structed in order not to fail of procreation and the perpetuation of the species. The practical breeder should have some knowlege of their function. The reproductive functions and processes are discussed at length in Mumford’s article on Some of the Prin- ciples of Animal-Breeding, in Chapter III. A few additional notes are in place here. The essential facts in the fecundation of the female egg by the spermatozoon of the male are the same in all species. The sexual act is con- Generative organs of mare. a, 0 right oviduct; c, right uterine horn; d, left uterine horn; Right ovary; b, e, body of the uterus; e, vaginal part of uterus; eu, mouth of uterus; f, broad ligament; fi, suspensory liga- ment of the ovary; fu, round ligament; g, vagina; h, vulva; 7, vulvar cavity; 71, posteri or commissure; iy, anterior commissure; k, muscle constrictor cunni; m™, corpus cavernosum vestibule; n, abdominal wall; o, left kidney; p. left ureter; 7, bladder; s, urethra; t, rectum; mu, anus; v, external sphincter muscle of anus; w, point where the levator ani muscle passes under the external sphincter; x, levator ani muscle; x, longitudinal fibers of the rectum; %, posterior band of fibers; z. muscle con- strictor vestibule; 1, utero-ovarian artery; 1,, branch to the ovary; lu, branch to the horn of the uterus; 2, exter- nal uterine artery; 3, umbilical artery; 4 and 5, sections through pelvic bone. 24 PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS trolled by the nervous system. The penis, vagina and clitoris enjoy a special sensibility. The erection and rigidity of the penis are due to the engorgement of its blood-vessels and venus sinuses, which increases its size two or three times. The penis of the bull does not increase much in volume ; it has a double curve like a flattened S and the un- folding of this curve gives to the organ its length. The penis of the ram has a pointed vermiform extremity that seems to be necessary for success- ful impregnation ; after its removal the ram is sterile. The penis of the dog contains a bone and two ovoid enlargements at its posterior part. The sphincter muscles of the vulva grasp the penis behind these enlargements during copulation and “fasten” the male and female until complete relaxation occurs. Except in the dog and pig * coition is of short duration. In the ram and bull it is almost instantaneous. In the horse it lasts ten to twelve seconds. Ejaculation is due principally to a spasmodic contraction of the seminal vesicles and urethra canal. Inthe bull and ram, because of the pointed penis, a part of the seminal fluid may be ejected into the womb-directly. In other animals it is deposited in the vagina. To insure the entrance of the semen into the uterine cavity, the uterus may be “opened.” The os may be closed by a spasmodic contraction of its muscular wall or plugged up by thick mucus. To overcome this, first one and then two and even three fingers are slowly forced into the orifice. The semen may be injected into the uterus artificially. A sterile, long-muzzled, metallic syringe filled with the semen deposited in the vagina is passed through the os and emptied into the womb. The writer has seen mares which remained sterile before, become pregnant after this treatment. In the stallion ejaculation is accompanied by rhythmical movements of the tail, indicating the completion of the act. The vitality of the sperm cells is destroyed by excessive acidity of the vaginal secretion from altered secretory functions or bacterial fermenta- tion. This is overcome by flushing out the vagina with a solution of baking-soda. Washing out the vagina with a solution of yeast several hours be- fore stinting has led to successful impregnation in mares heretofore barren. Loading the back and moving briskly are practiced to prevent straining after service. The mucus from the prostate and Cowper’s glands dilutes the semen; after too many services in one day it constitutes the principal part of the ejaculatory discharge and impregnation fails. The uterus, during the orgasm, expels a small quantity of mucus into the vagina. In woman, who represents the most highly domesticated female, there is a period in life between forty and fifty years, called the mena- pause, when menstruation and fecundity cease. This phenomenon does not exist in females of domestic animals. The reproductive faculty ceases gradually with progressive senility. There are some remarkable instances of prolificness in the mare. A mare gave birth to twenty-nine foals in thirty-eight years (Degive). Some stallions are prolific until very old age. At the period of puberty certain changes take place in conformation and temperament, more particularly in horses. The body becomes more filled out and better consolidated; the colt becomes less awkward, the head and neck more developed, the voice deeper, the temperament irritable and sometimes vicious; there is more life and vigor. The physical and mental characteristics peculiar to the sex become more accentuated. Hybrids, which are the progeny of two different species, are, with few exceptions, sterile. The best known hybrids are the mule from the ass and mare and the hinny from the stallion and the jennet; also those from the sheep and the goat, the dog and the wolf, the dog and the fox. Hybrids possess sexual organs but spermatogenesis and ovulation are abortive. In bovines, the female of twins, the other being a male, is usually barren. It is called a “free-martin.” Chauveau states, on what author- ity the writer does not know, that a mare stinted at short intervals to a stallion and an ass, gave birth successively to a horse foal and a mule foal. Hermaphrodites, or “morphodites,” as called by the laity, possess the genital organs of both sexes. They exist only among low animal life. In the foetus of higher animals the primordial genital organs of both sexes are present and at a given time in its development the sex of the future adult can not be prognosticated. In the female, some of the male foetal organs are preserved in a very rudi- mentary state, and vice versa with the male. In the so-called hermaphrodites, one or more of the organs are abnormally developed but never sexually perfect. We have seen the clitoris of the mare, which corre- sponds to the male penis, attain a length of several inches and protrude from the vulva like a penis. In the ox an incomplete uterus was found and the testicles occupied the position of the ovaries as in the fetus. In the sow the ovaries have been found in the position of the testicles. PHYSIOLOGY OF POULTRY Digestion.—Fowls have no teeth. The jaws are encased by the horny beak. The mouth shows a large opening into the pharynx, the soft palate being absent ; its roof has a cleft leading into the nasal cavities. The esophagus is wide and at its lower part has a dilated pouch called the crop. In the pigeon the crop is double. In grain-eating birds the grain dilates the crop and becomes macerated by a watery secretion poured out by the glands of its mucous lining. During the latter part of hatching and the first week afterward the crop secretes a milky secretion which is regurgitated and fed to the young birds; it is abundant in pigeons, and is known as pigeon’s milk. The first stomach (ventriculus) is a sacular dilata- tion of the gullet continued by the gizzard. Itsmucous membrane secretes an acid gastric juice, but no actual digestion takes place here because the cellu- lose covering of the grain particles is not crushed. PHYSIOLOGY OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 25 The gizzard or second stomach is the triturating apparatus. It is an ovoid organ with very thick muscular walls and contains small pebbles and sand necessary to crush the food. An acid secre- tion is also poured out here and proteid digestion begins. In flesh-eating birds the crop is absent and the gizzard thin-walled. The food of these fowls requires no trituration. The orifice between the gizzard and small intestine is small and large indi- gestible masses of food unable to pass through are vomited up. The solvent ac- tion of the gastric juice is strong. In the intestine the food is acted on by the intestinal juice, the bile and the pancreatic secretion poured into the duo- Fig. 27. The digestive apparatus of a common fowl. 1, tongue; 2, esophagus, first part; 3, crop; 4, esophagus, second part; 5, succentrie ventricle; 6, gizzard; 7, origin of dnodenum; 8, second branch of duodenal flexure; 9, origin of floating part of small intestine; 10, small intestine; 11, exca; 12, insertion of cca; 13, rectum; 14, eloaca; 15, pancreas; 16, liver; 17, gall-bladder; 18, spleen. denum. Villi for absorption are numerous. Fowls have two club-shaped cca six to eighteen inches long ; they secrete a macerating fluid. The rectum terminates inside of the anal opening in a cavity called the cloaca, a dilated receptacle for the feces, the urine, the egg from the oviduct and the semen. The cloaca also lodges the penis. Circulation of the blood. The circulation of the blood in fowls offers few practical differences when compared with other domestic species. The blood is characteristic in that the red blood cell is bi-convex, neucleated and oval instead of round. The temperature of the blood is much higher than in mammals, being 41° to 42° C., and even 44° C. in health. For this reason poultry are immune to certain diseases, as anthrax, whereas, when surrounded by a cold chamber or swimming in cold water so as to lower the tem- perature, such immunity ceases. Respiration. The disposition of the respiratory organs shows some marked peculiarities. The last ring of the windpipe is disposed to resemble a second larynx, which in song-birds is the source of vocal sounds. The lungs are small, fastened to each side of the backbone, and only partly fill the chest. A modi- fied diaphragm is present. Most remarkable is the air-reservoir or air-sac system in the avian species. The large air-sacs are situated between the backbone and the organs in the thorax and abdomen. They are connected with the lungs through the bronchial tubes. Peripherally they are continued by means of membranous tubes into a series of smaller sacs in the pelvis and be- tween the muscles of the thigh, shoulder and arm. Here they enter small orifices in the bones and open into air-sacs in the marrow cavity. Bones so hol- lowed are the vertebre of the backbone, breast- bone, ribs, pelvis, thigh, shoulder-blade and arm bones. Contraction of the surrounding muscles com- presses the air-sacs and expels the air through the lungs; when the compression ceases, the air is again sucked in and the sacs distended. Inspiration thus is passive and expiration active, and the air during both acts passes through the lungs. The inter- change of oxygen and carbon dioxid is similar to that in the lungs. The air-sacs render the body lighter, promote equilibrium during flight and increase the range and power of the voice. Reproductive functions. The testicles, oval in form, are situated against the roof of the abdomen opposite to the last three ribs and in front of the kidneys. They lie close to a large vein, the vena cava, which can be readily torn in caponizing. There are no seminal vesicles. The semen passes through the spermatic ducts into the cloaca. In the crowing species the penis is only a small eminence at the cloacal margin, and is traversed by a furrow through which the semen flows. In ducks and geese it is of a corkscrew form. During copu- lation the anus of the male is placed against the cloaca of the female. In the female there is one ovary, the left, the right being nearly always atrophied. The situation is the same as that Fig. 28. Crop and gizzard of fowl. - 26 THE BREEDING OF ANIMALS of the testicle. In it can be seen the ripened eggs in the ovarian vesicles in various stages of develop- ment,—some young, small and white, others older, large and yellow. The egg consists at first of the yolk or vitellus. In about six hours it reaches the lower third of the oviduct, surrounded by the albumen or “white of the egg,” enveloped by a thin membrane in which calcareous matter is deposited to form the egg- shell. In about twenty-four hours it passes into the cloaca and thence to the exterior. During incubation life is maintained by the white of the egg, and respiration takes place through the pores of the shell. The male is not necessary for egg- laying, but the non-fecundated egg will not hatch. Nor is a separate copulation required for every fertile egg laid. In some species of poultry cohabi- tation with the male for a limited time suffices for the remainder of the laying season. The urine. The urinary apparatus in fowls is simple. The kidneys are oval in form. The urine passes into the cloaca, and is discharged mixed with the feces. In all species except the ostrich, the cloaca replaces the bladder. Literature. Much valuable literature has been prepared on this subject. It is impossible here more than to suggest a few references. Robt. M. Smith, Physi- ology of the Domestic Animals; F. Smith, A Manual of Veterinary Physiology; Chauveau, A Compara- tive Anatomy of the Domesticated Animals; C. Cor- nevin, Traité de Zodtechnie, Rev. Générale de Méde- cine Vétérinaire; Mills, Animal Physiology ; Prof. Dr. W. Ellenberger, Leisering’s Atlas der Anatomie des Pferdes und der Ubrigen Haustiere [Figs. 18-20, 22, 24-26, adapted from Ellenberger’s Atlas]. CHAPTER III: THE BREEDING OF ANIMALS By EUGENE DAVENPORT 4 aN because his pedigree is thereby unfashionable. MPROVEMENT OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS means their increased capacity yj), for service to man. This great fact of service gives the keynote to all Y breeding operations and affords the only basis for rational procedure. Y, In this sense animal-breeding is to be distinguished from mere multi- Uf plication of numbers; it is distinctly qualitative, and the need for it lies in the fact that we are engaged in the attempt to adapt what were once ‘wild animals to civilized conditions, and to readapt qualities useful to the animals themselves in a state of nature until they shall serve to the highest degree the needs and purposes of man. . Viewed from this standpoint, fads and fancies must be disregarded so far as business considerations permit, and everything not useful to man must be eliminated from consideration save only those qualities that have to do with the health and vigor of the animal, and hence with the perpetuation of his species. We have proceeded about as far along certain lines as we are likely to go until this principle is more fully recognized ; until, for example, a combination of blood lines that ought to be made can be accomplished without destroying the commercial value of the animal In most directions, function rather than form is the chief consideration. What can the animal do, rather than what is his form or color, is the question always to be in the mind of him who expects really to improve our animal servants. Form is striking because it appeals directly to the eye, but it has been greatly over-emphasized, not only as the direct object of breeding but also as an index of quality, for all studies yet made indicate that the correlation between form and function is in most cases far less than has been hitherto supposed. The individual as a whole has occupied too much attention in the mind of the breeder. The single character is the real object of thought and selection in all successful breeding operations; it is the real unit of study in all problems of heredity, and the actual basis of operations in all cases of variability. The individual is but a single instance of the many patterns that may be cast out of the various characters that belong to the race, and he is not to be taken too seriously. The dominant Plate II. Turkey gobbler, developed from the native stock, and the only species of North American bird that has contributed to agricultural live-stock. (See page 586.) THE BREEDING OF ANIMALS 20 characters of the race, and their correlations—this is the great question in all the problems of the breeder and in all efforts at further improvement. Breeding operations have been surrounded by too much of mystery and by far too much of that traditional knowledge accepted as truth only by reason of its frequent repetition. Breeding is by nature an exact science, but it will never come into its own until it is freed from the dense mass of superstition that has come to us largely through the “back alleys,” handed down in whispers from mouth to mouth, clouded with inexact observation, faulty memory, and hastily drawn conclusions. Present-day biological knowledge teaches us that under the law of chance all conceivable com- binations of racial characters may arise, limited only by what is physiologically impossible. With this view of the case mere freaks are worse than valueless. When, however, the new thing represents a really new and fortunate combination of valuable characters, it is not a freak but a real contribution to the race. In no other business is there greater need of settling down to systematic operations based on definite conceptions of what is desired and accurate knowledge of the materials with which we have to work. One broad distinction should always rest clearly in the mind of the individual breeder: Is he trying really to improve the breed beyond anything attained before, or is he endeavoring only to possess himself of as much as possible of what has been accomplished by others? If only the latter, his problem is comparatively simple. He can easily multiply individuals of known breeding, or, which is cheaper, resort to grading, and in four to six generations by the use of sires alone he can possess himself of practically all that has been accomplished by others. If, on the other hand, he aspires to produce something distinctly in advance of what others have produced, really to create animal excellence, then he has a more difficult problem, for he is aspiring to the very acme of undertaking in this field. Much confusion arises in the public mind and in that of the individual by reason of insufficient clearness at this point. Breeders’ associations have much to do in the matter of advancing and upholding rational ideals of breeding. It is for them to distinguish sharply between that which is legitimate breeding and that which is mere multiplication of numbers. They have a work to do in increasing the practice of grading, both for the general good and for their own benefit ; for the real business of all pure- bred flocks and herds is the production of sires to go on the common stock of the country and improve it. The over-enthusiasm of many breeders exerted to induce everybody, or, as many as possible, to breed pedigreed stock,—this mistake alone is responsible for many failures in the breeding business and for an insufficient market for sires. In the matter of applying scientific principles to the business of practical breeding, one economic fact must be reckoned with,—stock must be bred that will sell, and if that is done then the breeders must produce what the people want. The desires of the buyer may be all wrong, and if so he should be educated to sane standards with as little delay as possible; but, until he is corrected, he must be dealt with on his own terms, for no man’s pocketbook is deep enough to enable him to continue the breeding business much beyond what the buying public will support. The breeder must correct his own fads, whatever they may be, and associations cannot too rapidly free the business from the last traces of arbitrary standards. At both of these points the practical breeder can take aggressive ground, but beyond that he must be more careful, for he dare not break with the bayer. This is not saying that the buyer is to be encouraged in his notions, but it is saying that he must be patiently considered. And _ when the breeder warps his practice against his better judgment in order to continue in the business, he will not, if he is wise, submit to non-conditional surrender. He will stay as near to safe practice as circumstances will permit and will recover and possess himself of lost ground at the very first opportunity. Students and breeders, alike, overlook the importance of grading as a necessary adjunct to success- ful breeding. Because it is not in itself a highly developed phase of the breeder’s art, it is commonly left out of consideration in the discussion of breeding operations. The importance of an economic outlet has been alluded to and cannot be overestimated. The chief drawback to the business of further improv- ing our domestic animals is the absence of an adequate market for surplus stock. Breeders are selling back and forth among themselves at large prices, but the market for sires, for grading purposes, is largely undeveloped, and, strangely enough, it seems not to be much noted by the breeders themselves, _ who are inclined to treat it as a problem impossible of solution. The fact is that the common stock of the country needs the improvement that can come only with a better grade of sires, and, at the same time, it is also true that the breeders are suffering from an insufficient market for the produce of their 28 SOME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL-BREEDING flocks and herds. The business of every breeding herd is the production of good sires, most of which should go for grading purposes; and one of the largest and most urgent phases of the breeding business is to take hold of this situation boldly and to deveiop, among common farmers everywhere, an adequate market for sires. From all considerations of business foresight, the breeder cannot afford to be ignorant of the principles that underlie the business he undertakes and with which he must reckon at every step. These principles are complex, not simple; many, not few; and their combinations are so varied and the results so diverse as to lead to the frequent assumption that breeding is a “jumble.” Nothing is further from the truth. The laws and principles that underlie the breeding business are always present and always operative; they are well defined if not well understood, and if the same condi- tions are not apparently followed by the same results it is only because of our inability fully to recognize all the facts and all the principles in any particular instance. Much progress has been made in recent years toward securing accurate knowledge of these principles, and much yet remains to be learned. Important investigations are under way in many places from which new knowledge should come, and enough is already known to point fairly well to the direction from which further light may be expected. SOME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL-BREEDING By Frederick B. Mumford The real object sought in breeding animals is the development of those characters which have a peculiar value to man. Breeding is an art, and the breeder’s work consists in the development and improvement of those domestic animals which furnish such valuable products as labor, meat, milk, butter, cheese, wool, hair and leather. Breeding is also a science in that it deals with the principles of biology, and particularly with that branch of biology which we call evolution. The successful breeder requires a knowledge of the reproductive functions and the laws of hered- ity, variation and selection, which together com- prise the great problem of evolution in all its varied relations and manifestations. I. REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS AND PROCESSES The unit of organic life is the cell, and the recent investigations have demonstrated that many of the unsolved problems of progressive development will ultimately find their solution in cell study. It is desirable therefore that the essential characters and functions of the cell unit be first described. The cell. The essential constituents of the cell consist of a mass of protoplasm in which floats a specially formed part called the nucleus. The cell wall is usually present and was earlier thought to be essential, but it is now known that cells may be functionally perfect when the cell wall is totally absent. In the substance of the cell occur all those processes of assimilation, absorption and formation which together determine the existence and dura- tion of life in the animal body. The cell is there- fore the seat of those highly important processes which are responsible for the hereditary trans- mission of characters. The fundamental causes of variation are to be found in the protoplasm of the cell. Unfortunately, our methods of investiga- tion are not yet sufficiently accurate to discover the cell processes that determine when and how animal characters are transmitted. In the higher forms of life, groups of cells become more or less segregated, and while to a certain extent interde- pendent, they may carry forward an existence separate and apart from the organism as a whole. For example, the female reproductive cell, the egg or ovum, may be fertilized, developed and finally expelled from the uterus without fixing any of its peculiar characters on the mother organization. The most important vital property of the cell is its ability to divide and subdivide, thus producing new individuals and new tissues in the same individual. This process of division brings about growth and consequent increase in size. The life of the cell, and its highly important content, pro- toplasm, reaches after a time a point when it has no longer the ability to accomplish its functional activities and death ensues. To provide for a con- tinuation of the species, nature has endowed all organic beings with the ability to reproduce. The essential steps in the process of reproduction are first, the formation of an egg by the female and, second, the fertilization of this egg by the male fecundating fluid. Essential organs of reproduction. (Figs. 26, 29-31.) Ovaries—The growth and development of the female egg-cell takes place in the ovaries. In the domestic animals these are two in number, gener- ally bean-shaped and in more or less close prox- imity to the uterus and united with it by means of the egg-canals, the Fallopian tubes. The ovary consists of a mass of connective tissue permeated with blood vessels, nerves and lymphatics. A cross- section of the ovary shows the whole structure to be filled with closed sacs of various sizes, contain- ing a fluid substance in which floats one, or at most, two cells with well-developed nuclei. These are the Graffian follicles producing later the ova or eggs that are destined to become the embryos of new individuals. At certain periods, recurring with considerable regularity, the female is said to be in heat and will then accept the attentions of the male. At this time, if the ovary be carefully ex- amined, it will be seen that one or more of the ed nea SOME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL-BREEDING ~ 29 Graffian follicles has become considerably enlarged and has arranged itself close under the covering of the ovary. During the period of heat this folli- cle bursts through the covering of the ovary and is either lost in the abdominal cavity or, which is normally the case, passes into the Fallopian tube and finally reaches the uterus. It is not known at just what time during the period of heat the egg passes downward and finally reaches the uterus. Fallopian tube.—The (Wen canal through which the | ripened ovum reaches the uterus is not in close union at the upper end with the ovaries, but, on the contrary, empties di- rectly into the abdominal cavity. This extremity of the Fallopian tube forms atrumpet-shaped enlarge- ment possessing numerous finger-like projections. At the time the egg is thor- oughly mature, this trump- et-shaped end closely en- circles and imprisons that part of the ovary from which the matured egg is expelled. Under normal conditions the egg passes downward and _ finally reaches the uterus. It is not known how long the egg remains in the Fal- lopian tube, but in the mare it may be eight or ten days, and in the cow twenty-four hours (Vere- bungslehre, Keller). It may sometimes happen that the egg is thrown out into the abdominal cavity instead of passing into the Fallopian tube. In very rare cases such an egg may become fertilized and abdominal pregnancy result. The uterus.— This organ is a large muscular sac in which the embryo is nourished until sufficiently developed to lead an independent existence. The walls are fortified with powerful muscles which play an exceedingly important part in bringing about the final expulsion of the foetus at the time of birth. The inside lining of the uterus of the cow is thickly studded with wart-like projections, the so-called cotyledons which, connected as they are with the nutritive membrane (decidua) sur- rounding the foetus, are closely associated with the nutrition of the embryo. The uterus is joined as above described with the Fallopian tubes, and on its lower and posterior part it becomes constricted and forms the neck or cervix which marks the end of the uterus and the beginning of the vagina. Failure to breed on the part of many females is often due to a severe contraction of the neck of the uterus, closing the entrance to the womb and thus preventing the male fecundating fluid reaching the female egg. Fig. 29. Hgg-cell (ovum).—The ege-cell is the largest cell in the animal body. It is filled with dark-colored protoplasm and granular materials which have been stored during its development in the ovary. These materials form a reserve of nutritive substance for the rapid develo, ment of the embryo. The nucleus of the egg-cell is called the germinative vesicle, and Ovaria, oviducts and uterus of sheep (Owen). this nucleus, after the fertilization of the egg, seems to acquire the power of slow movement. It moves to one surface of the egg and there under- goes changes preparing it for growth by division. The male cell. (spermatozodn.) —In all higher animals the male cell is composed of a nucleus and a vibratile cilium. The latter seems to exist for the purpose of propelling the male cell through a fluid medium. Thus, as a result of the activity of this organ the male cells may be and often are conveyed through the opening of the uterus through the uterine sack into the Fallopian tubes and finally to the ovary itself. This property of the spermatozoon renders the fertilization of the ege almost certain at some point of its descent from the ovary. The male cells originate in the testicles of the male. The cells involved in the production of the spermatozoa are long tubules lined with epithelial cells with well-defined nuclei. This nucleus is the one part preserved throughout all the changes from the epithelial cell of the testicle to the finally perfect spermatozoon. Fertilization of the ovwm. The spermatozoon pushes its way along until it meets the ovum through the tissues of which it 30 SOME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL-BREEDING forces its way into the interior of the cell. The nucleus of the male cell passes through changes similar to those already described in the egg, and this changed nucleus unites with the nucleus of the ovum. Changes immediately occur which lead to the growth and development of the embryo. The new nucleus divides and subdivides, forming new cells and continually increasing in size and complexity, passes successively through those interesting stages of embryonic development, end- ing finally in a perfect individual with the charac- ters of its parents more or less clearly indicated. It is thus that the process of fertilization results in a quantitative and qualitative distribution of the germ substance of both the male and female parents. The so-called daughter cell, which is formed by the fusion of the male and female cells, rapidly develops by the division of the nuclear substance. The significant result of this division is that every new cell is supplied with the germ elements of both parents and hence may exhibit the characteristics of both. The mature breeding animal. The reproductive functions in animals are not fully developed at birth, and after reaching their fullness, decline with age. As the animal approaches maturity, the sexual organs become fully developed and the sexual instincts are prominent. This stage in the animal’s life is called the period of puberty. Puberty.—In the female, puberty is coexistent with the ripening of the first egg, and indicates the time at which the young animal becomes cap- able of reproduction. The age at which puberty occurs, varies considerably with the breed of the animal and the methods of handling during the first months of the animal’s life. Young animals gener- ously fed on a nutritious diet, reach the period of puberty considerably earlier than those fed on a sparse diet. Cattle arrive at the period of puberty at four to eighteen months of age; horses at twelve to twenty-four months ; sheep at six to ten Fig. 30. months, and swine at three toseven months. The period of puberty does not represent the best time to breed. The artificial conditions which surround our domestic animals cause them to come in heat much younger than ina wild state. Great injury has been done by breeding females too young. The Typical mammalian ovum (Schiifer). results of this practice have diminished the size and decreased the fecundity of many domestic animals, especially in the case of swine. The best age to breed will vary somewhat with conditions. When the breeding animals are very valuable, it is important to give each individual an opportunity to develop perfectly. In commercial stock husbandry, it is sometimes more profitable to sacrifice some- what of full development to early maturity and quick returns. The ex- perience of breeders indicates that the following ages are the best for breeding: Horses, two to three years; beef cattle, twenty to twenty-seven months; dairy cattle, eighteen to twenty-four months; sheep, eighteen to twenty months ; swine, eight to twelve months. The period of heat—The begin- ning of puberty in the female is characterized by the ripening of a mature egg, and external symptoms which together are called the period of heat, or, in some wild animals, the rutting season. This period is accompanied by various manifesta- tions. The external genitals become swollen and red, and this is accom- panied by the discharge of a reddish é ne i. mucous. There is frequent urination *P&mstozoon a A Bos taurus, and sometimes a swelling of the the ox mammary glands. The female is often restless and utters loud cries. The duration of heat varies, but normally continues in the mare two to three days, in the cow twelve to twenty-four hours, in the sow one to three days, and in the ewe two to three days. The frequency with which the heat recurs in different animals varies within rather narrow limits. The period of heat in the mare recurs rather irregularly, but most stallioners agree that the mare will come in heat nine days after delivery and each two or three weeks thereafter. The cow comes in heat forty to sixty days after delivery, if suckling the calf, and twenty to thirty days if the calf is taken away at birth. After the first appear- ance of heat in the cow, the period recurs with con- siderable regularity each three weeks thereafter. The sow invariably shows signs of heat three days after weaning the pigs, and recurs every nine to twelve days. The mare and ewe come in heat regu- larly during the spring and autumn months. At other seasons, the period is irregular and often entirely absent. If the animal is bred at the time of heat, con- ception in normal cases. will result, and, after a period of development in the uterus of the mother, there will be expelled from the generative organs a perfect individual. This period of development is called the period of gestation. The period of gestation.—The period of gestation is the time between the impregnation of the ovum and the birth of the young. In egg-laying animals it is the period of incubation. The length of this SOME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL-BREEDING 3x period is subject to considerable variation, deter- mined by various causes not well understood. In general its length is in relation to the size of the animal. The following is a list of a few animals and the period of gestation of each : Elephant . . .. . . 20 to 30 months. STARE 5 SSRs 14 months. PALO fe) 5, sic. sc 10 to 12 months. SNE E ss: 0, wise 12 months. AVEaECNSR aD si. (a s)s=) vs 11 to 12 months Dawei, 5 sc ss 9 to 94 months (285 days). SGEISS SOMES - . 6 months. Sheep and goat . 5 months (21 weeks). NOWMSIer cl sass 4 months. SB AVGTMems fa) is, fs) Fig. 40. neck; 8, crest; 9, withers; 10, back; 11, quarter; 17, gaskin or lower thigh; 18, hock; 19, stifle; 20, flank; 21, ribs; 22, tendons; 23, fetlocks; 24, pastern; 25, foot; 26, heel of foot; 27, canon; 28, knee; 29, forearm; 30, Parts of the horse. loin; 12, chest; 31, arm; 32, shoulder; 33, throatlatch; the important breeds of the domestic animals. The conformation of the different classes of animals and of the individual breeds is considered under the discussion of the animals in Part III; but the general subject of scorecards may well be con- sidered together for purposes of comparison, and the subject naturally relates itself to breeding, which we have just considered. I. Horse types (Figs. 40-44). Draft horse—-This is the heaviest and largest representative of the horse tribe. The demand for this class of horses is principally from the great cities, where the ability to pull heavy loads is a first requirement. The general form is massive, powerful, low-down, blocky and compact. The value of this type, other things being equal, is directly proportional to its weight. This is illustrated by Craig in the following comparison of the average 1, Muzzle; 2, nostrils: 3, face; 4, eye; 5, forehead; 6, ear; 7, hip; 13, croup; 14, tail; 15, thigh: 16, A, thoroughpin: B, eurb; C, bog and blood spavin; D, bone spavin; E, splint; F, windgall; G, cappel elbow; H, poil evil. price of draft horses on the Chicago market during the year 1903: Average weight Average price A OmGES =| oo A oO Do oO $155 87 WEIN TOI Go oo A ao 159 15 1500 pounds ..... ooo oF 169 15 TSbO Spoundsye) owe en elect ae em 176 56 i GOOspoumds; =) to lpeeemn aan eee 176 62 Usp E Ges SooS cham 40% 208 64 UUM 6 Spoon co oO 6 212 89 T75OMpoundss.) 2 ys) tena eee 236 14 L80Opounds! 29s (2h. ey ee 258 33 The quality of the draft horse is indicated by the bone and hair. The t bone should be large, Ae strong, dense and firm, and the tendons sharply defined and prominent. The fineness and silki- ness of the hair, espec- ially of the “feather” or hair on the fetlocks, is indicative of a good bone. Below the knee and hock the cannon bone should be flat. It is not to be expected that the draft horse will develop speed, but he should exhibit a bold, free and regular gait at the walk or trot. “A paddling or waddling. gait is undesirable. The detailed examina- tion of a draft horse is greatly aided by the use of a score-card. The fol- lowing score-card' used at the University of Mis- souri indicates the de- sirable characters to be sought for in the draft horse. It must be clearly re- membered that it is not possible to arrange the valuable qualities of an animal according to any mathematical formula. The score-card, however, does attempt to designate the relative values to be placed on the development of the individual qualities of the animal. The numbers placed opposite each part or quality may be considered as percentage values and represent, therefore, the relative importance ascribed by expert judges and breeders of live-stock to the valuable qualities possessed by the various types of domestic animals. The expert judge never uses a score-card in show-yard judging, but it has been found to be an exceedingly valuable method of teaching and of learning elements of live-stock- judging. When one has scored a number of ani- mals carefully according to a given score-card, he should have good judgment as to the values of the different “points.” 1The author is indebted to his associate, E. B. Forbes, for suggestions for score-cards accompanying this article, ANIMAL TYPES AND Drart Horse Score-CARD Class, Gelding GENERAL CHARACTERS Form.—Broad, massive, blocky, low-down, compact and symmetrical. Scale large for the age. Quality.—General refinement of clean-cut and sym- metrical features; bone clean, large and strong; skin and hair fine ; tendons clean, sharply defined, and prominent. Constitution.—Generous and symmetrical development; lively carriage; ample heart-girth, capacity of barrel and depth of flanks ; eyes, full, bright and clear; nostrils large and flexible ; absence of grossness or of undue refinement. ScaLE oF PornTs Bercect 1. Height, estimated_____hands; corrected hands. 2. Weight, estimated Ibs.; corrected Ibs.; score according to age and condition . . . 10 8. Action, walk: rapid, springy, regular, straight ; trot: free, balanced, straight. ... . ae LD 4, Temperament, energetic, tractable... .. 3 5. Head, proper proportionate size; well carried; PaOUE) Fm Sold Go atolo te 6 O66 6 1 6. Muzzle, neat; nostrils large, flexible; lips thin, evenefirm) =). <5 - SSC MDG OSD ONCaL 1 Fig. 41. The English shire. A good draft type. SCORE-CARDS 45 ScaLE OF POINTS, continued Beriest 7. Eyes, bright, clear, full, both same color... 1 Seoreheadsebroadsstullirapiceienenist ete Hog at 9. . Ears, medium size, wellcarried. ...... 1 . Lower jaw, angles wide, well muscled . 5 . Neck, well muscled, arched; throat-latch fine; Wiens IPA) 5 og ao ko ono 6 G6 oO 2 . Shoulder, moderately sloping, smooth, snug, ex- ronchye Ti@ Wake Sc Sa 6G aad 4 6 . Arm, short, strongly muscled, thrown back. . . Forearm, long, wide, clean, heavily muscled. . . Knees, straight, wide, deep, strong, clean. . . . Fore cannons, short, wide, clean; tendons clean, well defined, prominent. ..... 6. BG . Fetlocks, wide, straight, strong, clean. ... . Pasterns, moderately sloping; strong, clean. . . Fore-feet, large, even size; sound; horn dense, waxy; soles concave; bars strong, full; frogs larve, elastic; heels wide, one-half length of toe, vertical toground. ....... a6 . Chest, deep, wide; breast bone low; girth large . . Ribs, deep, well sprung; closely ribbed to hip . . Back, broad, short, strong, muscular... . . . Loins, short, wide, thickly muscled. . . . . 0 . Barrel, deep, flanks full. ...... ola . Hips, broad, smooth, level, well muscle. . . . . Croup, wide, heavily muscled, not too drooping . . Thighs, deep, broad, muscular... .. Soto . Quarters, plump with muscle, deep... ..- Wer Ndr ho o8 po bo bO DY NY DO DY CO —= Ww y, My j, LE INN 46 ANIMAL TYPES AND SCORE-CARDS = Pertect SCALE OF POINTS, continued Beara 29. Stifles, large, strong, muscular, clean. ... 2 30. Gaskins, long, wide, clean heavily muscled. . 2 81. Hocks, large, strong, wide, deep, clean, well set 8 32. Hind cannons, short, wide, clean; tendons clean, wells‘defined: "=; <1 |: /-, (elms, Savaeeeaomerie ie 2 83. Fetlocks, wide, straight, strong, clean. . . . 1 34. Pasterns, moderately sloping, strong, clean. . 2 35. Hind feet, large, even size; sound; horn dense, waxy; soles concave; bars strong, full; frogs large, elastic; heels wide, one-half length of toe, vertical toground. ......... 6 AO i oln Bho Oo a o-oo OGG -tetP oO 100 the mane and tail is fine and of a silky texture. Action and speed are of prime importance and are given great prominence in judging this class of horses. The action should be prompt, spirited, straight and regular. The legs and feet are of first importance in determining the durability of these horses, and hence it goes without saying that these parts should be free from any unsoundness. The legs should possess strong, dense and flat bone. The tendons and veins stand out prominently and fleshiness or inclination to puffiness should be severely criticized. The special type of light horses which are valued for special purposes are the coach or carriage horse, the American trotter or roadster, the Thoroughbred or running horse, and the American saddle horse. The coach horse is the largest representative of the light horse type. He was originally developed for pulling heavy coaches at a good speed. He is still well adapted for work on the heavy carriages of Europe and of the large cities of this country. The characteristics of most importance are Fig. 43. Light horse types. —The various breeds of carriage, trotting, running and saddle horses have many characters in common, and the essential qualities of all these may perhaps be combined in one description. The general appearance of this type is lean, lithe, symmetrical and muscular. The whole aspect is one of extreme nervous energy and power. The back is short and strong, and the legs relatively long as compared with the draft type. The quality is indicated by extreme refinement, clean-cut features, straight and lean. The hair of A coach type. Charlemagne 3910. symmetry and good action, about sixteen hands high, smooth and symmetrical in conformation and graceful carriage. The American trotter or roadster is a distinct- ively American breed. The chief requirements of this class are stamina and speed. The best repre- sentatives are 154 to 15? hands high and weigh 1,000 to 1,100 pounds. The general form is one of leanness and angularity. The action is less showy, but straight, true and long-reaching. The long stride of this class is characteristic and accounts ANIMAL TYPES AND SCORE-CARDS 47 for much of the ability of this type to cover the ground rapidly. The Thoroughbred or running horse was devel- oped by the English largely for the sport of racing. The characteristics described above as belonging to the whole class of light horses are intensified in every respect in the Thoroughbred. Fig. 44. Trotting horse. Directum. Owned by M. W. Savage. He exhibits the highest possible development of nervous energy, sinewy and muscular proportions and densest bone. His evolution has been in the direction of the greatest possible speed and endurance at the running gait. He is small in size and represents the extreme of quality. He has been used largely in the improvement of other light horse breeds. The American saddle horse has been justly called the most beautiful modern breed. His graceful form and smooth frictionless action are remarkable examples of the results of skillful breeding. As compared with the light horses the saddle horse approaches the Thoroughbred in form, but has a much longer neck and an easier, more graceful movement. The peculiarity of this breed is the facility with which it may be trained to go several distinct gaits. These gaits are the rack, or single foot, the running walk, the straight walk, trot and canter. The score-card which is here given is an attempt so describe the essential characteristics of the light horse type in one score-card. Licht Horse Score-CARD Class, Gelding GENERAL CHARACTERS Form.— Light, lean, lithe and muscular ; long-legged, short in back; having general appearance indicative of extreme activity. Quality.—Extreme refinement of symmetrical and clean-cut features, showing every requirement of strength, endurance, style and grace; skin thin and pliable, show- ing veins plainly ; hair fine ; mane and tail fine and long ; bone possessing plenty of substance but great refinement ; tendons clean, strong and sharply defined. Constitution.— Generous and symmetrical develop- ment; an expression of great nervous energy; action spirited; heart-girth large; floor of chest full; barrel well rounded and moderately deep; hind flanks properly developed; eyes full, bright and clear; nostrils large ; bone possessing abundant substance as well as refinement. Pefect ScALE oF PoINTS nek . Weight, Ibs.; corrected lbs. . Height, ___hands; corrected. hands .. 2 . Action, walk: long; fast, elastic, straight and regular; trot: rapid, regular, straight. . . 15 . Temperament, spirited, energetic and tractable. 5 . Skin, thin, pliable, showing veins plainly ; coat fine, soft, bright . Head, correct proportionate size, well carried ; features clean cut; profile straight . . 2 . Muzzle, neat, nostrils large, flexible ; lips, inti, firm and even o dl . Eyes, full, bright, clear,same color ..... 2 . Forehead, broad and full S Oeconic Mao mCER Nae 2 . Ears, medium size, pointed, well carried, alert. 1 . Lower jaw, angles wide, space clean,well muscled 1 . Neck, well muscled, arched, throatlatch fine ; windpipe large . Shoulder, long, sloping, smooth, extending into back 3 14, Arm, short, strong, well muscled, thrown back. 1 15. Forearm, long, wide, clean, well muscled. . . 2 16. Knees, straight,wide, deep, strong, clean, strongly supported 5 4 2 1 3 17. Cannons, short, clean, wide; ‘tendons large, clean and prominent 5\\'0 18. Fetlocks, wide, straight, strong, clean 19. Pasterns, long, sloping, strong, clean. . . . . 20. Fore feet, medium size, even and scund; horn dense and waxy; soles concave; bars strong and full; frogs large and elastic ; heels wide, one-half length of toe; vertical to ground . 21. Withers, high, extending well into back 22. Chest, deep, low, girth large 23. Ribs, deep, well sprung, closely coupled. . . . 24, Back, short, broad, strong, muscular ..... 25. Loins, short, broad, thickly muscled 26. Barrel, long in under line ; flanks well let down . 27. Hips, smooth, wide and level 28. Croup, long, wide, muscular, not drooping. . . 29. Tail, attached high, well haired, well carried. . 30. Thighs, deep, broad, strong, muscular ... . 31. Quarters, deep, plump with muscle 32. Stifles, strong, clean, muscular ....... 33. Gaskins, long, wide, ‘muscular PET oe eee whe 34. Hocks, large, strong, wide, deep, clean, well set. 35. Cannons, short, clean, wide; tendons large, clean and prominent. ..... 2 36. Fetlocks, wide, straight, strong and clean .. 1 37. Pasterns, strong, sloping, springy,clean... 3 38. Hind feet, medium size, even, sound; horn dense, waxy ; soles concave; bars strong, full; frogs large, elastic; heels wide ........ 4 NWN WORPNNHYNNNWrO MIs oso on ceo oo go oOo 6 Od II. Cattle types (Figs. 45-49). The domestic cattle of the world are bred and improved principally for three purposes: for beef, milk and labor. Incidentally they furnish useful materials for clothing and for many of the arts. The types most common to America are the beef and dairy types. The extremes of these classes 48 ANIMAL TYPES AND SCORE-CARDS are very distinct, but merge into one another and are then sometimes called dual-purpose cattle. Beef type.—The cattle belonging to this type are Fig. 45. Parts of the cow. 1, muzzle; 2, face; 3, forehead; 4, throat; 5, neck; 6, dewlap; 7, shoulder; 8, wethers; 9, back; 9;, crops; 10, chine; 11, ribs; 12, fore ribs; 12), fore flank; 12, 12,, chest; 13, belly; 14, flank; 15, loin; 16, hips; 17, rump; 18, setting of tail; 19, thurl or pin-bone; 20, quarter; 21, thigh; 22, hock; 23, switch; 24, leg; 25, stifle; 26, udder; 27, teat; 28, forearm; 29, knee; 30, shank; 31, hoof. distinguished by their ability to produce a fine quality of beef. Consumers pay a high premium for the choicest cuts of beef, and those animals which supply the largest proportion of these choice cuts are the most in demand and bring the highest prices in the cattle market. The gen- eral form of the beef animal is broad, straight, deep and compact. The top and bottom lines should be straight, the legs short, the back broad and thickly covered with flesh. The qualities most desired in the finished animal are supplied bya carcass that possesses the ; smallest percentage of offal Zi or waste parts and a high percentage of edible meat. The indications of prime quality in the fat animal are firmness, yet springy con- sistency of the flesh, and all exposed parts of the bony skeleton well covered. Unde- sirable quality is indicated by a large head, coarse bone, unevenly distributed and patchy flesh. The head should be moderately fine with a broad, full and high fore- head, which will suggest a well-developed nervous sys- tem and strong vitality. A clear full eye shows good health and gentle tempera- ment. The shoulder of a good beef animal is compact and well covered with flesh, with no coarseness or angu- larity. The chest is broad, mak VY XG deep and full in every part. A well-sprung rib giving a broad back with large heart-girth gives increased room for the valuable meat cuts. The back is broad, straight and of medium length. The loin, carrying, as it does, the highest quality of flesh, is justly regarded by consumer, butcher and feeder alike as the one most important part of the entire animal. The hips are smooth and wide apart. The rump of the beef animal is long, level and wide. A full, thick and well-fleshed thigh will not be overlooked, and with such a thigh the twist will extend well down, giving the general appearance of very short legs when the animal is viewed from behind. A detailed description of the beef animal is given in the score-card fol- lowing. BEEF CATTLE SCORE-CARD Class, Breeding Females GENERAL CHARACTERS Form.—Compact, thick-set and short-legged in appear- ance; body deep, thick and of medium length; top line straight, under line low in flanks; scale medium to large, not greatly above average for the breed. Quality. — General refinement of symmetrical and clean-cut features; breed characters pronounced; bone fine w AWWW ile y ake = Fig. 46. The beef type. “Choice goods,”’ a famous Shorthorn bull. ANIMAL TYPES AND SCORE-CARDS 49 and clean; hair fine and soft; skin of not more than medium thickness; head, neck and legs short and fine, but strong. Condition.—Great wealth of natural flesh, as from abundant supply of best grass or other roughage, but not _ excessively fat; flesh firm, mellow and springy, without ties, lumps, patches or rolls, especially in the back and loin; skin loose and soft; depth and evenness of flesh consistent with degree of fatness. Constitution.— Generous and symmetrical develop- ment; lively carriage; ample heart-girth, capacity of barrel and depth of flanks; eyes full, bright and clear; nostrils wide apart, large and open ; absence of refinement to point of delicacy; skin of at least medium thickness and free from scurf; coat soft and bright. Early maturity.—Genera] refinement and compactness; body large, extremities small; shortness of head, neck and legs; amplitude of girth in chest, belly and flanks. Sexuality.—Strongly marked; a general appearance of sensibility and feminine refinement of features; moder- ate length and great capacity in coupling; width in loin, hip-bones and pin-bones; well-developed udder and promi- nent milk veins; horn and coat fine; eyes expressive of mild and gentle sensitiveness. ScaLe OF POINTS . Age, estimated ; corrected . Weight, estimated lbs.; corrected score according to age and condition. . Skin, of medium thickness, loose, soft, elastic, free from scurf. . . Hair, fine, soft, thick; color and markings accord ing to breed . o 6 . Temperament, quiet, mild and contented . a . Muzzle, mouth large, lips thin, nostrils large, open and wide apart . z oo 6 . Face, fine, moderately short and ‘broad . . Forehead, full, broad and square. ..... . Eyes, full, bright, clear and placid: ..... : Jaws, wide, deep and strong . 11. Horns, medium to small, fine texture, shape and color according to breed Gayeaectarsetch ce 5 Gue . Hars, medium size, fine texture. . . Neck, thick, short, curving smoothly into shoul- ders and brisket; throat clean; dewlap slight . . Shoulders, compact, snug, smooth, well fleshed . . Fore-legs, short, straight, strong; arm full; bone fine and clean; feet small, strong, even; hoofs dense... 16. Brisket, moderately projecting, neat and broad . 17. Chest, full, deep, wide ; heart-girth large; fore flanks deep anal ill 2 56 obo 0 6 oo 18. Barrel, capacious, medium length Be 0° 19. Crops, moderately full, flesh thick and even Sipe 20. Ribs, long, closely set, well sprung, extending fairly well back ; back broad and straight flesh thick and even . . 5 21. Loin, broad, straight ; flesh thick: and | even 22. Hips, wide but not prominent, capable of being smoothly covered . . 23. Rump, long, level, wide; tail- head smooth; “flesh thick andeven .. . did came 24, Pin-bones, far apart, not ‘prominent 5 0 0 - 25. Tail, tapering, bone fine . . . 26. Thighs and twist, full, muscled well down. to MOCKS izes.) 27. Hind-legs, short, straight, ‘strong; bone fine and clean, feet small, strong, even; hoofs dense . 28. Hind flank, low, full, thick) i 29. Udder, large, shapely, evenly quartered, not fleshy ; teats uniform, medium sized, squarely placed, milk veins prominent Ol Ch DNLOue a OMe Motalmcapatsicn et envanterieviclee tiie @ cer eee cs 0-100 a4 Perfect score lbs.; a SOON AN fF w we Hepp wo wo om a oe cob L al — (3,3) am) moo O10 | ll coe PNHNo WwW DO ww oD BEEF CATTLE SCORE-CARD Class, Breeding Bulls GENERAL CHARACTERS Form.—Compact, thick-set, and short-legged in appear- ance ; body deep, thick and of medium length; top line straight, under line low in flanks; fore quarters heavier than in a cow; scale medium to large, not greatly above average for the breed. Fig. 47. give a light yield of carcass and a proportionately large amount of the cheap cuts. A poor ‘peer t type. Light quarters and narrow frame Quality.— Features clean cut and symmetrical, show- ing great strength without grossness ; breed characters pronounced ; bone strong and clean; hair moderately fine and soft ; skin of medium thickness ; head, neck and legs short, strong and massive. Condition.— Great wealth of natural flesh as from abundant supply of best grass or other roughage, but not excessively fat; flesh firm, mellow and springy, without ties, lumps, patches or rolls, especially in the back and loin; depth and evenness of flesh consistent with degree of fatness. Constitution.—Generous and symmetrical develop- ment ; lively carriage ; ample heart-girth, capacity of bar- rel and depth of flanks; eye full, bright and clear; nostrils wide apart, large and open; absence of grossness or of undue refinement. Early maturity.— Compactness and strength with as much refinement as is consistent with masculinity ; body large, extremities small; shortness of head, neck and legs; amplitude of girth in chest, belly and flanks. Sexuality.— Strongly marked; a majestic carriage and general appearance of masculine power and aggres- siveness ; great strength without grossness in head, neck and legs; chest well developed; shoulders very strong ; well-developed sexual organs. Perfect score ScALE OF POINTS . Age, estimated__; corrected . Weight, estimated Ibs.; corrected according to age and condition. . . Skin, moderately thick, loose, soft, elastic, free from scurf. . . . Hair, thick ; moderately fine and ‘soft, “color and markings according to breed . . Temperament, alert but quiet and good natured . Muzzle, mouth large, lips round and: firm; nos- \trils large, open and wide apart. . .... . Face, short, straight, strong, full. ..... . Forehead, full, very broad, heavy between eyes . . Eyes, full, bright, clear, mild. . . . . . « « lbs.; oon Oo — WO Wr @™pnwp wo w oo 50 ANIMAL TYPES AND SCORE-CARDS : Perfect ScALE OF POINTS, continued Sanre 10. Jaws, wide, deep and strong... ...... 1 11. Horns, fine texture, strong; shape and color ac- COording: Losbrecd erm meat rtt-tei eh icueatie 12. Ears, medium size, well haired, not coarse. . 1 13. Neck, short, massive, curving strongly into shoulders and brisket ; crest strong; throat clean; dewlapslight. .... 3 14. Shoulders, strongly developed, compact, snug, well fleshed . . 5 15. Fore-legs, short, straight, arm full, bone strong and clean; hoofs large, strong, even and dense . 3 16. Brisket, deep, broad, rounded, neat, moderately projecting. . 1 17. Chest, full, deep, wide; heart-girth large; fore flanksdeep. . . . 10 18. Barrel, deep, broad,medium length 4 19. Crops, full and thick, straight in WINE Go 6 4. 5 oe eo 5 20. Ribs, long, closely set, well sprung, extending well back; back broad and straight; flesh thick and even era: sees. < alors 21. Loin, broad, straight ; flesh thick NICO VON fee eaters a 6 22. Hips, wide, but not prominent, capable of being BWenv earl TS ohaug Gag G ond Sc 3 23. Rump, long, level, wide; tail-head smooth; flesh Phick#andl@vene tjuesiysi= uclioteel “ley Eee) 24. Pin-bones, far apart, not prominent. .... 2 25. Tail, tapering, bone moderately fine. . ... ul 26. Thighs, full, wide and deep; muscled well down GOMMOCKS Stace ar aveiisiks! Nengsep cist toa alterna 4 Ai eLwist,ydeep and full, 2) lems lets irss sleet 4 28, Hind-legs, short, straight, bone strong and clean; hoofs large, strong and even. ..... .~ 3 295 Hindi flankss full! low "s)he. ete eens 4 30. Testicles, well developed, both present and nor- Mal lyaplaced\'c\-.) (chicutte) ivmen (otq

a > === : ~ unr sly ney Fig. 384. cates oe of flesh, and as they become fat there is a tendency to produce patches of fat about the tail-head and rolls along the sides. A criticism of the breed that has been made in the past is that Shorthorns were too long in the legs. There was probably just ground for this criticism in the old type of Shorthorn, but since the breed has received such an infusion of the blood of the low-set, short-legged Scotch type, this tendency has been largely done away with. The color of the Shorthorn is more variable than that of any other breed of cattle. It may be pure red, pure white, a mixture of these two colors, or roan. Roan is distinctively a Shorthorn color, and may always be regarded as an indication of Short- horn blood. Red and white were always character- istic colors of the old Shorthorn breed in England, but after their introduction into the United States, white became unpopular, especially on the western ranges, and anything except a solid red color was greatly discriminated against. The demand for red cattle became greater than the supply of good individuals, and sires of very ordinary character were used for no other reason than that they were red, while excellent individuals of the lighter colors were rejected. Good sense and sound judg- a \y SSEXNE SQ WS Wit NN a \\ a . Somer: =z, ix ée ass E> Champion Shorthorn bull. Whitehall Sultan 163573. CATTLE ment finally prevailed in the matter, and the red color craze has abated so that whites and roans — have again come into popularity. No scale of points has been adopted for the Shorthorn breed of cattle. History. As has been said, the Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in northeastern England, and first became popular in the shires of Durham, North- umberland, Lincoln and York. From this somewhat restricted ‘territory their popularity gradually ex- tended throughout England and Scotland, until, early in the nineteenth century, they were by far the most popular race of cattle in the British Isles. — Authorities differ somewhat as to the particular stock used in developing this breed. All agree, however, that the largest factor entering into their production was the native cattle of the northeast- ern section of England. That occa- sional crosses of Dutch bulls were used is probable. Collings Brothers. — Improvement began about 1750, although very lit- tle methodical or efficient work was accomplished prior to the cattle-— breeding operations of Messrs. Rob- ert and Charles Collings, of Barmpton and Ketton Hall. By careful selection \\} and inbreeding they succeeded in set- ting standards towards which con- temporary breeders aimed. Charles Collings’ first Shorthorn purchase was made in 1784. His herd was dispersed successfully in 1810. Robert Collings’ herd was sold partly in 1818 and the remainder in 1820. While these two brothers operated their farms sepa- rately and maintained separate herds, their methods and accomplishments were similar They were unusually fortunate in the purchase 0: that first great Shorthorn sire, Hubback (319). While this was an undersized bull, yellow-red in color, he proved a fortunate “nick » for the late- maturing, coarse cows so common in the early his tory of the breed. As breeders of the Durham Ox, The White Heifer that Traveled, Favorite (252) and Comet (155), these pioneer breeders established a reputation for breeding good Shorthorns that has made an impression on every careful student of the early history of the breed. Other English breeders.—Among others, the fo lowing breeders were identified with the early history of the breed: Sir William St. Quintin, Sir James Pennyman, and Messrs. Milbank, Sharter, Pickering, Stephenson, Wetherell, Maynard, Do son, Charge, Wright, Hutchinson, Snowdon, W: tell, Richard and William Barker, Brown, E Hill, Best, Watson, Baker, Thompson, Jack Smith, Jolly, Masterman, Wallace, and Robe: Darlington was for years looked on as the ce’ of Shorthorn interests, although, strange as it may seem, there is but little activity in breeding Short- horns in that section at the present time. Thomas Bates of Kirklevington.—Thomas Bates, ee CATTLE who was destined to become such an important factor in the breeding of Shorthorn cattle, pur- chased his first stock in 1800. He had previ- ously been a breeder of Kyloes or West Highland cattle. He was well prepared for the work he undertook, and established families of Shorthorns of such pronounced individuality and recognized excellence of pedigree that they were at one time by far the most popular strain of the breed. Prices were paid during “boom times” for Bates’ Shorthorns that have never been approached by Shorthorns of other lines of breeding. Thomas Bates was a stickler for pedigree. He assumed that cattle bred along certain specified lines would produce, when mated, almost invariably certain desired results. The particular family or tribe which he developed most and favored most was the Duchess. Fabulous prices have been paid for rep- resentatives of this family. The highest recorded price, $40,600, was paid for a cow of this family at the New York Mills sale of September 10, 1873. Belvedere (1706) was one of the best bulls used by Bates, while the Duke of Northumberland (1940), the acknowledged champion bull of Eng- land in 1842, was undoubtedly the best bull ever produced at Kirkley- ington. Bates’ aim in breeding was to produce a dual-purpose cow, and as a consequence he gave careful attention to preserving the milking qualities of his Shorthorns. There was a characteristic style and finish about Bates’ Shorthorns that. still clings to cattle containing a strong infusion of this blood. While cattle of Thomas Bates’ breeding were fre- quently seen in the show-ring from 1838 to 1848, and wherever shown were unusually successful, he was personally very much opposed to training cattle for show. The Bates herd was dispersed in 1850, when prices were very low, and as a consequence the cattle did not bring what they were worth. The Booths——The elder Booth was a contempo- rary of Thomas Bates. His first herd was established at Killerby in 1790. His especial aim was to breed an earlier-maturing beast that would be noted for its beef-producing rather than its milk-producing qualities. While Mr. Booth was very ready to admit that the Collings had greatly improved Shorthorns, he did not think, as many of the breeders of the time apparently thought, that it was necessary to buy the females composing his herd of them. Among his early purchases were five heifer calves from the herd of Mr. Broader of Fairholme. To mate with these heifers, Mr. Booth purchased the Robert Collings bred bull, Twin Brother to Ben (660), and one of his get. Some of the best of the Killerby and Warlaby cattle descended from this line of breeding and from the following tribes or fam- ilies: Blossom, Bright Eyes, Isabella and the Booth Red Roses. Another bull which was purchased of Robert Collings was Suworow (626), at the disper- Fig. 385. CATTLE 371 sion sale of the Ketton Hall herd in 1810. Mr. Booth purchased the bull Albion (14), which proved to be a most excellent sire. Most of his bulls were from the Collings’ herds. Besides the families of Shorthorns mentioned, Thomas Booth was partial to the Strawberry and Bracelet tribes. In 1819, Mr. Thomas Booth gave up the Killerby farm and a part of his herd to his son John, and removed to his Warlaby farm, so prominent in Shorthorn history. To another son, Richard, who was on the Studley farm, he had also sold a number of his Shorthorns. Other families of Shorthorns which should be associated with the Booth families are the Fare- wells, the Broughton, Dairy Maids or Moss Roses, Gaudy or Lady Betty sort, Mantilinis and Belindas. Perhaps the three most famous show animals bred by Booth were Bracelet and Necklace, twin heifers, sired by Priam (2452) and Lady Fragrant. The twin cows mentioned proved excellent breed- oO A typical dual-purpose Shorthorn cow. Gipsy Maid. ers. The most famous bull used by any of the Booths was Crown Prince (10087), “The bull of all Booth bulls,” the one that was to Warlaby what Duke of Northumberland was to Kirklevington, and Champion of England was to Sittyton. Crown Prince was considered too valuable a stock-getter to be fitted for exhibition. The Booth family is still interested in the breed- ing of Shorthorns and the operations of this family will always remain an interesting chapter in the history of Shorthorns. They were prominent in the leading live-stock shows of the country, and un- doubtedly the breeding qualities of many of their best cattle were affected by high feeding for exhi- bition purposes. In United States ——The first recorded importation of Shorthorns to the United States was that of Mr. Miller, of Virginia, and Mr. Gough, of Baltimore, Maryland. These gentlemen imported from Great Britain, in 1783, some cattle that were undoubtedly of the Shorthorn breed. In the years 1790 and 1795, it is thought that they brought in consign- ments of cattle of the same breed. In 1791 and 1796, Mr. Heaton brought several Shorthorns from England to the state of New York, which were lost among the common stock of the country. AScotch- 372 CATTLE man named Cox, brought a Shorthorn bull and two cows to Rensselaer county, New York, in 1815. The first Kentucky importation was made in 1817, by Colonel Lewis Sanders, who purchased through an agent eight Shorthorns and four Longhorns. At about the same time, James Prentice, of Lexing- ton, Kentucky, imported two good Shorthorn bulls. Importations were brought to the state of Massa- chusetts in 1817 by Samuel Williams, in 1818 by Cornelius Coolidge. In 1822, Mr. Williams sent over the roan yearling heifer Arabella, by North Star (460). The Arabellas were noted for being heavy milkers, and at one time constituted a large and valuable family. Other Massachusetts importations of an early date were made by Messrs Lee, Orr, Monson, Coffin, Rotch and Silsby. From 1821 to 1828, several unimportant importations were made to New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1833, Walter Dunn, living near Lexington, Kentucky, imported six head of valuable Shorthorns. Another importation was made by Mr. Dunn in company with Samuel Smith in 1836. The year 1833 was an important one in Short- horn history, for it saw the organization of the Ohio Importing Company, “For the purpose of pro- moting the interest of agriculture and introducing an improved breed of cattle.” Felix Renick was chosen as the agent of this company to go to Eng- land to select cattle for the company. While it was not restricted to purchase all Shorthorns, it decided, after considerable investigation, to import only Shorthorns. Among the herds visited were those of Maynard, Booth, Bates, Whitaker, Alth- rope, Craddock, Raine and Paley. Seven bulls and twelve females were carefully selected for the first importation. In this lot were the two heifers, Rose of Sharon and Young Mary, which were destined to play such an important part in the history of Short- horns in the United States. This importation was so satisfactory to the shareholders of the Ohio Import- ing Company that their agent was soon author- ized to make arrangements for further importations. In 1885 and 1836, Mr. Whitaker, through Mr. Renick’s authorization, sent out two shipments comprising forty-two animals to the Ohio Import- ing Company. Among these were Josephine, Young Phyllis, Nlustrious, and Harriet. In August, 1836, this company held a sale on Felix Renick’s farm in Rose county, Ohio. Forty-three animals were sold at an average price of $803.25, or a total of $34,540. The final dispersion sale of the company was held in 1837, at which the fifteen animals averaged $1,071.65. A number of importations were made to Ohio from 1836 to 1840. In 1839, the Kentucky Importing Company brought over a number of Shorthorns. From 1840 to 1850, agriculture in the United States was in a very depressed state, and the cattle industry, along with other farm interests, remained practically at a standstill. There was little demand for breeding cattle, which resulted in large num- bers of Shorthorn breeding stock finding their way to the shambles. In 1852, the Scioto Valley Importing Company was organized. This company, through its agents, George W. Renick and Dr. CATTLE Arthur Watts, imported ten bulls and seventeen females, which were sold at auction at the very high average of $1,351.85. This sale proved a stimulus to Shorthorn-cattle-breeding interests, and other importing companies were quickly organized, ; among which were the Madison County, Ohio, the Northern Kentucky, and the Scott County Import- ing Companies, the Clinton County, Ohio, and Clark County, Ohio, Associations. , In 1852 and 1853, Mr. A. J. Alexander of Kane} tucky, who was visiting in Great Britain, laid the foundation of the Woodburn herd of Shorthorns, The first shipment of cattle to the Alexander farm — was made in 1853; subsequently other importa- tions were made, which included Duchess Airdrie, Duchess Athol, Pearlette, Victoria 20th, Filigree, Lady Gulnare, Minna, Constance, Rosabella, and other cows. Three of the leading bulls imported were Duke of Airdrie, Second Duke of Athol and Dr. Buckingham. At the Northern Kentucky and Scott County Companies’ sales, Mr. Alexander made important purchases in the cows Mazurka, Maid of - Melrose and Equity. The Woodburn herd took a prominent place in Shorthorn affairs and was at one time probably one of the largest and best Shorthorn herds in America if not in the world. The Duke of Airdrie (12730) was used a year by George M. Bedford and to some extent by Abram Renick and Jere Duncan, as well as by Mr. Alex-— ander. Bell Duke of Airdrie 2552, Duncan’s Duke of Airdrie 2748, and Airdrie 2478 are considered among this great bull’s most famous sons. Among the most prominent breeders of Short- horns in the United States at this early period should be mentioned Abram Renick of Kentucky. Perhaps the most far-reaching accomplishment of his efforts is to be found in the founding and bringing to a high degree of excellence that family that for many years attracted international atten-— tion, viz., the Rose of Sharon. The bull Airdrie 2478, already mentioned, was spoken of as one of medium size, very symmetrical, neat, smooth and stylish, and a remarkable sire of high-class bulls. This bull was used extensively in Mr. Renick’s herd and sired, among other famous Shorthorns, the bull Sweepstakes 6230, Joe Johnson, Airdrie 3d 13320, Dick Taylor 5508, and Airdrie Duke 5306. It was with the get of Airdrie that Mr. Renick began his system of in-and-inbreeding, producing the Rose of Sharons that called forth the admira- tion and respect of the entire Shorthorn-breeding fraternity. Even a brief history of Shorthorns should not omit the name of Warfield. Benjamin Warfield secured his first pure-bred Shorthorn in 1831. The first great sire in the herd was Renick 903. He was noted more as a sire than for his individual excellence. Benjamin Warfield was succeeded by his son, William Warfield, of Grasmere. One of the famous bulls used by Warfield was Muscatoon 7057. This bull proved to be not only an excel- lent show bull but a sire of superior show animals Mr. William Warfield originated the Loudon Duch- esses, by many persons ‘thought to be one of the best tribes of Shorthorns evolved in America. CATTLE Several importations were made into the eastern part of the United States from 1830 to 1860. .This stock was very largely of the Bates strains. Per- haps the most important importations during this period were by Mr. Samuel Thorne, of Thorndale, New York. His first importation was followed by others in 1854, 1855 and 1856. These constituted the highest-priced cattle that had thus far been brought to the United States. In 1857, Mr. Thorne purchased the Morris and Becar herd, consisting of fifty-three Shorthorns, at the reported price of $35,000. While the principal importations were confined to Kentucky, Ohio, and New York, Shorthorn activity was apparent elsewhere, notably in IIli- nois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and lowa. In Canada.—In 1833, Mr. Roland Wingfield, near Toronto, imported two Shorthorn bulls and five cows from England. Other early importations were made by the Home District Agricultural Society, Adam Furgeson, Messrs. George and John Simpson, William and George Miller and Frederick William Stone. It may be said, however, that the Short- horns were not imported extensively to Canada until Scotch Shorthorns came into popularity. Messrs. George and William Miller, Simon Beattie, George Isaac and M. H. Cochrane were first respon- sible for Shorthorn activity in Canada. The first Canadian to bring Scotch cattle into prominence in America was Mr. Joseph 8. Thompson, Mayfield, Whitby, Canada. He imported the Cham- pion of England heifers, Sylvia and Christobel, also Violet 4th. Mr. James I. Davidson, Balsam, Ontario, was also one of the early and most ardent supporters of the Scotch type in Shorthorns. He started his Shorthorn herd in 1860. From 1881 to 1887, practi- cally all the stock from the Sittyton herd that was brought to the United States passed through the hands of Mr. Davidson. Hon. John Dryden, Brook- lyn, Ontario, founded the Maple Shade Farm herd of Shorthorns, in 1871. He imported that famous Champion of England cow, Mimulus, and other good ones representing the best of the Sittyton blood. Hon. George Brown, of Bow Park farm, will go down in history as a prominent factor in Cana- dian Shorthorn activity. Among other Canadian breeders and importers were John M. Armstrong, Arthur Johnson, W. B. Telfar, W. Major, William Collum, Thomas Russell, Francis Green and George Whitfield. Important events in Shorthorn history since 1860. —In 1869 and 1870, Messrs. Walcott and Campbell, of New York, imported Booth Shorthorns and the entire Sheldon herd of Duchesses and Oxfords. This was the beginning of the greatest boom in Bates cattle in the United States. In 1867, Col. W. 8. King, of Minneapolis, Minn., founded his impor- tant herd in the northwest. From 1860 to 1880, Shorthorns of Bates families were undoubtedly preéminently popular in the United States. In Canada, however, Scotch Shorthorns were gaining in popularity. The first sale of cattle ever held in Dexter Park, Chicago, was in the year 1872. These were prosperous times for Shorthorn breeders. This CATTLE 373 prosperity extended into the next year and culmi- nated in one of the greatest if not the greatest public sales of pedigreed cattle held in the. world, namely, the New York Mills sale of Walcott and Campbell, September 10, 1873. This herd contained the only liv- ing Duchesses which were descended direct from the Bates herd without the admixture of blood from other sources. The sale was very largely attended by Shorthorn fanciers from Great Britain, Canada and the United States. At this sale the eighth Duchess of Geneva brought $40,600, and many others were sold at fabulous prices. Almost imme- diately following this sale there came a period of financial depression, and Shorthorn cattle gradually decreased in value for a few years. Popularity of Scotch Shorthorns.—Undoubtedly the most notable feature of Shorthorn history from 1880 to the present time has been the growing popularity of Scotch Shorthorns. Of all the breed- ers of Scotch Shorthorns, Amos Cruickshank is looked on as the most famous. He was an Aber- deenshire tenant farmer, who thought that Short- horns had been too much pampered for practical use on the tenant farms of Scotland, where climatic conditions made it necessary for the farmers to choose a hardy race of cattle. He was a lover of Shorthorns, and determined to develop a type that would meet the requirements of the farmers of Scotland. His ideal was a short-legged, broad, thick-fleshed beast, carrying a good middle; that is, a well-sprung rib and a thick, fleshy back and loin. He selected animals of this type with which to found his herd, and was so successful that his herd soon became recognized as the foremost one of Scotland. His brother, Anthony, was associated with him. Mr. Cruickshank got a very strong hold on Shorthorn breeders, that remains to this day. To such an extent is this true that one Shorthorn may be two to five times more valuable than another of equal individual merit, simply because it has a good Scotch pedigree and the other has not. Among those who have helped to popularize Scotch Shorthorns in America may be mentioned Col. W. A. Harris, of Linwood, Kans., J. J. Hill, of St Paul, Minn., and Col. T. 8. Moberly, of Rich- mond, Ky. Many other names might be added. Distribution. The Shorthorn is the most widely distributed breed of cattle. It is found in Europe, especially in Great Britain, in Asia, South Africa, Australia, North and South America. It is the most popular and most widely distributed beef breed of cattle in the United States and Canada, and is found in every state and province in these two countries. In the United States, Shorthorns are found most numer- ously in the following states, in order of their importance: Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan. They are still growing in popularity. One feature which adds greatly to the popularity of the Shorthorns is their great adaptability. They have the power to adapt themselves to varying conditions of food, climate and treatment. Although 374 CATTLE they are best adapted to temperate regions, they readily adjust themselves to greater extremes of temperature and climate. They possess a fair degree of hardiness, and do fairly well under range conditions. The Shorthorn was the first breed used for the improvement of the cattle on the ranges, and has been used extensively for this purpose in the United States, Argentina and Australia, but in recent years has been largely supplanted by the Hereford. Notwithstanding its value on the range, the Shorthorn is best adapted to a system of mixed farming, such as is followed in the Mississippi val- ley, where land is so valuable that a cow cannot be kept for the calf alone, but must yield a profit in the dairy. Mr. George M. Rommel, in Bulletin No. 34, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, states that, of the 150,000 registered Shorthorns estimated to be living in America, 5 per cent are found on the range, and the other 95 per cent are in the hands of the small farmer. Uses. For milk.—The Shorthorn ranks high in its dairy capacity. In England there have always been families or strains, notably those of Bates breeding, which have been noted for their milking capacity, and in England today the dairy qualities of the Shorthorn receive as much consideration as its beef-producing qualities. It is asserted that 90 per cent of the milk-supply of London is furnished by Shorthorns. In America, more attention has been paid to the beef side of the question, and the dairy qualities have been somewhat neglected, especially during the past craze for the thick-fleshed, blocky Scotch type, which were poor milkers. At present, however, more and more attention is being paid to the milking qualities of the breed, and efforts are being made to develop milking strains of Short- horns. Major Henry E. Alvord, in Farmers’ Bulletin No. 106, United States Department of Agriculture, gives some performances of Shorthorn herds and individuals as follows: “Records of several dairy herds in the United States, within a quarter of a century, show a milking season of about 275 days and an average product of 6,500 pounds of milk. One herd of ten cows, three to twelve years old, averaged 7,750 pounds in a year. Single cows have averaged much more, several instances being known of 10,000 to 12,000 pounds in a season. The Short- horn milk is of good quality, rather above the average ; the fat globules are of medium and fairly uniform size, so that cream separates easily; it is rather pale in color. In 1824, a cow near Philadel- phia made over twenty pounds of butter in a week without special feeding. Herds of forty cows have averaged 209 pounds of butter in a year; the herd of ten cows mentioned above averaged 325 pounds, and single cows have records of 400 pounds and over, one being of 513 pounds.” For butter.—The Shorthorns made a very credit- able showing in the butter tests against the lead- ing dairy breeds, the Jerseys and Guernseys, at the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in 1893, CATTLE In the ninety-day butter test, the best Shortuurn cow, Nora, produced 3,679.8 pounds of milk, from which was made 160.57 pounds of butter, and during the period she gained 115 pounds in weight. The best Jersey, Brown Bessie (Fig. 381), produced 3,634 pounds of milk, from which was made 216.66 pounds of butter, and gained 81 pounds. In this test the showing made by the Shorthorn was very good, considering the fact that not nearly so much care and money were spent in selecting the herr as was done with the Jerseys and Guernseys. For cheese-—At the same time, the Shorthorn made a like creditable showing in a 14-day cheese- making test. In this, the Shorthorn ranked third against the Jersey and Guernsey, yielding 12,186.9 pounds of milk, which made 1,077.6 pounds of cheese. Nora, a Shorthorn, ran second to a Jersey, making 60.56 pounds of cheese at a net profit of $6.27. For beef.—For the production of beef, the Short- horn stands second to no breed, and there are very few that equal it. Its popularity as a beef breed both in England and the United States is shown by the number of its representatives found at the leading fat-stock shows of these two countries. The Shorthorn is naturally thick-fleshed, with a maximum development of the valuable parts of the carcass, which causes it to dress out a high per- centage of carcass to live weight, although it is not so good in this respect as the Aberdeen-Angus. The Shorthorn is a good feeder, and, when supplied with an abundance of food, makes large gains, yielding good returns for the food consumed. The breed matures early and can be made ready for the block at two to two and one-half years of age; but, if so desired, it will stand a longer period of feed- ing. When forced for a long time, there is a tend- ency to take on flesh unevenly, with the fat in patches or rolls on the rump and along the sides. For crossing and grading.—No other breed has been used for grading up common cattle to the extent that the Shorthorn has, and marked improve- ment has resulted wherever this method of grading has been followed, as may be seen by noting the improvement that has followed the use of Short- horn bulls on our western ranges. In our American cattle markets, grade Shorthorns predominate over all other breeds in numbers. The first cross of a Shorthorn on any of the beef breeds makes a good beef animal. The “prime Scots,” which are so pop- ular in the English markets, are crosses of the Shorthorn and Aberdeen-Angus. The “blue-gray” steers, which are also highly prized in the British markets, are crosses of the light-colored Shorthorns on the Galloway. Organizations and records. In 1822, George Coates, of Yorkshire, England, published the Shorthorn Herdbook, the first registry of live-stock to be issued. From this developed the English Shorthorn Herdbook (Coates’ Herdbook), of which fifty volumes have now been published. Since 1876, it has been in the hands of the Short- horn Society of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. CATTLE The work of recording Shorthorns in America was first taken up by Mr. Lewis F. Allen, of Black Rock, New York, who published the first volume of the American Shorthorn Herdbook in 1846. Mr. Allen continued this publication as a private enter- prise until 1882, when it was purchased by the American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association. In 1869, Mr. A. J. Alexander, of Woodburn, Kentucky, published the first volume of a herdbook known as the American Shorthorn Record. In 1878, the Ohio Shorthorn Breeders’ Association published the first volume of the Ohio Shorthorn Record, two more volumes of which were published later. The registration of Shorthorns in the United States at present is conducted entirely by the American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association, organ- ized in 1882. This association purchased the inter- ests of all the Shorthorn herdbooks in the United States, and continued the publication, beginning with Volume 25 of the American Shorthorn Herd- book started by Mr. Lewis F. Allen. Sixty-nine vol- umes of this herdbook have been puolished, and Volumes 70, 71 and 72 are now in preparation, two volumes being published annually. Up to the close of Volume 69, there are registered about 273,000 males and 421,000 females, making a total of about 694,000. The first Shorthorn herdbook in Canada was the Canadian Shorthorn Herdbook, the first volume of which was published in 1867. In 1881, the first volume of the British-American Shorthorn Herd- book was published, and the first volume of the Dominion Herdbook appeared in 1887. The latter took over the interests and records of the first two herdbooks, and now the registration of Shorthorns in Canada is through the Dominion Herdbook. PoLtLeD DuRHAM CATTLE. Fig. 386. Polled Durhams, as a breed, have the unique distinction of being the only breed of cattle origi- nating in the United States. They are very similar to the Shorthorn, and, in fact, the Shorthorn is chiefly responsible for their origin. Description. Like the Shorthorn, the Polled Durham is mas- Sive in size, quiet in disposition, and a breed well caleulated to meet the requirements of farmers wanting a hornless race of dual-purpose cattle. They are, however, better fitted to give satisfaction as beef-producers than in the dairy. During the early history of the breed much attention was paid to color and milking qualities. Red was preferred, but in later years roans have come to be looked on with more favor. With the increase in numbers comes the opportunity to make more careful selec- tions, and the breed is making rapid advancement both in real merit and public ‘esteem. It possesses considerable prepotency. No scale of points for judging Polled Durham cattle has been adopted. Nearly all Polled Dur- hams that are being recorded at the present time are pure Shorthorn in blood, and breeders are striving to produce, as nearly as possible, the ideal CATTLE 375 Shorthorn, minus the horns. Polled Durhams are judged by the same standards as are Shorthorns, and in nearly all large shows Polled Durhams are judged by a Shorthorn breeder. Distribution. Herds of Polled Durhams are more numerous in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Illinois than in other states, although they are being introduced rather extensively into other sections of the country, notably in North Dakota, Kansas, Kentucky, Wis- consin, Texas and Nebraska. Several have been shipped to the Argentine Republic, in South America. Types. There are two somewhat distinct lines of blood to be found among Polled Durhams. These are designated as Double-Standard and Single-Standard Polled Durhams. Double- Standard Polled Durhams include the hornless Shorthorns that are eligible for record in the American Shorthorn Herdbook, as well as the American Polled Durham Herdbook. They are the Leos eh \ Wi WW is ooh Zp Fig. 386. ae Polled Durham bull. result of retaining, as breeding animals, hornless Shorthorns, which occasionally appear as freaks in Shorthorn herds. The most of the Double-Stand- ard Polled Durhams are from the three families, White Roses, Young Phyllis and Gwynne’s. Single-Standard Polled Durhams are eligible for record in the Polled Durham record only. This branch of Polled Durhams originated by the attempts on the part of a number of breeders, working, at first largely independently, to develop a race of hornless cattle with the characteristics of the Shorthorn breed. This was accomplished by the use of Shorthorn bulls on the native muley cows. Breeders of note. Among the early breeders interested in the development of the Polled Durham breed the fol- lowing were most prominent: William W. Crane, Tippecanoe City, Ohio; W.S. Miller, Elmore, Ohio ; J. F. and A. EH. Burleigh, Mazon, Mlinois; and Shafor and Clawson, Hamilton, Ohio. Organizations and records. The American Polled Durham Breeders’ Associa- tion, which has for its object the furthering of the interests of the breed, and the recording of animals eligible to its herdbook, was organized in Chicago, 376 CATTLE November 13, 1889, and was chartered November 2, 1890. Three volumes of the American Polled Durham Herdbook have been published, the first having appeared in 1894. “Animals to be eligible to entry in the American Polled Durham Herdbook must be at least six months old; must be natu- rally hornless ; must have both parents recorded therein or have one parent recorded in the book and the other parent recorded in the American Shorthorn Herdbook; and further, must have all ancestry that are eligible recorded in the American Polled Durham Herdbook.” Literature. A. H. Sanders, Shorthorn Cattle, Sanders Pub- © lishing Company, Chicago ; Lewis F. Allen, History of Shorthorn Cattle; C. J. Bates, Thomas Bates and the Kirklevington Shorthorns, London (1897); W. H. Beaver, An Arithmetical Arrangement of the Leading Shorthorn Tribes ; Thomas Bell, History of Improved Shorthorn-Durham Cattle (1871); William Housman, The Improved Shorthorn, London (1876); Plumb, Little Sketches of Famous Beef Cattle, Columbus, Ohio (1904); herdbooks of the various Shorthorn associations. [For further references, see page 302.] Sussex Cattle. Figs. 387, 388. By Overton Lea. Sussex cattle are so called from the county of that name in England, where they most abound. They are distinctly a beef breed. Description. For a short description, by way of comparison, imagine a Devon with the weight of a Shorthorn, and the picture will convey an accurate idea of the Sussex. More particularly, “the horns are of medium length, coming out at any angle, but generally horizontally, branching laterally, and turning upward toward the ends ; nose tolerably wide, with muzzle of flesh-color; thin between the nostrils Vo Awvs . RRR). by i he, Vth. SH eu Seoul Lh ONS Fig. 387. A Sussex bull. and eyes ; eyesrather prominent ; forehead inclined to be wide ; neck short ; sides straight ; wide and open in the breast, which should project forward ; girth deep; legs short ; chine-bone straight; ribs broad ; loin full of flesh ; hip-bone not very large, CATTLE and well covered; rump flat and long; tail with white brush, which should drop perpendicularly ; thigh flat outside and full inside; coat soft and silky, with a mellow touch ; color solid red, both light and dark, sometimes the two shades mingling and making a beautiful dappled bay; and a few gray or white hairs, nearly always single, except on the foretop, are regarded most favorably.” The special merits claimed for the breed are large size, early maturity, propensity to fatten, mas ‘ . Fig. 388. A Sussex cow. prime quality of flesh laid on the most desirable parts, hardihood of constitution, uniform popular color and capacity to impress these characteristics on their offspring. The American Sussex Cattle Association has never adopted a scale of points for judging this breed. History. The origin of the Sussex, like that of all the oldest breeds of English cattle, is involved in obscurity. According to Youatt and Martin, some of the ancient Britons fled before the advance of their enemies to the Weald of Hast Sussex and carried with them their cattle, or found there some of the native cattle of the country, and zealously guarded them against all admixture. Mr. Alfred Heas- man, editor of the first three volumes of the Sussex Herdbook, and author of a chapter on Sussex cattle in “The Cattle of the British Isles,” doubts whether the breed was im- ported or found native to the country on the advent of William the Conqueror and his followers. Be this as it may, the breed is univer- sally recognized to be a distinct one. It has been a prominent feature of Sussex from time im- memorial, and has preserved, unchanged through all vicissitudes, the same characteristics,—great weight, aptitude to fatten, and red color,—except in so far as improved by better feeding and greater care. Originally they were used chiefly for draft purposes, their great size and strength and activ- ity, withal, enabling them to draw promptly the heaviest loads and till the stiffest soil. But, even in remote times, the quality of their flesh was highly prized and, when the oxen became aged, they were bought up, grazed a year, and supplied the markets _with animals weighing 180 to 200 stone (a stone a. CATTLE is about 14 pounds avoirdupois, making the weight 2,500 to 2,800 pounds.) These cattle have always been the favorite of the tenant farmer (than whom there is no better judge of a profitable animal) of Sussex and adja- cent counties, and have constituted for many years one of the chief attractions at the local stock shows. More recently, stimulated by the exporta- tion of large numbers of the principal breeds at fancy prices, some of the Hnglish breeders have sought to bring forward the Sussex more promi- nently at all of the leading shows of the British Isles ; nor are they strangers in the show-yards on this side of the Atlantic. Most gratifying success has crowned these efforts both abroad and here, as may be seen from the files of the Hnglish and American agricultural press for the past quarter of a century. In America.—The date of the first importation to America is uncertain. The characteristics of many of the so-called native red cattle, found in New England and in Tennessee on and near Cumber- land plateau, and, perhaps, in other states, suggest that they, in common with almost all species and breeds of domestic animals, were brought over by the early colonists. Since 1880, a number of impor- tations have been made, and the Sussex are domi- ciled on many farms and scattered over the ranges, doing their full share toward the improvement of the native cattle. In 1884, the writer imported a number of this breed of cattle for his farm in Ten- nessee. In 1891, the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph, Canada, made an importation. Distribution. Sussex cattle are not yet widely distributed. Their local habitat is Sussex and the adjoining counties in England. They have been exported to Canada and the United States, and, as stated in the agricultural press, to South Africa, Egypt, and, perhaps, to South America also. As far as known they have thrived wherever tried, and it may be stated safely that they will do well wherever any of the bovine species can be produced successfully. Cattle from the herd of the writer have been dis- tributed to several parts of Tennessee, and to Ala- bama, Arkansas, South Carolina and Texas. Other herds are found in Maine, Indiana and Illinois. Feeding and care. The breed responds as generously as any to full feeding and care, and thrives on rough and scant pasturage. In cold weather, shelter—the lee side of a shed, or wind-shield, or straw-stack, if no better is obtainable—is a distinct advantage; at other seasons, nothing but fair grazing is required. Uses. For milk.— As the Sussex is primarily a beef breed, its milk-giving qualities have not been espe- cially developed. At the same time, the cows, almost without exception, give milk of most excel- lent quality and, if milked closely, make surpris- ingly good dairy animals. They fatten when dry more readily, perhaps, than the ox. CATTLE 377 For beef.—The Sussex has achieved the highest honors “on the scale and the block.” The object of the breeders, as a class, revealed by the typical Sussex of today, has been to produce the most profitable butcher’s beast ; to hasten the period of maturity and improve the quality, without forget- ting for a moment to preserve these most excel- lent characteristics of the breed,—sound constitu- tion, capacity “to rustle,” fecundity and prepotency. The Sussex makes large and rapid gains, and attains great weight. About 1,500 pounds for cows and 2,000 pounds for bulls represent the average weights of animals in good breeding condition. The average weight of a well-fatted bullock, twenty- tour months old, may be safely put at 1,400 pounds. For grading.—The prepotency of Sussex bulis makes them valuable for crossing on native or grade stock, to improve the beefing qualities and ability to graze. They readily stamp their charac- ters on their crosses. Organizations and records. At a comparatively early date in the history of registration, the English Sussex Herdbook Society established che English Sussex Herdbook, tracing pedigrees to the year 1855. The American Sussex Register was established in 1889 by the American Sussex Cattle Association. Comparatively few Sus- sex cattle have been imported to the United States, and only one volume of the Register has been pub- lished (1906), containing something less than 300 entries. Literature. Arthur Young, General Views of Agriculture in the County of Sussex (1793). [For further referen- ces, see page 302.] Some of the Lesser Known Breeds of Cattle. Figs. 389-394. By C. S. Plumb. A larger number of breeds, or so-called breeds, of cattle exists than is commonly supposed. In various sections of Europe, for many years the inhabitants have bred and developed breeds that seemed espec- ially adapted to the local environment. This condi- tion exists even today, to such a degree that one finds breeds of merit, yet of limited distribution, in various districts of Great Britain and on the conti- nent of Europe. Among the lesser known, yet valu- able breeds, may be mentioned the Black Welsh, Brahmin or Sacred, Breton or Brittany, Kerry, Long- horn, Normandy, Simmenthal, and West Highland. All excepting the Black Welsh and Longhorn have been introduced to some extent into America. These breeds, however, are very rare in this coun- try. In America, there is also the Texas Longhorn type, which is fast passing, but which has filled an important need. BLACK WELSH CATTLE. Fig. 389. Black Welsh cattle are found principally in Wales, and are of obscure ancestry. They have been regarded as of aboriginal ancestry and have 378 CATTLE numerous characteristics in common with the West Highland breed. Black, horned cattle are found in both North and South Wales, and represent two different types. They resemble each other to a con- siderable extent, but those of South Wales are Fig. 389. Black Welsh bull. Prize winner at Royal Agri- cultural Society Show. distinctly coarser and larger than those of North Wales. Those of the south are not popular in the north. Some of the special characteristics are a black color, although brownish black or reddish black sometimes prevails. White hair rarely occurs, excepting on the udder of the cow, the scrotum of the male and the brush of the tail. The horns are rather prominent, being yellowish white with blackish tips, and somewhat wide-spreading and carried forward with the bull, and narrower and more upright with cows. These cattle are beefy in type, and are inclined to be well-fleshed. They are criticized for slackness of loin, flatness of rib and prominence of rump. The temperament is some- what lively. These cattle are indigenous to a hilly grazing country, and are particularly adapted to grazing purposes. They are rarely stable-sheltered in winter and depend on pasturage for food the year round. As a result of this open method of life, the breed is a very hardy one. When kept on the uplands with sparse herbage, the cattle tend to be some- what smaller than those on the richer lowlands. They are also somewhat slow to mature. Some specimens of the breed attain considerable weight, however. In 1883, at the Smithfield Club Show, at London, a four-year-old steer was exhibited that weighed 2,464 pounds, while a fat cow was cred- ited with a weight of 2,214 pounds. These, of course, are very excessive figures. Fair represen- tative weights are given as 1; 500 to 1,800 pounds for the bull, and 1,300 to it 400 pounds for the cow. Black Welsh cattle are rated as very fair milkers by Welshmen. The cows average about 3,000 pounds of milk a year, while a better sort of indi- vidual produces 4,000 or more pounds. The quality of the milk is excellent. The Earl of Cawdor, a leading exhibitor of these cattle in the past, states that his cows produce twelve to fourteen quarts of milk daily, and that the quality, color and flavor of the butter from this milk is unsurpassed. This breed, although unknown in America, is prominent in Wales and is well represented in some CATTLE af the important English cattle shows, notably the Royal Agricultural Society Show. The breeders of North Wales established a herdbook association in 1883, and published the first volume of their records that year. The South Wales breeders also had a herdbook association. In 1904, these two societies amalgamated into the Welsh Cattle Society, and published their first herdbook in 1905, BRAHMIN, SACRED CATTLE oR ZEBUS. Fig. 390. These are a species of humped cattle, known as Bos Indicus. They are the so-called Sacred cattle of India. In works on natural history they are gen- erally described as “Zebus.” They were first intro- duced to the United States, perhaps, in 1853, by Mr. Davis, of South Carolina. Some other importa- tion for agricultural purposes followed, notably in 1906. The Davis cattle were taken westward, their descendants becoming distributed in the Southwest and in Mexico. They are characterized by a light, silvery-gray color, with darker shadings of fore and hind parts; with hump over the shoulders, exces- sive dewlap and fulness of throttle, large drooping ear, and black, recurving horns. The disposition is not good. Brahmin cattle were introduced to the southern states in the hope that they would better withstand the warm climate, insects and disease than would other cattle. In 1888, Prof. G. W. Curtis, of Texas, wrote of them to some extent in his work on “Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Swine,” in which he stated that the pure-breds had played an important part in improving the native stock in southern Texas. The cross is said to improve the native beef, but cattle of this kind and their grades are not to be regarded seriously as factors in our live-stock industry. The cows yield a fair amount of milk, it is said, but it is very low in butter-fat. In India, these cattle are used for domestic purposes, espe- cially as oxen. Zebu cattle are being imported from time to time, but mainly for circuses or zodlogical gardens. They Fig. 390. Brahmin ‘pull (Bos Indicus). have been imported to South America, to cross with the native Caracu, in the hope of securing a hybrid that will be less subject to prevalent diseases. In regard to the importaticn of 1906, Dr. Mark Francis writes as follows: “In 1906, A. P. Borden, Pierce, Texas, went to India and brought sixty-four atl CATTLE head to America. They arrived at New York in the spring (1906) and were held in quarantine on an island off the coast of New Jersey all summer. The Bureau of Animal Industry destroyed about one- half of them for surra. The remainder were finally released, and arrived on the Pierce Ranch at Pierce, Texas, in November (1906). They were held here several months, when the lot was divided, and one- half of them taken to Victoria, Texas, and put on the ranch of Thomas O’Connor. There are seven distinct families, or strains of blood, represented. All are bulls but three. I tested seven of them to see whether they were immune to Texas fever. We got no reaction from inoculation, and decided that the whole lot were probably immune to Texas fever. Mr. Borden shows that those cattle that have some Brahma or Brahmin blood in them are in good flesh, while those carrying some Shorthorn or Hereford blood are in poor flesh, and must be fed in winter. His claims appear to me to be sustained. The Brah- min cattle seem to be able to stand the mosquitos, ticks, horn flies, liver-flukes and parasites generally, much better than the so-called improved breeds. The bulls are of good size and bone, and not any of them are the small ‘billy-goat’ type seen in a cer- tain menagerie. The oldest of Mr. O’Connor’s bulls, a four-year-old, weighs about 2,000 pounds. This indicates the size that is attained.” BRETON OR BRITTANY CATTLE. Breton or Brittany cattle are native to that sec- tion of Western France known as Brittany. They are one of the oldest breeds of Hurope, and no doubt their blood was used in the early stock of what later became the Jersey and Guernsey. The Breton cattle are black or black and white in color, although in one section red and white occurs. This is one of the smallest of the horned breed of cattle, having an average height of about thirty-six inches at the withers. It isa dairy breed, and, like the Kerry, the cows produce generously of milk in proportion to size. The average yield is about 1,700 pounds of milk a year, with well-fed individuals producing 2,500 pounds or more. When we bear in mind that cows of this breed weigh 350 to 450 pounds, and receive but scanty attention as arule, this is a fair record. It is said that the Breton is very hardy, and that the cows live and do well where cattle of other breeds would starve. The Breton has been kept pure in some sections of Brittany, and in other localities the cows have been crossed with Shorthorn and Ayrshire bulls. The Shorthorn improved the size and fattening qualities, but unfavorably affected the milk secre- ting capacity. The Ayrshire cows did not give satisfactory returns either in beef or milk, while the docile temperament of the Breton was mate- rially injured. A few Breton cattle were brought to Massachu- setts many years ago, and the writer became familiar with a pair of them in the herd of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. These were very small in size and mostly black in color. Unfor- tunately, they were disposed of before their merits became known. CATTLE 379 HOLDERNESS CATTLE In southern Yorkshire, Englund, lying north of the river Humber, is a rich, level district long ago known locally as Holderness. Here the cattle at- tained considerable size, were rather light of shoul- der, large behind, had a considerable reputation as milkers, but were rather coarse in quality of flesh. These cattle, which were often more or less black in color, greatly resembled the Dutch cattle near by in Holland; in fact, it has been said that they originally came from Holland. Undoubtedly this early stock played its part in the development of the Shorthorn, and contributed toward establishing the value of the Shorthorn as a milk-producer. The cows were famous milkers and were especially pop- ular with dairymen supplying London with milk. As late as the middle of the last century they had become much crossed with Shorthorn bulls, and the old-fashioned Holderness cow was rarely met with. In the present day this breed is of no special in- terest, excepting historically. The American Holderness is a very little known American breed, said to have had its foundation in Holderness cows imported from the West Riding of Yorkshire about 1830. Just who was the first importer is not known. It is said that they were introduced into Massachusetts about that date. The man who is responsible for whatever progress the breed has made in America, is Truman A. Cole, of Solsville, N. Y. About 1855, he purchased from Mr. Knox, of Oneida county, N. Y., a single cow of this breed, which was said to have been from im- ported stock. She was a red and white cow, and was a superior milker. When purchased she was in calf, and in season dropped a bull. Later he was was bred to his dam, and from this foundation, by close inbreeding, has come this little-known Ameri- can breed. In form, these cattle are said to resemble much the black and white cattle of Dutch breeding, with color which varies from red and white in calves to very dark brown or black at full maturity. They are deep-bodied, have large udders and teats, swollen and tortuous milk-veins, and yellow skin. The escutcheon is especially well developed. In 1879, Mr. Cole had in his herd nineteen cows that averaged 308 pounds of butter per cow. While the cows do not produce so heavy a yield as do the Holstein-Friesians, they give milk somewhat richer in butter-fat. The butter is excellent, of good keep- ing quality, and sold on the Utica (N. Y.) market at an advanced price. It is said that the cows fatten readily when dry and make a good quality of beef. A number of head from Mr. Cole’s herd were sold to other breeders. [See pamphlet ‘“‘ Holderness Cat- tle,” issued by Truman A. Cole (1887).] KERRY AND DEXTER-KERRY CATTLE. Figs. 391- 393. Kerry cattle, embracing both beef and dairy types, have been bred by the people of Ireland as far back as history gives record, and are distinctly an Irish breed. Probably they are descended from the smaller type of the aboriginal cattle of Britain. They are found in largest numbers in the south- western part of Ireland in what are termed the 380 CATTLE Kerry mountains. Herds are found, however, scat- tered all over the island. There are two types of Kerry cattle, the true Kerry and the Dexter-Kerry. The true Kerry (Fig. 391) is (Jaa e Fig. 391. Kerry cow. distinctly a dairy breed, and is usually of a black color; red, however, may occur. White often pre- vails about the udder of the cow or the scrotum of the bull, but not elsewhere. The type is muscular, of the dairy form, with lean head, fairly thin neck, rather narrow withers, thin thighs and compara- tively capacious udder. Good specimens show re- finement, although, in their native homes, Ker- ries often show the effect of scanty food in retarded growth and rough appear- ance. The true Kerry cow at maturity usually weighs 500 to 600 pounds and the bulls 800 to 1,000 pounds. These figures vary accord- ing to care and food. As milk-producers, cows of this breed rank high, yielding an unusually large amount for their size. They have been known to give sixteen quarts a day when fresh, and the cow Red Rose produced nearly 10,000 pounds in one year. The Dexter-Kerry (Figs. 392, 393) is a beefy type of the Kerry family. It is of obscure ancestry, but it is supposed that a Mr. Dexter developed it by crossing the true Kerries on cattle of a beefy sort, possibly Shorthorns. This is really a diminutive, dual-purpose type. The composition is rather beefy, showing compactness, breadth of back, depth of rib, thickness of flesh generally, with excellent udder development. The legs are very short. Famous bulls of the breed have weighed about 500 pounds at maturity, and cows even less. Some well-known show Dexter-Kerries have stood about thirty-six inches high at maturity. The color is variable, and may be black, red or roan. The Dexter-Kerry is suited to beef-production on a small scale, and yields a very high grade of meat. The steers are found on the Irish market, and each year a small but select class are on exhibition at the Smith- Fig. 392. Dexter. erty bull, La Mancha Union Jack. A great prize winuer. CATTLE field Club Show in London, where special prizes are offered for small cross-breds. In 1901, at a fat- stock exhibition at Birmingham, England, the first- prize Kerry steer weighed 840 pounds at eighteen months of age. This family of Kerries also pro- duces considerable milk, although the milk-secreting habit is not so persistent as with the true Kerry. Some choice herds of Kerries are to be found in England on the estates of men of wealth, who have taken up this little breed more as a fad than other- wise. A few specimens found their way to America many years ago, but the purity of breeding was soon destroyed. Twenty-five years ago there were a few pure-breds at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, but these were dispersed. At the present time, small herds are owned in New York and West Virginia, and another has recently been established in Illinois. Exportations of Kerries have been made from Ireland and England to Australia, South Africa and Canada. Undoubtedly the breed has much of merit and it deserves more attention. Its hardy character and capacity to produce milk on a large scale, in proportion to its size and cost of production, justifies its growth in public favor. LONGHORN CATTLE. Longhorn cattle repre- sent a breed that was established in a definite manner by the breeding operations of Robert Bakewell, mainly in the latter half of the eigh- teenth century. Bakewell, largely by a process of selection, developed the cattle in the midland counties of England, nota- bly Leicester, producing more rapid fattening, earlier maturity, and more economical killers than had previously existed. Longhorns became very famous and for many years were regarded as the best beef cattle of the country. Then the Shorthorn began to receive the attention of intelligent breed- ers, and the Longhorn gradually assumed an insig- nificant position among British breeds. Today, Long- horn cattle occur in very small numbers in Britain and their reputation is largely a matter of long ago. CATTLE This breed is of the large beef type, carrying considerable width of back, depth of rib, fulness of hind-quarter and thickness of flesh. Longhorns differ from other British breeds in the horn and color. The horn is very long, spreading, and often droop- ing. The writer has a photograph of a pair of these horns which measured eight feet around the curve, from tip to tip. The color of hair is commonly brindle, or brindle and white, or red and white, with white along the back and also with very light shading along the belly. The hair attains con- siderable length and the skin is thick and mellow. Coarseness has also attended the Longhorn. While not producing heavily of milk, the milk is regarded as rich in butter-fat. The breed today is comparatively unknown in England, although efforts have been made to bring it back into popular favor. At recent shows of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, a few Long- horns have been exhibited and have attracted much attention, though mainly for their historic associ- ations. The Longhorn Cattle Society was organized some years ago, and in 1878 the first volume of a herd register was published, which recorded 286 bulls and a somewhat larger number of cows. NORMANDY CATTLE. Normandy cattle are natives of Normandy, in northwestern France. Strictly speaking, the com- mon cattle of this section are known as the Co- tentin breed, there being various other races or breeds in France. Some of the more important characteristics of this breed are as follows: Color variable, but usu- ally either brindle, black or red; head and neck rather heavy, the latter possessing more dewlap than with the British breeds; body of large size, inclining to be flat of rib; bone inclined to coarse- ness ; size large, developing heavy weight at ma- turity. The character of the meat is said to rank very high, although animals of the breed will not dress out a percentage of carcass to offal equal to the Shorthorn, Aberdeen-Angus or Hereford. As producers, the cows rank very high in France, yielding a large amount of milk rich in butter-fat. In the late seventies, Richardson wrote of dairies in LeBessin, near Isigny, that produced $5,000 worth of butter a year. Large amounts of butter and cheese are made in Normandy and extensive exports are made to other countries. Cotentin cattle have been crossed considerably with the Shorthorn, the two breeds nicking to great advantage. A few cattle were brought to the United States from Normandy about 1895 by the late Theodore A. Havemeyer, and kept on his farm at Mahwah, N. J. They were imported for experimental purposes, to cross on Jerseys in the Havemeyer herd. The milk records of the pure-bred Normandy cows in this herd were quite comparable with those of so-called dairy Shorthorns. This herd was dispersed before the value of the cows became known. A herdbook society, for promoting the breed, exists in France (Herdbook de la Race Normande Pure), with headquarters at Calvados. CATTLE 381 SIMMENTHAL CATTLE. Fig. 16. Simmenthal cattle, also called Bernese, and the Spotted Race, are native to the valley of the Simme in Switzerland. These'and the Brown Swiss are the two important breeds of cattle in Switzerland. It is a very old breed and has long been looked on with favor in its native land. The cattle are better adapted to the Swiss valleys than to the mountain sides. Not much of an attempt has been made to intro- duce this breed to America. About 1895, Mr. T. A. Havemeyer, of New York, imported some Simmen- thal cattle with the purpose of crossing them with Jerseys. This he did and continued the work some years, but with his death the herd was dispersed in 1898, before any definite results were made public. One purpose of Mr. Havemeyer’s experiments was to use the Simmenthal blood on the Jersey to improve the constitution, the former being a very hardy breed. So far as the writer is aware, this is the only serious attempt to introduce this breed to America. Without doubt the Simmenthal has merit, and it is singular that it should not have found its way to this country toa greater extent than it has. This breed is what may be known as a dual- purpose sort, producing both beef and milk to a creditable extent. The tendency is somewhat to a blocky, thick conformation, covered well with flesh, while the cows in mature form carry large udders. The color is usually spotted, of drab or yellowish red and solid white markings. Sometimes the color is almost solid. Animals of the breed are large, and bulls attain a weight of 2,000 to 2,500 pounds, and cows often weigh over 1,500 pounds; and larger weights are not uncommon. These cattle are also much used for oxen (Fig. 16), which may weigh 2,000 to 2,500 pounds. As milk-producers, the cows have a fair reputa- tion. A number of dairies in Switzerland, where records are kept, show milk-yields to range from 7,000 to 8,000 pounds a year. The milk is of a medium quality, twenty-five pounds yielding about a pound of butter. Ten pounds of milk are also usually counted to make a pound of cured cheese. Some interesting milk records were secured with the pure-bred Simmenthalers in the Havemeyer herd. The cow, Pfan (79), from April 24, 1896 to February 27, 1897, produced 9,500 pounds of milk. Bari (411), as a four-year-old, from July, 1896 to September, 1897, produced 11,251 pounds of milk. Spiess (413), a five-year-old, from April 11, 1896 to April 22, 1897, produced 10,879 pounds of milk. These are better records than those published in Switzerland. The Simmenthal as beef cattle rank high in Switzerland. They are expected to mature in about four years, and the beef is credited with being fine of grain and of superior flavor. TexAS LONGHORN CATTLE. Fig. 394. There is no distinct breed of this name. What is familiarly known as the “Texas steer” is descended from the early Spanish cattle first introduced into Mexico, later becoming distributed over the south- western range. The color was variable, dun, yel- 382 CATTLE low, black, and red prevailing, often with striking white markings. These were narrow-backed, flat- ribbed, leggy cattle, with heavy head and frequently widely spreading horns. They were slow and hard feeders, and did not attain large size, the bulls rarely weighing over 1,200 pounds and the cows ranging from 600 to 900 pounds. With the develop- ment of the western range in the seventies, began Fig. 394. Texas Longhorn. the introduction on a considerable scale of pure- bred Hereford and Shorthorn bulls. Since this time, the old Longhorn has been about bred out, and today Texas and the Southwest have cattle really much superior in breeding to most of the other sections of the country. West HIGHLAND CATTLE. West Highland cattle represent a distinctly Scotch breed. From time immemorial the West Highland, or Kyloe as it was formerly known, has been bred among the mountains of western Scotland. It is generally thought that this breed is of aboriginal descent. Over a century ago, Culley included the Highland as one of the very few breeds treated by him in his book on live-stock. Undoubt- edly, West Highland cattle have been bred for centuries in the west highlands, especially in Argyll, Perth and Inverness counties and on the Hebrides islands. The West Highland is distinctly of the beef type, being blocky, broad of back, deep-ribbed, thick-fleshed and short of leg. The long, wide- spreading horn, and long, shaggy mane and coat of hair are peculiar to this breed and give it much individuality. The hair in winter has extreme length and thickness, and gives admirable protec- tion from rain and cold. The color is variable, and black, brown, red and brindle are seen in the same herd. A rich yellowish red or tawny color is a favorite with some breeders. Broken colors are not popular and are uncommon. CATTLE West Highland cattle do not usually attain large size. They are slow to mature, and the cows weigh about 900 pounds and the bulls 1,200. One may see much larger specimens at the Scotch shows, but, under ordinary field conditions, they do not weigh heavy. The quality of beef produced by the breed is very superior. Nothing excels it in the British market. The flavor is choice and the grain fine and of the best quality. In the London mar- ket a well-fleshed West Highland steer brings the highest price. As milk-producers the cows are very ordinary. This might naturally be expected, as the main object is simply to furnish the calves with milk, and not, to any extent, to furnish milk for domestic purposes. Cattle of this breed are very hardy. Their lives are passed on the hills, and, as a rule, they never see the interior of a barn, even in midwinter. In temperament they are wild and high spirited when on their native hills, and never assume the docility of the Shorthorn or Jersey under the most domestic surroundings. Their reproductive qualities are said to be good, and the cows continue as active breeders for more years than is usual with most other breeds. The West Highland breed is chiefly valued in Scotland for its easy-keeping character and valua- ble beef. It has never secured a foothold of sig- nificance away from its native hills. One may occasionally see herds on estates in England, but these are steers brought from the Highlands for fattening, and are kept in part for their picturesque effect. A few specimens of the breed have been brought to America, but they have been regarded mainly as curiosities. Some attempt has been made to introduce them on the western range, notably in Kansas and the far Northwest, but nothing has yet come from the movement. While their hardi- ness and superior quality of beef commend them, they are so inferior to the Hereford, Shorthorn or other beef cattle on the range, in rapid maturity and weight, that they are not likely ever to receive serious consideration from the pure-bred point of view. The cross-bred West Highland may be an improvement on the pure stock, but even then the value of the herd in America is open to serious question. No doubt in the grazing districts of the higher mountains of the Atlantic coast states the breed might prosper and be of value. West High- land cows may be crossed with other British beef breeds to advantage, but this will be breeding away from the blood of the mountain breed rather than toward it. Galloway and Aberdeen-Angus bulls are especially commended for this purpose. The use of the West Highland bull on native cows might con- tribute to constitutional vigor, but it is more than likely that more will be lost than gained by such a cross. Literature. American writings contain very meager accounts of these lesser-known breeds of cattle. For gen- eral references, the reader is referred to page 302. DOGS DOGS, FARM. Canis familiaris, Linn. Canide. Figs. 395-399. The dog belongs to the order Carnivores, the family Canide, and the genus Canis. The origin of the domestic dog is not known. It is supposed that it is the result of many crosses with many different types, under various conditions, as the owner wan- dered from place to place. !t is probable that the jackal and the wolf have been important elements in the evolution of the domestic dog. The dog has long occupied a prominent place on the farm, especially as a watch-dog and a sheep-dog. Much of the police duty:on the stock-farm is en- trusted to the dog. He looks out for the vermin and small game that would become troublesome ; he is an indispensable aid in hunting ; and as a compan- ion he is a privileged member of the household. The adaptability of certain breeds of dogs for farm purposes is generally known. The care and intelligence displayed by a well-trained dog in handling stock is well-nigh remarkable. The two recognized breeds for herding and driving purposes are the Collie and the Old English Bobtail Sheep- dog. Individuals of many other breeds are trained for this work with some success, and a great variety of dogs, good, bad and indifferent, are found on the farm. The Collie Dog. Fig. 395. See also page 595. By Herbert W. Mumford. The Collie is one of the most useful breeds of farm dogs. His origin is not known. Probably, however, he has been developed from the Old Eng- lish Sheep-dog by crossing with the Scotch Grey- hound. The rough-coated Scotch Collie is the best known and most highly prized variety in this coun- try. The smooth-coated type is well known in Great Britain and is preferred by some persons. Dog shows and public sheep-driving trials have had a tendency to popularize the Collie. They have had a wholesome effect in setting standards and bringing about greater uniformity in type among so-called high-class Collies. There was a noticeable lack of uniformity among them previous to the establishment of these exhibitions. It should not be inferred that all Collies are invariably good and that one is sure to get a good dog if only he buys a pedigreed Collie. It means simply that there is a well-defined ideal type which progressive breeders are striving to produce. As in other breeds of domesticated animals, fashion in blood lines, in col- oring, and in markings, has to be reckoned with in determining the value of a Collie. Description. In general, the Collie is light and graceful, show- ing a combination of agility, speed and suppleness, with a power of endurance that few other breeds possess. High intelligence, good appearance and devotion characterize this breed. The following is a description of a rough-coated Collie as revised by the Collie Club in 1898 : The skudl should be flat, moderately wide between the ears, and gradually tapering to the eyes. DOGS 383 There should be only a slight depression at “stop.” The width of the skull necessarily depends on the combined length of skull and muzzle, and the whole must be considered in connection with the size of the dog. The cheek should not be full or prominent. The muzzle should be of fair length, tapering to nose, and must not show weakness, or be snipy or lippy. Whatever the color of the dog may be, the nose must be black. The éeeth should be of good size, sound, and level; very slight uneveness is permissible. The jaws should be clean-cut and powerful. The eyes are a very important feature, and give expression to the dog. They should be of medium size, set somewhat obliquely, of almond shape, and of brown color except in the case of Fig. 395. Animported rough-coated Scotch Collie. Owned by J. I. Behling, Milwaukee. marles, when the eyes are frequently (one or both} blue and white or china; the expression should be full of intelligence, with a quick, alert look when listening. The ears should be small and moderately wide at base, and placed not too close together on top of skull, nor too much to side of the head. When in repose they should be usually carried back, but when on the alert, brought forward and carried semi-erect, with tip slightly drooping in an atti- tude of listening. The neck should be muscular, powerful, and of fair length, and somewhat arched. The body should be rather long, with well-sprung ribs, chest deep, fairly broad behind the shoulders, which should be sloping ; loins should be slightly arched and powerful. The dog should be straight in front. The fore-legs should be straight. and muscular, neither in nor out at elbows, with a fair amount of bone; the fore-arm should be somewhat fleshy, the pasterns showing flexibility without weakness. The hind-legs should be muscular at the thighs, clean and sinewy below the hocks, with well-bent stifles. The feet should be oval in shape, the soles well padded, and the toes well arched and close together. The hind-feet should be less arched, with hocks well let down and powerful. The brush should be moderately long, carried low when the dog is quiet, with aslight upward “swirl” at the end, and may be gaily carried when the dog is excited, but not over the back. The coat should be very dense, the outer coat harsh to the touch, the inner coat soft, furry, and very close, so close as almost to hide the skin. The mane and frill 384 DOGS should be very abundant, the mask or face smooth, as also the ears at the tips, but they should carry more hair toward the base ; the fore-legs should be well feathered, the hind-legs above the hocks pro- fusely so, but below the hocks fairly smooth, although all heavily coated Collies are likely to grow a slight feathering. The hair on the brush should be very profuse. The color is immaterial. In general character the Collie should be a lithe, active dog, his deep chest showing lung power ; his neck, strength; his sloping shoulders and well- bent hocks indicating speed; and his expression, high intelligence. He should be a fair length on the leg, giving him more of a racy than a cloddy appearance. In a few words, a Collie should show endurance, activity, and intelligence, with free and true action. In size, the dogs should be twenty-two inches to twenty-four inches at the shoulders ; the bitches, twenty inches to twenty-two inches. In weight, the dogs should register forty-five to sixty- five pounds ; the bitches, forty to fifty-five pounds. The smooth Collie differs from the rough only in its coat, which should be hard, dense, and smooth. Faults——The following are considered faults : Domed skull, high-peaked occipital bone, heavy, pendulous, or prick ears, weak jaws, snipy muzzle, full staring or light eyes, crooked legs, flat or hare feet, curly or soft coat, cow hocks, brush twisted or carried right over the back, and an under- or an over-shot mouth. SCALE OF POINTS FOR COLLIE Doc Pertert i Hie) 7s ee NRE MRE OAT LCT SA eatin: ion & 25 PAO OE ap Cee sg AG. tron tO O- Or yo 15 2b Binkeeg oo a 6 Db O10 OGD GO ooo Go 2 15 CEM eee aoe hy clo OO bo a6 a 6 5 15 BRE ae BO Gwe Seo ob oo oS Ss 25 Gs. Dally tremens) ise cs: fol ate eee cnte rr neato mn 5 Perfection ©.) 3.5: je, etic fame, thon ete hene 100 In the matter of color there is much variation. There are the so-called sables, the sable and whites, the black and whites, the whites and the tricolors, black, tan and white. The most desirable white markings on either the tricolors or the sable and whites are a white stripe in the face, a full white collar, white breast, white feet and white tip to the tail. There are but relatively few Collies that possess these perfect markings and some of them that do are deficient in more important points. Color should be the last consideration in buying a Collie dog. Distribution. From his native home in Scotland, the Collie has gone out into all parts of the civilized world ; and wherever he has arrived he has made innumerable friends. His rare beauty and intelligence, together with the enterprise of Collie breeders, won and has held for him a leading place among those who have a fondness for dogs. The Collie has become such a prime favorite that his popularity in the city, as well as in the country, is second to no other breed. Dog fanciers nearly everywhere have taken up the breeding of Collies _ DOGS as a fad. The breeding of Collies in Great Britain © is attended with greater success than in this coun- try, whether the measure of success be the number of high-class individuals produced or the net profit secured in the enterprise. r Famous Collie dogs. A few of the famous Collie dogs in this country are: Wishaw Clinker, Winnetka Christopher, Wellesbourne Conqueror, Ormskirk Olympian, Par- bold Paragon and Ellwyn Perfection. Most of these dogs are rich in blood of one or more of the following dogs that have been looked on as pillars in the Collie studbook : Stracathro Ralph, Christo- pher, Metchley Wonder, Edgbaston Marvel and Great Alne Douglas. One of the most celebrated Collies of history is Southport Perfection. This dog sold at one time for $6,000. Christopher, a scarcely less celebrated dog, sold for $5,000. Metchley Wonder and Edgbaston Marvel each sold for $2,500. Care and feeding. Every dog, whether on the farm or elsewhere, should have an individual kennel which he may look on as his home, and where in case of sickness he may be isolated and given proper care. The location of the kennel should be carefully chosen. Abundant sunlight and good drainage are prime requisites in preserving the health of a dog. If it is desired to have a yard in which the dog can be confined, this should be dry and well drained, and preferably have a concrete floor, as dirt yards about kennels soon become foul and thus invite disease. A southern exposure is best. In hot weather, ample provision for shade should be made, but it is not desirable to have the yard entirely or even largely shaded, as the sun should have access, as far as” practicable, at some time during the day, to every part of the enclosure. Straw makes very satisfactory bedding for the kennel, the sleeping bench of which it is best to have raised about ten inches from the floor. Ken- nels should be cleaned frequently and thoroughly, and the bedding changed every week. When the kennels are being cleaned, they should be carefully disinfected. An occasional liming or whitewashing is excellent. As a rule, mature dogs are fed too often. Twice daily is ample, —a light breakfast and a hearty evening meal. There is a great difference in the food requirements of different dogs, some bein, light eaters while others consume large quantities. This difference is due largely to their temperament and degree of activity. The judgment of the one who feeds the dog must be depended on properly to regulate the quantity of food required. The general appearance of the dog’s coat and his behavior when fed are fairly good guides. Meat should not com- prise any large part of the ration of the dog. Mos authorities on the feeding of dogs agree that the should not be fed warm food. All cooked foods should be allowed to cool before being fed. Dogs should be encouraged in every way to eat dry bis- cuits. Cooked vegetables should be fed at least DOGS twice a week, although care should be taken not to feed too much soft food. Regularity in feeding dogs produces the same beneficial effects that it does in the feeding of other kinds of domestic ani- mals. As a rule, the feeding of the dog is given very little thought. Feasts and fasts are the order, and such treatment is likely to cause serious diges- tive disturbances. Cost. Tf one insists on buying a high-class Collie, that possesses to a great degree all of the fancy points of the breed, including color and markings, he must be prepared to pay a high price, as has been shown in the preceding paragraph. Such Collies are rare, and the experienced breeder feels well satisfied if he is able to secure a high-class one from each litter. Pedigreed Collies of indifferent breeding and individuality may be purchased at very low prices, but Collies of choice breeding and individuality are worth from twenty dollars up. Well-bred puppies that are not desirable, from the fancier’s point of view, because of some lack in individuality, are disposed of by the breeders at ten to twenty dollars. The breeding of Collies good enough to win at leading shows is an extremely difficult busi- ness. The breeding of Collies that are much more handsome and more useful than the average dog, is relatively easy. Uses. While originally developed as a sheep-dog to aid the shepherd in guarding, herding and driving sheep, and still holding a foremost place for this purpose, the Collie has become a universal favorite as a companion for children and grown-ups and as a watch-dog. There are those who think that the smooth- coated Collie is a better worker than the rough- coated type. Again, there are those who are preju- diced in favor of the tricolor, or black and white and tan, asa worker. The sable and the sable and white, however, are most popular among the fan- ciers and will usually sell more readily and at higher prices than the tricolors. Because the Collie is such a favorite at dog- shows and has been so persistently bred for the bench, it is said that the modern bench type has lost much of its former intelligence and instinct for driving. It must be admitted that but very few of our most valuable Collies have ever been trained to drive live-stock, and the majority of them, until trained, would be useless for agricultural purposes. It is even doubted whether some of them are sus- ceptible of a high degree of training. This latter is true not only of show Collies but of others as well. There is no good reason why a good show Collie should not make, with proper training, a good driver. Well-trained dogs, however, are sel- dom in proper condition for show. The rugged life to which many of them are subjected unfits them for exhibition purposes. In this way, the show may militate against the best development of the Collie for farm purposes. Tt is doubtful whether the Collie has really lost C 25 DOGS 385 in intelligence. He has certainly lost much in opportunity, but what he has lost in opportunity he has gained in beauty and elegance; and while formerly only the sheep-herder was familiar with his excellent qualities and privileged with his companionship, he is today admitted te the most exclusive society. Ailments. The ailments of dogs that are most troublesome and likely to be met with are distemper, worms and fleas. Distemper.—Of all the diseases of dogs, distem- per is by far the most to be feared. It assumes a great variety of forms and is not so well under- stood as other diseases (see page 142). The writer takes the liberty of quoting from “The Collie” [see Literature] the discussion of the disease as it appears in that work: “It is a contagious febrile disease, and therefore, once it has been diagnosed, the subject should be isolated, and the same person should not be allowed to wait on the affected dog and the healthy ones, as the contagion is readily conveyed. In order to prevent distemper, all that the thoughtful owner can do is to keep his young stock in robust health ; then, if any, or all, should fall victims, they will be less liable to “go under” than the weakling and the wastrel. “Usually the disease is ushered in with catarrh, accompanied by a poor appetite, lassitude, hot nose, furred tongue, eye inflammation, and a discharge alike from eyes and nose—thin at first, but becom- ing thicker as the disease progresses. Usually, too, the bowels are loose, while the under part of the belly not infrequently becomes spotted. Good nurs- ing will do more good than drugs, providing it be in conjunction with warmth and well-ventilated quarters. An even temperature is desirable, and the patient should wear a flannel coat. The eyes and nose should be sponged clean of discharge, using a little rose-pink solution of Condy’s Fluid (warm). There is almost certain to be a cough; but so long as the lungs and bronchi are not involved, this will soon cease to trouble. When, however, pneumonia supervenes, the aid of the veterinary surgeon should be at once invoked, as also when that form of distemper accompanied by jaundice is present. This latter is shown by the yellowness of the mucous membranes—a condition that has given rise to the name of the “yellows.” Diarrhea, if present, should be relieved by means of carbonate of bismuth, given dry on the tongue twice a day— the dose varying from 10 grains to 380 or 40 grains. If there be a high. temperature (over 103°), some- thing must be done to reduce it. Dissolve 2 drams of salacin ina little hot water, add 4 ounce of tinc- ture of gentian and sufficient water to make 6 ounces, and give a dessertspoonful three times a day. “The food during the time the patient is unwell should be light and nourishing. It may consist of good broth poured over stale brown bread. The best is made from sheep’s head boiled. The meat may also be cut up and added to the mass. Beaten- up egg and Bovril are also useful when more solid 386 DOGS food is refused. The patient should be fed on the ‘little and often’ principle.” Worms.—Tapeworms, threadworms and round- worms are commonly met with. The roundworm is the form which most prevails in puppies, while the tapeworm is frequently found in adult dogs. The presence of worms is usually indicated by a staring coat, a cough, irregular bowels, and, in some in- stances, severe diarrhea, and sickness. In some cases worms are vomited. Various worm remedies for dogs are on sale at drug-stores, and many of these remedies are as satisfactory as any prescribed remedies with which the writer is familiar. Vermi- fuges, of whatever nature, should always be admin- istered to a dog after a period of fasting. Fleas.—Fleas greatly annoy dogs, and the long coat of a rough-coated Collie makes a good refuge for them. There are numerous insecticides on the market that are good. Care should be taken when attempting to eradicate fleas or lice, thoroughly to clean the kennel and follow the cleaning with a free use of some good insecticide. Organizations and records. The Collie Club of England was founded in 1881. This club aided greatly in promoting the interests of the breed both at home and abroad. An Amer- ican Collie Club has also been organized. A Collie studbook is issued. There are a few local Collie clubs scattered over the country. The Old English Bobtail Sheep-dog. Fig. 396. By Frederick Freeman Lloyd. The name of this useful, sagacious and quaint- appearing dog exactly explains his ancestry and occupation, although, strictly speaking, the Bobtail Sheep-dog is as much a cattle-dog as a sheep-dog. There are varieties of these rough- and heavy-coated Sheep-dogs in other European and Asiatic countries than England, which, however, have long tails. It is one of the oldest breeds of dogs. Description. In general appearance, the Bobtail is a strong compact-looking dog of great symmetry, absolutely free from legginess or weaselness, profusely coated all over, very elastic in his gallop, but in walking or trotting he has a characteristic ambling or pac- ing movement. His bark should be loud, with plenty of “ring” in it. He is a thick-set, muscular, able- bodied dog, with a most intelligent expression, free from all poodle and deerhound character. While a fast-enough dog for the wildest of sheep, he is not hard on them; and his great sense or sagacity makes him more of a human companion than simply a dog-aid. While breeders of Collies and some others of their kind breed for long-headed dogs, the producers of Bobtails strive, and rightly, after good, capacious skulls, and those well-developed frontal bones that go to make up, what is generally considered the “brain-box,” that structure that contains the com- mon sense always required in a dog whose every- day occupation is tending herds and flocks. DOGS A great characteristic of the Bobtail is his rm gedness. Because of the density of his coat he ¢an put up with the most severe climates. The best Bobtails have very heavy coats, there being an undercoat on the body with a long, harsh and almost wire-like overcoat of the texture of the mane of a horse. The undercoat keeps the dog warm and his skin protected from wet and rain, while mois- Fig. 396. Old English Sheep-dog. Owned by Mrs. Mitchell Harrison, Chestnut Hill, Pa. ture will roll off the outer coat. Great points in the breed are the all-round feathered fore-legs, and the general massiveness and squareness of the hind-quarters. Bobtails may be of any color, but the most valued and beautiful are the pigeon-blue and white, and the dark steel-blue and white, the white being found about the muzzle, head, collar, neck, fore-legs and sometimes from the hocks to the feet of the hind- legs. These hocks should be well let down, while the fore-legs must be straight, and the body well loined, comparatively short, and strongly ribbed and rounded. The darker blue puppies are born black ; with a little age, white hairs come through the black, which become lighter, the whole making a blue grizzle. Some dogs are entirely whole or self- colored. While these are not less useful, the marked ones are preferred, for they are more striking in appearance, and, as workers, can be seen at a greater distance, especially in dismal and indiffer- ent weather. The colors of the eyes of a Bobtail vary according to the body or color of the dog. In the blues, the eyes are bluish and grayish. With white dogs we will very often find a “wall,” “china” or “marble” eye. This is highly typical. It is said that a dog with a wall eye never fails in the sight of that organ. It is more than probable that dogs of this breed, in the ages that are past, were bigger, for they had, generally, to protect their flocks from the larger carnivore, which Britain does not now pos- sess. Within the last two decades Bobtails have become larger. Soft coats have, unfortunately, bee: somewhat noticeable, but the majority of speci- mens we see at the present-day shows are magnif- icent creatures. The present-day dogs are in type, DOGS make and shape, coat, stature and general charac- teristics a great deal better than the first of this breed to arrive on this continent. A dog standing twenty-five inches, fair measurement, at the shoulder may be considered tall enough; a bitch two inches less would be considered equally well grown. The following is the official description of the Old English Sheep-dog: The skull should be capa- cious and rather squarely formed, giving plenty of room for brain-power. The parts over the eyes should be well arched and the whole well covered with hair. The jaw should be fairly long, strong, square and truncated ; the stop should be defined to avoid a deerhound face (the attention of judges is particularly called to the above properties, as a long narrow head is a deformity). The eyes vary according to the color of the dog, but in the glau- cous or blue dogs a pearl, wall, or china eye is considered typical. The nose is always black, large or capacious. The teeth are strong and large, evenly placed and level in opposition. The ears are small and carried flat to side of head, and coated moderately. The fore-legs should be dead straight, with plenty of bone, removing the body a medium height from the ground, without approaching leg- giness ; they should be well coated all around. The feet should be small and round, the toes well arched and the pads thick and hard. Tail: Puppies requiring docking must have an appendage left of one and one-half to two inches, and the operation must be performed when the puppy is not older than four days. The neck should be fairly long, arched gracefully, and well coated with hair. The shoulders should be sloping and narrow at the point, the dog standing lower at the shoulder than at the loin. The Jody should be rather short and very compact ; the ribs well sprung, and the brisket deep and capacious. The loin should be very stout and gently arched, while the hind-quarters should be round and muscular, with well let-down hocks, and the hams densely coated with the thick long jacket, in excess of any other part. The coat should be profuse and of a good hard texture; not straight, but shaggy and free from curl. The undercoat should be a waterproof pile, when not removed by grooming or season. As to color, any shade of gray, grizzle, blue, or blue merled, with or without white markings, or in reverse, is allow- able. In height, twenty-two inches and upwards for dogs, and slightly less for bitches is required. SCALE OF POINTS FOR OLD ENGLISH SHEEP- Dog r aebrs ER CadMumemrcetsitc)iis.ts)ushcs bsp iesl cele: “an Gieere ve 5 CAV OMIA sP is ciis) < ysnie: ie! = & Gnd) 6 Ate been ao 5 EP COLOPM sev cicsi ve. Sco ce SMe Stale Arey, geen en sins 10 4b, IDES oi hg GeO ERR eG Ie ECan aS Ee aan 5 5. Body, loins andhind-quarters. ........ 20 Gad WAetee ih felieey isbia Meret aies ey atin Gee alse 10 EMNOSOFe eo! selec. RpreOect Cio wesi niet tence 5 ame Oh mm eectes tite, az weulntyts lai Sanaa cl) auce Veli 5 MEPS! oss ct) rome tal rer tate tewicahewat 10 HOM Neckvandishouldersii cn cus clea er cele 10 THER Coat aoe cauetrens ussite) (su cindeil'evoltele si atcuteliehea he 15 Bertectionins pe eyes niente eee ane: 100 DOGS 387 History. Seventy-five to one hundred years ago, tailless dogs were exempt from tax in England. It was supposed that he would be a man of little pride who would own a tailless dog in those days, a sure sign that he was too poor or too mean to pay for his canine farm help. Still, there were other rea- sons. The game laws of the native country of the Bobtail have always been very strict, and to kill a hare was looked on, until a few years ago, as almost a crime on the part of a tenant farmer. The tail is a natural help to a dog in turning quickly, as the hare turns when coursed and overtaken. With- out his tail, the dog is sadly at fault in the wrench and turn, and he loses much ground. For this reason, the cut or bobbed sheep-dogs were not looked on as dangerous to game, and their owners were given tax exemptions for them accord- ingly. From this breed of short-tailed dogs arose the splendid animals kept today for bench shows, sheep- dog trials, sheep-herding, general farm work, and companions. They are among the most valuable of all breeds, and the importations and breeding oper- ations in the United States and some parts of Canada are extensive. The Old English Sheep-dog was the old-fashioned sheep-dog of the English farmer of generations ago. But with the advent of Scotch Collies from the North, which mostly accompanied their masters engaged as stewards or managers,—for Scotchmen have always been noted agriculturists and pastoral- ists,—these dogs became somewhat generally and widely distributed. Still, the Bobtails remained in the hands of drovers; and among dealers and: farmers attending markets and fairs, they have always been held as of the utmost value. Their ability to drive strange cattle and sheep through crowded and difficult thoroughfares is remark- able. In America.—Perhaps the first dog of this breed, of any note, to be imported was Sir Lucifer, which was purchased in the middle “eighties” by the Glen- coe Kennels, East Bethlehem, Washington county, Pennsylvania, who also owned Bob and Dame Hes- ter. About 1888, Mr. William Wade, then of Hulton, Pennnsylvania, took more than a passing interest in the breed and helped to develop it in this country. These imported Bobtails weighed from sixty pounds, with the bitches of less weight, down- ward to forty-five pounds. Today the males and females are much larger, and are far more valuable. Twenty years ago in England (the dog market of the world), good show specimens were worth $250 ; now $500 to $1,000 is no uncommon price; and at such figures some of the present-day dogs have reached these shores. While there were but three or four individuals in 1886, no fewer than thirty-three first-class specimens were registered at the American Kennel Club, New York, 1906. Never were there more and better Old English Bobtail Sheep-dogs than at the present time. The breed is strongly supported, not only by agricul- turists who value them for their work and good looks, but other persons of position in both hemi- 388 DOGS spheres, who recognize in this Sheep-dog the repre- sentative of the old shepherd breed, and a pecu- liarly sagacious and handsome animal. Distribution. The Old English Sheep-dog is now widely distrib- uted in those countries where dog shows are held. The home of the breed, and of kinds closely related to him, is in northern Europe. The best Bobtail living at the present day is Handsome Boy, owned by Mrs. Tyler Morse, of New York and Boston. Handsome Boy is a magnificent specimen, carrying an enormous coat. He is blind in one eye, but so truly representative is he, that judges are inclined to overlook that blemish. Feeding. The general scraps of the farmhouse make a good and substantial meal for the Sheep-dog. Cracked corn, well boiled with vegetables and fat or lean flesh, is eaten with avidity. With always access to grass the dog will keep himself in the best of health, the herbage being an excellent vermifuge. Removing the tail. Even in the best and most carefully bred litters of Bobtails, whelps are to be found with tails of different lengths, while some are tailless. All the tails should be immediately removed close to the rump with a pair of sharp scissors or nippers. A little balsam may be placed on the small sore, or it can be left to the good attention of the mother, who will lick and clean it while it is healing. The earlier the tail-cutting is accomplished, the more forward will the puppy become, while the pain is next to nothing. Organizations and records. The Old English Sheep-dog Club of England was founded in 1888, with the present writer as its first secretary. He drew up a description and scale of points of the breed on which lines the breed was, and is, generally judged. There is an Old English Sheep-dog Club of America, organized in 1903. At all times the addresses of the secretaries of these clubs, formed to promote the interests of the breed under notice, may be had by inquiry at the Ameri- can Kennel Club, New York City, and the English Kennel Club, London, England. The studbooks, wherein these dogs are mentioned and the pedigrees of many of the best types are given, are published by the English and American Kennel Clubs. Literature. There is little literature that is related particu- larly to farm dogs, although much has been written on dogs in general. The latest illustrated descrip- tion of Qld English Sheep-dogs is given by Lloyd, in “Dogs,” The Library Supply Company of Amer- ica, New York City (1907). The reader may also consult Lloyd, The World’s Sheep and Cattle Dogs, Dog-Lover’s Publishing Co., Lansdowne, Pa.; Raw- don Lee, Field, London ; Hugh Dalziel, The Collie, L. Upcot Gill, London ; Lee, Collie or Sheep-Dog ; Wickham, Practical Training of the Shepherd Dog. DOGS Sheep-dog Trials. Figs. 397-399. By Frederick Freeman Lloyd. The first public sheep-dog trials ever held were © at Bala, North Wales, Great Britain, in 1873. Since then they have become very popular and are almost a national pastime in Wales, England, Australia and New Zealand. There are also com- petitions of this kind in Scotland, in the eastern — states of the Union, and in Canada, the trials at the annual international fair at Toronto being — unquestionably the best held on the American continent. The first trials to be held in the United States were at Philadelphia, in 1880, and at Pitts- burg, in 1881. The latter were under the patron- — age of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society. These trials prove great attractions at fairs and are on the increase in this country, being supported by the Collie Club of America and other institu- tions or associations. Their value and charm lie in the fact that they demonstrate the true utility of — the dog. Trials in Australia, England and France. In Australia, a small, prick-eared and generally black dog with a smooth or flat coat is used. He is called “the Barb,” after a celebrated dog of that name. Sheep-dog trials last for days in connection with the annual show of the Sheep Breeders’ Asso- ciation, at Sydney, N. 8. W., a very important society, which interests itself in the flocks and sheep-dogs of possibly the greatest sheep-raising country in the world. Valuable prizes are offered at nearly all Australian shows; and, as almost every township and village has its annual gathering devoted to matters agricultural and pastoral, it can well be gathered that sheep-dog trials are of great account and held in the highest esteem. In England, prominent land-owners, such as Lord Rothschild, give large sums for prizes for sheep-dog trials. The competitions at Tring Park each autumn are watched by a vast concourse of town and country people, who are kept in breath- less excitement by the interesting work of the dogs. Welsh, Scotch or Herdwick sheep should always be used for trials; the Down sheep are considered too slow and too fat. In France, a number of sheep—say a score—are used, the dog being required to fetch, drive and — house them in a railway truck at a station. The trials are held under the patronage of the Depart- ment of Agriculture. The dogs. All breeds of sheep-dogs are used for this work, the show points of the animal counting for noth- ing, except in the case of special prizes given for dogs of any particular breed when merit is con- sidered, so far as the bench or ring sheep-dog is concerned. Some extra well-bred Collies have been known to be very good workers in these contests, but the majority of the dogs used are those that are daily at work on farms, ranches or stations— the latter the great Antipodean sheep-runs, where — dogs are of the utmost value. DOGS The requirements of the dog are obvious. He should be silent at his work and never, under any circumstances, bite or mouth his sheep. He must be taught to work in the direction of the swing of the hand and drop to whistle or voice, or go on as desired. The merit of a dog is estimated by the time he takes to pen his charges without materially forcing them. Naturally, now and then, a dog is favored with “luck,” but the best animal is nearly always to be found the winner of the stake. Three money prizes are generally given, with extra honorariums for the shepherd or handler. All dogs, except the working one, must be held on a leash during a trial; in the event of a dog get- ting loose, the owner of it should be promptly fined, or the dog disqualified from competition, at the option of the stewards. The fine must be men- tioned in the rules governing the meeting. There is no studbook for dogs that have com- peted or won at sheep-dog trials. Pedigrees may be given on the entry form, but the age (if known) must be mentioned at the time of making Fig. 397. Simple course for sheep-dog trial. A, Sheep; B, course, outside of flags; C, pen, made of three ordinary hurdles, with sufficient room at opening to allow entrance of only one sheep at a time; D, shepherd's first position on sending dog to find sheep, say 800 yards away; 5, first position of judges; F, public. Time allowed, say fifteen minutes. the entry. The fuller the particulars the more wide- spread becomes the fame of the dog’s works. A dog should be reckoned a puppy until he is twelve months old on the first day of the competition in which he is entered. Dogs and bitches are consid- ered of the same account, but in no case may a proud or in-season female be worked at public trials. The sheep. The handler or shepherd must not touch the sheep with his hands, and should remain in close proximity to the home hurdles and pen until the driven sheep arrive in that neighborhood. Strange (to the dog) sheep are always used, a trio from flocks before unassociated being the charges. * Strange wild sheep are wilder than ever ; they will not pack but will “split” and run in all directions, giving the dog the maximum of work and try- ing his temper to the utmost. A ewe, a wether and a big lamb—all strangers—make a difficult trio. Sheep from the same flock are more easy to handle, and it is advisable to provide such for early trials when the dogs have not yet reached the per- fection of “professional” trial dogs and worked by very experienced public handlers. It may be men- tioned here that Australians have been heard to DOGS 389 back themselves and dog to drive a hen into a small flower-pot placed lengthwise in the open field in a given number of minutes. The progeny of domestic dogs crossed with wild dogs cannot be Fig. 398. Course for medium-trained dogs. A, Sheep; B, first pair of single hurdles with room between for only one sheep to pass; C, two sets of hurdles joined, placed twenty- five yards from B, and allowing same room as B; D. pen made of three hurdles, twenty yards from C, with room for entry of one sheep at atime: E, shepherd; F, public; G, judges. Time allowed, say fifteen minutes. depended on for generations as honest and non- worrying sheep-dogs. The course. Figs. 8397-399. Of the plans given, the one represented in Fig. 398 is recommended for medium-trained dogs. The one suggested in Fig. 399 is very complex, and is suitable only for dogs of considerable experi- ence. It is difficult because of the maltese cross, which is hard to negotiate. It is suitable for a show-ring enclosure, the judges acting from a stand. The arrows indicate the course over which the sheep are to be driven. A study of these plans will best indicate the nature of the trials. The sheep are turned out of the yard at some distance from the course. The yard may be in sight or hidden, as arranged. From his first position, the shepherd may follow his dog and sheep to the sheep-pen. The public or audience should, if pos- sible, be placed on a hill overlooking the interest- ing work; the onlookers should be kept away, at Fig. 399. A, Sheep; B, course, outside of flags; C, single hurdles; D, Maltese cross (double hur- dies); E, pen; F, judges; G, public; H, shepherd, who may Complex course. move anywhere inside the flags. Time allowed, say seven- teen minutes. all costs, from the actual arena. Sheep are stupid; they become more and more so with a strange dog, and midst the shouts of approval and groans of disappointment that ever and anon arise from the advocates at these exciting events. There is not a slow moment at a good sheep-dog trial. 390 FISH FISH. Pisces. Figs. 400-403. The agricultural utilization of ponds and streams as sources of food income has scarcely yet begun in this country. The time must come when they will be as carefully utilized as the fields of the farm; in fact, they themselves will become farm fields, yielding their regular product of food as cer- tainly as the poultry yard yields its fowls or the pasture its sheep. There is more or less breeding of fish at present, but largely of game fish, from the sportsman’s point of view; this point-of view must be radically changed before water agriculture can attain great efficiency. We have not yet begun to domesticate fish in this country, although this has proceeded in the Old World with the carp, which is thus far the leading agricultural species. We shall some day have domestic breeds of more than one species of fish. Aquiculture is the cultivation of animals and plants that live in water, or whose habitat essen- tially comprises a body of water. The animals may be gill-breathers, as fishes and mollusks, or lung- breathers, as frogs and turtles. The microscopic organisms that are the food of so many aquatic animals, such as sponges, clams, and the young of fishes, constitute the plankton. [See page 393.] It is not the province of this cyclopedia of agri- culture to discuss fish at length. Brief attention is given to the general subject of fish-culture and fish-food, and to some of those kinds of fish for which artificial methods of propagation have been undertaken. The reader is referred to Shell-fish for discussions of raising clams, crabs, crayfish, lob- sters, oysters and shrimp. He may also wish to consult the articles on Frogs, Sponges and Turtles. Fish-culture. Fig. 400. By W. E. Meehan. The artificial propagation of fishes, under the direction of the Federal Bureau of Fisheries and state commissions, has become an extensive indus- try. Rivers, lakes and ponds, depleted of their fishes, are now commonly restocked with food and game fishes from the hatcheries of the state and national fish commissions. Fish-culture of some kind was practiced by the ancient Romans and also by the Chinese and Jap- anese. The Romans built artificial ponds opening into natural waters, and when the former were stocked, screens were placed at the outlets so that the fish could not escape. The Chinese and Japanese gathered eggs of wild fish from one body of water and carried them to another, where they hatched. They also engaged in the systematic culture of goldfish, and by selection produced what are now known as “fancies,” that is, fish with more than one tail and with abnormally shaped bodies. It is supposed that this condition was produced by agi- tating the eggs at a certain stage of development. Artificial fish-culture was first employed in the latter part of the fifteenth century by a Jesuit priest, but it was put to no practical use. It was revived again about the latter part of the seven- teenth century by Jacoby, a German scientist, who FISH published a paper on the subject. This paper was afterwards translated into French and English, but even this was not followed by practical efforts. It was not until about 1840 that fish-culture was definitely undertaken. Its beginnings were brought — about through experiments made by two Breton fishermen, named Remy and Gehin. They made a close study of the spawning habits of the trout, and took eggs and devised an apparatus for hatch- ing them. Thé attention of the French government was drawn to their experiments, and Gehin was made a commissioner to teach others the art of artificial fecundation and hatching of fishes. A year or two later, experiments in artificial fecundation of salmon on the lines laid down by Jacoby and Remy and Gehin were successfully undertaken in Scotland by two Scotchmen. Later, the work was introduced into the United States by private indi- viduals, who had studied the methods of Remy and Gehin. Shortly afterwards, Seth Green, of New York, who may be considered the father of fish-cul- ture in America, established a hatchery and under- took the propagation of trout on a large scale. He subsequently experimented with the artificial hatch- ing of shad and brought it to a successful issue. Livingston Stone, also of New York, followed Seth Green’s work closely and established a hatchery. The rapid reduction of fishes in this country, espe- cially in the New England and Middle states, caused much concern, and about 1866 a general con- vention, composed of delegates appointed by the authority of the legislatures of the several states, was held with a view of devising means to restore the fisheries. The result of the convention was the establishment of fish commissions in the various states and by the United States government. Both the national and the state governments constructed fish hatcheries or stations where fish could be prop- agated artificially. The energies of the states were at first directed principally towards the hatching of brook trout, while the United States Fish Commis- sion, although making a specialty of this fish, sought a broader field. Little by little other states followed the example of the National Fish Commis- sion, until some of the commonwealths, notably Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota, are propagating most of the more valuable game and food fishes — within their borders. Pennsylvania and New York are especially active in this particular, the former even undertaking the culture of such fishes as catfish, pickerel and sunfish, in addition to what are commonly called the higher forms, as trout, — shad, wall-eyed pike, whitefish and black bass. The science of fish-culture is advancing rapidly, and, while there is yet great advancement to be made, it is now generally conceded that it is chiefly a matter of the amount of money available for the work. Systems of fish-culture. There are three distinct lines of work in fresh- water fish-culture: First, the artificial taking, fecundating and hatching of eggs; second, the natural spawning of fish in artificial ponds in fish- FISH hatching stations; and, third, the catching of fish from one body of water and transferring them to others, and the taking of wild eggs and artificially hatching them. Artificial fecundation and hatching of eggs.—In the first system, two methods are employed,—the use of open troughs and trays and the use of jars. (1) The open trough and tray system is used largely for the artificial hatch- ing of salmon and trout. The general form of the troughs used by the United States Bureau of Fisheries and by the several states is to all intents and pur- poses the same, the chief difference being in the size. The majority of the states employ a trough twelve to six- teen feet in length and about thirty inches wide, with a division down the center, and about eight inches deep; but some of the states, and the United States Bureau of Fisheries, use a trough several feet in depth. Through the first type of trough six to nine quarts of water flow per minute. The eggs, after being fecundated and thor- oughly cleaned, are spread on wire- mesh trays, previously painted with asphaltum, or in wire baskets especially designed. In the shallow type of troughs there is set but one, or at most two tiers of trays, but in the deeper types as many as six- teen or more may be placed. After the fish have hatched, they are often retained in the troughs until the sac is absorbed, and then either planted in the streams or trans- ferred to outside ponds and held until the fish-cul- turist deems it proper to plant them. The period of planting varies, some culturists planting the trout while the sac is still attached, some when the sac is first absorbed, others when the trout arrive at the fingerling stage, while others hold them until they are about eight or nine months old. (2) Jar system—The jar work was formerly conducted under what was known as the table system, which is still pursued by some states and to some extent by the United States Bureau of Fish- eries. The table system consists of a table in which is set a tank, around which are placed glass jars having hermetically sealed caps. Water is intro- duced into the jars, by means of rubber and glass tubes. There are two tubes for each jar; one reaches nearly to the bottom of the jar for the introduction of the water, and the other, shorter one, carries the water into the tank from the jar; the latter is also used to siphon out all the young fishes and the dead eggs. Hggs are placed in the jars and the water kept constantly flowing, so that the eggs will be in perpetual motion during the development of the embryo. The period of devel- opment of the embryo depends on the species of fish and the temperature of the water. Some fishes, as the shad, under certain conditions will hatch in four or five days; others, as the whitefish, will require three to four months. Fig. 400. _ FISH 391 The table system is being abandoned for the battery system (Fig. 400), for the reason that the latter is simpler and a larger number of eggs may . be hatched in a smaller space and with no more water. A battery consists of a series of troughs about twelve inches deep and twelve inches wide, LZ SLL | Lie Bi titi Interior of a fish-hatching house equipped with battery and jars, the latter showing the eggs. and of a length corresponding to the size of the hatching-house, set one above the other from the floor to near the ceiling. There is another type of battery in which the troughs are set step-fashion, but the former method is in more general use. The water is introduced into the top trough, from which it flows to those beneath and finally into a large tank at one end of the building. Faucets are inserted at intervals on each side of the troughs, from which water is carried by short pieces of rubber hose attached to the glass or tin tubes that reach to the bottom of the jars. The top of ajar is open and the water flows out from a lip back into the troughs, carrying with it the dead eggs and young fishes, which afterwards flow into the tank just mentioned. Several designs of jars are used, according to the fancy of the fish-culturist, but each type holds about four quarts of eggs. The jar system is used for the eggs of such fishes as the whitefish, shad, yellow perch and pickerel, which are deposited in vast quantities but are much smaller than the trout. Spawning of fish in artificial ponds.—The pond system is for fish from which the eggs either can- not be taken artificially, or from which it is diffi- cult to take them. The principal species for which pond work is undertaken are the black bass, both large and small mouth. The artificial culture of black bass is comparatively but a few years old, and is still largely experimental. Originally the ponds were relatively small, but with growing experience they are being enlarged, until now, many fish culturists advocate bodies of water three to five acres in extent. A bass pond for breeding purposes should have 392 FISH a shelf extending over the greater part of the pond at an average depth of a foot and a half to two feet, and a kettle with a depth varying from two to eight feet, according to the climate of the region, whether the winters are very severe or are mild. The shelf is for the spawning grounds, and the kettle for hibernating and refuge. The nests are artificially made of coarse gravel and small stones. About these nests is set a wooden screen with two sides open. The two closed sides are to prevent fish in one nest from seeing fish in another. On these nests the fish deposit their eggs. The usual practice is to permit the eggs to be incubated under the care of the fish, and as soon as they are hatched, the wooden screen is taken away and replaced by a crib having a frame-work of iron or wood, and the sides covered with cheese-cloth. When the sac is absorbed, the little fish are trans- ferred from the crib to fry ponds, in which there is a large amount of aquatic plants of species on which low forms of aquatic animal life thrive. On this vegetation the young fish feed. When they are of a certain size, they are planted in the streams. Field-work.—The third method, which is usually called field-work, is divided into two distinct oper- ations: one, the catching of wild fish by means of nets and transferring them to other waters; the other, gathering the spawn or eggs of fish natur- ally deposited, and transferring them to hatcheries to be developed either by the jar or the trough system. The gathering of wild eggs for hatching is looked on as very important, since it saves a very large number of eggs that would otherwise be destroyed by spawn-eating fish. Literature. There is very little important literature relating to fish-culture. Domesticated Trout, by Livingstone Stone, is a good contribution of the earlier days. The latest reference of value is the Manual of Fish- Culture, issued by the United States Fish Commis- sion, first in 1897, and revised about two years later. See also, C. H. Townsend, the Cultivation of Fishes in Natural and Artificial Ponds, Reprint from Eleventh Annual Report of New York Zodlog- ical Society. Fish Food and Feeding-grounds. By James G. Needham. The food of fishes is almost as diversified as is the life of the waters they inhabit. Our best native game fishes are carnivorous. Some of them (as pike, black bass) eat chiefly other fishes, mostly of smaller size. Some, as the brook trout, that nor- mally feed in part on other fishes, may thrive on insects alone in a pond where these are abundant. The sheepshead of our inland streams eats chiefly mollusks. Its broad, flattened teeth are well adapted for crushing snail and mussel shells. All our bottom- feeding fishes eat more or less of the various crus- taceans, insect larve, snails, worms and the like, that occur in such places ; and all fishes, when very young. eat largely the free-swimming life of the open water, that is collectively known as plankton. FISH Plankton organisms continue to be through life the food of a few fishes, even of some of the larger ones, such as the spoon-bill (Polyodon). Fishes may take food with the water they inhale, if their gill-rakers are fine enough to strain out of the water the minute organisms it contains; such food, although it may be considerable in quantity and importance, comes to them with as little seeking as the oxygen dissolved in the water for their breathing. But the demands of appetite usually impel them to make conscious efforts to capture larger game, and nature has endowed them vari- ously to accomplish their special needs : with sharp, hooked teeth, as the bass, for capturing other fishes ; with grinding teeth, as the sheepshead, for crunching snail shells ; with upturned jaws, as the grass pike, for picking insects from the surface of the water ; or with down-turned and pursed lips, as the sucker, for drawing worms up out of the ooze of the bottom. Some mud-eating fishes (that live on the rich organic materials contained in the mud) of great reproductive capacity, are important as furnishing in their offspring a supply of food for the other piscivorous sorts, as the native gizzard shad of our sluggish inland rivers, and the imported “German” carp. (Figs. 401-403.) Almost the only fresh-water fishes that are fully protected against being swallowed by others are the catfishes, whose three stout rigidly-erected spiny fore finrays appear to be adequate defense, and the stickleback. But one reliable method of determining what fishes eat has yet been found,—that is the examination of their stomach contents. By this means it has been determined that the food of our best fishes is predominantly smaller fishes, insects and crusta- ceans; that the largest percentage of their food is insects, and that by far the most important part of their insect food is the immature stage of may- flies and midges. Very little is yet known of the conditions that make for abundance of fish-food. Plankton organ- isms live in. the open water, but different waters vary wonderfully in the richness of their plankton. The supply they furnish varies also with the sea- son, but it is a part of the balance of nature that the supply is in all waters most abundant at that season (spring) when the majority of fishes, being newly hatched, are dependent on it. Most of them will turn to other food when they attain to larger size. On the bottom, in deep waters, there is a scanty fauna consisting chiefly of a few forage organisms, as “blood worms” (larve of midges of the genus Chironomus), “caddis-worms” (larve of the caddis-flies), and small bivalve mollusks (Pisidiwm). Some of our best fishes, such as whitefish and trout, forage largely there. The dense beds of submerged waterweeds that grow on trash-strewn bottoms in slack water, are probably the richest in organic life of all fish-foraging grounds. These shelter teem- ing hosts of mollusks, crustaceans and insect larve. The smaller fishes swarm here, to be nabbed on the outskirts of these beds by the larger pirati- cal fishes that dwell in the deeper water. It is noteworthy that these submerged meadows (beds of Chara, Ceratophyllum, etc) are not browsed on FISH directly by water-animals, as are clover-fields by cattle; on the contrary, they grow green, and grow old and die almost untouched, and the her- bivorous water-organisms (with the exception of a few caddis-worms, and others) eat them only after they are dead and disintegrating. The primary source of organic food for the large aquatic ani- mals is, in the water, dead plants instead of green plants, as on land. The most important producers of valuable fish-forage thus appear to be a few herbivorous crustace- ans and larve of may- flies and midges; and the best foraging grounds, those sub- merged meadows in whose shelter and nourishment these forms develop in greatest abundance. Literature. 8. A. Forbes, The Food Relations of Fresh- water Fishes, Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, Vol. 2, pp. 475-538 ; J. G. Needham, The Food of Brook Trout in Bone Pond, Bulletin No. 68, New York State Mu- seum. Fig. 401. Plankton-Culture. By Julius Nelson. Plankton consists of very simple or mi- croscopic organisms of water, both plant and animal. These organisms are very numerous, and are usually distributed throughout the body of water, being pas- sively carried by its currents. The plant-cells, nourished by the min- erals in solution, and bathed by sunlight, multiply rapidly, furnishing food for the microscopic ani- mals; and both groups of organisms are the food of sponges, mollusks, polyps, and the young of nearly all aquatic animals, including the fry of fishes and the tadpoles of amphibians. Successful attempts have been made in France in breeding plankton for both fish fry and for fat- tening oysters (which see). The general method employed is as follows: Shallow ponds are chosen (or excavated), into which the flow of water may be controlled, whether fresh or salt. For a few weeks in the spring, such ponds, or claires, should be emptied, and the bottom baked in the sun. Then follows spading and raking, after which the pond Fig. 403. Fig. 402. Leather carp. Figs. 401-403, varieties of the domestic carp. FISH 399 is allowed to fill gradually. The water, having no exit, becomes warm and remains stagnant, and its plankton increases. Then the ponds are filled, and the oysters or fish are introduced. For fish-culture, a series of such ponds are in readiness, are pas- tured successively, and replenished by intervals of rest. The United States Bureau of Fisheries has suc- cessfully conducted experiments in the application of fertilizers to ponds for oyster-culture, and has thereby so increased the growth of oyster food that three or four weeks’ sojourn of poor oysters in such ponds has fat- tened them for mar- ket. Carp. Cyprinus Car- pio, Linn. Cypri- nide. Figs. 401- 403. By J. G. Needham. The carp is the one food-fish that may fairly be considered domesticated at pres- ent. In common with most of our domesti- cated animals, it is a native of Asia. It was introduced into this country from Germany over thirty years ago, and is al- ready one of the most widely distributed fishes in America. It has been cultivated in ponds in Germany for a long time, and exists there in several improved cultural va- rieties. There are three fairly well-known va- rieties in our own waters, all of which are German carp: besides “scale carp” (Fig. 401), the parental stock, which is uniformly covered with scales of moderate size, there is the “mirror carp” (Fig. 402), which has very large scales irregularly disposed along the sides of the body, and the “leather carp” (Fig. 403), which is almost scaleless. But as these forms have often been liberated in the same waters, unrestricted inter-crossing has re- sulted in all sorts of varietal intergradations. Feeding habits. The carp is adapted well for life in farm ponds and mill dams, where there is a muddy bottom and an abundance of waterweeds. It is not well adapted to clear streams or spring ponds, and should not be introduced into such places ; to such Scale carp. Mirror carp. 394 FISH waters, our native game fishes of finer flavor are better suited and are far more desirable. The young of these, when ready for planting, may be obtained from the state fish hatcheries. The carp is omnivorous in its feeding habits. It eats the roots and soft stems of aquatic plants, pulling and tugging at them and tearing off shreds that may be swallowed, and often uprooting small plants and leaving them floating. In this way more or less damage is done in exterminating - eelgrass (Vallisneria) and other aquatics. It eats the soft parts of dead plants also and swallows considerable quantities of mud, rich in organic remains. It “roots” around in the pond bottom to dislodge bottom crustaceans and insect larve. In consequence of these habits, it should not be allowed to become over-abundant in waters in which the native life is to be preserved. The forag- ing habits of the carp on the pond-bottom may be likened to those of hogs, “rooting” in a pasture, and over-pasturing produces like destructive results with both. Food value. The flesh of the carp, when properly prepared, from fishes that have had reasonably clean forage, is excellent, although probably never so delicious as that of the best of our native game fishes. Carp will thrive where these will not live at all, and for the vast areas of our country that are remote from the seaboard and the mountains, will furnish, perhaps, the best supply of table-fish avail- able. To prepare carp in the best manner for the table, it should be both skinned and drawn, soaked in salt water over night, then boiled, and finally baked with proper dressing. Stocking streams with carp. Ponds and streams may readily be stocked by introducing a few adult fishes of both sexes, which have been seined in the spring before their spawn- ing season. The spawning time is early, in May and June. The eggs are produced in vast numbers, each female laying several hundred thousand. They are scattered over the vegetation, and on the bottom in shallow water. They hatch very quickly, if they escape being eaten, and grow very rapidly, attaining maturity in about three years. While young, they may furnish an abundant food-supply to carnivorous fishes, as the black bass. The latter, of entirely different feeding habits, is a native fish that thrives in the same waters with the carp. There is no doubt that in some of our inland waters, such as the Illinois river, with its slow current and muddy bottom, the production of marketable fish has been greatly increased as a result of the introduction of the carp, and many a lesser area of water of similar character, now pro- ducing nothing of value, might be made to yield excellent food, if carp were planted in it. Literature. L. J. Cole, The German Carp in the United States, Bureau of Fisheries, Washington, D. C. (1905). FROGS FROGS. Rana spp. Ranide. Figs. 404, 405. By W. #. Meehan and FE. A. Andrews. The Report of the Fish Commission for 1897 contains an estimate that the annual catch of frogs in the United States is a little less than one million frogs, worth $50,000 to the hunters and $150,000 to consumers. Reference is also made to a “frog- farm” in Ontario that had been running for twenty years, and in 1895-6 yielded 5,000 pounds of dressed frog’s-legs for market and 7,000 living frogs for stocking other waters and for scientific purposes. With reference to the possibilities of artificial culture of frogs the report concludes as follows: “While at present it would perhaps be advisable to limit practical attempts at frog-culture to stocking natural waters with paired breeders, experiments in artificial methods should not be abandoned. There seems no reason why methods similar to those at present pursued in fish-culture may not eventually be successful in the case of the frogs.” The more specific statistics of the United States Bureau of Fisheries for 1902, 1903 and 1904, show an annual business of 345,759 pounds of frogs, worth $26,327, and distributed as follows: Mis- sissippi river, 285,811 Ibs., valued at $15,604 ; Illi- nois river, 7,255 lbs., valued at $2,053 ; Red river, 1,850 lIbs., valued at $279; North Carolina, 5,990 Ibs. (11,980 individual frogs), valued at $599; Virginia, 3,220 lbs., valued at $690 ; Lake Ontario, 500 lIbs., valued at $250. While it is doubtless true that a very great many thousands of dozens of frogs are annually sold to hotels by a single commission merchant, many thousands also sold for bait and perhaps one thou- sand dozen to schools and laboratories, all these sales and statistics relate almost exclusively to frogs that are hunted and caught in nature, and do not indicate the existence of any frog-farming industry. Attempts to discover the numerous “frog-farms” exploited in the newspapers generally show them to be non-existent. Most of the so- called “frog-farms” are at best places for holding wild stock and are not breeding-places. Pennsylvania experiments. Until recently little or no systematic effort was made in the United States to cultivate frogs for the market in the same manner as certain species of fishes.. A few persons had attempted to rear them in a perfunctory way, but without system. Pennsylvania, through its Department of Fisheries, was the first to make persistent experiments in scientific frog-culture, and to solve some of the dif- ficulties that lie in the way of success. The initial work was begun in 1899, in one of the State Fish Hatcheries, but failures were met with until 1904, when 40,000 young were developed from wild eggs. It was not until 1906 that breeding frogs were carried through the winter successfully and spawn taken from them and hatched. As a result of per- sistent experiments and investigations conducted at all the Pennsylvania hatcheries, the conclusion is reached that the mortality among wild tadpoles FROGS must be enormous. It is very heavy in the hatch- eries, where the best conditions for successful rearing prevail. Edible species. There are thirteen edible species of frogs in America, with rather more than half a dozen sub- species or varieties. In the eastern United States, there are at least three species of edible frogs, the » common bull- frog(Rana cates- biana), the green frog (R. clami- tans) and the spring or leop- ard frog (R. vir- escens). The first named is the largest frog and the last the smallest, but the leopard frogs offer the best chances for suc- cessful cultiva- tion because of their gregarious character, which the others do not possess. In the case of most of the smaller frogs the present abundant supply of wild material makes attempts at rearing them unprofitable, but in the case of the largest known frog, the American bullfrog, the natural supply being apparently doomed to exhaus- tion and the market prices high, the experiment of rearing for the market is promising. Fig. 404. Bullfrog (Rana catesbiana). Points to be observed in frog-farming. Experiments in the different state hatcheries in Pennsylvania have demonstrated that tadpoles, young frogs and mature frogs must be kept sepa- rate; that while tadpoles will eat dead animal food, frogs will eat only living things, preferably insects; that ponds for tadpoles should contain grasses, and those for young and old frogs must be liberally provided with water-lilies and other flowering water-plants to attract insect life; that all ponds must be surrounded by tight boards or mosquito-wire fences to prevent frogs from escaping ; that overcrowding, even & in the tadpole stage, is fatal; that ponds for tadpoles should have and those for frogs must have a soft mud bottom below the reach of freezing, in which the creatures may hibernate. In the life-history of the frogs, the early part, the tadpole, presents no difficulties, since they may be readily fed on cheap animal or vegetable matter; but later, when they have left the water, the hop- ping frogs require live animal food. They need to be kept for two or three years before being market- able. As yet no adequate substitute for the natural EA CaS EEA Fig. 405. Leopard frog (Rana virescens). FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 395 food, which is largely insects, has been found, and therefore only a limited number of frogs can reach maturity in a large enclosure. The bullfrog, especi- ally, requires a large range to obtain food enough and to escape the diseases that come from crowd- ing, as well as to diminish the losses from frogs eating one another. Frogs in the northern United States spawn first in April and early May. The eggs hatch in a few days, and if the water is not too cold and there are rest places, the period of development into a per- fect frog is, in some species, about three months. Frogs mature in two to three years. Eggs are also secured in July and August, but the tadpoles hatched therefrom do not complete development until the following spring. Ponds for tadpoles may be about sixty feet by twenty feet, but ponds for young and mature frogs should be at least half an acre in extent. Not less than three acres is required to assure the farmer a satisfactory income. Any swamp or other ground into which water can be introduced may be utilized for frog-farming. Literature. W. E. Meehan, Frog-farming, Bulletin No. 4, Department of Fisheries, Harrisburg, Pa.; United States Fish Commission, Report 1897, Washington, D.C. FUR-BEARING ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. Figs. 406-414. By £. T. D. Chambers. The fur-bearing animals of North America meant more to its original inhabitants than do all the flocks and herds of the present day to our agricul- tural community. They constituted their chief source of food and raiment. It was the chase and the barter for their pelts that drew the earliest European adventurers across the ocean. From the very inception of colonization in the New World, the fur trade has been associated with its industrial and commercial development, and indirectly with its social life, its romance and even its early wars. Extent of the industry. The rapacity of comparatively modern dealers in and hunters of furs is responsible for the all but total extinction of the buffalo and the sea-otter, and for the vast diminution in the numbers of the Alaska seal herd; and yet despite the steadily diminishing proportion of much of the annual out- put of material for furs, America’s fur-trade is more important now than it was in the palmy days of the old-time hunters and trappers. In many parts of Canada, as well as in the United States, there has been an enormous decrease in the supply of beaver. The sea-otter, whick formerly furnished 100,000 skins annually, now yields less than 400, and the average number of Alaska sealskins marketed has decreased from 100,000 to 10,000 per annum. Other fur-bearing animals have taken the place of these to such an extent, that according to statistics furnished by 396 FUR-BEARING ANIMALS United States Vice-Consul Burrell, stationed at Magdeburg, more money is now earned on skunk, muskrat and fox skins, than ever before on beavers, sea-otters, seals and other rare furs. On the American side of the line, the volume of the fur trade is the largest ever known in the United States—greater than in the days when the buffalo and the beaver had the whole continent as a stamping ground. Its annual value runs into the millions of dollars. Half a million opossum skins are annually shipped from America to Europe, and a still larger number of raccoon are sent across the Atlantic from the northwestern states alone. Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, and the group of central-northwestern states furnish 600,000 skunk skins annually to commerce, while 50,000 Alaskan fox skins of all sorts find their way every year to the great trade sales of furs at London, Leipzig, and Nijin-Novgorod. The number of American foxes taken by trappers may be judged from the fact that Maine alone furnishes 70,000 a year. Hundreds of thousands of rabbits are trapped yearly in Cali- fornia, and millions of muskrats are contributed from the swamps of New Jersey and Delaware, to the value of half a million to a million of dollars annually, in addition to those produced by the states lying immediately to the south of the great lakes. Of the half million or so of mink skins exported every year from North America, the United States contributes a fair share, although the larger number go from Canada. Many Canadian furs pass into the hands of American traders, through St. Paul, St. Louis, Chicago or San Francisco, to either a home or a foreign market as the case may be. The home market is responsible for the consump- tion of an enormous amount of native fur, in addi- tion to the importations of Persian lamb, Russian sable, astrachan, monkey and others. The consump- tion of raccoon for men’s coats, especially in Canada and the northern states, of mink and muskrat for linings, of mink, marten and otter for trimmings, in both countries, and of skunk manufactured into Alaska sable, for muffs, tippets, boas and the like, is very great, and would largely increase the total of the annual product, if added to the figure of North America’s actual export of furs. It is because of the impossibility of estimating the home consumption that figures are not available to show the aggregate annual value of the North American fur catch. Miss Agnes Laut states that an estimate of $6,000,000 placed on the annual value of furs north of the forty-ninth parallel would not be suffi- cient to include what has been used for the home market. In Canada, as in the United States, the demand for furs for local consumption is steadily growing. The rapid increase in average wealth places a set of furs in the category of reasonable luxuries of many, whose parents, living in an era when raw furs were more plentiful, wore mainly homespun. But these must not all be placed to the credit of local supply, for while, as in the case of the ‘United States, many native furs are manufactured in Canada for domestic use, and while a considerable proportion of the best furs worn in the country are FUR-BEARING ANIMALS reimported from Europe as finished articles, after having been exported as raw material, many firms annually send buyers to the Russian and Asiatic markets to purchase raw furs, which are not pro- curable on this side of the Atlantic, but which are made up here. As much, perhaps, to the growing fashion of wearing furs as to the decreased supply of fur- bearing animals is due the rapid increase in the values of domestic furs in the last few years. Canadian otter, which sold a quarter of a century ago for $2 to $8 per skin, and five years ago brought $15 to $18, is now (1908) worth $30 to $50. Mink skins sold freely in 1882 at 25 to 75 cents each, and the primest could be bought for a dollar. At present, the wholesale manufacturing establish- ments will pay $10 for a prime skin. Marten that sold for $1 to $4 per skin 25 years ago, and at $5 to $6 half a decade ago, is now worth $10 to $35. Muskrat skins only a few years ago could be had in large quantities for 3 to 8 cents each, and are now worth 10 to 50. Protection of fur-bearing animals. With a constantly increasing home demand for furs, it is satisfactory to note from the reports of traders that the fur-bearing animals of the last great fur preserve in the world, as the northern part of North America has been called, are by no means becoming extinct. These hunting-grounds are for the most part in the hands of Indian and half-breed hunters, who would no more think of destroying the last beaver, fox, mink or marten on their respective territories, than would a farmer of killing off the last of his breeding stock. They only thin out the animals which they hunt, in such num- bers as to ensure the permanency of the supply. In Labrador, in the Mackenzie river basin, and in other northern parts of the continent, the territory hunted by each Indian family is as much its own for hunting purpose as is a farmer’s field for culti- vation. Some hunters have several hundred square miles of territory in their respective game - pre- serves. Bears and caribou and such roaming animals are killed wherever seen, if wanted, but beavers and similar game and fur-bearing animals that inhabit restricted areas are the property of the hunter within whose territory they reside and breed. For any but their owner to kill them, except in case of absolute want of food, would be as unjustifiable as the shooting down of a neighbor’s ox. Further protection is afforded the most valuable furs by the trade itself and by the dictates of fashion. The trade does not care to purchase at all the furs of animals killed out of season, so that the hunting-season that pays does not often extend more than four or five months of the year. Fashion is particularly fickle in regard to furs, so that the seasons in which there is but small demand for a certain class of skins afford opportunity for a satisfactory increase in the number of the animals producing them, since the hunters are aware that better paying prices are to be had for other furs. Where they are found in largest numbers and the greatest necessity for protection of fur-bearing FUR-BEARING ANIMALS animals exists, they are usually afforded it by leg- islation. Nearly all the provinces of the Dominion of Canada, as well as Newfoundland, have enacted laws for such protection. In the United States, the majority of the states in which squirrels are found afford them some protection at least. The rabbit is protected, or partially protected, under the laws of Delaware, District of Columbia, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Ver- mont. The otter has been legislated for in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Wisconsin. For the beaver, pro- tective legislation has been enacted in Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hamp- shire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Vermont. There are closed sea- sons for bears in Alaska, New York and Pennsyl- vania, and the little mink is similarly protected in Towa, Maine, Minnesota and New York. Fur-hunting. The story of the fur-hunter and trapper contains many of the most thrilling pages to be found in the realms of human daring and adventure. Many lives are sacrificed in the annual hunts for skins of the sea-otter and Alaska seal in the northern Pacific, and for the Greenland or hair-seal amid the ice-floes of Newfoundland waters and in the gulf of St. Lawrence. The dreary wastes of Labrador and of other far northern regions of the continent of North America hold the bones of hundreds of Indian hunters who have perished of starvation and dis- ease on their annual fur-hunts, through the unex- pected failure of the game on which they have depended for a part, at least, of their food supply. As late as the winter of 1906-7, a number of Mon- tagnais hunters and their families perished of hunger while on their way from the vicinity of Lake Mistassini to the Hudson Bay station at Lake St John. Let us follow a party of these Indian trappers as they start out from the Hudson Bay post at Lake St. John, Bersimis, or some of the other posts on the coast of Labrador. The journey is made by canoe and portage, and the provisions and firearms, and sometimes the traps, too, as well as tents and other equipments, must all be conveyed to their respect- ive hunting-grounds before the winter sets in and makes the journey by water impossible. Sometimes the journey is over one or two hundred miles in length, and may occupy several weeks, because of the many portages and the quantity of provisions, ammunition, and the like, that must be carried over them. There is the family tent, too, which serves as dwelling on the way, and sometimes throughout the entire winter, although some of the more provident hunters erect log huts on their preserves. The provisions carried are rarely suffi- cient for the entire winter. For fresh meat the trapper counts on caribou, deer, hares, rabbits and partridges, and perhaps on an occasional bear. But hunting is always a more or less pregarious pur- suit, and when there is an entire failure of, game, as not infrequently occurs, privation and hunger FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 397 result, sometimes accompanied by deaths from actual starvation. Instances are on record in which starving bands of Indian hunters in the far North have been able to maintain life only by the awful expedient of feeding on the flesh of the first vic- tims of their sad plight. Arrived at their winter headquarters, the hun- ters set out their line of traps,—deadfalls or steel traps, or both, as the case may be,—and thereafter spend the short winter days in visiting the long line, sometimes many miles in length, rebaiting them when necessary and securing the catch that any of them may happen to contain. The bear and the beaver make luxurious prizes, for, in addition to the value of their skins, the carcasses mean a bountiful supply of delicious food. Even the musk- rat is not despised as an article of diet. Sometimes a successful hunter makes enough money out of a season’s trapping to pay off all his debts to the company and have a good balance to his credit. It more often happens, however, that the Indian is always indebted to the company or trader who outfits him, and to whom he must bring his catch of furs in payment of a part of the goods which he purchased during the last summer he was out at the coast, and of the clothing, ammunition and provisions which he took with him into the woods on the approach of the hunting-season. At times, too, the hunt completely fails, or a carcajou (wolverine), well called the Indian devil, falls on the hunter’s line of traps, after which he may just as well give up the hunt altogether, unless he has the exceptional good luck of entrapping the cun- ning beast, which, with almost devilish ingenuity, has the knack of springing the traps and safely extracting the baits, or will immediately devour any other animal that he may find entrapped. When the hunting-grounds are only a few days’ journey from the coast.or a settlement, the hunter will often come out of the woods for the midwinter holiday, and take in more fresh provisions with him on his return. In the majority of cases this is impossible, however. In the woods he has enough to do to keep him busy. There is game to be hunted for food and wood to be cut for fires. There are the traps to attend and to keep set, and when the hunt is good there is the preservation of the skins to be attended to. When these have been stripped from the bodies of their first wearers, they are stretched on hoops or other frames to dry, it being very necessary that they should be preserved from de- cay. Very valuable are some of the otter, marten and mink furs secured in these northern wilds, and sometimes a cross or even a black or silver fox may be taken, the skin of which may easily exceed in value that of the hunter’s combined catch of other furs. Hunting sea-otter and seal. Sea-otter.—The story of the sea-otter (Enhydra or Latax marina) reads like a romance. In the days when this furred sea-dog of the Pacific ocean was plentiful. it could be shot by still-hunting in calm weather as it came to the surface of the water to breathe. Now it must be hunted in the teeth of 398 FUR-BEARING ANIMALS the wildest Alaskan gale. ‘“‘The native Aleutian,” writes Miss Laut, ‘rides out in his skin-skiff, with oiled-skin wrapping his body tight round the little manhole where he sits in the skin covering, so that the boat can take no water. Double-bladed paddle plying from side to side, the hunter mounts the seething waves and rides in on the back of the storm to the reefiest coasts of the Aleutians. Here the sea-otters have been driven by the storm, and hide with their heads buried in the tossing, wave- washed seaweed. Beaching his boat, the hunter runs from rock to rock, slippery as glass, beaten by the wind, sometimes caught by the waves and hurled to death. A single blow of his gaff-pole, and he has killed the sea-otter that supplies a fur more valued today than any other in the world.” The sea-otter is in shape very much like a large dog. Its food consists of fish, and it is particularly partial to lobsters and other crustaceans. Its fur was first introduced into commerce in 1725 from the Aleutian and Kurile islands, and is exceedingly fine, soft and close, jet-black in winter, with a silken gloss. The fur of the young animal is of a beautiful brown color. It was formerly met with in great abundance in Bering’s island, Kamchatka, Aleutian and Fox islands, as well as along the Pacific coast of North America. In 1780, furs had become so scarce in Siberia that the supply was insufficient for the Asiatic demand. It was at this time that the sea-otter was introduced into the markets for China. The skins brought such almost incredible prices as to originate several American and British expeditions to the northern islands of the Pacific, to Nootka Sound and to the north- western coast of America; and from that time has been the rapid decrease in the supply. Off parts of the coasts of Alaska, and especially at Belkovsky bay and vicinity, and at St. Paul, Kadiac island, sea-otter-hunting still furnishes employment to many native hunters. Here the animals are taken by means of bows and arrows, rifles and gill-nets. The nets are fourteen to twenty fathoms long, and twelve fathoms deep, with a ten-inch mesh. They are made by the Indian women, and are declared to be very destructive. At St. Paul, besides the Indians, there are some twelve or fifteen white men of various nationalities who engage in sea-otter- hunting throughout the year. The white hunters have small schooners of about twenty-five tons burden, in which they make long voyages. Some of these hunters are very skillful, and several thou- sand dollars have been earned by a single indi- vidual in a season. Captain Anderson, one of the most successful hunters of St. Paul, and, in fact, of Alaska, landed fifty sea-otter skins as the result of one trip a few seasons ago, receiving for them one hundred dollars each, which is very far below their present value. Seal.—No set of fur-hunters enjoy more thrilling adventures or run such deadly perils as the sealers of Newfoundland and the gulf of St. Lawrence. Many are the sealing schooners and still more numerous the men who have gone out to the seal hunt in the spring of the year and never returned. The risks that they run are illustrated by the loss FUR-BEARING ANIMALS of the sealing steamer Greenland, in the ice, in the month of March, 1907. The disabled vessel had eighty-nine men on board, who abandoned the ship after she had been crushed in the heavy pack ice, against which she had been driven by a blizzard, and were fortunately rescued by other sealers. Only men of iron can successfully face and endure such dangers. They are so accustomed to the sea and the ice-floes that they seem to have an absolute contempt for their terrors. They leap fearlessly from pan to pan, and think little of passing the night on the ice far from the steamer, going off as far as four or five miles in their eagerness to slay. Should a fog or snow-storm set in, there is great risk of losing their way and perishing miserably in these ice-deserts, or of falling through the open- ings that are covered with the snow as it falls and freezes. Sometimes the field-ice on which they are at work separates into fragments without a moment’s warning, and they are floated off, to per- ish by cold and hunger, unless rescued by a passing vessel. Sealers’ luck is just as uncertain as that of the average fisherman. One or more crews may be exposed to the perils of the ice for weeks without securing a single seal, while, under favorable conditions, five or six hundred carcasses may be secured in a couple of hours, by a crew of eight or nine men. This is when the schooners are fortunate enough to approach, unobserved, a large field of ice containing a herd of unsuspecting seals. The herds often include several thousands of seals. The ice is always approached from the side which is nearest to open water, so as to cut off the animals’ only chance of escape. Then, at a given signal, the hunters leap on the ice and approach as closely to the seals as possible, without creating any alarm, sometimes even crawling a considerable distance on their hands and knees. As soon as they are observed, and can reach the nearest of the herd, the slaughter begins. Each man is armed with a stout stick, six to ten feet long, which not only assists him to leap, when necessary, from fioe to floe of the floating ice, but with which he effects the slaughter of the defenceless animals. One blow over the nose suffices to kill, or at least to stun a seal, and as many as possible are disposed of, in order to prevent their escape; the final slaughter of the stunned ones beginning only when all the animals within reach have either escaped or been knocked on the head. The thin skull of the young seal is easily fractured by the blow from the stick, which may only stun the full-grown animal, and, in the majority of cases, the little one feels no more pain, death being instantaneous. In a moment the knife is at work. The skin and the adhering fat are rapidly detached from the carcass, which is left on the ice, except when the animal is killed close to the shore. The catch of seals varies considerably with the season. Sometimes it exceeds half a million seals. At others it is only a quarter as good. Sometimes a steamer returns home at the end of the season perfectly “clean.” The Neptune, on the other hand, after an absence of only eighteen days, came FUR-BEARING ANIMALS into port in the spring of 1894, loaded down to the water's edge, with 42,000 seals, valued at $105,- 000. These loups-marins, or sea-wolves, of the gulf of St. Lawrence, as the French-Canadians call them, must not be confounded with the fur seals of Alaska (Callorhinus Alascanus, Fig. 406), whose soft coat Fig, 406. The Alaska fur seal (Callorhinus Alascanus). is one of the cherished possessions of the city belle. They are commonly known as the Newfoundland or hair seals (Phoca Grenlandica). Until the last few years their skins were used chiefly for the manu- facture of a coarse-grained but expensive leather; but in the last few winters, the fur has been exten- sively dressed in both Newfoundland and Canada, and coats and other articles of wearing apparel have made their appearance on the streets of Montreal and Quebec, made from this dark, rough, dappled- gray, or pepper-and-salt colored fur. As it is far from unsightly, and is uninjured by rain, it is altogether likely, in view of the now almost pro- hibitive price of the Alaska seal, that the Atlantic seal may rapidly pass into popularity and fashion. The story of the fearfully diminished seal-herd of Bering’s sea is matter of American history. In 1874, it numbered close on five millions. In less than a quarter of a century it had been reduced to a single million. In less than another decade, only 175,000 seals of the herd remained. Ten to twelve thousand skins a year are all that can be depended on from this source until protection may have con- tributed to an increase in the size of the herd. On the Pribilof islands, the Alaska seals are slaught- ered by hunters with sticks, much as the hair-seal is on the ice-floes of the gulf of St. Lawrence. The life-history of the seal, whether of the Pacific or the Atlantic ocean, is more familiar to the aver- age reader than is that of the sea-otter, or of most of the fur-bearing animals of the interior of the con- tinent. The fur or Alaska seal, formally known more generally as the South Sea seal, is the most perfectly organized of all the amphibians. It is obliged by its nature to secure its living in the water, and to reproduce its species on the land ; it therefore “hauls up,” as it is technically called, at a stated period every year on the breeding-grounds where it is slaughtered for its fur. Its fore-feet or flippers are exceedingly broad and powerful, and when it comes out of the water it steps forward with considerable rapidity and much grace. It is an animal of great intelligence, speedily anticipat- ing danger, and at the same time readily under- standing when there is a disposition on the part of FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 399 man not to disturb it. The full-grown males or bulls are the earliest arrivals at the islands, approaching them during the last days of April, and sleeping almost without interruption until toward the end of May, when they begin to look out for the coming of their families. The cows, or females, usually recognize their former mates and land at their respective rookeries. Owing to the great difference between the male and female in regard to the age of puberty, which is six years for the male, and two for the female, this species is necessarily polygamous, and an average family numbers ten to fifteen cows to one bull. The female gives birth to her pup almost immediately on land- ing. By the beginning of August, the breeding is nearly over, and the season of coition as well. Many young males attempt to land, but all below the age of six are quickly driven off by the old bulls, and sometimes even killed. The seals that are slaughtered for furs are carefully separated from the rest by men who walk between them before the killing begins. The females are spared, and so are the yearling bulls. The best skins are secured from two, three and four-year-old bache- lors, and from those that arrive first on the islands. Fur-bearing animals of the interior. The more important of the fur-bearing animals of the interior of the continent are the beaver, the otter, the marten, the fox of different varieties, the bear, the lynx, the mink, the ermine, the musk- rat, the skunk and the raccoon. The beaver (Castor fiber, Linn., Fig. 407), which was formerly so abundant that its skin was the unit of currency for the Hudson Bay Company in its dealings with the Indian and half-breed trap- pers, has so rapidly disappeared that the yield is only half of what it was a few years ago. In the shape of its body it bears a close resemblance to a large rat, although it is much larger, with the head proportionately thicker and broader. It is thick and clumsy, gradually enlarging from the head to the hips, and then is somewhat abruptly rounded off to the root of the tail. This latter is very broad {I ff —— (== ee BE = FA eS a= 2 == Ti = ==. Fig. 407. Canadian beaver (Castor fiber). and flat, tongue-shaped and covered with angular scales. The fur is of two kinds. The upper and longer hair is coarse, smooth and glossy; the under coat is dense, soft and silky. Its geographical range appears at one time to have been co-exten- sive with the whole of North America, although 400 FUR-BEARING ANIMALS the progress of civilization seems to have extermi- nated the animal in nearly all of that part of the continent which constitutes the United States and the settled parts of Canada. The remarkable dams constructed by the patient and industrious little animals show wonderful engineering skill. Cart- wright found a beaver that weighed forty - five pounds, and it is said that they have been taken up to sixty pounds weight. The tail and other parts of the body are much prized by the Indians as articles of food. The animal is easily trapped. The muskrat (Fiber zibethicus, Fig. 408) inhabits almost every part of the United States north of the 30th degree, and all British America to the arctic seas. It was fully described from personal opser- vation, as early in 1725, by Monsieur Sarrasin, a correspondent of the French Academy, and then King’s Physician at Quebec. Its habits are aquatic, and it spends the greater part of its time in the water, where it secures most of its food. The lat- ter consists chiefly of fresh water mollusca, the roots of aquatic plants, and such tender grasses as may chance to grow at the margin of the stream. In addition to trapping them, the Indians sometimes take them by spearing them through the walls of their houses in winter. The shape of the body is almost cylindrical, and the length of head and body is about fifteen inches. The head is short, the neck very short and indistinct, the legs short, and the thighs hid in the body. The color of the animal so much resembles that of the muddy banks of the stream or lake on which it is often found seated, that, when seen from a distance, it is likely to be mistaken for a lump or clod of earth. On the upper parts of the body the fur is a third longer than Fig. 408. Muskrat (Fiber zibethicus). beneath, and from the roots to near the extremities is bluish gray or lead-color tipped with brown, giving the appearance of a general dark-brown color when viewed from above. The mink (Putorius vison, Fig. 409) is widely distributed over the North American continent, but the largest, best and darkest specimens are found in northern Canada. Sir John Richardson met with it as far north as latitude 66°. The popu- ‘alike to its taste. It has been known to catch a FUR-BEARING ANIMALS lar name of Putorius vison is supposed to be a cor- ruption of Moeuk, a name given to a closely allied species in Sweden. The body is long and vermiform, the head small and oval, the neck long, and legs short, with five toes on each foot. The color of the fur, which is highly esteemed, is a uniform brown = SS eT Fig. 409. Mink (Putorius vison). or tawny, with light brownish or yellow fur beneath, near the body. Some specimens are much darker than others, and there is usually a white spot under the throat, and another on the throat. The length of the head and body is about thirteen inches, and of the tail about seven inches. The mink is an expert fisher and hunter. Though largely of an aquatic habit, it yet subsists much on birds, mice, and other small animals. Fish, flesh and fowl seem trout of a foot in length, while it is an expert rob- ber of the hen-roost. Birds, mice, rats and other small animals are amongst its victims. It is no uncommon thing for a mink to rob an angler of his catch, if he leave it behind him for a time on the bank of the stream. In the southern states it feeds largely on the marsh-hen. The mink possesses but little cunning, and is easily captured in any kind of trap. It is taken in both steel and box traps, but more generally in what are called deadfalls. It is attracted by any kind of fish or flesh, and traps are baited with the head of a partridge, duck or chicken, or a piece of fish. Like the skunk and the ermine, it emits an offensive odor when provoked by men or dogs. When taken young it is easily tamed, becomes very gentle, and forms a strong attachment to those who fondle it in a state of — domestication. Ermine.—The common white weasel or stoat of Canada (Putorius erminea) is the true ermine, virtually the same species as that of northern — Europe and Asia, which in the feudal ages yielded the fur for the choicest mantles of nobles and kings, although the Canadian-produced fur, except in the far north, is inferior to that of Europe and Asia. Smaller than the mink, but not unlike it in form, being but about ten inches long from the snout to the root of the tail, the weasel is fiercer and more bloodthirsty than Putorius vison, possessing an intuitive propensity, says Audubon, to destroy every — animal and bird within its reach, some of which, like the American rabbit, the ruffed grouse and domestic fowl, are ten times its own size. A single ermine has been known to kill forty well-grown fowls ina single night. Notwithstanding its mis- ‘ FUR-BEARING ANIMALS chievous and destructive habits, the ermine is rather, perhaps, a benefactor than an enemy to the farmer, ridding his fields and granaries of many depredators on the product of his labor, such as the white-footed mouse, the pine-mouse, the ground-squirrel, the rat and the common house mouse, which would devour ten times the value of the poultry and eggs that at long and uncertain intervals it may destroy. The skin of the little animal had become practi- cally so valueless a few years ago that the hunters scarcely secured more than five cents each for it. Today it is worth twenty-five cents to a dollar each. Naturalistsdo not agree as to whether the apparent change of color from summer brown to winter white is effected by shedding the old hair, the new coat growing another shade, or whether the hair actually changes color itself. The marten (Mustela Americana, Fig. 410), also called the pine-marten, and American sable, is larger than the mink, and almost always lighter in color. The body is slender, the head long and pointed, legs short and stout, eyes small and black, tail bushy and cylindrical. Its coat contains two kinds of hair, the outer long and rigid, the inner soft and somewhat woolly. The length from point of nose to root of tail is about eighteen inches. The color varies considerably in different individ- uals, but is generally yellowish, shaded more or less with black, the throat being yellow. The darkest skins are the most valuable. Its food consists of birds, mice, squirrels and other small animals, and it climbs trees with great facility. It is so easily caught in traps that it has been exterminated in many parts of Canada and the northern states where it was once abundant. Where the Indians have properly preserved hunting-grounds, this val- uable fur-bearing animal is as carefully preserved as is the beaver. It is by no means unusual for a good marten to sell for $35. Less than twenty years ago martens could be had for $5 or $6 each. The fisher or pekan (Mustela Pennauti), also known as Pennaut’s marten, is a kind of marten, about the size of a small fox, of a general dark brown or nearly black color. It is sometimes known as the blackcat. It frequents swampy lands, preying on fish, frogs, squirrels, mice and other small ani- mals. It is found all over the continent as far south as the Carolinas, except where it has disap- peared before a dense population. It is nocturnal in its habits, will roba line of traps of bait, like the carcajou, and has even been known to tear in pieces a pine-marten that had been caught in a trap. In the early part of the last century, when these animals were more common in the state of New York, the hunters used to get them by follow- ing their tracks in the snow, when they had been out in quest of food on the previous night. They would thus trace them to the hollow trees in which they were concealed, which the hunters chopped down. It is said that as the tree was falling, the fishers would dart from the hollow, which was often fifty feet from the ground, and leap into the snow, when the dogs usually seized and killed them, although not without a hard struggle, as they are much more dangerous to dogs and hounds than C 26 FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 401 either the gray or the red fox. An ordinary speci- men measures twenty-three inches from the point of the nose to the root of the tail, and weighs eight or nine pounds. The otter (Lutra Canadensis) is in appearance a magnified mink. Its walk, fur and color bear strong resemblance to those of the latter animal, and the lightening of the tints of the pelage in old age is the same in both. Its fur is short and thick, the under part being of a silvery white shade, slightly waved and silky, and of similar texture to that of the beaver, but not so long. The color of the overe lying hairs varies from a rich and glossy brownish black to a dark chestnut. In summer the color is a rusty brown, and the fur is shorter and thinner. Its habits are aquatic. From the shortness of its legs, its motions on shore are not so quick as when in the water, and as its food is principally fish, it resides in winter near some lake or river where it keeps a hole open in the ice all the season. During this period of the year its migrations on land in high latitudes, where the ground is covered with snow, are toilsome, and it leaves a deep furrow or path in the snow, which, when seen by the trapper soon after the animal has passed, invariably leads to its destruction. If a trap be set on this road Fig. 410. The marten (Mustela Americana). the otter is almost certain to be caught, as it has a strong objection to opening new paths through the deep snow. In firing at an otter in the water, care must be taken not to shoot it in an immedi- ately vital part, as the body sinks like a stone immediately after death. Foxes.—In treating the different varieties of foxes, it is extremely difficult to mark the line where one ends and another begins, for every shade of color from a bright flame tint to a perfectly black pelt may occasionally be seen. Vulpes fulvus is the common red fox, variety decussatus the cross-fox, and variety argentatus the silver fox. The appearance of the common red fox is too well known to require description. In the cross-fox, the legs, the muzzle and the under parts are black, and the tail is blacker than that of the common red fox. A dark band runs down between the shoulders, crossed by another over the shoulders. The silver fox is entirely black except on the posterior part of the back, where the hairs are annulated with 402 FUR-BEARING ANIMALS gray, although this feature is occasionally wanting. The tail is tipped with white. Experiments having proved that the offspring of a pair of silver foxes are not always colored like their parents; there are those who contend that the silver is not a spe- cies but a freak. Whatever be its origin, it is the most valuable fur known after that of the sea-otter. As a rule, only a few score are taken each year in any district. The annual American output does not exceed a thousand. An exceptional skin has sold as high as $2,500, but the usual price is $250 to $1,000. Foxes are by no means choice about their food. Mice, birds, hares, fish, carrion, all come aliketo them, and they will even make a meal of a fellow fox if one is found dead ina trap. They are killed by hunting, by snaring, by traps, by unearth- ing and by poison- ing. The skunk (Me- phitis mephitica, Fig. 411) is found throughout the Dominion of Canada as far as 57 degrees north, and ranges south to Kentucky, Carolina and Ala- bama. It is about the size of a large cat, has a broad, fleshy body, wider at the hips than at the shoulders, long coarse fur and short legs. The general color is blackish brown, with white longi- tudinal stripes on the back. It is carnivorous, its prey being small birds, eggs, insects, mice, frogs and the like, and it is particularly destructive in the poultry yard. In northern regions it hibernates in winter. Although, in self-defense, capable of emitting an odor perhaps the most offensive in nature, the skunk is an exceedingly clean animal ; a dozen may sometimes be concealed in a single burrow, and yet not the slightest unpleasant smell can be detected at the entrance. The flesh is eaten by the Indians and pronounced by them superior to that of the raccoon or opossum. Its fur is very much in demand for dressing and dyeing, for the production of what is known as Alaska sable. In recent years it has become one of the most impor- tant of North American fur-bearing animals. Bears.—Of the bear there are several American species, chief among which are the very common black bear(Ursus Americanus, Fig. 412), which some- times attains a weight of 600 pounds, the grizzly (U. horribilis), the white or Polar bear(U. maritimus) and the cinnamon bear. The last-mentioned is a native of the Northwest; the grizzly is found in the Rocky mountains; the Polar bear is a native of the arctic regions, while the black bear, which is most extensively trapped for the sake of its fur for commercial purposes, inhabits all the wooded parts of North America. It has very stout legs, a Fig. 411. Skunk (Mephitis mephitica). FUR-BEARING ANIMALS somewhat bulky but flexible body, and long, soft, glossy fur. The general color is black, but it some- times varies to brown or yellowish. Its food is principally vegetable, consisting of roots, berries, nuts, and the like, and it will even catch fish out of shallow water for food. It will devour eggs and small birds, and will carry off and devour hogs. When driven to extremities, the bear will stand on its hind-legs and make a terrible battle with its powerful paws. The bear is often shot in burnt lands and while swimming in lakes, but is more often captured in deadfalls. The rabbit is too well known to require deserip- tion [see article on Pets], and space will permit only brief accounts of the raccoon, the wolf and the lynx, which supply a number of skins annually in the United States and Canada. The raccoon (Procyon lotor, Fig. 413) was classed by Linneus among the bears, under the genus Ursus, its feet being plantigrade with naked soles. When it sits, it often brings the whole hind sole to the ground, resting in the manner of the bears, although it walks on its toes. Its body is rather stout, the legs of moderate length, its color on the upper part of the body grayish, mixed with black, the ears and under part whitish, with a black patch across the eye, and its long and bushy tail having four or five annulations of black and grey. While not intended for gréat speed, it is capable of a tolerably rapid race and is able to climb, and although not with the agility of the squirrel, yet with greater alacrity than its near relative, the bear. In the United States it is found as far south as Mexico. In Canada it has been taken as far north as Winnipeg. The raccoon usually brings forth four to six — young at a time. It may almost be called omnivor- ous. Green corn and oysters, fish and poultry, eggs ~ and fresh-water shell-fish, honey and chestnuts are all acceptable. Like the bear, the raccoon, in northern latitudes, hibernates for some months during the winter. Wolf.—There are several varieties of the Ameri- can wolf, all of about the same size. Sometimes they band together in the same pack, black, white, grey and red wolves being seen occasionally in the same company. The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is the variety most common in Canada and the northern FUR-BEARING ANIMALS states. It has a thick head, long nose, erect and conical ears, and a muzzle elongated and somewhat thicker than that of the Pyrenean wolf. The gen- eral appearance of the upper surface of the animal is dark brindled gray, with an indistinct dorsal line, a little darker than the color of the sides. The under parts are of a dull white color. The wolf is a cruel, savage, cowardly animal, and very destructive of deer, which it hunts singly or in packs. All the varieties are extremely swift of foot, and it is difficult to run them down for the purpose of shooting them. They are usually either taken in traps or killed with strychnine. In winter, when there is no crust on the snow in the north for some time, sufficiently strong to carry a wolf, many of the animals perish from hunger. The American wolf burrows and brings forth its young in earths having several outlets. The number in a litter varies from four or five to eight or nine. The skin of the wolf is used chiefly for sleigh or carriage robes and for floor mats and rugs. Rough driving coats also are sometimes made of it, although the hair on the back is three to four inches long. Lynx.—There are two distinct varieties of the lynx in North America, the Loup Cervier or Cana- dian lynx (Lynx Canadensis, Fig. 414) and the Bay lynx or wildcat of the United States (Lynx rufus). This genus has been separated from the old genus Felis because of the tufted ears, shorter bodies and tails in proportion to their much larger bulk, and also of the slight differences in the teeth, the lynx having one tooth less on each side of the upper jaw than the tame cats. Although both of the American wildcats are found in Canada, the so-called Canada lynx is larger than Lynx rufus. The latter is of a yellowish or reddish brown, while the larger variety is generally grey Fig. 413. Raccoon (Procyon lotor). j and clouded with irregular darker spots. Although the skin of this latter may be seen in the collec- tions of almost every extensive fur-dealer in Canada, the animal is seldom met with in its wild FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 403 state, unless by those sportsmen or others who penetrate into the more retired recesses of the forest. The settlements are not often visited by this beast of prey, for it can generally find a suffi- ciency of food in the woods and is not, therefore, Fig. 414. Canada lynx (Lynx Oanadensis). very often compelled by famine to forage in the farmyard. Its prey consists largely of such small animals as the northern hare, the gray rabbit, squirrels, mice, grouse and birds of various kinds, although it is thought that the wolf is sometimes blamed for carrying off a lamb which has feasted the lynx. When it enters a place frequented by rabbits, it seldom leaves the locality until it has killed them all. From the great size of its claws and teeth, and its formidable appearance, the Canada lynx has acquired a reputation for ferocity, cunning and daring, to which it is not entitled. Although strongly built and capable of climbing trees with ease, the lynx is timid and even cow- ardly at the sight of man, and a very small dog will instantly put it to flight. It swims well, breeds once a year, having two young at a time, is easily taken in traps, and some of the Indians eat its flesh. When cornered by dogs it fights like a cat, spitting and striking with its sharp claws, with which it can inflict severe wounds. Its feet are completely covered with long woolly fur, so that its tracks on the snow are very large and do not show any impressions of the toes. Most of what has been said of this variety applies equally to the common American wildcat, except that the latter has never been known to attack any but animals smaller than itself. Handling the furs. The American furs which find their way to the great auction marts of the Old World are received and sold in their raw state, much in the same con- dition in which they left the hands of the trapper. Until comparatively recent times, Germany had the monopoly of the dyeing and dressing of certain furs, particularly of squirrel skins and of white furs, such as the ermine and Polar bear. Almost al? Alaska seal skins are dressed and dyed in London, 404 FUR-BEARING ANIMALS not because of a lack of expert workmen in the United States, for some seal skins are skillfully manufactured in New York, but because of the favorable financial arrangements and harmonious cooperation existing in London, where the raw furs are sold, between fur- brokers, fur-dressers and bankers, whereby most of the purchase money may be withheld until the skins have been dressed and dyed, six or eight months later. In the prin- cipal cities of Canada and also in several in the United States, there are establishments for the dressing, dyeing and manufacture of native furs. The great American center of this industry is the city of New York, which leads the world as a con- sumer of furs, the sales to individuals there exceed- ing those of any other city in the world. Many firms, long established, with large capital and of international reputation, conduct the business. Much space might be devoted to an account of the interesting processes followed in the prepara- tion of dressed furs from the raw skins. The finest qualities of furs, with the exception of the Alaska seal, are seldom dyed. The process of dressing differs for various kinds of fur, but there are many features of the industry common to almost all of them, such as the removal of grease and dirt, the conversion of the pelt or membrane into a sort of soft and pliable leather, and a paring down of its texture. Some of these operations are necessarily very delicate ones. Very greasy skins, as those of the mink, are first of all scraped, and then, like others, are soaked in water over night for soften- ing and opening the texture preparatory to.the unhairing and leathering processes. Heavy pelts, as those of the beaver and otter, are then “beamed,” for the purpose of breaking up the texture of the membrane and softening it. If the overhairs are to be removed, that process is next in order, except in the dressing of muskrat skins, when it is usually postponed until after the dressing. After plucking, heavy skins are shaved to a thin, even surface, with a “‘skiving” knife. Next comes the leathering. The pelt side is dampened over night with cold salt- water, and the following day, butter, or other ani- mal fat, is rubbed on the membrane. This greasing is omitted in dressing mink or other very oily skins. Then follows the tubbing, one of the most curious processes of the trade. In order thoroughly to soften or “leather” the pelt, a number of skins are placed in large tubs with mahogany sawdust, each tub being occupied by a workman, who for two or three hours is engaged in tramping the skins with bare feet. The skins are subsequently placed in revolving cylinders with clean sawdust, this in order to extract all the grease, which adheres to the sawdust. After this the sawdust is beaten out, and the combing of the furs completes the opera- tion of dressing. The process is subject to many variations for different kinds of furs. Fur-farming. Many experiments in fur-farming have been attempted from time to time, but few, if any, have proved a success. A skunk-farm, which has been in operation for a number of years in Ontario on a FUR-BEARING ANIMALS. small scale, has given some fair results, many of the animals having become partially tamed. Similar farms have been established on a large scale in some of the westernstates, but are still in the experimental stage. The proposition has been more than once made to stock Hudson bay with the Alaska seal. The conditions as to food, temperature, and the like, are declared to be favorable, and different varieties of the hair-seal thrive admirably under similar conditions. The project in question, which involved the purchase and transfer to the bay of one hun- dred cow seals and fifteen bulls, was submitted to the Dominion government some time ago, but nothing came of it. It may be revived later. An extensive system of otter-farming in the swamps of Florida was seriously proposed some years ago. Beaver-farming, as attempted in a restricted area on the north of Lake Superior, proved a failure. There is no reason, however, why the introduction of beaver from the Yellowstone National Park into parts of the Adirondacks, where they were once plentiful, should not be fol- lowed by good results, if the animals are protected from molestation ; for no effort has been made to confine them within unnatural limitations. It is the change from natural conditions, accompanying almost every attempt at fur-farming, that dooms it to failure. Beavers and foxes, as well as big game, liberated by Mr. Menier on his island of Anticosti, are apparently multiplying and doing well. Fur-bearing animals of all kinds, on the other hand, kept in close captivity, have deterior- ated in the quality of their fur, often pining away and dying. A few silver foxes are reported to have been raised successfully in captivity by a trader on the Labrador coast, but the experiment was not repeated successfully through a second generation, and the furs were of an inferior and bedraggled character. They come to their greatest excellence, as a matter of fact, only when the animal enjoys that wide ranging of its natural state which ensures robust health. Literature. The literature of the fur trade is very exhaus- tive. On North American fur-bearing animals see : Sir John Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana ; George Cartwright, Journal during a residence of nearly sixteen years on the coasts of Labrador; The Canadian Naturalist for 1857 and following years ; H. de Puyjalon, Histoire Naturelle a l’usage des Chasseurs Canadiens, et des eleveurs d’animaux a fourrure; The Fur Seal and Other Fisheries of Alaska, published by the House of Representa- tives, Washington (1889); Florida Fur Farming, in the Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission (1897); various articles on the wild animals of the United States in the annual reports of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, Washington; The Seal Hunt of the Gulf, E. T. D. Chambers in East and West, Toronto, May, 1907 ; descriptions of the Newfound- land seal hunts in books on Newfoundland, by Judge Prowse and Rev. Moses Harvey ; A. P. Low, Trail and Camp-fire. On the Indian fur-hunters, the trapping of furs and the fur industry in gen- GOAT eral, consult histories of the Northwest and of the Hudson Bay Company; Miss Laut, Story of the Trapper, and Fur Trade of the World, in the World’s Work of May, 1907; Geo. Bird Grinnell, Story of the Indian; Hind, Labrador; E. T. D. Chambers, The Montagnais Indians and Their Folk- lore ; H. de Puyjalon, Petit Guide du Chasseur de Pelleterie ; Horace T. Martin, Castorologia, or the History and Traditions of the Canadian Beaver ; Charles H. Stevenson, Utilization of the Skins of Aquatic Animals, in the report of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1902). GOAT. Capra spp. Bovide. Figs. 415-419. The goat is a genus of quadrupeds, very closely allied to the sheep. It seems probable that the do- mestic goat is descended from the Persian pasang (Capra egagrus), which is the most characteristic species of the wild goats. The types of domestic <& goats that have been developed under their long period of domestication are very numerous, but comparatively few are of economic value in America. Perhaps the Angora (Capra angorensis) is the best known in this country, although the interest in milch goats is increasing. The zodlogi- eal origin of the Angora goat is not known. The prevailing opinion seems to be that the foundation stock is some derivative of Capra egagrus, perhaps with crosses from the markhor (C. falconeri) or other wild Asian species. The goat has never been held in high esteem in America, but this condition may change. Mention should be made of the Cashmere or Shawl goat of India, which is valued for its fine, silk-like under-wool, much prized in shawls. “Mountain goat” is mentioned under Sheep. Angora Goat. Figs. 415, 416. By #. L. Shaw. The Angora is raised primarily for its mohair and meat. The male goat is called a buck, the female a doe, the castrated male a wether, and the young a kid. Description. The Angora goat was formerly described as a small animal, but, owing to favorable conditions, its size has been greatly increased. It is smaller than the common goat, weighing sixty to one hun- dred pounds, although specimens are frequently found that weigh considerably more. Both males and females have horns and beards, but in rare instances an animal without horns may be seen. The horns of the male grow to a length of fifteen to twenty inches and turn upward and outward with a backward twist, while those of the female, which grow to a length of eight to fen inches, grow upward and point backward, with only a slight inclination to twist. The horns are grayish in color, never black. The body should be round, the back straight, with shoulders and hips of equal height. The chest should be broad ; legs short and strong ; head broad, with a wide muzzle and bright eyes ; GOAT 405 ears either partially upright or distinctly pendent, and six to eight inches long. The fleece should be pure white, covering all parts of the body, as dense on the belly and neck as on the back and sides, and it should extend to the ears and the jaw. Many Angoras have mohair on the forehead, face and legs. The mohair should make an annual growth of not less than eight to ten inches, and weigh three to five pounds per fleece. It should hang in well-formed Fig. 415. Angora goats, ringlets from all parts of the body, and should be fine, soft, lustrous and strong. The fleece should be free from kemp. The fibers become coarser, thin- ner and straighter as the animal grows older. The best mohair grows on goats of the best blood ; and among these, that on the kids, yearling wethers and does is superior in the order named. The offensive odor from the bucks of the com- mon goat is entirely absent in the Angora breed, except at the rutting season, and then it is notice- able only in a slight degree. The odor in a fleece of mohair is milder than that in a fleece of wool. History. The Angora goat derives its name from the vilayet of Angora, in Asia Minor. The city of Angora is the capital of the vilayet of Angora, and is located about two hundred miles south-by-southeast from Constantinople. The province is mountainous to a considerable extent and furrowed by deep valleys. The climate is extreme. Some writers have ven- tured to say that the Angora goat originated in this district over 2,400 years ago. It is said that the pure Angora goat was nearly bred out in 1863. The reason for this was the extensive crossing with the common Kurd goat. In America.—The first importation of Angora goats to America was made in 1849. During the administration of President Polk, says Colonel Richard Peters, the Sultan of Turkey requested that a suitable person be sent to that country to conduct some experiments in the culture of cotton. Dr. James B. Davis, of South Carolina, was dele- gated. On his return to the United States in 1849, the Sultan presented to him nine choice Angoras. These animals were imported as Cashmeres, and were so regarded until after they were purchased by Colonel Richard Peters in 1853. This importa- tion was frequently exhibited at fairs, and always 406 GOAT attracted much attention. Colonel Peters is gen- erally regarded as the real founder of the Angora goat industry in America. There have been, from time to time, various other importations of Angoras from Turkey and South Africa. These are widely disseminated, and the blood of most of them has been beneficial to the industry in this country. The Civil war was dis- astrous in its effects on the industry, and the Angora goats in the southern and eastern sections of the country were practically exterminated. The western men who adopted the industry, and finally saved it, were William M. Landrum, C. P. Bailey and John S. Harris. Distribution. Angora goats are widely distributed throughout America. They are found in almost every state and territory in the Union, the largest numbers being in Texas, New Mexico, California, Arizona, Oregon and Montana. They are found in large numbers in Cape Colony. The census report for April, 1904, gives the number in Cape Colony as 2,775,927. It is estimated that in 1894, there were over 1,230,- 000 Angoras in Asia Minor. [See page 409.] Types. Some strains of Angoras have fox-like ears, but those with the pendent ears are preferred. In this country, care must always be exercised to cull the off-colored kids from the flock. These may be the result of atavism, from a cross made on a common goat, either red or black. It is reported that dif- ferent colors are found in the province of Angora among what were supposed to be pure-bred animals. Some Angoras have very little or no mohair on the forehead and legs, while others have a tuft on the forehead, and the legs are well covered down to the feet. Breeding. Goats of both sexes will sometimes breed when they are five or six months old, but from the fact that at this age they are but a month or two from weaning time, and are not fully grown, it is obvious that they should not be permitted to breed. They reach maturity when about sixteen or eighteen months old, and they should not be bred before this time. If bred earlier, the kids will not be so strong, nor so well developed. The goats are in their prime when two to six years old. Does should not be kept until they are very old, unless they produce kids of exceptional merit, for their mohair becomes coarser and less valuable as they mature. The average life of goats is about twelve years. Bucks usually come in heat about the middle of July, and continue so about six months. Does do not usually come in heat until the latter part of August or the first of September. The period of gestation is 147 to 155 days. The kids should not come before the warm days of spring, or when vegetation begins to put out vigorously. The only objection to early kidding is the extra care required to preserve the life of the kids, for they are deli- cate for the first few days. GOAT A buck should be in the best possible condition when put to service, and should be fed some grain during the breeding season. For the best results, about forty or fifty does should be allowed to a buck. The pure-bred Angora does not often drop more than one kid at a time, while the common goat nearly always drops two. The kidding season is the most important in the life of the goats. For several days after the kids are dropped, they natu- rally demand good care. After a few weeks they are able to care for themselves, and can follow the flock. A few days before a doe is due to kid, she should be separated from the flock. Some breeders would put her alone in a pen, while others would put as many as twenty in one pen. If the facilities are at hand, a small pen for each doe is better, for the reason that the doe will own the kid sooner, and there will be less danger of injury. If kids are dropped on the range or in the pasture, they must be carried home and special care given to see that the does are made to own them, for many times they will refuse, especially if they have no milk. There are in use two methods of handling the does and kids at kidding time, namely, the corral method and the staking method. Each of these methods has its advantages. (1) The corral method may be used with any number of goats. When a large number of does are expected to kid, it is necessary to have one or two large corrals and several smaller ones. The does expected to kid, or those that have kidded, are put in the small corrals, and after a day or so are removed to one of the larger ones. This procedure is repeated until all the does have kidded. (2) The other, the Mexican or “staking method,” is used largely in Texas and New Mexico. When a kid is born, it is taken to a convenient place to “stake” and the mother is coaxed to follow, and the — kid is “staked” or “toggled” with a string about twelve inches long. This string is tied to one leg, being changed occasionally from one leg to another to avoid lameness. The string should have a swivel in it to prevent twisting. Kids are usually staked for a week to ten days. Kids should not be weaned until they are about four months old. The buck kids, not intended for breeding purposes, should be castrated when about two weeks old. The earlier it is done, the better will be the meat and mohair. No amount of cold will prove injurious to goats if they are kept dry. A shed of easy access is one of the essentials of goat-raising. Angoras are able to withstand both extreme heat and extreme cold if proper shelter and feed be provided. They require a large amount of fresh air and exercise. Feeding. The browsing habit of goats is an important fac- tor in their feeding. In some sections, they secure browse all through the winter season, as in the Southwest, where there is an abundance of live-oak. Corn fodder, cowpea hay, clover hay, and alfalfa are all excellent coarse feeds. Oats, corn and bran are valuable winter rations. Goats require more GOAT salt than do sheep, owing to the more astringent character of their feed. A running stream in a pasture is valuable, but if it is not present, good, fresh water should be supplied. Marking. Several devices for marking goats are in use, but the metal tag in the ear is probably best known. A practice which appears to give satisfac- tion is to tattoo the numbers into the ear, using indelible ink. It is found that the metal is some- times pulled out by brush. Shearing. In Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and sometimes in California, shearing is done twice a year, usually in the months of March and April, and in Septem- ber or October. The reason for this practice is that, owing to the warm climate, the fleece will often shed in the fall if not clipped. In other parts of the country, shearing is done but once a year, and that in the months of March, April and May. The shearing machines, largely employed among sheep-raisers, are coming into general use among goat-breeders. Goats are not so gentle in the hands of the shearer as sheep, and many men, especially among beginners in the industry, desire to know how best to handle them during the operation of shearing. For this purpose, a simple combination trough and table (Fig. 416) was devised by F. W. Ludlow, of Lake Valley, New Mexico. This table is first used in the shape of a trough. The goat is placed in it on its back and held down by means of a strap across its throat. While in this position all the underparts, sides and legs may be worked on. In machine shearing, it is a good practice to start at the brisket and shear all the belly as far back as possible ; then shear the front legs and neck ; then start at the hocks and shear up the hind-legs and along the sides to the point of beginning. After shearing one of the sides allowed by the trough, the goat is tied —“‘hog tied,” to use a western expression—that is, all four feet are tied together. The sides of the trough are now dropped, forming a table on which to finish the operation. There is now free access from the tail to the head, and the goat remains helpless. The proper course is to leave all the fleece on the table until the goat is liberated, and then roll it up inside out. Mr. Ludlow’s description of this table is given herewith : “The table is simple in construction. It is about 22 inches high, 2 feet 10 inches long, and 21 inches wide. The top is composed of two 9-inch sides, which are hinged to the 3-inch centerpiece. On the lower side of these movable flaps is a narrow piece 8 inches long, which catches on the framework of the table when the sides are lifted and holds them stationary. When. the sides are elevated, the top of the table forms a trough 3 inches wide at the bottom and possibly a foot wide at the top. Into this trough the goat to be shorn is thrown, feet up. A small strap, which hangs from the end of one of the sides, is run over the goat’s neck and fastened to the other side. The goat’s GOAT 407 head is hanging over the end of the table and the strap prevents it getting free. The belly and legs are then shorn. The legs of the goat are then tied together, the strap removed from the neck, and the sides of the table dropped, so that one has a plane surface on which to shear the rest of the animal. An untrained man can shear 100 goats a day witha shearing machine and such a table.” Few breeders wash their goats before shearing, and if the animal has been properly cared for dur- ing the winter and early spring, washing is not necessary. Breeders find it to their advantage to ship the mohair in as clean a condition as possible. Colored fleeces, tag locks, mohair that is clotted and that which is dirty, should be packed separately. As kid hair is usually the finest, it should be packed by itself; the doe hair and that from the wethers may be placed together. Fleeces should not be tied Fig. 415. A shearing trough and table combined. with twine, as parts of it are likely to adhere to the fleece, and can be removed only by great care and effort. Fleeces from Turkey and Cape Colony are not tied at all, but are simply rolled up inside out ; this is the condition in which the mills desire to receive them. Uses. The Angora goat is considered one of the most useful of the domestic animals, and has been so held from remote times. This usefulness is mani- fested in many ways. The mohair.—tThe fleece, called ‘‘mohair,” is used extensively in the manufacture of plushes. It is not generally known that practically all of the plushes used in railway passenger coaches and street cars are made of mohair. Besides these plushes, which are usually plain, large quantities of frieze and crush plushes are used in upholstering furniture. The designs for the frieze plushes are limited only by the ingenuity of man. The carriage robes, couch covers, sofa-pillow covers, and rugs are distinguished by their high pile and rich color- ing. Most of the so-called astrachan now in use is made of mohair. Besides plushes, which form the principal item, there may be mentioned dress goods of various designs, coats and coat-linings, table covers, knit mits, mittens and gloves, made from mohair. In addition to the mohair, there grows on the Angora goat coarse, chalky white, stiff, straight hair, varying in length from half an inch to four inches, technically known as “kemp.” It is gener- ally thought that kemp is a relic of the common goat blood in the Angora, as it is a matter of his- 408 GOAT tory that the Angora flocks of America, as well as those of Asia Minor and South Africa, have been largely increased by crossing does of common blood. It is objectionable. The skins.—The skins of the Angoras, if taken when the hair is about four inches long, make very handsome rugs. The hair retain its original luster, and may be used in the natural white, or dyed any color desired. Carriage-robes are frequently manu- factured from the skins. The smaller skins of the does, wethers and kids find a use as robes for baby- carriages, and are extremely attractive. The skins are also used in the manufacture of children’s muffs, and as trimmings for coats and capes. The finest kid fleeces adorn the collar and border of some of the ladies’ opera cloaks. To clear brush land.—Goats are browsers by nature, and there is no vegetation they will eat in preference to leaves and twigs of bushes. The Angora has been used in many parts of the country for clearing land covered with brushwood. In localities where valuable land is completely over- grown with brushwood, the goats are considered of more value for clearing it than for their mohair or meat. The milk.—The Angora is not primarily a milch goat, and is not often employed for that purpose. Information at hand shows that the quantity of milk given by an Angora doe is uncertain, and in exceptional cases only does it approach in quantity that produced by the established breeds of milch goats, such as the Toggenburg, Saanen, Maltese and Nubian. The meat.—The flesh of Angora goats is exceed- ingly nutritious and palatable. When properly fat- tened, they produce a meat so nearly like the best lamb that it takes an expert to detect the differ- ence. A large number of Angoras are slaughtered annually in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Cali- fornia. In Cape Colony, it is said that old does are slaughtered to furnish meat for farm hands, and young wethers are sold to butchers in the towns. Kansas City is the leading goat market, over sixty thousand head having been sold in this one market in 1907. Protection for sheep—There is very little com- plaint heard from breeders of Angora goats con- cerning the ravages of dogs. Bucks can be trained to fight dogs and thus be a protection to sheep. A few goats will stay with a flock of sheep, but if there are many of them they will be likely to separate. Pets.—As pets for children, Angora goats are popular. They are remarkably intelligent and are easily trained. They are often harnessed to carts. Organizations and records. The American Angora Goat Breeders’ Associa- tion, organized in 1900, maintains the only record of pure-bred Angora goats in America. This or- ganization has a membership of over five hun- dred breeders, representing nearly every state and territory in the Union. Over sixty-five thou- sand animals are recorded in the Angora Goat Record. GOAT Literature. George Fayette Thompson, Angora Goat Raising and Milch Goats; William L. Black, A New Indus- try; C. P. Bailey, Practical Angora Goat Raising ; Gustav A. Hoerle, The Angora Goat: Its Habits and Culture; John L. Hayes, The Angora Goat: Its Origin, Culture and Products; S. C. Cronwright Schreiner, The Angora Goat; George Edward Allen, Angora Goats, the Wealth of the Wilderness; C. P. Bailey, California Angoras; E. H. Jobson, Angora Goat Raising ; George Fayette Thompson, Information concerning the Angora Goat, Bulletin No. 27, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture; George Fayette Thomp- son, The Angora Goat, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 137, United States Department of Agriculture. This article is largely adapted from the bulletins on Angora goats prepared by the late George Fayette Thompson. [See also page 411.] Milch Goats. Capra hircus, Linn. Figs. 417-419. By William C. Clos. The breeding of goats for the production of milk is a growing industry in some parts of America. In the development of the dairy type, numerous breeds and varieties of goats have been produced, adapted to meet different conditions. Description. According to the best authorities, the following general points and qualities are applicable to all types of milch goats. They must possess good forms, indicating constitutional strength and high produc- tiveness. The head must be light (dry), eyes fresh and lively, horns (in all horned breeds) small, neck broad, breast wide, ribs well sprung, back long and straight, hips broad and strong, legs sinewy and straight. Healthy claws, a fine, thin skin and a well-developed, but not too pendent udder and good teeth are also necessary requisites. History. Goats are among the oldest domestic animals, and have contributed their share to the subsistence of mankind as far back as historic evidences reach. Rutimeier discovered their remains among the ruined piles of the ancient lake-dwellers in Switzer- land. Goats and their products are mentioned fre- quently in the Bible, and by Herodotus and Homer, and have maintained their popularity, especially among oriental nations, to this day. The question of their origin is still in dispute. According to Julmy, a majority of zodlogists main- tain that the European goat is descended from the Persian pasang or Bezoar goat (Capra egagrus), while others seem to trace it to the Alpine ibex (Capra ibex). Whatever may have been their origin, they have exerted a strong influence on the economic welfare of the peoples among whom they have been found. Their growth in numbers, outside of America, has been noteworthy ; and in this country their popu- larity may be said to be increasing. The following GOAT statistics indicate their popularity. G. F. Thompson states, in his “Information Concerning Common Goats,” published in 1903, that there were 1,871,- 252 goats of all kinds kept on farms in the United States, as reported in the census for 1900, repre- senting a total value of $3,266,080. Besides these, there were 78,353 goats reported for cities and vil- lages, which would bring the total up to 1,949,605 head. He estimates the number of Angoras at 700,000, and the remainder, he says, “are all sorts of animals except recognized breeds of milch goats, of which there are so few as not to affect the total materially.” This is indeed a small number, but it indicates the need as well as the possibilities of improvement. European statistics give far more satisfactory results. Germany had (in 1883), according to Dett- weiler, 2,639,904 milch goats; Switzerland (in 1896) possessed 416,323 head (Stebler). Pegler, in his work (The Book of the Goat), gives the follow- ing figures: France, 1,794,837 ; Russia, 1,700,000; Austria, 979,104 ; Spain, 4,531,228 ; Italy, 1,690,- 478, and the grand total for continental Europe as 17,198,587 head. The Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1906, in its statistical columns, gives the total number of goats for South American countries as 5,662,239 ; North and Central America, 6,296,192; Africa, 17,557,- 590; Asia, 40,557,402, while Australia (total Oceanica) is marked down to a total of only 114,- 865 head. In America.—As has been said, little effort has been put forth to improve the common goat of America, and no important milking strains or families have been produced. It is only under the stimulus of recent importations of some of the best European types that interest in goats for milk- production has sprung up. The first importation was that of W. A. Shafor, of Ohio, who brought over four Toggenburg goats in 1893. The next important importation was made by F. S. Peer, of Ithaca, New York, in the spring of 1904, when he brought over a large number of Toggenburg and White Saanen goats for individuals in Massachu- setts, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. In 1905, the United States Department of Agriculture became interested, and through G. F. Thompson imported sixty-eight maltese goats for experimen- tation in America. The results of this experiment were not satisfactory. Distribution. At the present time goats are distributed over a large part of the globe, but it is to be regretted that statistics furnish but very meager informa- tion in regard to their dissemination. Such statis- tics as are available indicate that they are found in larger or smaller numbers in nearly every inhabited land. In America they are widely scattered. An idea of their geographic distribution will be gained by reference to the statistics given above. Breeds and types. Following are brief notes on the most promi- nent breeds and types. GOAT 409 The Nubian milch goat is a long-legged goat, with generally a polled head, sunken nostrils, pro- jecting lower jaw, long, hanging ears in most speci- mens, large, well-shaped udder and teats. The color is brown or black. The hair varies in length. It is native in Nubia, northern Egypt and Abys- sinia. Huart du Plessis and Pegler recommend this breed very highly because of its large size and unsurpassed milking qualities, giving four to twelve quarts per day. However, it is very sensitive to cold and for that reason is not adapted for northern climates. Its ameliorative value, however, is not to be lost sight of in cross-breeding experiments, especially with southern varieties, as the New Mexican. The Maltese goat.—According to Thompson, this type is about two feet and six inches in height and will often weigh 100 pounds. It is usually hornless, and the predominating color is white, although there are many other colors, as red, brown and black. The ears are moderately long and horizontal. The body is low and stocky. It is said that the milking quality of the breed has been so perfectly developed that Owned Fig. 417. Milch goats, with udders too pendant. by J. F. Zion, Phoenix, Arizona. nearly every doe kid becomes a good milker. The udder is large and is carried low, and yields two to four quarts of milk daily. In Malta it is asserted that Maltese goats never do well when exported. The New Mexican goat.—By this somewhat arbi- trary name is distinguished the only real American breed of goats known. They are common in New Mexico, Texas and the Southwest, where large numbers of them are kept by the Spanish-speaking populace. They are not uniform in color and size, but have the reputation of being fairly good milkers. The_Spanish-Maltese goat.—B. H. Van Raub, of Van Raub, Texas, is the most prominent breeder of this type, and his efforts in improving and develop- ing this variety are said to have given to the United States the first pure-blooded breed of milch goats of its own. Mr. Thompson indicates that these Spanish-Maltese represent several varieties. The Toggenburg milch goats (Fig. 418) are one of the oldest and best known of the numerous breeds of milch goats in Switzerland. They are hardy and 410 GOAT hornless, and their slender bodies are covered with silky hair of a peculiar brown color that varies much in length. The males carry a heavy, coarse beard. The legs and ears are white, the latter of medium length and well carried. The breed is further dis- tinguished by two white stripes on their heads, running parallel on each side of the face from the ne al oy Fig. 418. Toggenburg milch goat. ears to the mouth, and also by two peculiar small cartilaginous appendages or “ wattles” on the side of the neck, called zoetteli. These “wattles” are not peculiar to Toggenburgs, but are found in nearly all breeds of goats. They are very common in Mal- tese breeds. They are splendid milkers, yielding four to six quarts daily, and carry the well-developed udders rather high. They bear confinement well, a fact that should not be underestimated in consider- ing this breed. The White Appenzeller goat may be regarded as a white variety of the Toggenburg breed, and is native in the Toggenburg valley in Switzerland. Like the latter, it is large, hardy and productive. The White Saanen goat (Fig. 419) is another very popular Swiss breed. It is generally hornless and of large size. It is a good milker, and has been exported extensively from Switzerland for amelior- ative purposes. The Black-necked Valaisan goat is a very pretty and attractive variety covered with long, silky hair, black on the head, neck, breast and front legs, and snow-white on the entire middle and rear parts of the body. It is a fairly good milker, has a splendid constitution, but does not thrive under continuous confinement. Management and feeding. Milch goats are very prolific, much more so than Angoras or sheep. They usually drop twins and often triplets, and as their period of gestation is only about five months, they increase very rapidly, because they will breed shortly after kidding, and yearling does are fit for reproduction. Bucks should be chosen carefully ; only those descended from good milking dams should be used, and then only when they are of good form and constitutional vigor. Because of their repulsive smell, bucks GOAT should be kept entirely separate, and as far away from the does as possible. Milk from rutting does should not be used for domestic purposes. Observance of this rule will effectually prevent the complaints that goat’s milk has a bad taste. Breeding should be so managed that does will kid three times within two years, and if several animals are kept, their lactation periods may be easily arranged so as to provide a steady and even supply of milk for their owners. The lac- tation period is about five or six months in the milking families. Cleanliness is absolutely necessary when goats are confined in stables. These animals are sensitive to cold and damp and therefore should be kept in — warm but light stables, with always dry bedding. They like variety in their feed, and this peculiarity should not be overlooked. They should be given clean, sweet hay, and the good vegetable trimmings from the kitchen. A handful of oats or a little bran is a very good addition to the ration, especi- ally during the period of heavy lactation. They must have salt regularly, and as much clean water as they will drink. In the winter they should have provided for them occasionally, if possible, some hazel-brush, birch, maple, box-elder, or similar twigs. They like to nibble such things and will pay for the trouble. Willow, oak, or any other bitter or acid barks should not be used for this purpose, because they impart unpleasant tastes to the milk. In the summer a good pasture having a variety of forage and fresh water is a splendid place for them. If these directions are observed, goats will give good wholesome milk plentifully. If the milk has an uncommon flavor, the cause is usually in the feed, unless the animals are sick. If pasturage is not available, then they should be let out into a clean yard daily, for they must have exercise, as in their natural environments they like to romp and play. Fences must be tight, otherwise te SS LG S7/ if ( ME aig! Ms) \ wii): the goats will get out even in places where it would seem almost impossible for them to crawl. All braces should be on the outside, and no boards should be allowed to lean against the fence, other- wise the goats will climb over. Breechy goats should be provided with so-called “ puzzles” or frames. GOAT Kids should be separated from their mothers and fed from a nursing-bottle, because their mother’s teats are usually too large for them. They should be weaned gradually, and, when they are accustomed to eat well, they will readily take care of them- selves, as long as they have plenty before them to eat. Young bucks that are not needed as repro- ducers should be castrated early and butchered when afew months old. Their meat is then even more of a delicacy than lamb. Uses. Contrary to common opinion, goats have decided virtues and capabilities that will eventually gain for them a prominent place in the estimation of the people, especially among the working classes in the suburbs of large cities, and it is not at all improb- able that they may win favor even with the rich. For milk.—tThe principal value of the milch goat is its eminent milk-producing quality. While it has thus far been of relative unimportance in this coun- try for its milk, this is not true in many other lands. In Switzerland, milch goats are commonly called the “poor man’s cows,” and well they may, as they take the place of cows not only because of their cheapness and the comparatively low cost of their keep, but also because they enable poor persons to enjoy the advantages usually derived by the better situated classes from their cattle, under conditions absolutely prohibitive to the successful maintenance of milch cows. In that mountainous land, three or four well-kept milch goats of good breeding are commonly rated equal in milk-produc- ing qualities to an average cow, and six to eight goats may be kept on the quantity of feed required for one cow. It should also be borne in mind that two or three goats properly managed will provide a steady supply of milk the year round, while the single cow does not. Goats also are not nearly so susceptible to the diseases that have proved to be such dangerous enemies to mankind, from the fact that they can be transmitted by cow’s milk. It is generally held that goat’s milk is much more whole- some than cow’s milk. Goat’s milk may be used fresh or cooked, just as cow’s milk, and is recommended as preferable for infants and invalids by the best medical authorities. Milch goats are most pro- ductive at four to eight years of age, and may live to be twelve or more years old. Dr. Kohlschmidt’s experiments on the milk-yield of goats, conducted with twenty-four animals in Saxony, demonstrated an average yearly quantity of 725.7 litres per head. The highest yield ascer- tained by him was 1,077.5 litres ; the lowest, 612.37 litres; the average per cent of butter-fat obtained was 3.43 per cent (maximum 4.41 per cent). Huart du Plessis cites the example of a pure-bred Nubian goat giving an average of 4.5 litres per day, with 8.5 per cent butter-fat. This author estimates the capacity of a good milch goat at two litres per day for 270 days each year. Professor Anderegg says that there are four breeds of Swiss goats capable of a daily yield of four litres per head. Stebler states, on the authority of a Swiss farmer, that the total yearly expense for keeping a common goat, GOAT Ail exclusive of summer pasturage, is a trifle over $2 in American money, against a yearly income of above $5, or a profit of over $3 per year on an investment of about $7. For butter.—Butter may be made from goat’s milk, but, owing to the irregular size of the fat globules, the cream is very slow to rise. The milk should be carefully and very slowly heated on the back of a stove until a wrinkled scum forms, and then be removed to the pantry for further rising. The longer time it takes to heat, the more cream is secured. In churning, coloring must be added, or else the product will be as white as lard, owing to the whiteness of the milk. Perfect cleanliness and special care are necessary or the butter will develop a bitter taste. For cheese—Goat’s milk makes most excellent cheese, as all who have ever been treated to ‘tome de chévre” or “Geisskaes” in Europe will admit. The milk of goats is an ingredient that enters largely into the manufacture of very expensive kinds of cheese, as the famous Roquefort, Mont d’ Or, Levroux, Sassenage and others. Goat cheese has the disadvantage that it will usually not keep well unless extra care and pains are taken in its manufacture and cure. For ordinary use, however, the process is as simple as that employed in the making of any common home-made curd cheese. For meat.—As their name indicates, milch goats are not intended as meat-producers. The flesh of older animals, therefore, is of minor quality, although capable of great improvement by proper fattening. The flesh of well-fattened older goats may be rendered very toothsome by smoking and drying. Kid meat is esteemed as a popular delicacy in Europe and elsewhere. For skins.—The skins of milch goats are impor- tant articles of commerce, furnishing, as they do, the raw material for the finest leather (kid, morocco, saffian, and the like). At present, most of the hides used for this purpose are imported. This may very readily be made an important source of income wherever goats are kept in numbers. It is a means of profit that has been underestimated in this country. Organizations and records. In November, 1903, The American Milk Goat Record Association was organized to care for the interests of milch goats in America, and to pro- mote the importation of good types. A registry is maintained, entrance being based on milk-pro- duction and satisfactory ancestry and individual qualities. Literature. Prof. Anderegg, Die Schweizer Ziegen, Bern (1887); Fr. Dettweiler, Die Bedeutung der Ziegen- zucht, etc., Bremen (1892); Huart Du Plessis, La Chévre, Paris, 4me edition; Felix Hilpert, Anleit- ung zur Ziegenzucht und Ziegenhaltung, Berlin (1901); Bryan Hook, Milch Goats and Their Man- agement, London (1896); N. Julmy, Les races de Chévres de la Suisse, Bern (1900); Dr. Kohlschmidt, Untersuchungen ueber die Milchergiebigkeit des 412 HARE im oestl, Erzgebirge verbreiteten Ziegenschlages in Landw. Jahrbuecher Bd. XXVI; S. Holmes Hepler The Book of the Goat, London (1886); Dr. F. G. Stebler, Ziegenweiden und Ziegenhaltung in Alp und Weidewirtschaft, Berlin (1903); G. F. Thomp- son, Angora Goat Raising and Milch Goats, Chicago (1903); G. F. Thompson, Information Concerning Common Goats, Circular No. 42, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture (1903); G. F. Thompson, Information Concerning the Milch Goats, Bulletin No. 68, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture (1905). HARE, BELGIAN. Lepus spp. Leporide. Fig. 420. By U. G. Conover. In America the names hare and rabbit are used somewhat indiscriminately for various species of rodents of the family Leporide. Hare is the gen- eric term, while rabbit is applied properly to a short- legged species of essentially burrowing habits, whose naked, blind and helpless young are nurtured in underground nests. The so-called Belgian hare is not a hare at all, but is atruerabbit. It derives its name from the fact that breeders imitate closely the shape and habit of the hare. From an economic standpoint, the Belgian hare is the most important of the rabbit family, as it has become very popular with the fanciers, as well as with utility breeders who raise it principally for meat purposes. It is thoroughly domesticated, responds quickly to kind treatment, and is a very profitable animal to the raiser. [Other species and varieties of rabbits are discussed under Pets.] Description. The body of the Belgian hare is long and slim. The fore-feet and legs are small, the hind-feet and legs large and powerful. These characteristics, together with the long head and fine ears, give the Belgian hare a very racy appearance. The color is described as “rufus-red,” and is rather a fox-color or deep golden tan. It is not distributed equally, but is richest on the shoulders and top of the neck. The hair is tipped with black, which is called ticking. The proper distribution of ticking adds greatly to the beauty of the animal. It should be confined largely to the back and flanks. The weight of the standard-bred Belgian hare is about eight pounds. There is the so-called heavy-weight Bel- gian, which is of a much grayer color, and often attains a weight as great as sixteen pounds. This heavy-weight type is supposed to have been crossed with the Flemish Giant rabbit, which is of a dark gray color and weighs as much as eighteen pounds. [See Pets.] The following American standard of excellence for the Belgian hare shows what is desired : Disqualifications— (1) Lopped or fallen ear; (2) white front feet or white bar or bars on same; (8) decidedly wry front feet; (4) wry tail. A specimen should have the benefit of any doubt. HARE ro core 1. Color.—Rich rufus-red (not dark, smudgy color), carried well down sides and hind-quarters, and as little white under the jaws as possible. . 20 2. Ticking.—Rather wavy appearance and plenti- falon' body;... 5) <<. os cctes) =a tern ae 15 3. Shape.—Body long, thin, well tucked-up flank and well ribbed up; back slightly arched ; loins well rounded, not choppy; head rather lengthy; muscular chest; tail straight, not screwed; and altogether of a racy appear- ance 4, Ears.—About five inches, thin, well laced up on tips, and as far down outside edges as possible; good color inside and outside, and well set on. 10 5. Eyes.—Hazel color, large, round, bright and bold. .\ca'a. Siccrse! cS. 'e Pon ae 10 6. Legs and feet.—Fore-feet and legs long, straight, slender, well colored and free from white bars; hind-feet as well colored as pos- sible 7. Size.—About eight pounds 8. Condition.—Not fat, but flesh firm as that of a race horse, and good quality of fur. .... 5 Without dewlap). « ¢ = <5 © «le =meneenenenen Perfection . . . SCALE OF POINTS FOR THE BELGIAN HARE . Stray hairs . Color of body .. ° Color of sides . . Color of hind-quarters. ........ ce . Color of jaws . = NNN NNY EEE ERROR RRR Rubin Se Gina oo oc - d . Symmetry of body .......-. . Symmetry of flank andrib..... WOAH OP COD . Symmetry of back ....5,.. 10. Symmetry of loins 1l. Symmetry of head ....... 12. Lacing of ears .... 18. Size of ears . . .. © 14. Shape of ears -., 5. 6 .<\=), =) 10 sso 15. Color of ears .... 16. Quality of ears ’-| <= (5 /-) =) siisiianiomeennen 17. Size of eyes 18. Shape of eyes .. . 19. Color of eyes j 20; Quality of'eyes. . < << 3) 5) s) osinemtennemne 4 21. Size of fore-legs and feet 22. Shape of fore-legs andfeet. ........ 2 23. Color of fore-legs and feet ......... 2 24. Quality of fore-legs and feet 25. Color of hind-feet ..... 26. Size of specimen 27. Condition of flesh. .... 28: Condition of fur << 2): 4) es +) on ene 29. Shape of neck . Perfection History. The Belgian hare is said to have originated in Belgium, probably about the beginning of the nine- teenth century, where it is now found, small in size, but perfect in form, color and markings. The modern Belgian hare, an animal of singular charm and great utility, combining the beauty and tooth- someness of the old domestic hare with the grace and fecundity of the wild rabbit, is the result of a process of breeding that has been practiced HARE for the past fifty years or more. Belgian hares were introduced into England about 1850. When they first came into England, there was no recog- nized standard to which to breed, and there soon came to be two classes of breeders, one class trying to produce size for meat stock, with little regard to other points, and the other breeding for points according to their own ideas as to what constituted an ideal animal. About 1882, the differences be- came so great between the two classes of breeders that it became necessary for them to get together and devise and adopt a standard for their guidance. The first standard required the animal to be some- what racy in appearance and evenly ticked from toe to tail. The lacing was a dense black block on the outside of the ear near the point. In 1889, the standard was revised, and the new standard confined the lacing to near the edge of the ear, discarded the ticking from the breast, ears, shoulders and front feet, and re- quired a very racy appearance. In America.—The Belgian hare was intro- duced into this country probably early in 1860, but its merits were then little known, as it was by no means the perfect animal that we find in the hutches of American breed- ers and fanciers today. It is only in the past few years that its value as a fur- and meat- producing animal has become generally known, and in this short time it has made for itself such a record in this respect that the raising of Belgian hares for the market and for the fancy is recognized today as a distinct industry. There is demand by good hotels for the hares. Distribution. The Belgian hare is raised in many parts of the United States and Canada, as well as in Belgium, England, Germany and Mexico. Breeding. Belgian hares will usually breed at the age of six months, but this is not advisable. When they are bred so young, their offsping, as a rule, will not be so large and strong as when one waits until the doe is about eight months old before breeding. The buck should be at least eight months old, and if he is good he can be used for two or three years. Every stud buck is able to serve a dozen does if the services are not too close together. Every breeder should keep two stud bucks, so as to fur- nish stock not related. Some authorities assert that an old buck and a young doe beget the largest and best young. It should be remembered that the buck is half of the herd or flock, and no one should try to get along with a poor one. In breed- ing, we look to the doe for size and shape and to the buck for color. From a good doe, properly mated, one will be certain to get good youngsters. The doe should always be put in the buck’s hutch, and not vice versa. If she is not in heat she will make a plaintive little noise and run from him. After waiting a few moments, remove the doe to her own hutch if she is still unwilling, and try her again the next day, and so on until she is served. HARE 413 Better results follow one good service than several. When the doe is bred, she should be placed in the hutch where she is expected to raise her family. The little ones may be expected in thirty days from date of service. A nest-box should be placed in the remotest corner of the hutch, in as secluded a spot as possible. This box can be about eighteen inches long by twelve inches high, with a cover so that the top can be removed and the youngsters examined after the doe has littered; and should any dead ones be found they should be removed and the rest disturbed as little as possible. After kindling, and for that matter all through preg- nancy, the doe should be kept as quiet as possible. Fig. 420. Belgian hares. As the period of gestation is only thirty days, and with an early return of the sexual passion in the rabbit family, many breeders are led to breed their does too frequently. In order to secure the best results, the writer would not advise breeding the does until the young are two months old, and in this way raise four litters a year and keep the doe in good shape. Too frequent breeding will have a tendency to impoverish the doe, thereby causing the young to lack vigor and strength, which otherwise she would have been able to give them. A doe supporting a large litter of young, must give forth a large amount of the food she con- sumes to her young, and it seems almost impossible that a doe can support a litter of a dozen young and make them all grow as fast as they do. Bel- gian hares will double in size in a very short time, and this rapid growth continues until they are six to seven months old, when they grow less rapidly. They mature in ten to twelve months. Feeundity.—In point of fecundity, no other domes- tic animal can compete with Belgtan hares. One doe and her offspring, if allowed to breed at will, may raise in one year about one-hundred and thirty- six. To allow them to breed at will is not advisable, but this serves to show that they are very prolific and may be very profitable. Caring for the young.—Many persons who are not acquainted with Belgian hares, may think that the care of the young is difficult, perhaps. This is not so. The mother doe takes nearly all the care of the young, so that very little responsibility rests on the owner. All that is needed is to give the doe an extra allowance of feed, for she will eat con- 414 HARE siderable more at that time; and her food should be of a milk-producing kind, so that she will provide plenty of nourishment for her young. If it can be afforded, feed the young as soon as they come out of the nest-box ; bread and milk (not sloppy) and other food, such as oats and clover-hay, should be given at the same time. The little ones make their appearance about three weeks after birth, and are very timid at first. When they are six weeks or two months old, they should be weaned from their mother. After a few days rest the doe can be bred again. The mortality among hares is very slight. Feeding and care. This is an important part of raising the Belgian hare, and on this, together with housing and breed- ing, hinge most of the successes and failures of the Belgian-hare business. Belgian hares should be fed just as regularly as the best horse or cow, with the exception that two meals be given instead of three. This gives the hares ample time to digest their food, and, if in good condition, they will be hungry and ready for each meal if they are not over-fed. The attendant should never give more grain than they will eat up clean within a half hour after feeding. When feeding clover hay, enough can be putin to last a couple of days. It is best to feed about the same hour morning and evening. Hares eat anything that sheep will. In the sum- mer one can feed many different things in green food, such as clover hay, corn blades, sorghum, together with most kinds of weeds that grow except the poisonous ones. In grains, one may choose from oats, corn, wheat and rye; in vegetables, either cabbage, carrots, parsnips, turnips, or potatoes. A variety of food is relished by them both win- ter and summer, but their main food should be clover hay nicely cured, and good sweet oats that have not become musty or damaged in any way. Hares are rather dainty eaters, and they desire everything clean. In fact, their eating is almost identical with that of a sheep. For the winter, it is well to provide for them in advance with regard to the vegetables it is expected to feed. Winter turnips can be raised after the early potatoes have been dug, or a small plot of stock-beets can be planted in the spring. The turnips or beets with the regular grain-feed make an ideal ration for the winter months, and are greatly relished by the hares. The hares should be watered every day. A large lump of rock-salt should be placed in each hutch. Hach hare has an individual disposition, and the breeder should study their habits and likes and dis- likes, and try to give them what they desire. Some eat more hay than others, while some want more grain. For breeding does and their young, nothing is so good as bread and milk. The bread should not be musty, and the milk should be sweet. This makes the youngsters grow fast and the doe gives more milk. Housing the hares.—No special building is re- quired. A barn, stable, or shed, reasonably warm in winter and permitting thorough ventilation, but HARE free from draughts, is all the shelter that is neces- sary. Almost any building can be fitted very quickly by one who is handy with tools. The writer has erected a special building for housing his hares, after the following general plan: The building is 40 feet long and 8 feet wide. It is 9 feet high in front and 8 feet high on the back. This building is placed on sewer tile, 10 inches in diameter, which is filled with portland cement and placed in the ground about 12 inches, on a cement foundation below the freezing-point. There are eight of the tile, filled with the cement, placed at proper dis- tances for the building proper to rest on. The purpose of having the building about. eighteen inches from the ground is to make it rat-proof. Old rats are very destructive to young Belgian hares when they have access to them. The writer has known rats to destroy a whole litter in one night. ; This building is divided into twenty separate rooms or hutches by a “double-deck” arrangement, each hutch being eight feet long by four feet wide. The lower tier of hutches is three feet in height from the ground floor to the floor of the upper tier. In the lower tier all the partitions are made of lumber. The writer has found oak lumber to be the most satisfactory for the entire construction. This does not make so attractive a house as would pine, but it will be remembered that Belgian hares seldom, if ever, gnaw oak lumber, which is not the case with pine or softer woods. The partitions in the upper hutches are made with lumber for about three feet from the floor; then the upper part is made with poultry netting, which is cheaper than lumber, and gives the top hutches better ventilation. The roofing of this building is of galvanized iron, which seems to be better and more economical than shingles. The doors in the hutches are three feet long (the long way of the building) and two feet high. The frame is made of oak, and the remainder of one-inch poultry netting. The doors are hung with six-inch hinges, and hasps are used to fasten them. The building faces the south. Several trees are so planted as to give it shade in the hot days of summer. The building is enclosed in a yard as described below. Yards and parks.—A suitable site for a yard or park for Belgian hares should be slightly sloping, - so as to secure good drainage when heavy rains come. There should be a tree of some kind for each separate enclosure, to give the necessary shade in the hot summer days. The writer does not recom- mend fruit trees for this purpose, as when the fruit falls the hares may eat too much and get sick or die. Apples and pears are not harmful to them if fed in small quantities. The writer has what he considers an ideal park for the raising of Belgian hares, made, in general, as follows: The park is laid off fifteen rods long by five rods wide. The outside is made of six-foot Page poultry-fence, so as to keep out all dogs and other animals that would be likely to harm the hares. The inside par- titions may be poultry-netting, four feet high. The park is divided into fifteen different yards, making each yard nearly five rods long by one rod wide. BoMOMLy Ul Vey] pue puL[sug ur peuao pun 4dAAq ul poagq *(pasvesep) uvAYeYg ‘asi0y ueIqeIy “IITX 93%Ig a HARE There is an eight-foot aisle running the long way of the park, so as to make feeding easy for all the yards. Before erecting the fence and netting, a furrow should be plowed in each place the netting is to be stretched and also for the outside fence. ‘After the fence and netting have been properly stretched, the dirt should be filled in again around the netting and fence. The burying of the fence and netting is to keep the hares from digging out, and anything else from digging into the park. Uses. : For meat.—The principal value of the Belgian hare is for its meat. The little care required in its raising makes it a source of profit even to the person who raises only enough for his own use. The meat is white like the breast of chicken. The Belgian hare will dress a pound for every month of its age up to six months, and it will furnish food for the table any time after two months old. The most profitable age to kill for market is about the fifth month. All the flesh is edible, so there is practically no waste if the ani- mal has been properly dressed. It has been esti- mated that one breeding doe will produce over 300 pounds of meat in one year. For fur.—Mention should be made of the fact that Belgian hares are valued to some extent for their fur. This comprises much of their interest to fanciers. Diseases. When proper attention is given to feeding and housing, and cleanliness of the hutches made a matter of first importance, and a good disinfectant intelligently used, no trouble will be experienced in keeping Belgian hares in good health and condi- tion. Cold and catarrh are troublesome, and should be treated with human remedies in proportion to weight. Indigestion is best cured by proper feed- ing—by the addition of pepsin or other remedy to food that is easily digested. The most common disease, and perhaps the worst to which the Belgian hare is subject, is snuf- fles. The treatment of this disease is to build up the system. Food that is extra nourishing, and a little tincture of iron in the drinking water, may be all that the animal will need to be able to throw off the disease. If a mash is fed, about a spoonful of flaxseed may be put in it, and if it is simply a case of sneezing and discharge from the nose resulting from a slight cold, nothing more in the way of treatment will be required. It will be well to spray the nose with lukewarm water, to which a little salt has been added; after spraying, wipe ry. Organizations and records. At present, the American Fur Fanciers’ Associa- tion, with headquarters at Great Neck, New York, is the only organization devoted to the Belgian hare industry in America. A few years ago, when the raising of Belgian hares was a fad, there existed the National Belgian Hare Club of America, with headquarters in Denver, Colo., and the American HORSE 415 Belgian Hare Association. Both of these have dis- continued. Literature. Books treating on the Belgian hare: Eph. Ruth, American Belgian Hare Culture; Eph. Ruth, Bel- gian Hare Breeding and Management; P. E. Crab- tree, Belgian Hare Course of Instruction; Jacob Biggle, Biggle Pet Book, illustrated ; U. G. Conover, The Belgian Hare for Pleasure and Profit; The Belgian Hare Guide, illustrated; Cuniculus, The Practical Rabbit Keeper ; W. N. Richardson, The Rabbit : How to Select, Breed and Manage, sixth edition. HORSE. Zquus caballus, Linn. Hquide. Figs. 421-495, As a domestic animal, the horse has had an aris- tocratic history. In the earliest historic times he was used chiefly for purposes of war, and literature abounds in allusions to this fact. He was the animal of emperors and of persons of noble birth, associated with chariots and with great occasions. With certain nomadic peoples, he early became the agent of speed. Gradually, he was pressed into the common work of the world and became one of the beasts of burden, gradually supplanting the ox. Today, with the cow, the horsé is one of the in- dispensable agents of the agriculture of the western nations. The horse is now bred chiefly for five types of uses: (1) For speed, as in the trotters, pacers and runners; (2) for sport, fancy and fashion ; (8) for family driving; (4) for draft purposes, largely in cities and towns; (5) for general farm uses. It is in the last of these uses that the horse is of greatest real value to man, and yet it in this very respect that he has received the least definite in- telligent breeding. There is no real farm horse in this country, except as animals of mixed and mis- cellaneous breeding, or of no breeding, are used for general farm purposes. Of course, the farm pur- poses are not single or uniform, for in some farm business heavy draft animals may be needed and in other business light roadsters may be needed ;' but it is nevertheless a fact that when the farmer breeds definitely to race-type or breed-type, he is thinking of horses to sell to men in other business rather than to sell to farmers or to produce the best type for his own farm uses. Practically all the farm-work horses are mongrels, with no such care having been devoted to their parentage and pedi- gree as is devoted to dairy cows, beef cattle, bacon hogs or egg-laying fowls. The books usually con- sider the horse least of all from the farm-utility point of view. The sportsman, fancier and city trucker have thus far had the greatest influence in the breeding of types of horses. All this must change if agriculture is to reach its highest efficiency ; for the horse is to remain an indispen- sable factor in country life, despite all that is said and done about automobiles and mechanical power. Heavier horses are needed for the better and deeper fitting of the land; much of our agriculture has 416 HORSE been weak because there has been insufficient horse power properly to fit the land. But the general farm horse, particularly on hilly farms, must be not merely a heavy draft animal: he must have ease and alacrity of motion and not such size and weight as will make him clumsy. It is not likely that a distinct registered breed of special farm horses will arise ; but it is eminently desirable that ideals be formed and that they be related to farm necessities and the animals bred definitely for such uses. Aside from the dog and cat, the horse is more closely associated with man on the personal side than any other domestic animal of temperate coun- tries. He becomes an object of personal regard on the part of members of the household; and he has been provided with better quarters and given greater care than any other animal. He is the only farm animal of this country with whom human beings share living quarters under the same roof; it is common for care-takers to live over stables, and some of the most artistic of suburban and farm buildings are devoted to such dual purpose. (Fig. 421.) The attention given to horse-stable construc- tion and to harness and other equipage, as well as to breeding for personal purposes, has resulted in a large special literature on the horse. The number of horses in the United States and Canada is practically equivalent to the number of ” “Flay Chute Hay Mow 15'x24 HORSE dairy cows. According to the Yearbook for 1906 United States Department of Agriculture, the number of horses in America was as follows : Year Total UNITED STATES : Contiguous— Oni farmsti. chs ask eee « -| 1907 | 19,747;0008 Notion tanms seme eee 1900 2,936,881 — Non-contiguous— Alaska (onutarms)) ieee 1900 5 Hawaii (on farms) ..... 1900 12,982 Porto Ricos came aceite 1899 58,664 Total United States (except ——_ eee Philippinesvis;) ase 22,755,532 CANADA : New Brunswick - «| 1905 62,000 Ontarior 4.5; incites chron mente 1906 688,147 Manitobar « ees HackneysHorsd) sy) i-mcih sieemions «Jon eey Jo ee 464 iiinoddskii yy G Gos 4 50° «6 a (ela, ee Steeple-chaser . . . 2 +,0 « « » » « so) eileen Military: Horgolcc) <<< etter ts: fo eo eee 470 Orloff Trotting Horse <<). =. «) =) eee 474 Pacing Horse, Standardbred ....... Q 476 Percheron’ Horse’ <... sm. 2% = «; se ee - 478 Ponies Dycns iets) =) Gua Det ma umtonee tiles «joe Saddle Horse; American .. . % «0 Seeune - - - 489 Shire Horse <4. .j «es. = So) er 493 Suffolk or Suffolk Punch Horse. ....... . 494 Thoroughbred Horse. = « = = » « +) sence 496 Trotting and Pacing Horse, American Standardbred . Origin of the Domestic Horse. Figs. 422428. By Frederick B. Mumford. In a zodlogical sense, the horse is a vertebrate animal belonging to the class Mammalia, the family Equidz and the genus Equus. Ina broad sense, the word horse applies to all members of the family Equide, and all the existing members of this family are included by Linnzus in the genus Equus. The representatives of this class are distinguished by a single hoof, a simple stomach, long, muscular legs and a very high order of intelligence. They all have hair on the neck, forming a mane, and the tail terminates with or is coy- ered with long coarse hair. The voice is loud and often harsh, the ears are movable and the hearing very acute. Most members of the horse family are gregarious. Prehistoric horse——The evolution of the horse through various lower forms to the present useful and universally admired form is one of great inter- est to all students of the progressive development of animals. From fossil remains scattered over widely separated regions of the earth, we know that the extinct horse became world-wide (except- ing Australia) in its geographical distribution. Although the modern form of the horse did not exist on the American continent, many fossil remains of the prehistoric horse have been discoy- ered in New Jersey, Nebraska, South Dakota and, notably, Wyoming. The gradual modification from the various prehistoric forms to the modern horse has occupied millions of years. The more important links in the chain of descent have been described both as to period of existence and general form by H. F. Osborn (Century Magazine, November, 1904), whose researches, partly following the early studies of Leidy and Marsh, have been drawn on for the facts given below. The earliest prehistoric horse existed in the Lower Hocene period, ranging from Mexico north- ward, and inhabiting parts of continental Europe and Great Britain. (Figs. 422, 423.) This early horse was no larger than a small dog, which it resembled. The color was probably dun, with incon- spicuous spots or stripes. The Eohippus (Marsh) or “dawn horse,” as this form was called, possessed four toes on the front-, and three on the hind-foot. HORSE Tn the next higher form, the Orohippus (Marsh), of the Middle Hocene period, the splints have disap- peared, leaving four toes. The animal is still small, being about fourteen inches high. This form was discovered in the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming -in 1880. There appeared later in point of develop- ment the Mesohippus, from the Oligocene period, which exhibited unmistakable evidences of rapid progression toward the modern horse. This form was eighteen inches in height, and had virtu- ally lost all but three toes. The middle toe is Fig. 424. Prejvalsky horse (aie Prejvalskii). After Osborn, enlarged, and bears more of the weight of the animal, although the two remaining toes still touch the ground. An important side line was discovered in the Hypohippus (Leidy) or “forest horse,” in eastern Colorado, in 1901. This form was forty inches high, provided with large lateral toes which supported the animal on the soft marshes of that period. During the same year, the explorers, working with the aid of the Whitney fund, discovered the re- mains of several three-toed horses, some of which were widely different from the “forest horses.” This form, called the Hipparion (Neohipparion), was distinguished by a remarkable deer-like con- formation which indicated the development of great speed. Osborn says, ““Neohipparion was pro- portioned like the Virginia deer, delicate and extremely fleet-footed, surpassing the most highly bred modern: race horse in its speed, and with a frame fashioned to outstrip any type of modern hunting horse, if not of the Thoroughbred.” These somewhat extreme developments of structure soon became extinct, while the Protohippus of interme- diate form became the direct progenitor of the modern horse. In this type we find but one toe touching the ground, with two lateral and rudimentary toes corresponding to the splints in the modern horse. The last stage in the development is represented by Equus, the modern horse, which is characterized by graceful limbs, terminating in a dense hoof coy- ering the single middle toe. The remaining toes have disappeared, but vestiges of two toes are to be found in the splints on both fore- and hind-legs. HORSE 419 The present horse is much larger than any of the prehistoric forms. The gradual development of the giant draft horse of today, from the early Hohip- pus, a small dog-like animal no larger than the fox terrier, is a most interesting phenomenon. Connecting and side branches of the modern horse and the prehistoric forms described above are probably to be found in the zebra, the wild ass, and an interesting form of the wild horse called Prejvalsky horse. (Fig. 424.) The latter was dis- covered on the Dzungaria desert in western Mon- golia, in 1881, by Poliakoff. This horse very much resembles the drawings found in the French caves, along with other relics of the stone age. Modern Equide.—The present living forms of the Hquide include three types: Equus cabal- lus, the horse proper ; H#. asinus, or the wild ass, and the #. zebra, related to the various striped forms of zebras and quaggas. The £. caballus 1s distinguished by long hair growing thickly on all parts of the tail, a callosity on the ‘inside and below the hock and knee, mane long and flowing, ears short, limbs long, feet broad and head small. The wild horse is dun colored and sometimes faintly striped. Wild horses are at present found in but a very few remote localities. Feral horses, called Tarpans (Fig. 425), are found on the steppes north of the sea of Azoff, between the Dneiper river and Caspian sea. The #. asinus, or wild ass (Fig. 306), is charac- terized by long ears, narrow hoofs, rather sharp back, an absence of callosities on the inside of legs, and a tail “tuft.” In a wild state, the ass is very alert, vigilant and fleet. There exists no authentic record of the time when this animal was first used by man as a beast of burden, but the Gi | ae y) Wy = a a Fig. 425. Tarpan (Equus tarpan). domestication of the ass antedated that of the horse. The zebra (Fig. 426) and quagga (Fig. 427) are much like the ass but are beautifully striped with black on a dun- or drab-colored foundation. They breed successfully with the horse, and the progeny, called a zebroid (Fig. 428), resembles the mule and is sterile. The zebra, which was long considered untameable, has been successfully broken to har- ness. The zebroid, zebrule, or zebra mule, has recently claimed much attention because of the 420 HORSE success attained in breeding it by Professor Ewart, of Pencuik, Midlothian, Scotland. The zebroid is strong and can be broken to harness and to saddle. The domesticated horse——The value of the horse as a powerful aid to man in his conquest of the Fig. 426. Zebra ( Equus zebra). earth did not at first appeal to primitive man. It appears that the horse was first used for food. He was later driven, then ridden, and lastly employed as a beast of burden. The first authentic evidence of the use of the horse by man was discovered in the cave of La Mouthe in France. In this cave, among the inter- esting relics of the stone age are drawings which represent the horse as varying somewhat in size and character but resembling closely the present wild forms. From other sources it seems certain that there existed a larger type in the south of Hurope and a much smaller form in the north. The progenitors of our present horse can not always be clearly traced. According to Ewart, Ridgeway, Osborn and others there may have been several distinct wild forms directly preceding the modern horse. Ewart has described the Celtic pony, a small dun-colored horse found in the CSS (ES Fig. 427. Quagga (Equus quagga), islands of the Hebrides and in Connemara, Ireland. This hardy animal resembles closely some of the illustrations found in the cave of LaMouthe and may have been the progenitor of the numerous HORSE pony breeds. A second form is much larger, over fourteen hands high, also of a dun color, with large coarse head and thick limbs. This form is widely distributed over Europe and Asia. The most ancient horses of the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and ancient Britons were of this type. It is also prob- able that the horses of the ancient Chinese resembled very closely this unimproved horse. Still another distinct type seems to have existed in the south and later became the foundation stock of the beautiful horses of Persia, Arabia and the Barbary states in northern Africa. It now seems probable that it is principally to this form that — we must look for the original stock of the modern Thoroughbred trotting horse, saddle horse and other races of speed horses. This ancient stock, so fruitful in ultimate results as exhibited by these highly improved blood horses, probably had its origin in the dry desert regions of northern Africa. The more modern representa- tive of this race is called the “Barb,” and it is the horse that was principally employed in the im- provement of the English Thoroughbred,—a breed of such remarkable endurance, great speed and beautiful symmetry that it has been imported into Fig. 428. Zebrul or zebroid. on Irish mare. Cross of a Burchell zebra (After Wallace.) every civilized country in the world, and has con- tributed to the founding of every important breed of light or speed horses in existence. ; A great variety of domesticated races, called breeds, have been developed from the wild forms described above. These various types may be classified as draft, coach, roadster, speed and saddle horses and ponies. The principal draft breeds in — America are the Percheron, Clydesdale, Shire, Bel- gian and Suffolk. The coach-horse type is repre- sented by the Hackney, French coach, German coach, Cleveland bay and some strains of the Amer- ican trotter. The roadster is a light driving horse, developed from the American trotter. The speed horses are the American trotter or pacer, the Orloff trotter, and the Thoroughbred or English running horse. The saddle horses are the American or Ken- tucky saddle horse, the hunter and the cavalry horse. The pony breeds are the Shetland, Welch, Exmoor, Mustang, Indian pony, and others. More recently the effort has been made to develop a par- ticular carriage type of the American trotter, and HORSE it is suggested that this new type of sub-breed be called the American carriage horse. In addition to the breeds named above, of special interest to Ameri- can readers will be the mention of the old Conestoga draft horse, which originated on the banks of the - Conestoga river in southeastern Pennsylvania. This horse was of medium size, of rugged constitution, pleasing conformation and of great endurance. The word “type” used above is a generic term, employed to designate a group composed of breeds or races of similar size, conformation and utility. The word “breed” is a specific term and applies to smaller groups of animals more closely resembling one another, and usually taking their name from the locality in which they originated. “Grade” is a term widely used to apply to animals having a preponderance of the blood of a well-recognized improved breed. A “‘cross-bred” is an animal result- ing from the mating of animals of distinct breeds. The Education, Harnessing and Gaits of the Horse. Figs. 429-435. By Thomas F. Hunt. The education, harnessing and gaits of the horse, in their practical aspects, involve many problems and much detail that cannot be given here. A few of these practical problems are indicated in the succeeding article by M. W. Harper. The referen- ces to literature at the end of this article will aid the reader in finding some of the most valuable published information on horse-training. In the great mass of literature relating to this subject, one needs to choose carefully between what is really worth while and what is largely sentiment. Education. It is not the purpose to discuss the education of the horse in detail nor to give methods by which it may be accomplished, but rather to state briefly some general principles that must underlie any successful training. For methods of training horses, as well as for the proper manner of riding, see Anderson’s “ Modern Horsemanship” and Hayes “Illustrated Horse Breaking.” It is necessary to understand the mental pro- cesses of the horse in order to train him ration- ally. His mental processes can be determined only by inference; and it may seem unjust, but if the matter is considered candidly and without senti- ment, it must be concluded that the horse is a rather stupid animal. He appears, also, to have little affection for other species of animals, man included, and, so far as man is concerned, has little love of =dmiration. The dog, for example, will do many things to please because he loves to be admired. It is doubtful, therefore, whether any system of pet- ting or cajoling as a method of horse-training is of much avail. Apparently, the horse has but limited reason (using the word for whatever mental processes are present with the horse), much more limited than that of the elephant or the dog. On the other hand, the horse seems to have an excellent, per- haps rather extraordinary, memory. If a horse is HORSE 421 conquered by means of properly arranged straps and ropes, he does not seem'to be able to reason that when the straps and ropes are taken off he could run away if he chose. While he seems always to remember that the pulling on the bit, which was done at the same time his front feet were pulled up, was intended to make him stop, he does not seem to be able to reason that it was the pulling his feet off the ground and not the pulling on the bit that stopped him during his first lesson. Both because of his most excellent memory and poor reasoning power, it is very important that every stage in the process of training should be successful. The spirit of bravado should not permit the undertaking of a step which cannot be accom- plished with certainty. If a horse throws one off he is not likely to forget it, and is just as likely to do it again as to do any other thing that he has been trained to do. If he learns that certain things will not hurt him he will generally remain gentle to their influences. As in the child, the vividness with which impres- sions are made on the horse’s mind determines, to some extent, the accuracy and certainty with which they are remembered. Herein often lies the value of those horse-breaking methods that induce the horse to resist, and that at the same time contrive effectually to overcome this resistance. The im- pression made during the fight is so indelibly im- pressed on the horse’s mind that he rarely forgets it. Habit is also an important factor, and hence the repetition of lessons is essential to the thorough education of the horse. During lessons, the trainer should receive the undivided attention of the horse. It is desirable, therefore, to train him in a comparatively small enclosure, say seventy-five to one hundred feet in diameter, and containing no other person or objects which may attract the horse’s attention, except the trainer, and an assistant, if needed. For the same reason, a single lesson should not be too long, since when the horse becomes tired his attention can not be secured. The ultimate purpose of training is to make the horse understand and obey signals. Signals may be made with the voice, the whip or the lines. In any case, they should be made clearly, and a given signal should be made for a single purpose. Per- haps the greatest fault with persons in handling horses is that they do not use their signals consist- ently, and do not insist on the horse obeying them. If “whoa” is used as a signal for a horse to stop, it should not be used when it is desired merely that the horse should go slower, but some other signal should be used, as for example, “steady.” The rea- son more confusion is not experienced in the use of the signal “whoa” is from the fact that the user consciously or unconsciously modifies the volume of the voice, and the horse depends on this emphasis for his signal. Obviously, a change both in the word used and the volume of the voice would be more desirable. Manifestly, the command to stop should precede and not succeed a pull on the bit. One would hardly think of whipping a child before telling him 422 HORSE to shut the door in order to make sure of his com- mand being obeyed. One should not pull on the bit both to make a horse stop and to make him go faster. The horses that ran away when pressure was put on the bit and ran faster the more the pressure was exerted, but stopped immediately when the driver slackened the lines, were not vicious horses. They were simply obeying the sig- nals their former driver had unwittingly taught them. Punishment, whether by pressure on the bit or otherwise, should cease the moment the horse does what is desired of him. Punishment may be inflicted to induce a horse to perform an act or to refrain from the performance of an act, but must never be inflicted after the act is performed, no matter how undesirable the act may be. One may properly punish horses to cause them to pass an automobile, but to inflict pain after they have passed it will only give them just cause for fear the next time they meet one. A bit or the arrangement of the bit that con- stantly hurts the horse gives him no idea of what is wanted of him. Almost any horse will do as directed to avoid pain, provided he understands his directions and provided doing it actually relieves him from the pain. The horse or the child that is punished whether he does right or wrong, is just as likely to do the wrong thing as the right thing. The use of the martingale is a good example of the proper and improper application of punish- ment. The standing martingale is attached directly to the snaffle-bit, while the rings of the ordinary kind slide on the rein. The martingale is used with the saddle horse to prevent him carry- ing his head too high or too nearly horizontal, or to prevent him hitting the rider with his head. With the standing martingale, every time the horse throws his head too high the punishment is inflicted, and the moment he holds his head prop- erly he gets immediate relief. With the ordinary martingale, a rider is about as likely to pull on the bits whether the head is high or low. This principle of punishment only for the pur- pose of securing obedience to properly conveyed and properly understood signals, and the immedi- ate cessation when a signal is obeyed, is the key- note of successful horse-training. Harness. When the harness with which a horse is dressed comes to be examined critically, certain parts will be found to serve essential purposes, while other parts may be found to be like the buttons on the back of a gentleman’s coat, remnants of former customs or conditions. Obviously, harness may serve three main purposes; viz., to enable the horse to move the vehicle, to enable the driver to guide the animal or regulate his speed, and to improve the appearance of the animal or add to the impressiveness of the equipage as a whole. The collar, hames, tugs, breeching and neck- yoke strap are concerned chiefly in the movement of the vehicle, The back-band may serve a variety HORSE of purposes. In some instances it supports the shafts, while in others, it, in connection with the — belly-band, gives anchorage for the neck-yoke strap. In connection with the coupler it also serves as an attachment for the check-rein. When breeching is used, the back-band is sometimes omitted, the check-rein, if present, being supported by the hames. Since practically all the force of propulsion is conveyed through the collar, this becomes the most important single item of harness in the draft horse. It is essential that the collar should be the proper size and shape and the hames properly adjusted. Obviously, the aim should be to dis- tribute the pressure of the collar as widely and evenly on the shoulders as possible. If the tugs are adjusted too low, there is danger of too much pressure on the point of the shoulder, causing col- lar boils; if too high, there may be too much pres- sure on the neck, causing soreness there. The point of attachment may need to be modified for the same horse, depending on the direction of the tug. Wheeled vehicles permit of a more nearly horizontal line of draft than do plows, harrows and similar tools. The bridle and lines form a means by which signals are conveyed by the driver to the horse. While there area multiplicity of bits intended to convey varying degrees of pressure or pain, in general the simpler the form and the less the pain inflicted the easier the horse is controlled. In fast driving or riding, more pressure on the bit is desir- able than at the slower gaits, because of the more constant and delicate guidance required. With regard to the use of bits, it is necessary to remem- — ber that the horse is a sentient being having indi- viduality which may amount to idiosyncrasy, and that, therefore, the bit which gives the best result with one horse may not be best for another. In order to understand fully the uses of bits, it is necessary to distinguish between the different purposes for which horses are employed. For work horses, both the lines and the check-rein are attached to an ordinary snaffle-bit. The side check-rein is used, the chief purpose of which is to prevent the horse getting his head to the ground and thus getting into mischief when left standing. Since a horse can pull most advantageously when his head is low and well forward, the check-rein should permit a reasonable movement of the head. In the case of driving horses or coach horses, draft is less essential, while speed or action becomes the — important consideration. Speed is increased by raising the center of gravity and thrusting it for- ward. Action is increased at the expense of speed by raising the center of gravity and thrusting it backward. Since, in the horse, the center of gravity is modified by the movement of the head, it is pos- sible to modify speed or action by changing the position of the head. In driving horses, therefore, a snaffle-bit is used for the lines, while a straight bit attached to an overdraw check is used to raise the head and cause it to assume a somewhat hori- zontal position, thus throwing the center of gravity of the horse forward and upward, HORSE In coach horses, action is demanded, but great speed is not required. In other words, the coach horse is expected to raise his feet as high as may be with relatively small forward movement. This is facilitated by bringing the horse’s head into a comparatively vertical position at the same time that it is raised. To bring this about, a curb-bit is used, the lines being attached to the longer arms of the lever, and the curb forming the resistance to the shorter arm. Side-reins are used to keep the head up. These are sometimes attached to the cen- ter rings of the curb-bit, but, to secure the best results, the check-rein should be attached to a separate snaffle-bit, for reasons given in explaining the use of the martingale. The horse may be ridden with either the snaffle- or the curb-bit, but for high-class work, both should be employed. The curb-bit is used at the gallop and the single-foot, while the snaffle-bit is used at the walk and trot. The two bits add to the safety of the rider and increase the distinctness with which signals can be conveyed. Many trotting horses are transformed into coach horses by substituting curb-bits and side-reins for snafile-bit and overdraw check, replacing the breast- collar with the ordinary collar, and by docking the tail. Sometimes heavier shoes are also put on, to make the horse lift his feet higher, and not reach so far forward. Driving-horses with breast-collars should have bridles, rings, and other metal parts as inconspicuous as possible. Coach horses may have hames, buckles, rings and other metal trimmings made prominent by the use of nickel, brass, silver or gold, according to the taste and means of the owner. Gaits. There are four distinct gaits or types of locomo- tion, viz., the amble or pace, the trot, the walk and the gallop. There are also several intermediate gaits. Thus, the so-called gaited saddle horse may go the last three of these distinct gaits and two intermediate gaits, the rack and the running- walk. In place of the running-walk, other inter- mediate gaits are permitted, but the true amble or pace is not allowed as a saddle gait. There is great difficulty in distinguishing and classifying the intermediate gaits because there may be all sorts of gradations between the distinct types. This will be clear if these gaits are represented diagrammatically. Let the shaded areas represent the right feet and the solid black areas the left feet. In the diagrams (Figs. 429-435) let the upper line represent the front feet and the lower line the hind- feet. The three gaits may then be represented as shown in Figs. 429-431. It will be readily seen Fig. 429. The pace or amble. that in the pace or amble (Fig. 429) the lateral bipeds strike the ground simultaneously and make two beats for one step; that in the trot (Fig. 430) Fig. 430. The trot. the diagonal bipeds strike the ground together and thus again make two beats for one whole step ; while in the walk (Fig. 481) there is a condition Fig. 431. The walk. just half-way between the pace and the trot, con- sequently each foot strikes the ground separately, making four equally spaced beats. It is perfectly evident that there may be all sorts of gradations between the pace and the walk or between the walk and the trot. If a horse went a gait that was just half-way between a pace and a walk, it would be represented as in Fig. 432. It will be seen that Fig. 432. The rack. in this case each foot strikes the ground separately; but instead of being equally spaced there are four unequally spaced beats, giving the familiar sound of the singlé-footer : peck-a-peck, half-a-peck. It is probable that the single-foot is not just half-way between the walk and the pace, but that it is nearer the pace than the walk. A gait half-way between the walk and the trot would be represented as in Fig. 433. In this case —_— a_i __ aaa Fig. 433. The running-walk. each foot strikes the ground separately and in un- equally spaced beats, but instead of the lateral bipeds being closely associated it is the diagonal bipeds that are associated. In the gaits that have just been described there are either two or four beats to a complete step. In the gallop, however, there may be but three beats. In this gait, assuming the horse to be off the ground, he strikes the ground first with one hind- foot, say the right, then simultaneously with the left hind-foot and right fore-foot and then with the left fore-foot. Sometimes, although less frequently, the horse strikes the ground with, say, the right hind-foot, then with both left feet and then with and more the diagonal the right fore-foot. This is known as the lateral or disunited gallop (Fig. 434), while the former usual gallop is known as orunitedgal- jig. 434. Lateral or lop(Fig.435). — disunited gallop. Fig. 435. Diagonal or united gallop. 424 HORSE The horse in the gallop is said to lead with the foot that strikes the ground last. Inasmuch as the horse strikes the ground first with one hind-foot and leaves it from’ the diagonal fore-foot, while the other diagonal biped receives the concussion at the intermediate beat, it is evident that it is desirable for saddle horses to be able to change the lead in order to rest themselves and in order that the diagonal biped shall not be prematurely worn out. When a horse gallops in a circle, the center of gravity is thrown in to overcome centrif- ugal force. As the horse is in danger of falling inward under these circumstances he should and generally will lead with his inner fore-foot. Ad- vantage can be taken of this fact to teach a horse to change his lead from one to the other fore-foot. If a horse is ridden in a small circle to the right, the rider throwing his own weight inward and turning the horse’s head slightly outward at the start, it will tend to make the horse lead with the inner fore-foot. The lead may be reversed by rid- ing to the left. After the horse will take the lead readily by riding either to the right or to the left, he may be ridden in the figure eight, in which case he should change the lead as he changes from one circle to the other. When a horse is thus trained he may be induced to lead with the right foot when moving in a straight line by turning the head slightly to the left while the rider throws his own weight to the right. To lead on the left foot, reverse the operation. For the purpose of simplicity, only the order and association of beats have been represented in the diagrams. As a matter of fact, at the walk a horse has at certain times three feet on the ground, while in the fast trot there are times when all the feet are off the ground. In the run- ning-walk and in the broken amble or rack, at times the horse has three feet on the ground, but not for so large a proportion of the time as in the walk. Literature. Goubaux and Barrier, The Exterior of the Horse, translated by Simon J. J. Harger, J. B. Lippincott Company (1892) ; Anderson and Collier, Riding and Driving, New York (1905); Herbert, Frank Forester’s Horse and Horsemanship of the United States, 2 Vols., New York (1871) ; Marvin, Training the Trotting Horse, New York (1892) ; Anderson, Modern Horsemanship; Hayes, Illus- trated Horse Breaking; Roberts, The Horse, the Macmillan Company (1905). [For further refer- ences, see page 416.] Practical Horse-training and Handling. Figs. A36, 437. By Merritt W. Harper. Not every person is fitted by nature for the training and care of horses, as the large number of vicious and spoiled horses indicates. Many of the ailments of horses are due, not so much to bad breeding, as to faulty training and ignorant, brutal driving. When the horse has been well HORSE trained, he may be depended on, especially if this training is given in his early years. He will never forget these early lessons. In the training of the horse, it is of very little use to try to lay down set rules. The man who trains colts finds new situations to deal with in every individual he undertakes to educate. In training the horse, there are a few things that should always be kept in mind. A horse should never be trusted more than is necessary. A good horseman never runs a risk when it can be avoided. Many distressing accidents occur from trusting old family horses. The harness and other equipment should be of good quality and in good repair. Children, women or incompetent men - should never be left in charge of horses unless the animals are thoroughly acquainted with them. Horses should be tied about the neck by a strong rope or strap, the latter passed through the ring of the bit and then to the hitching-post. Training colts. There is far too much fuss made about training young horses. If the training is made a gradual process, it will be accomplished much as a matter of course. If, however, colts are allowed to run practically wild until three or four years old, and are then suddenly caught and an attempt made to force them into use quickly, there is likely to be more or less trouble. In training colts, often the mistake is made of trying to teach them too much at one time. The colt should understand his first lesson and have it thoroughly learned before another is attempted. Perhaps the first lesson should be to “halter, break” the young animal. A strong, well-fitting halter, not a new one, but one that has recently been used and therefore familiar to his sense of smell, should be placed on him, and he should be tied short near to his dam and in such a position that he cannot pull back too far or throw and choke himself. He must be tied securely so that there is no danger of his breaking loose, for if he breaks loose once he is likely to try it again. Colts should be treated gently but firmly. It is well to avoid making great pets of them, as petted animals are usually difficult to train. After becoming familiar with the halter so that he will stand tied, he may be taught to lead (Fig. 436). If the method indicated is unavailable, the trainer may take a fairly long lead strap, get behind him and make him go ahead. The trainer should not stand in front and pull on the colt’s head, for he will wall his eyes, shake his head and step back. It is a gooe practice to allow the colt to accompany his mother by tying the lead strap to her hame or collar; thus he becomes used to walking and trotting beside another horse. Training to bit and harness.—It is perhaps best to train horses to the use of the bit and harness when they are about two years of age. With rare exceptions, the colt is made usable if for a few hours each day for a week he is subjected to the restraint of a bitting harness in an open paddock This harness consists of an open bridle with a large, cee HORSE smooth bit and check-rein, a surcingle and crupper, and two side-lines running from the bit to buckles on either side of the surcingle. (Fig. 437.) The check- and side-reins should be left slack at first. {. Bose rr i Aen ag 7d Wy NE SIL Mee Mel, Wes | VaMeye, Hata. Fig. 436. A colt harnessed to be taught to lead. onal Coke ) uy dG ily Uff YY SS Gradually, from day to day, the reins should be shortened, care being taken that they are never made so short as to place the head in an uncom- fortable position, or draw the bit so tightly as to make the corners of the mouth sore. Real lines may now be substituted for the side-rein, and the colt driven around until he will respond to the rein, stop at the word “whoa” and step forward at the ecommand “get up.” After the colt has become used to the bitting apparatus and to understand such simple com- mands as “ whoa,” “get up” and “steady,” he may be harnessed. The colt should be trained to stand absolutely still when being harnessed, saddled, or when it is desired that he should doso. A horse that is continually stepping around while he is being harnessed, is but half broken at best. The attendant should be gentle about all these things at first, but should go through with everything that is undertaken. New harness should not be used, but that which has been in constant use, preferably by some horse that the colt knows. After having been driven with the bitting appa- ratus for a time, and when the colt is rather tired, he should be put in his stall and the collar brought to him; he may smell of it if he likes, and then it should be put right on as if he were an old horse. The harness should be placed gently over his back. The attendant should not stand off as if the horse were a kicking cow; he should walk behind him, put the crupper strap on, then step to the side and fasten the bands. The horse is then ready to hitch to a vehicle. Mitching double.—A well-trained, gentle but active horse should be taken if the colt is active, for it is a mistake to hitch a quick, active colt with a slow, lazy horse. The vehicle to which they are attached should be provided with a good brake. The colt should be attached to the “off-side,” and they HORSE 425 should be driven at first in a closed field until the colt learns what is wanted of him. When hitching the colt up double for the first time, it is a good practice to keep a pair of single lines on the colt’s bridle, which can be handled by an assistant. Hitching single.—When the colt is desired for single use, it is often advisable to train him to go single from the first. This may be done after he has become familiar with the bit, harness and use of the lines. A training cart for hitching colts single should be substantial, with long, heavy thills, and the seat arranged behind so that the driver can get off and on quickly. The colt should be hitched well forward. A strap, commonly called a kick-strap, attached to each thill and passed over the colt’s croup, should always be used until the colt is accus- tomed to the thills. When the colt is first hitched up, an attendant should hold him until the driver is ready, then he should be allowed to go. As soon as he becomes familiar with the vehicle, he should be compelled to stand still until he is wanted to start. Training to mount.—In training a colt to mount, one must be very careful that the colt does not succeed in throwing the trainer, for if he once gets the rider off, it is impossible to convince him that he cannot do it again. The best time to take the colt is after he has been exercised rather vigorously and while tired. The best place is on soft ground, where he can neither hurt himself nor the rider. The saddle is put on with the same confidence as the harness, and it is fastened securely. An assist- ant should hold the colt’s head while the rider mounts. The horse may rear, bound forward, buck or lie down. In any event, the rider must stay on, remembering that the colt is already tired and on soft ground. It is often an endurance trial, and this is the reason why one must have the colt tired to begin with, for otherwise he may be able to os a Sr ZK mo Fig. 437. The fittings of a colt to familiarize him witb harness and bit. bound and buck until the rider is soexhausted that he can no longer hold to the saddle. Training vicious horses. In training or handling vicious horses, it is most important to impress them very firmly that 426 HORSE the trainer has complete control over them and that they must obey him. The best way to impress this on the animal is to “rarey” him. The harness used for this consists of two short straps fitted with D-shaped rings, a surcingle and along rope. The straps are buckled around the front pasterns, and the surcingle around the body. One end of the long rope is tied into the ring in the strap that goes around the pastern of the “near” front foot. The free end is then passed through a ring on the under side of the surcingle and then down through the ring at the other pas- tern. Then the rope end is brought up and passed through a ring, tied about half way down the “off” side of the surcingle. If the animal becomes unruly, all that is needed is to pull on the rope; this brings the front feet up to the chest and the animal comes down on his knees and nose. A few hard falls usually are sufficient for the most incor- rigible. This is a very dangerous practice and should be undertaken only as a last resort. It sometimes happens that horses permanently injure their knees, or even break their necks as a result of a fall. Balking. Balking is the refusal on the part of the horse to do the work required when he fully understands what is wanted of him. It is often caused by improper handling, although sometimes by a vicious disposition. Balking is usually associated with ner- vous temperament, and all influences that tend to irritate the horse should be removed when possible. It is essential that the trainer be quiet and not lose his temper, as shouting, jerking and whipping only make matters worse. Often if the horse is allowed to stand quietly until the nervousness passes away, he will start of his own accord. Attracting his attention by adjusting the harness, giving him an apple, a bit of sugar, or by lifting the foot and gently pounding the shoe, will often overcome the difficulty. Aalter-pulling. Allhorses that have this habit should be securely tied by a stout neck-strap or rope. Often they can be broken of the habit by placing a small rope, say one-quarter inch, around the body just back of the fore-legs, passing the rope between the fore-legs, then through the ring of the halter, and tie to the post. When the horse pulls back, the rope draws down on his back and he will usually cease. Another method is to tie one end of the small rope around the tail in the form of a crupper, the other end being passed along the back, through the halter-ring and to the post. When he pulls back, the force is exerted on the tail, and he soon stops. Harnessing. Good harness is one of the best advertisements a horseman can have. It is economical to buy good leather and then keep it in good condition. Harness oils and dressing are cheap and it does not take long to fix up a double set of harnesses. The metal parts should be kept bright and clean. There HORSE is considerable art in harnessing a horse just right The harness, from the bridle to the crupper, should — fit; that is, it should be neither too loose nor too tight. In harnessing, saddling or handling a horse, the work should be done from the left side of the animal, and the equipment fastened and unfastenec from that side. In putting on the harness it should — be gently but firmly placed on the animal. O: should see that all loose flapping straps avoided. The collar is, perhaps, the most important part of the harness to be looked after. If the colt’s shoulders are tender they are rather likely to show abrasions. In this case, the collar must be kept scrupulously clean and the shoulders may bathed at morning, noon and night with cold salt water. If one is working a colt or a fleshy horse, he must be on guard to see that it does not lose flesh and the collar become too large. Breast-col- lars are admissable when the load is light. They must not be adjusted so high as to choke the horse or so low as to interfere with the action of his limbs. - Perhaps the bridle is the next important item. The length of the head-stall must be so adjusted as to bring the bit in mild contact with the bars of the mouth, so that the animal will respond quickly to the slightest pressure on the lines. If the head- — stall of the bridle is too short, the bars and corners of the mouth soon become sore and the animal — finally becomes unresponsive; on the other hand, if too long, the horse becomes careless of the driver’s wishes. As to the advisability of using blinds, there is a great diversity of opinion. If the horse works better with an open bridle, it should , be used ; if better with a blind bridle, the blind — should be used. : The check-rein should be properly adjusted. There are two kinds of check-reins, the over-draw and the side-rein. The over-draw, if worn tight, is nothing short of cruel; it makes the horse hold his head in an uncomfortable and unsightly posi-— tion. If no check-rein is used, most horses become slovenly and careless in their habits. The erupper needs careful attention. It should fit and be kept clean, lest it abrade the tail and produce a vicious — horse. ; as Driving. Driving is an art that does not lend itself well to instruction by the medium of words. The inde- scribable qualities which, rightly commingled, make — the good driver, cannot be acquired from books, but must, in a large measure, be born in the horse- man. Study, observation and especially practice, will add to his ability, but all that may be written _ will not make one adept. The understanding be- — tween horse and driver is so keen that the horse ~ is inspired with courage and obedience by the slightest touch on the reins or by the cheery voice — of the driver. On the other hand, careless and — lazy drivers are the source of far more disobedient horses than is generally supposed. Just as surely as the driver is shiftless, the horse will soon become so, : HORSE Position of the reins in driving.—The most con- venient way to hold the lines when driving is to take them in the left hand, the left rein coming into the hand over the first finger, the right com- ing into the hand between the second and third fingers. The guiding is to be done with the right hand which manipulates the lines. The left arm should hang naturally, with the forearm at a right angle, and the elbow close to the body. This posi- tion gives the driver the best control over the lines, and at the same time is very comfortable. Rules of the road.—There are a few common rules in practice that should be observed by every one when riding or driving on the highways. In general, when two vehicles meet, they should each turn to the right, each yielding more than one-half of the road. This rule applies, no matter where the vehicle may be. If, however, one of the vehicles is heavy laden and cannot yield one-half of the road, it must stop and let the lighter rig go around. It is the rule for the driver of the heavy laden vehicle to aid the driver of the lighter one to get around when such aid is needed. In some states, a pedes- trian or a man on horse-back is entitled to half the road, the same as if he were in a carriage. If be- hind a vehicle, and it is desired to drive around, the rear vehicle should drive to the left. Asa rule, the driver of the small moving vehicle will bear off to the right if signalled. However, he is under no obligations to do so in most states. When there are two worn tracks, or on the city streets, each driver is supposed to keep to the right track or curb, as the case may be. Training saddle horses. Classes of saddle horses.—In a discussion of the education of the saddle horse, it is well, perhaps, to mention briefly the different classes of saddle horses. There are four distinct classes: The plain- gaited, usually called the walk-trot-canter horse ; the gaited saddle horse; the hunter; and the high- school horse. The plain-gaided horse is required to walk, trot and canter only, but he must do these few gaits very well or he is of little value as a saddler. The gaited saddle horse is required to go five gaits. He must walk, trot, canter and rack ; and for the fifth he may choose any one of the three slow gaits, running-walk, slow pace and fox-trot. It often happens that he is able to go all three of these, which, in addition to the four that he must go, makes seven distinct and unmixed gaits. The hunter must go the walk, trot and canter, and in general, is similar to the plain-gaited saddler. How- ever, in addition to the plain gaits, he must be able to hurdle—jump hurdles, fences, ditches and the like. The high-school horse is required to go the gaits of the gaited saddler and many others, some thirty-four in all. The training of a saddle horse is an art that can- not be learned from books, but must, in a sense, be born in the man, or be learned at the school of practice and experience. Walk.—We will start with the horse at the walk, as that is the foundation of all saddle gaits. The horse should be provided with a double-rein bridle HORSE 427 with both curb- and snaffle-bits. When ready to start, the rider pulls up lightly on the snaffle-bit and urges him to the top of his speed at the flat- foot walk. The horse is held steady, andif heisa . good walker, he should go four to five miles per hour. Running-walk, fox-trot or slow pace-——The next step is the running-walk, fox-trot or slow pace. The snaffle-rein is loosened, the curb-reins are lightly drawn up and the animal is urged just out of a walk. These gaits are faster than the walk but slower than the rack. When well performed, they are delightful riding. Whichever of the three gaits the horse strikes, when urged out of the walk, he he should be held steady, and not allowed to forge ahead into a rack or trot, or fall back into a walk. Rack.—The rack may be tried next. For this, a smooth, hard road is desirable, as it is a hard gait on the horse and if the road is soft or rough it will fatigue him. The rider increases the pressure on the curb-rein, grips the horse with the knees so that he will feel the clasp, and at the same time gently uses the spurs. A horse is taught to rack by spurring him forward and curbing him back. The rider must hold him steady and not let him fall into a side-wheel pace. If he falters, the spur is used lightly. The curb-reins are then slackened, the horse taught to slow down at the command “steady” and allowed to come to a walk. Trot.—After the rack, thé trot may be under- taken. The snaffle-reins are drawn up, letting the curb-reins hang free; some horsemen, however, prefer to execute the trot on the curb-reins rather than the snaffle-reins. The horse is urged forward, and as he starts off, the rider rises in the saddle. The horse should take the trot at once. If he does not, he is brought to the walk and again started. At the start some trainers reach forward and grasp the animal by the mane, well up the neck. What- ever signals are employed, the same signals should always be used for a given gait. When the horse strikes a square trot, he is held to it steady. Canter. —The canter, the most graceful and enjoyable gait when perfectly performed, may next be tried. The horse is taken in hand, and pulled together until his legs are under him; the curb- rein is taken in lightly, the rider leans forward, urging him to move off quickly, and at the same time saluting him by raising the right hand so that he may see it. He should take the canter at once. If he does not, he is brought to a walk and again started. The moment he does strike the canter, he is held steady until the lesson is complete. This code of signals is in ordinary use in the South, where riding is a popular pastime. All horses will not respond to these signals. The indi- viduality of each animal must be worked out, and the trainer govern himself accordingly. Position for riding.—Hach of the saddle gaits requires a special position of the rider. All men are not of the same build and each must take a position to suit him. For these reasons and others, no specific rules can be laid down for the position of the rider. Only general directions can be given. The rider should sit in the middle of the saddle, resting hig 428 HORSE weight on his buttocks; he should hold his body and head erect; shoulders well back ; chest thrown slightly forward; left fore-arm horizontal, elbow close to body; right hand hanging naturally; thighs nearly parallel to the horse’s shoulders, and in close contact with the horse’s body, the lower part of the legs hanging naturally. The ball of the foot should rest on the tread of the stirrup, and the heels should be a little lower than the toe. The stirrup straps should both be of the same length and not so long as to render the tread insecure, or so short as to cramp the leg. Position of reins when riding.— The most con- venient way to hold the reins when riding is to take them in the left hand, the left curb-rein coming into the hand around the little finger, the right curb- rein between the first and second fingers; the left snaffle between the third and little fingers, and the right snaffle between the second and third fingers. Practical horsemen differ as to whether the curb- reins or the snaffle-reins should be on the inside. The guiding is to be done with the right hand, which manipulates the reins. The left arm should hang naturally, with the forearm at a right angle and the elbow close to the body. In this position one has the reins separate and under good control. Literature. For references, see pages 416 and 424. Feeding the Horse. By Merritt W. Harper. One who studies the practices of successful horsemanship will become strongly impressed with the fact that there are many ways of securing the desired end, high finish and fine action, in the horse. If in any locality we study the rations in most common use, we will find them usually com- posed of only one or two kinds of grain and the same limited number of coarse dry fodders, the feeder insisting that this is the most practical and economical ration he can feed with safety. One need not travel far to find the list more or less changed, sometimes entirely so, yet with the same claim to superiority or necessity as before. In the northern states, the most common feeds for the horse are corn or oats for the grain, and clover or timothy hay for the roughage; in the West, crushed barley is the common grain, while the hay comes largely from the wild oat and barley plants ; in the South, corn serves mainly for the concen- trates, with dry corn leaves for the roughage. Thus it seems that each section is rather limited in the variety of foods composing the ration. Horsemen in the northern states often state that, with plenty of sound oats and good timothy hay at hand, they care nothing for other food articles. While it is true that a horse can be maintained on this ration, and many race horses are fed no other food during their severe campaigns, yet it seems reasonable that equally good or better results might be obtained, and the cost of the ration often lessened, by feeding a ration containing more variety, especially for other types of horses than HORSE those of the race-course. If energy and spirited action were the only qualities desired in the horse, then, perhaps, oats and timothy hay might suffice ; but when we take into account the number and complexity of the various organs in the ‘body, we can well understand that these might be better nourished by several grains and forage plants than by a few. A ration is ordinarily considered well varied if it furnishes four different materials. The food should come from different plants ; if possible, from different natural orders. A ration that is composed entirely of grasses and cereals would not afford the same variety to the animal as one in which leguminous foods were given in part. The feeding system. Whatever feeding-stuffs are employed in the ration, the horse should be fed regularly and uni- formly at all times. He anticipates the feeding hour, and becomes nervous if it is delayed. His digestive system, his entire organism, becomes accustomed to a certain order which must obtain if one is to be successful. The digestive apparatus of the horse is not nearly so large relatively as that of the cow or sheep; he has no rumen, no place to store his food to be masticated at will; hence, when at work he must be fed regularly and often. Successful horse-feeding differs much from that of most other domestic animals. Cattle, sheep and pigs are fed to produce gain in weight or, in the case of the milch cow and sheep, to produce body secretions in the form of milk and wool, whereas horses are fed almost exclusively as beasts of bur- den, whether the work consists in carrying a rider or in drawing a load. In late years, a new indus- try has sprung into existence, that of fattening horses for the market. This has become as much a regular business as feeding steers. Because of the small size of the horse’s stomach, the order of administering grain, hay and water assumes much importance. Colim’s investigations on the stomach of the horse show that this organ must fill and empty itself two or three times for each feed given. From this experiment, it appears that during the fore part of the meal, the material is pushed, almost as soon as it enters the stomach, into the intestines by the food that follows; while toward the end of the meal, the passage is slow, and the digestion in the stomach is more perfect. Marlot, conducting experiments in France, showed that if a horse is fed his grain first and then watered, much of the food is carried by the water into the intestines. Since the grain of the ration is rich in protein, it should stay in the stomach as long as possible, as the digestion of this nutrient is more complete there. Thus it would seem that the horse should be given water first, and that it should be followed by hay, the grain being withheld until at least a part of the hay has been consumed. There are, however, very serious objections to this prac- tice, as the horse is unsatisfied and very nervous until fed his grain, and we should not make him wait for the grain until he has consumed the hay allowance. A middle ground may be taken by HORSE watering first, feeding the grain, sprinkled with a small allowance of moistened chaffed hay, and watering again after the ration has been consumed. If this practice is followed, it will satisfy the desire of the horse by supplying the most palatable part of his food early, and yet insure the retention of the grain in the stomach for a considerable period. Sanborn, studying the effects of watering before and after eating, reports in bulletin No. 9, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, as follows: (1) Horses watered before feeding grain retained their weight better than when watered after feeding grain; (2) horses watered before feeding had the better appetites or ate the most; (8) horses watered after feeding grain, in ration of food eaten, seemed to digest it as well as those watered before feed- ing; (4) it seems advisable to water both before and after feeding. When horses are taxed to the limit of their endurance, the preparation of the food should receive much attention. In this case all grains should be ground and sprinkled with moist chaffed hay when fed. Food thus prepared is more thor- oughly and rapidly masticated. Long hay, of course, should be supplied the animal, to be consumed at leisure. As hay is always more or less dusty, it should be administered in such manner as to cause the horse the least annoyance. Moistening or sprinkling the hay with water is the simplest way to reduce this trouble toa minimum. Dusty hay should be avoided whenever possible. Salt in limited quantities should be kept before the horse at all times. While little is known from investigation on this subject, it is evident from the extreme fondness of the horse for salt that it should be regularly supplied him. It is best not to place too much before him at a time, as some horses will eat it to excess. The successful horseman will study each indi- vidual and modify the ration according to the needs of each: one horse should have a little more than the regular allowance, and the next possibly a little less, because some horses are more difficult to keep in condition than others doing the same work and under similar conditions. In handling horses, we should remember that they are very sensitive animals and that we can- not be too quiet in our treatment of them. Strik- ing them or shouting commands is a contemptible practice ; it causes the animals to lose confidence in their master, thereby rendering them less teach- able, and destroying nervous energy, making them less economical producers than if they were pro- tected at all times from these nervous shocks. Feeding the work horse. The work horse has a hearty appetite, a vigor- ous digestion, and responds as does no other animal to intelligent care. He should be fed liberally and frequently, the amount given being regulated by the size of the animal as well as by the amount and kind of work he is required to do. In general, the horse should be supplied with something over two pounds of provender daily for each hundred pounds of weight, Of this, about two-thirds—the HORSE 429 exact amount depending on the severity of the labor—should be grain in some form. If the work is exceedingly heavy, the grain in the ration should be increased and the hay diminished ; if the work is light, the grain should be diminished and the hay increased. The morning meal should be com- paratively light, and consist mostly of grain. It should not possess much bulk. In many of the larger stables, the midday meal is omitted. But most horsemen hold that some grain should be given at noon. In any case, the midday ration should not be large. The heavy feeding should come at night, after the day’s work is over and when the animal has time to masticate and digest his food. A very good practice is as follows: For the morning ration, feed one-fourth of the daily allow- ance at least one hour before going to work. It should be in condition to be consumed easily and rapidly, so as to be well out of the way when the animal is led from the stable. After being watered, he is ready for his morning’s task. If the work is exhaustive and exacting, he should be fed after five hours of labor. When he comes to the stable at midday, he should have a drink of fresh, cool water, care being taken that he does not drink too rapidly or gorge himself if very warm. At this time give him another quarter of his daily allow- ance. No greater service can be rendered the horse at this time than removing the harness so that he can eat his meal in quiet and comfort, and gain a few moments of much needed rest. If pos- sible, he should have one hour to consume his meal. He should be watered again before going to work. When the horse comes to the stable in the even- ing, tired and warm, he should be allowed, first of all, a fresh, cool drink, care being taken as before that he does not drink too rapidly. He is now ready for the remainder of his day’s allowance. Unharness at once, and, when the sweat has dried, give him a thorough brushing. If, for some reason, the horse is forced to stand idle in the stable for a few days, the ration should be decreased. Other- wise he will become stocky, with his legs swollen and stiff. In cold weather, a more carbonaceous ration may be used. When more food goes to furnish heat for the body, a horse needs a large proportion of heat-making food. Equal parts of corn and oats by weight would be more satisfactory and ordinarily much cheaper than a larger proportion of oats. Most farmers have much less work for the horse in winter than in summer. It is an excellent practice and much more economical to rough through the winter those not needed for work. Those reserved for work should have good care and be fed accord- ing to the amount and kind of work performed. In providing a ration, whether for summer or winter use, due consideration should be given to cost. Roughage is ordinarily much cheaper than grain, but a horse at work is unable economically to dispose of a large quantity of bulky food. If considerable time and energy must be expended in masticating rough feed, the usefulness of the horse for work is lessened thereby. The more concen- 430 HORSE trated the food, within proper limits, the less energy will be needed to make it available. The proportion of grain to roughness depends on the amount and kind of work to be performed. A horse at hard work should never be expected to consume more roughage than grain by weight. Feeding the driving horse. The driving or carriage horse is more difficult to keep in condition than the work horse. The periods of enforced idleness, occasioned by lack of busi- ness engagements of his master, or because of inclement weather, are often followed by long drives and hours of over-exertion. This irregular work weakens the constitution of the driving horse, which generally has but a brief career. When daily driving cannot be practiced, under- feeding is considered the safest course. In feeding this class of horses, the same general system that has been suggested for the work horse should be followed. When the horse is not taken from the stable during the day, the concentrates, or grain part of the ration, should at once be reduced by one-third, and the normal allowance should not again be given until work is resumed. Carriage horses are usually overfed, because of the desire of the owner to keep them in the pink of condition. This over-feeding and irregular exer- cise is the cause of most of the ills of driving horses. Oats easily lead among the grains ; when these are fed, the horse exhibits mettle as from no other food. If at any time the animal should seem constipated, a bran mash should be given. While a certain amount of roughness must be fed to give bulk or volume to the ration in order that the digestive functions may be maintained properly, yet we must remember that a large abdomen can- not be tolerated in the carriage horse. Again, the feeder of this class of horses must ever be on his guard against laxative foods, such as clover or alfalfa hay, or bran in too large quantities, for when the horse is put on the road and warmed up, it will prove very draining on his system as well as disagreeable to the driver. Style and action are generally considered prerequisites, while economy in feeding, and often the health of the animal, are but secondary. Feeding the trotter. in feeding the trotting horse, all must give way to the single requisite of speed. Every pound of useless weight, whether body weight or extra food, must be worked off, otherwise it will become a serious matter in the management of the trotting horse. More important than this, however, is the effect of the food on the character of the muscle formed from it, and especially on the nerve and mettle of the horse. As in the case of the driving horse, economy in the cost of the ration is not to be considered. Everything yields to speed. When the campaign has closed, and the animal is taken into winter-quarters, the feed should be reduced by at least one-half. Good sound oats and clean, sweet timothy hay should constitute the bulk of the ration. At this time a few carrots may HORSE be given and a bran mash occasionally, for these are cooling in their nature, and have a tendency to reduce any feverish or inflammatory symptoms. Horses turned out to the field should be fed oats twice a day, as oats will keep the muscles hard and the mettle up. In the spring, when shedding, bran mash may be given more frequently to keep the bowels open. Flaxseed and linseed should seldom be given, as they are thought to be too laxative and cause too severe a shock on the system. When the horse goes into training, the strength of the food must be increased, although but slowly at first. As the oats are increased, the horse will want less hay, but may at first have all he will consume. Later it may be necessary to limit the hay, in such case one should see that he does not eat the bedding. No carrots should be given now. The bran mash may be continued once or twice a week if there is any tendency to constipation ; otherwise, it may be best to dispense with the mash altogether. During the last days of training, or just before the coming trial, he should be put on his largest allowance of strong food. The vari- ous individuals differ so very much that no defi- nite amount can be stated. It is at this time, when all eyes are centered on the trotter, that the skill of the feeder is appreciated. Wintering idle horses. On the average farm, most of the work comes during the growing season. We think it more eco- nomical and perhaps advisable that the idle horse be turned to a lot, if it affords some protection, to be roughed through the winter rather than to be confined closely in the barn. As winter comes on, these horses grow a heavy coat of hair, which affords them excellent protection. Such horses may be maintained wholly, or nearly so, on hay, straw or corn fodder, fed uncut, as they have time for masticating food, and their systems not being taxed by labor, they are able to subsist on food containing a large percentage of inert matter. — We think it better to have the digestive tract of the idle horse well distended with coarse material rather than concentrated, as would be the case if grains possessing only the requisite nutrients were supplied. If the protected area is kept dry and well bedded, horses can be wintered comfortably in this way at much less expense than by stabling. Light grain-feeding, together with some work, should begin six weeks before the spring work starts, to put the horses in condition for the spring work. Feeding the brood mare. Many farmers are situated so that they may raise a team of colts each year, without seriously inter- fering with farm operations. This is a very good practice, as there is a great demand for good horses for both city and farm purposes. A team of mares in foal can be worked until the day of foal- ing, if the work is not too severe and the driver careful. In fact, moderate exercise is necessary for the mare in foal. Idleness is the bane of horse- rearing and should be avoided whenever possible. HORSE The Arabs have a saying, “rest and fat are the greatest enemies of the horse.” Mares in foal should be fed much as suggested for the work horse, with perhaps the addition of more protein foods, as bran and oil-meal, as such foods, rich in protein and mineral matter, are valu- able for mares carrying foals. If the mare is con- stipated, bran mash may be given occasionally. Through the use of proper food, the bowels should be kept in good condition, and should be a little loose rather than otherwise at the time of parturi- tion. While the mare may be worked up to the time of foaling, she should be given several days of rest after foaling to enable her to gain her strength and give the foal the proper start. For the first few days of recuperation, a hot bran mash fed once a day has both a cooling and a laxative effect on the mare, which is very beneficial. If all has gone well with the mare and foal, the mare may be put to work at the end of one week from the time of parturition. Some dams, especially those with their first foals, fail to supply the proper amount of milk, and the young fail to make satisfactory growth, in which case the mare should be provided with food that stimulates the milk flow; good pasture grass is best, of course, but oats or wheat bran, with an equal weight of corn-and-cob meal, will often prove very beneficial. If there is an oversupply of milk, or if the milk is too rich, the food supply may be restricted. Feeding the foal. Very soon after birth, the foal should take a good draft of the colostrum, or first milk of the dam. Colostrum milk possesses purgative qualities which tend to discharge from the alimentary tract the fecal matters collected therein during fetal life. If this result is not accomplished, a small dose of castor-oil should be given the foal. With the bowels clean, the foal is ready to begin his career, and his treatment the first year will go far towards determining whether for good or bad. If the foal is obtaining an oversupply of milk, he will have an attack of diarrhea. In such case, some of the dam’s milk should be drawn, remember- ing always that the last milk carries the most fat, which is usually the cause of the trouble. Diar- rhea, whatever its cause, should be checked at once. Parched flour, rice-meal gruel, boiled milk and whites of raw eggs, are all excellent for this ailment. If the food is constipative, relief may be had by the use of castor-oil and by injections of warm water to which soap has been added. Some farmers make a practice of permitting the foal to go to the fields with the team, while others prefer to keep the foal in the stable. During the first few weeks, the foal should be fed oftener than three times per day. For this reason it is better in the field with the dam if no inconvenience is caused. When older, however, the colt may be kept in the barn and given nourishment when the dam comes from work. If this method is practiced, the driver should be careful about letting the colt to the dam when the latter is very tired and warm. HORSE 431 Tt is well to encourage colts to take nourishment other than that supplied by the dam. This supple- mentary feeding may begin when the colt is about two months old. By placing the feed-box from which the dam eats her grain, a little raised from the ground, the colt will early begin to nibble from the mother’s supply, and soon acquire a taste for grain. In this way the colt may be taught to eat, with the result that, when taken away from the dam at weaning time, it does not miss its mother so much. If eating well at the age of five or six months, the colt may be weaned without as much shrinkage as when unaccustomed to eating grain. Growing colts should have more protein than is required for the work horse. No definite rules can be given that will apply to all colts. Oats, shorts, peas and perhaps some corn, may constitute the grain. Alfalfa, clover and mixed hays, which should be sweet and clean, may constitute the roughness. Colts suffer at times from teething, and to subsist wholly on hard, dry food, may cause them to run down in flesh. At this time, if one can steam the crushed oats or bran, they will prove appetizing and very nourishing. The first winter after wean- ing is the most severe on the colt, and he should receive much attention. The “big-belly,” which is often noticed at this period, is nothing to its harm, for it is important that the digestive tract be developed to a moderate extent by distention with coarse feed, that it may serve its purpose when the animal is grown. At this period, the colt must have an abundance of outdoor exercise. There is no more certain way of ruining a colt than by liberal feeding and close confinement. Occasionally something happens to the dam and the foal must be reared by hand or perish. Cow’s milk, if modified with at least one-fourth its volume of water, together with some sugar, makes a fair substitute for the mare’s milk, but should be given at about the same temperature as the dam’s milk. Gruels made by boiling beans or peas, and removing the skins by pressing the pulp through a sieve, or oil-meal and shorts made into a jelly by boiling, are excellent for the motherless colt. Henry says that a fair grain allowance for the colt, measured in oats, is as follows: Up to one year of age, two to three pounds ; one to two years of age, four to five pounds; two to three years of age, seven to eight pounds. Feeding the stallion. The object in the management of a stallion is so to feed, groom and exercise him as to keep the horse up to the very highest possible strength and vigor. Very many owners endeavor to have the stallion in fine show condition by the time the sea- son opens. The horse is not given sufficient exer- cise, is kept closely blanketed and fed various drugs, nostrums and condimental stock-foods ; he is loaded with fat; his muscles becomes soft and flabby, and although he may seem to be in the very pink of condition, he is in reality not nearly so well fitted for service in the stud as he would have been if he had been fed on plain food, and given an abundance of exercise each day. 432 HORSE During the breeding season, the grain ration should consist mainly of good, sound oats; but this should be varied from time to time by a ration of corn, corn-and-cob meal, or perhaps barley. Wheat- bran is a valuable adjunct to the ration, and should never be dispensed with. It is rich in pro- tein,—an especially important element of nutrition for the stud,—and is the cheapest, safest and best of all regulators for the bowels. The roughness should consist of sweet clean hay, such as timothy or timothy and clover mixed. No specific directions as to quantity of food can be given. Some horses will require twice as much as others. As a rule, it will be safe to feed as much as the horse will eat with apparent relish ; and if he be given plenty of exercise he will not become too fat. The fact should be kept in mind that anything that adds to the health, strength and vigor of the horse will increase his reproductive powers, simply because the sexual organs will par- take of the general tone of the system ; and what- ever tends to impair the health and vigor will have its effect on the sexual organs as well. A horse in good condition needs nothing but sweet sound food admin- istered regularly, pure air and plenty of exercise. After the close of the season, the stallion should receive no mares; if permitted to HORSE large firm is now feeding twice daily of mixed feed,—bran, shorts and oats,—and once of corn, with good clover hay. The general rule stated in the fore part of this article, that a horse should be provided with something over two pounds of proy- ender, of which one-half to two-thirds should be grain, for each hundred pounds of weight, and that the animal should have plenty of exercise, fails com- pletely in this method of feeding, as the animals are fed all they will consume and kept closely stabled and blanketed, with frequently no exercise what- ever. As a substitute for exercise, in order to keep the blood in good order, thus preventing stock-legs, glauber salts are often used. If mixed with oats or bran, the horse consumes them readily. These salts are fed once or twice a week. It is said that the salts aid in fattening and that they give the skin a soft, mellow touch. The average feeding period is ninety to one hundred days, and an average gain of three pounds per day is satisfactory. Feeding rations. Henry, in his “Feeds and Feeding,” gives the following rations, from various sources, as a guide in determining the amount of feed that should be allowed the horse under various conditions: serve a mare occasionally he will be nervous and anxious, requiring the same attention as in the height of the season. When possible, he should be turned into a small pasture lot, securely fenced, adjoining his stall, and the door left open at all times except in extremely cold or stormy weather. If the lot affords sufficient grass, no other food need be given. At the approach of win- ter, when the grass begins to fail, he may be given a limited feed of grain each day, and all of the hay or corn stover that he will clean up nicely. In this way a stallion can be brought through the winter in an training training Colt, two years old, in Colt, three years old, in Trotting horse.—(Splan.) Horse on circuit . Horse on circuit . . . . Character of animal and work required Trotting horse.-—(Woodruff.) Colt, weaning time .. . Colt, one yearold. . .. Colt, two years old .. . Ration Concentrates Roughage 2 pounds oats Hay ad lib. 4 pounds oats Hay ad lib. 6 pounds oats Hay ad lib. cuemucmete 8 pounds oats Hay, allowance limited Sere OWS 8-12 pounds oats | Hay, allowance limited — 10 pounds oats 15 pounds oats, in exceptional cases (as with Hay, fair amount Hay, fair amount economicaland satisfactorymanner. Frynsp variously used.— Bowe) . i (Stonehenge.) Feeding a for market. Race horse!) site. .< 15 pounds oats 6-8 pounds hay In certain parts of the country, Hacksria tote ir iieelrems 8 pounds oats 12 pounds hay feeding horses for the market has Horse variously used.— become as much a regular business (Fleming.) as feeding steers. As in beef cat- Pony 4 pounds oats Hay, moderate allow- tle} quality sand! fat (eostoeether 1nnn liens ance Haloouiaiee the ee of oe Rs Hunter, small ..... 12 pounds oats 12 pounds hay aaculegl ats late oe sound, it is Hunter, liege eticn ave 16 pounds oats 10 pounds hay hardly possible to get him so fat ee abecs ig Te 10 pounds oats 12 pounds hay that buyers will object for that é draft horse.—(Sidney.) 18: poundnents reason. We have said that exces- Heavy, hard work .. . ( 6 pounds beans 15 pounds chaffed sive fattening, with little exercise, | 3 pounds corn clover hay lessens the future usefulness of the Farm horse.—(Settegast.) horse. But the shrewd business : 6-9 pounds hay man proposes to meet the demands Oo) se Genie in Fond orey of the market. Medi k 10 Astonta pounds hay The methods practiced in vari- rare cs SOT { + poe i ous parts of the country differ Heavy work. . . . . .| 18 pounds oats { 3 oaiiel pre } widely, as do the foods used. One HORSE Literature. Literature consulted in the preparation of this article was as follows: Hayes, Stable Management; Henry, Feeds and Feeding; Smith, Profitable Stock Feeding ; Sanders, Horse Breeding; Woodruff, Trot- ting Horses in America; Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1899; Principles of Horse Feeding, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 170, United States Department of Agriculture; Feeding Farm Horses and Mules, Bulletin No. 189, North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station; Feeding Horses and Mules, Bulletin No. 72, Florida Agricultural Experiment Station; Feeding Colts, Bulletin No. 18, lowa Agricultural Experiment Station; Horse Feeding, Bulletin No. 92, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station; Experiment Station Record. Determining the Age of Horses. Figs. 438-449. By H. H. Wing. The age of the horse is an important factor in determining his present and prospective value. Familiarity with the characters that most certainly indicate age are, therefore, often extremely useful. A knowledge of these characters is not difficult to secure, but skill in their application depends much on familiarity and continued practice. General considerations. In estimating the age of the horse, the teeth furnish the best index, yet there are other general considerations that play an important part, especi- ally in the case of young and very old animals. In very old horses, white hairs make their appearance around the temple, the eyes, the nostrils, and else- where; the poll or top of the head becomes more pointed, the sides of the face more depressed, the supra-orbits hollowed out; the back-bone becomes more prominent and often strongly curved down- ward, and the animal does not stand squarely on his legs, which show more wear. The lower jaws will be found much sharper in old animals than in young, because the teeth are so much more deeply incased in the alveoli in young animals. Little by little the teeth are pushed from their sockets in order to compensate for the loss occasioned by the friction of mastication, and at the same time the two borders of the lower jaw-bone are drawn to- ward each other. Another general indication is the appearance of knots or nodes on the side of the tail. These nodes are nothing more than promi- nences formed by the withering away of the flesh, thus leaving the transverse processes of the first coccygeal vertebra prominent. The first pair of these nodes should appear between thirteen and fourteen years of age ; the second should make its appearance between the sixteenth and seventeenth years ; and the third at about twenty-one years of age. Bear in mind, these considerations are general and to be considered as a whole ; each, alone, is of very little or no use. Examination of the teeth. While differences in the appearance of the teeth are considered the most impo~tant and the most C 28 HORSE 433 accurate means of estimating the age of domestic animals, and are the means employed by all horse- men, yet these are not absolutely accurate, and much depends on conditions as well as on the indi- viduality of the animal. The teeth of horses that have bones of a somewhat open structure, are likely to indicate that the horses are older than they really are ; while the teeth of horses whose bones are of fine, close texture, may indicate them to be younger than they are. Again, a horse fed on soft and suc- culent food is likely to show a young mouth, whereas one fed on hard, dry food is likely to show an older mouth. Thus, it is apparent that the tex- ture of the bones, the breeding, the kind of food the horse has eaten, and other conditions, have more or less influence on the teeth. The horse when full grown has forty teeth, twenty on either jaw, divided as follows: six inci- sors, two canines, one on either side, and twelve molars, six on either side. Since only the incisor or nipper teeth are inspected in estimating the age, they alone will be considered. It is the order in which they make their appearance that enables us to estimate the age up to five years, and the man- ner in which their surface is worn that aids us in the estimation from five to eight years of age. After the horse has passed the eighth year, it is sometimes difficult to determine his true age by the teeth. Those who are familiar with the method and in practice may come within a year or two of it until the horse becomes very old, when he may be said to be twelve or fifteen years past, for example, but how much past cannot be told with any degree of accuracy. The colt—Since one is seldom called on to esti- mate the age of a colt under two and one-half or three years old, we will hasten over the earlier period rapidly by simply pointing out the condition of the teeth at one year of age. The colt is pro- vided before the end of the first year with a set of temporary or milk teeth. The difference in size of the jaw-bone between the foal and the grown horse makes a change from milk to permanent teeth nec- essary. During the first month after the colt is foaled, the temporary incisors make their appear- ance, the first or middle pair appearing at about one week of age; the second or intermediate pair, at one week to two weeks of age, and the third or lateral pair appearing at about one month of age. When these teeth appear it will be noticed that they are long from right to left and have well- defined cups. The edges gradually wear down so that by the time the colt is at the full age of one year, the marks in the central incisors will be much shallower and fainter than they were at first. All of the incisors will be up and the corner ones will be worn level. It requires much care to deter- mine accurately the age of a colt after it has passed the first year and up to the time the central incisors are replaced by the permanent ones, which will be when the animal is two and one-half to three years of age. When the colt is shedding teeth, its mouth should be closely watched, and if the milk teeth have not disappeared when the permanent ones have pushed 434 HORSE through, they should be removed, as they only serve to irritate the gums and to prevent the animal consuming the proper amount of food. At this time a little extra food, such as moist cut hay or carrots, will greatly benefit the colt. Fig. 439. Lower nippers at three years of age. Fig. 438. The lower nippers of the colt at two years old. Two and one-half to three years old.—At about two years and nine months to two years and eleven months the central permanent incisors will appear, and at full three years of age the outer part of the teeth and sometimes the inner, also, will be up and in wear. (Fig. 439.) The permanent incisors are larger in every way than the temporary or milk teeth. By this age, the intermediate temporary incisors have worn down and lost all or nearly all their cups. There will be a slight black indentation that can hardly be called a cup. In the lateral or corner teeth, the cups are greatly reduced. If the colt be a male, small caps are likely to be present or in the process of coming through the skin of the jaw. These are called tusks. Four years old.—At about three years and nine months, the intermediate incisors appear. At four years of age, they are fully up and in wear on the outside, and sometimes on the inside. (Fig. 440.) The central incisors show one year’s wear, and the cups are not so deep as they were when the colt was three years old. The cups have nearly or quite disappeared from the lateral or corner temporary incisors, often nothing but a slight dark indenta- tion being left. The tusks, if any, have enlarged, but are still sharp at their points and flattish on the inside. A side view of a four-year old mouth is shown in Fig. 441. Note that the crowns of the two temporary or milk teeth, one upper and one lower, come together closely over their entire sur- face, while the two permanent teeth do not meet at their posterior corners. Fig. 441. Side view of the teeth of a four-year-old horse. Fig. 440. Lower nippers at four years of age. Five years old—At the age of about four years and nine months, the permanent corner incisors make their appearance. (Fig. 442.) When the horse HORSE is full five years of age, the outer exterior parts of the teeth meet (Fig. 443), although almost one year of wear must take place before the lateral or corner teeth are worn level over their entire sur- face. At five years of age, the horse has a full mouth, and the central incisors have two years’ wear. They have also changed slightly in shape, having become rounder on the inside. The inter- mediate incisors show one year’s wear. The cups — show in all, but are deepest and freshest in ap- pearance in the corner teeth. In about one year more they will disappear from the central incisors, and in two years from the intermediate incisors. The tusks have enlarged, but are not yet blunt. Six years old.—At six years old, the cups in the lower jaw have disappeared, or nearly so, from the central incisors, have become smaller in the inter- mediates, and the corner teeth are up and in full wear over their entire surface. (Figs. 444, 445.) Sometimes, however, a horse has “shelly” teeth, in which case the inside corner teeth may not be up and in wear; in fact, they may never come up, but always have ‘the appearance of corner teeth that are not fully up. The center inci- sors have made marked changes in shape, becoming roundish on the inside, and the in- termediates are Fig. 442. Lower nippers of a five-year-old horse. also somewhat modified. If the horse’s lips are parted and the mouth viewed from the front, it will be noted that the central ones will appear much darker colored and longer than they did at three or four. This is due to the shrinking or re- ceding of the gums. In this connection, compare Figs. 439, 440, 442. Seven years old.—At seven years of age, the cups in the lower jaw have disappeared from the inter- mediate incisors, although small dark spots may often be seen. The corner teeth still retain their cups, although they are rather shallow. It is well to bear in mind that, from the time when the teeth in the lower jaw are well up and in wear to the time the cups have disappeared in the lower jaw, is three years. The teeth in the upper jaw retain their cups a much longer time,—in fact, just twice as long, disappearing in six years from the time they made their appearance. A side view of a seven-year-old mouth shows one marked characteristic. The lower corner teeth seldom extend as far backward as the upper ones. (Fig. 446.) Only in rare cases do all four corner teeth meet accurately. The result is that the face of the tooth in the rear recedes, while that part of Side view of the teeth of a five-year-old horse. HORSE the tooth not in wear projects downward, forming more or less of a notch. Hight years old.—At eight years of age, the cups have disappeared from the teeth in the lower jaw. One must not be misled by the slight dark-colored inden- Fig. 444. Lower nippers of a six-year-old horse. tations that are still present, for they are not deep enough to be called cups. (Fig. 447.) The shape of the teeth has undergone marked changes. (Com- pare Fig. 439 with Fig. 447.) In the first place, the teeth were thin from outside to inside, and com- paratively broad from right to left, while in the latter case they are much thicker from inside to outside—they have become more triangular in shape. If viewed from the side, they will appear somewhat longer and will meet at a sharper angle than they did when the horse was younger. As age advances, the angle of the teeth decreases. At three years of age, the upper and the lower teeth meet nearly vertical with each other, while at twenty they meet at an angle of only 45°. Nine years old.—At nine years of age, the cups will have disappeared from the upper central inci- sors, and be shallow in the intermediate, and fairly deep in the corners. The cups are not likely to disappear at as regular intervals in the upper jaw as they did in the lower. Therefore, it is not always possible to tell the age of the horse within a year or two after he has passed his eighth year. Horses with soft bones may show a mouth older than they really are, while those with hard dense bones may show a mouth younger than they are. Ten years old.—At ten years of age, the cups have disappeared from the upper inter- mediates, but are still in the corners, although shallow. The teeth are more triangular in shape, and those of the upper and lower jaw meet at a sharper angle as the age increases. Eleven years old.—At eleven years of age, the cups have all disappeared from the upper jaw. However, because of the fact that some animals have denser bones than others, it is not uncommon to find shallow cups in the upper corner teeth as late as the twelfth or the fifteenth year. The shape and angle of the Fig. 446. of a seven-year-old horse. Side view of the nippers Fig. 448. teeth of an old horse. HORSE 435 incisors will enable a close judge not to be much deceived. After the horse has passed the twelfth year, the matter of two or three years amounts to little. Much depends on the individuality of the animal, as some animals are worth more at eighteen years than others are at fourteen. One’s judgment of the value of a horse at these ages should be formed on general appearances and activi- ties, rather than on age, which cannot be accurately determined by an examination of the teeth. One may distinguish between a horse that is moderately old and one that is very old, but after the horse has reached his eighth year, the teeth do not accu- rately indicate his age. In old horses, the incisor teeth have be- come nearly triangular, and they show long wear. The tusks are large, blunt and round; the front ends of the teeth have been broken off, and they meet at an acute angle. These differences are well illustrated in Figs. 448, 449. The teeth may have grown out so long as to prevent the double teeth from meeting, in which case the horse will spit out his food after he has masticated a part of it. If the incisors are rasped off on their pos- terior edges, the grinders will then meet and life will be somewhat pro- longed. Irregularities in teeth.—Thus far we have con- sidered the teeth as regular. It often happens that the teeth are not regular. When these irregulari- ties exist, the horse is said to have a false mouth. While many of the irregularities are without importance, there are certain others which should be taken into consideration. They are important in their physiological relations as well as in estimating age. These irregularities occur in the number: there may be more or less than the regular number —thirty-six in mares, or forty in horses. Or, the irregularities may occur in the form of the incisors or through the uniting of two incisors; they may iS Fig. 445. Side view of the teeth of a six-year-old horse. Fig. 447. The lower incisor, or nipper teeth, of an eight-year-old horse. occur because one jaw happens to be longer or shorter than the other; they may occur as a result of Fig. 449. A side view of the nip- pers of an old horse. The lower incisor 436 HORSE cribbing—some horses have the bad habit of bit- ing the stall fixtures or other surrounding objects, thus breaking off the free borders of the teeth, which make the teeth irregular and which must not be confused with normal wear. Such cases can usually be recognized by the broken-off particles and the roughed surface. Then, again, irregulari- ties may result from the employment of fraudulent means, the horseman striving to give the mouth the characteristics of that period of life in which the animals have their greatest value, and endeay- oring to make the young appear old and the old appear young. It is ordinarily easy to detect a mouth that has been tampered with. If the abnor- mal wear has been produced by a file, the marks of the latter can be seen on the teeth. If, after hay- ing made a surface artificially, the latter be pol- ished to remove the marks, the fraud can be de- tected by the fact that the enamel is just on a level with the dentine. After the teeth have once been tampered with, they no longer serve as an index in estimating age. The dental tables, the cups and the like, have in most cases been partly or wholly destroyed. A person estimating the age of such animals must rely on general indications, such as gray hairs about the temple, eyes, nostrils ; the pointed poll ; the depressed face; the sunken supra-orbits ; the prominent back-bone; the sway back; the sharp lower jaw; the nodes in the tail, and the angle at which the teeth in the upper and lower jaws meet, as well as the shape of the teeth, which, as we have pointed out, become more triangular as the animal advances in age. Literature. Much attention and study has been given to the question of estimating the ages of horses by their dentition, and discussions of the methods will be found in many books devoted to the horse. Men- tion is made here of two works in which the subject is discussed carefully: Gaubaux and Barrier, The Exterior of the Horse, translated by 8. J. J. Harger, J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia ; Roberts, The Horse, Macmillan Company, New York. [For further references, see page 416.] Common Ailments of Horses. Figs. 450-459. By John R. Mohler and George H. Hart. In this article only the sporadic or non-infectious diseases of horses will be discussed, together with the best-known methods of treatment. Diseases of this class affect only one or two animals in a stable at one time, and do not spread through a stable or herd from one animal to another. As was noted under the ailments of cattle, in many cases it is advisable to employ a veterinarian to treat ailing animals, as the slightest carelessness or misjudg- ment may result fatally. While it is highly desir- able for the farmer to be able to diagnose the ailments of his stock, and to be able to treat the less serious disabilities, he will generally find it to his advantage to employ skilled assistance for cases which may involve the life of the animal or which HORSE are liable to produce much suffering. It is well to be on the safe side. Temperature. In order to restore diseased animals to health, it is necessary to know the character of the disease affecting them. It follows that the ability to make a correct diagnosis is the fundamental principle on which the treatment of the disease is based. In the domesticated animals, we are unable to obtain knowledge directly from the patient, as to where the trouble is located ; and, therefore, we are com- pelled to make a diagnosis, by carefully noting the symptoms produced. Among the more important symptoms that will be referred to frequently in dis- cussing the following diseases, are abnormal tem- peratures, pulse rates and respiratory movements. In the first place, a knowledge of the tempera- ture of an animal assists in making a diagnosis; second, it keeps one posted as to how the case is progressing ; third, in some diseases, as influenza, swine plague and Texas fever, it is the first symp- tom denoting the approach of the disease. The normal temperature of the various animals is as follows [See also page 21]: Horses. nein ae oreo 99.5° to 101.3° Fahr. Os aeUE Go, Fite ono 100.4° to 102.2° Fahr. Sheeps sacs sisewen aes 102.2° to 104° Fahr. Hoe ee teks - - - 100.4° to 104° ahr. Do geneween eticia ements 99.5° to 102.2° Fahr. In order to ascertain the temperature, it is nec- essary to be provided with an ordinary clinical thermometer. The end to be inserted should be covered with vaseline or lard. It is placed in the rectum for three to five minutes. Accompanying fever there are always chills, an increase in the — number of heart-beats per minute, loss of appetite and general nervous depression. Care should be taken not to miscalculate the reading of a high temperature in the horse after the animal has been doing heavy work on a warm day, or in other animals when they become greatly excited during the taking of the temperature. In horses, the tem- perature, even in most severe diseases, rarely passes 107° Fahr., except in cases of heat stroke, when it has been known to reach 110° Fahr. The highest normal temperatures are always recorded in the afternoon, and the lowest in the morning. A subnormal temperature is rare in diseases of animals. The most striking and constant example of this is seen in milk-fever in the cow. Sometimes a subnormal temperature is recorded in cases when the thermometer has not been inserted far enough, — or when the passing of feces has taken place just prior to the taking of the temperature, both of which conditions should be carefully guarded against. Pulse. The average normal pulse frequency in animals is as follows [See also page 21]: Horse, 28 to 40 Sheep, 70 to 90 Mule, 45 to 50 Swine, 60 to 100 Cattle, 40 to 80 Dogs, 60 to 120 HORSE In disease, the character, frequency and regu- larity of the pulse may be altered. It is usually increased in frequency, although in chronic brain troubles a reduction in the number of beats per minute may be observed. In all febrile diseases, and in severe hemorrhages, the number of beats per minute serves to guide one in judging the strength of the heart. When the pulse of the horse exceeds 100 per minute, the chances of recovery are very slight. By the regularity of the pulse is meant the following of the beats in regular order with the same period of time elapsing between them. In an irregular pulse, a beat is dropped now and then, or an extra one may be counted in. An irregular pulse is seen normally in dogs, and occurs also in horses when the pulse is very high during the course of febrile diseases. Respiration. The frequency of respiratory movements per minute in animals is as follows [See also page 21]: Horse, 8 to 16 Swine, 10 to 20 Ox, 10 to 30 Dog, 10 to 30 Sheep, 12 to 20 Goat, 12 to 20 Normally, respiration is noiseless, although at times fat cattle may grunt after feeding; and lively horses and cattle may snort when startled. In disease, various sounds may be heard, among the more important of which is the wheezing sound from the nose, caused by a narrowing of this region, due to tumors or enlargements of the bone. A rattling sound comes from the region of the throat when the vocal cords are relaxed, as is heard in sore throat. The most important respiratory sound, perhaps, comes from the larynx and gener- ally is increased in volume by violent exercise. It is heard in horses affected with what is commonly known as “roaring,” and varies in pitch from a whistling to a roaring tone. Groaning is heard when expiration is attempted through a partially closed voice-box, and also in painful diseases affect- ing the chest, as pneumonia and pleurisy. Urticaria or hives. Urticaria, also called nettle rash or hives, is an affection of horses and other animals resulting from a number of causes, and characterized by the erup- tion of various-sized swellings (wheals) on the skin. The disease is most common in young animals in good condition. It occurs usually in the spring, during rainy, muggy weather, with high humidity. Not infrequently cases occur without any ascer- tainable cause. In the majority of instances, the disease is the direct result of some digestive disorders ; and cer- tain foods, as buckwheat, new oats, green potatoes, are especially liable to produce the eruption. Such disorders, however, are followed by urticaria in a very small percentage of cases, and consequently some co-existing condition is necessary, which is thought to be some abnormal irritability of the herves supplying the blood-vessels in the skin. The disease is peculiar in the suddenness of its onset. The owner’s attention is attracted to the HORSE 437 animal by the swellings on the skin, which spread. with great rapidity, and in a few hours may be generally scattered over the body. They vary in: size from a half-inch to two inches in diameter ; and in some cases, several may become confluent and the resulting swelling attain the size of a din- ner-plate. The edges of the swellings are cut off sharply from the surrounding tissues. They are supposed to be due to a spasm of the blood-vessel walls, with rapid leakage of blood serum therefrom, being therefore localized edematous infiltrations of the skin: The eruption is also accompanied with marked itching, but there is no tendency to rupture or to suppuration. The disease is usually without fever and of short duration, often entirely disappearing after one or two days. Such animals, however, are liable to subsequent attacks. Treatment.—Food should be withheld for twenty- four hours, after which bran mashes and small quantities of hay may be given. The digestive tract should be evacuated by the administration of a quart of linseed oil or one and one-half pounds of Epsom salts. The local application of alkaline solu- tions, as one tablespoonful of sodium bicarbonate to a quart of water, or a weak solution of ammonia, will relieve the itching. Recovery is rapid, and the swelling usually disappears in a few hours to two days. Heat-stroke. This is a condition seen principally in horses, but also at times affecting cattle and sheep on long drives. It is due to excessive heating of the entire body, thereby differing from sun-stroke, which is due to the direct action of the sun’s rays on the head and is rare in animals. Heat-stroke is seen only in the hot summer months and usually affects draft horses. The attack comes on much more gradually than in sun-stroke. The animal stops sweating, appears droopy in the harness, drags along for a short distance, but soon goes down and becomes unconscious. The breathing is rapid and shallow, the pulse rapid and weak, and the body temperature excessively high, sometimes reaching 110° or 111° Fahr. Treatment.—The treatment must be very ener- getic and directed toward the immediate reduction of bodily temperature, as the animal can stand this excessively high temperature only for a very short time, if he is to recover. Ice-bags should be applied to the head and cold water poured over the body from buckets or, better, from a hose. This will reduce the temperature of the skin, but at the same time, it is essential to stimulate the weak heart in order to increase circulation, and especi- ally the circulation in the skin where heat-radia- tion takes place. For this purpose, one-half pint of whiskey should be given immediately, followed by tincture of digitalis in one-dram doses by the mouth, or one-half-dram doses subcutaneously. In the latter method of administration, the action is quicker. The cold water should be continued until the temperature is reduced to 102° to 103° Fahr., when it should be withheld and applied again only 438 HORSE in case the temperature rises. The limbs should be rubbed briskly with straw or the hands. Bleed- ing an animal affected with heat-stroke is a very bad practice and should always be discour- aged. Recovery is gradual and is prolonged over a week or two, during which time the animal should have general tonic treatment and be returned to heavy work gradually. Periodie ophthalmia (Moon blindness). Moon blindness is an ailment affecting the horse alone of all the domestic animals. It is an inflam- mation of the interior of the eyeball, usually affect- ing only one eye at a time, one attack of which is almost sure to be followed by subsequent ones, and leading eventually to complete loss of sight. The exact cause of this disease is unknown. Various parasites have been said to be instrumental in its production, but none has been proved to have a direct causative effect. However, it is especially common in damp, marshy soils and seems to be especially prevalent after wet seasons. Heredity is also supposed to play some part in its production. This, however, is not positive, as foals from affected dams or sires, if taken to another locality, where the disease does not exist, may not be attacked. Animals are subject to the disease at any time of life, but the largest percentage of cases occurs in horses under six years of age. The disease appears very suddenly, sometimes over night. There is great irritation in the affected eyeball, sensitiveness to light and an excessive flow of tears, the eye being kept continuously closed, and drawn back into the eye socket. The conjunctiva or mucous membrane on the inside of the eyelid is very red, swollen, and may protrude between the closed lids. The blood-vessels around the eyeball are enlarged, and the eyeball is cloudy. After this has existed for a few days, healing usu- ally begins. The sensitiveness to light diminishes, and the excessive secretion of tears lessens. How- ever, some signs of the inflammation usually remain. In two weeks after the first attack, the eye may appear normal, but within varying periods of time another attack occurs, each attack producing greater and greater change, until finally sight is completely lost. Later, in about 25 per cent of the cases, the other eye becomes attacked in the same way. The outlook for recovery is poor. Treatment.—Preventive treatment is most suc- cessful. The attendant should remove foals to a place where the disease is not prevalent. There is no good medicinal treatment for the disease. The old methods of bleeding from the eye, setoning and blistering, are of no value, and should not be used. Treatment consists in keeping the animal in the dark, and washing off the eye several times daily with a 4 per cent solution of boric acid. A few drops ef this solution may also be dropped into the eye with good results. Ice poultices may be used over the eye for the first three or four days, after which warmth should be applied by covering the eye with cotton soaked in warm water, and kept in place by means of a flannel hood placed around the head. In recent years, the administra- HORSE tion of potassium iodid, one to two drams daily, has been recommended. Lampas or lampers. This is acondition in which the mucous membrane in the roof of the mouth becomes congested with blood and protrudes below the incisor teeth. It is frequently observed temporarily at the time of eat- ing. In some cases, however, it may become exces- sive, especially in colts during the eruption of the permanent teeth, when it may be relieved by mak- ing a few shallow punctures in the mucous mem- brane with a sharp knife that has been sterilized. Such treatment demands expert care. Searing the roof cf the mouth with a hot iron is very cruel, and never of any value. It is only on the rarest occasions that any treatment is necessary. This ailment is not common. Osteoporosis, or bighead. Osteoporosis is a general disease of the bones, which develops slowly, and is characterized by the absorption of the compact bony substance, and the formation of enlarged, softened and porous bone. It is particularly manifest in the bones of the head, causing enlargement and bulging of the face and jaws, thereby giving rise to the terms, “bighead” and “swelled head,” which are applied to it. In the United States the disease has been found in all the states bordering the Delaware river and Chesa- peake bay, in some of the New England states, and in many of the southern states, especially along the coast in regions of low altitude. The idea that the disease is contagious has been advanced by many writers, although no causative agent has been isolated. Probably the first symptom to be noticed is a loss of vitality combined with an irregular appe- tite or other digestive disturbance, and with a tendency to stumble while in action. These earlier symptoms, however, may pass unobserved, and the appearance of an intermit- tent or migratory lame- ness without any visible cause may be the first sign to attract attention. About this time, swelling of the bones of the face and jaw, which is almost constantly present in this disease, will be observed. (Fig. 450.) The bones of the lower jaw are the most frequently involved, and this condition is read- ily detected with the fin- gers by the bulging ridge of the bone outside and along the lower edge of the molar teeth. A thicken- ing of the lower jaw-bone may likewise be identi- fied by feeling on both sides of each branch at the same time and comparing it with the thinness of this bone in a normal horse. Other bones of the Fig. 450. Bighead ( Osteoporosis). HORSE body will undergo similar changes, but these alter- ations are not so readily noticed except by the symptoms they occasion. The anima] becomes poor in flesh, the coat is rough and lusterless, and the skin tight and harsh, producing a condition termed “hidebound,” with considerable “tucking up” of the abdomen. The horse shows a short, stilted, choppy gait, which later becomes stiffer and more restricted, while on standing, a position simulating that in founder is assumed, with a noticeable drop to the croup. The animal at this stage usually lies down and remains recumbent for several days at a time. Bed-sores frequently arise and fractures are not uncommon, in consequence of attempts to arise, which complications, in addition to emaciation, result in death. Treatment.—The affected animal should be imme- diately placed under new conditions, both as to feed and surroundings. If the horse has been stable fed, it is advisable to turn him out on grass for two or three months, preferably in a higher altitude. If the disease has been contracted while running on pasture, the animal should be placed in the stable or corral. In the early stages of the disease, beneficial results have followed the supple- mental use of lime in the drinking-water. One peck of lime, slaked in a cask of water and addi- tional water added from time to time, is satis- factory and can be provided at slight expense. This treatment may be supplemented by giving a tablespoonful of powdered bone meal in each feed, with free access to a large piece of rock salt; or the bone may be given with four tablespoonfuls of molasses mixed with the food. Feeds containing mineral salts, such as beans, cowpeas, oats and cottonseed meal, may prove beneficial in replenish- ing the bony substance that is being absorbed. Cottonseed meal is one of the best feeds for this purpose, but it should be fed carefully. The animal should not be allowed to work at all during the active stage of the disease, nor should it be used for breeding purposes. Rheumatism. Rheumatism is a painful febrile disease, affect- ing both the muscles and joints, and seen princi- pally in the horse, ox and dog. The exact cause of the disease is unknown, although many theories have been advanced. As predisposing causes may be mentioned dampness and chilling. In the horse and ox it usually affects the muscles and joints of the extremities. It rarely becomes generalized (spread over the entire body) in any of the domes- tic animals. The animal attacked suddenly becomes stiff and lame, followed by arise of temperature (104° Fahr.). A swelling appears around one or more of the joints of the legs, which is exceedingly painful to the touch. The point of localization changes fre- quently, and one day the animal may show lame- ness in one joint, as for example, in the hock, and on the following day the hip or even the opposite leg may be affected. The attacks are also inter- mittent, and the animal may go sound for two or three days between them. The death rate is very HORSE 439 low, as the disease rarely proves fatal when uncom- plicated. Treatment.—First of all, a cathartic should be administered. Aloes balls containing 7 drams of aloes for the horse and 1 to 14 pounds of Epsom salts for the cow will give good results. At the same time, great benefit may be secured by thor- ough rubbing of the affected joints or muscles with some stimulating liniment, as camphor or chloroform liniment, which can be purchased ready- prepared at any drug-store. In this treatment, the rubbing does equally as much service as the lini- ment. The cathartic should be followed by some antirheumatic medicines, as the salicylates, given principally in the form of sodium salicylate. For the horse and the cow, 6 to 8 drams may be given two or three times daily in the food. In the sheep, dog and pig, 4 to 2 drams should be dissolved in water and given as a drench. During the treat- ment the animal should be kept in a dry place, and have plenty of fresh air. Colic. Colic is a collective term applied to all forms of pain in the digestive tract. The term “false” colic is frequently given to pain affecting the abdominal organs, as the liver, kidney and bladder. It isa very common disease, as in horses it forms about 10 per cent of all their ailments, and about 10 to 15 per cent of the affected animals die. From the anatomical arrangement of the digest- ive tract, especially of the stomach, which does not allow of vomiting, the horse is more subject to colic than any other animal. Eating at irregu- lar intervals, overloading of the stomach or pro- longed absence of food, the presence of worms in large numbers in the alimentary canal and fermen- tation in the intestinal tract, due to the ingestion of new corn or hay, or sour decayed food, are causes. Sometimes the intestines become displaced or may become telescoped on themselves during unusual exertion; or a loop of the gut may pass down through the inguinal canal, causing the blood-supply to be shut off as a result of pressure, and giving rise to a rapidly fatal form of colic. The symptoms are mainly those of pain. If the animal is in harness, he lags and stops; if urged forward, he will lie down in the shafts; if in the stable, he stops eating and walks around the box- stall restlessly. The animal looks around at the side, kicks at the belly, and may grit the teeth. The tail gets a peculiar crook in it and is held extended. The animal gathers its feet together as if to lie down, and when apparently it is going down it suddenly straightens up again; or it may lie down, roll, kick, and at times when the pain is severe may make very violent movements, as slamming the head against the ground or biting at itself or the manger. The attacks are sometimes intermittent and the animal will appear to be eased and may start eating, but this is only tem- porary. There may be fermentation in the intes- tines, with consequent gas formation, and great distention of the abdomen may occur. The patients are usually constipated and intestinal movements 440 HORSE lessened or entirely stopped. The rectum is fre- quently filled with dry, hard feces. The duration of colic is usually short, varying from a few minutes to several hours. If the pain is continuous for twenty-four .hours the outlook for recovery is grave. Treatment.—First of all, the animal should be given plenty of room in a large stall or shed, the floor of which should be covered with an abundance of straw in order to prevent the animal producing permanent injuries to itself during its violent movements. Sometimes, especially in chronic colic, walking exercise is to be recommended. One must use judgment in this respect,-as there are many cases of colic in which the animals are much better if allowed to remain quiet. The internal treatment should be directed toward allaying the pain. For this purpose, cannabis indica, one to two ounces, may be given ; or morphine sulfate, five to seven grains, given subcutaneously. Larger doses of either should not be given, as cannabis indica stops intestinal movements and morphine in larger than seven-grain doses in the horse produces excitement instead of quiet. The following is an excellent prescription for many forms of colic : Fluid extract cannabis indica . . . . 4 drams Airgas Sho 6 ooo ae 6 drams Sulfuricsethory. ers ie. ie ee) eee 1 ounce Sweet spirits of niter ....... 1 ounce Give in one dose and repeat if necessary in one hour. The intestines must be stimulated, for which purpose eight drams of aloes or one pint of linseed- oil may be given. Injections of lukewarm water into the rectum after cleaning out the fecal matter ’ with the hand will sometimes stimulate the intes- tinal movements. In fermentation colic with gas formation, tapping the animal is the quickest and surest method of getting relief. A sterile trocar is necessary for this operation. The puncture is made on the right side midway between the angle of the haunch, the spinal column, and the border of the last rib. The skin should be washed with a 5 per cent carbolic acid solution or some other antiseptic and the trocar pushed through the skin into the intestine. The stilette should then be withdrawn, leaving the canula in place through which the gas escapes. When all the gas is evacu- ated, the stilette is again inserted and the instru- ment withdrawn. This can be repeated if gas con- tinues to form, care being taken not to push the instrument in the same place twice. Thumps. This term has been applied to peculiar throbbing movements of the sides of the chest, caused by spasmodic contractions of the diaphragm. It is analogous to hiccoughs in man. The condition is easily recognized, the only thing with which it could be confused being palpitation of the heart. In thumps, however, the movements involve the whole side of the chest and are entirely independent of the heart-beats and less frequent. The breathing is rapid, jerky and incomplete. By placing the hand on the chest near the last rib, which is opposite the HORSE insertion of the diaphragm, the contractions may be felt as distinct throbs against the fingers. The condition may last for only a few minutes, or may continue for several days, lead to congestion of the lungs, and terminate fatally. Treatment.—Frequently a single dose of some antispasmodic, as 4 drams of asafetida, or 5 ounces of the milk of asafetida, will relieve the condition. If this is not successful, nerve sedatives, as mor- phine sulfate, 5 grains, or potassium bromid, 1 ounce, should be administered. In obstinate cases, a purgative dose of 8 drams of aloes or 1 pound of Glauber’s salts, should be given. Heaves. This is a disease of the lungs of horses, due to a loss of elasticity and permanent distention of the walls of the minute air-sacs in the lungs. Horses that stop and start a great deal, as milk-wagon horses, are predisposed to the affection. Clover hay and various other bulky foods containing little nutri- tive elements, and thus requiring the ingestion of large quantities to supply the needs of the animal, are also considered a cause. One of the first symptoms of the disease is the distressing dry cough which frequently occurs in paroxysms. It can best be produced by giving the animal a drink of cold water, or by bringing it suddenly from a warm stable into the cold outdoor air. There is also present the characteristic double respiration, and the expired air comes from the nose in two jets, with a pause between them; the flank movements are pronounced, and the anus is forced backward at each expiration. Inspiration is usually normal. Treatment.—The condition is incurable, and all medicinal agents are only palliative. The greatest benefit is to be derived from the regulation of the diet. All dusty hay should be withheld, and only small quantities of the best timothy hay given, which should be well sprinkled with lime or mo- lasses water. Nutritious concentrated foods should be given so that relatively small quantities will be required, as the less aliment in the digestive tract the more easily the animal can breathe. Corn, oats and bran, with carrots, turnips or apples mixed in, are good. Keep out on pasture when possible, away from the dust of the stable. Do not allow the ani- mal to drink water just before a drive. Medicinally, arsenic is good for a time, given in the form of arsenious acid, three grains, three times daily in the food. As arsenic is poisonous its general use is not advised. Fowler’s Solution would be safer in this instance. Constipation should be avoided, and when any tendency in that direction is noticed, one and one-half pints of linseed oil, or a pound of Glauber’s salts should be given as a drench. Laryngitis or sore throat. This is an inflammation of the lining membrane of the larynx (voice-box), caused by exposure, chil- ling, cold air, and also by the inhalation of irritant vapors as smoke or chlorine gas. It is classified “according to the duration of the affection into HORSE acute and chronic laryngitis. In the acute form, there is a rise of temperature with general symp- toms of depression and a constant, more or less painful cough. The animal coughs on the slightest pressure in the region of the throat, when allowed to drink cold water, or when excited from any cause. If the ear is placed against the upper part of the neck, just back of the jaws, a gurgling sound may sometimes be heard. The sound is pro- duced by the to and fro movement of fluid in the larynx at each inspiration and expiration. The head is held stiffly and extended on the neck, and adischarge appears from both nostrils, accompanied by fluid in the larynx. Treatment.—The best results are obtained by means of local applications. Toward this end, absorbent cotton soaked in warm water should be placed around the throat and evaporation prevented by means of oiled silk or rubber cloth on the out- side, which is kept in place by means of a bed-tick- ing bandage passed around the head and tied over the poll. Internally, a mixture containing potas- sium chlorate 1 dram, codiene hydrochlorate 2 grains, powdered licorice-root 5 drams, and suffi- cient honey or molasses to make a soft paste, should be spread over the tongue or teeth twice daily. Potassium iodid, 4 dram, : two or three times daily, is also valuable. In se- vere cases showing no tendency toimprovement, steaming is to be recom- mended. This is accom- plished as follows: The bottom of a large bran sack is covered with a thick layer of bran. A bucket of water is heated to the boiling-point, three or four ounces of creolin added, and the whole poured quickly into the sack on: the bran. The open end of the sack is then immediately tied around the horse’s head, so that the animal will have to inhale the steam that rises inside the sack. (Fig. 451.) This may be done twice daily, and may be very beneficial in its effects. Sy Fig. 451. Steaming a horse for sore throat. Bronchitis. Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes. The causative agents are very similar to those causing laryngitis, as chilling, sudden inhala- tion of cold air, standing in draughts, or the inhal- ation of smoke and other irritating gases or vapors. It also frequently results from an extension of a preéxisting inflammation of the larynx in laryngitis. The disease is ushered in with a rise of tempera- ture, and the animal becomes droopy, the appetite is reduced and breathing is rapid. This rise of tem- perature varies with the severity of the attack, and may reach 106° Fahr. The cough is painful, barking, and comes from deep down in the respiratory tract. HORSE 441 In the beginning stages it is dry, later becoming moist and accompanied by a nasal discharge. The duration of ordinary uncomplicated bronchitis usually extends over a period varying from one to three weeks and terminates in recovery. Treatment.—The general surroundings should be good. Keep the animal in a cool place in summer and a sheltered place in winter. Tempt the appe- tite, which is likely to be fickle, with different kinds of food, as bran mash, oats and grass, until some- thing is found that it will eat. Steaming the ani- mal as described under laryngitis is to be highly recommended. In order to prevent the spread of the inflamma- tion into the air-sacs, and also to arrest the forma- tion of fluid, a mustard plaster should be applied to the sides of the chest. Mix about one-fourth-pound of mustard in one pint of water and rub over the sides of the chest, being careful not to get it under the front legs where the skin is soft and the irrita- tion it causes is very great. A mustard plaster of this strength need not be washed off and may be repeated in two or three days. Mustard plasters must be used with caution, as they are very likely to leave a blemish. Internally, a paste consisting of ammonium chlorid 1 dram, morphine sulfate 3 grains, pow- dered licorice root 6 drams, and sufficient molasses to make a soft mass, should be spread over the tongue twice daily. General stimulants, such as alcohol 2 ounces, tincture of digitalis 1 dram, may be given in cases of heart weakness. During the course of the disease a bucket of cold water should be kept constantly before the animal. If the dis- ease tends to become chronic, potassium iodid in one-half-dram doses, or arsenious acid in three-grain doses, should be given twice daily over a period of two weeks. Pneumonia. Pneumonia is a common disease of the horse, usually involving a lobe or even anentire lung. The lung becomes solid and of the consistency of liver, due to the filling of the air-sacs with exudate. Ill health, excessive excretion and chilling are predis- posing causes, while the direct cause is a micro- organism. The onset is sudden, with chill and very high fever, 105° or 106° Fahr., depression, muscular weak- ness, short dry cough, and increased pulse and respiratory rate. Physical signs are present on examination of the chest. The temperature remains high for seven to fourteen days, and in favorable cases drops suddenly, accompanied by a resolution of the inflammation in the lungs, a moist cough, and a discharge resembling prune-juice from the nose. The disease may terminate completely in ten to twenty days, or may pass into a chronic state and last for two or three months, or lead to permanent broken wind. The death rate is low, except in old worn-out horses, and those weakened by previous disease. Treatment.—Place the animal in comfortable, roomy surroundings, and tempt him to continue eating by offering various kinds of food in small 442 HORSE quantities. Milk will often be drunk when all else is refused. Apply a mustard plaster to the chest, as in bronchitis. Medicinally, stimulants are indicated, as a mix- ture consisting of tincture of digitalis 1 dram, tinc- ture of nux vomica | dram, quinine sulfate 1 dram, water in sufficient quantity to make an ounce, and given three or four times daily for several days or a week. When convalescence is established, arsenic in three-grain doses and iron in one-dram doses may be given in the feed. When the symptoms have disappeared, potassium iodid in one-half-dram doses twice daily should be given for a week, to aid in the complete absorption of the inflammatory exudate. Abscesses (poll evil, fistula, etc.). Abscesses are well-defined collections of pus. They are characterized by the fact that they increase in size slowly, show symptoms of acute inflammation, are firm to the touch, although later they may show fluctuation. They follow as the result of local inflammation in glands, muscular tissue, or even bones. They are very common in the first two cases. The abscesses most commonly met with in horses are those of the poll (poll evil), the withers (fistula) and the glands which occur during the existence of strangles or colt distemper. At first the swelling is uniformly hard and resist- ing over its entire surface, but in a little while becomes soft—fluctuating—at some part, mostly in the center. From this time, the abscess is said to be “pointing” or “coming to a head,” which is shown by a small elevated or projecting promi- nence, which at first is dry, but soon becomes moist with - transuded se- rum. The hairs over this part loosen and fall off, and in a short time the abscess opens, the contents escape, and the cavity gradually fills up, and heals by granulations. Treatment.—Abscesses in muscular tissue, such as poll evil and fistula of the withers (Fig. 452), are usually the result of bruises or injuries. In all cases when abscesses are forming, we should hurry the ripening process by frequent hot fomentations and poultices of bread, bran, or flaxseed. When they are very tardy in their development, a blister composed of one part of cantharides and ten parts of vaseline, rubbed over their surface, is advisable. It is a common rule with surgeons to open an abscess as soon as pus can be plainly felt, but this practice can not be recommended to owners of stock indiscriminately, since this operation requires an exact knowledge of anatomy. This is imperative if the abscess is in the region of joints. When open, we must not squeeze the walls of the abscess to any extent. They may be very gently pressed with the fingers at first to remove the clots (in- Fig. 452. Fistulous withers. HORSE spissated pus), but after this the orifice is simply to be kept open by the introduction of a clean probe, should it be disposed to heal too soon. If the open- ing is at too high a level, another should be made into the lowest part of the abscess so as to permit the most complete drainage. Hot fomentations or Fig. 453. The appearance of bots in stomach of horse. (From Diseases of the Horse, U. S. Dept. Agric.) poultices are sometimes required for a day or two after an abscess has opened, and are particularly indicated when the base of the abscess is hard and indurated. The cavity should be thorougly washed with stimulating antiseptic solutions, such as 3 per cent solution of carbolic acid, 3 to 5 per cent solu- tion of creolin, 1 to 1,000 bichlorid of mercury, or 1 per cent permanganate of potash solution. If the abscesses are foul and bad smelling, their cavities should be syringed with one part of hydrogen peroxid to two parts of water, followed by the injection of any of the above-mentioned antiseptics. Bots. (Fig. 453.) Bots are the larvee of the bot-fly, a heavy-bodied hairy insect. The larve are thick, fleshy grubs liv- ing practically in the intestinal tract of horses. The injury to the horse from the presence of the larve may take one or all of four forms: (1) The attach- ment to the walls of the stomach may cause an irritation which may interfere with the normal action of the glands that secrete digestive juices ; (2) the bots abstract some nutriment from the walls of the stomach, or by absorption from the food content of the organ; (8) by collecting, par- ticularly in the region of the pylorus (opening of the stomach into the intestine), they serve as an obstruction to the free passage of food from the stomach into the intestine ; (4) in passing through the intestine after they have released their hold on the walls of the stomach, they may attach them- selves to the intestinal wall or rectal walls and cause great irritation. The eggs are deposited in the hair, usually of the front legs and chest of a horse, and are held there by a sticky fluid, which quickly dries and glues them firmly in place. The eggs are taken into the horse’s mouth by licking, and if so taken between the tenth and thirteenth day after the deposition, will develop into the bot in the animal’s stomach. Treatment.—By far the most important point is HORSE to prevent the introduction of the larve. The eggs are very plainly seen on the hair, and it is evident that if they are removed before the tenth day (at which time they begin to hatch) the animal can- not get bots. Eggs may be removed in several ways: by washing the hair in a dilute carbolic acid solution, one part acid to thirty parts of water, by rubbing the parts lightly with kerosene, or by clipping. Horses pastured in July, August and September should be examined every three or four days, and if the eggs are present they should be removed. Tt is, of course, not an easy matter to determine whether any particular disturbance of the digestive organs is produced by bots or by some other agency producing similar symptoms. If occasional bots are noticed in the manure of the animal, together with poor condition, their presence in numbers is to be suspected. The animal should then be starved for twelve hours, allowing only water, after which give two teaspoonfuls of tartar emetic in water as a drench. Repeat in four hours’ time. Hight or twelve hours afterward give a drench of one pint to one quart of linseed oil. Worms (Ascarides, round worms). These worms are found in all domestic animals. The round worm of the horse (Ascarid megaloceph- ala) is about five to six inches in length by one- fourth inch in thickness, and white in color. It is easily detected in the feces, its presence in which is the only sure sign. Treatment.—For the horse, tartar emetic is rec- ommended in two-dram doses every four hours until three doses are given, care being taken to starve the animal twelve to eighteen hours before admin- istering, and to follow it in three or four hours with one and one-fourth pints of linseed-oil. Capped elbow or hock. These conditions are some- what similar in their nature, although capped elbow is the more common and more serious condition. It is caused by re- peated mild injuries from lying on an unbedded floor or by lying with the shod hoof bent under the body so that the shoe comes in contact with the elbow. Capped hock results from strik- ing the point by kicking back- wards against the side of the stall or other hard object. (Fig. 454.) The severity of the con- dition may vary from a slight inflammation with edema to cyst development, or abscess forma- tion, and even organization of the inflammatory exudate with the presence of a large fibrous tumor on the elbow, commonly called a shoe boil. In Some cases these shoe boils may reach the size of a child’s head, and may be very firm and hard or soft and flabby. Fig. 454. Capped hock. HORSE 443 Treatment.—In the early stages, the main object is to prevent recurrence of the irritation. To accomplish this in capped hock, the animal should be placed in a large stall with the sides and posts well padded. In capped elbow the branches of the shoes should be shortened and their ends bevelled forward, and a heel boot should be worn while in the stable. The stall should also be well bedded, and a dirt floor is better than boards or cement. When a cyst containing a serous fluid is present, it should be aspirated with a sterile syringe or drained off with a sterile trocar. If pus is in the sac, it must be opened with a free incision in the most dependent part and washed out with hydrogen peroxid diluted half with water, or 3 to 5 per cent creolin solution. Stimulating liniments and even blisters, in the subacute cases without pus forma- tion, may cause a resolution and absorption of the inflammatory products. In the old standing cases with the presence of a fibrous tumor, the only treatment is the surgical re- moval of the mass. The condi- tion may last for years, however, without reducing the working capacity of the animal. Curb. Curb is an unsoundness in the horse sometimes leading to lame- ness. It is caused by a rupture of the ligament on the posterior surface of the hock. (Fig. 455.) The inciting causes consist in a defective conformation of the leg, and in sudden strains dur- ing heavy draft work or under the saddle. In recent cases there is some swelling and heat about the posterior surface of the hock, with lameness. On examining the hock joint in profile, the leg, which normally should be perfectly straight, shows a bulging back- ward below the point of the hock. A well-marked curb may be present and cause slight or no lame- ness. Treatment.—This aims to remove the lameness but cannot remedy the blemish. In the early stages, when there is heat and edema about the part, showing the presence of an acute inflamma- tion, cold water should be applied for ten or twelve hours daily from a rubber hose, which is connected with a faucet passed over the back of the animal and tied to the leg by tapes. If lame- ness persists after about a week, a blister of bini- odid of mercury one part to vaseline eight parts should be applied and the animal allowed to rest in the stable for two to four weeks. In the great majority of cases, this will effect a cure. A cer- tain percentage of cases, however, are obstinate and require point- or line-firing, which must be administered by a veterinarian. Leg showing curb. Cartilaginous quittor. This is a chronic suppurative inflammation of the lateral cartilage leading to necrosis and the Fig. 456. Muscles in the normal leg of a horse. 1, M. su- pra-spinatus; 2, M. In- fra-spinatus; 3, M. del- toideus; 4, long head of M. triceps; 5, lateral head of M. triceps; 6, M. biceps; 7, M. sterno- cleido mastoideus; 8, M. brachialis internus; 9, M. extensor carpi radialis; 10, M. extensor digito- rum communis; 11, M. extensor carpi ulnaris; 12, M. extensor digiti minimi; 13, M. abductor pollicis longus; 14, prin- cipal tendon of the M, extensor digitorum com- munis; 15,fibrous sheath; 16, tendon of M. exten- sor carpi radialis; 17, small lateral tendon of M. extensor digitorum communis; 18, tendon of M.extensor carpiulnaris; 19, M. flexor digitorum sublimis; 20, flexor digi- torum profundus; 21, in- terosseus medius; 22, ex- tensor digiti minimi; 23, lateral part of interos- seus medius. (After El- lenberger. ) HORSE formation of discharging sinuses. It is most often seen in the front feet of heavy draft horses, and especially in animals that have flat hoofs with low quarters and heels. The exciting causes of quittor are corns, deep quarter cracks, or tread wounds and other inflammatory conditions which allow the entrance of microdr- ganisms. There is first noticed a swelling and inflamma- tion in the region of the quarters, extending up- wards above the hoof. This increases until finally pus is formed and breaks outward through the skin. In old cases, several openings may be present, together with scars of old sinuses that have healed. The horny hoof is bulged outward and there may be lame- ness, although this is not a marked symptom, and the animal is frequently able to continue at slow work. The course of the disease is chronic and fre- quently covers several months. There is danger of serious complications arising. Treatment.—In the treatment of this condi- tion, a great variety of remedies have been tried. Soaking the foot in a tub containing 1 per cent cre- olin solution is valuable. When the animal is work- ing daily, injections of antiseptic solutions and protecting the part with bandages should be tried. This, in addition to the careful injection once each week of a _ small quantity of a saturated aqueous solution of bi- chlorid of mercury, through a syringe with a narrow nozzle that reaches to the bottom of the sinus, is very good treatment. In severe cases the condition can be permanently cured in a comparatively short time HORSE by the operative removal of the entire lateral cartilage. Scratches. This is an inflammation of the skin in the hollow of the fetlock, of various degrees of intensity. Among the common causes may be mentioned stand- ing in manure and urine, too frequent washing of the skin with irritating soaps, working in stubble fields, alkali dust, salt from the car tracks in win- ter during snowy and icy weather, and bacteria. It is most common on white-footed animals. There may be a mere reddening of the skin, or the skin may contain transverse fissures that gap on ex- tension of the part in walking. In more severe cases, warty excrescences may form around the bor- ders of the fissures and project above the surface, and rarely the condition may go on to gangrene. The skin is thickened, thrown into transverse folds and tender to pressure. Treatment.—The first essential in the treatment of the condition is to remove the cause. The ani- mal should stand in a clean, dry stall, and all long hair should be cut away from the hollow of the fetlock. The parts should then be washed clean with castile soap and warm water and thoroughly dried. Frequent washings delay the healing pro- cess. If any warty outgrowths are present, they should be snipped off with the scissors or removed with the hot iron. In the milder cases, astringent powders may be applied, as tannic acid or equal parts of zine oxid and boric acid. In the more severe cases, ointments are more valuable, as 10 per cent ichthyol ointment or wet astringent dress- ings, as Burrough’s lotion. The latter is composed of alum 80 grams, lead acetate 24 grams, spirits of camphor 60 cc. and water in sufficient quantity to make 500 cc. The parts should be dressed twice daily in severe cases. Founder. Founder is an inflammation of the soft structure, especially the fleshy leaves, enclosed within the horny hoof, accompanied with constitutional dis- turbances, and frequently leading to marked ana- tomical changes in the structures of the foot. The causes of this disease are imperfectly understood. Concussion, excessive ingestion of certain grains, long drives, standing in unprotected places, or drinking cold water while the body is overheated, are all considered causes. Long standing on one foot when the opposite one is diseased, frequently leads to the development of founder. The condition is more common inthe front feet, although all four may be affected. The disease is of sudden onset, with fever from 102.5° to 106° Fahr., rapid respiration, increased pulse rate, and intense pain in the affected feet. Indeed, the pain is so great that the animal cannot be moved out of the stall or made to walk, nor can one foot be raised from the ground if the opposite one is affected ; and great difficulty is experienced in getting the shoes removed. The animal stands with the hind-feet well under the body to relieve weight from the affected fore-feet. Marked throb- HORSE bing of the artery along the inside of the cannon- bone is present. On tapping the wall of the hoof with a hammer, extreme pain is produced, as shown by flinching and tremor of the muscles. Treatment.—When the condition is recognized within the first twenty-four hours of the attack, fee ‘ Fig. 457. Shod and unshod hoofs in founder. 457, 459, after Moller—Dollar.) (Pigs. 454, 455, bleeding is highly recommended, and six quarts of blood should be drawn from the large vein in the neck. The object of this measure is to lower blood pressure. The internal administration of tincture of aconite in ten-drop doses every two hours during the first day, will have the same effect. Locally, cold should be applied to the affected feet, by allowing the animal to stand in a soaking-tub, or, preferably, in a puddle of soft clay, the water of which is kept cold by the addition of ice. Internally, two-ounce doses of saltpeter in a pint of water should be given three times daily, for a period of a week. In those cases which fail to respond to treat- ment, and the anatomical changes occur in the structure of the foot, the hoof will be deformed (Fig. 457), and we can only hope to make the ani- mal useful for slow work, by properly dressing and shoeing the hoof. j Penetrating nail. This condition is a not uncommon accident, especially in city horses. The nail usually pene- trates the point or lateral cleft of the frog and may pass deeply into the soft structures. The accident should always be considered serious, as it may lead to lockjaw or suppuration and necrosis of the soft structure within the horny hoof. Treatment.—The nail should be removed if it is found in the wound. The horny sole or frog should be carefully cut down to the soft tissue for a distance of one-fourth to one-half inch on all sides of the puncture. The hole formed by the nail should then be treated with some antiseptic solu- tion, as 5 per cent creolin or carbolic acid solu- tion or tincture of iodine. . In the absence of these, turpentine may be used. The animal should then be made to stand in a soaking-tub, containing 1 per cent creolin solution, for several days. If this is not possible, a wet antiseptic poultice should be tied over the hoof. This can be made of bran, saturated with a 3 per cent creolin solution and kept moist by adding more of the solution from time to time. This should be kept in place and changed daily until all lameness and discharge from the wound ceases. Bone spavin. This term is applied to any bony enlargement around the hock, the usual seat being on the inner HORSE 445 and inferior surface of the joint. It is the result chiefly of defective conformation, heredity, hard work, slipping and sprains of the hock joint. Spavin is a very prevalent condition and is the most common cause of lameness in the hind-leg. It is usually gradual in its onset. The lameness is somewhat characteristic, in that it is most marked when the animal is first brought out of the stable and disappears on warming up. The animal brings the toe down first, and this part of the shoe shows greatest wear while the heels of the hoof tend to become high and stubby. The lameness is inten- sified by the spavin test, which consists in holding the hock joint strongly flexed for three minutes and then starting the animal off suddenly. The positive proof of spavin consists in the presence of a bony enlargement, usually on the inside, low down on the hock joint. While spavin may be suspected, it is doubtful whether a diagnosis should be made before the bony enlargement can be recognized. (Fig. 458.) In occult spavin, where the in- flammation is within the joint, this enlargement does not ap- pear until late. Treatment.—This cannot re- move the bony growth entirely but may be successful in remoy- ing the lameness. In shoeing the animal the heels should be spared, the toe shortened and the shoe should have heel-calks. Four to six weeks’ rest with repeated blisters may give tem- porary relief. The most success- ful treatment, however, requires the assistance of a veterinarian, and consists in the combina- tion of cutting the cunean ten- don in conjunction with pene- trant point-firing. This hastens the welding or ankilosis of the articular surfaces of the inflamed bones, the movement of which is the direct cause of the pain and lameness. Fig. 458. Leg showing spavin. Ringbone. This term is applied to any new bony growth on the phalangeal bones. It is most common in the front leg and on the lower end of the long pastern or upper end of the short pastern. The causes are both internal and external. The in- ternal causes are predisposing and consist in abnormal directions of the phalanges, improper dressing of the hoof and heredity. The exciting causes are hard work early in life, fast driving on hard roads, missteps, strains and deep tread wounds. The onset is gradual. Lameness develops gradu- ally or may come on suddenly after stumbling or a strain. It is made worse by fast work on hard roads. At rest the animal “points.” There is local heat, swelling and pain on passive rotation of the foot in some cases. The most important symptom is the presence of a bony enlargement about the joint (Fig. 459), and when this is absent, as it may 446 HORSE be in early articular ringbone, the diagnosis is difficult. A large ringbone may be present, on the other hand, without causing lameness. Treatment.—The foot should be properly dressed and shod. If lameness is marked, prolonged rest and repeated mercurial blisters (one part of biniodid of mer- cury to eight of vaseline) should be applied. If this is unsuccessful, deep pene- trant point-firing should be done by an expert veteri- narian to produce a welding of the articular surfaces and thus prevent movement which causes the pain. As a last resort in this disease, double plantar neurectomy has to be performed, for the animal to be able to work. Splint. This is a very common condition in the horse, pro- duced by the deposit of new bone between the can- non and rudimentary metatarsal or splint bones. Its most common seat is on the inside of the front leg, due to the anatomical arrangement of this region, which subjects the internal splint bone to more pressure than the external one. External injuries may rarely be a cause. The condition generally occurs before the fourth year of age, at which time the splint bones become welded to the cannon bone by ossification. The new bony growth may sometimes be seen, and can always be readily felt by running the fingers along the front of the internal splint bone at its junction with the cannon. The normal button-shaped termination of the splint bone in the lower one-third of the can- non should not be mistaken for a splint. In a small percentage of cases splints lead to temporary or obstinate lameness. The lameness becomes apparent after speeding on a hard road, and the animal will rest out of the lameness. Pres- sure over the splint will cause the animal to flinch. The skin will show an increase of temperature at this point and there may be some edema. Treatment.—Only those cases causing lameness should be treated, as the blemish caused by the new bone formation cannot be benefited. In the early stages, when the inflammation is acute, cold water should be allowed to run over the part for several hours each day for a week. The hair should then be clipped short and a blister, consist- ing of biniodid of mercury one dram to one ounce of petrolatum, applied and rubbed well into the part. The animal should have three or four weeks’ rest in the stable. In more severe cases, point-firing over the bony growth will be required to effect a cure. A veterinarian should be employed for the latter. Many cases will get well in time without treatment. Fig. 459. Leg showing tingbone at left; at right, normal leg. Literature. In addition to the references mentioned on pages 124-146 and 330, regarding the diseases and ail- HORSE ments of live-stock, reference is here made to the following works: Law, The Farmer’s Veterinary Adviser (1892); Special Report on Diseases of the Horse, revised edition, United States Department Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry (1908); Moller and Dollar, The Practice of Veterinary Sur- gery (1903); Fleming, A Textbook of Operative Veterinary Surgery (1884); Williams, the Princi- ples of the Practice of Veterinary Medicine, revised edition (1890); Williams, The Principles of the Prac- tice of Veterinary Surgery, revised edition (1890); Hopkins, Veterinary Elements (1901). Arab Horse. Fig. 460. By Homer Davenport. The Arab horse is notable as a saddler, and to impart vigor, quality and intelligence in cross- breeding. His blood has been prominent in the development of the Percheron, Hackney, Thorough~ bred, Russian Orloff, Triccaney, Hanoverian, French and German cavalry horses, the coach horse, polo ponies ; in fact, a large proportion of our present- day types are more or less traceable to the influence of the Arabian horse. Description. The Arabian in his purity is a horse of high courage, possessing length, power and substance, combined with elastic and graceful movement. He is gentle and affectionate. He seems to have no fear of anything, even man, a trait shown particu- larly in young colts. In his native country he stands closer to fourteen hands and two inches than any other height; but his size is merely a matter of the feed given him when he is a colt, as is shown by the fact that among the Gomussa tribe of the Sabba Anazeh, who pay better attention to their horses than do others, we find colts at two years old standing fifteen hands high; and at the Circassian villages up the Euphrates, where even better care of the live-stock is taken than by any of the Bedouins, we find the Arab horse much advanced in size. There is a peculiar balance and harmony through- out the frame of the Arab. The beauty of head, ears, eyes, jaws, mouth and nostrils is noteworthy. The ears are not small, but are so shaped that they appear small; the head is short from the eye to the muzzle, broad and well-developed above ; the eye is soft and intelligent; the nostrils are long and appear puckered, drawn back up the face, and are capable of great distention ; the neck is a model of strength and grandeur, of which he can make a perfect arch, that matches the arch of his tail. The throat is large and well developed ; it is loose and pliant when at rest, and much detached from the rest of the neck. This feature is not often noticed, but it is indicative not only of good wind, but of the capacity for prolonged exertion without distress, owing to the great width between the jaws. The shoulder is good, as is the deep chest, the appearance of which is diminished by the big, deep ribs; the back is short, the loins of immense power, and the quarters long and strong, the whole HORSE beautifully turned. The legs and feet are superior. The two great features, possibly, that a stranger would notice first in the Arab horse, are the fore- head, or jibbah, which cannot be too prominent, giving a peculiar dish to the lower part of the face, and the tail, set high and carried in an arch. The form of the Arabian horse is essentially one of utility ; the space for the seat for the rider is suf- ficient, and at once fixes his true position; the weight is therefore carried on that part most adapted for it. The rest of the frame is taken up with the powers of progression. The color varies, and may be white, gray, bay, chestnut, brown and rarely black. Roan, spotted or pie- bald and yellow colors are not found among the Arabs, although roan and yellow are common among Barbs. The bays often have black points, and generally one or more white feet, with some white in the face. The chestnuts vary from the brightest to the dullest shades. History. There has been a great deal of query as to where the Arab horse came from. It seems probable that he came originally from Mesopo- tamia, although some writers hold that his native home was in the vicinity of Nejd. According to Plumb, the Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, who, according to tra- dition, inherited a valuable horse of the Kuhl race. The Anazeh tribe descended in a direct line from Ishmael, through Sheik Salaman, who lived about 1635 B.C. (four generations re- moved from Ishmael), and who owned five famous mares. From this ancestry has come the purest and best Arab horse blood. This race was in existence Many centuries before the time of Mohammed. Harly in the seventeenth century Arab horses were brought to England, and in the eighteenth century the importations were numerous. These exerted considerable influence on the development of the Thoroughbred and the Hackney. In America.—tThe first record we have of the Arab in America was the importation of the stal- lion Ranger, about 1765, to New London, Conn. Tn 1838, J. D. Elliott imported a number of both sexes. The late A. Keene Richards brought them to Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1856. His plant was making the most rapid strides toward success, when it was destroyed by the Civil war. The blood of his horses, however, is found in the present Ken- AG _ tucky saddle horses, six and seven generations _ back, and there is little doubt that much of the _ beauty of that splendid animal today is traceable ; to the horses that A. Keene Richards imported. The next importation was the two stallions given _ to General U. S. Grant, by the Sultan of Turkey. _ These were of unknown families, but they sired many beautiful and useful horses. A number of Arabian horses were brought to the : lg (Ee CV ENT yf LM AIC Te Mas Fig. 460. HORSE 447 World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in 1893. The Sultan was induced to permit these horses to come to America for the exhibit, and through mortgages they were eventually held. Nine were burned to death in their stalls at the Exposition by the Syrians that brought them, as the outcome of a wrangle. From these horses, however, came the best results from any Arab horses brought to America. Most of them were bought by Mr. Peter B. Bradley, of Hingham, Mass., who crossed them on some of our best breeds, besides breeding them in their purity. With a pure horse of his breeding, Mr. Hess, of New York City, won the WR ptr “1 7 i ee Ane very) y Gime ey ee Nt . Qi, 2 AAT oe 4 WZ TH WN, & ake Z WOK iz Pe Haleb. A champion Arabian stallion. only blue ribbon ever won over our own types of saddle horses, with an Arab in open competition. Mr. Bradley also bred a trotter, two removes from Arab blood, that trotted to a record of 2:30 in the sixth heat of his first race. He produced the finest types of polo ponies and accomplished much with the Arab blood. Distribution. The home of the Arab horse, speaking of the pure Arab, is the district that is covered by the Nomad Arabs, and is confined to Arabia proper and the Syrian desert. In its greatest perfection it is found among the Anazeh and Shamar Bedouins, occupying the territory east and west along the Euphrates river; the Shamar on the eastern shore and the Anazeh west of the river. The latter make a circuit of the desert annually, going from the summer pastures near Aleppo, in the north, to Nejd, in the south, in winter. They swing east past Bagdad and Deyr on their way north, and on their journey south, go west, brushing near Palmyra and Damascus. Within that circuit the home of the Arabian horse may be said to lie. The haunts of the pure Arabian are those of the desert Bedouins, who still carry the lance. Of course, specimens of pure blood can be found sometimes at Beyrout, and the coast towns, but such horses have been brought 448 HORSE there by wealthy citizens. In like manner they have been carried into northern Africa, Persia, Turkey, Hungary, Germany, France, Russia, Eng- land and America. The adaptability of the Arab is noteworthy. Accustomed naturally to the most intense heat, yet he thrives in the extreme cold, and the writer has known one to winter perfectly in the mountains of Pennsylvania. His coat, while fine and silky in spring and summer, in winter is as thick as a beaver’s, and has an undercoating of fur-like hair. Types and families. It has been asserted that there were two breeds of Arabian horses, a large breed and a small breed. This is untrue; there is but one general breed of Arabian horses, of which there are many families, which are different and distinct in many ways. While there are not two distinct breeds, there are a first and a second class. A horse, or mare, about whose breeding there is the slightest doubt, is dis- qualified, and not called “chubby,” and therefore is of the second class. The families originated and descended from some great mare. In all cases the breed of the colt is that of the dam, and not of the sire; thus, a colt, whose father had been a Ham- dani Simri, and whose dam had been a Seglawieh Jedranieh, would necessarily be a Seglawi Jedran. The Bedouins count the father little, so long as he is “chubby,” meaning a Thoroughbred that the Anazeh would breed from, but they place every- thing in the value of the mother’s blood, and of her own individuality. The Gomussa, of the Sabba Anazeh, are the shrewdest horse-breeders of the desert. They have retained, in the largest numbers, specimens of the five great families, which are called the Khamseh, which means five. They also have the choicest of the other families, which are rated equal in point of blood. The Khamseh, so the story runs, have descended from the five great mares, which, with other mares of Sheik Salaman, were drinking at the river after long hardships in war, when the trumpet blew, calling them back to battle. Only five responded to the call, and it was those five that founded the five great families. (1) The Keheilan Ajus.—This strain is the most numerous, and from it all other Keheilans are off- shoots. The words Keheilan Ajus mean the mare of the old woman, derived from a legend that the mare was dropped by its dam near a well kept by an old woman, where the rider had stopped. The traveler rode off in a short time, leaving the filly colt with the old woman. The next morning the colt was found by its mother’s side, having traced her across the desert during the night. Among the Keheilans, bays are more numerous than any other color. They are the fastest, although not the hardiest horses nor the most beautiful. They bear a closer resemblance to the English Thorough- bred than any others, as they are more nearly related. The Darley Arabian, perhaps the only thoroughbred Anazeh horse in our studbooks, was a Keheilan of the sub-family called Ras-el-Fadawi. (2) The Seglawi family have descended from four HORSE great mares owned by a man of that name. At his death he gave his favorite mare to his brother Jedran, and thus the Seglawi Jedrans are the favo: ites of the Seglawies ; he gave the second mare to his brother Obeyran ; the third to Arjebi; and the fourth to El-Abd, meaning theslave. Many writers consider that all four mares were full sisters. Seglawi Arjebi are extinct, and of the remaini strains, the Seglawi Jedran ranks first in the esteem of the Bedouins, and Seglawi El-Abd second. Some years ago, Abbas Pasha, of Egypt, purchas nearly all of the Seglawi Jedran mares from t Anazeh tribe, paying as high a price, it is said, as 3,000 pounds, for a single old mare. Many ches’ nut-colored horses are found among the Seglawis: possibly, with the bays, they would form about an equal division. (3) Hamdani.—The Hamdanis are not common anywhere on the Syrian desert, the Shammar bei supposed to have the best. They are mostly greys, although very handsome browns and chestnuts are to be found in the Shammar. The only strain of the Hamdani that is counted “chubby” is the Hamdani Simri. Mares of the Hamdani Simri are very rare. (4) Abeyan.—The Abeyan is generally the hand- somest breed, but it is small and has less resem- blance to the English Thoroughbred than any of the other families of the Arabian horse. The Abeyan Sherrack is the most esteemed of the seven strains of the Abeyan (and there are but two others 0 that seven, the Abeyan Zahaine and Abeyan Fadaha that are counted “chubby”). It is the name of the family, and the other strains are derived from Abeyan Sherrack. Abeyan Sherracks carry their tail much higher than other Arabian horses. They are also noted for their prominent forehead or jibbah. Their endurance is remarkable. The colors are bay, chestnut and grey. (5) Hadban.—There are five strains of the ban family, Hadban Enzekhi being the favoril and Hadban al-Fert being the only other that considered “chubby” by the Anazeh. The Gomussa of the Sabba Anazeh are supposed to have the bi Hadbans at the present time. Brown and d family. Other families.—Besides these five families, there are sixteen other families that are esteemed almost as much as the Khamseh: (1) The Maneghi, sup- posed to be an offshoot of the Keheilan Ajus. They are plain and without distinction, being somewhat coarse, with long necks, powerful shoulders, muel length, and strong but coarse hind-quarters. They are strong boned, and are held in high repute as war horses. There are four sub-families in this group, the favorite being Maneghi Sbeyel, which is counted “chubby” all over the desert. Maneghi Hedruj, the next esteemed, is not counted “chubby” at Nejd, but is by some tribes of the north desert. The family of Sbeyel of the Gomu possesses the finest specimens of the strain kno’ by that name. (2) Saadan, often very beauti horses ; the sub-strain, Saadan Togan, is the mi highly esteemed. (8) Dakhman. (4) Shueyman, HORSE The sub-strain of Shueyman Shah are rated as first- class. (5) Jilfan. Of this there is a sub-strain, Jilfan Stam el Bulad, meaning the sinews of steel. In some parts of the desert, the Jilfan Stam el Bulad is prized equally with Hamdani Simri. (6) Toessan. Of this, there is the sub-strain Toessan Algami. (7) Samhan, with a sub-strain, Samhan el Gomeaa. The horses of this family are frequently very tall, and are much esteemed. (8) Wadnan, with the sub-strain, Wadna Hursan. (9) Rishan, with the sub-strain Rishan Sherabi. (10) Tamri. The Keheilan Tamris are highly prized. (11) Melek- han. (12) Jereyban. (13) Jeytani. (14) Ferejan. (15) Treyfi. (16) Rabdan. Besides these, there are the Keheilan Heife, Keheilan Kroash, Keheilan el-Ghazala, Keheilan al-Denais, Keheilan al-Nowak, Keheilan al-Muson, Keheilan abu junub, Keheilan Rodan, Keheilan Wadnam Harsan, Dahman abu Amr, Dahman Shawan, Dahman Khomais, Abu Arkab, all of which are considered “chubby.” All these are Keheilans, and most, or all of them, have descended from Keheilan Ajus. Feeding and care. Unaccustomed to much feed, or regular feed, the Arab is likely to get very fat under our method of feeding, so that the horse, once the picture of all that is beautiful and graceful, with us may soon become a fat horse. He thrives best on half of what other horses require. Of all horses, the Arabian is least fit to stand idle in his stall. His life for centuries has been under the saddle, as a war horse, on the scantest rations any horse lives on; and to pen him up inaclose stall and feed him three meals a day so completely changes his life, that it changes his form. Uses. For riding and driving.—As a saddle horse the Arab horse ranks high. He has always been accus- tomed to the saddle, and has developed remarkable endurance, carrying riders long journeys, day after day, in a scorching sun, with little feed or water. He can carry very heavy weights on his back. When hitched to the carriage, he makes a gentle, attractive, driving horse. For crossing.—The importance of the Arab for eross-breeding purposes is well known. He has entered into the development of many of our present- day breeds,—trotting, running, saddle, coach and draft,—and has imparted his endurance, quality and intelligence wherever used. That he is still valued for this purpose is evidenced by the fact that in certain Huropean countries Arab studs are officially maintained for breeding purposes. A new infusion of his blood is much needed in our modern horses. The farther we get from the Arab blood, that in former days was strong in our runners and trot- ters, the less our horses show of the powers of endurance that made them great animals. And while our race horses have become greater sprinters, they have lost much of their staying power. A fresh infusion of the best blood of the desert should improve those families of horses that have been bred in the extreme for any special purpose, to the 0 29 HORSE 449 exclusion of many of the qualities possessed in such a marked degree by the Arabian horse. One of the most noticeable differences between our best types of today, especially in America, and the Arab horse, is the flat and contracted sides of our horses com- pared with the round, barrel-shaped ribs of the Arab- ian and the narrow openings of the jaw-bones of our horses compared with the wide openings of the jaw-bones of the Arab horse. The importance of this latter point is seen especially in race horses. The many deaths among modern race horses, sup- posed to be due to the bursting of blood-vessels, are attributed to the narrow jaw-bones. The heart is wrought to high action in the effort to force the air through the narrow passage, and the result is the breaking of a blood-vessel and death. This was much less common a few generations ago. Another very noticeable difference is the dropping off below the knee of our American horses compared with the big, flat bone below the knee of the Arab horse. The finer quality of bone that is transmitted by the Arab horse in crossing is one of his greatest values. Beyond this, perhaps, is his ability to stamp eyeness and beauty of disposition on his offspring, a quality desired in all horses, especially in cavalry horses. The very close relation that has long ex- isted between the Arab horse and his master, has produced in him a docility and intelligence that is seldom found in horses of other breeds. The pre- potency of the Arab is due to the fact that in his veins flows only thoroughbred blood, with no admix- ture of cold blood, a fact that cannot be said of any other breed. Organizations and records. At this time efforts are being made to organize an American Arabian Horse Association, which shall publish a studbook. Arabian horses are now eligible for registration in the American Studbook and in the General Studbook of Great Britain. Literature. Roger D. Upton, Gleanings from the Desert of Arabia, London (1881); Lady Anne Blunt, The Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates, 2 vols., London (1879) ; Same, A Pilgrimage to Nejd, 2 vols., Lon- don (1881); Boucant, The Arab, the Horse of the Future, Gay & Bird, Strand, London (1905). [For further references, see page 416.] Barb and Turk Horses. By Carl W. Gay. The Barb horse takes his name from his native habitat, the so-called Barbary states of northern Africa, originally peopled by the Berber tribes. These states are Morocco, Algeria, Tunis and Tripoli. The Barb is the “Horse of the Sahara,” of Daumas, the “North African” or “Libyan” horse of Ridge- way. The Oriental group is composed of the Barb, the Turk, and the Arabian, although most recent investigations indicate the Barb to have been the real source of all Oriental blood. A common error resulting in much confusion is the use of the term Arabian in a sense synonymous with Oriental. 450 HORSE Description. The Barb is fourteen to fifteen hands in height, short of body in proportion to length of limb, his whole form being conducive to speed. The head is beautifully proportioned, with a neat ear, broad, full forehead, large, clear, prominent eye, flashing fire and yet expressing intelligence, a deep jowl with open angle, a trim muzzle and a nostril thin at the margin, capable of great dilation and continu- ally in play. The head is nicely set on a rather long, high-crested neck, well cut-out in the throttle and giving the head a lofty carriage; shoulders well laid-in and sloping, well set-up at the withers ; deep, well-arched rib; somewhat drooping croup, although the tail is carried high; straight hind- leg, long pasterns, and rather deep, narrow foot of the most superior texture of horn. The prevailing colors in Barbary are dark bay, brown, chestnut, black and gray. Ridgeway con- curs with other authors in his conclusions that bay with some white markings, as a star or a blaze, together with white coronets, was the original color of the pure Barb. He reasons that the rigid course of selection which modern, scientific breed- ing has established for the improvement of the race is, incidentally, gradually eliminating all but bays and allied browns and chestnuts, and indicates the final exclusion of all but the bays. Statistics re- garding the winners of the principal racing events bear out this conclusion. Thus, as the “blood tells,” the bay color predominates. History. History first records the horse under domesti- cation in Kgypt, and it is thought that his general distribution throughout the civilized world, which took place largely through the agency of the con- quests of nations, has been made from this center. Such an indefinite beginning is given a more satis- factory explanation by the modern researches reported by Ridgeway, which he maintains are strongly suggestive that the Egyptians secured their horses from Libya, where they are thought to have been indigenous. This hypothesis has a striking significance in view of the fact that the Libyan horse of Ridgeway is identical with the subject of this discussion. Zodlogically, there have been demonstrated three distinct species of horses in the genus Equus besides the various species of asses, zebras, and the extinct quagga. To these, Ridgeway adds Equus caballus libyeus, held by him to be a distinct species or at least a sub-species. This being the case, we are justified in accepting the Barb as the progenitor of all modern light breeds, the Turk and Arabian being derivatives, and not antecedents of the Barb. It is known that horses existed in Egypt 1,500 years before they were in Arabia, a fact that is contrary to the popular belief that the genesis of all good horses was in Arabia. It establishes the Barb as the real origin of the Thoroughbred, the blood influence of which is recognized in all horse- breeding countries. Furthermore, in view of the fact that the Andalusian horse of Spain traces its ancestry across the Mediterranean, the Barb HORSE becomes an important part of the native base on which the improvement of horses in America has been made. In America.—The most notable Oriental horses brought to America are Grand Bashaw, a Barb from Tripoli, whose immediate descendants founded the Clay, Patchen and Bashaw families; Zilcaadi, an Arabian from Turkey, and sire of the dam of Gold Dust ; Leopard, an Arab, and Linden Tree, a Barb, presented to General Grant and used by Randolph Huntington in his creation of the Clay Arabian. Most important of recent importations are those of Mr. Homer Davenport, the most conspicuous indi- vidual of which is Haleb. (Fig. 460.) Importance of the Barb. The importance of the Barb is a matter of his- tory, although it is only recently that there has been much reliable data concerning him available. Much of the early literature has been more or less obscured in mythology and superstition. Authorities may differ in their views concern- ing Darwin’s theory of the origin of species, but the facts pertaining to the formation and develop- ment of those subdivisions of the species called breeds are too well established to admit of any question. These facts show conclusively that the striking contrast in the size, type, conformation, quality, temperament and adaptability of the pon- derous Belgian on the one hand, and the racy Thoroughbred on the other, is directly a matter of inheritance, no matter how much the environment may have influenced the two original types from which each respective line of inheritance has been derived. A study of the origin of each of the breeds of horses shows that there were two origi- nal sources from which the foundation blood of each breed was drawn. These were the wild Black horse of Flanders, thought to have been indigen- ous to central Europe from the Rhine river to the Black sea, and characterized by his great scale, grossness, slow awkward movement, sluggish lym- phatic temperament, black color and extreme development of hair; and the Oriental horse, native to the desert regions of northern Africa, Turkey, Asia Minor, Persia and Arabia, the most notable characteristics of which were extreme refinement and breediness, beauty of form, spirit and intelligence, speed, stamina and grace of movement, and an active nervous temperament. The breeds of the heavier, draftier type show a preponderance of the characters of the former, while those of the lighter, speed type resemble — more closely the latter. The so-called coach breeds represent a more or less proportionate blending of the two. Use. Some idea of the extent to which the Oriental — blood has proved a potent factor in the foundation or improvement of modern breeds may be had from a review of the origin of some of them. The term Oriental is used in this connection for the reason — that earlier writers were not specific in their ref- erences to Barbs, Turks, or Arabians. The Darley HORSE Arabian, Byerly Turk and Godolphin Barb, with the “Barb mares,” have been called the real foundation of the Thoroughbred. The Percheron owes his origin to the mating of Oriental horses, left by the Saracens or brought back by the Cru- saders, with native French mares of the Flemish blood. Subsequently, there were made at intervals systematic top crosses of blood from the Orient. Gallipoli and Godolphin were two of the most important of these, and the former is regarded as the most influential sire in the history of the breed. The prototype of the Hackney, the Norfolk trotter, was the result of a Barb union with the Black trotter of Friesland. The Cleveland bay was the product of a Barb-Yorkshire cart horse cross. The hot blood of the desert is mentioned in connection with the origin of the German coach horse. Bars Ist, progenitor of the Russian Orloff trotter, was three generations removed from Smetanka, a gray Arabian taken into Russia. The Prussian Trakehner is derived from an admixture of Oriental and Thoroughbred blood with the native stock. [See further under History in America.] There is some question as to the value of this Oriental horse to the breeder of the present time, although its importance as a foundation stock is so well demonstrated. For example, the Thorough- bred is an improvement over his Oriental ancestors as a race horse, and fresh infusions of the blood are generally regarded as detrimental. Further- more, no increase in trotting speed can be expected to follow crosses of the Oriental blood on our American Standardbred trotter. Nevertheless, there is an active demand in the markets of today for a horse that is neither a running race horse nor a trotting race horse, but a harness type. In _ this horse, a pleasing appearance and good manners are as valuable attributes as speed, and to this end beauty of form, symmetry, quality and finish, style and a pleasant, tractable disposition, are essentials that offset extreme speed. It is as a source of these desired characters that the Oriental horse finds a place in meeting modern market demands. Organizations and records. Barbs are registered in The Algerian Studbook, a book of record recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture. It is said that the number of English and French horses in Algeria has led to the Barb being more extensively crossed with this blood than in Morocco, where there are fewer foreign horses, and systematic efforts have been made under the direction of the Sultan to keep the blood pure. Some Barbs are also regis- tered with Arabians in the General Studbook of Great Britain. THE TurK HOoRsE. This horse, named with the Barb and the Arabian as constituting the so-called Oriental group, has much less significance than either of his contem- poraries. Sanders suggests that the horses of HORSE 451 Arabia and Persia were originally derived from Turkey. In the light of recent investigations we are led to conclude that the term Turk does not imply any particular stock, but designates merely the horses of Turkey. These have been of a, differ- ent character at different periods. The originals, called Turcoman, were probably offshoots from the pony types native to the mountainous districts of southern Asia. They were first reported in Turke- stan, but became generally distributed later in Turk- ish Asia and Persia; there are few horses in Turkey in Hurope. These original ponies do not represent the Turk as he is referred to in recent times, how- ever. Their type has been so completely modified by the Arabians with which they have been crossed as to leave little evidence of their former charac- teristics. However, plain heads with Roman noses, ewe necks, light middles and long legs are still noticeable, and are charged to the Turcoman foun- dation. These modified Turkish horses are of fair size, bay, black or gray in color, with uniform white markings. In those parts of Turkey nearest the Arabian border, many pure Arabians are found. Captain Hayes reports that the horses in ordinary use in Turkish towns at the present time are small, hardy animals, grey or bay in color, and are pro- duced by Arabian stallions out of Kurdistan pony mares, the latter being similar to the Turcoman ponies already referred to, and typical of the horses indigenous to Turkey. Probably the best Turks, so-called, were not Turks at all, but Ara- bians or Barbs. Literature. E. Daumas, The Horses of the Sahara, London (1863). [For further references, see page 416.] Belgian Draft Horse. Fig. 461. By W. L. Carlyle. As the name suggests, this breed is developed for draft purposes. It has little value for any other purpose, being of a sluggish temperament, although very powerful. Description. The Belgian draft horse is one of the most com- pact in form of any draft breed found in America, possessing a maximum of weight with very short body set on short legs. The form is broad, mas- sive and well proportioned, as a rule. In quality, it is somewhat lacking, the legs appearing round and rather coarse. The tendons of the legs are large and not well defined. The skin is sometimes fine, although the hair is occasionally rather coarse and inclined to curl. The head is of good size, the nostrils are large and the eyes small and not very prominent. The ears are small, set wide apart and generally are not well carried. The neck is short, very thick and well crested. The shoulders are upright, strong and heavily muscled. The chest is deep and wide, giving a very large girth. The ribs are long, well sprung, and closely ribbed up to the hip, giving a better barrel than is found in any other breed of draft horses. The back is short, 452 HORSE very broad and inclined to sag somewhat more than is desired. The loins are wide, short and very thick. The flank is low and full. The hind-quar- ters are inclined to be short, very wide and mus- cular, and the tail is attached somewhat low and not well carried. The lower thighs are usually very wide and well muscled. The hocks are round, not clearly defined and too “meaty.” One of the serious faults the American horsemen have found with this breed is in the character of the bone of ac ae Fig. 461. A Belgian stallion the legs, particularly with the hock joints. The feet also receive rather severe criticism, as the hoofs are inclined to be small, narrow and very high in the heels, predisposing to side-bones and contracted feet. In action, the Belgians are inclined to stumble at the walk, but trot off freely and with apparent vim and spirit. In color, the chestnut and roan are most common, although brown and bay are frequently found. The grays are not in favor, although occasionally one is seen. In Belgium, these draft horses are classified somewhat according to the sections of the country in which they have been bred. Those from Flanders are the largest and those from Ardennais district the smallest, while those from Brabant are of medium size and weight. History. In the early history of the Belgian breed of draft horses, no particular animals appear to have been prominent nor has any breeder of outstand- ing merit appeared. This breed, unlike most other draft breeds that have been developed, has been almost entirely the product of its environment. The small country of Belgium has a reputation as the home of draft horses extending back through several centuries. Many, if not all, of the draft breeds of Great Britain and France were greatly improved during their formative period by the use of the heavy Flemish horses, the early pro- genitors of the Belgians. Modern horse-breeding in Belgium, however, is comparatively recent in its greatest activity. A revival of the interest in horse-breeding in Belgium was greatly stimulated and developed with the establishment of govern- ment breeding studs in 1850. The Belgium goy- ernment annually sets apart about $75,000 for the HORSE supervision and encouragement of draft-horse breeding in that country. By a system of prizes, and financial encouragement of individual breeders, as well as of the National Draft Horse Society of Belgium and the local fairs, it has had a very potent influence in the development of this breed. By every means, the government seeks to encourage the best efforts of individuals, and to discourage the exportation of desirable animals. The city of Antwerp, in Belgium, is noted threugh- out the world as possessing many of the finest specimens of draft horses to be found, and these horses are without exception of the Belgian breed. In America. The history of this breed in America is compara- tively brief. The earliest importation was prob- ably in 1886, when a few horses were imported into Illinois by Dr. A. G. Van Hoorebeke. They were at that time incorrectly termed “ Boulan- nais.” Since 1887, large numbers of Belgian draft stallions have been imported into the United States and have been found exceedingly valuable for crossing on native grade draft mares. In 1888, Mr. H. Lefebure began importing and promoting the interest of the breed in this country. One of the first firms to import these horses was D. P. Stubbs & Sons, of Fairfield, Iowa. Since 1897, there has been a large and constantly increasing demand for stallions of this breed. The leading importers have been A. B. Holbart and Lefebure & Sons, of Iowa; J. Crouch & Son, of Indiana; McLaughlin Bros., of Columbus, Ohio; Dunham & Fletcher, of Illinois, and H. A. Briggs, of Wisconsin. Very few mares have been imported into this country for reasons that are not well understood. This is due partly to the fact that there is not the demand for the Belgian breed to encourage importing and breeding, as the trade is better satistied with the Percheron and some of the English draft breeds; and partly because of the very high prices asked for Belgian mares abroad. Distribution. The Belgian draft breed of horses had no wide general distribution outside of its native home, until within the past ten years, since which time it has had a wide distribution on the continent, as it is particularly desirable for use in the heaviest kind of work in large cities. Numbers have been imported into Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, Austria, and other European countries, the Argen- tine Republic, and other South American countries, and to the United States, where they have had a wide distribution, particularly in the central states. Feeding and care. In its native country, the Belgian draft horse is given the best of feed and care to produce a maxi- mum of size and weight as early in life as possible. The foals on the best farms are born early in March or April, the dams usually doing all of the farm work. The foals remain in the stables during the day, and a number of them together in one inclosure if possible. While the mares are at work, the foals HORSE are fed liberally on a sloppy mixture of equal parts of crushed oats and bran and sufficient water to form athin gruel. They are also supplied with fresh drinking-water at all times and with an abundance of good green clover and grasses. At night they are turned into rich pasture lots with their dams. They are weaned at four or five months of age, very little change being made in their feed, and they are allowed to eat all they will con- sume of bran and oats, and of green clover and hay. They are turned into grass lots at night and confined to darkened stables dur- ing the day. This system of feeding is fol- lowed until they are three years of age, when they are broken to work. Since most of their feed is green and succulent, it is thought that this is responsible for the great depth of barrels of the Belgian horses, and to some extent for the soft bone and poor quality of feet. Uses. For draft.—As has been said, these horses are bred entirely for draft purposes, and they rank well among the heavy breeds, especially in Europe. The short, stocky legs, and low-set blocky body, make them very useful for slow, heavy hauling over city streets. For crossing.—Belgian draft horses are especi- ally adapted for crossing on grade draft mares, lacking in weight and substance, for the production of heavy draft horses. When crossed on grade Percheron or Clydesdale mares, they impart an increased depth of body with a comparative short- ening of the legs, and a general massiveness of form not easily secured by the use of any other breed of draft stallions. Organizations and records. The National Draft Horse Society of Belgium (Le Cheval de Trait Belge) was founded in 1886, and the American Association of Importers and Breeders of Belgian Draft Horses in 1887. The former association has issued a number of stud- books, and is very aggressive in the interest of the breed. It receives national financial support. For twenty years the latter association did very little to encourage the breed, which accounts, in part, for the little interest taken in these horses in America until within recent years. It is now more active. The first studbook was issued in 1905. Literature. For references, see page 416. Cleveland Bay and Yorkshire Coach Horse. Figs. 462, 463. By John A. Craig. The Yorkshire coach horse is an outgrowth of the Cleveland Bay coach horse, conceded to be merely an improved type. The two are so insepa- rably associated that it is deemed best to consider them together. In fact, in America, they are con- sidered to be one breed and are registered in the same studbook. HORSE 453 Description. In the Cleveland Studbook (British) there is the following description of the Cleveland Bay horse which, in addition to being very accurate, is also official: “From sixteen hands one inch to sixteen hands two and one-half inches in height, he should be possessed of good, sloping shoulders, a short back, powerful loins, and long quarters. His head 3 tee wy | ey Fig. 462. Cleveland Bay stallion. Special Delight. is rather plain than otherwise, and on the long side, but it is well carried, and his general appearance denotes strength, combined in a manner not seen in any other light horse breed. His action is not spe- cially high, but it is the kind for getting over the ground. In color he is bay—either light or dark— with black legs clear of hair; and black, zebra-like stripes on the arm and above the hocks are some- times seen. These are known as the black points and are supposed to denote special purity of breed- ing. White, save a small star or a few white hairs in the heel, is not admissible, a blaze or white foot proclaiming at once the admixture of foreign blood.”" An early writer* makes the following comment on the old stamp of Cleveland Bay, just about the time the Thoroughbred was to be used most liber- ally : “Very many of the Cleveland horses are dis- figured by having large heads and Roman noses ; and it is only when these parts are, to a certain extent, concealed by the winkers of the bridles and the trappings that adorn them, and their heads are borne up by the bearing rein, that they acquire the imposing appearance which, when well matched, so many of them possess. When stripped, a great proportion of them appear a very different sort of animal indeed, and, in all probability, a smaller and more compact sort of horse would go through double the quantity of work that they are capable of enduring. Fashion, however, is to be consulted by the breeder, to a certain extent ; and, so long 1 Wallace, Farm Live Stock of Great Britain. ? John Burke, Royal Agricultural Society Report, Vol. V, 1844. 454 HORSE as he can obtain from job masters a large sum for a pair of these overgrown animals, he will do well to breed them without reference to their being unequal in point of endurance to a smaller and better-formed sort of draught horse. It is gener- ally supposed that a horse destined for harness should not have a very oblique shoulder, as when so formed he is not capable of throwing so much of his weight into the collar as when his shoulders are more upright ; but it must be remembered that grand and lofty action is highly prized in London for the purpose of show, and not for hard work, and hence a sloping shoulder is a point to be desired by the farmer who breeds carriage horses for the London market; for, as I have already observed, it is one which is mostly accompanied by high action.” In the latter part of the nineteenth century, after the organization of societies in the eighties, to promote this breed, the British public became Cleveland Bay mare. Queen Dearest. interested in the horse to supplant oxen on the farm. At this time, too, the demand changed from avery heavy carriage horse to a lighter horse with more quality, more style and more coach or high action. The Cleveland had to veer one way or the other or become extinct. It is evident that it was changed towards the latter largely by the greater use of Thoroughbred blood, and that resulted in the type more commonly known by the name of the Yorkshire coach horse. To indicate the tendency of the change, the following extract from the Yorkshire Coach Studbook will be of service : “It cannot be claimed for the Yorkshire coach horse that he is a pure-bred animal, but that, on the contrary, by the judicious crossing of large-sized good-colored mares with stallions alto- gether or nearly Thoroughbred, a class of horses has been produced suited to the wants and cireum- stances of the times. By universal consent, the color should be bay or brown, with black eyes, mane and tail abundant but not curly, the height from sixteen hands to*sixteen hands two inches, with fine head, sloping shoulders, strong loins, and lengthy quarters, high-stepping action, good HORSE sound feet, flat legs and abundance of bone muscle.” History. Perhaps the best evidence we have of the an cient origin of this breed is the prevalence of many theories as to the foundation from which i started. Martin Doyle, writing in 1843, asse’ that it is descended from the old war horse of Great Britain. There are other authorities, also. who state that this breed has the best claim to th distinction of being related to the horses tha’ pulled the war chariots of the early Britons when Julius Cesar invaded England. As a matter o: fact the first records of the Cleveland horse con- nect it with being a pack or Chapman horse. It is historically certain that the breed origi- nated in Yorkshire, one of the northern counties of England. The conditions of Yorkshire were emin- ently suitable for the production of superior ligh' horses. The people were horsemen, and the fertile valleys and hills, underlaid in the best grazing dis- tricts with limestone, were very productive of nutritious grass. No specific reference to the Cleveland breed is made by any of the earliest writers. The fi distinct reference to the Cleveland seems to be that made by George Culley, in his “Observations on Live Stock,” published in 1801. In this refer- ence, Culley originates the theory that the Cleve- land Bay horse is the result of the mixture of the Thoroughbred with the cart horse, a theory which some writers combat so far as to say that neither the Thoroughbred nor a heavy strain like the old cart horse had anything to do with the formation of the breed. One authority’, who takes unusual pains to substantiate the war horse theory of Cleveland Bay origin, goes to considerable length to disprove the introduction of either cart or Thoroughbred blood, and this he has failed to accomplish, as he has been forced to acknowledge that “Probability points to a Thoroughbred Tray- eller as having had something to do with impart- ing fresh quality and courage to the Cleveland Bay” The straight croup or level hind-quarter is a decided Thoroughbred characteristic, and it is a trait that most other breeds of light horses tend towards when much Thoroughbred blood is used, as has been found in the instance of both the Hackney and the French coach horses. It is a mat- ter of record, too, that Dunsley’s Dart, one of the three sires that seem to have had most to do i establishing the Cleveland as a breed, goes back to the Darley Arabian, and the preface to the York- shire coach studbook so states. The old Cleveland Bay, the horse that was so popular in early days for heavy coaches and for matched teams for the London market, may not have had very much Thoroughbred blood in it, considering the amount that has been used later. The best early history of the county of York- shire appears in three separate prize essays by dif- ferent writers, published in the ninth volume of the Royal Agricultural Society (England) Report, 1 Light Horses: Breeds and Management. , HORSE published in 1848, from which the following refer- ence by George Legard is taken: “‘Formerly, a large, powerful, bony animal was required for car- riage purposes; the fashion of the present day has, however, changed this particular, and now it is necessary that the London carriage horse should be at least three parts Thoroughbred. Conse- quently, all traces of the original pure coaching breed or Cleveland Bay, as it was termed, are nearly obliterated.” Another writer on Yorkshire in the same report, page 518, says: “The Cleve- land, as a pure-bred, is losing something of its distinctiveness. It is running into a proverb that a Cleveland horse is too stiff for a hunter and too light for a coacher, but there are still remnants of the breed, though less carefully kept distinct- ively than may be wished by advocates of the breed.” Other causes, too, were operating to change the type of the breed and encourage the more liberal use of Thoroughbred blood. One of these was that the abundant grass-land was converted into til- lage-land. The high price of grains, due to the war, induced an unusual activity in farming, and a heavier horse was called for. The coal industry also demanded a heavier horse. Again, the use of the horse on the road, because of lighter vehicles, called for a lighter horse, so that, in a multitude of ways, the old type of Cleveland was undergoing dissolution. When the outlook seemed darkest, the American trade opened up, and, in 1884, the Cleve- land Bay Horse Society was formed, and a stud- book established. At this time Thoroughbred blood was used very liberally. So much stress would not be laid on the Thoroughbred blood introduced, if the writer did not believe that all our recognized breeds of light horses have more or less Thor- oughbred blood in them, and all are, as a conse- quence, rooted deep in Oriental ancestry, chiefly the Arab. In 1889, the Royal Agricultural Society recog- nized the Cleveland Bay as one of the distinct breeds of English horses, and offered prizes for it, although it was shown with the Yorkshire Coach. At the meeting of the societies, in York, as early as 1848, a few Clevelands were shown. In America.—It cannot be said that the Cleve- land Bay or Yorkshire coach horse ever had the popularity in this country that has attended the importation of some of the other breeds of light horses. Those that were imported were considered unusually good representatives, but the type and breed characteristics never found much favor. In coach or carriage horses, high and attractive front action with good hock action are essentials, com- bined with a stylish, smooth and symmetrical appearance, associated with quality in all parts. In these respects, the Cleveland Bay did not approach the excellence shown by other breeds. Distribution. The Cleveland Bay horse has enjoyed some popu- larity, notably in South Africa. Aside from impor- tations into America, the horse has been taken to South America, Australia and Sweden. HORSE 455 Uses. Hnough has been said to indicate the place of the Cleveland Bay as a coach horse. It has found some favor as a roadster, especially in England. These horses are very uniform in color and mark- ings, and they are very prepotent in transmitting these characters when crossed on common mares. Because of this their get is uniform and easily matched into teams. Their size and power and dis- position adapt them for some of the work of the farm better than is the case with any of the other breeds of light horses ; but, owing to their defic- iency in quality and action, they have not been gen- erally popular in American horse-breeding districts. Organizations and records. There are two studbooks in England, that of the Cleveland Bay Horse Society and that of the Coach Horse Society, devoted to the Yorkshire Coach. In 1885, the Cleveland Bay Horse Society of Amer- ica was organized, which registers both the Cleve- land Bay and the Yorkshire Coach. The headquar- ters of the society are in West Orange, N. J. It has published two volumes of its studbook. Literature. For references, see page 416. Clydesdale Horse. Figs. 464, 465. By John A. Craig. This breed has been known for many years as the draft breed of Scotland. It is one of the oldest breeds of British draft horses. Description. Clydesdales have a kind, quiet disposition, good courage, and enough spirit. A weight of 1,700 to 2,000 pounds for stallions and 1,500 to 1,800 pounds for mares, with an average height of 164 hands for the former and 16 hands for the latter, may be regarded as the standard for mature, well- developed individuals of this breed. The charac- teristics of the modern Clydesdale, in reference to color, vary somewhat, the most prevalent being bay, brown, black or occasionally chestnut, with white markings on the forehead or face and below the knees and hocks. They vary more in character- istic markings than most of the other draft breeds, but in uniformity of type there is a striking simi- larity among the best. The head is almost inva- riably intelligent. The shoulder is exceptionally good, which gives a free, easy, long stride. It is somewhat oblique, accompanied by high withers. The arm is usually well muscled, and the bone clean and flat. The feather (hair on the legs) in horses of the best quality, springs from the edge of the bone, and is fine, silky and long. It is not con- sidered of much importance in itself, but is valued for what it indicates. The assertion is made that a proper feather protects the coronet and back part of the pastern from filth and mud, and, con- sequently, is preventative of scratches. It has often been objected to in America. At any rate, the feather, when fine, indicates that the other 456 HORSE tissues, the bone and skin, are also of fine texture. Conversely, when the feather is wiry and coarse and curly in this region, it surely denotes a leg predisposed to grease or scratches. The pastern and feet have been vastly improved in this breed in recent years, owing to the demand for more slope and length in the former and larger hoof heads in the latter. The same is true to a degree in regard to the coupling, which at one time was considered the weakness of the breed, attributable to the lack of depth in the shorter ribs. Increasing the depth y iy Ss 1 eo “Day A. %: WD én Z es = 3 iy Yi 1)a Gt “Pr, ~whiNgg “aes aN Me (ge ‘ FS ToS 1) ey Soles << s £ DSSS AY ili LO Fig. 464. Baron’s Pride. Said to be the greatest Clydesdale sire in the world. Owned by A. and W. Montgomery, Scotland. of body and adding to the length of the hinder ribs have been effective in lessening the prevalence of this criticism. The croup of the Clydesdale ‘is muscular, and the quarters are specially well devel- oped. The set of the hocks is one of the strong points of the breed. A properly set hock forecasts pulling power, and it also implies freedom from curbs and from coarseness, due to thoroughpin or bog spavins. With the web of the hock free from any filling, the latter works freer and stronger, and is not predisposed to diseases ; and such a hock is almost invariably properly set, for it will frequently be noticed that it is the straight hock that is more “meaty” and subject to bog spavins and thorough- pins. Properly set hocks, above all other things, insure the hock action which is so greatly sought in Clydesdales. To bring the hocks well under the body and not to spread too much in passing each other are very desirable attributes, and these are eminently characteristic of the Clydesdale’s hind action. The front action in best form is free, snappy and folding at the knee, chiefly attributable HORSE to a shoulder of correct slope, and springy yet strong pasterns. History. The Clydesdale originated in the lowlands of Scotland, with the county of Lanark as the chief center of activity in producing the breed. It is frequently referred to as the Clydesdale district, and is divided throughout its length by the Clyde river. While the lowlands of Scotland have long been noted for the heavy horses bred there, yet it was not until the latter part of the eighteenth century that the breed was much im- proved by the importation of some heavy stallions from Flanders. John Paterson, of Lochlyoch, is said to have im- ported the first Flemish stal- lion for this purpose early in the eighteenth century. The Flemish stallions were large- boned and heavy horses of sluggish temperament, with slow, awkward action. The lowlands of Scotland are very favorable for the breed- ing of heavy horses, as the soil is fertile and the pas- turage luxuriant; and these, with a suitable climate, have a marked effect on the char- acteristics of the modern Clydesdale, as they are fa- vorable for growth of bone and muscle, giving both height and substance. The Clydesdale of today is the result of careful and per- sistent breeding for definite ends. The results of the breeders’ efforts in a general way may be summed up by stating that they have ultimately been very suc- cessful in combining weight, quality and action as the prime essentials of a draft horse. These, suc- cessfully united, produce a draft horse that has pulling power, wearing quality or endurance, in association with ability to move properly at a satisfactory pace, either walking or trotting. The evolution of this breed of draft horses is more than usually interesting because of the decided views of the home breeders and the singleness of purpose which they have shown. The progress has been secured through concentration on one feature after another, until it produced the desired re- sults. Without government direction or aid to secure uniformity of progress, it is safe to say that the Scottish breeders have accomplished as marked improvement in their draft horses as the breeders of any other nation, and the modern Clydesdale of accepted type possesses inherited characteristics so fixed by consistent breeding that they are likely to be passed on to succeeding gene- rations. Archibald MacNeilage, secretary of the 2 HORSE Clydesdale Horse Society of Scotland, in a review (Famous Clydesdale Sires, Transactions of High- land and Agricultural Society, Vol. IX, 1897) of the most noted Clydesdale sires from Champion to MacGregor 1487, shows the evolution of a type from a coarse prototype, which the author describes as being a horse of weight with plenty of strength of bone, but not at all “right at the ground” in the modern sense, nor as “sweet” in his limbs as horses are liked now. For a century the Clydesdale breeders in Scot- land worked without results that were striking on the surface, but when this cycle had passed, the evolution of such sires as Prince of Wales (678) and Darnley (222) had crowned their efforts. The former is credited with possessing style and action in an unusual degree, and these qualities were very desirable to graft on to the breed at that time. But with the production of Darnley (222), a sire possessing the true balance of qualities which mark the serviceable draft horse, with the power to reproduce these, the Clydesdale breed received an impetus that effectively disarmed the old-time eriticism of “light middles.” From the Prince of Wales line have come Prince of Albion (6178), said to be the highest-priced two-year-old draft horse ever sold, he bringing £3,000. He was, in turn, the sire of the two-year-old filly, Queen of the Roses, with a similar record, she bringing £1,000. Also, from the Prince of Wales came Cedric (1087), exported to Scotland from the stud of Col. Robert Holloway, Alexis, Illinois, one of the leading importers of Clydesdales in America. From the Darnley line have come MacGregor (1487), Baron’s Pride (9122) (Fig. 464) McQueen (3513); and in such as these the Clydesdale breeders secured that combination of substance, quality and action, with right set of legs, for which theyhad striven long and assiduously. Beginning with a prototype coarse and weighty, it was refined without loss of substance ; and then by concentrating their attention successively on style, action, set of legs, slope of pasterns, through years of criticism and discussion, the Clydesdale of today emerges with the characteristics desired very pro- nounced, and in addition, equipped to transmit them. In their adherence to quality, meaning thereby texture of bone, cleanness of joints and fineness of skin and coat and feather, the Scotch breeders made no mistake in so improving the breed at an early day, for it has not only added to the appear- ance of the individuals, to free them from the charge of grossness of joints and coarseness of bone, but it has also added materially to their du- rability under the strain of steady service. Fineness of feather and sloping pasterns seemed fine fancy points to the uninitiated, but a steady demand for them improved the quality of the Clydesdale at a rapid rate. The breeders previous to this had con- centrated on action with a zeal that has hardly been equaled by the breeders of any other breed of horses. The demand became insistent for action in show and breeding stock, and the result is that, in the possession of this feature, judged from a purely mechanical standpoint, the breed has made marvelous progress. The action required had to be HORSE 457 straight, regular and free, both at the walk and at the trot, with a free flexion of the knee, a springi- ness to the pastern and a straight and close pas- sage of the hocks. In the effort to secure these improvements, the Scotch breeders were very ably supported by the American breeders, although the latter did not feel like going so far in the securing of quality as the home breeders. It is very likely that the latter felt some misgivings on the point, for there is no doubt but that the slight infusion of Shire blood, which was made into the Clydesdale, chiefly through the use of Prince of Wales (673) blood, is, to some degree, evidence that they wished to regain some substance and weight, which, for the time being, had been sacrificed to a degree for quality. The Clydesdale breeders ultimately secured what they had striven for, even though little attention has been paid to the American dislike for splashes of white on legs or body. In this connection it may be given as a general principle that while it is well to bear in mind the peculiar requirements of any trade, yet it is well to be careful in the matter of humoring any fad as to color or any other fancy point, when it clashes in any way with real essen- tials. Having secured the latter, then the question of markings and color may properly be allowed to enter asa substantial factor. Another feature is that the history of the live-stock trade in this country indicates that to cater to a color, especially of a fad, has its dangers. The preference for red among Shorthorn admirers carried to the point of a prejudice against the roan, has reacted, although not until the breed had suffered as a consequence. The Percheron breeders submerged the old gray Percheron and gave preference to the more modern black in answer to American preference, and now that the demand of the draft-horse market in this country is said to place a premium on grays, the breeders will have to swing back if American preference is to be recognized. Uniformity of color and attractive markings are admitted by every one to be desired, and the Clydesdale is the sufferer for bizarre markings. 458 HORSE In America.—The first importations were made into Canada in 1842, when Archibald Ward, of Markham, Ontario, imported Grey Clyde, 78 ; three years later, R. Johnson, of Scarborough, Ontario, imported Sovereign, 181. Other importations were made into Canada in 1850-51-54. About twenty years later Clydesdales were imported to the United States, both directly from Scotland and from Canada as well. The largest importations were made after 1880, and in the following twelve years many thousands of both sexes were brought to America. They are now widely distributed, and generally known and used. Distribution. The adaptability of the Clydesdale, has led to a wider distribution of it than of any of the other draft breeds. It has found favor in the leading English-speaking countries, including, in addition to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Argentine Republic has imported many of the best, while several of the European nations, notably Germany, Sweden and Russia, have been most active in making importations. It has also found its way into South Africa. On this continent, the breed has been most popular in Canada, and the good effects of the use of this breed in grading up farm mares to produce draft- ers serviceable on the farm and marketable on the best markets, may be seen on almost any Canadian farm, while on the streets of the large Canadian cities, such as Toronto, Hamilton and Winnipeg, the teams attached to the lorries, showing in their characteristics Clydesdale breeding, will compare favorably with any others doing like service under similar conditions. Uses. For draft.—The Clydesdale is essentially a draft horse, bred for that purpose alone. His free, straight, rapid gait, and strong, heavy frame, give him high rank among draft breeds. For crossing.—Good types of pure-bred Clydes- dales on native draft mares have given grades with considerable snap and power, well adapted for medium draft work in the city and on the farm. The secretary of the American Clydesdale Asso- ciation has reported the sale of four draft geld- ings, largely of Clydesdale breeding, on the Union Stock Yards market for $3,200, to Nelson Morris Company. Sales by private treaty are not reported to the extent that auction sales are, but this, however, is considered to be a record price on the Union Stock Yards’ market. It is, in a degree, an index to the merit attainable by horses of this extraction for draft purposes. Organizations and records. In 1877, the American Clydesdale Horse Asso- ciation was formed to look after the interest of this breed in America, and up to 1907, about 15,- 000 registrations had been entered, there having been over 1,000 entries during the past year. The Scotch Clydesdale Horse Society was organized in 1878, and it has a registration of over 30,000 HORSE stallions and mares. Each of these associations issues a studbook, the American Association having published thirteen volumes and the Scotch Society twenty-nine volumes. The headquarters of the American Association are in the Union Stock Yards, Chicago. Literature. For references, see page 416. French Coach Horse. Fig. 466. By John A. Craig. The name “French coach” originated in America, — and it is here the official designation of this breed of coach horses, although it is not in use in France, where the name “ Demi-Sang” prevails. There has always been a strong demand in most — of the horse markets of the world for high-class coach or carriage teams. The fact that carriage teams of right type and action bring unusually high prices in the horse markets has always been a strong stimulus for their production. This of it- self has led to the development of breeds suitable for the production of such horses in several coun- tries, but an additional stimulus was added to the production of the French coach through the French government being actuated by the desire to supply its army with the best remounts. The wisdom of this has already accrued to the advantage of the private individual, for superior carriage horses are always at a premium, and it remains for a war to bring to the attention of other nations the superior foresight with which France has provided for her cavalry and other army corps in the matter of re- mounts. It is a national work, the matured fruit of which will be fully apparent only in a national crisis when most needed. Description. Coach type.—The French coach horse of the coach or “carrossier” type is in every essential a coach — or carriage horse according to the market require- ments. These horses stand, on an average, sixteen hands high, and in weight may vary from ten to fourteen hundred pounds. Most of the horses of this type are upstanding, carrying their heads and tails high when in motion or at rest. They are smooth, symmetrical and invariably of fine quality, with. very graceful movement, having high and bold knee action, with regular, uplifting, hock action. They have intelligent heads, graceful necks, snugly ribbed bodies, and muscular quarters. If any part of the conformation might be chosen as fit for general criticism, it would be the legs, although these, in most instances, are well set and have every evidence of quality. There is an airiness and gracefulness about a well set-up French coacher that is hard to find in any other coach breed. It is due chiefly to their unusual length and gracefulness of neck, in conjunction with a spirit of alertness in movement or statuesqueness in standing which, besides being due to bodily con- formation, is also traceable to the excellent train- f ing they receive to show their qualities to the best HORSE advantage. The common colors are bay, brown or black. Considering the mixed breeding followed in evolving the French coach, it is exceptionally uni- form in type, a result due likely to the uniformity in the standards of the men who as directors have control of the government breeding operations. The greatest success in producing the most handsome and stylish carriage or coach horses has been by using mares approaching as nearly as pos- sible the type desired, with as much quality and action as possible. The trotting type-—The production of the trotting type for many purposes has been encouraged since 1836, when the French gov- ernment began offering prizes for trotting races, with the special object of encouraging long- distance trotting, more especially under the saddle. The races are usually for distances varying from two to three miles, and are run over sod ground. The records are established by the kilometre, which is about five-eighths of a mile, without reference to whether the race extended one or three miles. They are made under saddle from a standing start and carrying not less than 120 pounds. As might be expected, those of the trotting type are racier in appearance, being somewhat like our own trot- ters, finely drawn, more angular than the coach type, rangier in appearance and somewhat better in quality. A horse of stamina and substance, as well as speed, is required, for it is to be remem- bered that the races are for long distances over turf, which demands strong, bold going and pow- erful action. [Speed records and races are discussed on the following page.] History. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, the French government, by establishing the Adminis- tration des Haras, began the systematic improve- ment of their horses, and as early as 1690 there were 1,600 stallions known as “royal” or “ap- proved.” During the many years of disturbance in France, changes of government and national reverses, the work has gone steadily on to the present day. In 1789, there were 3,239 stallions in the government service, and at the present time provision is made for the maintenance of 3,300 government stallions, mostly kept in that part of France west of Paris, and particularly in the province or district of Normandy. It is in this section that the breed has had its greatest growth, and it was because of this that some of the earlier importations were called Anglo-Normans. In 1838, a studbook was established, and in 1870 the department of agriculture was given control of the government horse-breeding interests under the Supervision of a director general and staff of inspectors. The government control is exercised in a way very similar to that described in discussing the Percheron, except that the government, in the case of the coach horses, does most of the breed- ing, and consequently branded stallions among the French coachers are not so common as among the draft breeds. According to the report of the Director General for 1903, about fifteen hundred HORSE 459 stallions owned by private parties were approved and authorized. The same classes are made as in the case of the draft breeds, there being (1) the stallions in the government service, (2) the stal- lions subsidized to the extent of $100 to $1,000 yearly while approved, and (8) the stallions author- ized for public patronage. All others are prevented by a law passed in 1885 from standing at public service, al- though any owner, at his discre- l ‘i ‘ My) Yh y ff } Oe Yyy ly UY — ilillfln ZY ly St Se ee Y4rn0 French coach mare. , MeO Fig. 466. Modjeska 2194. tion, may use such for private purposes, a practice that is not encouraged. In the breeding operations of the government, a great variety of sources are drawn on. Thorough- breds have been very extensively imported from England since the early days of the breed, and Hackneys have been freely imported and liberally used; in the inception of the breed, twenty to thirty Hackneys were imported annually. Heavy importations of Arabians and others from the Orient, have been made, particularly in the early stages of government control, and even stallions of American breeding have been used. Niger, whose record is quoted elsewhere as among the best, was sired by the Hackney stallion Norfolk Phenomenon, and had an American-bred mare for his dam. Descendants of Norfolk Phenomenon were a popu- lar line of breeding, and enter largely into the pedigrees of many of the Demi-Sang. Another stallion that had considerable to do with the better type was Aemulus by Mambrino Pilot, and out of a Morgan-bred mare, Black Bess, consequently representing one of the old strains, common among our Standardbred trotters. This is mentioned to indicate further the variety of sources drawn on for foundation stock. In the production of trotters among the French coach horses, one stallion, Fuschia, holds about the same relation to the breed as Hambletonian 10 does to that of our American Standardbred trotters, in the extent to which the blood of each predominates in the respective breeds. In America.—The French coach horse was most extensively imported to this country during the eighties, many of them coming to the eastern states. 460 HORSE Those sent west were most largely taken to the states of Illinois and Ohio. In the middle west they have been liberally patronized, and when the foun- dation mares were of suitable size and type, and a fair degree of action, high-class carriage horses have been produced. The scarcity of the proper type of mares to breed to such stallions militated against the reputation of the breed for crossing purposes ; and especially has the scarcity of genuine coach action been the source of some disappoint- ment. Distribution. The French coach horse has been imported into many parts of Europe and America, but has not been bred systematically on a large scale in many parts of the country. As has been said, it is found in America chiefly in the eastern states, Illinois and Ohio being, perhaps, the leaders. Types. Owing to the needs of the army, the French coach horse in France is represented by two types, referred to as the Demi-Sang trotteur, or those of the trotting type, and the Demi-Sang carrossier, or those of the coach type. There are now two stud- books in France for the registration of these: The French Studbook, A Register of Demi-Sang Horses Born and Imported in France, established in 1833; and the Studbook Trotteur, compiled and published in 1907. Records had been compiled before this, but only in recent years has the full importance of these become manifest to the patrons of the breed. Speed records and races. As to speed, M. W. Dunham, who has been an extensive importer and breeder, has compiled the following data from official records: In 1891, there were 1,899 contestants in races, 312 of which trotted races of two to three and three-fourths miles at less than three minutes per mile; 137 under 2:50, 112 under 2:45 and 62 under 2:40. One hundred and one of the 312 were three-year- olds. The average distance was 27; miles; aver- age time per mile, 2:50; fastest time for three- year-olds, distance 24 miles, 6:33; fastest time for five- to seven-year-olds, distance 34 miles, 8 minutes. In further reference to speed it may be noted that in 1877, Zacinthe is credited with having trotted 18% miles over a good road in 59 minutes, and Niger in 1878 trotted 24 miles in 6:55. To prevent the sacrifice of size for speed, it is asserted by the authority just previously quoted that a law was enacted excluding all horses from public races that were under fifteen and one-fourth hands high. As illustrating the conditions under which most of the races are held, the Derby of Rouen may be cited. It is worth 20,000 franes, made for three- year-olds, to be entered the year of their birth, and trotted in June on turf track two miles under saddle, fillies to carry 120 pounds, colts 125 pounds. From these conditions and the data submitted, it is easy to understand that the government’s aim is to encourage speed at the trot without sacrificing stamina or substance. HORSE Uses. The use of the French coach horse for carriage, _ cavalry and fast saddle purposes will have been gathered from the preceding discussion. It remains — to mention the use of French coach stallions on common mares bred in America for the production of a grade coach horse for general city purposes. Considerable success has followed such efforts when pure-bred stallions have been used. Half- and three- quarter-bred coachers have commanded high prices on the market. Organizations and records. The studbooks devoted to this breed in Fran are mentioned under types. The French Jockey Club, organized in 1838, has been responsible for much of the development of the breed. The French coach is represented in America by two societies, the French Coach Horse Society of America, organized in 1888, with the present secretary a Oak Park, Illinois, and the French Coach Horse Registry Company, organized in 1904, with head quarters in Columbus, Ohio. Each society pub lished the first volume of its studbook in 1906. Literature. For references, see page 416. French Draft Horse. By W. L. Carlyle. A number of breeds and types of draft horses have been developed in France, and specimens of most of them have been introduced into America simply as French draft horses. This has led to some confusion in the names, as there is no single — French draft breed, but rather several distinct Figs. 467, 468. draft horse best known in America is the Per- cheron (see pages 478-481). Others less well know are the Ardennais, Boulonnais, Breton and Niver- naise, which are here given brief treatment. ‘The or type of the Boulonnais. By some writers it is held to be a Belgian breed. ARDENNAIS HORSE. This draft breed or type is a native of Ardennais, adjoining the Belgian. frontier in northeaster France, and resembles very much in type and char- acteristics the Belgian draft horse. It is a very blocky, compact breed of great usefulness for pro- ducing heavy farm “chunks,” and one type is us largely as heavy draft horses. Individuals of this breed scarcely equal in size the Belgians, but are of the same general type. The heads are strong, with small eyes and ears, short, thick necks, heavy shou ders and short, thick and compact bodies. The legs are short, of fairly good quality, although the fi are high and narrow. The color of the Ardennais is more frequently chestnut and roan than any- thing else, although bay and brown are sometimes found. Gray is not common and is not looked on with favor. When imported into this country ‘a horses of this breed are eligible for registration in Plate XIV. Draft horses.—Percheron above, Belgian beneath HORSE the studbook of the National French Draft Horse Association of America. BouLonNAls Horse. Fig. 467. The head of the Boulonnais is of good size, being broad in the forehead and with a larger eye than the Percheron, and somewhat more clean-cut about 2. — Fig. 467. Champion Boulonnais horse. Bigotte. (No. 2405.) the lower part of the head. The neck is medium in length and clean-cut. The shoulders are laid well into the body and well muscled. The body is compact and deep-ribbed, with short and broad back and well-muscled loins. The croup and rump are inclined to be short and with a low-set tail. The hind-quarters are muscular and broad with well-filled thighs. The legs and feet are free from superfluous. hair and are possessed of excellent quality. Many Americans favor the feet of the Boulonnais in preference to those of any of the other French breeds. On the whole, the feet are larger, more rounded and the pasterns have more slope than the Percherons. The colors are dapple gray, dark iron-gray, black, brown and occasion- ally chestnut. The northern part of France has been particu- larly fertile in the production of high-class horses of various types. This has been due in part to the character of the soil and climate and to the char- acter of food on which they have been fed, and in part also to the taste and temperament of the people in this section. In addition to the Percheron and Demi-Sang Normand, or French coach horse, there have been developed in this region several distinctive types or breeds ranging in character- istics from coach horses to the heaviest type of draft animals. The Boulonnais breed originated in the Boulogne district in northeastern France adjoining Belgium. In common with the other draft breeds of France, the Boulonnais horses without doubt had their origin in the heavy Flemish horses. In their general characteristics they very much resemble the Per- cheron, so much so that it is impossible in the best specimens to distinguish one from the other. In recent years more animals of gray color are to be found among the Boulonnais than among the Percherons, and there has probably been less change and improvement in type in the Boulonnais breed than in the Percherons. They are not so large as the Percherons, and somewhat less refined, on the whole. HORSE 461 The breed has an excellent reputation in its native country, where an association has been formed and a studbook kept in the interest of the breed. It has been imported in large numbers to America and has more largely than any other breed made up what is known as the French draft breed. This breed is growing in popularity in America, and its interests, together with other French draft breeds, are represented in the National French Draft Association of America, which publishes a studbook. This Association was first organized as the National Norman Horse Association in 1876, but its title was changed to the one that it now bears in 1885. The Association thus far has pub- lished nine studbooks. The present headquarters of the Association are at Denver, Colorado. BrETON Horse. Fig. 468. This breed of light draft or general-purpose horses belongs to Brittany, in the western part of France in a section of country that is much broken in surface. In general, these horses have intelligent heads, clean-cut necks of medium length, beautiful, round, well-muscled bodies with short backs and rather longer and straighter croups and rumps than the other French breeds, and with more quality in the legs and feet, the latter being large and more rounded in form than the Percheron or the Boulon- nais. In color they are dapple-gray, with very few exceptions. Brittany has been prominent in horse-breeding for many years, although the animals bred are rather of a miscellaneous type. The Breton horses are exceed- ingly useful and of much the same general character as the old-style Percherons, but are smaller and more refined in type. Many of the Percheron stallions ‘i Vy os : 5 $ | As Wie YP Petes — ui fy RM PE EOS 0, arse as BA SG SESSA LIN 2.6 FE Fig. 468. A Breton Stallion. have been taken into this district in recent years in an effort to improve the breed in size and char- acter. Itis stated by some historians that English races have been introduced into this section, which possibly accounts for the more luxuriant growth of hair about the legs. Representatives of this type of horses are used very largely in France as omni- 462 HORSE ; bus horses in the cities. They have not been imported to this country to any great extent, prob- ably owing to their lack of size and weight. This breed may be registered in the studbook of the National French Draft Horse Association of America. NIVERNAISE HOorRsE. The Nivernaise is a breed of draft horses of French origin. The horses are of large size, with good length of neck, well-formed bodies of good length, massive shoulders and hind-quarters, very strong boned, giving the legs a rather round appearance. They are uniformly black in color. Seldom, if ever, is a gray, brown or chestnut to be found. This breed of horses has been developed in the Department of Nivernaise, or Niévre, in central France, and is one of the largest of the French draft horses. Its interests have not been very carefully looked after, and the choice specimens of the breed are not very numerous. It is only within the past two or three years that an association has been formed in France for the keeping of records in the form of a studbook. It is thought by Amer- icans who have investigated the matter that the transformation in color and size in the Percheron horses in the past ten or fifteen years has been brought about, to some extent at least, by the use of the best types of Nivernaise stallions from this district, crossed on the mares of the LaPerche district. This breed is being imported to America to an increasing extent in recent years, where it is classed as one of the French draft breeds. Individ- uals of this breed may be recorded in the studbook of the National French Draft Horse Association of America on the same basis as are the horses of the Boulonnais breed. Literature. For references, see page 416. German Coach Horse. Fig. 469. By M. W. Harper. The name indicates that this is a breed of coach horses, taking its name from Germany, where it was developed. Horse-breeding in Germany is in- fluenced greatly by military requirements, and there are found few of the powerful and compactly built types, such as the English Shire horse. Although Germany has several types or breeds of horses that are suitable for commercial and military purposes, she still imports many English horses. Description. In describing the characteristics of a typical German Coach horse as seen in America, the Ger- man Hanoverian and Oldenburg coach Horse Stud- book says : “The typical German horse is bay, brown or - black, sixteen to sixteen and one-half hands high, and weighs 1,350 to 1,450 pounds. He has a deep, round body, close ribs, well proportioned, neck long HORSE and high set on the shoulders, neat at the throat, with neat head and with bright and intelligent countenance. His back is short and strong, smooth at coupling, tail well set, plump rounded quarters, strongly muscled limbs, strong hock, clean flat bone, and the best possible feet.” From the discussion of types given below, it will be evident that these horses vary in size. Coarse- ness is not uncommon, as seen in large head and joints, with more or less largeness of bone. In action, there is a wide difference of merit, and, from the coach horse point of view, they are fre- quently deficient in this respect. A superior folding of knee and flexing of hock, with desirable action, is not a prevailing attribute of the American spec- imens of the breed. History. The German Empire is composed of numerous states and principalities. Owing to the number of separate governments involved prior to the consol- idation of the Empire, there was no single fixed policy followed, for which reason there are many marked differences between the various strains of coach horses found in the Empire. The multiplicity of states likewise renders it hard to reach very accurate conclusions regarding the early history of most of these strains, but there is no doubt that in point of antiquity these horses rank with any of ‘the other breeds. The northwestern parts of Germany, particularly the lowlands drained by the rivers Elbe, Weser and Ems, which flow into the North sea, has long been noted as the horse- breeding section of the Empire. Early records of horse-breeding in Ger- many go back nearly five centuries. As early as 1500, important annual fairs were held in Fries- land, near the Holland boundary, where buyers from Holland, Belgium and Germany found superior horses. A government stud was established at Ilo, which contained 182 horses in 1648. At Harlinger- land, in East Friesland, government studs were in operation, and reports refer to these as far back as 1712, when sixteen stallions were used for the ser- vice of 819 mares. In 1889, in this same region, fifteen stallions were used on 1,421 mares. It does not appear that the Germans have made extended use of the Thoroughbred in the evolution of some strains of their coach horses, although in others the trace of the blood is plainly discernible. It is well known that the German cavalryman with his kit weighs more than the soldier of any other army, hence we find the German horses possessing much substance. In other horse-breeding countries, we find draft and coach horses being developed side by side, which leads to a division of labor, the heavy or draft horses doing the heavy work, and the light horses doing the lighter work. This is not so in Germany, where the one breed serves both purposes. This leads to increased size. No effort to inject speed at the trot has been made at any time. The heavier soldiers, the heavier work and the slower gaits, all tend to increased size, hence we find the German coach the heaviest of the coach horses. HORSE Government supervision of horse-breeding in Germany has obtained for centuries. The use of stallions on mares of Hast Friesland was regulated by royal edict for many years. It was made a law that no permits should be issued authorizing the use of stallions, unless the latter had passed a sat- isfactory government inspection. At the present time, both the government and the agricultural societies promote intelligent horse-breeding. Prizes are awarded to animals of special merit, and such animals must remain in the country for a specified term. First prizes are awarded only to mature horses and mares that have shown merit as breeders. Stallion shows have long been held at Aurich, in Hast Friesland, where the horses are brought annually for inspec- tion and approval. Prizes for brood mares are also awarded by the government. In America.—The history of the German coach horse in America is comparatively brief. It first made its appearance in the United States in the eighties. Not much prior to 1890 did the breed receive recognition at American shows. A. B. Hol- bert, of Greeley, Iowa, was one of the earliest introducers of the breed. Oltmann Brothers, of Illinois, and Crouch & Son, of Indiana, have also been most actively and prominently identified with its promotion in America. German coach horses of importance are not as yet found in America in large numbers. Among the earlier ones imported, Moltke 13, Kaiser Wil- helm 494, Young Altma I 458, and Young Adonis 476, met with favorable comment, the latter being a successful prize-winner in California in 1891. In the central West, Bertus, brought out by Oltmann Brothers, and Ento and Hannibal, owned by Crouch & Son, have been distinguished in the show-ring, winning against the severest competition for years in succession. Distribution. The German coach horse is found in many coun- tries throughout Europe, South Africa and both North and South America. In Canada, it is perhaps most popular in the Northwest. In the United States, it is most popular in the states of Indiana, Illinois and Jowa, but it is found in many parts of the country. Types and families. As stated above, owing to the conditions prevail- ing in Germany, we have many types of German coach horses. Perhaps the most noted are the Hast Prussian or Trakehner horses, the Hanoverian, the Holstein, the Oldenburg, the East Friesland, the Rhenish Prussian, the Mecklenburg and the Schles- wig coach horses. Most of these strains have separate studbooks and are well recognized. The Hast Prussian or Trakehner horse is per- haps the lightest of all. It has a good disposition, great endurance, a fine head, well-formed back and is well ribbed up. It is, perhaps, rather long legged, looks rather light for its height, and lacks the action that is admired in a carriage horse. The greatest horse-breeding center in East Prussia is HORSE 463 the stud of Trakehner, which was founded in 1732 by Frederick William I, King of Prussia, and father of Frederick the Great. He furnished this stud with 1,101 horses from the royal studs. There were a few importations from Arabia and a few English Thoroughbreds added to the stud from time to time. The Hanoverian horses are larger than the Nast Prussian horses. However, they are softer, and their action not so good, due, perhaps, to the Ara- bian and Thoroughbred blood in the East Prussian horses. They are used more for draft than for saddle pur- poses. They have strong legs and a Fig. 469. German Coach stallion. good back, on which they can carry a load suffici- ently heavy to make them serviceable military horses. These horses are bred by farmers, who work the brood mares on their farms. There is no trace of either Arabian or English Thoroughbred blood in their veins. The Holstein horses are about equal to the Hano- verian in size. They are fine powerful horses, with good legs and free action, are suitable for both riding and driving, and are in great demand ; but it is doubtful whether they are as enduring as the East Prussian horses. For many centuries, Hol- stein has been noted for its good horses. Oldenburg horses are, perhaps, the parent of the German coach horses, and are used for heavy coach work, and for all-purpose horses, but seldom are used as saddlers. Some writers contend that these horses are not of the best quality, but stand in high favor because of their great size, some being seven- teen hands high, and broad in proportion. They have good dispositions, and mature at an early age. Hast Friesland horses are about as large as the Oldenburg horses, and have grown up under simi- lar conditions. The East Friesland Studbook says: “The object of the breed is to produce a strong, noble and docile carriage horse, which will develop quickly, and can be put to light agricultural work in its third year, in order to refund a part of its cost of rearing.” 464 HORSE Mecklenburg horses. — Although Mecklenburg horses were the finest saddle and coach horses in Germany eighty or ninety years ago, their breed- ing has been so badly managed, and English thor- oughbred blood has been so indiscriminately intro- duced, that the best horses now in Mecklenburg are perhaps those of the Hanovarian or Holstein breeds, brought there to grow up under the favorable Mecklenburg conditions of soil and climate. Meck- lenburg possesses high-lying pasture lands, which are admirably adapted for the breeding of good horses, and it is unfortunate that the breed declined. Breeding, feeding and management. In general, one would breed, feed and care for the German coach horse in the same way as for any other coach horse. However, in the breeding it is well to bear in mind that there are many strains of German coach horses, and that some of these strains differ very much in size, conforma- tion, action and endurance. There is as much or more difference between the two extremes repre- sented in these strains as there is between some of the distinct breeds, and it may be no more desir- able to cross the light strains of German coach horses with the heavy strains than to cross some of the distinct breeds. Uses. As stated above, in the German Empire this is the horse-of-all-work. At home, this breed is called on to do the saddle work, the light as well as the heavy carriage work, and the draft work. In this country, the German coach horse differs from other coach horses in at least two respects. In the first place, there has never been any attempt to breed or train them to speed at the trot ; and in the sec- ond place, some strains are decidedly heavier than the other coach horses, notably the Hackney and the French coach. There may be individual exceptions to this statement, but in this country the large Ger- man coacher ranks between the French coach and the Suffolk Punch, the lightest of the draft breeds. Since we have the two extremes, varying so much in size, conformation and action, we might expect them to meet a variety of conditions. For example, take the East Prussian or Trakehner horses, which have some Arabian and Thoroughbred blood in their veins, and we would expect these to meet any con- dition requiring a light well-bred horse. They possess much quality, action and endurance, and are undoubtedly adapted for light coach work. On the other hand, take the heavy horses from Olden- burg, and we would not expect them to be so active nor so enduring. In fact, these big horses are looked on with disfavor by some persons. Count Wrangel says of them: “‘ Most lovers of horses will acknowledge that their value, from a useful point of view, is not particularly great. The majority of Oldenburg horses which I have seen, have given me a very bad impression, and I would not use them for breeding at any price. As I may have been unfortunate in my acquaintance with them, I will merely say that their hereditary defects are heavy heads, weak backs, bad ribs, long legs, ‘tied in’ HORSE below the knee, brittle hoofs and want of endur- ance. These defects ought to prevent people from breeding such animals, because the fact that the horse is seventeen hands high and broad in pro- portion, has good manners and matures at an early age, is not sufficient to make a breeder ignore other and perhaps more important qualities.” This criticism is perhaps too severe, but it comes from a German person of note. Organizations and records. The German, Hanoverian and Oldenburg Coack Horse Association of America was incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois about 1892, and a studbook was started, containing pedigrees of registered stallions and mares imported, or raised in America. Two volumes have been issued to 1906. They contain the registration of about eighteen hundred animals, mostly stallions. Soon after the — organization of the German, Hanoverian and Olden- burg Coach Horse Association, came the Oldenburg Coach Horse Association, which was also incorpo- rated in Illinois. So far as the American public is aware, the various coach horses brought to Amer- ica from Germany are known as the German coach breed, whether Oldenburg, Hanoverian, or otherwise. This difference of title may be accounted for in part by the variety of types. It would seem that the advo- cates of the breed would do well to clarify in some permanent way this apparent confusion of names. Literature. For references, see page 416. Hackney Horse. Fig. 470. By John A. Craig. The present-day Hackney is a carriage horse breed. Among the early English writers on subjects relating to the horse, the word “hackney” was appar- ently used frequently as a synonym for roadster. The word ocurs in the earliest English, but its mean- ing, or rather the class of horse that it was applied to, is not made clear. Mr. Euren, the secretary of the English Hackney Horse Society, states that the Normans, at the time of their invasion, introduced the word haquenée or hacquenée, which he states was recognized as far back as the year 1303. Chaucer also used the word “hakeney” or “hacknay,” but does not give any clue as to the class of horse re- ferred to. Cully, an early English writer on live- stock subjects, does not mention the Hackney. Lawrence, however, in some of his writings, gives us an inkling as to its application, and, as already stated, it meant a roadster. Description. The Hackney of true type is a horse of substance, extremely smooth and with gracefully curved out- lines. Being full made, owing to splendid muscular — development, and being on short legs, the repre- sentative of this breed suffers in stature in com- parison with most of the other coach breeds. The — type most sought, and the one that may be said to — be the old-fashioned type, represents a powerfully HORSE built horse, round-ribbed, muscular loin, and plump quarters, with short legs. The desire for more quality on the part of some of the breeders, and the use of Thoroughbred blood to secure it, had the effect of making some of them more bloodlike and rangier in appearance. The question of height in the Hackney has been liberally discussed, and the general belief is that a height of 15.2 to 16 hands is most compatible with the other features of the type that are most desired. It might be mentioned that until recent years - the Hackney rings at the exhibitions of the Royal Agricultural Society of Hngland were open only to horses not exceeding 15.2 hands in height. So many of the noted sires of later years have been over that height, that it was not advisable to enforce the restric- tion, and consequently it was removed. A well- known writer states that it is somewhat remark- able to note the circumstance that most of the successful stallions, both as sires and exhibition horses, of the present and past generations, have stood 15.2 hands high. For a horse of such substance, the Hackney is not deficient in quality, although to combine the two in aright degree is as much a problem with the Hackney breeders as it is with the breeders of the other breeds of coach horses. Substance, meaning thereby muscular development and size of bone, is easily enough secured; but to have with it the refinement of features and tissues, with fluted legs, which makes up quality, is a combination of the highest excellencies. Such being the general form, a more careful analysis of the several features that blend into the type desired is necessary to fill out the details of the true type. The Hackney head sometimes approaches meatiness, but, as a rule, it is well pro- portioned to the body, clean cut, with full eyes and specially alert and medium-sized ears. It has been criticised for a tendency towards being “pull” or thick-necked. There are some grounds for this criticism, but it is to be remembered that the heavy harness horse may be permitted to be fuller in the neck than those of more coachy type, in which length and slimness of neck contribute to high-headedness. In the Hackney, the shoulder is a point of particular importance, for it has a great deal to do with the high knee-folding action, so very much admired in the heavy harness horse. A long, sloping shoulder, well clothed with muscle, gives it that lifting power in front which is a feature of the front action more often met with in this breed than any other. The body must necessarily be deep and round-ribbed, to give that appearance of substance required, together with the rotundity characteristic of the type. A loin swathed in muscles, even to the extent of round- ing upwards slightly, makes a strong, short coup- ling, which should join smoothly a plump rounded and deeply muscled hind-quarter. These, with muscular thighs and well-set and strong hocks, are derivative of the snappy and propelling hock action behind. Cc 30 HORSE 465 The action.—It is in the action of the Hackney that the chief merit of the breed resides for heavy- harness purposes, although this statement is not meant in the least to belittle the special type re- quired also. It is stylish, attractive action, not speed, that is of most importance. The front feet, in walking or trotting, are lifted with snap and spring, and in the trot the foot goes forward after being uplifted, as if it were following the rim of a wheel. It is not held in the air at any one point ; that is, the leg is not fully extended when the foot is several inches from the ground, but it is still following our imaginary rim of a wheel when it reaches the ground and is planted firmly. When wally HAH || ea 4 r/ Aes dev jy ie INS: a~ SS ES 13 hands, 3 inches high. pulled up, it does not fly toward the elbows as if to hit them, but goes up and out without any delay in the knee-folding. While the fore action is a point of paramount importance, yet it may be said that in its hock action for heavy-harness purposes the Hackney has hardly a peer. The hock is lifted sharply toward the body, and the action is in no sense sprawling. Many horses can be made to step high and fold the knee, as a Hackney or heavy- harness horse should do, but the true heavy-har- ness hock action is not susceptible to artificial imitation. The weakness of most horses, other than Hackneys, in the heavy-harness classes, is that the hind-leg dwells somewhat like a duck swimming in water; it is not brought up quickly to the body. Very frequently, the leg from the hock down is thrown stiffly forward, making the horse spread or sprawl in his gait, as his hind-feet have to be thrown out and past the fore-feet. Such a horse, no matter how high or Yolding or even perfect his fore action may be, cannot go with that collected and well-balanced stride that a heavy-harness horse should have. He may likely go faster, but at a moderate gait, such as that which is most useful for heavy-harness horses, he cannot go collected and with snap and style. To 466 HORSE have snap and style in hind action is as necessary in the view of the critical horseman as that of the fore-feet, and, to have it, the hocks must be prop- erly flexed, with perhaps less stifle action than that required for speed. The color.—In reference to the color, it may be said that these horses are mostly brown, bay or chestnut, with some white markings. A rich, dap- pled brown is not an infrequent color. As they are mostly of solid colors, there is usually little diffi- culty in matching teams in this particular respect. Soundness of the Hackney.—A note should be made of the fact that unsoundness is not frequent among Hackneys. While not in the least desiring to detract from this desirable trait, yet it needs to be qualified somewhat, especially when it is used to make invidious comparisons with the Standard- bred trotter. The Standardbred trotter usually leads a strenuous life, beginning to race when two years old. The popularity of the colt trotter as a money-maker, because of the large stakes for two- and three-year-olds, as well as the large purses for free-for-all campaigners, puts our Standardbred trotter through a course of racing that is a very trying ordeal. The Hackney is more carefully kept and is never tried out in the sense that our trot- ting horses are, consequently it should be sounder and always fresher. The fact remains that the Hackney as a breed is unusually free from unsound- ness. Since the Shire Horse Society of Hngland wisely decided, in 1885, that all horses at their annual show should undergo veterinary examina- tion conducted by three qualified veterinarians, other societies have followed the system, although with most of them only one veterinarian acts. In regard to the Hackney, it may be stated that the Hackney Horse Society for the past ten years has subjected the entries to its show to veterinary ex- amination, and the percentage rejected has been very small. Of course, when such a system is in vogue, much carefulness on this point would be observed by exhibitors ; consequently it is hardly a complete index to the prevalence of unsoundness in the breed as a whole. However, combined with general observation, the figures bear out the point that unsoundness is not very prevalent. In the years from 1896 to 1904, inclusive, 2,108 of the horses were examined, and 106 of these were rejected, showing an average of not quite 5 per cent rejected. History. The development of the Hackney into a breed may be traced to definite stimuli, which have been noticeable and in operation with more or less force in the development of several other breeds of horses. In the evolution of the breeds of light horses, there may be said to be a district suitable for rearing light horses of quality, which implies a soil well- drained, either light, hilly or underlaid with lime- stone, with good grass, all of which should indicate wholesome grazing conditions. With these associate men who love a horse, and let them be inspired with adefinite aim, and the breed takes form and becomes popular according to the force and growth of the demand and ideals. A variety of sources are in- HORSE variably drawn on, frequently very diverse in some attributes, but somewhat similar in the breed characteristics desired ; and, these once secured, the aim becomes to concentrate and multiply them. With these general conditions in view, let us bring their particular application to the Hackney. As bearing on this, and also to show that these factors were recognized by horsemen at a very early day, a quotation from Lawrence will suffice: “ Light soils and a hilly surface of ground generally pro- duce clean, vigorous and active horses, and probably there is no county in England where a better sort are bred than in Shropshire. Yorkshire and Lin- colnshire are celebrated for carriage horses, and many very good ones are reared in those districts.” Yorkshire and Norfolk were the original home of the Hackney, at an early time known also as the Norfolk trotter ; and Yorkshire became prominent in the development of this breed, through the adapta- bility for light horses and superiority over the counties of Shropshire and Lincolnshire in this line, chiefly because of the other stimulus referred to— the Yorkshireman was an enthusiastic horseman. To carry the postulate to its full and more recent application, it is necessary only to direct attention to what Kentucky, Vermont, Virginia, Tennessee, and other states possessing the character of soil and people referred to, have accomplished. Con- versely, apply what has been stated to be the evo- lution of draft breeds, and it will be apparent that the heaviest breeds of draft horses come from the lower and more level lands, with their more lush vegetation. Continuing our reference to Yorkshire and Nor- folk, it should be said that the demand during the earliest time was for a horse that could trot fast under saddle, and the horsemen of these two coun- ties vigorously took up the work of breeding a stoutly built fast trotting horse of as much endur- ance as possible. It is said (Wallace, Live-Stock) that the Norwegian horse was used at a very early day on the common mares of these counties, as it was in Norfolk and Yorkshire, where the Norse invaders had their principal strongholds in Eng- land. The influence of this on the breed may be slighted when the more potent influence of the Thoroughbred is considered. It is also of interest to mention that even the blood of the Standard- bred trotter found its way into some of the Hack- ney pedigrees through Shepherd F. Knapp, No. 282 in the register of Standardbred horses. The main source of the Hackney blood lines runs back to Arabian origin through the Thoroughbred, being similar in this respect to all the other breeds of light horses. Since the eighteenth century, the breed has been undergoing evolution, and it may be said to have had its inception with Shales (699), variously called “The Original,” “Old Shales,” etc. — This horse, in the history of the Hackney or Nor- folk trotter, stands in relation to the breed very much as Hambletonian 10 does in that of the Standardbred horse or American trotter; and, curiously enough, their breeding is of surprising similarity. Shales (699) was sired by Blaze, a Thoroughbred horse, foaled in 1733. It is said that HORSE Blaze was not a Thoroughbred, but the best evi- dence we have credits him with being about as much so as any other horse of that early day. Blaze was by Flying Childers (a noted running horse), by the Darley Arabian. The dam of Blaze is asserted to have been by Grey Grantham, by Brownlow Turk out of a mare by the Duke of Rut- land’s Black Barb. Now the same Blaze sired Samp- son, the sire of Engineer, he the sire of Mambrino, and he, in turn, the sire of Messenger, which was imported to America and was the grandsire of Hambletonian 10. Again, the dam of Hambletonian 10 was the Charles Kent mare by Imported Bell- founder, a Norfolk trotter tracing back through the Fireaways to Driver, a son of Shales by Blaze. The dam of the Kent mare was One Eye, by Bishop’s Hambletonian, a son of Messenger. Yet again, Mambrino Chief was by Mambrino Paymaster, by Mambrino, by Messenger. So we have the two great lines of the American trotter, Hambletonian 10 and Mambrino Chief II, tracing back through Messenger to Blaze, and the most noted of the early sires of Hackneys or the Norfolk trotters going back to the same Blaze. May it not be rea- sonable to assume from these facts that from the latter horse has originated the trotting instinct, which has later developed into breed characteris- tics ? Following the development of the Hackney, we find that Shales (699), considered the most famous trotter of his day in England, sired Driver (187) and Scott’s Shales (692), and, according to the statement of a writer of authority, “to the former of these horses many—very many—of the best Hackneys of the day owe their origin.” For example, Mr. Philip Triffitt’s great sire, Fireaway, was by Achilles, by Achilles (Hairsines’), by Fire- away (Scott’s), who was got by Fireaway (Rams- dale’s), by Fireaway (Burgess’), by Fireaway (West’s), by Fireaway (Jenkinson’s), ason of Driver. It may be interesting to state here that John A. Logan is authority for the statement that the stock of Triffitt’s Fireaway has sold to the amount of $2,500,000, which is somewhat of an index to the value of this horse to the breed. Mention of other noted sires should include Den- mark (177), sire of Danegelt ; Lord Derby II (417), sire of Cadet, 1251; Confidence (158), sire of the Champion and Reality (665) ; and Rufus, an Elsen- ham Challenge cup winner and a noted progenitor of Hackney character. With the change from use under the saddle to driving on the road attached to a vehicle, the Hackney’s proclivities to trot do not seem to have undergone any change; although there was a ten- dency at this time toward refinement of the type, largely through the greater infusion of Thorough- bred blood. This also added to the height without changing the form much, except to add some to the straightness of the croup. Up to this time, and since, considerable evidence had been accumulating to indicate that the Hackney possessed more than ordinary excellence for long-distance trotting. Such records, it remains to be said, are of use only to enable us to understand the original characteristics of the breed, not for their official value to establish HORSE 467 the reputation of the Hackney of the present day, for speed at the trot, for either long or short dis- tances. It is to be remembered, also, that these records, if they may be called such, are in nearly all instances dependent on hearsay and not on official trials over measured distances. It is said that Driver (187), already referred to, trotted 17 miles within the hour, and Fireway is credited with hav- ing trotted 2 miles in 5 minutes. The performance that is most noteworthy is that credited to the mare Phenomena, that in July, 1800, trotted 17 miles in 56 minutes, and shortly afterward repeated the same performance in 53 minutes. Attention has been drawn to the fact that it was not until 1849 that Trustee, in America, trotted 20 miles in 59 minutes and 354 seconds. The mare’s rate would be 20 miles in 624 minutes, showing that at that early day the Hackney or Norfolk trotter was noted for ability to trot long distances, with speed unusual at that time. The secretary of the Hackney Horse Society, Mr. Euren, in the first volume of the studbook, credits the era of railroad building with dampen- ing the ardor of the breeders of Hackneys; and, for a time, the breed did not receive much hearty support. A revival came in a very decided manner with the advent of exhibitions, and especially with the inauguration of horse-shows. Until the breed began to attract notice for heavy-harness and high-stepping purposes, they were not very largely imported from England, nor did they attain their present popularity in England. It was in the spring of 1893 that the first notable Hackney exhibition was held in England. In America, the horse-shows, the growth of recent years, as dis- tinct from the usual live-stock shows, were factors that did more to popularize the Hackney than any other influences. The high-lifting action of the Hackney, both fore and aft, made a very attract- ive feature of the shows; and that, coupled with the growth of the high-stepping fad, gave the breed a strong impetus, although their genuine merit as heavy-harness horses has outlived this. The possession of stoutness of form with this action has adapted them particularly for heavy harness and heavy vehicles. In America.—Aside from the first importation to America of Bellfounder (55), in 1822, by James Booth, of Boston, the next importation of note was the stallion Fordham, a son of Denmark, brought over in 1881, by Hillhurst Stock Farm, of which Senator Cochrane, of Quebec, Canada, was pro- prietor. Then comes the era of the horse-show, when extensive importations were made, chiefly into the New England states and Canada, with scattering importations into Ohio, Wisconsin and other states. The largest of these importations was made in 1890 by Mr. Seward Webb, of Ver- mont, who imported thirty-one horses, four of which were stallions. About this time, there was a lull in the profitableness of breeding Standard- bred trotters, which put many horses of this breeding on the market that otherwise would have been retained in the breeding stud. Attention was drawn to the fact that many horses of Standard- 468 HORSE bred trotting lines were competing with the Hack- ney, especially in the high-stepping classes, in the show-ring. They were more or less freaks, with the high stepping exaggerated by heavy shoeing and training, but they sometimes made a more popular show than the Hackney, by being able to go fast as well as high. There was little inclina- tion among exhibitors at that time to stop and consider that fast going was not a much sought after characteristic for a high-stepping or a heavy- harness horse. A lessening of the interest in the mere high goer, and more attention to the trueness and serviceability of the action, has done good in recent years; and the outcome has been to strengthen the position of the Hackney and make it more decidedly a heavy-harness horse. Distribution. The good qualities of the Hackney have attracted world-wide attention, and, as a consequence, it is now found in many lands. In general, from Eng- land it has gone out into France, Germany, Hol- land, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Italy, far east into Japan and south into Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and westward into the Argentine Republic in South America, and into Canada and the United States in North America. It is pressing its way into every land where heavy-harness horses are in demand. In America, the Hackney is bred in the largest numbers east of the Mississippi river, but numbers of the breed have become very broadly scattered over the states and provinces. Uses. From what has been written, it is clear that the special field for the Hackney is the production of heavy-harness horses, for the breed in itself has been specifically bred for that purpose. The high knee-folding action and attractive appearance, either standing or in motion, adapt it for the production of stylish heavy-harness horses for city driving. Possessing these qualities, with the sub- stance and smoothness of type to wear heavy leather becomingly, the Hackney as a breed has superior claims. The degree to which a breed may be useful in producing a marketable product is a factor that has to be considered, as well as the breed character- istics. However useful pure-bred horses may be, yet the degree to which they may contribute to the general improvement of the horses of acountry is a broader and more influential factor entering into their standing. In this respect, the Hackney has established a reputation. On our common mares of much quality and some action, the Hack- ney makes a desirable cross. As Johnstone says, “the similarity of action I count the most salient of its features,” and it is because this mechanical action is so deeply bred into the Hackney that it is, perhaps, the most likely of any of the European light horses to transmit it. It seems to be easier to produce the type than it is to secure the natural heavy-harness action. The tendency toward this action and type is surely stronger in the produce of the Hackney, because the breed itself has been HORSE bred for years for just those things ; yet it is not safe to assume that it will come spontaneous to the surface without proper mannering and encour- agement. Organizations and records. The societies devoted to the breed are the Eng- lish Hackney Horse Society, established in 1883, with the first studbook published the following year, and the American Hackney Horse Society, with headquarters in New York City, established in 1891. The first volume of its studbook was published in 1893. Literature. For references, see page 416. Hunter Horse. Fig. 471. By W. C. Bacon. The Hunter, as bred in America, cannot yet be called a breed of horses. The Irish Hunter, how- ever, has been recognized as a distinct breed for a hundred years or more. The Hunter and the Stand- ardbred trotter have come from the Thorough- bred, the Standardbred trotter having been devel- oped in America as the result of the desire for a fast driving horse, and the Hunter breed developed in Ireland as the result of the demand for horses with Thoroughbred or ideal saddle conformation, that were able to carry much more weight than the pure-bred Thoroughbred. Ireland, therefore, may be said to be the home of the Hunter, or where this type of horses has been bred for so many years that it has long since been classed as a distinct breed, and recognized as such at all the fairs and horse shows in Great Britain. Description. 5 The Hunter should not be high-headed, and the longer the rein the better. The fore-hand should be light. The withers should be higher than the croup, and the bones of the fore-limb compara- tively long, so as to be able efficiently to raise the fore-hand both in taking and landing. The shoul- ders and pasterns should be long and sloping. The muscles that lie above the fore-arm should be well developed, as the fore-arm straightens the shoul- der joint and the latter straightens the elbow joint, two actions which help to prevent the horse falling when he lands over a jump. The muscles over the loins behind the saddle should be particu- larly strong. The hocks should be large and gas- kins broad. The following is a detailed description of the points of an ideal Hunter : Head.—Hars fine, not too large, approaching each other at the tips, when thrown forward ; cranium broad and nicely rounded ; forehead fiat and broad; eyes wide apart, prominent and bold in expression; nasal bones straight in front, but slightly dished on lat- eral surfaces ; nostrils firm, large and flexible, of large capacity when the animal is excited; lips firm, mouth medium-sized ; muzzle small and taper- ing ; cheeks well but not too heavily clothed with ae aS LU oo ae a Plate XV. Hackneys above (four years old); gaited saddler below HORSE hard, well-developed muscles; branches of lower jaw well spread apart at their angles. Neck.— Clean-cut and rangy; crest well developed and whipcordy, but not so heavy as in other classes ; head well attached to neck in a graceful, angular manner; jugular gutter well developed. Withers. —Well developed, high, and not too wide on top. The withers should be sloping and of such form that the saddle may be placed well back over the center of gravity, which is especially desirable in negotiating timber. Shoulders.—Long and oblique, so as to give easy action; shoulder- blades well covered with muscles. Chest.— Deep, giving good girths, with a well-filled breast. Arm.—Thrown well forward, so as to give an oblique shoulder. Forearm.—Long, well developed, and strong, well clothed with hard, well-developed muscles, having grooves of demarcation between them, showing the outlines of each individual muscle. KAnee.— Clean, straight, large and strong in all di- rections, the bone forming the back part being somewhat prominent. Knee to fetlock joint—Cannon short, broad, flat, and clean; tendons standing out plainly, hard and whip- cordy. The lines of demarcation between ten- don and ligament, and between ligament and bone must be well supported beneath the knee, not showing any tendency to weakness. Fetlocks.—Strong and well supported. Front past- ern.—Strong, medium length and oblique. Front feet.—Rather smaller in proportion than in other breeds, round, strong, and fairly deep wall; soles concave, frog well developed; heels full and not too deep; toes turning neither in nor out while standing. Body.—Back strong and inclined to be short, with a long under-line; loin broad and well muscled; ribs well sprung and of good depth. The under-line must be long, otherwise the horse will be shortened in his gait. To get this long under-line, perhaps a longer back will be required than would otherwise be desirable. Crowp.—Well muscled, carried out straight to tail, which should be full haired and very stylishly carried. Hock.— Deep and strong in all directions; all points well developed, but not rough; absence of malforma- tions or puffiness; point very well developed, straight on posterior border; the whole joint clean, hard, and of an angular shape. Hock to fet- lock.—Cannon short, wider and flatter than in front ; tendons well marked individually, and must not have a pinched appearance below joint in front, but very gradually taper in width from hock to fetlock. Fetlock joint—Large, clean-cut and strong. Hind pasterns.—Medium length, slop- ing and strong. Hind-feet—Smaller and not so round as the front ones; sole more concave; frog well developed ; heel good width and not too deep. Color.—Bay, brown or chestnut, black, roan and gray; with reasonable modifications. Skin and hair.—Skin soft, mellow, and loose, hair fine, silky, and straight and soft in comparison with other breeds. Temperament.—Mild, energetic, not vi- cious nor too nervous. Action.—Prompt, free, and elastic, not too much knee and hock action, but 3 “IES. Fig. 471. The Hunter, ‘‘Guardsman.’’ Owned by John Clay. HORSE 469 going close to the ground, especially in the canter and gallop; no paddle or roll, and front feet not to go close enough behind to interfere; a good straightaway walker. Weight.—1,000 to 1,300 pounds. Height—15 hands 1 inch to 16 hands and over. Breeding in America. The breeding of Hunters in America has hardly progressed far enough in any one section of the x Nt EF AML, BBN aan Selig! Paty od Cig tee > ag SE 7a country to distinguish such animals as “pure bred.” However, a great many animals are yearly bred in this country for the special purpose of pro- ducing Hunters. The method of breeding is the same as originally adopted in Ireland, namely, the use of Thoroughbred stallions on native or grade mares. As the external conformation usually fol- lows the sire, the breeders of Hunters are usually able to produce, even in the first cross, saddle con- formation, and at the same time to have trans- mitted to such a cross sufficient of the courage, intelligence and staying qualities of the Thorough- bred to make the first cross (half-blood) a most satisfactory animal for cross-country riding to hounds. The fact that those half-, three-quarter- and seven-eighth-blood horses make such satisfac- tory Hunters is probably the reason why, in this country, there has been no general movement in any one section to continue special breeding. How- ever, a great many clean-bred horses are favored by many persons for cross-country work. This special line of breeding has not been followed long enough for the breed to become fixed. In fact, the demand for such horses has always exceeded the supply in America to such an. extent that the type has never had an opportunity to become thoroughly established. Nevertheless, there has been a National Steeple Chase and Hunt Associa- tion organized in America under the auspices of The Jockey Club, that admits to register almost any animal with one or more crosses of Thorough- bred blood, that has been regularly “hunted” a cer- tain number of times, with some recognized pack of hounds, and approved by the master. Hunter-breeding in America is conducted to a limited extent in the neighborhood of most of the 470 HORSE organized hunt clubs, of which there are some fifty in the eastern states. In such sections one will find one to half a dozen Thoroughbred stallions in general uSe among the farmers of that special community. In the Genesee valley in Livingston county, New York, for example, there are no less than eight Thoroughbred stallions within a radius of fifteen miles, being used on the farm mares of the neighborhood for the special purpose of breed- ing Hunters. Virginia probably produces more animals that are especially bred for hunting than any other state. Of late years, however, the Jockey Club has put out many Thoroughbred stallions throughout the state of New York, which in a few years should make that state promi- nent for breeding Hunters. Hitherto, Canada has been one of the principal sources from which American hunting men have been supplied. The Canadian Hunters come largely from between Toronto and London, Ont., where Thoroughbred stallions have been very generally used. Distribution. As hunting has long occupied a place in the sports of nations, horses that may be characterized as hunters are widely distributed. From Ireland, the home of the breed, the Hunter has been scat- tered over great Britain and the continent. In 1904, the Dutch government bought 350 young mares of this breed in Ireland. In America, both Canada and the United States are devoting increasing attention to the production of horses for hunting purposes. Classes. At the leading horse shows there are several classes for Hunters of different types and different weight-carrying abilities. Qualified Hunters are those that have been registered with the National Steeple Chase and Hunt Association, but need not be clean bred. Heavy-weight Hunters must carry up to 200 pounds to hounds (qualified and not quali- fied). Middle-weight Hunters must carry up to 180 pounds to hounds (qualified and not qualified). Light-weight Hunters must carry up to 165 pounds to hounds (qualified and not qualified). Thorough- bred Hunters must be registered in the studbook. Feeding and care. The Hunter should not have more than three or four days of all-day fox-hunting in a fortnight ; with drags, some may go three times a week, but much depends on the going and the length of the runs. The Hunter should be jogged home after the hunt, given warm gruel and thoroughly rubbed. A groom should exercise him gently on non-hunting days for about five miles early in the morning. He should be carefully looked after and given the best of oats and hay. The night before he is to be “hunted,” water should be kept in his stall all night, so that he may take it at will. He should be fed very early and saddled only just before he is ordered. Organizations and records. In Great Britain, the interests of the breed are in the hands of the Hunter Improvement Society of HORSE Great Britain. Two volumes of the Hunter Stud- book have been published and a third is in prepa- ration. The pedigree qualifications of the Hunter Studbook are that the stallions shall be by a Thor- oughbred or registered Hunter sire out of a fully registered mare, and the mares shall show two crosses of Thoroughbred or registered Hunter blood, viz, sire and dam’s sire, or if dams of winners of races under rules, and accepted after inspection. The supplement of the studbook is open to mares (1) by a Thoroughbred or registered Hunter sire, winners or dams of winners of prizes or medals at national, county or associated shows, or (2) by inspection and veterinary examination. In America, The Jockey Club with headquarters in New York City, was instrumental in the organization of the National Steeple Chase and Hunt Association, which registers and otherwise looks after the development of the Hunter and the steeple-chaser, discussed in the following paragraph. STEEPLE-CHASERS. The steeple-chaser is almost always a clean-bred horse, that has natural or made adaptability to jump. He must be more seasoned than the Thor- oughbred that is to run on the flat, and must be up to a good deal more weight. There are certain blood lines that have produced natural jumpers, which, when “nicked” with certain mares, have produced fencers. Many horses that, perhaps, have not enough speed for the flat, have been schooled and made good chasers. Unlike the steady fox- hunting Hunter, the steeple-chaser must be able to go a good pace and take his fences flying, or almost as fast as ina hurdle race. In this type of horse, the adaptability for the special performance and the result gives the horse his place and name as a steeple-chaser. Literature. The literature of the Hunter is for the most part interwoven with expositions of the chase, and is not specific and direct. Yet some direct discussions will be found in the works referred to on page 416. Other references are: Peer, Cross Country with Horse and Hound; Walsh, The Horse in the Stable and in the Field, Loudon (1871); Goodwin, The Turf Guides; Nimrod, The Chase, the Road and the Turf; White, The History of the British Turf, two volumes, Loudon (1840); Curzon, A Mirror of the Turf, Loudon (1892). Military Horse. Figs. 472, 473. For military purposes, several distinct types of horses are required according to the use to which they are to be put; and each type must conform carefully toa standard set by the War Department. The specifications for each type issued by the War Departments of the United States and Great Britain (for Canada) are inserted in this Cyclopedia for their reference value, and also that farmers inter- ested in breeding horses for army use may be informed as to what is required. HORSE HorsE TYPES REQUIRED BY THE UNITED STATES Wark DEPARTMENT All of the specifications that follow were pre- pared under the direction of the Quartermaster General. Those for medium and light draft horses and for cavalry horses, were issued under date of November 25, 1903; for saddle horses for moun- * tain batteries, August 3, 1907; for artillery horses, October 15, 1906; for small horses for orderlies and mounted messengers, January 17, 1908; for mules, November 5, 1907. Specifications for cavalry horses. The cavalry horse must be sound, well bred, of a superior class, and have quality; gentle and of a kind disposition ; thoroughly broken to the saddle, with light and elastic mouth, easy gaits, and free and prompt action at the walk, trot, and gallop; free from vicious habits, without material blemish or defect ; and otherwise to conform to the follow- ing description : A gelding of uniform and hardy color, in good condition ; from four to eight years old ; weighing from 950 to 1,100 pounds, depending on height, which should be from 15 to 15% hands. Head.—Small and well set on neck; with ears small, thin, neat, and erect; forehead broad and full; eyes large, prominent, and mild, with well- developed brow and fine eyelid ; vision perfect in every respect ; muzzle small and fine; mouth deep ; lips thin and firmly compressed ; nostrils large and fine ; and branches of under-jaw (adjoining neck) wide apart. Neck.—Light, moderately long, and tapering toward the head, with crest firm and longer than underside ; mane fine and intact. Withers.—Hlevated, not unduly fine, well devel- oped and muscled. Shoulders.—Long, oblique, and well muscled. Chest.—Full, very deep, moderately broad, and plump in front. Fore-legs.—Vertical, and properly placed ; with elbow large, long, prominent, and clear of chest ; fore-arm large at the elbow, long and heavily muscled. Knees.— Neatly outlined, large, prominent, wide in front, well situated, and well directed. Back.—Short, straight, and well muscled. Loins.—Broad, straight, very short and mus- cular. Barrel.—Large, increasing in size toward flanks, with ribs well arched and definitely separated. Hind-quarters.—Wide, thick, very long, full, heavily muscled, rounded externally; and well directed. Tail.—Fine and intact ; well carried and firm. Hocks.— Neatly outlined, lean, large, wide from front to rear, well situated, and well directed. Limbs.—From knees and hocks downward, verti- cal, short, wide laterally, with tendons and liga- ments standing well out from bone and distinctly defined. Pasterns.— Strong, medium length, not too oblique, and well directed. HORSE 471 Feet.—Medium size, circular in shape, sound ; with horn dark, smooth, and of fine texture; sole moderately concave, and frog well developed, sound, firm, large, elastic and healthy. Hach horse will be subjected toa rigid inspection, and any animal that does not meet the above requirements should be rejected. No white or gray horses to be accepted. Specifications for saddle horses for mountain bat- teries. The specifications are the same as for cavalry horses, except that the weight must be 950 to 1,070 pounds, depending on height, which should be 15 to 15% hands. Specifications for small horses for orderlies and mounted messengers. The small horse for orderlies and mounted messengers must be sound, well bred, of a superior class, and have quality; gentle and of a kind disposition ; well broken to the saddle, with light and elastic mouth, easy gaits, and free and General, a brown gelding. Winner of first prize as cavalry horse type, Canadian Horse Show. prompt action at the walk, trot and gallop; free from vicious habits, without material blemish or defect ; handy, speedy and suitable in all other respects, and otherwise to conform to the follow- ing description : A gelding of uniform and hardy color, in good condition ; from 4 to 8 years old; weighing from 825 to 950 pounds, depending on height, which should be from 144 to 15 hands. The remainder of the description is the same as that given above for cavalry horses. Fig. 472. Specifications for artillery horses for siege batteries. The artillery horse for siege batteries must be sound, well bred, of a superior class, and have quality ; of a kind disposition, well broken to har- ness, and gentle under the saddle, with easy mouth and gaits, and free and prompt action at the walk, trot and gallop; free from vicious habits; without material blemish or defect, and otherwise to con- form with the following description : A gelding or mare of hardy color, in good con- AT2 HORSE dition, from 4 to 8 years old ; height, from 16 to 17 hands; weight, from 1,350 to 1,650 pounds. Horses otherwise satisfactory, which fall short of or exceed these limits of weight by not more than 50 pounds, due to temporary conditions, may be accepted. Mares in foal will not be accepted. SS Fig. 473. Cassandra, a pure-bred Hackney mare. Winner of first prize as artillery horse type, Canadian Horse Show, Toronto, April, 1900. tyne desired, weighing 1,325 pounds. This mare represents the lighter Head.—Small and well set on neck; with ears small, thin, neat, and erect; forehead broad and full; eyes large, prominent and mild, with well- developed brow and fine eyelid; vision perfect in every respect ; muzzle small and fine ; mouth deep ; lips thin and firmly compressed ; nostrils large and fine, and branches of under jaw (adjoining neck) wide apart. Neck.—Moderately long and tapering toward the head, with crest firm and longer than under side ; mane fine and intact. Withers.—Elevated, not unduly fine, well devel- oped and muscled. : Shoulders.— Long, oblique, well packed with muscle, not too heavy, smooth, rounded, and so formed as properly to support the collar. Chest.— High, wide, very deep; plump in front and full. Fore-legs.—Vertical and properly placed; with elbow large, long, prominent, clear of chest, and well placed; fore-arm wide, thick, long, heavily muscled and vertical. Knees.— Neatly outlined, large, prominent, wide in front, well situated and well directed. Back.—Short, straight and well muscled. Loins.—Broad, straight, very short and mus- cular. Barrel.—Large, increasing in size toward flanks, with ribs well arched and definitely separated. Hind-quarters.— Wide, thick, very long, full, heavily muscled, rounded externally and well directed. Tail.—Fine and intact ; well carried and firm. Hocks.—Neatly outlined, lean, large, wide from front to rear, and well directed. HORSE Limbs.—From knees and hocks downward, verti- cal, short, wide laterally, with tendons and liga- ments standing well out from bone and distinctly defined. Pasterns.— Strong, medium length, not too oblique, and well directed. Feet.— Medium size, circular in shape, sound ; with horn dark, smooth, and of fine texture ; sole moderately concave, and frog well developed, sound, ° firm, large, elastic and healthy. Each horse will be subjected to a rigid inspec- tion, and any animal that does not meet the above requirements should be rejected. Long-legged, loose-jointed, long-bodied, narrow- chested, coarse and cold-blooded horses, as well as those which are restive, vicious, or too free in har- ness, or which do not, upon rigid inspection, meet the above requirements in every respect, will be rejected. A horse under five years old should not be accepted, unless a specially fine, well-developed animal. No white or gray horses will be accepted. Specifications for artillery horses for light and horse batteries. These specifications are the same as those for the artillery horses for siege batteries, except that the height should be 153 to 16 hands, and the weight, 1,150 to 1,250 pounds. The artillery horse for light and horse batteries is required for quick draft purposes, and should be heavy enough to move the carriage, ordinarily, by weight thrown into the collar, rather than by muscular exertion. Specifications for light draft (coach) horses. The light draft horse must be sound, well bred, of a superior class, and have quality; of a kind disposition ; thoroughly broken to harness; with easy mouth, and free, prompt, straight, and true action at the walk and trot; free from vicious habits ; without material blemish or defect ; and otherwise conform to the following description : A gelding of uniform and hardy color, in good condition ; from five to seven years old; weighing from 1,100 to 1,200 pounds, depending on height, which should be from 154 to 16 hands. Head.—Small, and well set on neck; with ears small, thin, neat, and erect; forehead broad and full; eyes large, prominent, and mild, with well- developed brow and fine eyelid ; vision perfect in every respect ; muzzle small and fine ; mouth deep ; lips thin and firmly compressed ; nostrils large and fine ; and branches of under-jaw (adjoining neck) wide apart. Neck.—Light, moderately long, and tapering toward the head, with crest firm and longer than underside ; mane fine and intact. Withers.—Elevated, not unduly fine, well devel- oped and muscled. Shoulders.— Long, oblique, well packed with muscle, not too heavy, smooth, rounded, and so formed as properly to support the collar. Chest.—High, wide, very deep, plump in front and full. Fore-legs.—Vertical, and properly placed ; with elbow large, long, prominent, clear of chest, and HORSE well placed ; fore-arm wide, thick, long, heavily muscled, and vertical. Knees.—Fine, thick, and wide in front, prominent, well situated, well directed, and free from blemishes. Back.—Short, straight, and well muscled. Loins.—Broad, straight, very short and muscular. Barrel.—tLarge, with ribs definitely separated from each other, and well-arched from girth toward flank. Hind-quarters.— Wide, thick, very long, full, heavily muscled, rounded externally, and well directed. Tail.—Fine and intact, well carried and firm. Hocks.—Neatly outlined, lean, large, wide from front to rear, and well directed. Limbs.—From knees and hocks downward verti- cal, short, wide laterally, with tendons and liga- ments standing well out from bone, and distinctly defined. Pasterns. — Strong, medium length, not too oblique, and well directed. Feet.—Medium size, circular in shape, and sound ; with horn dark, smooth, and of fine texture; sole moderately concave, and frog well developed, sound, firm, large, elastic, and healthy in appearance. Each horse will be subjected to a rigid inspection, and any animal that does not meet the above requirements should be rejected. Specifications for medium draft horses. The medium draft horse must be sound, well bred, and of a superior class ; gentle and of a kind disposition; thoroughly broken to harness, with easy mouth and free, prompt, straight, and regular action at the walk and trot; free from vicious habits, without material blemish or defect, and otherwise to conform to the following description : A gelding of uniform and hardy color, in good condition ; from 5 to 7 years old; weighing from 1,200 to 1,400 pounds, depending on height, which should be from 153 to 16 hands. Head.— Small and well set on neck ; with ears small, thin and erect; forehead broad and full; eyes large, prominent and mild, with well-devel- oped brow and fine eyelid; vision perfect in every respect ; muzzle fine; mouth deep; lips thin and firmly compressed ; nostrils large and fine, and branches of under jaw wide apart adjoining neck. Neck.—Moderately long and tapering toward the head, with crest firm and longer than underside ; mane fine and intact. Withers.—Hlevated, not unduly fine, well devel- oped and muscled. Shoulders.—Long, oblique, well muscled, smooth, rounded and so formed as properly to support the collar. Chest.— Full, high, wide, deep, and plump in front. Fore-legs.—Vertical, and properly placed; with elbow large, long, prominent, clear of chest, and well placed; fore-arm wide, thick, long, heavily muscled and vertical. Knees.—Fine, thick, and wide in front, promi- nent, well situated, well directed, and free from blemishes. HORSE 473 Back.—Short, straight, well muscled, and strongly coupled to hind-quarters. Loins.—Broad, straight, very short and muscu- lar. Barrel.— Large, with ribs definitely separated from each other and well arched. Hind - quarters.— Wide, thick, very long, full, heavily muscled, rounded externally and well directed. Tail.—Fine and intact; well carried and firm. Hocks.—Neatly outlined, lean, large, wide from front to rear and well directed. Limbs.—F rom knees and hocks downward, verti- cal, very short, wide laterally, with tendons and ligaments standing well out from bone, and dis- tinctly defined. Pasterns. — Strong, medium length, not too oblique, and well directed. Feet.—Medium size, circular in shape, and sound ; with horn dark, smooth, and of fine texture, sole moderately concave, and frog well developed, sound, firm, large, elastic and healthy in appearance. Each horse will be subjected to a rigid inspection, and any animal that does not meet with the above requirements, should be rejected. Specifications for mules. The mule must be sound, well bred, and of a superior class; of a kind disposition, gentle, and well broken to harness, with the exception of the pack mule; with free and prompt action at the walk or trot; free from vicious habits, without material blemish or defect, and otherwise to con- form to the following description : A gelding or mare of uniform and hardy color, in good condition ; from four to eight years old ; weight, depending on height, to be as follows : Wheel mules for six-mule teams, to weigh from 1,150 to 1,200 pounds, and be from 15 hands 3 inches to 16 hands high. Swing mules for six-mule team, to weigh 1,050 to 1,150 pounds, and be from 15 hands 1 inch to 15 hands 3 inches high. Lead mules for six-mule team, to weigh from 950 to 1,050 pounds, and be from 14 hands 3 inches to 15 hands 1 inch high. Wheel mules for four-mule team, to weigh from 1,100 to 1,200 pounds, and be from 15 hands 2 inches to 16 hands high. Lead mules for four-mule team, to weigh from 1,050 to 1,100 pounds, and be from 15 hands 1 inch to 15 hands 2 inches high. Riding mules for wagons and pack trains, to weigh from 1,000 to 1,050 pounds, and be from 15 hands to 15 hands 1 inch high, broken to saddle. Saddle mules for mountain batteries to be broken to saddle, to weigh from 950 to 1,000 pounds, and be from 14 hands 2 inches to 15 hands high. Pack mules to weigh from 850 to 1,000 pounds, and be from 13 hands 3 inches to 15 hands high. Pack mules for mountain batteries and for machine gun platoons, to weigh from 950 to 1,000 pounds, and be from 14 hands 2 inches to 15 hands high. Head.—Fine and of medium size, with ears fine 474 HORSE and erect; forehead broad and full; eyes large, clear, prominent, and mild, with well-developed brow and fine eyelid; vision perfect in every respect, nostrils large and open. Neck.—Medium length and smoothly joined to the shoulder and withers, with crest firm and full. Shoulders. —Long, oblique, well and smoothly muscled, and so formed as to provide proper sup- port for the collar. Chest.—High, wide, very deep, and full. Back.—Short, straight, and well and smoothly muscled. Loins.—Broad, straight, very short and muscular. Barrel.—Large, with ribs well arched and defi- nitely separated from each other. Fore-legs.—Vertical and properly placed ; with elbow large, long and clear of chest ; fore-arms large, very long, heavily muscled and vertical. Knees.—Large, wide in front, well placed, and free from blemishes. Hind-quarters.—Wide, thick, very long, full, heav- ily muscled, rounded externally, and well directed. Hocks.—Neatly outlined, lean, large, wide from front to rear, and well directed. Limbs.—F rom knees and hocks downward, verti- cal, short, wide laterally, with tendons and liga- ments standing well out from bone, and distinctly defined. Pasterns. — Strong, medium length, not too oblique, and well directed. Feet.—Medium size and sound; with horn dark, smooth, and of fine texture ; frog well developed, elastic and healthy. Hach mule will be subjected to a rigid inspection, and any animal that does not meet the above requirements should be rejected. Horses REQUIRED BY THE BRITISH WAR OFFICE The following specifications, issued by the Brit- ish War Office, designate the types of army horses called for in Canada. A discussion of the breeding of horses in Canada for army use will be found in Appendix I of ‘‘The Horse,” by Roberts. The classes and types of horses required for the army may be generally described as follows: (1) Chargers (for officers).—Height from 15 hands 1 inch to 15 hands 3 inches. (2) Riding horses (troop- ers).—Height from 15 hands 1 inch to 15 hands 2% inches. (3) Cobs (for mounted infantry).— Height from 14 hands 2 inches to 15 hands. (4) Draft horses (for gun and wagon).— Height from 15 hands 2 inches to 15 hands 34.inches. Age.—From 4 years (off) to 6 years. Color.—Bays, browns and blacks preferred, but chestnuts will be accepted. Whites, grays, pie- balds or skewbalds, etc., are required only for spe- cial purposes. Light, washy-colored horses are not accepted. Sex.—Geldings or mares. Entire or unmanage- able horses are not accepted. Unhogged manes and undocked tails are desired, especially in the case of chargers. Good horses with short manes and docks can be accepted. Soundness.—No horse is accepted without pass- ing a veterinary examination; and soundness in HORSE wind, eyes and limb is insisted on. Stale, upright and over-shooting joints, weak or curby hocks, brushing, dishing, or untrue action, turned-in or turned-out toes and weak feet are absolute dis- qualifications. Chargers, riding horses and cobs should be short- legged, short- backed, good-barrelled, with good rein and shoulders, of the hunter stamp, with sub- stance and quality, action true and quite clear of the joints. Draft horses should not be too big, but fit to carry a man driving postillion ; active and able to gallop, deep, short-legged, well ribbed-up, with plenty of substance and quality ; action true and quite clear of the joints. Very coarse horses and those with heavy rolling action are not accepted. Note.—No horses will be purchased unless they have been handled and are reasonably quiet. Orloff Trotting Horse. Figs. 474, 475. By C. S. Plumb. The Orloff trotter, as its name implies, is a breed of trotting horses used chiefly for driving purposes. Description. This Russian breed of horses does not possess very great uniformity. A well-accepted height is sixteen hands, with a weight of 1,100 to 1,300 pounds. The color is variable, gray, white or black being most common, with chestnut and bay not infrequent. Quality is not a notable feature. The head is frequently small and neat, of Arabian character, with some dish to the face. The neck is inclined to be strong and a bit throaty, and in good specimens is well arched and carried high. The withers stand high, the back is short and strong and the loin full and muscular. The croup has a sloping tendency and is commonly criticized in this respect, but is powerfully muscled. The shoulders are rather sloping, and while strong and active in character, lack heaviness of form. The legs are strongly muscled, the tendons stand out well, while the bone and feet are regarded as of very superior quality. Russians lay much emphasis on the soundness of limb and endurance of this _breed. In its native home, the Orloff has a rather heavy coat of hair and a thick forelock, mane and tail. This heaviness of hair gives something of a rough appearance, which may sometimes give an unfair impression of the horse. History. The early history of the Orloff trotter seems to be very well established, excepting for minor de- tails. Count Alexis Orloff, of Russia, in 1777, it is said, began the work of developing a new breed of horses that would be better than any existing Russian breed. Some authorities state that he secured an Arab stallion from the Sultan of Turkey in 1780, while others state that this same stallion, Smetanka, was purchased by Orloff, in southern Greece, in 1777, for 60,000 roubles ($8,570). This was a very pure Arab, of a silvery white color, very strong and muscular and about fifteen hands HORSE high. Smetanka was used in Orloff’s stud but one year, when he died, but he sired four stallions and one mare, all but one from English Thoroughbred mares. One son, Polkan, known as Polkan Ist, was from a “big, long, Isabel Danish mare.” Polkan was sire of seven stallions and twenty-one mares, Russian Orloff stallion. Fig. 474. one of which, Barss or Bars Ist, is an important factor in foundation blood-line descent. He was foaled in 1784 and died in 1808. The dam of Bars was a big Dutch mare of fine knee action, and from this ancestry comes the size and action desired. Count Orloff used English Thoroughbred mares for many years in his stables, and they were bred to Orloff stallions, but no stallions were ever sold from this stud. In-and-inbreeding was finally ac- tively followed in one group, while another group of Orloff and English blood stock was main- tained. In 1845, the Russian government bought the Orloff stud from the Countess Orloff, daughter of its founder, when there were 21 stallions and 194 brood-mares of the Orloff breed, and 9 Seton and 112 brood-mares of Orloff-Hackney lood. In America.—There have been a number of importations of Orloffs to America. In 1877, four stallions and one mare were brought over and sold at auction, all being purchased by Lieutenant Ismailoff of the Russian army. In 1890, Jacob Heyl, of Wisconsin, imported two black stallions, and, in 1892, two stallions and four mares. One of these stallions, Wzmakh, made a record of 2:214. This same year F.G. Bourne imported five stallions and one mare. In 1893, eighteen head were imported from Russia for exhibiting at the World’s Columbian Ex- position. In 1902, Bergh & Company, of New York, imported twenty-eight head, which were sold at auction in New York, at an average price of $1,243. The breed has never secured any permanent foothold in America. Distribution. The Orloff is generally distributed over Russia, and is the predominating trotting horse of that country, although other breeds occur. It has no distribution to a great extent outside of Russia. HORSE 475 Types. There are several types of the Orloff, and, of those exhibited in 18938, criticism was made of the dif- ference in type. Mr. M. W. Dunham, who judged the breed at Chicago, especially commented on this variation. Mr. Dunham, at that time, was one of America’s most noted importers and breeders of French coach horses, and was well qualified to judge. He commented in particular on a heavy, coarse type, and a fine, light type. Coarseness of form is given as a reason for the unpopularity in America. Without doubt, the Orloff does not show any greater variety of type, however, than does the American trotter, although the latter unques- tionably possesses much more speed. Uses. For driving.—tThe main use of the Orloff is for driving to carriages of the lighter type or to sleigh. It is not used under the saddle, but in general ser- vice compares well with the American roadster or trotter of the heavier type. For long-distance trotting the speed of the Orloff is very satisfactory, surpassing the American trotter. For short dis- tances it is inferior to the American. For crossing.—The Orloff has been crossed with the American trotter with the best of results. When the dam is an Orloff, the offspring frequently shows more speed than the sire. Little attention has yet been given to this cross in America, but in Russia it has found more favor. Organizations and records. The Russian government especially promotes this breed in its own stud, and what is known as the Record of the Imperial Russian Horse Breeding Society, represents the Orloff officially. In 1906, during the serious internal dissensions in Russia, press reports stated that one of the government Fig. 475. Russian Orloff mare. studs was seized by rebels, the buildings detroyed and many valuable pure-bred horses burned. Literature. The Orloff Horse, Country Gentleman, Vol. 68, p. 330; Orloff Horses, Breeders’ Gazette, August 16, 1893. [For further references, see page 416.] 476 HORSE Pacing Horse, Standardbred. Fig. 476. By John A. Craig. The pacer is not a separate and distinct breed of norses. The name is applied to a class of horses that are characterized by the pacing gait. The American Standardbred trotting horse breed is the most potent source of pacers. Description. It was a prevalent opinion some years ago that there was a type evolving among pacers, but this has been largely dispelled. Dan Patch (Fig. 476) is as smooth and graceful in line of mold as it would be possible to conceive an ideal, and Joe Patchen is considered among horse-lovers, no matter what their preference as to breed, as being very nearly a model in finish, symmetry and style. So many old- time pacers were steep in the hind-quarters and some crooked in the hocks and pitched forward, that it became the opinion of a coterie that a pacing type was being evolved. Time demonstrated with the pacer as with the trotter, that symmetry and graceful lines and style in action or repose were not opposed to speed. History. From the earliest writings referring to horses and from the earliest representations of them in sculptured frieze, we learn that pacing or ambling was a gait common to the horse in earliest times. This gait is shown in Greek sculpture and referred to in the publications of some of the earliest writers in Spain, Great Britain and America. It is unnecessary here to recount these early references, for they are accessible in nearly every work devoted to the horse; and it is equally unnecessary to attempt to locate the origin of the gait, for there is no feature connected with the history of the horse that depends more on legendary lore than this. Suffice it to say that in Spain, where the saddle horse as a pack animal and for traveling was much in vogue, the pacing or ambling gait was considered avery necessary attribute; and the same is true in perhaps a lesser degree when the early history of the pacer in Great Britain is considered. In America.—It is in America in colonial days that the pacer in the New England states seemed to reach the highest point of utility; from there and from Canada the pacer seems to have spread. The Narragansett pacer of Rhode Island attained a wide notoriety over the New England states in colonial times, but with the improvement of roads and the abandonment of horse-back riding for long-distance traveling, this strain became extinct. Whether or not it drifted over into Canada and formed the foundation for the remarkable number of pacers common to the Province of Quebec, is not definitely known, nor is there any other satis- factory supposition as to the origin of the Cana- dian pacing families. It would seem more plausible to account for the Canadian pacers in this way than to accredit them to French origin, for they were very dissimilar to the French horses of that time in their characteristics. HORSE The theory that the French-Canadian pacer is an offshoot of the Thoroughbred has also been advanced and in some instances it may be proved, but in most instances the originator of the strain was by a Thoroughbred out of a pacing mare. Again, it has been asserted that the French-Cana- dian horse is a descendant of the French Perche- ron, reduced in size by the more vigorous condi- tions of climate. This seems to the writer the most untenable of all the theories. Long obseryva- tion among the more common types prevalent among the French-Canadian people, and attend- ance at their winter ice-racing, where the most of those with speed would congregate, substantiate the writer’s opinion. In all its characteristics the French-Canadian comes nearer the Morgan in some traits and nearer the Thoroughbred in others, than those of any other breed or family. While like the Morgan in type and style of going when trotting, yet it must be admitted there are very few pacers among the Morgans. Also, not many of the Thoroughbreds pace unless there is a strain of pacing through the dam’s side. The French-Cana- dian families, especially those showing inclinations to pace, although most of them were double-gaited, have in time become submerged in the foundation of other families which are now of most promi- nence. Among the Canadian families of early origin, the most noted spring from Copperbottom, Pilot, Daniel Boone, Drennon, Davy Crockett, Corbeau, St. Lawrence, St. Clair. Of those of more dis- tinetly Thoroughbred origin, might be mentioned Smuggler, Clear Grit, Uwharie and Hiatogas, while perhaps the two most noted of all, the Hals, springing from Tom Hal in Tennessee and Blue Bull from Indiana, had their origin so shrouded in misty legend that it is not even advisable to specu- late on it. From all that we know, it may be safe to assume that the Thoroughbred horse has had as much to do with the evolution of the pacer as any other up to the time of the introduction of the stand- ards, although we have to admit that there seems to have been an original stock on which the Thor- oughbred, as a scion, was grafted with more or less success. The Copperbottoms and Pilots made a reputation in Kentucky at an early time; the Columbus fam- ily did the same in New England, the St. Clairs in California, the St. Lawrences in Michigan, the Blue Bulls in Indiana and Ohio, the Hiatogas in Virginia, and the Hals in Tennessee. While all these were in a general way known as pacers, yet with most of them the gait was interchangeable, and many of them could trot as fast as they could pace, and very few of them sired a majority of pacers. As might be expected, the fastest of their get were pacers, and those made the reputation of the sire, while as a matter of fact that sire would be getting mostly trotters. For example, Blue Bull, a fast pacer himself and a getter of some fast pacers, sired fifty-six trotters out of a total of sixty of his in the list. So also with many of the others, with the notable exception of the Hal family. This is the leading family of pacers that is justly entitled to be called a family of pacers, HORSE and the writer does not know of any other like it, pacing in origin and breeding on at the pacing ait. : What has been written may enable the reader to understand the position of the pacer in the ear- liest days. But to explain the position in our own day is almost beyond the possibilities of the most earnest student, so intertwined in breeding and development are the trotting and pacing gaits. When the standard for Standardbred horses was established, pacers and trotters came in on almost equal footing. At the races, too, trotters and pacers at that time mostly competed on equal footing, many of the purses being open-class for trot- ters or pacers. It was soon found that the pacers were naturally faster than the trotters, for they would win most of the races when both competed on equal foot- ing. The craze for speed and the desire to ay the get of stallions in the list, increased the popu- larity of the pacer at a bound. Tt was found, too, that it was a very easy mat- ter to change the gait of most horses from trot- ting to pacing, especially with the use of hobbles or hopples, as they are interchangeably designated. This leads us to say that the difference in the gaits is simply that in the pacer the two legs on the same side move together, while in the trotter the movement is diagonal (see page 423). By putting a horse in hobbles, he must either pace or break the hobbles, which are so strong as to be almost unbreakable, or be thrown. Hobbles have been permitted in races, but owing to the danger to the driver if any entanglement occurs, they have not become popular except to keep horses that show a tendency to pace at that gait or train them until they can do without them. At its meeting on Feb- ruary 5, 1908, the American Trotting Register Association adopted a resolution against the use of hobbles. It was found that a change in the shoe- ing, such as shoeing very light all round, would encourage a horse to pace; and even the shifting of the bit would accomplish the same purpose. After the craze for speed at any cost had sub- sided somewhat, and a different time limit set for the pacer before he could become standard, the winnings possible for green trotters increased, and with that the purses and colt stakes for trotters were augmented so that trotting as a part of the sport of racing became again more than on a par - with pacing. The pacing standard now in force is appended. It should be said that it is identical with the trotting standard except that the word “pacer” is Substituted for the word “trotter” and the word “pacing” for the word “trotting,” and the speed standard is changed from 2:30 to 2:25 ; furthermore, Rule 6 is an addition. The pacing standard.—“When an animal meets these requirements and is duly registered, it shall be accepted as a Standardbred pacer: “(1) The progeny of a registered standard pacing horse and a registered standard pacing mare. “2) Any stallion sired by a registered standard pacing horse, provided his dam and granddam were HORSE ATT sired by registered standard pacing horses and he himself has a pacing record of 2:25 and is the sire of three pacers with records of 2:25 from different mares. “(8) A mare whose sire is a registered standard pacing horse and whose dam and granddam were sired by registered standard pacing horses, pro- vided she herself has a pacing record of 2:25 or is the dam of one pacer with a record of 2:25. “(4) A mare sired by a registered standard pacing horse, provided she is the dam of two pacers with records of BPAY, “(6) A mare sired by a regis- tered standard pacing horse, pro- Dan Patch, 1:5534. Fig. 476. vided her first, second and third dams are each sired by a registered standard pacing horse. “(6) The progeny of a registered standard trot- ting horse out of a registered standard pacing mare, or of a registered standard pacing horse out of a registered standard trotting mare.” Distribution. From the New England states and Canada, espec- ially Quebec, the pacer was gradually scattered all over America, and is now found more particularly in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, California and Indiana. Families. Among the modern Standardbred horses it is not possible to separate the familes into those that pace as a family characteristic, and those that trot. The Hal family is composed most distinctly of pacers, for Tom Hal Jr. has fourteen in the list, all pacers, while Brown Hal, one son, has seventy- eight, all pacers. The latter has two noted sons, Star Pointer, with fifteen in the list, all pacers, and Hal Dillard with forty-two in the list, only three of which are pacers. In some instances there is a union of one of the leading families with the Hal 478 HORSE strain which produces pacers consistently. For instance, Direct, 2:054, of the Dictator family is a pacer and has sired forty-two pacers and thirty- seven trotters. He sired Direct Hal p., 2:044, the sire of nine in the list, all pacers, and the fast- est green stallion of 1907. While some of the families of Standardbreds show a stronger tendency to trot than to pace, the reverse is not common, although it is possible that in time this may result, as it is ostensibly the aim to establish two sep- arate standards. The champion pacing stallion, Dan Patch, 1:554 (Fig. 476), is sired by Joe Patchen, a noted race horse and a pacer, sired by Patchen Wilkes of the George Wilkes-Mambrino- Patchen cross; and the dam of Joe Patchen was by Joe Young of Morgan breeding. The dam of Dan Patch was Zelicia by Wilkesberry, which was a Wilkes on his sire’s side and a Clay on his dam’s. There is very little of what might be called pacing blood in her pedigree, although the Wilkes strain and the Abdallah 15 strain have produced many fast pacers. On the other hand, Lou Dillon, the champion trotter, 1:584, comes as near being of a pacing line through her sire as almost any note- worthy pacer. She is by Sidney Dillon, no record sire of eleven trotters and eight pacers, by Sidney, pacing record 2:19%, sire of sixty-three trotters and forty-seven pacers, including Citation 2:034, the pacing queen of 1907. Sidney is sired by Santa Claus, 2:174, trotting horse and sire of nineteen trotters and six pacers. At present it does not seem likely that the pacing families will become separate from the trotting families. Uses. For racing purposes the pacer cannot be said to equal the trotter as a money-maker, as the purses are not generally so large; and the colt stakes for the trotters are also large. For road purposes in general, the pacer is not so popular as the trotter, although for matinee uses it is held in high favor. For the speedway, the pacer is decidedly popular for several reasons. One is that in brushing, a pacer can get away quicker than a trotter; and usually, also, it is the faster gait. Pacing is an easier gait, and in pacing a horse does not strike the pavement so hard, a matter of some consideration on hard roads. For usage on common roads or in snow, the pacer cannot be said to be as popular as the trotter. The pacer has not, as a rule, so evenly a rated gait as the trotter. Very often it is a slow amble or full speed. However, many pacers jog-trot, and when forced to full speed at a trot strike into a pace when urged to do more. It is considered by some persons that the pace is an ungainly gait, but it is to be remembered that, like all other gaits, there is a difference in the classes of it. Some horses pitch in such a way as to be lumbering in gait, but others go as true and as frictionless as the piston of an engine. Again, for road-riders, the pacer does not develop, as a rule, into a puller, which is sometimes so true of the trotter. While the pacing gait is generally considered to be the faster of the two gaits, five seconds is thought to about express the difference HORSE in time. The pacer, as a rule, needs the lighter road rig, for the trotter seems to have the advantage slightly in pulling power. Organizations and records. The same registries and the same associations look after the interests of the pacers as those that have the Standardbred trotter under their auspices. [See page 507.] Percheron Horse. Figs. 42, 477. By Charles F. Curtiss and John A. Craig. The Percheron draft breed of horses is native of the ancient province of La Perche, a territory about one hundred miles square, in the north-central part of France. This region lies in the heart of a fer- tile farming country. The land is high and rolling, the soil is fertile and the farms are watered by numerous springs and small streams. These springs and brooks give rise to some eight or ten rivers flowing into the English Channel on the north and the Atlantic ocean on the west. The numer- ous valleys are rich and they produce sweet, nutri- tious grasses and bountiful crops of grain. The climate is mild, yet sufficiently tonic and invigorat- ing to produce horses of good temperament. The land is held mainly by tenant farmers who are fru- gal and thrifty, and good tillers of the soil. The natural conditions of this region all combine to make a most favorable environment for this widely known and popular breed. Among the breeds of draft horses that have been imported to America from France, the Percheron leads both in numbers and in popularity. Description. Nearly a century ago the aim of the breeders of horses in La Perche was to produce a medium- weight draft horse, suited in type and action for pulling a “diligence” or omnibus. At an early day, the demand existed in France for a horse that could haul a load at as rapid a rate as possible. At this time, the breed was represented by horses of upstanding type, somewhat rangy but strongly built, with attractive and unusual action for draft horses. They were then gray in color, and these were the first to be brought to America. While not so drafty in type as the modern Perche- ron, they were horses of superb style, full of vigor, and they had powerful action which enabled them to pull strongly and more quickly at the same time. In themselves, the gray Percherons of early days were unusual draft horses, and it was the degree to which they combined activity with pulling power that made the Percheron a very popular horse for farm work. But the demand in America became more insistent for a heavier, blockier, shorter-legged type, that would grade the produce of our lighter mares to a draft weight quicker. This demand resulted in the modern black Per- cheron of somewhat stouter build, deeper body, more weight, and as much quality as the proto- type; but there was some sacrifice of style, stand- ing or going, with somewhat less attractive action. HORSE The modern Percheron approaches more closely the essentials of a draft horse to meet modern markets, but the old type had some qualities, such as style, endurance and activity, which were difli- cult to retain in a shorter and stouter built horse of more weight. The present-day Percheron’s excellencies are to be seen in the active temperament, intelligent head, deep body, wide muscular croup and clean-cut legs of the typical representative. The joints are usually clean and hard, and the legs invariably show an abundance of quality that guarantees dur- ability; but frequently the set of the legs and, particularly, the shape of the hind-quarters, is at fault. A croup too sloping, with deficiency in muscle below, cannot give the greatest pulling power, especially when associated, as it often is, with legs that are improperly set, being either too straight, sickle-hocked or otherwise cramped in the hind-quarters. The Percheron is rarely deficient in quality and activity, and when the weight is suffi- cient to meet the demands of the modern draft- horse market, a draft horse of unusual excellencies is the result. The action of the Percheron is almost always quick enough for a draft horse, and the feet are generally picked up with snap at the walk; but these should not be allowed to overshadow desirable mechanical action, which is straight and distance-covering, although less showy and attractive. In size, the Percheron ranges from fifteen and one-fourth to sixteen and one-half hands, and from 1,500 to over 2,000 pounds in weight. There are a number of medium size, although the largest take rank with the largest of any of the draft breeds. In France there is a type smaller in size than the medium. These are popular for general traffic and for bus and tram use in cities. The demand in the United States is for the larger types. History. France has long been noted for good horses. The horses of France, like those of other countries, were first improved for the purpose of war. The Flemish blood was largely drawn on in early times and importations of oriental blood were made at a very early date. This blood was infused with the native horse stock of France, which may have been Flemish in its origin. The oriental blood imparted a degree of refinement and finish that has ever since characterized the modern draft-horse stock of France. Since 732, when the French defeated the Sara- cens and captured their horses, infusions of Ara- bian blood have been made, and the subsequent use of Arabian stallions on the native mares continued as late as 1820. In this way, a foundation was laid for a breed of horses possessing activity, quality and strength. The extension of railroads, reducing the use of the omnibus, seems to have diverted the breed towards a heavier type. This led to the use of Flemish stallions. The conditions of La Perche being favorable for the growth of strong active horses, the breed started in this way made very rapid progress. There are some features HORSE 479 of French management that may have had an influence also in directing the development of the breed. It is a common practice to work the stal- lions, and this may have been a factor of some influence on their dispositions, making them more amenable to work. It should be said that the French government recognizes several breeds of draft horses, but the Percheron and the Boulonnais are apparently the only two that may be considered pure, as they have studbooks separate from the others. In addition, there are the Breton, Nivernais and Ardennais, all of which may be recorded in the General Draft Studbook of France. [These breeds are discussed on pages 460-462. ] In addition to controlling the matter of registra- tion, the French government has a system of inspec- tion, which in some degree assists its horse-breeding interests. The veterinary inspection, however, is limited to periodic ophthalmia or moon blindness and roaring or thick wind. Johnstone (The Horse Book), states that there are only two maladies for posses- sion of which approval, authorization or certification is refused in France—periodic ophthalmia and thick wind. This being so, the branding system carried out by the French government does not carry so much weight as is commonly supposed, for inspec- tion apparently only discriminates against these two diseases, and there is nothing in the law to prevent any breeder using such unsound stallions on his own mares. The author referred to states OSS AS SS 22 NG Sa et GMO Ge, = Fig. 477. Etradegant. Champion Percheron stallion at all leading live-stock shows in America in 1906. further, that when a stallion is pronounced free from the unsoundnesses named, he is branded on the neck under the mane with a five-pointed star. The colt must be over thirty months of age before 480 HORSE he can stand for public service, and the certificate of freedom from these diseases covers only one year. If the colt fails to pass inspection for these diseases, or if the diseases develop after the inspec- tion, then the letter “R” meaning refused, is branded over the five-pointed star. These are the only brands used by the French government. The French Percheron Society, however, uses a brand that is put on all stallions and mares recorded in its studbook. It is a monogram of the letters S. and P., the initials of the society. It is branded on the neck under the mane. After successfully passing the inspection, the horses are classified in three grades. The first are known as “subsidized” or “approved,” and to such a cash bonus is awarded to keep them in France on the owner’s farm, and available to outside mares. The other two are “authorized” and “certified,” neither of which carries with it any subsidy. In America.—The first importation to America was made in 1839, by Mr. Edward Harris, of Moorestown, New Jersey. The next importation was made in 1851, by Messrs Fullington and Mar- tin of Milford Centre, Ohio. This importation was of far-reaching importance, although it consisted of but a single horse named “Louis Napoleon.” This horse was sold and taken to Illinois in 1856, where he afterward passed into the hands of Mr. Dillon, of Normal, Illinois. “Louis Napoleon” stood fifteen and one-half hands high and weighed about sixteen hundred pounds. He was, perhaps, the most noted horse of the breed that has been brought to America. It is estimated that he sired over four hundred colts that were used successfully for stud purposes. In 1851 and succeeding years, other impor- tations were made which helped to lay the foun- dation of the breed in America. In 1870, M. W. Dunham, of Wayne, Illinois, took up the impor- tation, since which time he has imported and bred Percherons very extensively. Through his efforts the breed has gained much popularity in America. Many other importers might be men- tioned, but the list is now a long one, as the importations of horses of this breed have been very extensive. The Percheron breed has made rapid progress in popularity in this country. It is the most numerous and the most generally popular of any breed of draft horses in America. This is accounted for chiefly by the degree to which the Percheron is adapted for the work on the majority of our farms, as well as to produce an active draft horse for the market. Distribution. The Percheron breed has proved generally popu- lar in nearly all parts of the United States, par- ticularly in the farming regions where draft horses are raised for market. It is well adapted to farm conditions and meets with favor on the markets. Plumb (Types and Breeds of Farm Animals) quotes Weld as authority for the statement that in 1866 there were fully 5,000 Percherons in this country. Illinois has been the chief center for the breed, with the adjoining states of Ohio, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin following with lesser numbers. The HORSE same author states that between 1851 and 1883 nearly 4,000 Percherons were imported or bred in the United States, and these were distributed about as follows: Illinois, 1834; Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, 577; Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, 424; New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 280; Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, 186. These figures are an index of the relative extensiveness of the Percheron breeding interests today, although it is likely the western states carry more compar with the others than they did at that early time. The southern states have become an altogether new field for the Percheron, although not many of the breed have been brought into the South or into Canada, where the British breeds seem to be in more favor. Wilcox (Farm Animals) has stated that there are 30,000 registered Percheron horses in the United States, which is a decidedly larger number than any other draft breed may claim. Uses. The Percheron has little use except as a draft horse and as a producer of grade draft horses. The usefulness of this breed for draft purposes is so well known that it is unnecessary to dwell on that feature. But it is well to call attention to the fact that a large proportion of our draft teams contain Percheron blood, and that the results which follow across of a pure-bred Percheron stallion on a mare of other draft breeds, or even on the heavier types of our common mares, are most excellent. Organizations and records. In France, the interests of this breed are in the hands of Société Hippique Percheronne. It was organized in 1883, and in that year published its first studbook. The Percheron Society of America has published nine volumes of the Percheron Stud- book of America, the first two volumes, however, having been published by the Percheron-Norman Horse Association. The Percheron Registry Com- pany has published three studbooks. There have been many dissensions among the importers and breeders of French draft horses, leading to the formation of several societies and studbooks. It becomes necessary to discuss these, not because of any desire to state which were right or which were wrong, but solely for the purpose of explaining the status of the societies and stud- books at present representing the breed. The first importations of draft horses from France to America were almost universally called Normans. There was no apparent reason for the name, for none of them came from Normandy. This name at that time was intended to embrace all the breeds of draft horses in France. Those importers bringing horses from La .Perche, con- — sidered the horses from that district the typical draft horses of France. The French government had not at that time established the Percheron studbook (its publication was begun in 1883), con- sequently there was more room for the discussion of the claim at that time than there isnow. In 1876, when the importers of the French draft breeds organized and issued the first studbook Plate XVI. Small horses. Shetland pony stallion. Cowboy and broncho, a typical western outfit HORSE under the editorship of J. H. Sanders, a compromise was effected by the adoption of the title Percheron- Norman Studbook. Some of the members withdrew, forming another association, which published the National Register of Norman horses, and this was afterwards changed to the National Register of French Draft Horses. In this studbook are registered all importations that are registered in the General Draft Studbook of France. The Per- cheron-Norman Studbook was changed to the Per- cheron Studbook, and it is based on the Percheron Studbook of France which, since 1885, has accepted for entry only horses whose ancestors are reg- istered in the book. As the present studbooks stand, only pure-bred Percherons may be recorded in the Percheron Studbook, while in the Register of French Draft Horses all the draft breeds of France, including Percherons, may be admitted. From this unfortunate diversity of studbooks, the Percheron Studbook had reached the point of being recognized as the distinct representative of the Percheron breed, when internal dissension arose over the powers vested in the secretary. The out- come has been a division into three associations that have published or intend to publish studbooks. The American Percheron Horse Breeders’ and Importers’ Association was organized in 1902, but in 1905 this name was changed to the Percheron Society of America, with headquarters at the Union Stock Yards, Chicago. Also in 1904, the Percheron Registry Company was organized with head- quarters at Columbus, Ohio. In 1905, the American Breeders’ and Importers’ Percheron Registry was organized, with headquarters at Plainfield, Ohio. Literature. Charles Du Hays, The Percheron Horse, New York (1868). [For further references, see page 416.] Ponies. Figs. AT8-486. By S. B. Eiliot. The dividing line between the horse and the pony was vague and undefined until the Hackney . Horse Society was established in England in 1883. All horses measuring fourteen hands or under were then designated ponies, and registered in a separate part of the studbook. This standard of height was accepted and officially recognized by leading agri- cultural and horse-show societies in England, and subsequently in America. In 1905, the American Hackney Horse Society increased the height of ponies to fourteen hands one inch, and in the case of polo ponies the limit of height had previously been raised to fourteen hands two inches. Adverse climatic conditions, promiscuous breed- ing and privation have had much to do with the development of most breeds of ponies. Distinct types of ponies are found in almost every coun- try. the chief types being the Arab and his near allies, the Turks, Barbs and Persians, the Mongo- lian, Japanese, Korean, Burma and Manipuri pony, Sumatra and Java pony, Russian, Scandinavian or Norwegian pony, the Celtic or pony of Iceland, C3 HORSE 48] the ponies of the British Isles, and, in America, the ponies of the western states. While some of these, perhaps, are only of remote interest in America at present, it has been thought best to discuss most of them briefly. The following index will aid in finding the separate discussions. INDEX ® eng LOTR) Go oOo o 6. old. dno 6 Uoldmor ocean 482 Mustang, Bronco or Indian pony ...... 483 Other sAmericansponiessasenieienisisyieenieh i nell WAP WW Fig. 494. A Thoroughbred mare of the saddle type. Champion Jasmine. There is such diversity of opinion, even among authorities, as to the relative merits of the Thor- oughbred and the American saddle horse for sad- dle work, and the Thoroughbred and the part-bred horse as hunters, that the fairest way to treat them would be a review of the evidence on both sides. By his opponents the Thoroughbred is objected to as a saddle horse because of his dis- 500 HORSE proportionate height at the withers and croup, his unsymmetrical appearance from the saddle, his low “daisy cutting” way of going, which they assert is conducive to stumbling, and his erratic nervous temperament, which renders him untract- . able under restraint. Opposed to these objection- able features are the spirit, the indomitable cour- age, speed and stamina, which are possessed by no other horse in the same degree. For riding to hounds the Thoroughbred is said by some to be ill- adapted because of his temperament, which makes him fretful at checks and difficult to control when running. Furthermore, the average Thoroughbred is not up to the weight imposed by many riders who care to indulge in this sport. On the other hand, his supporters maintain that his speed, stamina, courage, and nerve force may be relied on to bring one in safely at the death when others fail. It is said that he does not get “doppy” at his fences, but will jump, as well as run, on his courage when fatigued, and that altogether his performance is more in keeping with the sport than that of his colder-blooded contemporary. A logical conclusion seems to be that the Thorough- bred horse is best adapted to a thoroughbred rider. As stated by one authority, “Thorough- breds are horsemen’s horses,” and one who under- stands their disposition and eccentricities is not likely to be satisfied with any other kind of a mount; while, for those less accomplished in horsemanship, and’ satisfied with a more moderate ride, the horse which has his fire cooled to some extent by a dip of plebeian blood is more suitable. For crossing.—To estimate properly the full util- ity value of this race, it is necessary to consider, in addition to the service which individuals of the breed have rendered in performance on the flat and cross country, the great influence of the blood in union with that of other stocks. Notwithstand- ing the fact that this horse has been the creation of generations of sportsmen, with speed perform- ance the standard of selection, it is the potency of his blood when blended with common, native stocks which is of greatest value in the production of market horses for use outside the realm of sport. In all but the draft breeds the influence of the Thoroughbred may be demonstrated. In the heavy- harness division, the foundation blood lines of the recognized breeds are significant. The Hackney descends from Shales, a son of Blaze, Thorough- bred, out of a strong common mare of Norfolk. Thoroughbred sires have produced from native French mares the half-blood horses from which the French coach has been evolved. They are still called Demi-Sang (half-blood) in France. The Ger- man coach horse has less of the Thoroughbred character and foundation, but even here “the trail of the blood” may be traced. The Yorkshire coach horse represents a Thoroughbred-Cleveland Bay cross. The representative light-harness horse is the American trotter, and the two individuals accred- ited with being the foundation sires are Imp. Messenger, Thoroughbred, and Justin Morgan, said to be of Thoroughbred extraction. The American saddle horse, as a breed, is descendant from Den- HORSE mark, Thoroughbred, son of Imp. Hedgeford, and repeated infusions of Thoroughbred blood are still admitted. Furthermore, the ranks of the hunter, jumper, and polo pony classes, not breeds, but market types, are chiefly filled by either full- or part-bred blood hotses. Ailments. It cannot be said that there are any diseases peculiar to Thoroughbreds, nor that they show a marked predisposition toward any of the affections to which all horses are heir. It is true the disease known as Osteoporosis, or, more commonly, “big- head,” is frequently found in some of the large Thoroughbred breeding-studs. We have reason to think, however, that the disease is due rather to the conditions under which Thoroughbreds are especially likely to be kept than to the horse inde- pendent of those conditions. Thoroughbreds in training, especially youngsters, are prone to develop sore shins, which involve the fore-limbs in much the same manner that athletes are affected under similar conditions. The most common abnor- mality to which Thoroughbreds are subject is the peculiar attitude of the fore-legs termed “buck knees.” In other horses, a similar condition results from hard road or track work, but in Thorough- breds this standing over may be noticed in year- lings that have had practically no work. It is said by some trainers that colts which show this ten- dency will stand up under severe training better than those which stand straight on their fore-legs. Organizations and records. The first publication of recorded pedigrees and performances was in 1829. The official organ and record of the Thoroughbred in England is the General Studbook of Great Britain. In this country, Thoroughbreds are registered in the American Studbook for Thoroughbreds, the official organi- zation being the American Jockey Club. Literature. Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart., Thoroughbred and Other Ponies; Horses Past and Present; Ridgeway, The Origin and Influence of the Thoroughbred Horse, Cambridge (1905); Trevethan, The Ameri- can Thoroughbred, New York (1905); Peer, Cross Country with Horse and Hound ; Ware, First Hand Bits of Stable Lore ; United States Department of Agriculture, Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Animal Industry. Trotting and Pacing Horse, American Standard- bred. Figs. 44, 476, 495. By John A. Craig. The trotting horse has entered more largely into — the pleasures and uses of the American people than any of the other classes of light horses, although — the gaited saddle horse has been to some extent a competitor in these directions in recent years. For trotting purposes on the track or on the road, no other strain or breed has approached the Amer- ican Standardbred trotter. Its development to the Plate XVII. Road ard speed horses. Morgan above; American trotter below 5 HORSE present excellence is due wholly to the work of the American breeder, although most of the original material that entered into the foundation of the American Standardbred trotting horse came from outside sources. Deseription. There are many pronounced types among the Standardbred trotting horses. Some are speed mar- vels, as Lou Dillon, slim, graceful and of high nervous organization; others are of the campaigner type, stronger-framed, fuller-muscled, of larger size, with controllable disposition, so as to be easily rated, and of remarkable strength and durability. Of such is Sweet Marie. The most successful blend of these two types is Cresceus (Fig. 495), both a speed marvel and a campaigner. A pen description of him would embody the attributes of the best type so far evolved. In general, such a horse should be about sixteen hands high, upstanding, well set up, and have that poise of body which horsemen refer to when they say a horse is “above himself,” either standing or in action. The head, propor- tioned evenly with the other parts, is clean-cut and carried high. The neck has length and is muscular, making a noticeable crest in the stallion. The shoulder is deep, covered with muscle, and the chest is low and only moderately wide. The fore-leg is long from elbow to knee, and short from knee to fetlock. The knee is wide in front and sharp behind, and the tendon drops from there almost vertically to the pastern. The pasterns slope nicely, and the feet, both before and behind, are even in size, moderately large, and of a healthy, oily color. The back is well covered with muscle and is rounding, and the swelling muscles of the loin cause it to rise slightly ; those of the hind-quarters make the croup plump and the quarters full and deep. The leg is long from hip point to hock, and short from there to the pastern. The web of the hock is thin and the leg below decidedly fluted. The action should be clean, quick and frictionless. Above all, the dispo- sition should be easily controllable, and yet ever ready to race with zest. Good weights are 900 pounds for a mare and perhaps 1,150 pounds for a stallion. The color is not fixed, but brown and bay are very common. History. In common with all breeds of light horses, the American Standardbred horse (the writer uses the word “breed” advisedly, for he will show that our horses officially known under this name are as much entitled to it as any other) traces back through the Thoroughbred to the Arab. The Arab is the original source of the Thoroughbred, and nearly every breed of light horses worthy of note has drawn so largely on these two that it makes the Darley Arabian, the Byerly Turk and the Godolphin Barb the triune root of all of them. [See the articles on the Thor- oughbred and the Barb and Turk.] Previous to the advent of these Eastern impor- tations, racing had not attracted much public patronage in Great Britain. A writer’ refers to 'Light Horses: Breeds and Management. HORSE 501 the time of their advent as follows: Byerly Turk, | about 1689; Darley Arabian, early in the eight- eenth century; Godolphin Arabian (probably a Barb), 1728. Trotting matches seem then to have been unknown, but it was about that time that marked the era of running races. In1751, Reginald Heber published the first number of the Racing Calendar, and the light horse-breeding interests of Great Britain began to assume noticeable propor- tions. The Darley Arabian sired the first great Thor- oughbred or running horse in Flying Childers. Cresceus, 2:0234. American trotting horse. Owned by W. W. Savage. Fig. 495. While Flying Childers was a stout race horse, yet it was through his brother, Bartlett’s Childers, pro- genitor of Hclipse, that the most turf performers trace. Flying Childers sired Blaze, foaled in 1733, whose pedigree is given very completely by Cap- tain Urton (Newmarket and Arabia). This pedi- gree shows that Blaze was deeply bred in Oriental blood lines, and yet from him it seems a little stream of trotting blood emanates, which history pronounces to be the most ancient source of two modern breeds,—the American Standardbred horse and the Hackney. Perhaps the chief notoriety of Blaze in Thoroughbred circles was attained through his being the sire of the dam of Herod. He also had two sons of interest in this discussion, namely, Sampson and Shales. Sampson shows a derivation in type from. other Thoroughbreds of the time, being considered a very large horse, 15.2 hands high, and said to be the largest-boned Thoroughbred horse ever bred. He was a noted and proved race horse. He sired Engineer, sire of Mambrino, sire of Mes- senger. He was also the grandsire of the dam of Useful Cub, that trotted seventeen miles in less than an hour. Shales, the other son of Blaze, sired Driver and Scott’s Shales, both of which were trot- ters, and considered by careful investigators to be pillars of the Hackney. Messenger was imported in 1788. His line is an unbroken series of trotters. He sired Mambrino, which had about a dozen trotting sons, in three of which we are chiefly interested: Mambrino, Bishop’s Hambletonian and the mare Silvertail. Mambrino sired Mambrino Paymaster, and Abdallah, the 502 HORSE former the sire of Mambrino Chief, founder of the family of that name among Standardbred horses. Abdallah sired Hambletonian 10, the founder of the Hambletonian family in the Standardbred breed. Silvertail was the dam of One Eye, the dam of the Charles Kent mare; and this mare was by Imported Bellfounder, which traces back through the Fireaways to Driver, the son of Shales, the son of Blaze. To get all this clear, the following chart is submitted : HORSE public in 1838, and for fifteen years raced the most successful trotters of her time. The almost equally famous mare, Green Mountain Maid (not to be con- fused with the mare of the same name that was Electioneer’s dam), and Princess, another notable campaigner, were of this blood. Happy Medium might also be said to be an inbred Messenger. When we consider that his daughter, Nancy Hanks, 2:04, was out of Nancy Lee by Dictator by Ham- bletonian 10, it is easy to understand how deeply Darley Arabian Flying Childers Blaze MiP: Sampson Engineer Shales | Useful Cub —_— Driver Scott’s Shales Mambrino | | | The Fireaways Messenger | Pretender Achilles Mambrino Hambletonian Silvertail | (Bishop’s) Fireaway Beate (Triffit’s) | Bellfounder 5 Mambrino Pay- Abdallah One Eye master | Chas Kent mare Bellfounder 55 Mambrino Chief 11 | Hambletonian 10 With the advent of Messenger, the trotting instinct becomes decidedly more pronounced. The chief feature of his pedigree is that he was not only a Thoroughbred, but dips deep into the foun- tain sources of that breed. The records are preg- nant with the performances of his progeny and also attest to his value as a progenitor of trotting speed, through the get of his sons, and the degree to which their blood permeates the pedigrees of even our most notable of modern trotters. In the catalogue of the International Stock Food Farm, there appears an exceptionally erudite pedigree of Dan Patch 1:554, the champion pacer of the world, and it is shown that he traces forty-three times to Messenger. The first noted performer of this strain was Topgallant. Paul Pry, a grandson of Messenger, was ridden by Woodruff 18 miles in a fraction less than 57 minutes, Lady Suffolk began racing in bred this remarkable trotter of our day embodies Messenger blood. ¢ Before taking up the influence of other Thor- oughbred sources, there are other scattering streams of Messenger blood that should be men- tioned. The Clay family, through the founder, Henry Clay, has a very distant infusion. The Morgan family, also, has a considerable infusion of Messenger blood. Among the old Canadian fami- lies having Messenger blood, one of the most prominent is that of Royal George 9. Royal George’s descendants today bear out the fact that the Messenger family was the most prolific source of trotting speed in Canada. Another Canadian family that runs into some of our best Standard- breds originated in the Bullock horse, which traces directly to Messenger. Strathmore (408), the founder of one of the very best families of the HORSE Standardbred trotter, carried much Messenger blood. These references, showing the infusion of Mes- senger blood into the families of Mambrino Chief 11, Hambletonian 10, Morgan, Clay and others, will enable one to form some idea of the degree to which Messenger blood forms a widespread founda- tion for the present Standardbred trotter. Other imported contributors.—Besides Messenger, several other imported Thoroughbreds have con- tributed to the breeding of the Standardbred trotter. Suffice it to mention Bonnie Scotland, Australian Trustee, Lapidist and Glencoe. The influence of these was chiefly through their Ameri- can-bred sons and daughters. Influence of American horses.—Let us now con- sider the status of the horses in use on this conti- nent as road horses or trotters, about the time (1788) that Messenger was imported. In the earli- est colonial days, most of the traveling was done on horseback, and a race most popular for journey- ing this way was the Narragansett pacer, bred most largely in Rhode Island. In addition, this pacer was the racing horse of the people of Rhode Island and Virginia as early as the last of the seventeenth century. Dr. McMonagle states : “The combination of these (Narragansett) with the French stock imported from France to Quebec, in 1665, produced the Canadian pacers. Out of that combination we have the Pilots, which were taken to Kentucky and proved to be the producers of some of the best trotting horses there. From the same stock we have the Columbuses, which were taken to Vermont, where they produced trotters of which the fastest went in 2:19%—a daughter of Phil Sheridan, the most potent sire of the family.” Tt seems clear to the above writer that the Narra- gansett pacer was largely the original source of the Canadian blood so largely taken to Kentucky and other states at an early day. Justin Morgan, the founder of the family of that name, was foaled in 1793 (some authori- ties give it 1789), and Pilot, about the first to attract the attention of the American public, was foaled about 1826. The Pilots, St. Lawrences, St. Clairs, Columbuses and Copperbottoms were taken from Canada at the beginning of the last century to Vermont, New York, Kentucky, California and other states that were trotting- horse centers at that early day, and blended well with the other families that were forming. The Morgans were well under way at this era. The three sons that formed leading branches of the family were Sherman, foaled in 1809, Bulrush, foaled in 1812, and Woodbury, foaled in 1816. Then, too, the Bashaws and the Clays were start- ing under way ; for Grand Bashaw was imported in 1820. He sired Andrew Jackson, foaled in 1827, which, in turn, sired Henry Clay and Long Island Black Hawk, both foaled in 1837. The latter sired Green’s Bashaw in 1855. Andrew Jackson ranked and was contemporaneous with Abdallah, the latter being foaled in 1823. A little later Mambrino Chief 11 was foaled in 1844, and five years later, in 1849, Hambletonian 10 was born. HORSE 508 It is seen that about the middle of the past cen- tury the leading families of the Standardbred trot- ter had their inception, and the breed began to assume formation on this continent, for the chief families, the Canadian Pilots and others of that nationality, the Morgans, the Clays, the Mambrino Chiefs and the Hambletonians, were making it evi- dent that there were certain blood lines more pro- lific than others in producing trotting speed. Early trotting records.—The first trotting per- formance in America of which we have record is that of Yankee, at Harlem, New York, July 6, 1806, when a little less than a mile was trotted in 2:50. In 1859, Ethan Allen, of the Morgan line, trotted against Flora Temple, when the latter trotted a mile in 2:25. In the same year, Geo. M. Patchen beat Ethan Allen in 2:24, and in turn was beaten by Flora Temple in 2:21. Dexter, which began his racing career in 1864, defeated George Wilkes in 2:223. According to official records, Lady Suffolk was the first to trot below 2:30, in 1845, when she won a heat in a race in 2:29; Pelham, breeding unknown, in 1849 reduced this to 2:28; Highland Man, of Thoroughbred breeding, in 1858 reduced it to 2:27; Flora Temple reduced this several times, finally bringing it, in 1859, to 2:192; in 1867, Dexter reduced it to 2:174; and then Goldsmith Maid continued lowering it until 1874, when, going against time, she made a mile in 2:14. The Trotting Register.— About this time the greatest interest was being taken in trotting races and trotting families, and it was further added to by the founding and compiling of the American Trotting Register by John Henry Wallace, which was begun about 1865. Wallace’s Monthly and the Yearbook also gave a great impetus to the study of the pedigrees of the Standardbred horse, and out of the racing and the data coliected grew the enthusiasm for better breeding. Tt was not until Volume IV of the Trotting Reg- ister was published that the entries of stallions were made numerically. For that volume a stand- ard was prepared in which performance was given precedence and pedigree a minor place. Under this standard, Volumes IV to VII, inclusive, were com- piled. Various changes were made, from time to time, until we now have the following standard, as revised and adopted by the American Trotting Reg- ister Association, to take effect November 1, 1898: “When an animal meets these requirements and is duly registered, it shall be accepted as a Standardbred trotter. “(1) The progeny of a registered standard trot- ting horse and a registered standard trotting mare. “(2) A stallion sired by a registered standard trotting horse, provided his dam and granddam were sired by registered standard trotting horses, and he himself has a trotting record of 2:30 and is the sire of three trotters with records of 2:30 from different mares. “(8) A mare whose sire is a registered standard trotting horse and whose dam and granddam were sired by registered standard trotting horses, pro- vided she herself has a trotting record of 2:30 or is the dam of one trotter with a record of 2:30. 504 HORSE “(4) A mare sired by a registered standard trot- ting horse, provided she is the dam of two trotters with records of 2:30. “(5) A mare sired by a registered standard trot- ting horse, provided her first, second and third dams are each sired by a registered standard trot- ting horse.” To assist still further in the establishment of a breed, the Register Association has made known (February 5, 1908) a contemplated change in the requirements for admission to the standard, looking to the elimination of all the foregoing rules except rule number one. Influence of the standard. At first, the importance of the standard, both as to performance and pedigree, had an undue influ- ence. If a horse was standard it was thought that that was all that was necessary, and if a sire suc- ceeded in piling up a large 2:30 list that was later considered the sum total. Now breeders are also considering the fact that a performance of 2:30, with improved tracks, sulkies and appliances, does not mean much, and they are considering the amount of extreme speed as a very desirable qual- ity, with a long line of producing lineage in the pedigree. At this point, the importance of the breeding of the dam and her value as a producer of speed entered into the operations of most breed- ing farms. In conjunction with this, the money- making value of colt trotters, because of the large stakes, began to receive more attention. Breeders also began to find out that a horse might be a fine “looker” and at the same time a good race horse or a getter of fine “lookers” and race horses. Present status.—This brings us down to the present era, during which the modern breeder seeks performance, individuality and pedigree, and it is all traceable to the several stages of evolution through which the breed has gone. To guide the beginner in breeding, it may be said that nearly all the families must necessarily be embraced in up-to-date breeding operations, for the history of the breed will show that they nearly all have desirable qualities that should be apparent in the modern representation of the Standardbred horse. Distribution. Other governments have recognized the worth of the Standardbred trotter, for recently those of Japan and China have made large importations. Extensive sales of Standardbred trotters of high merit have been made to prominent horse-lovers and breeders in Russia, France, Austria, Italy, Ger- many, England, Australia and the South American countries. Families. The origin and importance of the heads of the several prominent trotting families has been dis- cussed above. It remains only to call attention to the notable horses of each family. The Hambletonian family, through the male line, includes the following sons of Hambletonian 10, with mention of some of the most noted performers: |: HORSE (1) Electioneer, 160 in the list, and sire of many producing sons. Some of the holders of the fastest records representing this line of breeding, are Adbell, holding the fastest mile record, 2:23, for yearling trotting stallion; Arion, the fastest mile record, 2:10, for two-year-old trotting stallion ; Endow, the fastest mile record, 2:14%, for two- year-old trotting gelding; Fantasy, the fastest mile record, 2:08#, for three-year-old trotting mare, and also the fastest mile record, 2:06, for four-year-old trotting mare. Boralma, which, with John Nolan, is joint holder of the fastest mile record, 2:08, for four-year-old trotting gelding; Major Delmar, the fastest mile record, 2:054, for five-year-old trot- ting gelding; Bingen, the fastest mile record, 2:064, for five-year-old trotting stallion, held jointly with Ralph Wilkes. In addition, Sunol, 2:084, held the champion trotting record in 1891; The Abbot, 2:034, held the champion trotting record in 1900, and Palo Alto, 2:08%, was champion trotting stal- lion in 1891. In summing up the standing of the families in regard to the production of colt trotters, Volunteer, in a very able tabulation,’ gives Elec- tioneer second place to George Wilkes, with thirty- three sires and seventy-one performers. (2) George Wilkes, 83 in the list, and sire of many notable producing sons. Some of the holders of the fastest records representing this line of breeding are Belle Acton, holding the fastest mile record, 2:20%, for yearling pacing mare; Extasy, the fastest mile record, 2:10, for two-year-old pacing mare; Peter Sterling, the fastest mile record, 2:114, for three-year-old trotting gelding ; Hymettus, the fastest mile record, 2:08%, for three- year-old pacing gelding ; Palmyra Boy, the fastest mile record, 2:074, for four-year-old pacing geld- ing, held jointly with King of Diamonds; Brenda Yorke, the fastest mile record, 2:08%, for three- year-old pacing mare; Online, the fastest mile record, 2:04, for four-year-old pacing stallion ; Coney, the fastest mile record, 2: 02%, for five-year- old pacing gelding ; Searchlight, 2: 03%, joint holder with Audubon Boy of the fastest mile record for five-year-old pacing stallion; and Ralph Wilkes, the fastest mile record, 2:064, for five-year-old stallion, held jointly with Bingen. In addition, George Wilkes, 2:22, held the champion stallion trotting record, in 1868-71; Axtell, 2:12, held the champion stallion trotting record in 1889; Allerton, 2:094, held the champion stallion trotting record in 1891; Dariel, 2:004, is the fastest pac- ing mare, and Dan Patch, 1:55} (Fig. 476), is the champion pacing stallion. In the production of colt trotters, Volunteer gives this line first place, with forty-seven sires and ninety-eight performers. (3) Abdallah 15, 5 in the list, and sire of many notable producing sons. Some of the holders of the fastest record of this line are Pansy McGregor, the fastest mile record, 2:23%, for yearling trotting filly, and Paul D. Kelly, the fastest mile record, 2:203, for yearling pacing colt. In addition, Cresceus (Fig. 495), 2:024, is the champion trotting stallion, as well as holder of a great many world records for different distances and 1 Horse Review, January 28, 1908. HORSE heats. Nutwood leads all other sires as sire of producing brood mares. This line has been notable for the production of campaigners and race horses rather than for colt trotters, although Volunteer ranks it among Hambletonian 10’s sons, with ten sires and sixteen performers. Such race horses as Robert McGregor, 2:173, Cresceus, 2:024, Nut- bearer, 2:092, winner of the fastest eight-heat race on record, and Highball, 2:06%, the fastest green gelding of 1907, and Nutboy, 2 : 074, Turley, 2 :072, Robert Mac, 2 :084, were of this line. Gold- smith Maid, 2:16#, of this strain, the champion trotter in 1871-72, and again in 1874, when she reduced her record to 2:14, has been conceded to be the greatest campaigner of any time. (4) Happy Medium, 94 in the list, and sire of many notable producing sons. Nancy Hanks, 2:04, was the champion trotter in 1892, and Maxie Cobb, 2 :134, was champion trotting stallion in 1884-89. In his table of sires of colt trotters, Volunteer ranks Happy Medium seventh among Hambletonian 10’s sons, with two sires and six performers. (5) Dictator, 52 in the list, and sire of many notable producing sons. Some of the holders of the fastest records in this line, are Directly, holding the fastest mile record, 2:074, for two-year-old pac- ing stallion, and Directum (Fig. 44), holding the fastest mile record, 2:054, for four-year-old trot- ting stallion. In addition, Jay Eye See, 2:10, was champion trotter in 1884; Phallas, 2:13%, was champion trotting stallion in 1884, and Directum, 2:054, was champion trotting stallion in 1893. This line is also noted for its number of race horses, trotting and pacing, for it includes Director, 2:17, Directum, 2:05, Direct Hal, p., 2:044, Direct, p., 2:054, and Norman B, 2:054, winner of fastest four-heat race in 1907. In the production of colt trotters, the writer, Volunteer, in reference already given, places Dictator fourth as his rank among the sons of Hambletonian 10, with six sires and sixteen performers. (6) Strathmore, 62 in the list, and sire of sev- eral notable sons. Klatawath, 2:054, is the holder of the fastest mile record for three-year-old pac- ing stallion. Lou Dillon, 1:584, of this line is the champion trotter of the present time. This line ranks very high in producing brood mares. Among other noted sons of Hambletonian 10 are Egbert, 85 in the list; Aberdeen, 52 in the list; Harold, 45 in list (sire of Maud §, 2:08, champion trotter 1883-5, and sire of Lord Russell, sire of Kremlin, 2:084, champion stallion in 1892); Vol- unteer, 34 in list (sire of St. Julien, 2:114, cham- pion trotter in 1880); Jay Gould, 29 in list and champion stallion in 1871-2. The Hambletonian family as a whole is given first place by Volunteer for siring colt trotters, with 106 sires of 223 per- formers to its credit. The Mambrino Chief family, through the male line, includes the following sons of Mambrino Chief 11, with mention of some of the most noted performers : (1) Woodford Mambrino, 13 in the list, and sire of several notable producing sons. Helen Hale is holder of the fastest mile record, 2:134 for two- HORSE 505 year-old trotting filly, and John Nolan is holder of the fastest mile record, 2 : 08, for four-year-old trot- ting gelding. Alix, 2 :03%, was champion trotter in 1894. In the table that Volunteer has prepared, Prodigal is credited with eleven colt trotters, which places him in the lead of all sires of colt trotters. A striking feature of this line is the purity of the trotting gait, for there are but few pacers among them. (2) Mambrino Patchen, 25 in the list, sire of several notable producing sons. This line has a reputation, to which it is entitled, for having in its ranks a large number of producing brood mares. Many noted stallions, sons of George Wilkes, have Mambrino Patchen dams, a blend that has been pro- lific in speed. (8) Clark Chief, 6 in the list, sire of Kentucky Prince, 41 in the list, which in turn is sire of Dex- ter Prince, 62 in the list. Dexter Prince sired Ele- ata, 2:083, Lisonjero, 2:084, and James L., 2:094. (4) Mambrino Pilot, 9 in the list, sire of Mam- brino Gift, Caliban, Hannis, and others. Mambrino Gift, 2:20, was champion trotting stallion in 1874. The Clay family is generally considered to start with Henry Clay, but it really traces back through the male line to Grand Bashaw, imported in 1820 from Tripoli. The latter was fourteen and one- fourth hands high, but was reputed to be a horse of beauty and some speed for those early days. Grand Bashaw was bred to Pearl by First Consul out of Fancy by Messenger, and from this union resulted Young Bashaw, the sire of Andrew Jack- son. Andrew Jackson was a trotter of note in his day, especially as a two-miler. The Long Island Black Hawk line has given us Bashaw 50, 17 in the list and Wapsie, with 11 in the list. Bashaw 50 is the sire of the dam of Joe Young, 2:18. Henry Clay sired Cassius M. Clay 18, which sired Geo. M. Patchen, 2:234, champion trotting stallion in 1859-60, and sire of four trotters. Perhaps the most prolific speed line comes through Cassius M. Clay 20, a son of Cassius M. Clay 18, for Harry Clay, 2:29, with four trotters in the list and sire of the dam of Electioneer, is by C. M. Clay 20, and Clay Pilot is also by the latter. Clay Pilot sired The Moor, 6 in the list, sire of Sultan, 2:24, 52 in the list, sire of Stamboul, 2 :074, sire of forty-eight trotters in the list. Stamboul, 2:074, is generally conceded to have held the stallion record, but it was disqualified because of a small technicality which many did not accept. This family attains its noto- riety most largely through the remarkable great brood mares that are of this descent, among which may be mentioned Green Mountain Maid (by Harry Clay), dam of nine trotters, including Electioneer and Beautiful Bells, dam of eleven trotters and eight producing sires. The Morgan family takes its name from Justin Morgan by True Briton by Imported Traveller by Morton’s Traveller, which traces in near and direct lines to the Byerly Turk, Curwen’s Bay Barb, the Lowther Barb, Bloody Buttocks and the Godolphin Arabian. In his book, published in 1857, D. C. Lindsley describes Justin Morgan as about fourteen hands high and weighing 950 pounds. His color 506 HORSE was dark bay, with black points. He was a very stylish horse, of indomitable, though easily con- trollable spirit. The three sons of Justin Morgan that were most prolific as sources of trotters were Sherman, Woodbury and Bulrush. Sherman sired Black Hawk 5, sire of 3 in the list, and also sire of Ethan Allen, 2:28, champion trotting stallion in 1858. Ethan Allen sired Daniel Lambert, the sire of 38 trotters in the list, including Ben Franklin, sire of 33 trotters in the list, and Aristos, sire of 30 in the list. Black Hawk 5 also sired King Herod, sire of Herod, 2:244. Vermont Hero was also a son of Black Hawk 5, and he sired General Knox, sire of 15 trotters, including Charles Caffrey, sire of 19 trotters in the list. General Knox sired General Washington, sire of 15 in the list, including Poem, 2:114, with 24 in the list. Flying Cloud 134 is another son of Black Hawk 5, that sired Trojan, the sire of Ben Lomond, a producing sire. From the Bulrush line comes Old Morrill, sire of Young Morrill, sire of Winthrop Morrill, sire of 9 in the list, including Draco, the sire of Draco Prince. Winthrop Morrill also sired Fearnaught, 2:23, sire of 5 trotters in the list, in turn the sire of Royal Fearnaught, with 25 in the list. The other son of Justin Morgan, namely, Woodbury, sired Morgan Eagle, whose son of the same name got Magna Charta, sire of 5 in the list. Woodbury also sired Barnard Morgan, which in turn sired Vermont Morgan, sire of Golddust, the founder of that strain. The fastest trotters of the Morgan line include Lord Clinton, 2:08%, Lamp Girl and Ethel Downs. While the Morgan family has produced consid- erable speed, yet its popularity is based chiefly on the endurance, beauty and style of its members. Pacers are exceptionally rare among them, and the purity of their action being bold, free and tire- less, is perhaps the most valuable attribute of the family. In this connection, it may be stated that the government, having recognized the tractable and energetic disposition of the Morgans, as well as their well-established reputation for endurance, has established a breeding station in Vermont in cooperation with the Vermont Agricultural Experi- ment Station, with the object of “saving the Mor- gan.” There are twenty-three horses in all in this stud, headed by the stallion General Gates by Den- ning Allen (the sire of Lord Clinton 2:08?) and out of a Thoroughbred mare. Carmon, the stallion at the head of the stud at Fort Collins, Colo., in the efforts to establish a breed of American carriage horses, carries some Morgan blood. The blood of the Morgan horse has become rather widely scattered over America, although there are comparatively few Morgans available. Most of these are found in New England and other eastern states, although there are pure-blooded Morgans in parts of Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Mis- souri. The American Morgan Horse Register is published at Middlebury, Vermont. The Pilot family takes its name from old Pilot, a Canadian pacer from near Montreal, afterwards trained at both gaits. After passing through many hands and sojourning in Connecticut, New York, and Louisiana, he reached Kentucky in 1832. HORSE There he sired Pilot Jr., out of a mare of Thorougt- bred breeding. He sired eight trotters in the list, but his blood was chiefly valuable through the female line because of the number of great brood mares he sired. Pilot Jr. sired Tattler, sire of 5 in the list, including Indianapolis, sire of 10, and Rumor, sire of 24 in the list. Another son of Pilot Jr. was Woodburn Pilot, sire of Argonaut, with 5 in the list. Among the brood mares sired by Pilot Jr., Miss Russell is most noted. Other families.—In addition to the foregoing recognized families, there are a number of others that have been very aptly termed the submerged families. Many of these are of Thoroughbred origin, but they are mostly of Canadian pacing origin. Among those of Thoroughbred breeding are American Star 14, sire of the dams of Guy, 2:094, Dexter, 2:174, Robert McGregor, 2:174, Aberdeen and other noted sires. Blackbird 401 is another Thoroughbred that enters into many trot- ting pedigrees. His son, Blackbird 402, sired 3 in the list, and another son, A. W. Richmond, sired Columbine. The Canadian pacing families are dis- cussed in more detail in the history of the Stand- ardbred pacing horse. Uses. For racing.—The Standardbred trotter occupies a position about equally divided between pleasure and utility. The degree to which the trotter em- braces the former field depends on the popularity of racing, both in the circuits and for matinee purposes. Trotting races are an adjunct of nearly every county fair, and occupy a prominent posi- tion at all state fairs. However much the attend- ant gambling may be deplored, the fact remains that trotting and pacing races are popular, and they also assist in developing a speedier and more durable breed of horses. The racing is under the jurisdiction of the National Trotting Association: and the American Trotting Register Association, the rules governing the races, under the auspices of either, being almost identical; and they prevail at all race meetings and on all tracks over which officially accepted records are made. For matinee racing.—After having finished their racing career and having reduced their records so that their money-winning capacity is reduced, many trotters are purchased for matinee racing in our larger cities. This sport has grown in popu- larity to such an extent that a national League of Amateur Driving Clubs has been formed. As a roadster.—It is as a roadster that the trot- ting-bred horse is most useful. This demands a horse of medium height, 15.2 to 16 hands, of grace- ful lines, without the least tendency to coarseness in any part. Quality of bone, cleanness of limbs, defined tendons and all other characteristics that forecast durability, should be very much in evi- dence. With it all there is a refinement of form that differentiates this type from the coach or heavy-harness class. Easy, elastic action and an ever-present willingness to cover the ground in jaunty style are desirable characteristics. At an early day, the Thoroughbred was recommended HORSE strongly for crossing on common light mares, and such breeding resulted, in many instances, in road- sters noted for their ability to cover long dis- tances at the trot, and to continue it day after day. The Morgan horse, however, was soon recog- nized as the strain possessing the highest type of roadster characteristics, chiefly because of its in- domitable perseverance and endurance, its willing- ness, and the style and buoyance with which it stood the strain of continuous road riding. The roadster, in addition to having style, action and durable individuality, must be in type in harmony with the light harness and light, easy-running road rigs now popular. A heavy, slow, but maybe stylish-moving horse is as much out of place be- fore a road rig as a slim racer-like horse would be in heavy harness. While there are many speedy trotters that are far from pleasurable road horses, because the ability to go fast for a short distance is not the chief requirement of a road horse, yet the result of the continuous racing which the trotter has undergone, undoubtedly has given it the durability and the “do or die” spirit that is a valu- able attribute of the roadster. At this day some speed is required of the roadster. As heavy harness horse-—Of recent years, atten- tion has been drawn to the fact that some families of the American Standardbred horse have shown marked excellence for heavy harness use. During the time when the horse-shows were perhaps most popular, about 1890, the breeding of the trotting horse was under a depression. For that reason, many stallions, well bred in trotting lines but of heavy harness conformation and action, were pur- chased at gelding prices and shown in heavy har- ness classes at the leading horse-shows. Undoubt- edly they may properly be called freaks, for they were not bred for this purpose, but that does not dispose of the worth of the acquisition. The trot- ting-bred heavy harness horse and high stepper became a strong competitor of the Hackney, and in some instances defeated the latter in these classes. The result has been that the government has realized the possibility of establishing a family or, in time, a breed of heavy harness horses as an offshoot of the Standardbred trotter. The Colo- rado Experiment Station is conducting the work under the auspices of the Department of Agricul- ture at Washington. Carmon 32917, a grandson of Robt. McGregor, 2:174, is at the head of the stud. Previous to purchase by the government, he had been a prominent winner at leading horse- shows in the harness classes under the name of Glorious Thunder Cloud. For breeding “cow ponies.”—At this point, to indicate further the versatility of the Standard- bred trotter, it will not be out of place to mention the fact that on many of the large cattle ranches, where “cow ponies,” as they are called, are in heavy demand, the Standardbred trotter is being used as a sire in preference to the Thoroughbred. The reason for this preference was given the writer to be the better disposition of the Standard- bred as compared with the Thoroughbred, said to be a result of the restraint under which the trot- MULE 507 ting horse has been held, and the necessity of a trotter having a controllable disposition. Organizations and records. The National Trotting Association was organized in 1870. The office of the present secretary is at Hartford, Conn. The American Trotting Asso- ciation was organized in 1887, and has headquar- ters in Chicago. The American Trotting Register ‘appeared in 1868, with J. H. Wallace as pub- lisher. The first volume contained some 3,000 entries. Wallace also established the Yearbook, now in its twenty-third volume. The Register, the Yearbook, and Wallace’s Monthly were dis- posed of by Mr. Wallace to the American Trot- ting Register Association, in 1891, and the latter now publishes the Register and the Yearbook. As has been said, a League of Amateur Driving Clubs has been formed, with headquarters in Boston. This league publishes a yearbook, giving a sum- mary of matinee races and the time made. The first volume includes the races of 1901-2. Literature. Busby, The Trotting and Pacing Horse in America, New York (1994); Helm, American Road- sters and Trotting Horses, Chicago (1878); Lins- ley, Morgan Horses, New York (1857); Lowe, Breeding Race Horses by the Figure System, New York (1898); Marvin, Training the Trotting Horse, New York (1892); Merwin, Road, Track and Stable, Boston (1893); Splan, Life with the Trotters, Chi- cago (1889); Woodruff, The Trotting Horse of America, Philadelphia (1868). [For further refer- ences, see page 416.] MULE. Figs. 496, 497. By Charles Wm. Burkett. The mule is a draft animal. {t is not a true breed, but is a hybrid, a cross between the horse and the ass. An offspring of the male ass or jack and the mare is known as a mule, while the progeny of a stallion and a female ass is designated as a hinny. Description. Of these two classes, the mule is the more valu- able, since there is greater size, to which are added style, finish, strong bone, and other requisites that go to make the animal so valuable for draft pur- poses. From this description it follows that the hinny is smaller in size, somewhat unsightly in form, lacking in finish, and adapted to environ- ments that call for lighter work and effort. Still, the hinny is able to endure drudgery and hardship equal to and often greater than the mule. Like all other animals, the mule and the hinny naturally inherit qualities from both parents. With the former, the body follows the maternal type, but closely adheres to the paternal side in the head, foot, ear and bone. The voice of the mule is not like that of the jack, as popularly sup- posed, but slightly resembles it. From the paternal side come also patience, endurance, faithfulness and 508 MULE ability to do hard work and much of it; and from the mother come those qualities that haye made the horse so prominent and so famous, namely, courage, hardiness and strength. Points of the ideal type-—The mule that most nearly approaches the ideal type follows the horse closely in all points of symmetry of form. The body, however, is commonly more cylindrical and some- what smaller than the body of the horse, a factor not alto- gether in favor of the mule. A large body, therefore, is more desirable than a small body ; but largeness of body must not be confused with paunchiness, for this is always objection- able. The type in which the body conforms as nearly as possible to that of the ideal draft horse should be selected. Producers of mules are realiz- ing that a critical trade is de- manding mules of a superior conformation in the region of the body, much more so than this same trade demanded a few years ago. Mules that most nearly meet the ideal type possess fine, hard legs, showing superior- ity with every movement. The bones should be smooth and dense; the tendons should show considerable prominence; and the mus- cles must be well developed. While the feet of the mule are narrower and longer than those of the horse, a large foot is always to be desired. Fig. 496. A good representative of the large heavy mule. History. The mule has been known from the earliest times, some of the old Roman writers having dis- cussed the mule in their descriptions of Roman agriculture. In America.—In America, the mule has been in use from colonial days. As early as 1591, jacks were brought to this country by the Spaniards. The first of the kind, no doubt, went to Mexico. With a more settled condition in our country, and a demand for better work animals, the mule came. One of the first men to engage in the production of mules was General Washington (see page 276). The superior qualities of the mule were early recog- nized by southern planters. During the first half of the nineteenth century mule-breeding extended ever much of the country. Distribution. The mule is distributed throughout the world. An English writer describes the geographical dis- tribution as follows: “The mule line extends north from the equator, including Africa and Europe, up to 45° of latitude, and in Asia and North America as far as 35°. On the south side of the equator we can include most of Africa, the northern part of Australia and South America, as far south as 35°. MULE Within this vast radius hundreds of thousands of mules are bred each year. Many of the mules are big, heavy animals, with great power and bone, and stand sixteen to seventeen hands high.” In America.—Mules are now found in use in every state in the Union, but more largely in the southern states. The table below shows the ten states having the largest numbers of mules, accord- ing to the census of 1900: Missouri) 5 es are ee ote POnnesseeic? l= 1s liskle! reuenie el menrouats Mississippi. . . Kentucky Arkansas . . Louisiana .... North Carolina South Carolina Kentucky and Tennessee have been noted from early days as mule-breeding centers. To these states, many noted jacks have gone, not native only, but those representing the best of the Anda- lusian, Catalonian, Majorcan and the Maltese types. During recent years, it has been learned that while soil and climate may influence quality in the individual, care in the selection of feeds and in the breeding types are also fundamental among the requisites of successful mule production ; and hence, where these latter are heeded, mules may be pro- duced. Consequently, Texas, Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, as well as many other states, are vying with Kentucky and Tennessee in produc- ing mules of high quality that find favor in all parts of the world. In 1906, the estimated num- ber of mules in the United States was 3,- 404,361, valued at$334,660,000, an average val- uation of nearly one hundred dol- lars per animal: The breeds of jacks. Up to the time of the Civil war, but two breeds of jacks were used,the Maltese and the Spanish. The Andalusian and Catalonian from the main- land, and the Majorcan, from the island of Majorca, were formerly known as Spanish. So great has been the demand for jacks of Malta that practi- cally all have been exported, and now but faw are left on the island. The jacks of Italy have not been successful as Fig. 497. A matched mule team. MULE mule-producers in this country, and consequently have entered but slightly into the mule stock here. At the present time, there are three noted breeds of jacks: the native, the Poitou, and the Cata- lonian. In regard to favor and importance, perhaps, these breeds should be ranked as mentioned here. Many of our noted mule-breeders prefer native jacks to those of foreign breeds. The native jack produces a good finish, a good form, strong legs, broad hocks, and is already peculiarly adapted to our environments. Besides these qualities, he ex- tends to his progeny immunity from diseases to an unusual degree, and an exceptionally long life. The Poitou jack is a French breed of Spanish origin, and is ranked by some breeders as first among jack breeds. He is liked especially for agri- cultural use, because of the size of his limbs and feet. The legs are short and straight with plenty of bone, while the pasterns are short, as required of a draft animal. The legs are flat and hard, whilst the feet are large and more expanded than those of any other breed of jacks. In this respect, the Catalonian jack is not equal to the French breed, although the Catalonian is finer in limbs than the Poitou. With the Poitou jack, both the head and ears are enormous ; in fact, French breeders are inclined to regard these as of very great importance,—more valuable than the smaller kind. The neck is strong, thin and broad. There is a want of withers, but this is true of all jack races. The broad chest and enormous legs of the Poitou jack promise much in mule-breeding. The Poitou jack varies from thirteen and one- half to fifteen hands, which is about the height of native, Catalonian, and other Spanish breeds. The height of a jack is not nearly so important as the character of the head, ears, legs, feet and barrel. Tf height can be secured from the dam, it is better to sacrifice height in the jack, in order to get other and more desirable qualities. The breed is of less importance than individual qualities. Prices for individuals of the Poitou breed are a little higher, perhaps, than for either the Catalonian or native, but it is possible to get a good Poitou jack for $1,000 to $1,500, although some have sold at $2,500 to $3,500 each. Raising. The raising of mules is demanding more atten- tion from year to year. Some of the reasons for their increasing popularity may be briefly summarized as follows: (1) It costs less to breed and raise a mule to a suitable size than a horse. (2) Less time is re- quired to prepare a lot of mules than a lot of colts for the market. (8) Young mules may be sold readily at any period, and in any amount. (4) Mule colts uniformly command a higher price than horse colts of similar relative quality and value. (5) Mules are subject to fewer diseases and less liable to serious accidents. The type of jack to use—The jack for mule pro- duction should be at least fifteen hands high and should carry a maximum weight. By this is not meant that the jack must be fat; rather, large MULE 509 size, that with it may go heavy bone, a broad chest, and great strength in the region of the hips. Con- nected with size will usually be found a rather large head, somewhat heavy and coarse, and not of the best quality ; but it is better to sacrifice quality here so as to secure weight and substance, requisites of the first importance with the mule. A large heavy foot is desirable also, and to these qualities should be added all the style that is attainable. The kind of mare to breed from.—A common error is to suppose that as soon as a mare becomes diseased and unfit for horse-breeding she may be used for the production of mules. Perhaps this accounts for so many inferior mule colts. It mat- ters not how superior the jack may be, unless the dam is equally sound, and of equally good con- formation, one will seldom succeed, if ever, in pro- ducing colts of high quality and of great useful- ness. A mare that is sound and free from blemishes is to be chosen. She must possess good length, with a large well-rounded barrel ; her head must be fine and clean, and attached to a neck of desirable pro- portions ; her chest should be broad, her hips wide ; and, finally, her style, bearing, and breeding should be of high order. For the production of large mules, large draft mares only will serve. One may take good grade mares of the Percheron, Clydesdale, or Belgian breeds; either is good and all are satisfactory. These are the breeds most commonly used, but grades of any of the draft breeds will do. Color.—Perhaps color is but a play of the fancy. Still, in the case of the jack it suggests lineage and purity of breeding. Generally speaking, a dark color is preferable, if not altogether demanded of the jack. Black, with white points, is the best fashion. With mares, let the color be dark also: bay, black, brown or chestnut. Good color in the dam will help with good color in the colt, a matter of no small importance if a discriminating public is to be catered to. Otherwise, one need not bother. There is no special merit in the color, and the breeder must be careful not to sacrifice quality and size and substance for color. Feeding. There is a prevailing opinion that mules may be fed on less food than horses of the same size and weight ; but this is an error. While it may be true that the mule will utilize inferior feeding-stuffs to a better advantage than his more aristocratic associates, still, to do the work that he is called on to do, demands for the mule a quantity of food equally as great as that of his horse relatives. The mule has marked preference for certain foods, or a marked dislike for other foods, a discrimination even more sensitive than that of the horse. Market classes of mules. Mules are generally grouped into four general classes on the larger mule markets. (1) Sugar and cotton mules.—The first class that may be mentioned is the cotton and sugar mules. While these are raised in the West, a great ma- jority of them find their way into the southern 510 MULE states, where they are used on cotton-farms or sugar-farms. It is a good class of mules that goes into this section. They are large, heavy, and of splendid type. On the Kansas City market the cotton and sugar mules stand fifteen to sixteen hands, while the Chicago market calls for a some- what higher animal. The cotton or sugar mule that stands sixteen hands should weigh 1,050 to 1,350 pounds. The class of mules that is used on the sugar plantations is of the best quality, owing to the fact that the sugar plantations are worked by wealthy syndicates that could not afford to use poor mules. It shows a very smooth finish, a marked refine- ment about the head and neck, and a fine quality of bone. In fact, no class is superior to the sugar mule in smoothness and finish and polish. The sugar class of mules shows also greater uni- formity in quality, height and weight than do those used for any other purpose. Cotton mules, as a rule, are poorly graded, and lack the uni- formity observed in the sugar class. Both cotton and sugar mules begin service, usually, at three or four years of age, although some at five years ; but they are at their best age when six to nine or ten years of age. (2) Lumber mules—For the necessities of the woods, where mules are used in great numbers for purposes of lumbering, a very heavy, strong and rugged animal is needed ; hence, we find the lumber mules extremely tall and large, usually fifteen to seventeen or more hands in height. Quality is not of so much importance as the ability to do hard and rough work, and a lot of it; therefore, weight is especially essential when heavy logs are to be moved. There is great variation in this class of mules, everything being sacrificed excepting capacity to do hard work, ruggedness to endure hardships and fatigue, and size and height to supply power. (8) The general-purpose mule.—The general-pur- pose mule is more or less familiar to the reader. This animal is seen wherever railroad construction is in progress; he is often observed on the farm ; he is found on the roads wherever heavy hauling is being done, in the cities, in towns, along rivers. One of the requirements of this class is that it be rugged, strong, and capable of doing hard work. It is this class that competes with the ordinary draft horse, and compared with the average draft horse it is superior for many kinds of work. In height this class ranges from fifteen to sixteen and one-half hands. The weight varies from 1,000 to 1,400 pounds. The Chicago market grades the general-purpose mule a little heavier and a little higher than either the Kansas City, the St. Louis, or the St. Paul markets. (4) The mine mule—Mine mules are generally classed as either pitters or surface mules. They grade into the smallest of these four groups, stand- ing ten and one-half to fifteen hands high, are chunky and hardy, and possess a heavier bone in proportion to size than those of the other classes. The white mule is never used in the mines, for the reason that it tends to frighten other animals; MULE hence, dark bay or black are the only colors desired for this purpose. Those mules selected for the pits are of heavy bone and of good weight, capable of long, steady pulls with rather heavy loads. The surface class, while heavy, are some- what taller than those in the pit, and may be lighter in bone. Use. The mule is a draft animal, found wherever drudgery is performed and strenuous effort de- manded. If the earth on which the feet must go is broken, marshy and wet, there you will find the mule in use; if climates are hot and sultry and harmful to health; if paths are precipitous and dangerous, requiring surefootedness and steadiness; if bold courage and large demands are made, it is the mule that is drafted into service, because it is well known that he will be found equal to meet the occasion. He is found in the cotton-fields of the Black-belt, in the sugar-fields of the South, on the stiff prairie lands of the West, on the difficult mountain trails. The mule has been born and bred to this environment. In it he serves better than any other beast of burden, for he asks less and does more ; because he enjoys immunity from dis- ease in a large measure; because his span of life is many years; and because his demands on his master are few, simple and reasonable. The mule has also a place as a saddle and a car- riage animal, notably in parts of the South and the central West. : Disease immunity. The mule shows considerable disease immunity, which gives him a marked advantage over the horse. While it is not true that he is exempt from disorders or complaints, as has been said at times, it is to be said to his credit that he is not so liable to disease or disorders as the horse, and even when affected with certain ailments he is likely to be less disabled than the latter. Organizations and records. It has been within the last fifteen or twenty years only that a national society in America has undertaken to advance the interest in jacks, jen- nets, and in mule-breeding. An American associa- tion, called the “American Breeders’ Association of Jacks and Jennets,” has published to date six stud- books. The first one appeared in 1891. The number of jacks and jennets registered to date is about 1,700. The office of the secretary is at Columbia, Tennessee. Literature. Harvey Riley, The Mule ; Tegetmeier and Suther- land, Horses, Asses, Zebras, Mules and Mule Breed- ing; Burkett, Our Domestic Animals; Plumb, Types and Breeds of Farm Animals; Feeding Horses and Mules, Bulletin No. 72, Florida Agricultural Exper- iment Station; Feeding Farm Horses and Mules, Bulletin No. 189, North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. [For further information, con- sult the references cited on page 416.] OSTRICH OSTRICH. Struthio, spp. Struthionide. 498-500. By Watson Pickrell. The ostrich is the large African running-bird. It has been successfully domesticated in America and elsewhere for its feathers. Most of the ostriches in America are from South Africa, and are of the species Struthio australis. There are a few from North Africa of the species S. Camelus. Figs. Description. The ostrich is very much the largest of any existing bird. A full-grown fat ostrich will weigh 375 to 450 pounds, and will stand eight feet high, but can easily reach to a height of ten or eleven feet. “There are no true down feathers but the contour-feathers are soft and lax, with free barbs and no aftershaft, and are distributed uniformly over the skin. On the body the plumage is black or blackish, with the quill plumes of the wings and tail white. The head and neck are nearly and the legs quite naked.” Wings and tail are not promi- nent, and the former are not used for flying but are of much assistance in running. The plumes are very pretty. The neck is long, upright and curved, and the head small. The speed of the bird is great. History. About the middle of the nineteenth century, the inhabitants of the South African colonies saw the ostriches fast disappearing. They enacted laws restricting their slaughter, and later passed laws prohibiting their slaughter altogether. For ages there have been ostriches kept in captivity in menageries and zoological gardens. About 1865, persons in South Africa began to domesticate them for feathers. Before they were domesticated, nearly all the ostrich feathers of commerce were taken from dead birds. In America.—The first ostriches imported for farming in America were introduced by Doctor Sketchley in 1882. He left South Africa with two hundred, and landed in California with twenty-two. In 1884, fifty-five ostriches were imported, and in 1886, forty-four more, all from Africa to Califor- nia. In 1901, there were twelve ostriches imported _from Nubia; six went to California and six to Arizona. All of the ostriches in America came from these importations. Ostrich-farming in America is really only in its infancy. It has been only twenty-six years since the first ostrich-farm was started. The early attempts met with varying degrees of success. The pioneer breeders in this county had to get most of their knowledge from their own experience. In fact, more than half the ostriches now in the United States are the progeny of a single pair owned in Arizona in 1891. Great progress has been made in the last five years, and there are now 2,500 ostriches on farms in the United States. Distribution and adaptation. Ostriches thrive best in a warm, dry climate, but can be grown in any of the southern states OSTRICH 511 and territories in this country. In a moist climate they should have protection from cold and rain. Of the ostriches in America, over two-thirds are in Arizona, and the remainder in California, Florida and Arkansas. Salt River valley, Arizona, is thought to be the best place in the United States for ostrich-farming. They are also found in Egypt, North and South Africa, and Australia. Raising. The description of methods which follows is based almost entirely on the experience and obser- vation of the writer, and applies especially to ostrich-farming as practiced in Arizona. Ostriches come to maturity when about § four years of age. The female matures f six months to a year before the male, but I she will seldom lay a fertile egg until she is three and a half years old. The nest is around hole in the ground which the male scoops out with his feet. At first, the female may not take to the nest, but may lay her eggs on the ground, whereupon the male will roll them into the. nest. Generally, after the male has put three or four eggs into the nest, the female will lay there. In about thirty days she will lay twelve to sixteen eggs, and will be ready to begin incubation. Incubation under domestication is effected in two ways: (1) By natural and (2) by artificial means. Some growers prefer the first method, others the second. Hither has been found to yield satisfactory results with fertile eggs. About forty-two days of very careful attention are required for good results. (1) In natural incubation, the male takes a prominent part, covering the eggs fifteen or six- teen hours out of the twenty-four. He will usually go on the nest about five o’clock in the evening and remain there till eight or eight-thirty the next morning, the female taking her turn during the day. It is thought that the color of the sexes has had something to do with developing these instincts. The male, being black, is not so easily seen at night, and the female, being drab or nearly the color of sand, can not be seen so readily in daylight. The male usually begins sitting three or four days before the hen stops laying. If the weather is cold during the laying period, the male may often be found covering the eggs at intervals during the night to prevent their becoming chilled. The birds are also very watchful during the warm- est season to prevent the eggs from becoming overheated by the sun. Often, in the heat of the as —— Fig. 498. Four-year-old male ostrich. 512 OSTRICH day, one or the other of the old birds may be found sitting on its ankle joints with both wings extended to shade the eggs from the sun. The care- ful ostrich-farmer should make this work unneces- sary by providing artificial shade during the hot season. The birds sit very much closer to the nest during the first half of the incubation period, the internal heat of the eggs making this less neces- OSTRICH tion of the egg. If this space becomes abnormally large, small pans of water should be placed in the incubator ; if it becomes too small, the moisture should be reduced. An intelligent and watchful attendant will experience no difficulty in this mat- ter. Moisture pans are seldom required before the fourth week. In a warm climate, the incubator house should be so constructed as to be as cool as possible, and, at the same time, free from drafts and not subject to sudden changes. During the period of incuba- tion the attendant should observe the growth of the embryo at least once every two days. This he can do by shading the egg with the open hand and holding it to a lighted candle. Careful observation will enable him to detect and remove the infertile eggs by the end of Fig. 499. Ostrich chicks just from the shell. sary during the last half. As is usually the case with all eggs in a dry climate, the shell of the ostrich egg becomes dry and hard, and very diffi- cult for the chick to break. When the time arrives for the liberation of the young, they will be heard to chirp and to move in the shell. The parent bird seems to understand the situation, and will often crack the shell with its breast-bone, some- times taking the young bird by the head and draw- ing it out of the shell. Sometimes three or four days elapse between the hatching of the first and the last eggs in the nest. During this time one or the other parent bird takes care of the chicks, while the other is attentive to the nest. Owing to liability of injury to the young birds by reason of anxiety of the parent birds, it is a good practice after the first eggs have hatched to remove the remaining eggs to an incubator. (2) Artificial incubation can be performed suc- cessfully with any good, well-regulated machine that will hatch eggs of common fowls, provided, of course, it is constructed on a large enough scale to accommodate ostrich eggs, which are five inches in diameter and seven inches long. It has been found best to use an incubator that will hold only thirty to thirty-five eggs, as, in case of a blunder or an accident to the incubator, the loss will be com- paratively small. The incubator should be heated two or three days before the eggs are put in, to see that everything is in proper working order. The incubation should be started at a temperature of 101° Fahr. In three weeks this temperature will be slightly increased by the heat generated in the eggs themselves. Every egg should be turned at least once or twice a day. To be on the safe side it is well to adopt the rule of turning the eggs three times daily. ; The regulation of the temperature is not the only thing to be considered in hatching eggs in an incubator. The question of moisture presents a seri- ous problem. Inside the shell of the egg are two fibrous coats, one of which adheres closely to the shell and the other incloses the contents, they being separated at one end of the egg by asmall air space. This air space should be closely watched by the attendant, as its size indicates the moisture condi- the second week; but whenever there is room for doubt, the egg should be allowed to remain longer, perhaps to the end of the third week, when the internal heat of the eggs will be sufficient to indicate, unmistakably, the live eggs. Near the end of the sixth week the eggs should be watched more closely. By placing an egg to the ear one can hear the unhatched chick scratch the inside of the shell and chirp; also, the air space will be observed to become filled up. It is then time to crack the shell and thus aid the chick in liberating itself. It is not well suddenly to transfer a newly hatched chick from the incubator temperature of 101° to that of the open air. A well-ventilated brooder kept at 90° Fahr., is the proper place for the first twenty-four hours, after which the tem- perature may be brought gradually to that of the outside air. The chicks should never be allowed to become damp or cold, and they should not be fed for the first three or four days, but they may be allowed to pick up sand or gravel. Dry feed is preferable for the first week. Cracked wheat and moistened bran are excellent, but the chicks should never be given feed that has begun to sour. The inclosure should always be kept clean. At the end of the first week, green alfalfa cut very fine may be fed, but not too freely at first. It should not be allowed to become dry. Fresh feed should be the ostrich-farmer’s watchword at all times. Young ostriches, like young chickens, should be housed and protected from cool drafts until they are two or three months old, the length of time depending somewhat on the climatic conditions. Ostriches are called “chicks” until six months old, or as long as they have their first crop of feathers. From then until one year old they are called “young birds,” and from one to four years they are known as “plucking” or “feather” birds. It is difficult to determine the age of an ostrich when it is more than three and one-half years old. Handling. Young ostriches are usually kept in troops of twenty-five to fifty. When they are one year old, the males should be separated from the females. When they are three and one-half years old, the birds should be paired off, each pair or set of a OSTRICH cock and two hens being placed in a separate enclosure, which, in case the birds are to graze on alfalfa or other green food, should be large enough to furnish theni sufficient food. If they are fed on dry feed, the enclosure need only be large enough to allow plenty of exercise. The usual way to fence an ostrich farm is to use a woven wire for the outside fences, about five and one-half feet high, and with meshes small enough to keep out wolves and dogs. The fences used to divide the farm into small paddocks may be about five feet high and need not extend nearer than eighteen inches to the ground. Paddocks for chicks should be enclosed with woven wire, which should extend to the ground but need not be so high. Ostriches are easily moved from one field to another by one person going ahead, calling them, and toling them on with grain, while another fol- lows on a horse. The birds are very timid and do not like to be driven unless some one goes ahead of them. After ostriches are over one year old, no one should go among them without a brush or stick in hand, as at times they will want to fight, and a person going among them is liable to injury unless he has something with which to drive or frighten them away. Feeding. One of the very best feeds for ostriches is alfalfa. When pastured or fed on green alfalfa they are always healthy. Where good alfalfa pasture has been available, the birds bred in America have grown larger than those first imported. The writer has known troops of more than one hundred to be kept on alfalfa for three or four years without a death. Ostriches thrive well on any green forage, and they prefer the kind they have been taught to eat. Birds fed on hay, when turned out, often re- fuse to eat grass until they become very hungry. For dry feed, alfalfa or clover hay cut up, mixed with bran and moistened, is excellent. An ostrich will consume about three pounds of hay and one pound of bran daily. It should have gravel and broken bone at all times. Ostriches may be fed any kind of grain—corn, wheat, barley, oats or peas. Some farmers feed a little grain while the birds are nesting. Ordinarily, however, if ostriches are in good flesh and have plenty of good, green feed they need no grain. If fed much grain, they are likely to become cross and hard to manage. They also become liable to digestive troubles. Good nutri- tion is most important, as the quality and produc- tion of feathers is thereby enhanced. Although African writers assert that ostriches will live for years without water, American farm-~ ers find that they drink water freely every day if - it is supplied to them. Plucking. (Fig. 500.) The ostrich is plucked the first time when six months old, and should be plucked about every eight months thereafter during its lifetime. The only feathers removed are those of the wing and the tail. The process of plucking consists in cutting 33 OSTRICH 518 the tail feathers and one row of the largest quill feathers in the wing with pruning shears, and drawing by hand those of the remaining two or three rows in the wing. Two months later the quills of the cut feathers may be removed. At plucking time the ostriches are driven in from the pasture and placed in a small pen sur- rounded bya tight board fence five or six feet high. The plucking-box is about four feet high, twenty inches wide, and three and one-half feet long, open at one end and closed with a door at the other. An ostrich is caught and a hood placed over its head; an old black stocking makes a very satis- factory hood. The hooded bird is very easily handled. It is placed in the pluck- ing-box with its head next to the closed door. The plucker stands be- hind the bird while removing the feath- ers. This is neces- sary, because the ostrich can kick or strike very hard, but it always strikes out in front and never behind, so that the plucker is perfectly safe if he stands in the rear. When removing the feathers from the ostrich, the pluckers usually tie in a bunch the feathers of each length as they are taken from each bird. When through plucking, the feathers are placed on a grading table, having enough compartments in it to hold all the grades and lengths of feathers, which are many. The size of each compartment is about four inches wide and four inches deep, and the length varies from four to thirty inches. In sorting, the feathers of the male are kept separate from those of the female. The former are the most valuable. Plucking an ostrich. Fig. 500. Grades of feathers and their value. Manufacturers in this country usually request that the feathers be graded as nearly as possible as they are in the London market, where nearly all the feathers of the world are marketed. A London report shows the following classification: White, femina, bayocks, black, drabs, floss, spadones and boos, with numerous subdivisions or grades. The value of the American feathers depends on the London market. In an American factory they will bring 15 per cent more than the London price, plus the freight charges. In January, 1907, ‘“‘white primes” and “blood feathers”—the most valuable— sold in London for thirty pounds sterling ($146) per pound. It takes about ninety of the largest feathers to weigh a pound. The “white primes” and “blood feathers” are taken from the males, as well as most of the “white firsts,” although occa- 514 OSTRICH sionally a female bird will have what the feather men call a “first white.” The black feathers are plucked from the male birds and the drab from the females. ‘“Spadones” are chick feathers of the first plucking. “Boos” are tail feathers. “Bayocks” (mixed colors) come mostly from the male birds. The shortest drab feathers, which are frequently used in making feather dusters, are worth about four dollars per pound. An average ostrich will yield one and one-half pounds of feathers annually, worth twenty to twenty-five dollars per pound. The United States is one of the largest consum- ers of ostrich feathers in the world. America imports about two and a quarter million dollars’ worth of raw or unmanufactured feathers annually, which is more than one-fourth of the world’s supply. The feathers produced in America are fully as good as those coming from Africa, and it is said that they are broader and finer looking, although some manufacturers contend that they are not so strong and tough as the wild feathers. Uses. The value of the ostrich as a domestic bird depends on its production of feathers for ornamen- tal purposes. It is hardly probable that the rela- tions between supply and demand will so change as to make the ostrich more valuable as a source of food in the form of meat and eggs. The flesh of the domestic ostrich, however, is said to be much relished by those who have eaten it. The eggs are fine for making omelets and are good scrambled. One egg will make as much omelet as two and a half dozen hen’s eggs. An ostrich has been known to produce over three hundred pounds of egg food in a year. There is no regular market for young birds or eggs except for farming purposes, the only sales being to persons who desire to engage in the ostrich business. Longevity. Nothing is positively known as to how long an ostrich will live. Some writers assert that it will live one hundred years. Ostriches which are known to have been in captivity for forty years, are still breeding and producing feathers. It is the experi- ence of Arizona farmers that among birds having good nutritious green feed, deaths seldom occur except as the result of accident. A dog or other small animal will sometimes frighten an ostrich ° and cause it to run into the fence, which may result in a broken leg. When this happens, the bird may as well be killed, as few, if any, ever recover from such an injury. Ostriches are exceptionally free from disease. Literature. Mosenthal and Harting, Ostriches and Ostrich Farming (1887); Martin, Home Life on an Ostrich Farm (1891); Duncan, Report United States De- partment of Agriculture, 1888; Paul, Ostrich Farm- ing in California, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Vol. XI, New York (1891); Newton, Dictionary of Birds, New York (1896), which contains numerous ref- erences, PETS PETS. Figs. 501-523. By C. H. Ellard. The subject of pets is of widespread interest and includes a large variety of animals. The most common and important of these in America are dogs, cats, rabbits, cavies or guinea pigs, mice, rats, squirrels, pigeons, bantams and cage-birds. The extent to which pets are kept is greatly in- creasing. The localities where they seem to be most numerous are about the manufacturing towns of New England and the middle Atlantic states, thinning out as the West is approached. Statistics — indicate that there are more pets in the state of Pennsylvania than in any other state. It is not the province of this Cyclopedia to dis- cuss at length the subject of pets, as they are scarcely to be considered farm animals. For that reason, the accounts here given must be brief. Farm dogs are considered on pages 383-889; cats on pages 299-301; Belgian hares on pages 412-415, and pigeons and bantams in their agricultural relations in the following pages under Poultry. Dogs. The dog, since the earliest time, has been more or less a help to and companion of man. It has gradually become useful in many fields, and now is the most universally kept pet, with the exception, perhaps, of the canary and the cat. Hunting dogs were evidently the first to be used and trained by man. Of these, the setters, Pointer and spaniels are the breeds now recognized other than the hounds. These are all strong, speedy dogs, pos- sessed of unusual intelligence in the work of the huntsman. There are three varieties of setters recognized today,—the English, the Irish and the Gordon ; all are similar in shape, and differ chiefly in color. The setters.—The English setter is a trim, strong, speedy dog, with rather long hair and with the feathering that characterizes the setter,—that is, a fringe of longer, rather wavy hair along his lower outline, his back being smooth. The English setter is usually black and white, or liver and white. The Jrish setter is red, the only reason for calling him Irish seemingly being the color, although that kind of dog was used considerably by Irish landlords. The Gordon setter is a bit heavier than the others and is black and tan. Good specimens of these latter dogs are not very plentiful and are striking in appearance. The spaniels embrace a number of different va- rieties, and to this type of dog the setters belong ; in fact, the spaniels were known in early times as the setting spaniels. The Cocker spaniel is the most widely bred of all the varieties, and some very handsome specimens of it are seen in our large dog-shows. It comes black, red and parti-colored, and an occasional one of some other color appears. It was originally used for hunting small game but is now chiefly a house dog. The spaniel has a mel- low, large, brown eye that is very expressive and rather an important characteristic, as is also the feathering of the legs, as in the setter. The Field PETS spaniel is of about the same style as the Cocker, and, indeed, is really a larger Cocker. It is longer, and hence appears lower, heavier built but not clumsy. This variety is not very widely bred in America, but there are a few studs of repute in England. The Clumber spaniel has most of the char- acteristics of the other spaniels, but the “stop,” the indenture at the union of the forehead and muzzle, is deeper. The dog is shorter than the Field spaniel and larger than the Cocker. The Irish Water spaniel is a dog used by the water-fowl huntsman, and is a sturdy intelligent “retriever.” Several studs are maintained in Canada, but few are bred in the United States and few are seen at the dog- shows. The dog is covered with a long, brown, slightly curling coat, of which there is not enough for his face and tail, both of which are practically bare. To these varieties may be added the more unusual Sussex and Norfolk spaniels, few of which are bred in America. The Pointer and “ Retriever” is the outcome of a need for a dog trained for wing shooting. It is more of a hound than a spaniel, and is rather com- mon, especially in regions where there is much shooting. It is usually a straight, short-haired dog with a predominance of white, spotted and marked with black or liver. The Chesapeake bay dog is bred for water shoot- ing along the bay, the name of which it bears, and up into Ohio and along the Potomac. It is sym- metrically built, with only moderate “ feathering ” as compared with the setter. It is strong, and of about the color of wet sedge-grass. The Dalmatian or Coach-dog was, perhaps, origi- nally a hound from Dalmatia, but most of the hound characteristics are gone in the modern Coach-dog. Tt is spotted with black on a white ground, and is peculiar and striking when ideally marked. It is a running dog, and hence is lightly but strongly built. Its endurance is sometimes wonderful. It is a stable dog, and is alert and discriminating. It should approximate fifty pounds in weight. For the Collie and the Sheep-dog the reader is referred to the special articles on pages 383- 389. The bulldog (Fig. 501) originated in the brutal bull-baiting contests, in which the dogs were trained to pull down the bull by the ears. To do this, a heavy, tenacious brute was necessary. Later, the “nose-hold” was tried, and as it worked better than the “ear-hold,” the dogs were trained for this. As a smaller dog of greater agility was necessary for the latter, the bulldog decreased in size. Bulldogs are particularly homely, with their huge, heavy head, broad shoulders, bow-legs, and the hind-quarters and loins a trifle higher than the shoulders. As a rule, these dogs are under-shot, and show their teeth more or less. They are renowned PETS 515 for their faithfulness, tenacity of hold and watchful care of property. They have been bred for a long time simply as a fancy dog, and a kink was bred in their tails to keep these down. The French bulldog, while not so lively and alert as the Boston, is a very popular house dog. It has a broad, square jaw and large, dark eye. It is seldom over twelve inches high and should be smaller than the Boston. It is usually of a darker brindle than the Bos- ton, although the latter is now being shown in black and white. The French bulldogs are generally of uniform color. Their ears are : erect. Recently they = =— i have enjoyed the envi- Fig. 502. Fox terrier. able place at the crest of the wave of fashion in dogs. The terriers were used for a long time for the hunting of foxes, badgers, rats and other small game and vermin. Of these, the little Fox terrier (Fig. 502) is the most popular. It was bred as early as 1802. It should show a predominance of white, marked with liver or black. The nose should be black, the skull flat, rather narrow and decreasing toward the eyes. The ears should be V-shaped and always have a forward fall, pointing toward the tapering muzzle. It should be over-shot slightly, but the teeth should come together with the upper ones just on the outside. The neck and body should be trim and muscular, without coarseness. The tail should be carried high but not over the back nor curled. The Fox terrier is a lively, active, intelli- gent dog, that makes an excellent watch-dog and companion. It is an indefatigable ratter and ver- min exterminator. It is very widely bred. Recently there has been bred the Wire-haired Fox terrier. This is similar in all respects, except the coat, to the smooth-haired variety. In all probability it was the original Fox terrier. The Avredale terrier was probably produced by the crossing of the grizzle and tan terriers with other dogs of the vicinity in Fig. 503. Bull terrier. Yorkshire. It has a stronger jaw and muzzle than the Fox terrier and the ears are wider. The cross of the bulldog on the terriers gave the Bull terrier. (Fig. 503.) It was first noted asa distinct breed about 516 PETS 1820. It has a wide brisket, rather long, very muscu- lar jaw and a rather round head, an appearance due largely to the huge jaw muscles. It grows to very good size and is usually heavily built, but not in the least awkward. It possesses many of the traits of the bulldog, and the activity of the terrier tribe. With these terriers, the old Black-and-tan terrier, the Bedlington terrier and the Irish terrier might be classed. The Skye terrier is a rather large dog, weighing over twenty pounds and covered. with long hair of a bluish tint. Its ears are either erect or fallen, the former being a bit more correct. It is a long, low dog, and a great favorite as a house pet with those who can care for its coat. The Scottish terrier is a long, low grizzly little dog of very ancient lineage, but only very recently seen in America. It is prick-eared, nine to twelve inches Fig. 504. Greyhound. high, and gives the impression of an oddity in dog- dom. It is an active hunter of rodents and other vermin. The Welsh terrier is medium sized, being between the Irish and the Fox terriers. It is usually black and tan, but not necessarily. The Boston terrier is essentially an American dog, hay- ing been produced, it is said, by the crossing of the small bulldog and the Bull terrier, and display- ing the best qualities of each. The skull should be square, practically the same width at the ears and at the eyes. The nose should be black and the face marked with a white blaze; a white collar and four white feet are ideal, but color is not an essential feature. The color is usually one of the three brin- dies on the remainder of the body. The eyes, ears and back are covered with golden seal or mahogany brindle. Occasionally a black or a black brindle is seen, and less often a fawn color with a brown nose. This is, perhaps, the most popular dog of the day, sharing honors with the French bulldog. The Mal- tese terriers are small, pure white dogs with drop ears, like some varieties of the Skye. Their coat is long, straight and silky, reaching to the ground. They are always small and never should exceed the twelve-pound limit set for “toys.” The York- shire terrier is a pigmy in the terrier family, pro- PETS duced from the same general crossing that gave the English fanciers the Airedale. Its coat is long, straight and even, of a bright steel-blue color, with tan markings. The Yorkshire is raised as a pet to a large extent abroad. Not a very large num- ber are seen in this country, but some are in evidence. The Great Dane is a strong, speedy dog, with more of the litheness of the Greyhound than heayi- ness of the Mastiff. The minimum size is thirty inches and one hundred and twenty pounds for males, and two inches and twenty pounds less for females. As much greater height as possible, retain- ing type, is sought by breeders. Great Danes are of several colors, the gray, red, black or patched being the most desired, although an occasional fawn or white one is seen. The Mastiff is one of the very oldest types of dogs. It is massive, combining great courage and docility, and built after the bulldog type. The nose is blunt and square, making a muzzle about one-fourth the total length of the head. It is not nearly so popular as formerly. The St. Bernard in America is a purely fancy dog, different in type from that used at the Hos- pice. It is a symmetrical, massive dog, with a square muzzle, black nose and usually a white blaze, The coat is long and not so thick as that of the dog used at the Hospice. The Newfoundland dog has very largely disap- peared from view. It originated in Newfound- land. It is black, at least twenty inches high, and is a water dog. The coat is thick and long, the ~ head slightly domed, with rather a pronounced “stop.” The hound family includes a number of dogs of - peculiar development, built to run and pull down the quarry. These dogs follow mostly by scent, although in the Greyhound and some others, sight seems often to play an important part. The Grey- hounds (Fig. 504) are slender, strong dogs, with a muscular but graceful body, long, tapering muzzle, lined with the sharpest teeth and manned withstrong — jaw muscles. They area very early typeof dog. The Wolfhound is much like the Greyhound in build, the head being a little longer and narrower and show- ing more of the Roman nose. It stands twenty- eight to thirty-one inches high. The Russian Deer- hound is the most common of this family of dogs. There is also the Jrish (now being promoted by Trish fanciers) and the Scotch Deerhounds. The latter is rare in America. These have long shaggy coats — and are heavier than the Greyhound. The Whippet is closely related to the Greyhound, and is, indeed, a small Greyhound in type. It is trained for racing. These dogs are lined up and started like race horses, and without rider or other incentive on the course, fairly fly to the finish. In the Bloodhound we have the exaggerated type of hound, with its peculiar accuracy of scent, its hanging lip and dewlap, and the falling under-eyelid, the pendulous ears and strong, thick-set body on rather short legs. The head is the most important part of the show Blood- hound. As a watch-dog, it has a reputation for vigi- lance and discrimination. The Foxhound is perhaps PETS the commonest of the hounds in America, and has the misfortune of having no very distinctive type. It is kept mostly in packs on southern estates, and is used for the hunt either of the anise bag or of areal “Rey- nard.” There are two breeds, known as the English and the American, but as the type is not distinct- ive, differentiation is difficult. The Foxhound ranges from twenty-one to twenty-four inches high, and should not weigh more than sixty pounds. The Beaglehound is the smallest of the hound family, excepting the dwarf Basset and Dachs. Beagles are raised and trained in large numbers in various parts of America, where they are also often called rabbit hounds. They are distinct in type, with a fairly long, slightly domed skull. They come in several colors, in which white is a common admix- ture. The Italian Greyhound is a small golden fawn dog of the same general character as the larger dog, but of even greater symmetry, with a pranc- ing action of limb that carries with it the impres- sion of unusual grace. The Poodles, with their curly and corded “locks,” form a family of dogs very tractable indeed, and are invariably the mainstay of exhibitors of trained dogs. They are chiefly bred as house-dogs or for fancy, and in either case always apparently come up to the expectations of those who fancy this type of dog. The Pomeranians are, perhaps, a development of the hounds of Italy or Greece. They were also known as the “Spitz.” They are a fad and win many prizes at shows. The larger specimens are about fifteen to twenty inches high, and the small ones not more than ten inches and often less. They have a long fine coat and lots of it except on the face, where the hair is short. The tail is well covered with long hair and is usually curled. They have a quick, fox-like appearance and manner, that often grows into a snappish disposition. The Pug is a dog of oriental origin, from all that can be gathered, and is useful only as a pet. It is a square little dog, with a large proportion of individuality. The Griffon, with wiry coat and rough head, the King Charles, with its out-of-proportion head, short face and large eyes, but pretty manner, the Blenheim and Pekinese, are all ladies’ dogs; and while pets to which many a woman devotes her energies, they are not possessed of any very re- markable gifts of intelligence nor are they a very safe dog when children are about. Rabbits. _ The domestic rabbit is bred in many varieties in America. All varieties except the Imperial and the Silver-brown are represented among the hutches of the fanciers in the American Fur Fanciers’ Associa- tion. Hach variety has a type of its own, distinct- ive in shape, carriage, size, and often in color. The raising of pet stock brings fair monetary returns. While there is but small profit in raising rabbits for the foreign element’s market, and cavies and mice for the bacteriological laboratories, there is much more in the raising of good pure-bred fancy stock; and few fanciers with an exhibition PETS 517 record and a reputation for “square dealing,” fail to pay their feed bills and make a little profit. Most fanciers combine the two practices, disposing of the poor specimens or “culls” to the market- man or dealer at market price and selling the WZ Sse better specimens to new fanciers or others wishing good standard-bred stock. Belgian hare rabbit—This was the most popular of the rabbit family. It is discussed at length on pages 412-415, and will not be considered here. Angora. —The aristocratic Angora (Figs. 505, 506) is, perhaps, second in popular favor and fancy. It is one of the most attractive and hand- some varieties of the rabbit family. These rabbits are grown in France for the wool they produce, the length and fineness of texture in reality taking their coats out of the fur class. The Angora wool used for babies’ caps is made from the wool gathered from the nests of these rabbits, for which cotton wool is substituted. France has regular farms devoted to this enterprise. No similiar use is made of the Angora rabbit in this country. The Angora should be rather large, with its head and body almost obliterated in outline by the woolly coat. The feet and legs are completely hidden, and good specimens show a heavy coat of wool all over. The chest develops a huge fluff or apron, into which the rabbit delights to sink its chin, and as the fur on its cheeks and neck comes forward about the face, it loses all rabbit ap- pearance except for the ears. These should be short, wide and covered with fur. The tips are usually topped by little tufts of wool that give them the appearance of being tasseled. The Angoras are bred in uniform and broken color. Of the former, the white or albinos seem to be the most nearly perfected so far, usually producing larger coats and larger specimens. There are also blues, fawns, blacks and yellows. Flemish Giant.—Next to the Belgian hare rab- markings. 518 PETS bit, the commercial spirit would place the Flemish Giant (Fig. 507); in fact, its place is before the Bel- gian hare in the estimation of many persons. As its name implies, it is the giant of the race. It was introduced into England by the present secretary of the National Flemish Giant Club of that country, in the early “eighties.” It was then a huge, sandy gray rabbit, but today, a dark steel gray is the proper color and sandiness is a disqualifying mark. It was brought to America during the Belgian hare craze, as were several other types, and much crossing was done to increase the size of the Belgian. The Flemish should be a dark steel-gray, with as even and deep a color over all parts of the body as SS SZ Se ——————SS—S|—S—_ SSS ~ . Fig. 507. Young Flemish Giant doe, typical for shape and color. A sixteen-pound specimen. possible. The under-body and under-tail are excep- tions to this. They should be white or at least of a light slate-color. The back, sides and chest should all be wavily ticked, but not so much so as to be smudgy. They should be bright in color, but not light gray nor sandy or brownish. In almost all specimens a little brownish patch appears at the neck, just back of the ears. The feet too often show a little inclination to ruddiness. They often reach sixteen and occasionally twenty pounds in weight. : The Dutch rabbit (Fig. 508) is one of the oldest of all the varieties. It has changed much in type, but the present-day Dutch has the same general mark- ings as the original, those of the Dutch Belted cattle, approximately. The eye and ear are included in a patch of color on the cheek, while a V-shaped white patch should separate these between the eyes, and in a hair-line between the ears join the white collar that includes the fore-feet, chest and neck. Just back of this is the saddle, of the same color as the cheeks, and covering the rest of the body except the hocks, which should also be white. These and the saddle should be level all around. To reach the ~ ideal in the markings of the Dutch rabbit is no mean task, and, abroad, twenty pounds is not thought exorbitant for anearly perfect one. It is bred extensively by farm- ers’ boys throughout the country, in a more or less haphazard way. The Dutch rabbit was introduced with the Bel- gians from abroad, when the latter were used as PETS foster mothers to rear the young of other rabbits whose quality is not discernable at birth. The Dutch rabbit is growing rapidly in popularity. The English rabbit (Fig. 509) or, as it was known at first, the “spotted” rabbit, 1s the Dalmatian of the rabbit fancy. It has what is known as the “butterfly” snout, a nose mark- ing which, viewed directly in front, looks like a spread- ing butterfly. The back is to have an unbroken herring- bone marking following the spine. The sides should be spotted, running from the shoulders to the thighs and widening, but each spot clear and dis- tinct. The cheek should have a spot and the eye a circle of color with a spot just clear of it. The ears should be the same color as the spots. These rabbits come in black, blue and tortoise, the black usually presenting the most effective and pleasing combination with the white, which the rest of the fur other than the spots should be. There are three studs of these rabbits in this coun- try, from which they have spread rapidly. All the originals were imported within the last decade. The Himalayan rabbit (Fig. 510) has been fifty years or so in the making. It is probable that from black or silver-gray rabbits an albino has sprung with colored extremities. This has been inbred and developed until we have our present-day pretty little rabbit that, it is said, furnishes a great deal of arti- ficial ermine. The entire body is white, eyes pink, but the ears, nose, feet and tail are nearly black. . The statement is often made that it came from the Hima- layan moun- tains, but the evidence seems rather to sup- port the origin in the breeders’ art. It should be compact, with fine - cut limbs, but not chubby like the Dutch nor yet racy like the Belgian. Particular care has to be used in the amount of light admitted to the hutches. It does not develop its full color in the dark, and direct sunlight fades the black extremities. It must also be kept carefully dry, as accumulation of moisture and manure soon fades the leg color. The Lop-eared rabbit was one of the earliest of all fancy rabbits. There are perhaps a ‘half-dozen — breeders of this variety in America. The main desire of the fancier of “Lops” is to get great length of ears combined with breadth and thick, tough, leathery substance. The ears grow very rapidly, and in three or four months nearly reach Fig. 509. English rabbit. Fig. 510. of special prizes, Madison Square Garden, 1907. A Himalayan rabbit. Winner PETS their maximum, although they grow slightly until ayear old. It has been raised on the island of Jersey to measure thirty-one inches across the head from tip to tip of ears. The greatest width seen in this country is about twenty-one or twenty-two inches. For the most part it lacks in substance and width as well as in length. The “Lop” is a big, heavy- boned animal, with rather an awkward, unwieldy, mulish appearance. The Silver-grey rabbit is as old, if not older than the “Lop.” It has been raised in England for its pelt for a period of time covering several generations. The fur is close and of the sheen and brilliancy of silver. The coat is an admixture of white and black hair, with an even and uniform ticking all over the animal. One of the prime requisites of a good Silver-grey rabbit is the evenness of his coat, which should show no streaks darker or lighter than the rest of the body. It is a chunky, compact little rabbit. It is bred in this country in grey and fawn. The Tan rablit is the product of the breeders’ art, devoted to developing a little wild hedgerow rabbit into one of the handsomest of the race. It is either black or blue in body color (by blue is meant a grey-blue, a cadet-blue, sometimes called maltese in cats, although the latter is darker than the blue in rabbits). The eyes are surrounded with circles of rich tan, as are the nostrils. The outer and inner margins of the ears, the under jaw or jowl, the chest and inner parts of the legs, the belly line at the side, should all be of rich tan color; and a handsome combination of color it makes. The type is cobby and should be small. Thereare but few studs of Tan rabbits in America worthy the name. There Fig. 511. Broken color Peruvian cavy, are, however, ing ‘‘s ”? and _ showing ““sweep’’ and mane some good Tans bred in America. When it is at all near the ideal, it is one of the prettiest of the rabbit family. The Polish rabbit, often miscalled the English or common rabbit, is a sprightly, bounding, little ball of fur. It is the toy of the rabbit family and the smaller it can be bred the greater its value. It differs from the common rabbit in other particu- lars than size. The ears should be very short and very closely set, so that when turned back the flanges meet. The eyes should be red, not pink. It should have a very small ball-like body, with limbs as delicate and fine-boned as possible. These rab- bits are bred almost wholly as pets and have of late been enjoying a very extensive “boom” in England. There are but two studs known in this country, and both are in New York. The Polish rabbit was exhibited at Madison Square Garden for the first time in December, 1907. Imperial rabbit.—To the above varieties might be added the Imperial rabbit, lately introduced in the English fancy, but not bred in America at all so PETS 519 far as known. It is all blue and of the same type as the Tans in general, lacking the markings, of course. Cavy. The cavy is a little pet more commonly known by its misnomer, guinea pig. It was introduced into England, it is said, by some sailors on their return from a South Amer- ican voyage, where they found the na- tives making a domestic pet of it. The nat- uralist gives us a list of several varie- ties of this species found in South America. The domestic cavy has been kept and bred in England, France and now in Germany and America, to a very large extent, as a pet and asa hobby for those interested in stock-breeding. There are three main varieties recognized by the standards of the various associations in each coun- try. These are the Peruvian or long-haired cavy, the Abyssinian or rough-coated cavy, and the smooth or English cavy. To these might be added the Angora, or what is now really a Peruvian sport and called a “silkey” or pseudo-Angora. The real Angora cavy, according to French authorities, has disappeared. The geographical names used have no significance as to origin in any of these varieties. The Peruvian cavy (Fig. 511) issaid to be the result of a cross of the Angora on the Abyssinian, and its general type bears this out to acertain degree. It has an exceeding long coat, completely obliterating the general contour of the body. The young show more or less rough rosettes in their coats, but as these lengthen with age the rough spots are over- whelmed with the long silky tresses. The fancier divides the coat into three main parts, viz., the “sweep” or hair over the loins and haunches ; the mane, that on the shoulders ; and the head furnish- ing, which includes the parts that grow from the forward part of the shoulders, the neck, the fore- head and about the face. The latter should com- pletely hide the head and face when in condition, a quality much sought by the breeder of this variety. An individual possessing it scores highly in competi- tion. The mane should be long, thick and heavy, and often is even harder to secure than head fur- nishing. The sweep is the easiest point in which to excel. In caring for the coats of these pets, one has to be careful to have no litter likely to tangle Fig. 512. Abyssinian cavy. Fig. 513. A tortoise-and-white cavy. Win- ner of many prizes, including Madison Square Specials, 1907. 520 PETS the coat. When the coats get so long as to drag along the floor of the hutch they must be rolled up and tied on papers to keep them from wearing off. The Abyssinian cavy (Fig. 512) is the rough-coated member of his tribe. He should present a coat radiat- ing from centers allover the body ; the greater the number of radiating centers the more valuable the specimen. The coat should be harsh and wiry, and so specimens are bred where the average tempera- ture is cool. This cavy needs no especial attention other than cleaning and feeding, ex- cept to give the coat an occasional brushing to keep theroset- ting as dis- tinct as pos- sible. It is bred in broken and uniform colors, the coat often taking the pattern of the Dutch marking; and many handsome tortoise-colored ones are bred. The smooth or English cavies are bred in a variety of colors, both uniform and broken. The species shows a strong tendency to a broken-colored coat, and it was only by persistent line-breeding that uniform coats were secured. The first good ones were the red, then black appeared, and now we have cream, fawn, both golden and silver, agouti, white, chocolate, and the near future will probably see a blue. These have all been produced by per- sistent work on the part of fanciers. Fig. 514. Black Dutch cavy. Mice and rats. Mice are, perhaps, the smallest pets we have and also the ones with the most enemies. These little fellows are fast becoming favorites. They are bred to a very great extent for biological research. The period of gestation is twenty-one days and the young grow very quickly, breeding when they are eight to twelve weeks old. They are bred ina large variety of colors, from the pink-eyed white to the pink-eyed silver. There are black-eyed white, yel- low, fawn, agouti, tan, chocolate, red, black, Dutch- marked, broken-colored, and oftimes a remarkably variegated type. Rats should be classed with the mice, although they are not bred so widely nor are they so popu- lar. There are several varieties besides the white rat, but they are not nearly so various in their range of colors as the mice. Black rats, the so- called Japanese rats, white with black face, shoul- ders and a black stripe following the spine to the tail, brown and Irish, are about the extent of pres- ent varieties. Squirrels. Squirrels can hardly be considered domestic pets as yet, usually being captured young and not bred in captivity. The pets acquired from the wilds must needs be gradually accustomed to their new surroundings and the confinement. Squirrels and similar animals should have quarters calculated to PETS simulate their natural environment as nearly as possible. Pigeons. [See article on pigeons and squabs under Poultry.] It is fairly well demonstrated that the origina- tor of all domestic pigeons is the little rocky pigeon common from Norway to India. From it the vari- ous types of wild and domestic pigeons have been developed, influenced largely by environment, but more by the mind and hand of man in selection and breeding. Pigeons, perhaps, of all domestic animals have the longest and most brilliant history. Darwin asserts that pigeons have been domesticated for 5,000 years. The actual records are available to show their domestication prior to 1600. In 1676, a Latin book on “Ornithologie,” by Willoughby, men- tions several varieties of pigeons. In 1678, this was published in English. In it seventeen varieties were enumerated, some of which are still with us, giving them a straight English history of over two cen- turies. This early writing was followed by John Moore's “Columbarium or Pigeon House” in 1735, in which many of the modern varieties are described. From then to the present, successive treatises have appeared, so that the pigeon has not been neglected. The amateur pigeon men in America are well organized and each variety has its own club, to which most of the reliable breeders of the variety belong. Every poultry-show includes pigeons as part of its exhibit. The Pouter (Fig. 515) is usually the leader. Its history dates back to before the beginning of the seventeenth century. It is characterized by the peculiarity of inflating its crop until it is almost “out of sight,” except for crop and legs. In 1735, y Fig. 515. Pouter pigeon. Moore speaks of Pouters as having a twenty-inch body, although the average was seventeen to eight- een inches, and legs nearly seven inches long, the average length then being six and one-half to six and three-fourth inches. These pigeons now have feathered legs, and are, perhaps, not so popular as they were. There is a smaller variety known as Pigmy Pouter that has the same characteristic of inflating itself. PETS The Carriers were first described by Willoughby in 1677. These pigeons originally were brought from Persia, and are remarkable for the length and strength of beak and the carunculation of bare skin about its base and about their eyes. They are rather monstrous-looking birds. They are bred by a number of fanciers here and abroad, and are purely fancy birds, and not the pigeons used to transmit messages. Barb.—Closely allied to the Carrier is the Barb, a pigeon of the same general development, eye, cere and wattle, but whose beak is short and the wattle not so exaggerated. This variety and the Carrier are probably from the same original stock, the Barb being in all probability the older type, and from it the long-beak bird has developed. The pic- tures of Aldronvandi (1600, about) seem to represent the Barb rather than the Carrier. The Dragoon is akin to the Carrier, and it is said was produced by judicious crossing on the Carrier and then back-breeding to the “Horseman” of the earlier times. It is a stocky bird, being shorter in body and heavier than the Carrier, and with a very characteristic carriage from which the name was derived. The Fantail seems to trace its history back to the Sanskrit days in India, where it was kept before 1600. This variety is to many the most attractive of all the varieties. The wide-spreading tail, whose feather ends are plumed like “my lady’s” fan, the proud carriage, with the head touching the over- shadowing tail, and crop and chest extended, give it a very fascinating appearance. It is bred to as large an extent as almost any other variety. It comes in various solid or uniform colors, as black, white, yellow and red. Hooded Jacobin.— With the Fantails may be classed the hooded Jacobin. These pigeons existed before 1600, but were not nearly so well developed as today, nor was the head white as in the modern type. These pigeons wear a ruff about the neck and head, often concealing the head completely. They are one of the most popular of all breeds. They are medium in size, with a long, slender body, and the frill or “boa” covers the neck and head to the eyes. The combination of color with this odd neck-dressing makes a very pretty little bird. The Turbits were probably the old cortheck of the early writers, and appear for the first time, as we know them, described by Willoughby. They are very pretty birds, with short, rather curved beaks, and have a topknot or crest at the back of the head. The head is round and rather broad. Looking down on it from above, the beak should be too short to be seen, or at most, only just seen. The gullet is deep. Down the front the Turbit wears a frill of feathers turned so as to resemble the old-fashioned frill our grandfathers used in place of a cravat. These birds are bred in white with wing colors alone, no uniform colored turbits having yet appeared that can be classed with the winged birds. These are rather expensive pigeons; good ones are seldom priced under five dollars, and prize-winners often sell at fifty dollars and more. Oriental Frills, Saturettes, Blondenettes.—These PETS 521 beautiful little pigeons, with their general trim- ness and Turbit type, and their beautifully colored plumage, are the product of the modern fancier with his ready adaption of ecu Nae types to his sense of the beautiful. Owl pigeons are of this same type, a trifle smaller, with a jaunty air and carriage, and usu- ally in uniform colors. Their breeders make every effort to bring them near, at least in head and . beak, to the type of the owl. The Tumblers were known in India before 1600, although it was not until after 1687 that they made their appearance in Europe, when Willoughby describes a “football pigeon.” The peculiar flight of these birds has been the subject of remark by almost every natural history writer of the last two centuries. While this tumbling flight is retained or augmented by the selection of the fancier, the characters of the face have been changed, and we now have the Long- and Short- faced Tumblers as well as the “ Muffed” and“ Par- lor” Tumblers. The Runts, Scanderoons and Hen pigeons are large birds. The first carry the tail in the usual man- ner, slightly slanted downward, while the Scande- roon has a very short, narrow and elevated tail. The Hen pigeon, so-called, seems to be very closely allied to these as far as general appearance is concerned. The Homer or Homing pigeon, used so much for message-carry- ing and racing, is a stout, stocky bird, built to fly long and swiftly. It is trained by short- distance flights, grad- ually being increased up to several hundred %, miles. Its fanciers ~ are organized into an association, which regulates carefully the records of these racing flights. This variety has been much exploited for squab-raising. The Archangels, Swallows, Helmets, Magpies, Spots and Nuns are pigeons in which the greatest distin- guishing features are color and marking. Some of these colored varieties are “booted,” that is, wear feathers on their legs like the Pouters, while others are clean-legged. The Archangels are a rich cop- per-bronze on the head, neck and breast. This shades off in the wings and rump toa bronze-black, with a blue-black tail. The Nuns are smaller than their aboriginal ancestor, but have retained for a very long time their characteristic markings, and are probably the originals of the other similarly marked varieties. They are very pretty with their symmetrical markings on head, wing and tail. The feathers on these parts of the bird are black or red, the remainder of the feathers being white. Spots belong with the Nuns, and differ only in car- rying a spot in the forehead and tail of the same color, the remainder of the body being white. Swallows are a more recent breed, although bred Fig. 516. Dark mottle tippler cock. 522 PETS before 1795 in Germany. They are now bred with the wings colored and the legs feathered. The beak is a trifle longer than that of the wild pigeon, and they carry a larger body, but yet do not appear so bulky. The Magpies and Helmets should be included with the Nuns, Spots and Swallows. The former is bred to imitate the bird whose name it bears, in color particularly. The Helmet is a Nun whose color is confined to the top of its head like a helmet. The Trumpeters and Laughers are characterized by their peculiar coo, and the former by the odd curl- ing feathers at the beak, curving forward over its base. Their legs are excessively feathered. The Fyill-Backs have a peculiar curl backward or upward to their feathers, especially on the wing coverts. The Cumulets or “High-flyers,” as they are called, are described best by their second name. With them and the Tipplers and the Homers, the fancier can easily use the barn-loft for housing. These varie- ties delight in being up in the air, and are built for flight. Cage-birds. The number of cage-birds kept as pets is very large. Many common wild birds have been domesti- cated as will be pointed out below. All of the birds here mentioned are domesticated and found in aviaries. The canaries usually kept in America were for- merly bred for the most part in Germany or Eng- land, but now a large number are bred here, espec- ially the fancier ones. These birds are about five : and a half inches long, with rather stout, compact bodies, and vary in color from a very light mealy yellow to nearly a clear green. Some of these birds have crests, but this is rather an unusual ad- dition. Their voices are mellow and play over a long range of notes. The St. An- dreasburg canary is bred in the same dis- trict in Germany as the other Hartz birds. It is a small bird of about the same colors as the others, but with a song of a greater variety of notes than the regular Hartz canary. These cana- ries are usually a light yellow or yellow and green, and are one of the smallest varieties, being four to five inches long. The English canaries are much larger and of higher color, and sing louder than the German canaries. They have many odd wild- bird notes. The Manchesters are the largest cana- ries. Some of them have plain heads and others have thick, full crests falling over the eyes. The Norwich canary (Fig. 517) is not so large as the Manchester, but has higher colors, —deep gold, both clear and mottled; odd cinnamon colors are also popular. The Red canary is secured by breeding Fig. 517. Norwich canary. PETS from the gold or gold and green colors, and feeding for color during molt. Gold Spangled Lizard cana- ries have bright gold-capped heads and continuous lines of spangles from the neck down the back. Each spangle is decided, its clear gold edging and olive-green center being distinct and regular. The Silver Spangled are marked exactly like the gold, having silver-colored spangles where the others have gold. The Goldfinch ca- nary, or canary mule, is secured by breeding a male goldfinchto a light clear yel- low hen, which has descended from __ several generations of clear yellow ~ hens. It isa free singer, with enough of the goldfinch traits to be pert and gay. It isa very beautiful bird. Other mules are secured by mating the female canary with the linnet, bull- finch, siskin and other finches. Goldfinch.—The true goldfinch (Fig. 518) is one of the most delightful cage-birds, both for its beauty and for its song. It is very: easily tamed. There are many varieties, shown by the difference in markings or color of the plumage. The most highly prized is the Scarlet-headed or Crimson, which has the entire head colored in scarlet or crimson. The White-breasted Cheveral or King goldfinch has a pure white breast and a clear white ring around the neck. The pure white is also highly prized. The goldfinch is found throughout Europe, and when caged sings throughout the year with the exception of the molting season. The linnet (Fig. 519), either gray or brown, is a beautiful songster, and is generally kept through- out Europe. It is of hardy constitution and easily domesticated. There is scarcely any bird that puts on so many different dresses in the course of its life as the linnet. The linnet male will sometimes mate with the canary, but the males are not so beautiful as those of the canary and the goldfinch. The chaffinch is one of the many European song birds, and should be generally kept for its sweet song and for its sleek plumage. It is extremely docile and can be easily tamed. The nightingale (Fig. 520) is decidedly the most melodious of all singing birds, and when caged and well treated will sing for six or eight months dur- ing the year. Improper feeding with other causes have seemed to render it impossible in many cases to keep this bird more than a few months. The nightingale is a very hearty eater. The black cap, sometimes called the mock night- Goldfinch. Fig. 518. Fig. 519. Linnet. PETS ingale, is a delightful singer whose song is heard the year round except at the molting season. The skylark comes from all parts of Europe. It has a most peculiar manner of flying, the move- ment being upward ina perpendicular line. After leaving its grassy nest, it begins its song, which it continues unceasingly until nearly out of sight ; then it descends in like manner, still singing until within a short distance of the nest. The skylark can readily imitate the songs of other birds and learn tunes. In confinement it sings during half the year. The wood lark resembles the skylark in color, but is smaller. It perches on branches, but like the skylark builds its nest on the ground. This bird is more easily tamed than the skylark and is happier in captivity. The song thrush is a melodious singer, singing only during the spring in the wild state, but with careful treatment and good caging will sing eight or nine months of the year. The male and female are very similar in color, the fe- male being the smaller. The male has great imitative pow- ers and will readily learn tunes played on wind instru- ments or whis- tled to him. The blackbird, whose plumage is a pure velvety black with an orange-yellow bill, is a fine songster. His notes, although not so various as those of a thrush, are of a more flute-like tone. He has the ability to imitate airs that are whistled to him. He also learns to imitate the songs of other birds and in his wild state often mimics them. The starling has a natural song that is rather poor, but it has a good memory and will learn to repeat airs that are played to it. It also learns to pronounce words distinctly or imitate any sounds repeatedly heard. It becomes very tame and can be let out of its cage to walk about the room. The talking minor or musical grakle is a good talking bird and can whistle in sweet, full tones any song that may be taught it. It is about the size of a dove. The beak, feet and legs are orange- colored. The prevailing color of the plumage is a glossy black, tinged with purple, violet and green, according to the light in which it is viewed. It is a native of the East Indies. As a talking bird, the Fig. 520. Nightingale. minor is unsurpassed. It speaks plainly and can .< War i — retain a large number of words. The bullfinch has no natural song but has the ability to imitate with great accuracy almost any air that is whistled or played to it on an instru- ment. In Germany, particularly in Hesse and Saxony, large numbers of these birds are taught to Pipe popular or classical airs. Troopial.—The South American troopial has a beautiful rich plumage and looks very much like our American golden robin or Baltimore oriole, the PETS 523 chief difference being that he is much larger and the orange of the body is more of a yellow. Few birds have a natural song at once so sweet and powerful, and none has a nicer ear or a more retentive mem- ory. The Brazilian cardinal is one of the beautiful whistling birds of the tropics. The back is dark SS . XQ. ‘Ss gray; the quill- \, feathers of the , wings area ~—¢7iis darker shade of ou the same color, and the tail is nearly black; the head, crest, cheeks and throat are bright red, of an orange hue, deep- est on the chest, where it ends in a point; the lower part of the body is grayish white, and the feet and legs are black; the strong beak is dusky gray; the crest is pointed like that of the Vir- ginia nightingale and is raised and depressed at pleasure. The brilliant scarlet head forms a beau- tiful contrast to the snowy-white of the body. The Java sparrow takes its name from the Java islands, where it-abounds. Its chief recommenda- tion is the great neatness of the plumage, the glossy black head, clear white cheeks and delicate rose-colored bill. The body is an ashen gray, the plumage being so neat and smooth that the feath- ers all seem to fit into one another. It can be taught a variety of tricks, perhaps more than any other caged bird. The American mockingbird. (Fig. 521.) —This songster unites in himself all the excellences to a greater extent than any other living bird. The songs of other birds, the rattling and creaking of gates and swinging sign-boards, the cries of puppies and the katydid, and all other familiar sounds are pos- sible with the mockingbird. Itisa general favorite. The Virginia nightingale (Fig. 522), or Virginia redbird, sometimes called the cardinal, is a native of the southern states, and is one of the handsomest birds of the New World. The color is a brilliant red, 2g with the excep- tion of the part around the beak, which is black ; the wings are darker than the body color. The head is orna- mented with a erest, which the bird can raise or depress, and which gives it a commanding appear- ance. It has a very pleasing song or whistle. The Red linnet is a beautiful singer or whistler and should be kept as universally as the canary. It sings all year round, with the exception of the molting season, and in confinement becomes tame. Fig. 521. Mockingbird. Fig. 522. Virginia nightingale or cardinal grosbeak. 524 PETS The American yellowbird, or what is really the American goldfinch, is a beautiful lemon-colored bird with a black cap and white wings. It is a universal favorite. The song has a brisk, cheerful ring, although perhaps deficient in variety. The nonpareil, as the name indicates, is without an equal. It has been called by many the “ painted finch” or “painted bunting.” *t has a violet head and neck, a red circle around the eyes, the iris, beak and feet brown, the upper part of the back, throat, chest, and whole under part of the body as well as the upper tail coverts bright red; the wing coverts are green, the quills reddish brown tinged with green, and the tail reddish brown. It is about the size of an English robin and resem- bles that bird in many ways. The Japanese robin.—‘*The head of the robin is bronze-green, beak yellow, body the color of a mourning dove, eyes black with a circlet of white, throat ecru tint of yellow shading on the breast into orange, wing-feathers black with parti-colored stripes of gold and white, and tail feathers glossy black barred with white.” In size, the bird is simi- lar to a bullfinch. Its voice embraces the notes and semi-notes between the low contralto and high tenor. It can also imitate the wild bird’s notes and whistles every month in the year. The avadavat, comes to us in great numbers from China, Asia, Africa and India. Unlike other birds, it changes its plumage yearly until the third year. At this time, the head and under part of the body are a fiery red tinged with black, the back brown, tail black, wings a reddish brown; all the feathers are tipped with white, giving the bird an appearance of being specked with white spots. The Gray-blue finch has a song that seems to be a mixture of the canary’s and bobolink’s, but much finer than either. It adheres to the southern tropical spring month for its breeding and rearing season. In November, it begins to build in the aviary and rears its young in midwinter. The Silver-bill or Quaker bird, the Orange-cheek waxbill, the Zebra or Orange-breast waxbill, the Chestnut finch, and the Magpie finch are all aviary birds, and are much sought for their song and peculiar mannerisms, their diminutive size and brilliant colors. Nuns.— No aviary is complete without the nuns, both black- and white-capped, their white heads forming a rich contrast to the chocolate- brown and black bodies. Japanese nuns are a combina- tion of the purest white intermingled with the much admired cinnamon color. These pets, being bred in cages, are very tame and of a quiet disposi- tion, and sing very merrily. The Cordon Blue, a native of Africa, is°a small bird of great beauty. Sometimes he is called the Crimson-ear waxbill. The male has a soft, pleas- ing song and is usually heard cooing as if for his own pleasure. The Cut throat sparrow, a native of Africa, is about half the size of a canary, of a delicate gray- ish fawn color spangled with white spots. The St. Helena waxbiii comes from Africa in great numbers, The beak is a bright red, resem- PETS bling sealing-wax, with a darker shade of the same color passing through each eye, and a dash of the same color under the body, the rest of the body being a grayish brown. The wings and tail area shade darker. All the feathers have blackish wavy lines all over them, giving them a soft and silken appearance. The Diamond sparrow is a native of Australia and is ashort, stout bird somewhat larger than the St. Helena waxbill. The under part of the body is white, and the sides under the wings black with oblong white spots. The Fire finch is very much like the avadavat at certain seasons of the year. It is larger but does not possess much song, being kept chiefly for its beauty and cheerful disposition. The Saffron finch is very similar to the canary, although not so large. Parrots. The parrot is the best known among the talking birds. Many individuals have acquired several languages and whistle and sing any song that they hear. The African Gray parrot (Fig. 523), with gray body, | black bill and scarlet tail, takes high rank. It varies from twelve to fifteen inches in length. It is an excellent talker and whistler, but in- dividuals vary greatly in their ability to learn. The Double Yellow-headed Mexican parrot is the oper- atic star of the parrot fam- ily. His gift of song is great, and his voice is clear and sweet. He is a beautiful green throughout the body, with pale orange forehead and scarlet and blue feathers, his feet and beak white. The Carthagena parrot is thirteen to fifteen inches long and has all green plumage, except on the back of the neck, where there is a pale orange marking about the size of a half-dollar, and in the wing and tail feathers where red and blue mark- ings occur. This bird becomes a good singer and whistles and talks very well. The Single Yellow-headed parrot is smaller than the double yellow-headed, but has the same colors, except that the beak is dark instead of flesh color. It makes a fair talker. The Amazon is a native of upper South America. It is not so large as the Mexican but is an apt pupil and easily learns to talk and sing. The Blue Front is twelve or thirteen inches long, with plain green body and blue forehead, and slight red and blue markings on the wings. It also be- comes a fair talker. The Maracaibo parrot is like a small edition of the Mexican. It is about ten or eleven inches long and sometimes makes an excellent talker, Gray parrot. Fig. 523. sAoyIn} JO YOoy we puw !yIOX MONT UT JuowysTqriso Arnod y “TWIAX aed PETS The Cuban parrot is ten to twelve inches long, with green body and white forehead, scarlet throat and scarlet and blue wings. It is usually imported when about three months old and is tame and very teachable. Paroquets.—The name paroquet is applied to the smaller kinds of parrots. The Australian paroquet is a beautiful and eccentric bird. It easily becomes domesticated to cage life, and can be taught many amusing tricks. The Dwarf parrot is a little fellow found often in our town bird stores, although not common enough to be generally known. It is a little larger than the paroquets or love birds, and of a uniform green on the body, with a bit of orange or red about the bill or throat and wings. It is said to do some talking occasionally. Literature. Dogs.—J. V. Mott, Boston Terrier; R. B. Playeman, House Dogs, Care and Treatment ; Eugene Glass, Cocker Spaniel ; H. Daziel, Diseases of Dogs; Ashmont, Dog Management and Treat- ment; Al. G. Eberhardt, Everything About Dogs; Ashmont, Kennel Diseases; Ashmont, Kennel Secrets; J. W. Hill, Management and Diseases of Dogs; S. T. Hammond, Practical Dog Training ; W. C. Percy, Principles of Dog Training; E. H. Haberlin, Amateur Trainer ; Stonehenge and Arma- tage, The Dog; W. A. Sargent, Collies Useful and How to Make So; J. Watson, The Dog Book: H.C. Tugeg, American Foxhound; W. Mills, The Dog in Health and Disease ; B. Waters, Training Hunting Dogs ; B. Waters, Modern Kennel Management. Rabbils and cavies.— Ambrose, Belgian Hare Rabbits and All About Them; Moss and Ambrose, The Dutch Rabbit ; Knightbridge, The Lop Rabbit; L. Shaw, The English Rabbit; Richardson, The Rabbit ; K. W. Knight, The Book of the Rabbit; E. Ruth, Belgian Hare Culture; E. Ruth, The Bel- gian Hare; Cunniculus, The Practical Rabbit Keeper; P. O’Brien, The Belgian Hare; Rayson, Rabbits for Prizes and Profit ; T. B. Mason, Some- thing About the Silver Rabbits; C. A. House, The Cavy; John Robins, The Cavy; C. L. Merick, All About Cavies; Ellard and Johnson, Flemish and Angora Rabbits, in preparation. Mice.— Beake and William, Fancy Mice; “An Old Fancier,” Fancy Mice. Pigeons and cage-birds.—Browne and Walker, American Bird Fancier; C. A. House, British Canary; G. H. Holden, Canaries and Cage Birds; G. H. Holden, Book on Birds; C. N. Page, Canary Breeding ; R. L. Wallace, Canary Book ; J.D. Brad- man, British Birds; C. N. Page, Feathered Pets; W. F. Greene, Our Feathered Pets; Fulton and Wright, Book of Pigeons; Feather’s Practical Pigeon Book; Pigeon Standard ; Pigeon Queries ; F. M. Gilbert, Pigeon Keeping; Twombly, Squab Culture; L. Hoser, Homing Pigeon, Breeding and Training; J. A. Summer, Diseases of Pigeons; R. Woods, Dragoon Pigeon; C. A. House, Fantail Pigeon ; C. H. Jones, Homing Pigeon of the Twen- tieth Century ; H. C. Rice, Squab Book ; W. F. Lun- dey, Owl Pigeon; W. F. Lundey, Turbit Pigeon ; POULTRY 525 F. M. Gilbert, Pigeons ; L. Wright, Practical Pigeon Keeper; J. C. Long, Practical Pigeon Book ; W. E. Rice, Practical Squab Book; A. V. Meerch, Pigeons; J. E. Webber, Working Homers ; Vale, How to Feed Pigeons ; R. Woods, Diseases of Pigeons ; R. Woods, Successful Pigeon Culture; Blaxton and Others, Book of the Canary ; Beckstein, Cage Birds. POULTRY. Figs. 524-604. One of the features of the new contemporaneous agriculture is the attention that is given to the poultry live-stock. In former time, the fowls were an unaccounted incident of the farm. They lived on the refuse and on such food as they might find in a free range, and all they produced in the way of meat, eggs and feathers was counted as clear vain. Because they thrived anywhere, cost practi- cally nothing to keep, multiplied rapidly, and the individual birds were not valuable enough to occa- sion much loss if one or several died, giving at the same time a steady and marketable product, fowls became associated with practically every farm. Fowls are kept on more farms and separate home- steads than any other domestic animal except cats. Just because fowls will take care of themselves, they have been neglected; and not until recent census and revenue figures were available did we know the immense economic returns that poultry live-stock gives to the people. With the gradual refining of agriculture and the application of business methods to it, we have begun to realize that it is possible greatly to extend the usefulness of all kinds of fowls. The birds are coming to occupy a distinct department of a good farm enterprise, as are sheep or orchards or pigs, and the old phrase “barnyard fowls” is dropping from use. There are two types of poultry husbandry,—that which considers the birds as a part of a general farm business; and that which makes a specialty of fowls, with all other products subordinate to them. In the latter class are estab- lishments making a business of producing eggs and meat, and other establishments making a specialty of breeding. We have now learned that any real satisfaction in the rearing of poultry must come as a result of as careful study and attention as that given to any other kind of live-stock. The questions of breeding, feeding, diseases, and general manage- ment are complex and are much in need of scien- tific investigation. Heretofore, the special interest in poultry, so far as writers and investigators are concerned, has been descriptive,—the characteriz- ing of breeds and the discussion of formal and fancy points. The result has been that the sub- jects of breeds and exhibiting have been much over-emphasized as compared with questions of performance and utility, as they have been in all other groups of animals. The entering of the col- leges and experiment stations into the discussion of poultry questions is changing all this. A new and vital type of poultry literature is arising. This lit- erature is yet largely fugitive, however, although some of it is contained in experiment station pub 526 POULTRY lications. We are betwixt the old and the new,— the new being the writing founded on rational scientific procedure. The reputation of the poultry business, as a separate enterprise, has no doubt suffered from the exploitation of it by many persons who have gone into it thinking it an easy and rapid road to for- tune and a means of recouping broken health. Many of these persons have failed, as they should have had every reason to expect. To go into poul- try-growing as a business is a serious undertaking, as it is to go into market-gardening or dairying. The person must learn the business. There are plenty of persons who succeed well in the poultry business, and this class will increase steadily. As a rough statement, it may be said that it costs one dollar a year per fowl to keep a flock of poultry. This cost may be reduced on a farm where the birds have free range and the feed is produced on the place; it may be increased when the birds are confined and all the feed is purchased. What the proceeds are to be will depend on very many conditions, and for what purpose the animals are kept. The succeeding articles will throw some light on this question. A person should expect a minimum net profit from fowls reared for eggs and meat, of one dollar a year; and this profit may sometimes be doubled. [See Vol. I, pp. 183-187.] The great effort, so far as the modification of the bird is concerned, is to increase the egg-laying capacity of the fowl. It must be remembered that the hen originally laid eggs for the purpose of per- petuating her kind, as the cow gave milk merely to sustain her calf for a time. Instead of produc- ing one or two broods of eggs, good hens will now lay as many as 200 eggs a year, and the record for individual birds exceeds this. This result is brought about by long-continued attention to breed- ing, by rational feeding, by good care, and by the stimulus of comfortable and healthful quarters. The egg-laying ability is also conditioned on the age of the bird. Pullets usually lay best. Poultrymen therefore like to keep only young fowls, disposing of them for meat about the end of the first year. By controlling the period of hatching, much may be done to induce egg-laying in the cold months, when the fowl would not naturally lay. The pullets should be fully mature and in laying habit before cold weather sets in. Thereafter the problem is one of feed, exercise and housing. Probably half the fowls in the country are not laying in the winter months, and for this reason eggs are high- priced in this period. It is easier said than done, to be sure, to produce freely of winter eggs; but the result is obtainable, as we shall find when we learn how to prepare for the crop of eggs as we prepare for a crop of potatoes or beans. Illustrations of egg-laying under practical condi- tions have been given us as follows : New Jersey.— 274 pullets, abont two-thirds of them White Wyan- dotte and the remainder Barred Plymouth Rock, laid 815 eggs in October, 1,247 in November, 2,024 in December, 2,956 in January, 3,326 in February, 4,933 in March, or a total for the six months of 15,301. Massachusetts.—172 pullets, 45 yearlings, POULTRY all White Wyandotte, laid 1,390 eggs in Novem- ber, 1,787 in December, 2,537 in January, 2,940 in February, 4,035 in March, a total in five months of 12,689. Maine.—The wife of a dairyman keeps about four hundred and fifty head of Barred Ply- mouth Rocks, and her accounts for the past five or six years show an average of better than two dol- lars a year net profit per fowl from the eggs sold to market and the fowls sold alive before the time of the molt. The averaye egg-product is ten to twelve dozen eggs per bird, and the average prices have ranged, for the series of years, somewhat over twenty-five cents per dozen, which gives a return of over two dollars and fifty cents for each bird per year. The hens sold alive to market aver- age a return of about a dollar apiece. As there are beef types and milch types of cat- tle, so there are meat types and egg-laying types of fowls; and there are many fancy kinds, as the game cocks, frizzles, and abnormal forms. No -domestic animals of the live-stock kind possess so many curious and interesting forms, particularly if we include in the poultry class all the pheasants, guinea-fowls, peafowls and swans. In the farm- poultry of the past, no particular distinction was made between meat fowls and egg-laying fowls, as there was no distinction between beef cattle and milch cattle; therefore, there was no special selec- tion or breeding along the divergent lines by the general farmer. There is a general-purpose or dual-purpose fowl as there is a dual-purpose cow, and this type of fowl, much improved, will probably hold preéminence under general farm conditions. Considered in its economic results, the greatest ‘utility of poultry husbandry no doubt is its part in general farming, inasmuch as it is adapted to practically every kind of farm scheme. And it is in this field also that the greatest study and effort need to be expended. The poultry specialist is an enthusiast and he keeps in touch with every new thing pertaining to the business; but the general farmer has other and perhaps larger interests, not- withstanding the fact that no part of his business will probably yield a greater return for extra care and attention than the poultry part. Poultry-raising must come to be a regular part of the plans for agricultural education. This will _ place the subject in its proper relation with other farm business. The colleges of agriculture are now beginning to realize this fact and to act on it. In the secondary schools, fowls probably afford the most attractive and adaptable means of teaching many of the fundamental principles of the live- stock industries. Education has now reached the point at which it is ready and willing to utilize the common affairs as means of training men and women; and there are departments in the colleges devoted wholly to poultry, and professorships in the subject are beginning to be created. When we gather the poultry statistics from all the farms and homesteads of the country, we find that the figures assume enormous proportions. The latest available statistics are those of the Twelfth Census, 1900, some of the summary items of which are as follows: POULTRY POULTRY 527 POULTRY AND EGG¢s. enue Numbe r of A of fowls three months old and over, June 1, 1900 farms reporting Giiekens (end Turkeys Geese Ducks United States .. 2... 5,739,657 5,096,252 | 233,598,085 | 6,599,367 5,676,863 4,807,358 North Atlantic Division . . 677,506 605,732 27,952,114 529,932 144,527 453,580 South Atlantic Division . . 962,225 850,074 22,293,912 810,975 908,908 458,918 North Central Division 2,196,567 2,014,138 128,469,068 8,072,456 1,899,026 2,416,327 South Central Division. . . 1,658,166 1,441,315 50,299,631 1,876,382 2,589,164 1,257,048 Western Division. . ... 242,908 184,021 9,551,296 304,950 135,163 199,977 Value of all Value of poultry Dozens of eggs Value of eggs poultry, June 1, 1900 raised in 1899 produced in 1899 produced in 1899 Himbenistates so. . 6. ss se $85,794,996 $186,891,877 1,293,819,186 144,286,158 North Atlantic Division. . . . . . 13,706,762 20,624,489 191,764,000 28,612,489 South Atlantic Division. .. ... 8,545,899 15,553,805 105,349,996 11,687,293 North Central Division ,..... 43,416,629 69,828,121 716,663,710 74,208,117 South Central Division ...... 15,672,938 24,770,049 222,096,860 20,465,926 Western Division ........ 4,414,365 6,053,738 57,787,867 9,266,716 More recent poultry figures, from the Department of Agriculture Yearbook, may be cited as follows: EXPORTS. For the year ended June 30, 1902. Quantity Value Eggs,dozens. . . . 2,717,990 $528,679 Egg yolks. .... G96 14,700 Feathers ..... 239,756 Poultry and game. . 856,801 For the year ended June 30, 1906. Quantity Value Eggs,dozens. . . . 4,952,063 $1,038,649 Egg yolks. .... ee 54,851 Feathers a0 263,377 Poultry and game. . 1,397,004 WHOLESALE PRICE OF AVERAGE BEST FRESH EGGs PER DOZEN. January, 1901 January, 1906 Low High Low High New York. . 194cts. 27 cts. 174 cts. 34 cts. St.Louis . . 154cts. 184cts. 14 cts. 22 cts. June, 1901 June, 1906 Low High Low High NewYork. . 13 cts. 144cts. I174cts. 28 cts. Stslouis : . 8%cts. 10) cts. 15) cts. 17s cts: The summary figures of the number of fowls in Canada in 1901 are as follows: British Columbia, 363,379; Manitoba, 1,167,- 876; New Brunswick, 714,181; Nova Scotia, 798,145; Ontario, 10,464,551; Prince Edward Island, 581,790; Quebec, 3,283,643; the Te._’- tories, 549,143. Number of poultry killed or sold (1901), 7,063,- 597, all Canada; number of eggs (1901), 84,132,- 802 dozens, all Canada; value of poultry (1901), $5,723,890, all Canada. If the reader is interested in statistics of edu- cation in poultry husbandry in Canada and the United States, he should consult pages 55 to 88 of the Proceedings of the 32d Annual Convention of the American Poultry Association, 1907. Literature. Following are some of the reference books on poultry subjects. Much helpful information will also be found in experiment station publications, and those of the national Department of Agricul- ture. American Standard of Perfection, published by the American Poultry Association; Wright, Book of Poultry, Cassel & Co., London; Salmon, Diseases of Poultry, Geo. E. Howard & Co., Washington, D. C.; Stoddard, New Egg Farm, Orange Judd Company, New York; Lewis, People’s Practical Poultry Book, Excelsior Publishing House, New York ; Norys, Pocket Money Poultry, Geo. E. How- ard & Co., Washington, D. C.; Tegetmeier, Poultry Book, Routledge & Sons, London; Felch, Poultry Culture, Donohue, Henneberry & Co., Chicago ; Wright, Practical Poultry Keeper, Orange Judd Company, New York; Watson, Farm Poultry, The Macmillan Company, New York; Robinson, Poultry Craft, Farm Poultry Publishing Company, Boston ; Collingwood, The Business Hen, Rural New-Yorker ; Biggle Poultry Book, The Farm Journal Company, Philadelphia ; Weir, The Poultry Book, with colored plates, by Doubleday, Page & Co., New York; Perfected Fowls of America, Howard Publishing Company, Washington; Barrows, Eggs; Robinson, First Lessons in Poultry Keeping; E. C. Powell, Making Poultry Pay ; McGrew, Perfected Poultry of America; Davenport, Principles of Breeding ; Poultry Houses and Fixtures, Reliable Poultry Journal ; Reliable Poultry Remedies, Reliable Poul- try Journal; Robinson, Broilers and Roosters ; Ducks and Geese, Reliable Poultry Journal ; Hewes, Hamburg Book; The Leghorns, Reliable Poultry Journal; Report of Second National Poultry Con- ference, Reading, England. 528 POULTRY INDEX TO POULTRY ARTICLES Page Origin of the Domestic Fowl. ........-. 528 Breeding more Eonlthypem «1 a) '=tts: ol lemme ate 529 labs eiiae oop oo po oot OO one 533 Heading Waterfowl.) = jh ke mel mene 5386 Hatbentno mb ouluryieu vents) coilte ste) ven leurs iteitemaiIEms 538 CaponspandeC@aponizing )<) fe) is rehire meee Retn si 540 Incubation and Brooding. ......-.2.4..-. 542 Preparing and Marketing Poultry Products. . . . 544 Uoclateuniiawate omGecho a .c a Ss oc 5 oo 547 Common Ailments of Poultry. ......... 551 Poultry-house Construction ..........-. 556 Breeds and Types of Chickens ........ . 563 IDS a oOGwOONon dood Bio adb o-¢ 569 Geese\ate le: tanes.<. te tid bee eee aves testo 572 Grouse, Domestication of the Ruffed. ...... 576 Guingasfowls 2. \ei:s) pi. ceel ytleneone ey en een oe 578 Pheasants and Related Fowls. ........-. 579 btaayily GHGL STEW 5 oo lo a Gos 6 4p Bol ool Quail, Domestication of the Bobwhite or American . 584 SiC Gene CeUAt nkcea’ GroMiGd ID op. S. o 585 Wh) CG) ee Gpeceotd C, GlG SHpalcro. 0.0 0 586 Origin of the Domestic Fowl. Gallus spp. Galline. Fig. 524. By Charles B. Davenport. The domestic fowl belongs to the group of scratch- ing birds that includes also the turkey, guinea-fowl, pheasant, partridge, grouse. The ancestors of the domestic fowl, like those of other domestic animals, were wild species, but it does not follow that there was only one ancestral species or that all the ancestral species, if more than one, still persist. Without going into the history of ideas concerning the ancestry of fowl, it may be said that probably two species were involved—one a wild form still common in the jungle of India, southern China and the East Indies, and known as Gallus ferrugineus, or as Gallus bankiva (Fig. 597); the other, probably an extinct progenitor of the Aseel or Malay fowl (Fig. 524). The Gallus ferrugin- eus is a slender- bodied bird, hav- ing its plumage colored like that of the Black- breasted Red . Game fowl, and having a single ~ comb, — slender, willow - colored shanks and cap- able of consider- able flight. It is completely fer- tile with domes- ticated fowl. The other extant wild species of Gallus are much less like any of our domestic races and are usually sterile with them. The reason for concluding that a second species had been involved in the con- struction of our domestic races is the existence among them of a set of characters, other than the usual color sports, that cannot be derived from the jungle-fowl. Some of these are a broad, Fig. 524. Aseel fowl. POULTRY stocky body, a triple or pea-comb, stout, yellow- skinned legs, a mottled plumage and an unwilling- ness to fly far in the air. Such characters are found, for example, in the Brahma fowl. They are also found in the Aseel, probably the oldest fowl in domestication. The Aseel has been bred in India for over 3,000 years, and its wild ancestors seem to have become extinct. Starting with the jungle- fowl and the Aseel, we can write an intelligible history of the domestic fowl, but we could hardly do it if we started with the jungle-fowl alone. Progress of domestication. The history of the domestication of the fowl reaches, as suggested above, to a remote antiquity. The Institutes of Menu, 1000 B. C., alludes to the sport of cock-fighting (probably with the Aseel). From southeastern India the domesticated fowl spread eastward and northward, reaching China, according to tradition, about 1400 B. C., and subse- quently gaining Japan. The movement toward the West took place later. It is figured on Babylonian cylinders of about 600 B. C., and Aristophanes (about 400 B. C.) refers to the fowl as the Persian bird. As it is not mentioned in the Old Testament, the fowl probably did not reach Syria until three or four centuries before the beginning of our era. Its introduction into Europe from Persia was prob- ably effected at the time of the conquest of that country by Alexander (830-320 B. C.). Once in Europe, the spread was rapid over that continent. Caesar found fowl in Britain, whither they had probably been carried by the Phceenicians, at the time of his conquest of that country about 55 B.C. It is probable that, at a later date, fowl were intro- duced into Europe from Central Asia through Siberia to Russia. From Europe, fowl were carried in the early period of colonization to the New World and parts of the Old World, where, up to that time, they had been unknown. The character of the fowl first bred in China and eastern India differed from that of the western birds, for the eastern fowl were of the stocky Aseel type. Foot feathering, the uniform buff -colored plumage and the reduction to bantam size were early achieved by the Chinese. The Buff Cochins, the source of all uniformly buff fowls the world over, were cultivated in Hoangho 1,500 years ago. The western fowl were more of the jungle-fowl type: slender, active, clean-shanked birds. These came to inhabit the whole Mediterranean coast from Egypt, through Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy and France, to Spain and the islands lying off shore. Thence arose our Mediterranean fowl — active birds, largely non-sitting ; such are the Leghorn, Minorca, Spanish, Andalusian, Hamburg, Ancona, Polish, Houdan, and many other varieties. The colors became varied through the preservation of various sports that cropped out: a melanic sport, as seen in the black Minorcas and Spanish; a “gray ”-white sport, as seen in the white Leghorn ; and mottled or blue forms, derived by crossing the black and white, as seen in the Hamburg, Ancona, ~ and Polish. Certain teratological conditions were preserved : a fifth toe, known even to the Romans, POULTRY and preserved till today as the trademark of the Dorking and Houdan races; a cerebral hernia, known for over four hundred years, and become a trademark of the Polish and Houdan; and a rudi- mentary comb, probably associated originally with the cerebral hernia but now capable of being in- herited independently of it. The fowls first imported to America were Games (largely in the South), Leghorns direct from Italy, and certain English derivatives of the Mediter- ranean breeds, such as the Dorkings and Scotch Grays, with their barred markings from which the barred Plymouth Rocks of today have probably been derived, in part. On this stock were engrafted, by importations, the stocky eastern types—the Brahmas, from the Brahmapootra river and the Cochins from Shanghai, China. The latter two were used to give the breadth and weight of our Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes and others; the pea- comb of the Brahma has been used to reduce the great single comb of the Mediterranean breeds to form the neat comb of the “Rocks,” and the solid buff color has been used in the Rhode Island Reds as well as the buff varieties of the Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes. The effect of crossing the Medi- terranean and Asiatic types has been to give a general-purpose fowl! of great utility to the farmer, who needs a hen that is a fair layer, a good mother, and a meat-producer. The American experiment of making a general-purpose fowl proved so success- ful that it was repeated in England and resulted in the Orpingtons, made up of various combinations of Mediterranean, Eastern and American types. Thus, the general-purpose fowls of both England and America owe their origin to combinations of the derivatives of the jungle-fowl and the Aseel types. But, for ege-production, the Mediterranean type has never been surpassed, and as a table bird the Aseel derivatives, including the Indian Games, Cochins and Brahmas, have no rivals. Literature. For references, see page 527. Breeding of Poultry. Figs. 525-530. By Charles B. Davenport. Perhaps one of the best tests of the domestication of an animal is the control by man of its repro- duction. Broadly, this control includes the feeding and housing and all the apparatus for restricting the free intercourse of the sexes. Leaving these technical details for description elsewhere, this article will consider only the principles to be fol- lowed in selecting fowls for the breeding-pen in order to achieve a certain ideal; and some account of the results attained by breeders who have fol- lowed these principles, often more or less uncon- sciously, may be added. The ideal and methods of attaining it. The first requisite in breeding is a clear-cut ideal. Let the breeder formulate clearly in his mind what he wants to get, for the end will determine the details of the procedure. The ideal may be simple, C 34 POULTRY 529 such as increased egg-yield, or more rapid growth, or greater vigor of stock, or a reduced size of comb; or it may be complex, as, for example, increased yield of eggs of a brown color, or large size combined with heavy egg-yield, or a large white bird with a small comb and laying many brown eges of a large size. In case of such com- plex ideals, it is a good rule to work for one or two things at a time. In any case, the ideal should be resolved, as in the foregoing examples, into the maximum number of well-defined characteristics that are to be combined in the ideal bird, and then the proper means taken to get the combination. Inbreeding and line-breeding.—In beginning to work for the ideal, it is highly desirable to start several families at once, because, if only one pair be mated, the progeny must be mated with each other, or with the parents; i. e., close inbreeding must be practiced, and this is very likely to be disastrous. It is the general experience of breeders that very close inbreeding tends to produce chicks that are weak and fall an easy prey to disease, or which, if they survive, are infertile. By starting two or more unrelated pairs, it will be possible in later generations to introduce new blood without retarding, as much as would otherwise be the case, the progress toward the ideal. In some cases it is impracticable to start several families. In such cases, it is considered better to mate the off- spring of a pair with father and with mother re- spectively, than to mate brother and ‘ister. The “grandchildren” of the original father may now be mated to those of the original mother, and also back on their parent-grandparents. By carefully mating in each generation the most distantly related individuals, matings of full brother and sister are avoided. This method of breeding is called line-breeding. It is illustrated in the accom- panying chart prepared by I. K. Felch. (Fig. 525.) j ' 4 if it am L 4 1 4 4 ' Y y 1 ot) Fig. 525. Felch’s chart for line-breeding. 530 POULTRY In the chart, a dotted line represents female blood (egg), and a full line male blood (sperm); the circle at the union of two such lines indicates the prog- eny of the union of the egg and the sperm. In the third filial generation, whose blood is derived equally from the two parents, No. 10 constitutes a strain distinct from No. 8, which has thirteen-sixteenths blood of the original hen, and from No. 12, which has the same proportion of the original cock. From these three strains, by proper manipulation addi- tional strains may become established. The methods employed for attaining an ideal are” of two general sorts, depending on the end sought. If it is desired merely to improve a quality already present, the method of selection is employed. If, on the other hand, it is desired to add a new char- acteristic to a given breed or to combine the char- acteristics of one or more breeds, then hybridization is necessary. Selection involves the careful inspection of the individuals of any generation, and the preservation for breeding of only the best. Let it be required to improve the egg-yield of a given strain: study the egg records of the yearling hens, and preserve for breeding the progeny of the best. Let it be required to increase the rate of growth: keep and study growth records, and save the fastest growers for breeders. Even those who do not keep records make aselection, as the breeding season approaches, of the most vigorous cocks and the shapeliest hens, and this rough selection helps to maintain the strain at a high standard of general excellence. A more rigorous selection and selection for particular points often involves measurements, weighing, and the like, and pedigree breeding, of the methods of which something will be said in a later paragraph. Hybridization involves the crossing of two strains, varieties, or races in order to combine the favor- able qualities of the two. Eventually, the qualities of three or more races may be combined. Let us suppose a breeder finds that, in his excellent strain of Minorcas, the large combs are likely to get frost- bitten, so that the reproductive processes are inter- rupted ; and he has the idea of replacing the large single comb with the small pea-comb. He must first cross his Minoreas with a Dark Brahma or Indian Game, or some other race that has a pea- comb. He will find that, even in the first genera- tion, all of the “hybrids,” as they are called, have the pea-comb. But his goal is not reached in the first generation, because the hybrids have certain characteristics of form, feathering, and the like, that he does not want, and because in the second generation a single comb will crop out again. The second generation of hybrids (got by breeding members of the first generation) is technically known as the second filial generation, or F>. It will yield a great variety of combinations of form, feathering, fecundity, and so on, combined with a pea-comb. The breeder selects for breeding the combination that comes nearest to his ideals. But it will still be several generations before his ideal is fully realized. In this connection, a knowledge of Mendel’s law will be helpful. Mendel’s law states that, when, in two races that POULTRY are being crossed, there is a pair of contrasted characters, as single comb and pea-comb, only one of the pair will appear in the progeny; it will dominate over the opposite ; and as the other has receded from view, it was named by Mendel the recessive character. Dominance of a character in the body does not imply that the recessive char- acter is absent, but only that in the development of the body the dominant character is bound to appear. The dominant character is usually a stage in advance of the recessive, so that one may say an organ will develop to the highest stage that is potential within it. So a pigmented condition dom- inates over absence of pigment, extra toe over the normal number, feathers on the feet over their — absence, and the lateral ridges of the pea-comb — over their absence in the single comb. But while in the body of the first generation the dominant character is uniformly visible, the germ cells (eggs and sperm) in their repeated division become of two kinds, those possessing the recessive character only and those possessing the dominant character only ; and these are equally numerous. Consequently, in the haphazard union of any egg and any sperm, these four combinations are equally likely to occur, forming the second generation (F.): Two germ cells with the recessive character (the union may be expressed as RR); two with the dominant character (DD); and a dominant egg with a recessive sperm (DR), and a recessive egg with a dominant sperm (RD). The individuals that develop from the first kind of union, having none of the dominant character, are of the recessive type only and form germ. cells of this type only. They are technically called homozygous. Conse- qently, two individuals of the recessive type bred together will have progeny of that type only and may be ancestors of a race pure in respect to the given character. The individuals that develop from the second kind of union (DD), having none of the recessive character, will not only be of the domi- nant type but may found a race pure in respect to the dominant character. The other sorts of in- dividuals (DR and RD) are hy- / brids like their ° parents, and are called techni- cally —heterozy- gotes. Bred to- gether, hetero- zygotes will pro- duce homozy- gous recessives and dominants and heterozy- Fig. 526. oe white fowl. The otes again. grandchild (F2) of a rose-combed ih ar b Black Minorea and a single-combed ; ELE f Ns F 2 White Leghorn. See Fig. 527. wo of this type to every one of the pure dominants. Thus, hetero- zygotes are essentially impure. While the first hybrid generation is characterized by uniformity, the second generation is characterized by great POULTRY variety. In Figs. 526 and 527 are shown two grand- children (F.) of a rose-combed Black Minorca and a single-combed White Leghorn. Among others, a rose-combed white and a single-combed black fowl appeared, thus revers- ing the relation of comb and color. Since the heterozy- gotes contain the dom- inant character, this alone will appear in the body as in Fj, and it will often be impos- sible to distinguish be- tween a homozygous dominant and a hetero- zygote. Yet, to get a Single-combed black fowl. The grandchild (F2) of a rose-combed Black Minorca pure race one must and a single-combed White Seat separate them. Con- Leghorn. See Fig. 526. sequently, the dominants of F. must be tested. To test a dominant, mate it with a recessive. If the dominant is pure (DD), all offspring will be of the dominant type ; if impure (DR), the offspring will be equally of the combination DR and RR, and hence half of them will be of the recessive type. Hybrids, which, on testing, throw only dominants, may be used to found a pure dominant race. Thus, one character at a time (or several at a time if great numbers be available), a race pure in respect to the desired characters, whether dominant or recessive, may be built up. And the prog- eny of members of this race, bred inter se, will ordinarily show no re- version to the eliminated characters. The new race is established but it is not yet perfected. In the process of hybridization, the various characters often become somewhat damaged. It will be necessary to improve them; and this is done by the process of selection. Those individuals in which one or more of the characters approach most nearly to the ideal are preserved for breeding. Thus, in a few generations the ideal may be fully achieved. It may be of assistance to % give here a table of some of the ™ SS Fig. 528. A Game-colored Friz- zled fowl. See Fig. 530. characters of Se oN poultry, show- ENS See ing which are i ly ee Sy dominant and Kt PRS 3 . which recessive. KN NG WAS ; SSSR It sometimes HA REN happens that NVIN MS certain ad- vanced condi- Fig. 529. An albinic Silkie fowl. See Fig. 530. POULTRY 531 tions are incompletely dominant over the less ad- vanced or rudimentary characters. Characters usu- ally showing incomplete dominance are marked by aT. : aac Recessive Characters Dominant condition condition (Combaemarieane Lateral elements | No lateral ele- (in pea and rose) ments Cerebral closure . | Perfect, plain skull/Imperfect, hernia as in Houdan or Polish Crest . . 6 Present Absent Feather, form. . Typical, plain Embryonic, silky Feather, form. . Frizzled Plain WANTS 6 6 oo 6 Present Absent Skin color . . .| Pigmented, black Unpigmented Iris color. . . . | Heavily pigmented, Red black Plumage color Pigmented Albinic, white of silkies, ete. Plumage color . |Gray-whiteof White} Pigmented Leghorn Shafting. . .. Present Absent Penciling. . . . Present Absent Extra toes . . . +Present Absent Booting .... 7Present Absent Egg pigment . .| Present, brown Absent, white Broodiness . . . Sitting Non-sitting Combinations of characters. Ordinarily, the hybrid shows no new character but only a new combination of the parental char- acters. Occasionally, however, an apparent excep- tion makes its appearance. Thus, when a white and a black bird are mated, it sometimes happens that the hybrids have a blue plumage. This blue is really a fine mosaic of black and white and is best known in the race of poultry called Andalu- sian. When two blue birds are mated, however, they throw black and also white chicks as well as Fig. 530. The granddaughter, by in- blue ones. The breeding, of the Frizzled (Fig. 528) blacks and the and the Silkie (Fig. 529) fowls. Show- whites arehomo- ing how characters may be combined in the second hybrid generation. zygous and the blues heterozygous again. Similarly, under cer- tain circumstances the crossing of a light and a dark bird may produce offspring with a barred plum- age; and two such barred birds will throw light birds and dark birds again as well as barred birds. Again, if a single-combed fowl is crossed with one having two horns, as the Polish, the hybrid has a Y-shaped comb; but in F,, the single and the paired combs reappear. In all these cases we have a heterozygous form due to the mosaic-like union of the two contrasted characters. The mosaic is not a permanent character but only the badge of impurity. Whether a heterozygous form can ever be fixed is a moot question. The barred condition 532 POULTRY has apparently been fixed in the Plymouth Rock and a mottled condition in the spangled races, and it is even alleged by certain fanciers that they have fixed the Andalusian blue. The history of fixation, however, in any case, is still obscure. In order to show how characters may be com- bined in the second hybrid generation, Figs. 528— 530 are introduced. Fig. 530 shows the grand- daughter (by inbreeding) of the Frizzle and the Silkie. [Figs. 528, 529, are adapted from Publica- tion No. 52, Carnegie Institution of Washington.] Reciprocal crosses. The crossing of distinct varieties introduces cer- tain special questions in addition to the general one of the behavior of alternative characters. The commonest is that of the behavior of reciprocal eresses. When two races are crossed, are the off- spring the same whichever race is used as the male parent ? In general, it may be said the product of a given cross is the same as that of its reciprocal. This is true, however, only within limits. If one race is a bantam and the other large, the size of the egg and consequently of the chick will be determined by the mother, so that if the mother is the bantam the chicks will be bantams, but if she is of full size so will they be. There are occasion- ally other differences in reciprocal crosses. The present writer has found that the “booting” of the progeny is likely to be heavier when it is the mother that is booted than when it is the father. Other slight differences of this sort no doubt occur at times. Double mating. Quite different is the operation of double mating. Several races of poultry show sexual dimorphism, and breeders have sought to exaggerate the differ- ence between the sexes. If it is desired in the dark Brahma to perfect the penciling of the female but to group the colors of the male into masses, then one selects, to improve the hens, the best pen- ciled hens to mate with a cock showing as much lacing as possible ; and to improve the cocks, the darkest hens to go with a cock that is devoid of lacing and other small feather patterns. Thus, the sexual dimorphism in color pattern may be increased. Control of sex. Still another problem is that of the control of sex in the offspring. Since one cock will suffice for many hens, an excess of female offspring, especi- ally on egg-farms, is desired. Despite the fact that directions for securing a predominance of either sex are frequently published in poultry books, there is every reason for thinking that a great deviation from the average proportion of 50 per cent of each sex is found only as a rare acci- dent. It seems probable that sex is determined at the moment of fertilization of the egg and by a particular combination of particular kinds of germ cells. Sex control in birds, as in mammals, seems at present beyond our human power, notwithstand- ing certain opinions to the contrary. POULTRY Breeding superstitions. Two alleged phenomena of breeding must be relegated to the limbo of superstition. One is that of the influence of a former sire on the character of subsequent chicks. Even after a cock has been removed from a pen he may be the father of off- spring in that pen because the sperm of the male is retained in an active condition by the hens for ten days or more. But if, after the eggs have com- pletely ceased to be fertile, a new cock is added, different from the first, no influence of the first cross will be detected. Stories to the contrary doubtless depend on unsuspected impurity of the second cock. So, too, there is no ground for believing in the “influence of the imagination” in modifying the character of the offspring. One hears such stories as these: A flock of Brown Leg- horns in a pen adjacent to White Indian Games began to produce white progeny; or a breeder of White Cochins kept them next toa pen of Black Minoreas and the former produced chicks that were black splashed. In both cases it is more than likely that a cock from the adjacent pen climbed over the fence and fertilized the eggs. Reversion. One of the most striking instances of an appar- ently new character appearing in hybridization is seen in the examples described by Darwin as cases of reversion. Darwin taught that hybridization per se leads to a reversion on the part of the off- spring to the ancestral characters of the jungle- — fowl. An analysis of the facts in poultry does not support Darwin’s views of reversion. Black birds and buff birds may be crossed with White Leghorns without the appearance of the jungle type of coloration. When, however, a White Silkie (whose plumage is truly albinic) is crossed with a black bird, as Minorca or Spanish, the black sons have red on the back, hackle, saddle and wing bars, as in the jungle-fowl. Whence has the red come? Dar- win ascribed it to reversion. But if a White Silkie be crossed with a White Leghorn, the males are wholly white except for red hackle, saddle, back and wing bar. Other experiments show that the red comes from the Silkie but is not visible in it, due to the absence of pigment. When pigment is added (even the hidden pigment of the White Leg- horn plumage), the red appears. It is not the jungle-fowl coloration, but solely the red that results from the hybridization. The remainder of the hybrid plumage may be white or black or buff. The alleged reversion of hybrid fowls is then merely the staining, as it were, through a cross with a pigmented bird, of an otherwise invisible color pattern in albinie fowl. Literature. Darwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication; Bateson, Mendel’s Principles of Heredity; C. C. Hurst, Experiments with Poultry, Report to the Evolution Committee, Royal Society, II, London (1905); Davenport, Inheritance in Poul- try, Carnegie Institution of Washington (1906). [See also page 527.] ’ POULTRY Feeding Poultry. By James HE. Rice. Domestic poultry are omnivorous. All classes of poultry, including the domestic fowls, turkeys, ducks, geese and guineas, eat freely and naturally of the grains, meat foods and green forage. They differ, however, in habits of eating as regards their preferences for certain classes of foods. For example, fowls may be classed primarily as grain- eaters, turkeys and guineas as insect-hunters, ducks and geese as grazers and fishers. What constitutes a good ration. The digestible nutrients.—First of all, a good ration must contain a sufficient quantity of diges- tible nutrients to meet the needs of the animal. This means that the ration must be varied in quantity and composition, according to the size, age, condition and environment of the animal. The amount of food which a flock of fowls requires must be determined by knowing the kinds and composition of the foods available, and the kind, size, age and productivity of the bird to be fed. With these data, rations may be compounded which will be likely to meet the requirements. With our present knowledge of the digestibility of feeds and the feeding standards for poultry, it is unsafe to depend solely on calculated rations. The animal’s appetite is a safer guide as to the amount of food which it needs than is the most carefully calculated ration weighed out and fed according to accepted standards. The fact that the food requirements of animals vary from day to day makes it impossible to calculate accurately in advance just how much of each nutrient should be fed. Feeding standards, nevertheless, are exceed- ingly helpful in forming a judgment of the animal’s probable needs, to prevent the possible serious mis- take of feeding radically wrong rations, which could not supply the needs of the system because they contained too much or too little bulk, or fiber, or ash, or protein, or carbo-hydrate material, in proportion to the other ingredients. A perfect ration should satisfy the following requirements of the animal: Repair broken-down tissue ; make new growth; produce heat ; furnish energy ; store up surplus fat to be used for heat or energy in case of need ; meet the needs of repro- duction. The ration should be properly balanced—There should be exactly enough, and no more, of the pro- tein and carbohydrate nutrients to meet the needs of the bird. A ration must have the protein, carbo- hydrate and fat in proper proportion without an excess of any one. If the protein is lacking, the animal cannot make the white of the egg, nor grow new muscular tissue, and in the end will starve even with an abundance of carbohydrate. If there should be a deficiency of carbohydrate and a sur- plus of protein, the animal would be obliged to burn up protein for fuel, or use it for the formation of fat, which would be too expensive, and might also be injurious by overtaxing the kidneys in carrying off the waste nitrogen. According to our POULTRY 533 present knowledge of balanced rations for fowls, the food nutrients should be fed in about the pro- portion of one pound of protein to 4.6 pounds of carbohydrates for egg-production; one pound of protein to seven or eight pounds of carbohydrates for fattening; and one pound of protein to four pounds of carbohydrates for raising young chickens. The ration should consist of food which the fowl likes.—Fowls have a decided preference for certain foods which cannot be accounted for by their com- position. Rye and wheat are almost identical in composition, yet fowls will eat wheat in preference to rye. The following grains are preferred by fowls in the order in which they are named : Wheat, corn, oats, peas, barley, buckwheat and rye. The food should be palatable. The palatability of a food may be said to be the quality which determines a fowl’s preference for it. Flavor and texture deter- mine the palatability. The medicinal qualities and composition also are determining factors. The way a food tastes has much influence on the way it is digested. Digestion begins in the mouth. Foods that are not palatable do not stimulate the proper secretions for digestion. The mouth and stomach must be educated as to what is best for the system. The stomach tells the palate what it does not like. Habit plays an important part in determining a fowl’s preference for certain foods. It will refuse to eat grains at first, because they are new to it, that it later learns to like best: e. g., wheat will be refused at first by fowls that have been accustomed to eating other grains. The ration should provide a good variety.—A good variety of food helps to increase the palatability of a ration. Fowls become tired of eating the same kind of food continuously. It is better to feed several kinds of foods, all of which an animal likes, than it is to feed any one food, no matter how good it may be. Fowls thus have a better chance to balance their own rations, and get foods that are best suited to their needs. A good variety prevents a fowl from eating exclusively of one grain which it may prefer, but which might cause over-fatness. It appears to be immaterial whether a variety of grain is fed at each feeding, or whether the same grains are fed separately and alternately during the day or on different days. The ration should have sufficient bulk to enable the digestive secretions to act on it quickly—When a large amount of certain concentrated ground grain is fed, the ration may be so concentrated that it becomes compacted in the crop. Because of the concentrated nature of a finely ground ration, which makes it possible for the food to pass quickly through the intestinal tract, the fowl is more easily over-fed. Thus, a certain amount of bulk in a ration is necessary. This is provided by feeding wheat bran, clover, alfalfa meal, or the like, to overcome the too concentrated nature of such foods as oil-meal, wheat middlings, corn meal, and the like. The whole or cracked grains also give bulk to a ration. The ration should not contain too large an amount of indigestible fiber—When adding bulk to a ration, it should be done by adding foods that are readily 534 POULTRY digestible. Foods that are bulky are likely to con- tain a large proportion of woody fiber (cellulose), which the animal is compelled to reduce to fineness, and pass through the body undigested. This re- quires a large and unnecessary expenditure of energy, and makes impossible the rapid metabolic changes that are necessary with the laying or growing fowl. Part of the ration should be of whole grain and part of ground feed.—Fowls are essentially grain- eaters. They prefer whole or cracked grain to the ground grains. The most rational system of feed- ing fowls requires that both whole grain or cracked grain and ground feed should be supplied. The whole grain insures the activity of the body in grinding the grains and makes over-feeding less likely. It also has the advantage of inducing fowls to take exercise in hunting for the grain, which shduld always be scattered in a deep litter of straw. Ordinarily, if left to their own choice, with free access to both whole grain and ground feed, fowls will consume one-third to one-half ground feed, depending largely on the nature of the mixture. All of the common grains, with the exception of peas, have a wide nutritive ratio. The ground feed mixture, therefore, should be made narrow. In order to do this, a little oil-meal or alfalfa meal may be used to advantage. Generally, however, the meat food will have to be depended on to nar- row the ration. [See page 107.] It seems necessary to feed at least one-third ground grain in order to supply the fowls with readily available nourishment, especially when they are in heavy laying. Fowls do not seem capa- ble of grinding the whole or cracked grain rapidly enough to satisfy their needs, except during the season when they are least productive. Wheat is the most desirable of grain foods. Corn, however, because it is usually cheaper, should be used largely throughout the United States. Heavy oats are next to be preferred; light oats are to be avoided. Peas, although one of the best foods for poultry, cannot be used extensively because of scarcity and high price. For ground feeds, the wheat by-products—bran and middlings,—and corn meal and ground oats are the most desirable. Gluten meal or gluten feed is being fed successfully in a limited quantity in connection with other ground feeds. As a rule, fowls do not eat oil-meal so readily as the other ground feeds, but because of its richness, it is desirable to include not to exceed 5 to 10 per cent of it in the ground feed ration. Cottonseed meal has not proved satisfactory. Meat in some form should be a part of every ration, whether for raising the young, or for feeding the mature stock for production or fatlening.—A pound of protein in the form of meat appears to be more valuable than a pound of protein in any other class of foods. Meat should form at least 10 to 15 per cent of the total food consumed each day, depending on the kind of meat and other food and their composition. Beef scraps, because of high protein content and good keeping qualities, POULTRY must be mainly depended on. Skimmed milk at 15 to 20 cents per 100 pounds is probably the most desirable of all meat foods, to be fed either in the liquid or as pot cheese. Sour milk is more desira- ble than sweet, but it is not well to alternate sour milk and sweet milk. Green cut bone is very desir- able for variety, and one-half ounce may be fed each day per fowl in addition to other meat foods. Milk albumen has not been sufficiently tested to warrant a recommendation. Green food should jorm some part of the daily ration.—The chief value in feeding green food is the fact that the succulence and medicinal quali- ties assist in the digestion of other foods and tend to promote health if judiciously fed. The most desirable green food is clover pasturage. Cut clover, fed either dry or steamed, furnishes excellent green food for winter use, but lacks in succulence. The mangel beet, when fed in limited quantity, is perhaps the best winter green food. Cabbage, if fed in a reasonable quantity, does not appear to injure the flavor of the product and is much rel- ished by all kinds of poultry. Grit forms an indispensable part of a poultry ‘ration.—Experiments at Cornell University have proved that grit has a double function, namely to grind or crush food in the gizzard and to furnish lime. Most of the grits on the market contain little or no lime. Cracked oyster shells or mortar are the chief sources of lime. They also meet the need for grinding material. The foods should not injure the flavor or the color of the product.—It has been demonstrated by sey- eral experiments and is well recognized in practice that certain foods influence the color of the yolk of the egg, the fat of the body, the skin and the feathers. Yellow.corn and clover impart a deep yellow color pigment. Wheat, oats, and especially buckwheat, produce a very light colored pigment. Experiments at Cornell University show that onions and fish, except when fed in excess, do not impart a marked flavor to the eggs. Cabbage fed in excess, in two carefully conducted trials, did not produce undesirable flavor that could be detected even in the raw egg. The cost of the ration should be considered.—The fact that the principal poultry foods vary in cost from time to time, according to the supply and demand, makes it desirable that rations be varied somewhat to suit the market conditions. It is sel- dom necessary to feed largely of the most expen- sive foods. Generally, the by-product feeds are less expensive to purchase per pound of food nutrient than the whole grains. This is particularly true in the case of wheat, buckwheat and corn. Wheat bran, wheat middlings, buckwheat middlings and gluten meal, by-products respectively of the grains mentioned, should be used largely. Special types of poultry-feeding. Fowls appear to need more available protein and fat during the molting period than at other times. This seems to be due to the need of supplying nitrogen for the growth of feathers and fat, to be readily converted into heat. The practice of POULTRY “forcing the molt” has not met with universal approval. It is reported to have proved satisfactory in inducing fowls to molt earlier in the fall, and to lay more eges during early winter than they other- wise would. Three experiments at Cornell Univer- sity with one-, two- and three-year-old Leghorns, indicated that it did not pay to “force the molt.” It is possible that forcing the molt may produce different results with other breeds of fowls. In the light of our present knowledge, the best general practice appears to be to furnish the most favor- able conditions for production at all seasons of the year, and never to check production with the expec- tation of again starting it at astated time. It is easier to stop hens laying than it is to start them. Feeding according to age. The system of feeding must be adapted to the age of the fowl. Young fowls naturally utilize their food in the production of new growth and energy. Mature fowls, having completed their growth, utilize their food in production. Old fowls, having completed their development and their years of greatest production, have a tendency to use their food in the production of fat. Feeding fowls during different seasons of the year. Theoretically, more heat-forming foods should be fed during the winter season than at other times ; that is to say, wider rations are required during the cold weather, and narrower rations during the warm weather. Generally this is accom- plished by increasing or decreasing the amount of corn fed during different seasons of the year, corn having a wider nutritive ratio, and therefore, pre- sumably, being a better producer of heat and energy, than most of the other feeds. Feeding sitting hens. A broody hen needs less food than at any other time of her life. As a rule, she is mature, non-pro- ductive, non-active and simply requires a main- tenance ration. This should be largely of whole grain with a limited amount of vegetable food, if any, and only a small amount of meat. The object is to prevent the development of the ovaries by too large a supply of readily digested nourishment. Breaking up broody hens. The broody hen should be fed with a view to inducing egg-production in the shortest possible time. It should be fed, therefore, the most attrac- tive and best ege-producing rations. The feeding of the breeding stock. In feeding the breeding stock, the object should be to prevent over-feeding, especially during the non-productive seasons—fall and early winter. Asa result, a large egg-yield cannot be secured. The rations should not be too narrow, and thus produce a phlegmatie condition, nor too fattening, and cause sluggishness and fatty degeneration, either of which would come by over-feeding of rich rations. A limited amount of meat, whole grains fed in a POULTRY 585 litter to mduce exercise in the open air, and a limited amount of green food with an abundance of bone and oyster shell, should be fed. Feeding the different breeds. The heavier and the more sluggish the breed, the greater is the tendency to become fat, and, there- fore, the greater is the need of proper methods of feeding, which will compel exercise and prevent over-eating. The lighter and more active breeds apparently can be fed a wider ration with less danger of over-fatness than can the heavier and more phlegmatic breeds. The fine art of feeding consists in furnishing the right kind of foods in such a manner that the fowls can be kept in the best physical condition. This means that the fowls must have some surplus fat in the body. A poor hen cannot lay. A very fat hen may become so sluggish that death will result from fatty degener- ation. The fowl thatis in the best laying condition always has a large amount of surplus fat in the body. How to furnish the available nourishment to meet the needs of egg-production, and at the same time prevent the fowls from becoming too fat, is the problem in feeding. In a word, it consists in feeding a well-balanced ration in such a manner that the appetite shall be kept good, which means that once a day fowls should come eagerly for the food, preferably in the morning, and once a day have all the food that they can possibly consume, preferably at night. Feeding turkeys. Turkeys are grain- and insect-eaters. They are the best of foragers. When very young, they are the most delicate of poultry. After they “throw the red,” i. e., show their comb, which they do when they get their first full plumage, they are among the most hardy of poultry. The young, therefore, need great care when they are reared artificially and in large numbers. The feed for the first few days should be largely of bread and milk, made crumbly and mixed with “not cheese” in the proportion of three of the former to one of the latter. To this should be added a little chopped onion. This mixture should be fed two or three times a day, as much as they will eat. Once or twice a day they should be given finely cracked corn, wheat and oatmeal, mixed in about equal parts. The proportion of bread and ‘milk should be decreased after the second week, at the same time finely cracked grains and pot cheese being fed more largely. Fine grit and charcoal should always be available. Water should be pro- vided in areceptacle where the young turkeys can- not become wet. Gradually, as the turkeys grow, coarsely cracked or whole grain may be used, and a good grade of beef scrap gradually substituted for the “pot cheese.” The latter, however, is to be preferred. A board enclosure, one foot high and twelve or fourteen feet square, placed around the coop on closely cropped, clean grass sod, makes a desirable place to start young turkeys. Until they have thrown their wing and tail feathers, so as to fly 536 POULTRY over the board, they cannot be trusted to roam far from the coop. They should not be allowed at any time to run in the wet grass, as they are easily chilled. More young turkeys are lost through exposure than through improper feeding. When turkeys are permitted to roam the fields, which they do in most cases, they will get a large part of their living. In order to make certain that they are well fed, and also to induce them to return, they should always be fed grain at night. This usually will be corn, although wheat, oats or peas may be added to advantage. Turkeys, young or old, should never be permitted to run with the young or old of the domestic fowl. They are not so lively, rugged or intelligent as chickens, and therefore suffer when compelled to compete with them for food. When fattening turkeys for market, it is better to permit them to continue on free range. They worry in confinement and will not eat well. They should be fed all the whole corn they will eat at night. In the morning they should be given corn meal, middlings and meat scrap, mixed with sour skimmed milk. This mixture should be about in the proportion of 60 pounds of corn meal, 30 pounds of wheat middlings, 10 pounds of beef scraps, and enough sour skimmed milk to make a thick dough. Turkeys may be finished during the last week by placing them in dark coops and cram- ming them by hand with pellets consisting of two parts of corn meal, two parts of ground oats (shucks out), one part of wheat middlings, and one part of meat scraps, mixed with sour skimmed milk. The breeding stock should be permitted to roost in the open air, but be protected from the storms and winds. This exposure requires fattening foods to enable the turkeys to keep warm. Whole corn alone is too fattening. Oats and peas should also be fed. During the breeding season, one feeding a day of ground feed, which contains a liberal amount of meat, should be given. A good mixture for this purpose is equal parts, by weight, of corn meal, wheat bran, wheat middlings, ground oats and meat scraps, mixed with sour or sweet skimmed milk. Oyster shells and water should be available at all times. Literature. For references, see page 527. Feeding Water-fowl. By Geo. H. Pollard. The most common water-fow] raised in domesti- cation, and the ones receiving attention here, are ducks and geese. While these are commonly con- sidered to be water-fowl, because they delight to be in the water, the accessibility of a body of water for swimming purposes is no longer held to be necessary in raising them. Feeding ducks. Under natural conditions, ducks feed on water- grasses and roots, and on the lower animal life POULTRY which inhabits low lands and wet places. Under the influence of domestication, their habits have changed somewhat, although their instincts are much the same as in the wild state. The best feeder is the man who considers these facts and works as much as possible along natural lines. The feeding of breeding birds necessarily differs somewhat from the feeding of market stock. In either case, the ration should be made up of such of the accessible grains and supplies as will furn- ish a palatable mixture at a minimum or fair cost. Ducks are voracious feeders, and, in order to save a profit, waste both in cost and in spending must be carefully looked after. When breeding birds have a water-run, coarser and richer food may be fed more safely than when they do not, as the extra exercise the ducks take will utilize the materials more fully. When both free range and water-ways are to be had, either whole corn, wheat, oats or barley, or a mixture of any or all, may be fed, and the ducks will “balance the ration” for themselves and do well. If there isa profitable market for the eggs, either for table or for incubation, it is well to provide a supply of good beef scrap and feed it in a box or hopper, allowing the ducks to help themselves. A constant supply should be kept before them, or it may be given in such quantities as will produce the results wanted most economically. When kept in confinement, and the earliest and greatest possible number of eggs are wanted, soft food should be fed night and morning, and a light feed of hard grains given in the middle of the day. A good mixture is three parts of corn meal, two parts of wheat bran, one part of red-dog or low- — grade feeding flour, one part of cut alfalfa, cut clover, or vegetables, such as cabbages, turnips or beets cooked or suitably chopped, and one part of best beef scrap, or an equal quantity of dried and prepared fish. When fresh fish can be procured, it may be fed raw or cooked, if made fine enough. The mixture is moistened to a crumbly consistency with cold water. Night and morning, as much of this or some similar mixture as the ducks will clean up within fifteen or twenty minutes should be supplied. If preferred, this mixture may be fed dry, in which case it should be kept before the ducks all the time in boxes or hoppers. Obviously, if fish is used it must be dried and prepared. This method saves much of the labor, and the labor cost is one of the heaviest items in the production of ducks. Drinking-water should be within reach at all times. Owing to the habit of washing down their food, ducks should never be fed without a plenti- ful supply of water easily available. When there is green range, no clover or vege- tables need be added to the ration. Sometimes it pays to feed more meat and meal in the laying sea- — son and less in the dry months. Gluten, hominy chops, or any of the various food-stuffs, may be substituted in the above ration, and a close watch of effects will determine which is the most profit- able under the special conditions of the feeder. The main point to keep in mind is that full feeding POULTRY of satisfying feeds is generally the most profitable, -and in this respect the freest spender is the best saver. Young ducks intended for market must be pushed from hatching to killing time. All the profit to be made depends on quick growth. The leading factor in this growth is a proper supply of animal food in some palatable form. High-grade beef scrap is the main dependence of most growers. Properly pre- pared fish will answer as well. Some growers object to fish, on the ground that it flavors the carcass of the duckling. Unless it is an oily, rancid prepara- ation, it will seldom cause such trouble. Ducklings should not be fed until they are thirty- six to forty-eight hours old. The first feed may be a mixture of two-thirds wheat bran and one-third corn meal, moistened with water or milk, and with a raw egg stirred in with each quart of the grain. Tt is moistened only enough to make a slightly damp, crumbly mass. A little sand or prepared grit is added, and this feed is kept before the ducklings for forty-eight hours. The attendant must be care- ful to renew it before souring, and feed only sweet food. Clean water must be provided in such kind of fountain or vessel as will let the ducklings get their bills and heads but not their *bodies into the water. Water should be kept before them night and day, until killing time. To prevent their play- ing in it, some growers water only at feeding time after the ducklings are a few days old. They should not be allowed water-runs, if the quickest growth is wanted. By the time the ducklings are one week old, they should be getting as much as 5 per cent of beef scraps, and three parts of wheat bran, and two parts of corn meal. The proportions should be changed gradually, until at six weeks old the meal and bran are equal, and the beef scrap amounts to 15 per cent of the whole. After the first few days, the feed should be given four times a day until six weeks old, and then three times until the ducks are marketed. On this simple ration, ducks can be carried to a good market condition at ten weeks old. If there is too great looseness of the bowels, the proportion of scrap should be reduced for a time. Many persons feed a greater proportion of meal the last two or three weeks. Green food is greatly relished by the ducklings, but too much must not be fed, or the skin will become yellow; the best markets prefer white- skinned ducks and geese. Wheat bran helps greatly in this respect, as well as in growing the frame. It is well to provide a constant supply of crushed oyster shell, and gravel or grit. The rations given for both old and young birds, while general, are sufficient, although they may be varied greatly to suit conditions and the cost of different grains. Dry-feeding, or the feeding of a mixture of ground grains in a dry state, is yet in an experimental stage. The success of this system, which is coming into general use with other poultry, would revolutionize the business of growing market ducks. The grain mixture is left before them at all times, and the hoppers or boxes are filled only as fast as emptied by the ducklings, which may POULTRY 5387 be once or twice a week if the holders are suffi- ciently large. There is yet some question whether the ducklings can be grown as big in ten or twelve weeks, at which age the pin-feathers start’ and they should be dressed. If permitted to run three or four weeks longer, they will gain one to two pounds in weight and will again be in condition for marketing. On the later hatches, at least, it seems as if the great saving in labor and the gain in weight would more than pay for the extra four weeks of keep. Ornamental ducks and pet stock may be fed any- thing they will eat, save a too full ration of fat- tening foods. When only a few are kept, the hard grains will answer for the old stock most of the time, and the young may have any simple mixture of soft food. Green food may be given as freely as convenient. As quick growth is not a necessity, there is no need of the great forcing which must be given market birds. Feeding geese. When given the opportunity, geese graze almost as freely as cattle. This fact leads many persons to suppose that a grass range is all that is neces- sary for growing market geese. This is a mistake. Breeding geese will do well on a grass range, espe- cially if a low meadow or marsh with considerable water. In winter they should have a moderate grain feed and a liberal allowance of roots, cab- bage, or other succulent food, but not too much of a fattening nature. The closer the confinement the more care is necessary in this respect. Geese fatten readily, and the breeding stock should not be permitted to put on too much weight. At about laying time, the attendant should begin to increase the feed and give twice a day a liberal ration, containing considerable animal food in some form. The ordinary duck foods will answer. After the grass has a good start, one full feed of grain a day will do if the geese have sufficient range. Geese wash down their food much the same as ducks, and water should always be accessible at feeding time. Goslings do best when they have a limited range on fresh, tender grass. This they eat freely, and they may be grown on it after a fashion; but they will never make the size, and will fatten less rapidly than when fed a proper grain ration. On grass range, and given a food similar to that for young ducklings, and fed as often, they will grow rapidly and make weight faster than any other poultry. When grass-fed geese are fattened for the market, they may be fed corn meal with 10 per cent of beef scrap added. This may be scalded or wet with cold water. Whole corn may be fed once a day. It usually takes about four weeks to fatten them properly. Gravel or grit in some form should always be within reach. Ornamental and fancy geese may be fed the same as ornamental ducks, and for the same reasons. Literature. For references, see page 527. 538 POULTRY Fattening Poultry. Fig. 531-539. By W. R. Graham. Much of the poultry offered for sale on our mar- kets is thin in flesh and poorly dressed,—a testi- mony to the lack of skill or care on the part of the grower. The majority of the chickens now sold represent a waste. Not only are they inferior in quality and quantity of flesh, but they are very unsatisfac- tory to the buyer. It is the purpose of this discussion to deal almost entirely with the fattening, or perhaps oae should say the “fleshening,” of chickens, and to suggest how it may be accomplished. What applies to chickens will apply largely to fowls also. As with other classes of live-stock, much de- pends on the condition of the subject that is to be fed, whether it is old or young, large or small, bred from meat-producing breeds and of a strain in which this habit is well established, or from a strain that has no partic- ular ability to put on flesh with economy. Fig. 531. Fowl with well-devel- oped breast. Fowl with very poor breast development. The type for meat-production. The writer has paid considerable attention to the question of type for meat-production, and begs to submit the following discussion taken from Bul- letin No. 151, published by the Ontario Depart- ment of Agriculture, Toronto : “When looking over dressed poultry in some of the exporters’ shops, I have often thought how easy it would be to improve the appearance of much of the ordinary poultry, and some of that which is specially fattened, if the birds were bred to a proper type. I have spent much time in examining different types of birds, alive and dressed, and in observing the feeding capacity of certain types; but it would take years to arrive at definite con- clusions on these points. I am of the opinion, how- ever, that one of the most important things to be sought is constitution. This may have no actual market value, but it certainly has much to do with the bird’s ability to grow and put on flesh. What we want is a good feeder and an economical pro- ducer. Generally, a bird with a short, stout, well- curved beak, a broad head (not too long), and a bright, clear eye, has a good constitution. I have noticed that when a bird has a long, narrow beak, a thin, long comb and head, and an eye some- what sunken in the head, it is usually lacking in constitution. Such a bird is likely to have a narrow, long body and long legs, on which it sel- dom stands straight. There are some exceptions to this rule ; yet, generally speaking, if a bird has POULTRY a good head the chances are favorable for a good body; and if it has a poor head the chances: are against it. I have frequently noticed in the rose-comb breeds, such as Wyandottes, that a good- shaped one is seldom found with a long, narrow comb. “The neck should be moderately short and stout, indicating vigor. The breast is the most impor- tant point in a market chicken. It should be broad and moderately deep; and if broad, it will present a fine appearance and appear well-fieshed. It is quite possible that a broad, deep breast will carry more meat than a moderately deep breast of the same width ; yet there is no doubt that the latter will present much the better appearance, and sell more quickly and at a higher price in the market. The breast-bone should be well covered with flesh to the very. tip. “When considering the length of the breast, we must try to have it come well forward (Fig. 531), and not be cut off at an angle, as in Fig. 532. The body, in general, should present the appearance of an oblong when the head, neck and tail are removed. We frequently see birds that are very flat in front, and cut up behind, as in Fig. 533. Chickens of this class have a very short breast; and if the breast happens to be deep, as it is in this bird, the chicken will have a very poor appearance when dressed, as it will show a marked lack of width and length of breast, with excessive depth. Notice that the head is narrow and long, the body is narrow, the eye is bright but slightly sunken, the legs are long and not straight under the body. In Fig. 532, observe the very flat breast, the length of back, the long neck and head, the nar- row comb, the sunken eye, and the length of legs. The breast comes fairly well back, but not well forward. In Fig. 531, the bill is short and stout, but not so well curved as it should be. Note the breadth of head, the prominence and brightness of the eye, the short, stout neck, the great width of the breast, the ful- ness caused largely by the breast- bone ex- tending well forward, the short, stout legs (straight under the body), and the width between the legs. There is an expression about this chicken that indicates health and the essence of vigor. “The back should be broad, to give lung and heart capac- ity; and the width should extend well back to the tail- head. We do not want the Fig. 533. Fowl that is flat in front and cut up be- hind. : Fig. 534. wedge-shaped back, as seen in 4 gooa market type some fowls that have great of fowl. POULTRY width at the shoulders and taper rapidly toward the tailhead. “Tt is much easier to get good-shaped market pullets than good cockerels. The market demands a five-pound bird when dressed, and farmers have gone into raising big chickens. To that end they are asking for large, overgrown cockerels, of excessive depth, for breeders ; the result is that we get dressed chickens weighing four to five pounds each, that have immense, high breast-bones and very long legs. These are not attractive to the buyers, and they sell at less per pound than plumper birds. For example, if given two birds of the same width of breast, one is one and one-half inches deeper in the breast than the other. The result will be that one bird will look plump and sell rapidly, while the other will lack in plumpness and be slow in selling. This lack of plumpness can be bred out by using such males as that shown in Fig. 531. We like to have birds as well built as we can get them, and Fig. 531 is as near the ideal market chicken as we have in the breed which he repre- sents. The hen seen in Fig. 534 is a good market type. Note the width and fulness of breast. As a breeder, she is a little fine in bone, and rather too small. She has, however, that blocky appearance which is desirable. Fig. 5385 represents a cross- bred chick (sire, Buff Orpington; dam, Houdan). Note the length and fulness of the breast; also good beak and eye. Fig. 536 is a picture of a ten- weeks-old son of the male shown in Fig. 531. You will observe the same general characteristics as seen in the father—fair beak, good eye, excellent breast, both as to length and width, without exces- sive depth. The thigh is also medium in length. Fig. 5387 represents the long, narrow sort. Note the long beak, the narrow head, the sunken eye, the long neck, and long, crooked legs. When dressed, his ap- pearance will not be pleasing. Fig. 538 shows a good head throughout, very full and wide breast, and legs that stand well under the body and well apart. This bird is of the type we like to feed in the fattening crate.” The question of size and age have to be decided largely by one’s market. It is very little use Fig. 536. Young son of fowl \,° to try to paoyal in Fig. 531. + ote resemblance satisfy z of characters. buyer with a four-pound chicken when a six-pound one is wanted. It is the writer’s ex- perience that healthy, thrifty birds of such breeds as Ply- mouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, make most eco- nomical gains when they weigh three to four pounds each, or at an age of say three to three and one-half Fig. 535. A cross-bred chick, showing length and fulness of chest. POULTRY 539 months. By special feeding for three to four weeks, the birds will easily dress four to five pounds each. Large birds, weighing six to seven pounds, cost more to produce a pound of gain. One need not, under any consideration, ex- pect rapid gains or fine-ap- pearing dressed poultry from diseased or stunted stock. The fattening-pen. The fattening-pen should be dry and, if possible, well ventilated and free from drafts. The birds that are cooped must not be placed in direct drafts or many will take cold. An open shed, with three sides tight, makes a good place for early fall or summer fattening, but for late fall more protection is required to secure the best gains. Crate-feed- ing vs. loose pen-feeding.—For a number of years the writer has conducted experiments with chickens in erates and in loose pens. He has tried six different feeders, with varying results. With some feeders, equally good results were secured with birds in crates as in loose pens. In the case of two feeders in particular, \ the birds could’ not be fed to | 2 advantage in loose pens as com- Pig pared with crates. With one He el feeder, on the other hand, slightly Aviones eee OCuLET returns were secured in type of fowl. Some cases with birds in pens. The majority of buyers of chick- ens seem to think that the crate-fed birds are much superior to those fed in loose pens. The writer prefers to feed birds in crates, for the rea- son that it takes lessroom. They are fed with less expenditure of labor, and a more even profit is returned. However, there are many persons who can get good results from feeding birds in box- stalls and like apartments. Construction of fattening crates.—A fattening crate is usually made six feet six inches long, eighteen to twenty inches high, and sixteen inches wide. It is divided into three compartments, each holding four to five birds, according to the size of the chickens. It is made of slats, except the ends and partitions between the compartments, which are solid wood. The slats on the top, bottom and back run lengthwise of the coop, while those on the front run up and down. They are usually one and one-half inches wide and five-eighths inch thick. Those in front are placed two inches apart to allow the chickens to put their heads through for feed- ing. The slats on the bottom are placed about three- fourths of an inch apart, so as to permit the drop- Fig. 538. A good type of fowl for fattening. 540 POULTRY pings to pass through to the ground. Care should be taken not to have the first bottom slat at the back fit closely against the back. An opening at this point prevents the droppings collecting and decomposing. The slats on the top and back are usually two inches apart. There is a small V-shaped trough arranged in front of the coop for feeding and watering the chickens. The trough is two to three inches deep and is generally made of three- fourth-inch lum- ber. Very fair coops may be made from old packing - boxes, by taking off the front and _bot- tom, and substi- tuting slats in their places. (Fig.539.) When fattening chickens inside of a building, it is well to darken the building and keep the birds as quiet as possible. Fig. 539. A single crate or coop for fattening fowls. Feeding. It is somewhat difficult to write clearly on this subject, as the writer’s experience has been largely in the production of white-fleshed chickens for home and export markets. The yellow-skinned Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes can be made fairly white if fed on such foods as milk, oats and buck- wheat. Some years ago, the writer took birds that were full brothers and fed some on such foods as the above, while others were fed yellow corn, boiled pumpkins ‘or red carrots. When the two lots were killed, one lot was nearly white in color of skin while the other was yellow. The object in feeding is not only to make flesh and fat, but also to soften the muscles. The softer the muscles, the more tender; and a tender, juicy chicken that carries plenty of flesh pleases the consumer. Sour milk has given better returns than sweet milk. The sour milk appears to aid digestion and the birds keep in better health when it is fed. When milk cannot be had, whey is useful, if some animal meal or beef scrap is fed with it ; not more than 10 per cent of the ration should be beef scrap. If nothing but water is available, the meat meal may be increased to 15 per cent. The best grain ration is composed of two parts of very finely ground oats, two parts of finely ground buckwheat, and one part of ground corn. This mixture is by weight, not by measure. To the ground grain, sufficient sour milk is added to make the mass about the consistency of gruel, or so that it will drip from a spoon like pancake batter. If the milk is thick, it will take nearly two pounds of milk to one of grain. A little salt is added two or three times a week. The writer feeds not more than one ounce to one hundred birds. Should the birds show signs of feather-pulling, the salt should be slightly increased. Other grain mixtures give good results. The food must be palatable and the grain finely ground. POULTRY If there is any secret in fattening chickens it is in the method of feeding. When the birds are first put in the crates or shut in the pen to be fattened, they should not be fed anything for the first twenty- four hours, or until such time as their appetite becomes keen. During the first week they should not be fed much more than one-half of what they would ordinarily eat. The writer usually begins by feeding one dozen chickens not more than eight to twelve ounces of grain mixed with about twice as much milk. After the first week the ration is grad- ually increased until the appetite is fully satisfied. Should the feeder fully satisfy the appetite of the chickens during the first three or four days, or even the first week they are in the crate, in all proba- bility the birds will do very poorly. A feeder with good judgment at no time will over-feed his birds. He should feed all they will eat after the first week, but should stop short of the full capacity. If the feeder can accomplish this, he will be able to get on an ordinary Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, or what might be called a general-purpose chicken, one and one-half to one and three-fourths pounds in three weeks’ feeding. Cockerels should be fed two weeks or more before they are killed and sold. The writ- er’s experience tends to show that if chickens can be purchased at eight cents per pound, live weight, and sold plucked, but not drawn, for twelve cents per pound, a return of fifty cents to one dollar per hour can be secured for the time it takes to feed the birds, allowing four to five cents each for pluck- ing, one dollar and thirty cents per hundred weight for grain, and twenty cents per hundred weight for skimmed milk. Literature. For references, see page 527. Capons and Caponizing. Figs. 540, 541. By T. Greiner. A capon is a castrated male fowl. The act of caponizing consists in the removal of the testicles of acockerel, in order that he may grow larger, become more gentle, and fatten more readily than he otherwise would. The castrated cockerel, or capon, grows somewhat plumper and fatter, even if not much heavier, than the unaltered male, and retains much of the tenderness and juiciness of flesh and the higher meat value of the spring chicken. Surplus cockerels of the larger yellow- skinned breeds, as the Brahma, Cochin, Wyandotte, Plymouth Rock, Indian Game, Rhode Island Red, and the like, may be, and are now to some extent, turned into capons and sold in our leading markets at prices ranging from sixteen cents to over thirty cents per pound. The Langshan, although white- skinned, also makes a good, large capon. The dressed capon of the Brahma, Langshan, and other large breeds often exceeds ten pounds in weight. The equipment. The first thing necessary is a good set of instru- ments. There are a number of different styles on the market. One of the best and handiest for the POULTRY beginner (Fig. 540) consists of a lance, spreader, steel hook, probe, a pair of nippers or tweezers and acanula. For the removal of the testicle, a piece of fine pliable wire is better than a horse hair (from the horse’s tail). Little bits of sponge are used to mop up any blood that may gather around the incision, or in the interior of the bird while under the oper- ation. There is little cause for nervousness or excitement on the part of the operator, for the operation does not appear to SS SS sil = arin tt ) Fig. 540. Acaponizingset. Beginning at the top: Lance, spreader, nip- pers, probe, steel hook, canula. cause much suf- fering or incon- venience to the bird. If a blood- vessel is accidentally ruptured, as may happen in a small percentage of the cases, the bird will quickly die under the operator’s hands, and may be used for the table. The operation. The operation is simple, and may be learned from printed instructions without actual practical dem- onstration. If the beginner has a chance to see it performed, all the better. The testicles are removed through an incision, about an inch in length, made between the last two ribs (those next to the hip, Fig. 541). The expert operator usually takes both testicles from one opening, on the left side. But to undertake this task usually means failure for the beginner, who will find it far less difficult, and less inconvenient and dangerous for the bird, to cut both sides, taking one testicle from each side. To prepare the cockerel for the operation, let him go with- out food for thirty to thirty-six hours. This is necessary so that the bowels will be empty, al- lowing the testicles to be seen and removed more easily. The beginner must be able to see what he is doing, and he there- fore needs good light,—subdued sunlight. The hours nine to eleven in the forenoon and two to five in the afternoon, during July, August and early Sep- tember, are the best. The expert can caponize on dark days, and at any hour of the day. He knows the exact location of the organs and can find them without being able to see them plainly. The begin- ner must see them for safe operation. During the noon hours on a clear day, the sun’s rays being intercepted by the operator’s head, so deep a shadow is cast that nothing inside the fowl can be seen to Fig. 541. Diagram of ribs. Dotted line shows where to cut. POULTRY 5AL advantage. With the sun nearer the horizon, say half way between there and the. zenith, the table or barrel on which the bird is fastened may be tilted enough to catch the direct sun rays through the incision so that the beginner can plainly see the interior organs. A rather lean bird, weighing two pounds or less, is a better subject for the operation than a fleshy one of much heavier weight. Fasten the bird on its left side, in any convenient way, on a plain, light operating table, or on the head of a barrel. A good, simple method is to loop a cord around the wings, near the body, and have a weight fastened to the free end, suspended from the side of the table or barrel. Another cord is looped around the legs just above the feet, with a weight hanging down on the other side of the table or barrel. This will hold the victim firmly in proper position. Pluck the few small feathers that are found over the last ribs close to the hip, pull the skin toward the hip with the left hand, while the right hand, holding the lance, makes the incision with a quick but careful dip. There is seldom much bleeding. Any blood may be mopped up with a sponge moistened with warm water or a very weak solution of car- bolic acid. With healthy birds there is no danger from blood poisoning. Insert the spreader to keep the cut surfaces apart. With the fine steel hook, carefully tear the thin membrane (peritoneum) that covers the intestines and bring the interior organs to full view. If the testicle is not already in plain sight, introduce the small ring of the probe and push the bowels aside until the object sought after is found. Next slip the fine wire loop of the canula around the testicle, and by twisting and pulling the wires, detach that organ and pull it up through the incision. The cord or membrane to which it is attached may have to be severed, say an eighth or a quarter of an inch from the testicle, with the lance. Remove the spreader and let the skin slip back over the wound. Then turn the bird over on the right side, and go through the same proceeding as before on the other side. Loosen the capon and mark him in any way desired, if by nothing more than by cutting off the , end of one of his toes. Give him his freedom and plenty to eat. He will have a ravenous appetite and grow rapidly, and finally get very fat. The wound heals over perfectly in less than ten days, so that only a light scar is left. For a week or so after the operation, capons are usually given soft food only, and had better be kept in a yard by themselves. If wind-puff (a gathering of air under the outer skin) occurs, it is easily relieved by pricking the skin with a sharp- pointed sterilized pen-knife. Capons may be kept until the winter or spring following, and then killed for use or sale. At times they have been used for brooding newly hatched chicks. Literature. Dow, Capons and Caponizing, Clarence C. DePuy, publisher, Syracuse, N. Y.; Greiner, Capons for Profit, Cyphers’ Incubator Company, Buffalo, N. Y. [For further references, see page 527.] 542 POULTRY Incubation and Brooding. Fig. 542-546. By Charles A. Cyphers. On commercial poultry-farms, the artificial incu- bating and brooding of chicks is an accepted prac- tice. It has long since passed the experimental stage. It has contributed no small part to the development of an extensive commercial poultry industry. A knowledge of the principles involved is a necessary part of a poultryman’s equipment. Chickens are grown artificially because it is difficult to get enough broody hens to hatch the eggs in large numbers, and hens do not sit during the months when it is desired to raise the birds. Small chickens are raised through the winter for broiling and frying, and large roasting chickens or capons are hatched and reared through the fall and winter, to be marketed in the spring, when the sup- ply of soft roasting chickens produced under natural A modern incubator, small size. Fig. 542. methods during the spring and summer has been consumed. These winter and spring birds bring high prices. Large producers of market eggs hatch and rear their birds artificially in the early spring months before the hens begin to sit. By so doing, they are able to get their birds developed and to lay in the early fall. Marketeggs bring high prices in the fall and winter, because the larger number of hens are still hatched under natural methods in the late spring and early summer, and they do not begin to lay until spring, leaving a period in the fall and winter when there is a short supply. Incubation. The essential feature of incubation is to apply to the egg a constant warmth of about 102° Fahr. In nature, we find the parent bird sitting on the eggs, imparting to them the warmth of the body. The only exception we find to this in nature is in the Megapodes, or Mound-birds, which are native to the Philippine islands, the islands of the Indian archipelago and Australasia. A huge mound of POULTRY decaying vegetable matter is raised, the eggs are deposited vertically in a circle at a certain depth, and the chick is developed with the aid of the heat of fermentation. There is a theory that the heat of the sun is suf- ficient for incubation in tropical climates ; and the ostrich is said to leave her eggs to be hatched by the heat of the sun’s rays alone, when she breeds in the region of the equator. This is a fallacy, how- ever, as a steady continuous temperature of about 102° Fahr. is requisite for successful incubation. The heat of the sun, alternating with the cold of night, would hatch no bird’s egg. The ostrich deposits about fifteen eggs in a hollow of the sand, the male bird helps to incubate, and the young are” excluded in thirty-five or forty days, according to the species. The body of the parent bird not only protects the egg from the chill of night, but also from the heat of the sun during the day. It imparts its own even body warmth to theegg. [See Ostrich, page 511.] When a fertile egg is laid and becomes cold, the germ remains dormant until heat is applied, when this stimulus rouses the sleeping energy to vital ‘action. The embryo is dependent on an external source for the warmth necessary to its full develop- ment. In other words, all vital action requires a certain amount of heat for its due performance, and can continue only within a certain definite range of temperature, within the limits of which it is excited by the additional application of the heat, and depressed by its abstraction. This is no less true of the embryonic life within the ineubat- ing egg, than it is with the adult. In the adult, heat is obtained by endowing the body itself with the means of generating warmth, and this heat generated within the body is subject to constant regulation through the equalizing powers of the animal organism. With the developing embryo in the egg, which has no power to maintain its own temperature, and is wholly dependent on external influences for its development, an even tempera- ture of 102° must be maintained for the full period of incubation. With domestic hen eggs, this period is twenty-one days; with duck eggs, twenty-eight days; with geese eggs, thirty-five days. Ostrich eggs require the longest period of incubation, vary- ing from thirty-five to forty days, according to the species. The origin of the artificial hatching of bird’s eggs is obscure. We have authentic accounts of the Egyptian methods as practiced in the twelfth cen- tury. Large ovens, or mammals, of sun-dried brick were constructed. These were made large enough for the attendant to enter and work around and handle the eggs. They were heated with smudge fires, and the proper temperature determined by the sense of touch. The Chinese were among the first to practice the art. The eggs were packed between layers of por- ous paper, and were placed for the first few days in a closed closet or bin, where they were heated with a charcoal fire. After a certain degree of development of the chick was established, the ani- mal heat generated within the egg was utilized to POULTRY ‘effect incubation. This close packing made it nec- essary to expose the eggs to the air for a short period each day, in order to supply sufficient oxy- gen to complete the development of the embryo. A day or two before exclusion, the eggs were unpacked and laid on shelves between layers of porous paper until they began to hatch, when the top layer was removed. The rooms in which the eggs were placed were kept warm by utilizing the heat of the sun; and the temperature was regu- lated by the use of shutters. The art was thus practiced only in warm climates, and its successful performance required long experience ; so that the trade was usually handed down from father to son. Modern artificial incubating and brooding bear but little resemblance to the ancient art. Both the English and French built hatching ovens heated by coal fires about 1770; but portable incubators ur did not come into existence, as far as we can tell by the patent office records, until 1846. It was not until about 1880 that port- able hatching machines came into popular use. In the past thirty years, portable artificial hatchers have been the subject matter for a great many patents. Various contrivances have been perfected for dif- fusing the heat in the hatching chamber so that all the eggs may receive the same degree of heat ; and various regulating devices have been designed for controlling the temperature. The commercial incubator (Fig. 542) or hatching machine has an incubating chamber with heavy walls to insulate it from outward changes in tem- perature. To diffuse the heat evenly, some manu- facturers use a circulation of hot air, while others use a radiator placed in the upper part of the egg- chamber, in which warm water circulates. The air or water is warmed by a small oil or gas heater attached to the side of the incubator. The temper- ature in the ege-chamber is controlled by a ther- mostat, which acts on levers and valves to regulate the height of the lamp or gas flame, or to regulate the flow of heated air into the incubating chamber. The young chick.—After the chicks are hatched they are left in-the incubator twenty-four to thirty- six hours to dry and to keep warm. The baby chick is particularly sensitive to the slightest draft. It is thinly clad, has little power of resistance, and can- not keep up its temperature in a cool room. The power cf resistance increases with its development. Within the egg, while the embryo is developing, it is immersed in a fluid, and breathes in like manner to a fish, by means of an outer circulatory system called the allantois. A short time before the chick is excluded from the shell, the lungs, which have previously been filled with the fluid, begin to dry out, and the chick has a double circulation. That is, Fig. 543. Double indoor brooder. POULTRY 543 it begins to breathe by inhaling the air contained in the egg at this time into the lungs, while the circulation in the allantois is gradually decreasing. As the chick breaks the shell the circulation in the allantois ceases, and then it depends entirely for Fig. 544. Interior view of double indoor brooder, ready for hover cover. the aération of the blood on the lungs. The change from the aquatic state to the aérial state is rapid, and when the chick is first excluded from the shell the vitality is low. It requires a few days before the circulation has become strong enough to give the chick any resisting force. Brooding. To help the chick maintain its temperature when it is artificially reared, not only is it necessary that it should have a place in which it can be kept warm by day, but it must have a place to sleep where the temperature is within a few degrees of the normal blood temperature. For this purpose, an artificial mother is provided, commonly called a brooder. (Figs. 548, 544.) This is usually divided into three compartments: A sleeping compartment or hover; a nursery in which the hover is placed and where the chicks are fed and confined for the first week ; and a temperate exercising room. For the first week the hover temperature is kept at 95° to 100°, and the nursery temperature at 80° to 85°. This high temperature enables the newly hatched chick to keep up its normal temperature until its Fig. 545. Interior of brooding house, showing (eight-pipe) hot-water system. vital forces are sufficiently developed to enable it to withstand a colder temperature. After the chick is six or seven days old, it is given a little more freedom, a little more exercising room, a little colder air to breathe. In this manner it is grad- ually hardened until it can maintain its own tem- perature in the outer atmosphere. For a time after the chick is first let out of the brooder, the temper- ature of the nursery and hover is kept up, so that should the chick feel chilly it may run to the hover for warmth. Because of the liability of the chick 544 POULTRY to become chilled if it strays too far from the brooder, it is confined to a space near the brooder for a week or two, and, in the early spring, when the weather is still chilly and damp, for a longer period. For brooding during the cold winter months, large houses are constructed, heated with hot- water pipes. (Fig. 545.) This heating system is controlled by an electric regulator so that the tem- is Fig. 546. A fifty-foot nursery brooder, capacity 2,500 chicks. perature varies but a few degrees. A large colony brooder that has been in operation is indicated in Fig. 546. : When growing broilers in the winter, the chicks are confined to a brooding house until they weigh one to two pounds before killing, according to the season and market demands. In growing winter roasting chickens, the cockerels are caponized at about two pounds in weight, after which they are removed to colder houses and grown to large size. In growing laying birds for egg-production, the birds are usually hatched in the late winter and early spring months. When about twelve weeks old they are placed out on grass runs in small col- ony houses scattered over the fields. Here the birds get plenty of insect life and green food, and with the fresh air and exercise develop strong, vigorous constitutions that will withstand the strain of heavy egg-production. Literature. The literature on this subject is meager. For references, see page 527. Preparing and Marketing Poultry Products, and the Care of Eggs. Figs. 547-551. By D. J. Lambert. Poultry designed for market, if well fed and cared for from the shell, will take on flesh rap- idly when cooped and given extra feed for two weeks previous to killing. An abundance of fat is not so desirable as a plump, well-rounded carcass POULTRY of fine-grained, soft, tender meat of superior table quality. Chickens of the same age should be cooped together, four or six in each pen. Coops should be slatted two inches apart to allow plenty of air. The bottom slats may be one-half inch apart. The coops should set up off the ground in a dry, shel- tered place. The food should be equal parts of wheat bran, corn meal and ground oats, cooked or scalded, or corn bread, wheat bread and milk. All that will be eaten three times a day should be fed in troughs placed directly in front of the slatted pens. Clean, cool water should be kept constantly before the fowls. No onions or meat food should be given during this special preparation. Uni- formity of size is secured by selecting those of the same breed and age. Young chickens, weighing one to one and one- half pounds each, are termed squab-broilers, and bring best prices in January. As the season ad- vances, the prices decline, and then the demand is for two- to two-and-one-half pound chickens ; these are called club-house or Philadelphia broilers. Later and larger market chickens, weighing three to three and one-half pounds each, are sold as fryers at a still lower price. Roasters, ranging from four pounds each upwards, are in constant demand. Capons at the age of eight or ten months usually are ready for market, and weigh eight to twelve pounds each, according to the breed. Fowls are hens one year old and over. Old males are classed as stags or roosters ; they are invariably hard in flesh and bring the lowest prices of any market poultry. Young ducks should be sent to market when ten or twelve weeks old. They are rapid growers, and by that age will be nearly matured and in prime condition, if well fed and not allowed water for swimming. Green geese (goslings ten or twelve weeks of age) are marketable at highest prices. A large goose will also sell well in November and December. Geese are good foragers, subsisting mainly on grass and green food, but will need special grain rations for a month before marketing. Turkeys command best prices at Thanksgiving time. A feed of whole corn at evening when they come home to roost will fatten them rapidly. Turkeys worry in confinement and should not be cooped longer than is necessary. Methods of preparation. Coop twenty-four hours previous to killing; give plenty of water to drink, but. no food. This will cause the crop to be empty. Nearly all mar- ket poultry is now sold with the head on and undrawn, although some states have laws that it must be drawn before being offered for sale. The fast will cause it to look and keep better in the shambles. There are several methods of killing and pick- ing. The most popular is to hang the bird by the feet by a stout cord suspended from a hook over- head. (Fig. 547.) It is well to have a large wooden button on the end of the cord so that with one twist around the shanks of the fowl it can be fast- POULTRY ened quickly. After locking the wings, by putting one over the other, over the back, stun by a blow on the top of the head with a billet of hard wood ; then immediately draw a sharp knife across the roof of the mouth, deep enough to pierce the brain. Grasp the wings as soon as possible, and, when the blood begins to flow freely, begin pick- ing, starting with the breast, which is the most important part of market poultry and should not be torn. Do not attempt to pull out many feathers at once; a few each time in rapid suc- cession will clean the bird while warm. One of the barrels underneath is for offal and coarse feathers, and the other for the soft feathers. As soon as the bird ceases to struggle, both hands can be used in pick- ing. A dull knife for removing pin-feathers should be kept handy. All kinds of poultry, except ca- pons, are picked clean, except the wing tips and neck for about two inches from the head. With capons, the feathers are left on the head, wings, tail, and on about two inches of the lower part of the thighs just above the shanks. When the head is to be removed before market- ing, the bird need not be stunned, but may be quickly killed by inserting a sharp knife near the throat just back of the ears, turning the sharp edge over against and breaking or dividing the first joint of the neck. This causes profuse bleed- ing. The bird immediately loses consciousness and loosens its feath- ers. This is per- haps the most hu- mane method. If the operator prefers to sit while picking, a large box is provided with its upper edges on a level with his knees. First stun the bird by a sharp blow against a post or a very hard surface. Then hold the bird under the left arm with its head in the left hand and the knife in the right. Open the mouth and cut deep across the roof, going well up into the brain. As soon as profuse bleeding is started, grasp the bird by the shanks in the left hand, lay the breast up across the knees, the head C3 Fowl suspended for picking. 4 We Fig. 548. Position for picking a fowl in a sitting posture. POULTRY 546 being held between the knee and the box (Fig. 548), and pluck as rapidly as possible with the right hand. While this method allows a sitting posture, the picker has only one hand free to work with, as he holds the bird with the other. The cleanest and perhaps the least difficult way to kill a chicken or fowl is as follows: Grasp the bird by the shanks with the left hand and the head with the right hand, with the thumb and the fore- finger just back of the head, the second finger being bent around so that its point comes directly under the bird’s lower mandible. Straighten your- self up so as to give a steady vigorous pull with both hands until the neck is dislocated. The bird will be easy to pick and all blood will collect in the broken part of the neck. In some instances, when poultry is sold to a home trade, it is scalded before picking. The kettle or boiler in which the scalding is to be done should be large enough to contain the entire body at once. The water should be at or near the boiling point. The head and shanks should not touch the hot water unless they are to be re- moved before marketing, for they would then present an unsightly appearance. After the bird has finished struggling, take it by the feet in one hand, the head in the other, and submerge it in the hot water, drawing it backward through the water two or three times ; then remove and place on a table and pick as rapidly as pos- sible, being careful not to bruise the skin. As soon as the bird is picked clean it may be plumped by submerging again for five or six seconds in the hot water, and then Fig. 549 put in iced or cold water and left 4 piucked capon. there until thoroughly cool. Dry picking is preferable, because the stock thus dressed will keep better, look nicer and bring best prices. The methods of killing apply to all kinds of poultry, although the bloodless method would be a difficult task with geese or turkeys and should not be attempted with them. In cold weather, after picking and washing feet and heads, the birds can be hung in a clean cool place and kept from freezing until shipped. In warm weather they should first be soaked in iced or very cold running spring-water to remove all animal heat. This plumps them somewhat, also, and they can be quickly washed and dried a few hours before shipping. If put in V-shaped troughs and weighted, they are given a plumper and more compact appearance than when they are hung by the shanks. Shipping and marketing. Each bird should be wrapped in waxed paper, and in very warm weather packed with ice. The boxes for shipping may be of various sizes, as long as they are large enough to contain a dozen or more birds, and not too large to be easily handled. Pack in two rows, with the heads towards the middle of 546 POULTRY the box. Two or three layers can be put in a box, provided ice is packed between each two layers in hot weather. Put ice on top of the birds, and cover the boxes with burlap. The best soft roasters are often shipped in single layer cases. The quickest way to dispose of this product is to ship to some reliable commission house. If the stock is choice, not torn, clean picked and carefully graded, the commission- house will allow full wholesale market value, less express charges and com- f mission. The cases when shipped should be plainly marked for whom, from whom, the number of birds, the weight and the kind. The same sys- tem of packing and marketing should be used when shipping to dealers or In addition, this class of trade should first be visited, written or telephoned to, and a bargain made as to the number and size wanted, and the prices to be paid for them. Probably the most profitable trade is to sell to the consumers themselves, when the distance is not too great, although sometimes the expresses will deliver for less than can the producer. Feathers, when dry picked and sorted so as to keep the stiff from the soft, and the white from the colored, have a market value worth considering. All colors of soft chicken feathers bring 43 to 10 cents per pound, and pure white bring 20 cents per pound. Duck feathers bring 33 to 42 cents per pound, goose feathers 42 to 60 cents per pound, goose quills 15 cents per pound. Long, bright- colored chicken feathers are sold for millinery pur- poses at about $1 per pound. The stiff turkey feath- ers are in great demand for feather dusters and the like. Feathers are cured in sacks of thin material exposed to the sun and air for several days. They can be sold and shipped in these original sacks. Fig. 550. Plymouth Rock retailers. hen properly dressed. Care of eggs. Eggs for market will keep better from spoiling *f not fertilized. Those from mated pens should be kept from warmth and heat over 60 degrees. The laying nests should be well supplied with dry saw- dust or some clean absorbent. The eggs that be- come soiled should be wiped with adamp cloth and never submerged in water if they are to be kept more than one week. The natural color of the shell is not indicative of the quality of the contents, although the preferences of the market should be catered to, if one wishes to secure best prices. Brown-shelled eggs are usually larger than white- shelled ones, because all the larger breeds except one lay brown eggs, or those from a delicate pink to a light chocolate. The color of the yolk is con- trolled by feeding green foods rich in ash and pro- tein. Eggs are porous and susceptible to taint from bad odors. Care must be taken to keep them in clean, cool places. Marking the shells in any way is not desirable. Cartons holding one dozen eggs can be purchased from paper dealers. These have specially printed covers, “One Dozen Fresh Eggs,” POULTRY etc., and can be used several times if desired, Cases holding fifteen or thirty dozen each, for shipping to the trade, are popular sizes. (Fig. 551.) Deliveries and shipments should be made each week; if a private trade, on the same day of each week. There are wire fillers for the cartons that display the eggs very attractively, but require more time in placing the eggs and removing them from the trays. With the straw-board fillers, each egg is in a separate compartment, and there is little danger of breakage. If one becomes cracked, the leakage is usually confined to the one compartment. The prices fluctuate during the different seasons, highest prices being reached just previous to Thanksgiving time, and continuing until the latter part of January. The price then gradually declines until the latter part of March or first part of April, when lowest ebb is reached. By June 1 the market recovers, and the price gradually increases until November. The weather at times may affect prices. It is during these low-price periods that the surplus is bought up for cold storage or for the different methods of preservation, Those intended for cold storage must be absolutely fresh, free from dirt and packed in standard size thirty-dozen cases and the fillers must be free from mold, dirt or odors of any kind. Cold-storage plants begin operations as soon as the lowest prices are reached, about April 1, and continue until the latter part of May. During warm weather the quality of eggs deteriorates and they do not keep so well as when cooler. The market for these cold-storage goods opens in the fall and continues until Christmas. Eggs should be gathered every day, and all broody hens removed from the house. If a nest is found in an unusual place, the eggs should be tested with a lighter before selling. Preserving eggs.—There are several methods of preserving eggs during the period of low prices and keeping them wholesome until they will bring higher prices, but none by which they can be kept any length of time and sold as fresh-laid ones. The shells may be covered with melted paraffin or vase- line to prevent evaporation, and they will not spoil so long as they are kept cool and turned every few days. Packing in common salt and turning occasionally is an- other method. The contents remain sweet and whole- some, but the albumen will not beat up as it will in fresh-laid ones. The shell will lose its freshness and the eggs will not remain good long after being taken out of the preservatives, and they should be designated as preserved eggs when offered for sale. The best method of preservation is as follows: One part of water-glass (sodium silicate) mixed with nine parts of boiled spring water. Put the eggs in a stoneware crock when gathered from the nests, if cool and clean, until the crock is nearly full; then pour in the water-glass solution until there is at least two inches of liquid over the top | 380 :D0zZ FRESH EGGS Fig. 551. Cases for egg shipping. Rhode Island Red hen Partridge Cochin hen White Rock hen M4 [s) 8 o 8 us} qa ij D B 2 | B Dark Brahma hen Light Brahma cock Prominent breeds of fowls Plate XIX. POULTRY layer of eggs. Keep inacool place. If carefully done, this method is reliable. Another successful method is to slake two pounds of good lump lime, and while hot add one pound of common salt. After cooling, add ten quarts of boiled spring water and stir thoroughly several times the first day. Then let it settle, using only the clear liquid, which may be poured over the eggs after they have been placed in a stoneware erock ; or the liquid can first be put in the crock and the eggs put in that, day by day, when gathered. The eggs must always be two inches below surface. More of the solution can be put in when necessary. Stoneware vessels are the most desirable ones for keeping these mixtures in. Hggs are sometimes removed from the shells, canned and kept in cold storage or frozen, and sold to large consumers. The most wholesome method is evaporation. The egg is then reduced to powder that will keep any length of time, in any climate, and can be carried to places where poultry-keep- ing is out of the question, and where all eatables carried must be reduced to a minimum weight. The market prices of all kinds of poultry prod- ucts are affected by the supply and the demand. During the fall and winter, the surplus fowls and summer chickens are disposed of and there is an abundance of table poultry offered for sale. The lowest prices of the year then prevail until the bulk of the supply is gone. By April, the chickens hatched in the previous spring and summer become hard and tough in flesh and have to be sold as fowls, while those hatched during the previous fall, of either sex, if kept separate during the winter, will be soft and tender and bring roaster prices, which are the highest in the spring. The market for fowls is uniform the year round, except for arise of perhaps two cents per pound during the spring when all hens are laying and but few are being marketed. The annual molting period, July to November inclusive, affects the supply of eggs, as does the winter weather in any cold climate, and prices rule accordingly. When fresh killed poultry and fresh eggs are scarce and prices high, cold storage products and preserved eggs are in demand , but never does the held-over product sell at prices equal to that of recently killed poultry and fresh eggs. The regular market reports of prices are usually reliable when applied to the average quality of poultry products, yet a superior quality of either dressed poultry or eggs will sell in advance of any current published quotations and a good market is never overstocked with this class of goods. The retail price is usually 5 cents per pound above the wholesale price for poultry, and 5 cents per dozen for eggs. Consumers who desire the best will pay a premium of 10 cents per dozen on eggs and 10 cents per pound for poultry that they know is brought to them direct from the farm. This particular trade often comes from clubs, hotels, hospitals and high-class resorts. Literature. For references, see page 527. POULTRY 547 Judging Poultry. Figs. 552-554. By Y. #. Orr. Prior to the year 1873, there was but little uni- formity or system in the methods of judging fowls at shows. Indeed, until nearly as late adate as the one mentioned, there were few poultry shows to be judged. These were nearly all held in the autumn in connection with some agricultural fair, and were largely in New York and New England. In February, 1873, and again in December, 1878, a few of the leading fanciers met in Buffalo, New York, and in these two meetings organized the American Poultry Association. The main purpose of this organization was to disseminate a more accurate knowledge of pure-bred fowls, and so to describe their characteristics of form and feather that a better system of breeding and judging them might result. Two meetings were held in 1874 and in 1875. By this time the real scope of the work had become manifest, and specific work was being accomplished. From the first it was realized that a definite description of both sexes of each variety, section by section, both in shape and color, was an absolute essential, and these descriptions were speedily formulated and tabulated, and then printed in a book called The Standard. From that time to the present the work of the American Poultry Association has not greatly varied. The publication of Standards and the edu- cation of breeders and judges to uniformity, has been its chief work. Of course, in those early days there were not nearly so many varieties to describe or judge, so the work was much less comprehensive than at present. Cochins and Brahmas, Games and Hamburgs, Leghorns and Polish were the leading classes seen at shows. Some Dorkings and Spanish fowls were seen. Barred Plymouth Rocks were beginning to be heard from. Wyandottes, Lang- shans and many later additions to the Standard family were then unknown. Soon a multiplicity of varieties were knocking for admission to the Standard, and still it continues, although in the intervening years a hundred types have secured admission. The Standard, with its detailed descriptions, was no sooner out than the Association deemed it its duty to put restrictions on those who should inter- pret the Standard by judging fowls at public exhi- bitions. Some members of the Association excelled as fanciers of some breeds, and some of others ; so a committee was appointed to examine candidates and license judges. There are those still living who hold licenses as Specialty Judges and as Gen- eral Judges. And now again, the practice of licens- ing judges, abandoned thirty years ago, was renewed in 1907. Methods of judging. There are two distinct and well-known methods of arriving at a decision in placing awards. One is by comparison ; the other is by the use of the score-card. Hach method depends on an accurate knowledge and a correct interpretation of the Standard. Hach has its advantages and its advo- 548 POULTRY cates. Some persons are bitterly opposed to one method, some to the other. This should not be. They really stand on the same foundation. One method, the comparison, depends on an accurate knowledge of the other, the score-card, for its ele- mentary principles. Both methods, when accurately and intelligently applied, should reach exactly the same results when judging any class, or combina- tion of classes, at a given show. Comparison judging.—This is undoubtedly the older method. It has been employed in England from the inception of their now famous exhibitions. It pre- vailed in America exclusively until the Standard and the score-card method were pro- mulgated by the American Poultry Association. It is the method followed today in all summer and fall shows, for until fowls have recovered \\\ ‘) Fig. 552. Skeleton of cock. 1, Cranium; 2, septum interorbitale; 3, beak; 4, mandible; 5, cervical vertebra; 6, scapula; 7, humerus; 8, radius; 9, ulna; 10, metacarpal bone; 11, ‘thumb’ bone; 12, ‘‘middle’’ finger; 13, ‘third ’’ finger (rudimentary); 14, fureula, fork bone or ‘ wish-bone’’; 15, coracoid bone; 16, sternum; 17, crest or keel of ster; num; 18, ribs; 19, pelvis; 20, candal vertebrw; 21, femur; 22, patella; 23, tibia; 24, fibula; 25, metatarsus; 26, spur; 27, hind toe with two joints; 28, inner toe with three joints; 29, middle toe with four joints; 30, outer toe with five joints. (After Ellenberger.) from their annual molt, and until chicks have be- came mature in form, size and feather, the score- card, accurately applied, would show such low scores that exhibitors could not be induced to come forward with their birds. Formerly all entries were made in pairs, a cock and a hen, or a cockerel and a pullet constituting a pair. This method still prevails in some fall shows or in out-of-the-way places. It cannot be discon- POULTRY tinued too soon. A poor, or even a disqualified specimen may chance to be mated with the choicest bird of the opposite sex in the class, but the hand- icap is so heavy that the “best bird” wins nothing. Single entries, single and uniform cooping, and the entries so classified that all cocks of the same variety shall be adjacent to each other, likewise the hens, cockerels and pullets,—this is the only method that permits a judge to do his best work by this method. The birds being all in their places, each coop bearing a distinct coop number, then, and not until then, is the judge ready to take his first look at the competitors. Suppose the judge finds twenty cock birds in the first class. It will take him but a minute or two to pass up and down before them and mark on his memorandum ten birds that he thinks are “not in it.” But he must not pass them wholly by with this hurried glance. The exhibitors have all paid the same entry fee. Each one is entitled to atten- tion. The judge may find, indeed often does find, that one of those cocks that he condemned so quickly, on closer examination, is found to be pos- sessed of quality not seen at first, that puts him in the “upper ten,” rather than in the list of “shut- outs.” It is the safe thing for the judge to handle every bird. A group of exhibitors at the end of the aisle or up in the gallery, each anxious about his entry, may develop among themselves some jealousy if their birds are not even handled. On the other hand, if they see the judge going over and around and through each bird thoroughly, they will at least give him credit for trying to earn his money. We cannot too strongly condemn the practice of marking the coops with the judge’s private hiero- glyphics. It is better for the judge to keep a pri- vate judging card on which he enters the coop number of each bird in the class ; then, in his pre- liminary judging, he can mark off some for shape, some for color, and some for condition. He can then make his marks for shape, color and the like, on the good birds that remain. As he finally narrows the class down to a few birds, he will mark opposite each bird’s number the strong or weak points of each section, until he has finally placed the win- ners in their correct order. He will then transfer the awards to the secretary’s book, but will keep the card for his own reference and satisfaction. This method is a great protection to the judge. After having, with care, eliminated one-half the birds in the class, the judge’s hardest work is just begun. Every bird of the remaining ten may be worthy of a prize, but, at most, only five of them can receive recognition, unless it be at some large exposition, as the one at St. Louis, where seven awards were made. The judge’s task continues to be a work of elimination. By going over and over the best ten birds, the judge begins to come to a conclusion as to which is the best bird in the class and which is poorest of the ten, and he makes memoranda on his card, looking to that result ; then he decides which is second-best, and which is the next one to go down and out; and so he con- tinues until the five best are so marked in their POULTRY proper order, and the poorest half of the best ten have been checked off. Just at this point comes in the chief advantage of comparison judging over the score-card method. With a large and strong class before him, the judge can generally select for his five prize-win- ners fowls more uniform as to type than is gen- erally possible by the score-card. The reason for this is hard to explain to the amateur, but every experi- enced score-card judge knows that when the awards are placed by the footing up of the scores, he has found that the five birds scoring highest, and thus standing closest together in the awards, are sometimes very dissimilar in style and type, and he will sometimes wish that he could re- arrange the winners a little, just for the sake of uniformity. Here is the only excep- tion the writer will admit to the general rule laid down in the beginning, that the results will be the same no matter which method is followed. However carefully the judge has made his plac- ing of the five best birds in the class, he will do well to spend a little more time and labor before he hangs up the awards. Let him remember that his awards will surely be criticised on the score- card basis; that there are many experts well posted as to Standard cuts who will not hesitate to grade the judge pretty low if he makes serious mistakes. If his first-prize bird is a perfect model in color, but not typical of his breed, has a bad comb, a bad eye and a badly carried breast or tail, he may deserve cuts aggregating six points on these four sections alone; so the judge must be careful to estimate the real value of each speci- men with absolute justice. Again, a judge must not allow himself to be dazzled or overawed by the great beauty of some one section. This is the place above all others where the score-card method has the advantage of comparison ; it compels delib- erate, careful work, of which a written record is made and preserved. Score-card judging.—By some persons this method is thought more closely to interpret and apply the Standard than does comparison judging. It should not be so. The comparison judge should be just as familiar with Standard descriptions, and should apply them just as exactly as does the score-card judge. The only difference is in the method, not in the result. In the one case the judge makes a record in writing of the defects of each section as he considers it ; in the other, he holds these cuts and defects in mind, adding to them as he goes along, until the aggregate thereof is reached, and this constitutes the value of that bird. He may not make these cuts in actual figures for each sec- POULTRY 549 tion, carrying the number in mind until he has their sum, which, subtracted from one hundred, gives the final score of the bird ; but he does what is just as hard when he carries these approximate cuts clear through, and as he passes each section institutes a comparison between the bird in hand and the one that stands next to him in position or quality. There are those who maintain that comparison is easier either for the amateur or for the profes- sional judge than is score-card-judging. With this conclusion we cannot agree, especially if the classes be large and close. Why is the score-card less laborious? It is easier because the judge handles each bird but once, and calls off his opinion of each section to the clerk, who makes a record of it. He is then done with that bird. It is “out of sight, out of mind,” so far as he is concerned, and he proceeds to pass on another bird on the one- thing-at-a-time method ; whereas, by the compari- son method, he may come back to the same bird a dozen times to compare one section with that of one competitor, and another section with that of another competitor, before he can finally place the best birds in their proper order. The essential qualifications of: a score-card judge may be enumerated as follows: (1) He must possess an artist’s eye, that at a single glance he may take in the bird as an individual, measure his defects in type and conformation, deduct a proper valuation for the extent that he falls short of the typical bird of his breed in style, carriage and conforma- tion, and place the sum of these defects in the column of symmetry. (2) He must have an accurate knowledge of the correct shape of head, comb, neck, wings, back, tail, and the other parts of the typical bird of this breed, also of the various cuts that the Standard prescribes for these defects, so that he can instantly place a correct valuation on them. (8) He must have an intimate acquaintance with shades and colors, not necessarily that he may give a name to the various shades of color, but have an accurate knowledge of the color demanded by the Standard for each section of each variety, so that, without bringing birds together for comparison, he may give to each section a just cut for its defects in color. (4) He must possess an intimate knowl- edge of the com- binations of color that make |[/ up the strong | points of parti- colored speci- mens. For ex- ample, in Barred PlymouthRocks, Silver Wyan- dottes, Silver Spangled Ham- burgs, Silver Sebrights, Silver Polish and Light Brahmas, it is not so much to know that these birds are a combination of black and white, as to know just how black and white come together in vari- PLAS A LLL IZ LL EA AAAI Fig. 554. Judging fowls. Removing the fowl from the cage. 550 POULTRY ous sections, even in the same feathers. These combinations, for example in the tail coverts of the Light Brahmas, and in the flights and wing coverts of the Silver Wyandottes, are most intri- cate and delicate; and, in the case of the Silver Polish, the combination proper in chicks is re- versed in the adult, a point for which, strange to say, our Standard does not provide. Some shows and some judges insist on having the birds carried by attendants to a central point at which the judgé and his clerk are seated, with an open exhibition coop before the judge, into which the birds are placed, one at a time. This method is slow, laborious, productive of many mis- takes, and, worst of all, is utterly unfair to the birds. To go to the coop of a nervous hen, grab her by the legs and carry her, head down, to the judge, as most attendants are sure to do, and throw her into the judge’s coop, and she will be so flus- tered and frightened that she may not assume a natural position for ten minutes. Before that time has elapsed, the judge has been compelled to pass on her and several others, and the cuts he has made on her symmetry, shape of breast and shape of tail are probably very unjust. It is far better that the judge pass quietly from coop to coop and size the birds up as to symmetry and shape, with as little disturbance as possible. While he is doing this, he can, in his own skilful way, lift each bird from its coop and call off the cuts to the clerk, thus com- pleting each bird as he goes along. Much can be done by the show management to facilitate the work of the judge. One of the best methods is to tack to each coop the score-card for that bird, giving in duplicate the entry-number, variety, sex, band-number and weight. As the judge reaches the coop, he tears off the card at the perforated line, leaving the duplicate heading still attached to the coop. When the score-cards have been footed and filled out, a clerk can pass to each coop, filling in, on the attached head-piece, the owner’s name, the score and the award. The exhibitors are entitled to this much publicity, and visitors who pay their admission fees are entitled to this much information. Some shows follow the practice of tacking to each coop the complete score-card. This is well, provided a copy of the card has been recorded on the books of the association. Some judges refuse to have a clerk, and not only fill out, but foot and sign their cards while stand- ing in front of the coops. This makes “safe” work for the judge, as it enables him to see the complete score of each bird, also to locate the win- ners of each class before he leaves it, correcting what appear to have been errors in scoring. But the real judge never does this. He calls off the cuts for each section in their proper order, which the clerk records, and then both pass on instantly to the next specimen. The best judges do not even foot the scores or touch the score-cards until they are through with their work, and then go to the office to “sign up.” Unless the cards are copied in the records, they should not be given to exhibitors until the close of POULTRY the show. Much trouble results from giving out the cards too soon. The one thing that has caused more trouble, the past two years, than all things else combined, is the Standard directions for awarding sweepstake and special prizes. In the opinion of the writer, this is unfortunate legislation. In the first place, there should never be a sweepstake prize offered that brings different breeds or varieties into competi- tion. All specials should name some one variety on which they are to be placed. While show com- mittees continue to offer sweepstakes that involve different breeds or varieties, the actual scores of the judge should govern. This would soon make this class of prizes so unpopular with the fanciers of weight-clause varieties, that the practice of offering such specials would be killed. The other objectionable feature in the paragraph of the Standard above referred to is that of handicapping solid-colored specimens in favor of those that are parti-colored. Under the old Standard, this handi- cap was one and one-half points. It has since been reduced to only one point. The idea prevails in some circles that it is easier to breed a solid-colored variety than one that is parti-colored. As a breeder for many years of seven varieties of one breed, four of these being parti-colored and three of them being solid-colored, the writer can demonstrate that it is much easier to breed ten birds of the parti-colored varieties that will score, honestly, ninety-two points each, than to get five birds of the solid-colored varieties that will reach a like score. The judge who has had long experience, who has good sight, and who will unhesitatingly enforce the prescribed Standard cuts for creami- ness and brassiness in white birds, knows that there is no bird so rare, even in our largest shows, as one that is pure white throughout. A buff bird, pure in color, free from any other shade, is scarcely less rare. A truly black bird is a trifle easier to find among the young females, but is still rarer than parti-colored birds of equally high scores. Details of scoring. — The symmetry should be caught before the bird is touched. It means, not the cutting for ill-shape of the various sections, but a harmonious union of those various shape sec- tions so as to make, as a whole, a bird typical of his own breed, and with a style and finish about him that is peculiar to the breed in hand. The weight should have been taken, and recorded on the card before the judge touches it. He then makes his weight cuts in accordance with Stand- ard rules, not forgetting that in American varieties over-weight is to be punished as well as under- weight. In non-weight varieties, judges should be more careful than they are to cut for under size. Failure to do this in past years has done much harm to Leghorns and Hamburgs. Under condition is the place where the careless exhibitor should be punished, so that the painstak- ing man, who has kept his fowls in perfect health, who has not allowed their combs and wattles to become frost-bitten, who has manicured their shanks and toes, and has carefully washed and plumed his birds, will get his due reward. POULTRY In examining the head, the judge should give close attention to the length and curvature of skull and beak. An American specimen with a long and level top-piece, as in a Game, is very undesirable. The judge should also punish severely a white or pearl eye when the Standard calls for “red or bay,” and see that the shape of the eye is typical of the breed. The comb stands for so much in both Medi- terranean and American varieties that a most care- ful study of Standard illustrations and cuts is recommended. The judge should not hesitate to dis- qualify a comb that is unmistakably lop-sided. Wattles and ear-lobes vary in value so much with the breed that they require special attention. The judge should notice the difference in this section between Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes and Orpingtons. In order that the large, shapely ear- lobe of the Mediterranean, with its enamel-white surface, free from folds, wrinkles or red spots, may have its just value, occurring in its perfection so seldom, cuts for the many common defects of ear-lobes should be made freely. Most judges fail to assign full Standard value to the neck. It ranges from six points in some of the Bantams to ten points in the ornamental varieties and in Asiatics. In the Asiatics, we think this is rather high, but in the American breeds, three for shape and six for color is about right; and the judge should enforce it, especially on Barred Ply- mouth Rocks and Silver Wyandottes. Correct neck color indicates much in the breeding power of a male bird of these two varieties. By the new Standard, the judge passes from neck to wings. This is the natural order. He should not be in a hurry to get away from the wings. Only four points are assigned to shape of wings, and on these four points must be made the cuts for unnaturally shaped wings, also for broken or miss- ing feathers. We find the limit of four points scarcely enough in some cases, and often cut the full limit. The judge should study very carefully the color cuts for wings of parti-colored birds, such as Light Brahmas, Silver Wyandottes and Barred Plymouth Rocks. The back is the great shape indicator of the American breeds, even more than breast or body. The writer thinks that this section should be rated just as high in Asiatics and Mediterraneans, and he predicts that the next Standard revision will witness changes in this direction. It is true that the back does not carry somuch meat as the breast and body, but it is the point or place that sustains these sections, and with an ill-shaped back no breast or body can be good enough to work redemp- tion. The judge should cut bad-shaped backs to the limit, if necessary. The fail is one of the beauty points that requires careful attention. The judge must note carefully all the ranges of tail carriage, almost over his head in the case of the Japanese Bantam Cock, very high in the Langshan, and away down in the Minorca and the Game. He must study and famil- jarize himself with all the intermediate stations, and cut accordingly. The shape of the breast of a specimen varies POULTRY 551 more with his fatness than does any other section. The judge must take this into consideration, but should not fail to punish a “turkey breast” when a “low-set keel” is called for. And here let the writer explain that fatness and fleshness mean the same. The cockerel that today weighs only four pounds, his keel as sharp as a knife-blade, his shanks seemingly “coming out of the same hole,” has just as many fibers of muscle or flesh as he will have three months later when he tips the beam at eight pounds, with his deep, round breast, every muscle interlarded with delicate tissues of luscious fat, which is not greasy, but which makes each fiber round and smooth; and his shanks will then stand so far apart that he fairly waddles as he walks. The judge must learn to take all these things into consideration, and must base his cuts on breast and body on the typical bird of his breed in perfect condition. The section, body and fluff, as outlined in the scale of points, has to do chiefly with the lower and rear parts of the body, the back and breast having had previous consideration. Care must be exercised in judging females to notice whether they are producing eggs or not. At such times, the egg-producing organs being very active, the abdominal section covered by the fluff is likely to be abnormally developed. One should hesitate to cut a hen heavily on shape when the evident cause is the fact that she is in daily performance of the very functions that nature intended her for. The last item on the score-card is legs and toes. Here, shape and color have equal value. A very common fault with American.and English varieties is that the thighs and shanks are too long. Some years ago, special rewards were offered by large western packing houses for one variety that pro- duced a large percentage of specimens with the “legs” (first joints above the shanks) so short that when the fowl was dressed the legs would not extend beyond the rump. With the Leghorns, a common fault is that the legs and shanks are too short, making the bird low and squatty, instead of rangy and up-standing. In Cochins, these organs should be short ; in Langshans, they should be long. The scale of points says nothing about wnder- color, but as it is mentioned in almost every section containing feathers, the writer wishes to call the special attention of the young judge to it. By the English Standard and the superficial English method of applying it, under-color counts for but little. With our American Standard, calling for a thorough and searching investigation of every sec- tion, it becomes a most important factor. The judge should give it close attention and remember that if “slate” or “buff” is called for, for example, white under-color is a disqualification and must be punished severely. Literature. The reader should consult The American Standard of Perfection, published by The American Poultry Association, for full information for judging fowls, and for score-cards for the several families. [For further references, see page 527.] 552 POULTRY Common Ailments of Poultry. By Prince T. Woods. Nearly all poultry diseases are preventable. Very few cases of serious illness undergo a suffi- ciently rapid and complete recovery to make pro- longed treatment worth while. It is not good judgment to spend several dollars’ worth of time and money in treating and dosing a sick bird worth less than one dollar at market prices. The practical, useful life of the average fowl seldom exceeds four years. When kept exclusively for market purposes, eggs and meat, the poultryman cannot afford to keep hens beyond their third year as egg-producers, and not many beyond their second year. The first two years of egg-production yield the best profits. This short period of useful life does not allow much time for doctoring sick fowls. Except in mild cases of sickness, the wisest, safest and most economical treatment is to kill the sick bird and burn the car- cass. By so doing, one gets rid of a possible source of contagion, and minimizes the danger of spread- ing the trouble to the remainder of the flock. Prevention. The five essentials in preventing poultry diseases are : (1) Breed only from sound, vigorous, healthy, well-matured stock. A poultryman should never use in a breeding pen a deformed specimen or one that has apparently been cured of serious illness. It is difficult to know when a fowl is really cured. Many supposedly cured individuals have the disease in chronic form. The tendency to become diseased can be transmitted to the progeny. Likewise, the tendency to resist disease may be inherited. Breed- ing only from perfectly healthy birds, fully grown and in their prime, insures chicks that will be able to resist disease. One cannot produce strong, healthy chickens from debilitated or unsound breed- ing stock. Starting with healthy breeding stock, one must keep it sound and vigorous by common- sense care and management. The eggs from healthy stock, properly incubated, should give the maximum vitality in the chicks. Such chicks, properly cared for, should possess the greatest disease-resisting power. One can breed health in poultry and fix the tendency to, health, generation after generation, more easily than he can breed fancy points in size, shape and plumage. (2) Sensible fresh-air housing is essential to keep fowls healthy. Fresh-air quarters or open-front colony houses are in the majority of cases the most satisfactory. The curtain-front, or building in which a part of the south windows are replaced by coarse unbleached muslin screens, is the next best type of building. The tightly closed house, unless run with one or more windows open night and day, and the fowls protected from drafts, is the least desirable type. An abundance of fresh air is abso- lutely necessary for fowls both night and day, summer and winter. It must be supplied so that there are no drafts about the roosting fowls. Artificially heated houses are always unsafe. Close or tight houses, unless thoroughly aired daily, will POULTRY show frost and dampness on the walls in cold weather. Dampness invites colds and other ail- ments. Houses must not be over-crowded. Crowd- ing on the roosts at night is inimical to health. The poultry-yards should be of good size and well drained. With poultry-houses of ordinary height, the minimum amount of house air space should not be less than twenty-five cubic feet per fowl. For yard room, breeding stock and layers should have a range of at least sixty-five square feet of land for each bird. (8) Wholesome food in variety and pure water are essential to keep fowls healthy. Elaborate ra- tions are not necessary. Fowls fed exclusively on dry grain are less liable to disease than those fed heavily on moist mashes. The average fowl requires three to five ounces of dry grain daily (according to size and appetite), in addition to meat food, green food, grit, oyster shell, charcoal, granulated bone and pure water. The staple feeding grains are corn, wheat, oats and barley. Only sound, clean grain should be used, and it should be free from dust, mustiness and mold. The drinking - water should be clean, pure and fresh. Fowls should never drink from a stream into which barnyard seepage and other filth empties. Unclean food and impure water are prolific sources of poultry disease. (4) Prompt isolation and disposal of sick birds are important in preventing disease. Sick speci- mens should be removed from the remainder of the flock as soon as possible, to prevent spread of the trouble. (5) Reasonable cleanliness in poultry quarters is necessary in preventing disease. The houses must be cleaned regularly. The runs should be plowed up and seeded down with quick-growing grain or grass twice a year. Small, hard or sandy runs should be swept frequently and the manure removed in dry weather or before heavy rains. Litter material, when used in the houses, should be clean, bright and free from any mold or mustiness. Food and water receptacles should be kept clean. Nest- ing material should be changed frequently. Floors of poultry-houses should be cleaned or, in case of earth floors, renewed when badly fouled. One general rule that should be followed in every case of sickness is, seek and find the cause of the disease and remove it before treatment is attempted. Lice. By far the most common ailments of poultry are the parasitic diseases. There are many varieties of lice and mites affecting fowls. The presence of body lice may be readily detected by examination. Look under the wings and on the skin about the feather roots, on the abdomen, back, neck and head. All fowls are lousy unless treated. Pure, fresh, unadulterated Persian insect powder is the best remedy for body lice. It should be thoroughly dusted into the plumage and worked well down to the skin all over the body. Repeat the dusting in ten days. This, if properly done, should give sev- eral months of freedom from the pest. Lice breed on the fowl! in the plumage. POULTRY Mites. Red, black or gray mites are poultry bed-bugs. They breed in the cracks and crevices about the house or under accumulated droppings. Keep the roosting quarters clean, use freely a mixture of kerosene, one quart, and creolin, one fluid ounce, or a good liquid lice-killer, for painting roosts and dropping-boards. Do this in the morning when needed, so that roosts will be dry at night. Sealy-leg. This is a parasitic disease caused by a scab-mite. It is characterized by rough grayish or whitish scales and crusts, accumulating on the shanks and feet. It may spread gradually to other fowls. For treatment, apply an ointment made by mixing one teaspoonful of creolin in one cupful of melted lard. Stir the mixture until cool, when it is ready to apply. Apply daily until the scales and crusts come away and leave the shanks clean. Simple canker or aphthe. The cause of simple canker is infection of scratched or abraded mucous surfaces with mold spores, other fungi or germs. It commonly appears after birds have been fighting, particularly where dusty, musty or moldy litter material is used. It is indicated by yellowish or whitish patches in the mouth or throat ; these usually appear as irregular white or yellowish ulcers, surrounded by an inflamed area of mucous membrane. The treatment is to dust a little powdered boracic acid on the canker spots or sores, or apply pure creolin with a cotton swab (a bit of absorbent cotton twisted around the point of a sharp stick). A solution of fifteen grains of boracic acid in one ounce of water may be used freely as a wash. Diphtheria. This is a not uncommon disease of poultry, some- times confused with canker. The cause is thought to be a specific germ, and the disease is very con- tagious. An apparently healthy fowl becomes sud- denly ill, loses appetite, the feathers hang loosely, the bird appears dumpish, legs hot, comb hot and deep red, but later may become pale. These symp- toms are accompanied by difficult breathing, cough with sharp “pip” sound, redness and inflammation of throat. Small pearl-gray or yellowish-colored patches appear on the back part of the throat, about the cleft palate. These increase rapidly in size and run together. False membrane may grow so rapidly as to cause the death of the fowl from suffocation. An attempt to remove the membrane results in bleeding. The breath is fetid. Great weakness comes on from constitutional poisoning. Paralysis may appear at any stage, and the fowl loses the use of legs or wings. Paralysis of the heart may cause death. One attack of this disease predisposes to another. Remove the sick fowl promptly from the flock, to prevent further spread of the disease. It is sel- dom advisable to waste time doctoring, and it is better to kill the bird and burn the carcass. For internal treatment, give four times daily a one POULTRY 553 one-hundredth of a grain tablet of biniodid of mer- cury. Cleanse mouth and throat frequently with full strength peroxid of hydrogen, or with a solu- tion of one teaspoonful of creolin in four fluid ounces (half a glass) of water. [See Aspergillosis.] Aspergillosis. This disease is sometimes confused with simple canker and diphtheria, when “cheesy” accumula- tions form in the mouth, throat and eyes. It is caused by parasitic fungi, which are commonly found in the dust and mold of filthy litter or dirty, damaged grain. It usually attacks only suscepti- ble members of a flock. It sometimes appears in epidemic form and results in the speedy loss of many fowls. The fungi are inhaled with dust and may make their first attack on the lungs or inter- nal organs, so that the presence of the disease is not suspected until well established. Sick pigeons may spread disease. This disease is frequently mistaken for tubercu- losis, as the nodules or deposits in the lungs or other organs resemble tubercles. Usually the first visible symptom is a small white nodule or “cheese” patch in the mouth at the side of the tongue or beneath it, or white patches on the back wall of the throat, the cleft palate, or at the open- ing of the windpipe. Frequently the fowl breathes with difficulty and expels the air from the lungs with a loud wheezing or peculiar whistling sound. Death may follow from suffocation. The course of the disease is usually prolonged, although when it appears in epidemic form it is often rapidly fatal. Mouth, throat, lungs and sometimes other internal organs are rapidly filled with “cheesy” deposits or small nodules. For treatment, first remove the cause. Supply only clean grain, free from dust and mustiness. Remove all litter from the pens and supply only clean white sand for the birds to scratch in. Take sick specimens from the flock and kill all of those that are seriously affected. Mild cases may be placed in open sheds on some part of the farm remote from other poultry quarters. Spray the poultry buildings with a 3 per cent formaldehyde solution in water. It will be beneficial if the fowls inhale the vapor from this spray mixture. Dipping the heads in the creolin solution is often helpful. For this purpose, use one teaspoonful of pure creo- lin in one pint of water. Mix fresh when used and do not dip the heads of more than six fowls in the same solution. When the disease is apparently con- fined to the mouth and throat, mix thoroughly one grain of finely powdered permanganate of potas- sium with one ounce of finely powdered sugar of milk. Blow this into the mouth, throat and nos- trils, directly onto the “cheesy” patches or ulcers, three or four times daily at first, then less fre- quently as the case improves. This remedy will be found useful in all cases of so-called canker, regard- less of the precise diagnosis. Roup. This is a general term applied to a great variety of poultry diseases, and to diphtheria when accom- 554 POULTRY panied by a swollen head or a discharge from the eyes and nostrils. The name “roup” is applied to all diseases accompanied by a discharge from the nostrils and eyes, including common colds and con- tagious catarrh. Common colds are caused by exposure to cold, dampness, cold winds, drafts, dust, crowding in the houses, insufficient supply of fresh air, houses closed too tightly at night, or sudden weather changes. The symptoms are sneezing, watery eyes, bubbles in the corners of the eyes, glairy discharge or bubbles from nostrils, and swollen face. The treatment is to remove the cause when possible. Provide plenty of fresh air in the sleeping quar- ters. Usually the use of condition powders in the food or tonic in the drinking-water is all the medic- inal treatment necessary to break up a simple cold. Seasoning mashes with ginger and red pep- per, and feeding raw onions, often prove benefi- cial. If taken at the start the following remedy will usually cure: Mix twenty to thirty drops of spirits of camphor with a teaspoonful of granulated sugar. Dissolve the whole in a pint of drinking- water and allow the birds no other drink. Contagious catarrh or true roup is thought to be caused by a specific germ. It is usually mildly con- tagious. In epidemic form it is very contagious and spreads rapidly. The most characteristic symptom of roup is the peculiar, penetrating, fetid odor. Frequently the presence of the disease may not be suspected until this peculiar odor attracts attention. Handling the fewl and squeezing the nostril with the thumb shows the presence of a glairy water-white, gray- ish or yellowish discharge having the roup smell. The discharge at first is usually frothy and watery ; later, it becomes grayish, then thick and yellow. It may accumulate in considerable quantities beneath the eyelids. It dries on the beak, also on the feathers of the body, particularly about the wings, where the fowl has wiped off discharges. The legs are hot, the comb and the wattles usually hot and deep dark red. The disease may spread through the sick birds’ contaminating the food and the drinking-water. It usually develops in two to seven days after infection. Many cases are mild, but in all the roup smell is present. It frequently appears in chronic form, running a course of weeks, months, or years, the specimen being always a source of infection for other birds. Neglected com- mon colds prepare the way for roup. After the fowls are apparently cured, the roup smell will cling to the plumage, and even to the poultry-house after disinfection. Do not waste time and money on a seriously sick specimen ; kill and burn it. Remove all suspected cases to an open-front shed, remote from other poultry buildings. Use the creolin dip recommended in aspergillosis. Thoroughly disinfect poultry quar- ters as soon as sick or suspected birds are removed. Make the fowl inhale creolin vapor by spraying over it (in a sprayer throwing a fine mist) a solu- tion of one teaspoonful of creolin in a pint of water. Cleansing the fowl’s head, eyes, nostrils, mouth and throat with creolin disinfectant, followed POULTRY by keeping the bird in strictly open-front fresh- air quarters, will do more to cure this disease than dosing. When accompanied by ulceration of the mucous membrane in the mouth or throat, use per- manganate of potassium and milk-sugar powder, as recommended in the treatment of aspergillosis. Feed stimulating and easily digested food. Diarrhea. Diarrhea, which is often a symptom of many diseases, is a trouble commonly noticed by the poultry-keeper. It is usually the result of indiges- tion, eating spoiled food, or too much meat food. It is indicated by looseness of the bowels with yel- lowish, greenish, dark or watery discharges. The treatment is to find and remove the cause, put the affected bird on a diet of dry grain, withhold meat food, and feed charcoal freely. Scalded milk, thick- ened with well-boiled flour and seasoned with gin- ger, may be given freely, and is usually all the treatment necessary in simple diarrhea, Contagious diarrhea. Under this general head, we include all contagious or infectious diseases resulting in inflammation of the mucous surface of the intestines. These dis- eases are usually the result of infection with one of several varieties of bacteria or germs which mul- tiply rapidly, resulting in irritation and inflamma- tion of the mucous lining of the intestines, with invasion of the liver, kidneys and other internal organs. The infection usually takes place through contaminated food or drinking-water. It commonly occurs when fowls are kept in dirty, filthy runs and obliged to drink water polluted with their own droppings, or with the excrement of pigeons and water-fowl, or with seepage from the barnyard. The symptoms usually develop rapidly. The bird — is thirsty, has little appetite, is dumpish and not disposed to move about. The discharge from the bowels is loose and watery, and may be a dark or bluish green, sometimes streaked with blood. The affected bird stands with the neck drawn back on the body, the tail drooped and the feathers held loose. The comb and the wattles are dark red or purplish and the legs hot. The disease may run a course of five days to five weeks. In prolonged cases, there is usually great loss of flesh. Some cases recover spontaneously, but in others death occurs, usually from exhaustion. For treatment, first of all remove the cause. Isolate the sick birds; use disinfectants freely; disinfect and remove the excrement; supply only wholesome, easily digested, stimulating food and — pure water in clean receptacles. Calomel given in one one-hundredth of a grain doses three times a day frequently proves beneficial. For obstinate cases or cases in which the excrement is blood- streaked, dissolve twelve tablets of mercury bi- chlorid, one one-thousandth of a grain drug strength each, in one quart of drinking-water and allow the birds no other drink; or for individual treatment, give one one-thousandth of a grain tablet of mer- cury bichlorid three times daily. Give remedy less often as soon as case shows improvement. ; POULTRY Fowl cholera. Fowl cholera is caused by a specific germ. It is very contagious and may be transmitted by con- tact, inoculation or through the food and drinking- water. It usually makes its appearance in three days to three weeks after infection. The earliest symptom is a yellowish discoloration of that part of the droppings normally white, which gradu- ally becomes a deeper yellow, frequently turning greenish or deep bluish green. The fowl is inclined to separate itself from the flock, becomes unsteady on its legs, and walks with a staggering gait; the feathers are rumpled and stand out from the body; the wings droop, the head is drawn down with an apparent shortening of the neck, tail drooped or horizontal ; the comb and the wattles become pale, and the legs hot; the appetite vanishes and the bird refuses to eat ; the crop remains hard and full of food, due to partial paralysis. Death may occur at any time and is usually ushered in by convul- sions and sharp cries. Treatment is seldom satisfactory. Sick birds and all suspected cases during a cholera epidemic should be promptly removed from the flock. Disinfectants should be used freely about poultry-houses and yards, and every precaution taken to avoid further spread. The remedy most likely to prove effective is mercury bichlorid in tablets of one one-thou- sandth of a grain-drug strength each, as recom- mended under contagious diarrhea. Limberneck. This is another common name applied to all ail- ments in which the common symptom of paralysis or loss of the use of the neck muscles occurs, so that the head and neck hang limp, or the head hangs with the neck arched from the body, or the neck is twisted back on the body. It is due to nerve disturbance, usually dependent on intestinal irritation. The most frequent causes are poisoning from eating putrid meat, paint skins, commercial fertilizers, spray mixtures and the like, or irrita- tion caused by the presence of intestinal parasites. In cases of suspected poisoning, remove the bird to a small, clean, dry coop in warm, well-aired quarters. Make it swallow quantities of flaxseed gruel, white of egg and warm milk seasoned lightly with ginger. Hxamine the premises carefully to remove the cause if possible. Worms. Fowls commonly have intestinal worms. These are spread rapidly through the flock by the food and the water becoming contaminated with the droppings of affected birds. Worms may be noticed in the droppings. In other cases, one may get lim- berneck or wry-neck symptoms that cannot be attributed to poisoning. The best treatment is to give the bird, after it has been fasting twelve hours, at one dose, a mixture of two teaspoonfuls of oil of turpentine and one tablespoonful of sweet or olive oil. This should be introduced directly into the crop through a rubber tube passed down the throat. The dose may be repeated in twelve to twenty-four hours if necessary. Disinfect all drop- POULTRY 555 pings with a strong creolin solution, not jess than five fluid ounces of creolin to a gallon of water. Gapes. Gapes is a disease of small chickens caused by a parasitic worm common in some sections of the country. The worms attach themselves to the mucous lining of the windpipe. Fowls are some- times affected and may spread the contagion. Fre- quently clean and disinfect coops and runs occupied by young chicks. Prepare the ground for the occu- paney of the chicks by a thorough top-dressing with slaked lime worked well into the soil. Plant to some quick-growing green stuff. Confine the chicks until well grown. Remove frequently to new runs prepared in the same way. Disinfect old ground with a strong creolin solution, or a 3 per cent sulfuric acid solution, as soon as the chicks leave it. Gape-worms may be removed from the windpipe of the chicks by means of a loop of horse hair or a wire gape-worm extractor. The extractor should be dipped in a weak solution of creolin. Shake off all excess of the solution before intro- ducing the extractor into the windpipe. The chick’s neck should be stretched and the mouth held open, the extractor introduced into the wind- pipe through the mouth, and removed with a twist- ing motion. This will usually bring out the greater part of the worms and the remainder will be killed by contact with the solution adhering to~ the extractor. The extractor with the worms attached should be dipped immediately into a strong disinfectant. Pip. Pip is acommon ailment, and the name is applied by poultrymen to inflammation of the mouth usu- ally characterized by drying of the mucous mem- brane, resulting in a hard, horny scale forming on the end of the tongue. Frequently this occurs as a symptom of some other trouble, as a heavy cold or bronchitis. In such cases the disease and not the symptom should be treated. Do not attempt to remove the “pip” or horny scale by force, but wait until it comes away easily. Glycerine and water equal parts may be applied freely, and this is usu- ally all the treatment needed ; or the attendant may wash out the mouth frequently with a solution of fifteen grains of boracie acid in one ounce of water. Hither remedy may be used freely without danger. Bronchitis. Bronchitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larger air-passages. It is usually the result of exposure to bleak, wintry winds, cold, wet storms, sleeping in drafts in crowded quarters, too close confinement in tight houses with an insufficient supply of fresh air, or inhaling irritat- ing dust. The most noticeable symptoms are rat- tling in the throat and difficult noisy breathing. Place the fowl in comfortable fresh-air quarters, where it will not be exposed to drafts. Feed nour- ishing, stimulating food. In the drinking-water, use twelve tablets of arsenite of antimony, one one- 556 POULTRY POULTRY thousandth of a grain drug strength each, to each fowls profitably. One of the efforts to overcome pint of water, and allow the bird no other drink. this handicap is to increase the number of fowls F kept in a pen. It may be laid down as a principle Literature. of general application that dividing the fiock mul- Wood, The Poultryman’s Formulary; same, Facts tiplies the labor, and conversely, multiplying the About White Diarrhea; same, Insects Affecting flock divides the labor. It is also true that increas- Poultry ; Salmon, Diseases of Poultry, George E. ing the number of fowls ina flock multiplies the Howard & Co., Washington, D. C. [See also, refer- danger and increases the responsibilities. Further- ences on page 527.] more, it seems to have been proved that the smaller the flock, the larger the production per fowl, other Poultry-House Construction. Figs. 555-570. things being equal. Just what size of flock will be : likely to yield the maximum production with the By James Hi. Rice. minimum labor and risk, is not yet proved. Twenty The modern poultry-house is a compromise be- years ago, flocks of fifteen to twenty-five fowls in tween two extremes in poultry-house construction: a pen were common; today they are rare. Now between the open-shed shelter on the one hand, flocks of thirty to fifty are common, and on a few which was too open, and the large, double-boarded, of the large and apparently successful poultry- tight house, which was too close. In the former, farms, fowls are being kept in flocks of sixty to fowls suffered from the cold; in the latter, they one hundred, and in rare instances, two hundred to three hundred or more in a single pen. Amount of space per fowl. The unit for estimating the capacity of poultry-houses is the square feet of floor space allowed per hen. In this respect, also, the effort to save labor has modified the practice. Formerly it was thought necessary to allow each fowl eight to ten square feet of floor space ; now, four to five square feet per hen is generally thought to be sufficient. A few poultrymen allow as little as two and one-half to three square feet of floor space per fowl. S = The space that must be allowed for the maxi- Fig. 555. A hen-house complete. mum capacity of a pen, with the minimum § of labor and risk, will depend on several suffered from lack of fresh air. Of the two, the important considerations : first was to be preferred. The modern poultry- (1) The locality and the season of the year. If house is the composite of the successes of centuries the fowls are to be allowed to run out on the and the result of the elimination of many mistakes. range a large part of the year, the danger from It has been gradually worked out through the ex- congestion in the houses will be far less than in a pensive, practical experiences of poultrymen, rather locality where the season of close confinement in than by the discoveries of scientific truths regarding the houses is longer. Manifestly, during the sum- poultry architecture. Poultrymen built houses of mer season, when hens are largely out-of-doors, various types and gradually discovered which gave more fowls can be kept in a pen than during the them the best results. The scientist now endeavors winter season when they are confined. to formulate theories to explain these results. (2) The larger breeds require more floor space The successful poultry-house must be, first of than do the smaller breeds, but not so much per all, cheerful, healthful, comfortable, convenient, pound live weight, because of the fact that the inexpensive and durable. In order to meet these lighter breeds are more active and impatient under requirements, it must be built to meet the condi- restraint. For the more active breeds, a good tions of the climate. Manifestly, a poultry-house that is best adapted to meet the requirements of the long, cold winters of the North would not be best suited to meet the requirements of the long, hot season of the South. The principles of con- struction, however, are of general application and may be modified to suit conditions. The size of the flock in its relation to construction. The modern tendency in poultry-plant manage- ment is toward larger flocks and therefore toward larger houses. This is in conformity with the working rule is to allow about one square foot of effort to save labor. The great’ handicap to exten- floor space per pound live weight, i. e., about four sive poultry-keeping in the past has been the limi- square feet per fowl. With the heavier breeds, a tation of man’s ability to handle large numbers of little less floor space per pound live weight is =_— G Fig. 556. Location of poultry-houses with reference to air-drainage, POULTRY needed ; in other words, six-pound fowls should be allowed about five square feet each. (8) Fowls kept in large flocks require less floor space per hen than do those kept in small flocks. bx 75 Meaney. Si Sb4* = 75059... 10X25 ae fi. LESTE PS Osgtt. [54350*45059.ft E Fig. 557. Showing relation of shape of house to economy of construction. Square houses economize lumber and labor of construction. This is due to the fact that in large flocks each hen has greater freedom of action, i. e., has more space for exercise. Location of the poultry-house. The location of a poultry-house has much to do with its value. The following factors must be con- sidered : (1) It should face the south if possible, in order to get the largest benefit from the sun. (2) It should be protected from the prevailing winds by being placed in the lee of a hill, of trees, or of buildings. (8) It should stand on well-drained soil in order to insure dryness, warmth, cleanliness and health- fulness. (4) It should be placed on productive soil in order to insure good sod pasturage and healthful growth of trees for shade. (5) It should be on land high enough to insure good air-drainage. (Fig. 556.) Cold air settles in low pockets. Such locations are frequently colder than the higher and more exposed situations. Shape of the house. The nearer square a pen is, the less will be the cost for material and labor of con- struction as compared with apen that is longer and nar- yA rower and contains thesame ‘S¥% number of square feet of WSS floor space. (Fig. 557). It 8 = Sin is 162 feet around a house 6x75 feet, and only 84.8 feet around a house 21.2x 21.2 feet,—a difference of 77.2 feet. Hach house con- tains the same number of SSS" cs square feet of floor space, eae) Se and therefore each would POULTRY 557 accommodate the same number of fowls. Pens 15, 18 or 20 feet square are the more desirable widths, depending somewhat on the kind of roof that it is desired to build. Foundation. Heavy, expensive foundations are unnecessary for hen-houses. A well-made concrete wall, four to six Inches on top and eight to ten inches on the bottom, straight edge on the outside, the top six inches above ground and the bottom eighteen inches below ground, is all that is required. Such a foundation should keep out surface water, is practically rat-proof, and if the land is naturally or artificially well drained, should not be affected by freezing. When sand and gravel cost not to exceed $1.25 per cubic yard, cement 55 cents per bushel, and labor $1.50 for ten hours, the wall should be built for 17 cents a square foot. In Fig. 558, at A is shown a combination of stone and grout founda- tion combined with cement floor. Both foundation and floor are built complete before the framework of the house is begun. The stone under the foun- dation and floor provides drainage and lessens the danger from heaving. At B is shown a stone foundation and cement floor. The loose stone wall is cheaper but not so tight or serviceable. Note the method of cementing against the sill in order to prevent the entrance of air between the sill and foundation. At C is indicated a beveled outside edge of the foundation, which is less desirable than the foundation shown at A, where the outside edge is vertical and the siding overlaps the sill and cement floor. At D is,illustrated a type of stone wall laid in mortar and “pointed up,” in order to insure neatness and tightness. This ordinarily is too expensive because of the high price of labor. Height of the poultry-house. Poultry-houses must be built much higher than would be necessary for the hens, in order that they Tea SUss ee -“Stones. Fig. 558. Different styles of foundations. 558 POULTRY 256CUFT. AIR SPACE FOR 64 aes We iiae NS egieroon’ ee 16%*/G6%* 2’ 5/2 CUFT, AIR SPACE FOR - 64HENS WEIGHING 4LBS. EACH-8CUFT PER HEN =ecu, ae PER POUND LIVE POULTRY condensation of moisture. Several possible types are as follows : (A) Single, unmatched boarding. This is too open, too cold, and too drafty. é (B) Same as (A), with cracks covered with batten. It is not tight enough. Battens are expensive. (C) Matched (tongued and grooved) boards. This is sufficiently tight and warm for most sections of the country. It is the least ex- pensive construction considering its effective- WEIGH I6SG6*8'= 2048 CU.FT. FOR 64 HENS WEIGHING +LBS. FACH-32CUFT. ~ FER HEN—-8 CU FT_ PER POUND LIVE WEIGHT. ness. (D) Same as (C), with heavy building- paper either on the inside or outside. Tighter and warmer than (C) and desirable on exposed locations. Outside papering is preferable to inside. (E) Same as (D), with inside lining of matched boards with dead-air space. It is too expensive and unnecessary. The dead-air airs, 5 weight fara 4pound hen. Fig. 559. Amount of air space in houses of various heights, and the square feet of floor space allowed for each pound of live weight. may be convenient for the attendant to work inside. The rule of one cubic foot of air space to one pound of live weight, which is used in building stables, would make the hen-house only one foot high. This is assuming that we are to allow one square foot of floor space to each pound of live weight. Such a condition is illustrated in Fig. 559, which shows the allotment of the floor space in a pen 16 feet square to 64 hens, weighing 4 pounds each. Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 show the height of the pen, not including the roof space, when 1, 2, 4 and 8 cubic feet of air space, respectively, are allowed per hen. The roof space alone provides 4 cubic feet of air space for each pound live weight for 64 hens weighing 4 pounds each. It will be seen that with the above allowance, a poultry- house with a one-half pitch gable roof and 6 feet high at the eaves, would allow 10 cubic feet of air space for each pound of live weight, which is about ten times as much as would be allowed per pound of live weight in building a stable ; hence, the rule which requires that a poultry-house should be built as low as possible without inconvenience to the person working inside. Kinds of walls. (Fig. 560.) The walls should be so constructed that they will prevent drafts, retain the heat, and prevent 252-459. ft. Hoor space x/=4cuf. e-Icuft. per pound Jive. space becomes a cold-air chamber, which is likely to cause moisture to condense on the inner wall if the house is tight. (F) Same as (E), except that the dead-air space is stuffed with insulating material, which makes it less affected by weather condi- tions, but it is too expensive. (G) Same as (F), except that the ceil- ing is unmatched and permits the free entrance of air. It prevents the forma- tion of acold jacket, because it warms during the day, and the wall and straw serve the purpose of preventing the warm air of the room com- ing in contact with the cold outside boarding and having its heat taken away. It is cheaper than(F), and more to be de- sired, but will form a harboring place for mites if roosting arrangements are placed against it during the summer season. (H) This is double-boarded and double-papered, with dead-air space; or the same material may be built solidly together. Both are Fig. 560. Eight types of walls — used in poultry-houses, POULTRY Me Tete Reet 2 ay AG Total Sides UG Fig. 561. The shape of the roof influences the cost. The com- bination-roof type of house takes less material than the gable-roof type, and the latter takes less than the shed roof. too expensive, and therefore are undesirable. The solid construction is tight, but cold. Numbers 1, 2 and 3 in Fig. 560, show the com- parative temperatures outside and inside a house at different times of the day, and the effect that each type of wall will have on the warmth and dryness of the house un- der varying con- ditions. When a house is tight and insulated, and the air is not allowed to change freely, it will be warmer during the cold nights inside than it is outside the house. When the sunshine, the following day, warms the air outside, frequently it is colder inside than it is outside the house. When warm air enters it picks up the moisture. The moisture-laden air comes in contact with the cold walls, which condense the moisture, and the house is said to sweat. If the walls are sufficiently cold, the moisture freezes and the walls are covered with frost. Tn order to secure reasonable warmth and dryness in a hen-house, the walls should be tight on all sides, including roof and floor, except the south, which may be compara- tively loose. This provides a quiet inter- change of air without draft. Roof of the poultry-house. The style of roof influences to a large extent the cost and efficiency of a poultry- house. Fig. 561 shows the three most com- mon types of roofs,—the shed, the gable and Fig. 562. The shed roof requires the most lumber. Fig. 564. one-half monitor; 5, combination shed and gable; 6, hip roof. POULTRY 559 the combination shed and gable: If the pitch of all of these roofs is alike, there is no difference in the amount of material required to build them. There is considerable difference, however, in the amount of material required to build the house when these three kinds of roof are compared. The difference is due to the amount of material required to build the sides in each type. It will be readily seen in Fig. 561 that the house with the combination roof re- quires less lumber than the gable-roof house, and that the latter requires less than the shed roof. The gable is one and one-half feet higher in the rear, and the shed roof three feet higher in front—a difference of one and one-half feet in favor of the gable roof. The steeper the pitch of the roof, the greater is the difference in favor of the gable roof, and against the shed-roof type. (Fig. 562.) If all three types are built with the same pitch, and the same amount of material in the roof and sides, and the front in all three types is built high enough to permit the top of the window to be placed five feet high, the three types of houses will appear as in Fig. 563. In the shed-roof house, the ceiling is too low to be practicable, but the windows can be placed highest. In the gable-roof type the windows Fig. 563. Each of these three houses requires the same amount of material, and the pitch of the roof is the same. must be placed too low. The combination roof furnishes the best combination of head room and height of window, with the least amount of build- ing materials, same floor space, and least cubic feet of air space. In Fig. 564 are shown six styles of roof. The monitor (1) and half monitor (4) are types adapt- able to houses twenty feet wide or wider. They provide for light in the back part of the house and save expense for material, permit a steeper pitch, Roof types. 1, monitor; 2, shed roof; 3, gable roof; 4. POULTRY Fig. 565. avoid the weakness of long spans and reduce the air spaces as compared to the very wide shed-roof house. For houses up to eighteen feet wide, the shed roof is to be preferred because of its simple construction. It throws all rain water to the rear, has the highest vertical front to permit high win- dows and to furnish shelter to the yard in front. It is easy to keep cool in summer because it allows the hot air an easy escape through the high front. The paper roof lasts longer if it slopes to the north. The gable-roof type is generally considered to be more attractive, but provides too much air space and is too éxpensive if the sides are built high enough to permit the windows to be placed so as to light the entire house. Windows. In Fig. 565 are shown eight types of windows and methods of hanging them. No. 1 is hinged on the side, which may gen- erally be considered the most desirable, all things considered. It can be quickly swung against the wall, out of the way, and can be opened little or much to provide ventilation without permitting the wind to blow directly into the house. No. 2 ig a double-sash window which slides up and down. It is Fig. 566. Methois of hanging windows. The angles at which the sun’s rays enter the house through windows at different heights. POULTRY difficult to remove in the summer season and costs more to buy and install than a single sash of the same size. No. 3 slides to one side. It is difficult to move because of weight, especially in cold, stormy weather, when ice may freeze it fast. No. 4 swings out from the top and makes it necessary to have the wire on the inside; it is difficult to move, likely to be broken by the wind,and makes the pens too hot in summer by reflection of the sun’s rays. No. 5 is hinged at the top and swings in- ward. It must be raised out of the way when opened, and, because of weight, is likely to fall and break. No.6 is in the way when opened and in that position permits the fowls to roost on it; it cannot be easily removed. No. 7 makes it impossible to have wire on either the outside or the inside, and is not strong and durable. No. 8 has the same objec- tions as No. 7. Sun from April atst hic 3 Sept.aist. Sun at - Dec.Zish Glass windows should be placed high up and down rather than wide horizontally, in order to throw the sunlight far back. Fig. 566 shows the angles at which the sun- light enters a poultry- house at different times of the year, when the tops of the windows are placed four feet, six feet and seven feet, respectively. It will be seen that in order to have the direct sun- shine reach the back of a house fifteen feet wide, in December when the sun is the lowest and sun- shine is most to be de- sired, it is necessary to have the top of the win- dow seven feet high. By having a long, narrow ribbon of light enter the house through along, high window, placed vertically, the sun, passing from east to west, sweeps the entire floor space, drying the Fig. 567. Types of doors and methods of hanging them. floor, killing disease, POULTRY warming the room and giving good cheer. There should be about one square foot of glass surface provided for each twenty square feet of floor space, and about the same amount of cloth window area. If only cloth or only glass windows are to be used, there should be about one square foot of window opening to each ten square feet of floor space. Windows in the roof are undesirable because more easily broken, and are likely to leak. Windows placed on the east and west ends of a house are desirable, provided they do not permit drafts through the house. Doors. In Fig. 567 are shown six types of doors and methods of hanging them. No. 1 ~ shows a door that is hung to swing in to- ward the middle of the room. It is objec- tionable because it frightens the hens and POULTRY 561 cleaning and durability, with reasonable cost. A properly constructed cement floor accomplishes all the requirements better than either a board or a soil floor. A board floor lacks durability if it is near the ground and if the outside air is excluded from beneath. If the outside air is not thus excluded, the floor is cold, and if it is made of unmatched boards, it is also drafty and permits much grain and litter to fall through, which is both wasteful and unsanitary. (Fig. 558, D.) The board and earth floors harbor rats, and the latter is diffi- cult to clean and likely to be damp. Hach of these floors- will be cold unless it is well carpeted with a litter of straw. A properly con- structed cement floor must be well under- drained, with three to six inches of fine stone or coarse gravel, on which two or three inches of grout is laid, is less convenient as it must be opened so wide. No. 2 opens against the side wall away from the middle of the room, and does away with the objections to No. 1. Both of these doors have threshholds raised six inches above the floor, which prevent the litter from interfering with the action of the door and, when the door is open, prevent the fowls scratch- ing out the litter. No. 3 is a “Dutch” door, i. e., it is in two parts. The upper door may be opened during winter weather, thus serving the purpose of an open window, and the lower part may remain shut to prevent the wind from blowing on the fowls. No. 4 does not have the raised thresh- hold. No. 5 is a double door, swinging both ways on double-acting hinges. This is a desirable form for large houses, where a trolley and truck are used, but is unhandy for general use. No. 6 is a single door swinging from the side with heavy, double-acting hinges, and is greatly to be desired because it permits rapid passage through the house without the necessity of stopping to latch and unlatch doors. Doors should. be not less than two feet, six inches wide and six feet, six inches high, in order to permit a person topass through easily with a basket in each hand and toavoid bumping the head. Floors. (Fig. 558.) over which should be placed about one inch of cement. The grout should be mixed one part portland cement to three parts clean, sharp sand and five parts coarse gravel or fine stone. (Fig. 558, ABC.) The one-inch coat should consist of one part portland cement to three parts clean, sharp sand, well mixed dry and then thoroughly mixed with water and applied before the grout is hard, so that they will set together. Cement floors, if possible, should be made in sum- mer or early fall, so that they wiil have time to harden and dry before the houses are occupied. Note wall construction, ventilating device, and gable stuffed with straw. Ventilation. However desirable the elaborate modern sys- tems of ventilation may be for larger buildings, they are not to be recommended for hen-houses. The chief reason why they have proved unsatis- factory in poultry-buildings is because of the com- paratively small amount of heat generated by the fowls’ bodies in proportion to the large amount of air space. This makes a draft in the ventilator less certain because of a lack of difference Lhe EF in temperature be- =se=—- tween the outside and the inside air. Fig. 568 shows a common, undesirable type of ventilator shaft. This form is better, how- ever, than the venti- lator shaft that opens near the roof, because The floor of the poultry -house should it takes the air from near the floor and does not allow the warm be so built as to in- sure dryness, warmth, rat-proofness, ease of C 36 Fig. 569. Interior of hen-house in process of construction. Finished structure shown in Fig. 555. air to escape so rap- idly, nor is it so likely 562 POULTRY to permit counter currents to form, by which the cold air pours down on the fowls. The simplest, most effective, least expensive and most easily operated system of securing a quiet change of air in a poultry-house is by means of a loose-mesh cloth window. When properly installed, this provides for a moderate change of air with- out draft. The amount and kind of cloth that should be used will depend on the location and the nature of the house. The tighter the house, the larger the window area and the looser the mesh of the cloth may be; and conversely, the more loosely the house is constructed, the smaller the cloth opening and the closer the mesh of the cloth must Suspended from Rafters | SS be. A small opening on the back, the ends, or in the roof or floor of a house, will cause drafts of air to pass through the cloth, which otherwise would permit only a slow diffusion. In a very tightly constructed house, cheese-cloth will prove more satisfactory than heavy muslin. A poultry- house having a cloth window may become damp if there is not sufficient change of air, which fre- quently is the case when too heavy muslin or too small area of cloth is used in a tight-walled house. Oiled cloth should never be used. It shuts out both air and sunlight and defeats the whole purpose of the cloth window. The cloth windows should hinge from the top and be so hung that they may be raised, lowered and removed easily. A poultry-house should be kept as cool as possi- ble in the summer by hanging the cloth window frames from the top on the outside of the windows. They thus serve as an awning and make the house much cooler during the hot season. An opening in the front, near the peak of the shed-roof house (Fig. 555), covered by a wooden door hinged by the top to swing outward, prevents the hot air from pocketing in the highest parts of the roof and makes the house much cooler. A single open- ing in the rear of the house, under the eaves, if ees Fig. 570. Nests and roosting alrangements. POULTRY placed so as to prevent draft on the fowls, is a desirable feature, keeping the house cool during summer. The method of double boarding behind and above the perches (Fig. 569) makes it possi- ble to have a free passage of air through the house by means of the back window without drafts on the fowls. Interior arrangements. The interior arrangement should be portable, simple, convenient, and should not occupy floor space. Fig. 570 shows four methods of placing the roosting and nesting arrangements. In “A,” the perches and nests hang from the rafters away from the side wall, making it easy to fight the mites. The droppings platform must be made rigid or it will be difficult to clean. Type “B” provides for a rigid droppings platform and removable perches. Type “C” is not to be ree- ommended because it lacks rigidity. The nests should i be close up under the plat- form instead of on the level Door to Nests i= ies of the floor, which requires ~ / the person gathering the ; eggs to bend over. Type D “1D” is perhaps the most desirable of the four de- vices shown. The nests are placed directly under the droppings platform, where they are least in the way, most accessible, least ex- pensive to construct, and seclusive, permitting the fowls to hide their nests. The perches are built together in a rack, are not hinged, and are removed together. The droppings platform rests on cleats, and, like the nesting compartment, is removable. Nests should be at least ten to twelve inches square and six to eight inches deep. One nest should be allowed to five fowls. About six inches of perch room is required for small fowls and eight inches for larger breeds. Every pen should be provided with a dust bath and broody coop, water pan, grit- and feed-hoppers and a grain-supply can. The feed- and grit-hoppers should be rat proof, force-feeding and non-wasting. The broody coop is best provided by partitioning off a part of the perch platform and providing a false floor to keep the fowls dry and clean. The dust bath should be placed close to the glass window, where it will be warmest and dryest. It should be covered to prevent the dust entering the room. A pit sunk in the cement floor, near a low window (Fig. 555), makes a desirable dust wallow. Water pans should hold more than enough to last the flock twenty-four hours, ‘should be easily cleaned, filled and emptied. They should have flaring sides to make the removal of ice easy, and should be made of material that will not rust or break easily. Plate XX. Prominent breeds of fowls Top left, Buff Cochin; top right. Silver-laced Wyandotte. Second row, left, Barred Plymouth Rock hen and cock; right center, White Plymouth Rock; upper and lower right, Silver Spangled Hamburg cock and hen. Third row left, Black Minorea hen; center, Black Minorea cock; right, Single-comb White Leghorn hen. Bottom row left, Silver Wyandotte cock; center, Silver Penciled Wyandotte hen; right, Single-ccomb White Leghorn cock, POULTRY Breeds and Types of Chickens. Figs. 571-581. By f. #. Orr. The acknowledged authority on poultry matters is the American Poultry Association. This is a body of fanciers, organized in 1873, now having a membership of nearly nine hundred persons. It publishes once in five years a book, “The Standard of Perfection,” which describes and illustrates varieties considered worthy of recognition. This book prescribes rules for the management of shows - and for the judging of fowls by both the score-card and the comparison methods. The one hundred and four varieties now recognized in the Standard may properly be classified under the two general headings, “ practical” fowls and “fancy” fowls, as follows : I. PRACTICAL FOWLS . seventeen varieties . eight varieties American family . . . six breeds . Asiatic family . three breeds Mediterranean family . five breeds . . fourteen varieties English family . . . . three breeds . seven varieties French family . . . . three breeds . three varieties Dutch family .. . .one breed . . six varieties Indian family . . . . one breed . . two varieties Il. FANCY FOWLS Polish family . . one beeed . Game family . . one breed . Game bantam family . one breed . Oriental Game family . two breeds Oriental bantam . eight varieties . eight varieties . eight varieties . two varieties iia Goo so) oO GnD one breed . . one variety Ornamental bantam Hil 5 5 og om seven breeds . seventeen varieties Miscellaneous . . . . three breeds . three varieties I, PRACTICAL FOwWLs Tt isnot easier to approximate perfection of show points in the first group than in the second, but each variety in the first group retains its popularity because of some practical point,—for example, the production of eggs or flesh, the former under pecu- liar circumstances or the latter of a particular quality, so as to make-the breed or variety profit- able to the man who pays little or no attention to the fancy points of form or feather. It has been said, and we think truthfully, that no variety can become universally popular that is not possessed of some characteristic that commends it to the atten- tion of the practical, money-making American farmer. The American family. Dominique.—Of the seventeen American varie- ties, the Dominiques are certainly the earliest of origin. Some persons maintain that they originated in the West Indies. We do not know. Their form does not indicate this. The writer recalls having seen them in Virginia, on the farm of his grand- mother, very close to their present form and feather, in the fifties. In form they are very compact and deep-bodied. In weight the cocks average eight pounds, and the POULTRY 563 hens six pounds. In habit they are very active. They are rather slow of growth, but when mature the hens are persistent layers and excellent moth- ers. In color, each feather should be crossed with alternate light and dark bars of the same color as the well-known Barred Plymouth Rocks. Fine spec- imens of this ; variety are now rare. Their close,rosecombs, clean yellow shanks, and good commercial /// qualities should 77 make them pop- ular once more. Java.— This breed, with its two varieties, Black and Mot- tled, is second of the Ameri- cans in antiq- uity. The Java had its origin in eastern New York. In the early sixties, it had reached such uniformity of both color and shape, particularly the Black variety, as to attract the attention of the public. It often grows larger than the Plymouth Rock. Its leading characteris- tics are a long, rectangular body and a deep yellow skin. No American variety breeds more true to form and color than does the Black Java. The color of the Mottled Java is black and white, evenly broken in alternate splotches through- out the entire plumage. Both varieties have single combs and clean shanks. Plymouth Rock. —This breed is di- vided into three varieties, the Barred, White (Fig. 571) and Buff (Fig. 572). The Barred variety Z originated in the Z sixties, in New England. Fowls by the name of Plym- outh Rock had been produced fif- teen years sooner, but they bore no relation in blood or type to the pres- ent Barred Plym- outh Rock. Like all other Ameri- can varieties, the Barred Plymouth Rock is of mixed origin. Two things are certain, both Dominique and Black Java blood were a part of the combination. There were other bloods used: by the early experimenters, par- Fig. 571. White Plymouth Rock cock. Mi / YAMS = HCG ay \ Aaa 2 ay QA (VS \\ ASS: Buff Plymouth Rock pullet. Fig. 572. 564 POULTRY ticularly that of Brahma and Cochin. However uncertain its ancestry, the result has been to give us in the Barred Plymouth Rock, the. best-known and most widely disseminated American fowl. In shape, the Plymouth Rock is a nice average between its two ancestors, the Dominique and the Java. The back and body are rather long, breast broad and deep. The size of all three varieties is the same, the cocks weighing nine and one-half pounds and the hens seven and one-half pounds. The wonderful popularity that fell to the lot of the Barred Plymouth Rock in the early seventies hes Fig. 573. Buff Wyandotte male and female. and the fabulous prices secured for good show spec- imens, made the American public want more of them, and it was not long until White Plymouth Rocks, true sports from the Barred variety, became known, and speedily became popular. The Buff variety came later, but to secure the buff color considerable foreign blood was introduced. All Plym- outh Rocks have single combs and yellow shanks. As indicated by the names, the plumage of the White variety is pure white throughout, and that of the Buff pure buff throughout. Black feathers, or even black specks in the plumage of the White variety, are serious defects, and in the Buff variety black or white in any part of the plumage is equally objectionable. The skill of the breeder of the Barred variety is measured by his ability to secure a plumage, each feather of which is barred to the skin with alternate narrow crossings of a light and a dark color. No variety is more difficult to bring to perfection than this variety ; but, when it is attained, high prices are the breeder’s reward. Wyandottes.—This is the earliest of the Ameri- can breeds whose history we can trace with any degree of accuracy. The Silver variety is the orig- inal variety of this breed. The wonderful popu- larity of the Plymouth Rock in the seventies stimu- lated fanciers to produce something different that would surpass it and yield them large profit. They sought a fowl of plumper form and quicker matu- rity than the Plymouth Rock, and if possible of greater egg-producing capacity. Dozens of fan- POULTRY ciers were at work along these lines, and several strains very similar in shape and color, and known by a half-dozen different names, such as Ham- bright, Hambletonian, Sebright Cochin and Ameri- can Sebright, were known by 1880. Mr. Whit- taker, of Michigan, seems to have had the most definite purpose, and to have worked along the — most specific lines, and it was his description and the illustration made for him by B. N. Pierce in 1874, and published by Whittaker that same year, that won their admission to the Standard in 1883. An error in the description of the wing-bars of cocks, published in the Standard of 1883, and which was not corrected until the issue of 1888, made much confusion, and evi- still found. In size, all Wyandottes are the same,— eight and one-half pounds for cocks, and six and one-half pounds for hens. In shape, all . should be the same; a bird of curves, back short and broad, body deep and round, breast — broad and deep, with a low-set keel, shanks short, strong and carried well apart. The Silvers were the original Wyandottes. The Whites and Blacks are the only true sports from these. The Buffs (Fig. 573), Gol- dens, Partridge, Silver Penciled and Colum- bians each contained in their origin some outside blood to produce their several colors, unless it be one strain of the Columbians, which was produced by a single, almost acci- dental, cross of two other varieties of stand- ard Wyandottes. The Silvers, the original Wyandottes, have never been surpassed in “eggs early and often.” Hun- dreds of cases are on record of pullets laying at five months. Before the writer is the daily record of a hen that in the first three years of her egg- production yielded 203, 202 and 201 eggs per year respectively. She is now hard at work on her fourth year and is doing well; and this hen has done all her work in the cold climate of Minnesota. This variety, having three times won the great international egg-producing contest conducted in Australia, stands without rivals in profitable egg- production. But of all the eight Standard varie- ties, the original Silvers are hardest to breed to Standard requirements of color. The back and shoulders of the male should be white, the saddle and hackle white, each feather with a black stripe in the center. The tail should be black. The breast and thighs of the male, these same sections of the female, and also her back and shoulders, should be covered with white feathers, each having a narrow black margin. This is difficult of attainment, but is beautiful almost beyond description. The Golden Wyandottes are colored exactly like the Silver, except that golden bay is substituted for white. The plumage of the White, Black and Buff varieties is indicated by their names. The Partridge Wyandottes have the color-markings of the Partridge Cochins ; the Silver Penciled Wyan- dottes have the color-markings of the Dark Brahmas; the Columbian Wyandottes have the dences of this widely disseminated error are — POULTRY color-markings of the Light Brahmas. The White Wyandottes have far outstripped all of the other varieties of this breed in popularity. In fact, the entries at the greatest fall and winter shows, the past four years, reveal them to be more popular than any other standard variety. This is possibly accounted for by a popular prejudice in circles of commercial poultry against dark feathers, a preju- dice that is more fanciful than real. All Wyandottes have close-fitting rose combs, and all have an abundant, fluffy but close-fitting plumage. In the original Silvers, Hamburg and Dark Brahma blood were the chief elements. In the Buff and Partridge varieties, some Cochin blood was introduced. The admission of these eight varieties to the Standard covers twenty-three years, from the Silvers in 1883 to the Columbians in 1906. Rhode Island Red.—During the twenty years prior to 1900, some thrifty fanciers and egg-pro- ducers in the southern part of New England labored diligently to produce a fowl of good size, of marketable excellence, of large egg-producing ability, and of a reddish buff color. They succeeded in all these particulars, but they quarreled amongst themselves on some minor color requirements, and especially as to whether their favorites should have single combs, rose combs or pea-combs. It was not uncommon to find two or even three kinds of combs in the yard of the same breeder. Finding that the Rhode Island Reds could never gain admission to the Standard with these diversi- ties, the fanciers set about a more specific method of breeding, with the result that the Single-comb Rhode Island Reds were admitted to the Standard in 1904, and the Rose-comb variety in 1906. In 1902, the fanciers of the Pea-comb variety, under the leadership of Mrs. Metcalf, of Ohio, separated from the others, and having changed both the color and shape somewhat by the introduction of some Cornish Indian blood, secured the admission of their favorites under the name of Buckeyes in 1905. The tail color of both Rhode Island Reds and Buckeyes calls for black. The former variety dis- plays a red surface of body-plumage, with a red or salmon under-color, free from slate. The Buckeye surface color is a dark, rich, garnet, and the under- color allows a bar of slate-color next to the surface. The standard size of Rhode Island Red cocks is eight and one-half pounds, and of hens, six and one- half pounds. The Buckeye cocks should be one- half pound heavier, and the hens one-half pound lighter. The body of both breeds is long ; of the Rhode Island Reds it is level; of the Buckeyes it is carried at a slight elevation in front. The Asiatic family. Brahma.—This breed has but two varieties, the Light and the Dark. While the two varieties are of the same shape, the size is different. Dark Brahma cocks must attain a weight of eleven pounds, and hens eight and one-half pounds. In the Light Brahmas, each sex must go one pound heavier. Like all other Asiatic breeds, Brahmas are distin- guished by heavy leg and toe feathering. They are POULTRY 565 also endowed with thick, close plumage, which enables them to endure with comfort a cold climate. This makes them good winter egg-producers, pro- vided they have dry quarters and are not exposed to wind. Their great size and good quality of flesh make them a favorite in some markets, especially where capons are in demand. All Asiatics are slow of maturity, either for the table or for egg-pro- duction. While the ancestors of all the Asiatic varieties came originally from Asia, their present perfection is due more to American and English fanciers than to what they were when first im- ported. ‘ The general color of the Light Brahma is white, with a black tail and black center stripes in both hackle and saddle feathers. The wing-color of both sexes is a combination of black and white too intricate to describe here. The appearance of the Light Brahma is most stately and commanding, and its great size and handsome coloring always win admiration. The color of the Dark Brahma, except of the neck and tail, is entirely different. The wings of the cock are crossed by a heavy black bar, and the entire breast and body, also the leg and toe feathering, are black. The back, wings, breast and body of the female have for each feather a basis of gray on which are distinct, dark concentric lines of penciling, which in its perfection makes a very handsome bird. Cochin : Buff, Partridge, White, Black.—The shape of all Cochins is the same, and their peculiarity is an appearance of massiveness and fluffiness. The heavy but short feathering of the Cochin, piled high on the back, and extending wide at the sides, makes it appear larger than the Brahma, but it is not, the weight being the same as that of the Dark Brahma; the cock weighs eleven pounds and the hen eight and one-half pounds. The excessive thigh and shank feathering of Cochins adds to their appear- ance of massiveness. The names of the Buff, White and Black Coch- ins indicate their coloring. The Partridge vari- ety is very different. This cock has a neck and back of bright red, shading to orange-brown color, each feather having a center stripe of black. His shoulders are red, and across the wing is a broad, black bar. His breast, body and thighs are black, also his tail. The hen has the same neck and tail color as the cock, but all her remaining surface color should be mahogany-red, each feather dis- tinctly penciled with concentric circles of a rich dark brown. The combs of all Cochins are single, low, close on the head and evenly serrated with five distinct points. Langshan: Black (Fig. 574), White—There are two varieties of this breed and their names indicate their color. The Langshan is more up-standing than the Cochin, and in stateliness isa rival of the Light Brahma. The Langshan differs from other Asiatics in that he has longer shanks, is more scantily feathered, and that he carries both head and tail high, these members coming up close toward a meeting point, thus giving him the appearance of having a short back. This, however, is seeming 566 POULTRY rather than real. The Langshan differs from all other Asiatics, and indeed from all American vari- eties, in that its skin is not yellow, but is a pinkish white. The bottoms of its feet, instead of being yellow as in the Cochin, must be a pinkish white. This peculiarity of the skin of the Langshan marks it as of peculiarly good table qualities. As is the case with all white-skinned fowls, the skin is thin, the flesh-fibers fine, and the flesh flavor very superior. This char- acteristic of supe- rior table quality marks the Dorking, the Orpington and all three of the French varieties. It is in this particular, more than all others, that the English and French surpass Americans in the production of extra fine table poultry. The best American poultry markets are now insistently demanding white-skinned fowls, and shrewd American pro- ducers will soon be supplying that demand. Black Langshan cock. Fig. 574. The Mediterranean family. Leghorn.—There are eight varieties of the Leg- horn: Single-comb and Rose-comb Brown Leghorn (Fig. 575), Single-comb and Rose-comb White Leg- horn (Fig. 576), Single-comb and Rose-comb Buff Leghorn, Single-comb Black Leghorn and Single- comb Silver Duckwing Leghorn. The size and shape of all are identical, except as to shape of combs indicated by the variety names. Leghorns had their early homes in south- ern Europe. The coloring has been greatly modified by American fan- ciers in the past forty years. Early matu- rity and great activity char- acterize all the Leghorns. Give them dry, warm quarters and they all pro- duce large num- bers of eggs. Their large combs, pendulous on the females, are easily injured by frosts, so for winter egg-production warm houses are essential. Leghorn eggs are white, as are the eggs of all Mediterranean POULTRY varieties. This color of egg is the favorite of the New York City market, and the White Leghorn is the favorite of the egg-producers who cater to that market. A large majority of the cockerels of this variety are marketed by their producers as broilers at two months of age. This combination, White Leghorn eggs and White Leghorn broilers, has proved very profitable, as both products command high prices. The Brown Leghorn is very peculiar and very handsome in color. The color of the cock is the same as that of the Partridge Cochin cock already described (page 565). The color of the Brown Leg- horn hen is nearly the same as that of the Part- ridge Cochin hen (page 565) as to neck, wings and tail; but her back, shoulders, breast and body, in- stead of the distinct penciling of the former, have for Dasaiy : LAB) 3 ’ eta) | oF Fig. 576. White Leghorn male and female. the basis of each feather a delicate brown on which a darker shade of brown is finely and evenly stippled. Minorea: Single-comb Black, Rose-comb Black, Single-comb White-—The shape of the Minorca is peculiar. It hasa long body carried rather upright, deep at the breast with the back tapering sharply toward the tail, and this organ long and carried rather low. The comb is rather large. The ear-lobes are large and pure white. The last two particulars are characteristic of all Mediterranean varieties. The cocks carry a weight of eight pounds and the hens six and one-half pounds in the Rose-comb variety; each sex of the Single-comb variety is one pound heavier. White-faced Black Spanish.—This is one of the oldest and best-known Mediterranean varieties, but, of late years, few good specimens are seen at our shows. The shape and color and the shape of the comb is the same as of the Single-comb Minorca, but each sex weighs one pound less. The peculi- arity of this breed is its white face, a very exag- gerated enlargement of the white ear-lobe of other Mediterranean breeds. Blue Andalusian.—This is one of the later and POULTRY one of the most beautiful additions to the Medi- terranean family. In shape, it is similar to other members of this family. In size, it is about mid- way between the Leghorn and the Minorca. The cock weighs six pounds and the hen five pounds. The plumage is a clear, slaty blue, each feather delicately laced with a darker shade of blue, ap- proaching black. Ancona.—This is the latest addition to the American Mediterranean family, although it has long been bred in Hurope, especially in England, where the color demand for shanks is yellow, while ours allows yellow, shaded or mottled with black. In size, the Ancona is about the same as the Leg- horn. In color of plumage it is the same as the Mottled Java, already described (page 563). The English family. Dorking.—On the Dorking, more than on any other breed, the English people have established their enviable reputation for producing the choicest of poultry. The skin of this breed is white, which indicates the excellence of its flesh quality for table use. [See comments on this subject under Lang- shan, page 565.] The Dorking has a shape pecu- liarly its own. The body is long and deep, carried at a slight elevation in the males and rather level in the females. It carries an abundance of flesh in the most desirable sections. The Colored Dorkings are the largest. The cocks weigh nine pounds and the hens seven pounds. The White Dorkings are the smallest, the cocks weighing seven and one-half pounds and the hens six pounds. In size, the Silver- gray variety, the most beautiful in plumage, is between the two sizes just given. There is no bird in our American Standard more beautifully colored than the Silver-gray Dorking hen. Her back, wings and breast have gray as a base, each feather deli- eately stippled with a darker shade. All Dorkings & have an extra or IN fifth toe. S Redcap.—In size, this bird is about the same as the White Dorking. In color, the male has various mix- tures of red and black, the fe- male of brown and black. An enormous rose comb adorns the head of both Sexes. Orpington: Buff (Fig. 577), Black, White-—— These are the only varieties of this breed to be accorded admission to the American Standard, although other varieties are sure to seek admission soon, notably the rose-comb varieties with the same ae EWE, Buff Orpington cock. ve 5 tiny aN +7. Fig. 577. POULTRY 567 colors as the above three, these all having single combs. The late William Cook, who did more to pro- mote the Orpington in England, Africa and America than any other individual, said that the chief ori- gin of the Orpington was in Dorking and Cochin Houdan fowl. Fig. 578. blood. The color of the skin indicates Dorking relationship, and the tendency to feathered shanks, especially on the Buff Orpington, indicates some Cochin blood. From their peculiar shape, some- what different from that of the Buff Orpington, we should imagine that the Black Orpington and White Orpington dipped into both Langshan and Cochin blood. Be their origin what it may, the Orpingtons have taken a strong hold on the affec- tions of American fanciers, and we predict a large increase in their number in the near future, to enable the producer to supply the demand for white-skinned fowls, referred to under Langshan (page 565). The Orpington has in reality a long body, although its abundant plumage, particularly of the black males, gives it the appearance of having a short back and a short body. In size, it is larger than the Plymouth Rock, the cock weighing ten pounds and the hen eight pounds. To carry this enormous weight, it should stand on short, heavy shanks. The Orpingtons are good producers of large, brown eggs. The French family. Houdan.—The Houdans (Fig. 578) are the best known in America of the French breeds. In color, they are the same as the Mottled Java and Ancona. The cocks weigh seven pounds and the hens six pounds, but both sexes often run heavier. Houdans have head ornaments of both crest and beard. They are good producers of white eggs and also have the white skin and fine flavor so dear to the heart of the French epicure. The Houdans, like the Dork- ings, carry the extra or fifth toe on each foot. Creveceurs (Fig. 579) are black fowls with both crest and beard. In size they are half-way between the Plymouth Rock and the Wyandotte. La Fleche fowls are also black, but do not have the crest or beard. The cocks weigh eight and one- half pounds and the hens seven and one-half pounds. 568 POULTRY With their superb methods of feeding, the French producers frequently bring capons of this variety to a weight of twelve pounds, and poulards to ten pounds each. The fact that the two last-named French breeds, when properly fatted and dressed, com- mand the high- est prices in the most fastidious market in the world should help to dissi- pate the Ameri- can prejudice against fowls with black plumage. The Dutch fam- ily. Hamburg: Pg) Re y Golden Span- Fig. 579. Crevecceur cock. gled, Silver Span- gled, Golden Peneiled, Silver Penciled, White and Black. —This family is often classed erroneously among the purely fancy breeds. For a half cen- tury or more it has maintained a right to the name, “Dutch Everlasting Layers,” and Dutch eggs form a large part of the eggs consumed in the great city of London. The Hamburg is about the same size as the Leghorn, and like them it lays a large white egg. Its coloring is too intricate for a description here, but this is a breed well worth more attention than it receives in this country. The Indian family. Indian: Cornish and White—The two varieties of this family, often called Games, erroneously, evidently trace to Indian origin, the Cornish variety still bearing a strong resemblance to the red Aseel. They came to England, and various crosses on the original importations with the Black-breasted Red Game and with the Black Sumatra have produced the present Cornish Indian. The White Indian is not so easily traced. Many persons think it is simply a sport from the Cornish. Its similarity in shape makes this the simplest solution. The Indian is a bird of strong proportions, and so fine is his texture that his weight deceives the uninitiated. The cocks weigh nine pounds and the hens six and one-half pounds. The beaks and shanks are yellow. The back and wings of the cock are a beautiful mixture of black and red. The tail and breast are black. The hen’s back, wings, breast and body are a rich bay, penciled with black. The Indian makes a fine market bird and is particularly good for crossing on Brahmas and Cochins for certain markets. II. Fancy Fowis We now come to a consideration of those breeds and varieties that are seldom if ever bred for prac- tical purposes, for table use or for egg-production, POULTRY but are bred as the fads and pets of fanciers who admire their peculiarities of form or feather, and have little regard for the question of profit or loss- in their poultry transactions so long as their own artistic or esthetic tastes are gratified. Not being of strictly farm value they have little place in a work of this nature. The Polish family. Polish: White-crested Black, Bearded Golden, Bearded Silver, Bearded White, Buff-laced, Non- bearded Golden, Non-bearded Silver, Non-bearded White-—These eight varieties constitute the beau- tiful Polish family, probably the joy and pride of more strictly fancy fanciers than any other family. The Polish are easily controlled and confined, by reason of their immense crests, but require good care and housing, as they cannot endure exposure in snow or rain. Four of these varieties, as their names indicate, have, in addition to their crests, ample beards. The color-markings of the Polish varieties are too elaborate to allow detailed de- scriptions here. With good care, Polish hens pro- duce a good supply of choice white eggs. The Game and Game bantam families. Game: Black-breasted Red, Brown Red, Golden Duckwing, Silver Duckwing (Fig. 580), Birchen, Red Pyle, White, Black.—These eight varieties of standard Games have each its counterpart in ban- tams. The standard or exhibition Game has a style peculiarly its own. The corresponding bantams differ only in size. The standard Game differs greatly from the pit Game. The latter is bred for fighting, the former for exhibition at shows, where the bird that stands highest and straightest, looks the fiercest and has the most correct plumage wins the prize. Oriental Game and bantam families. Black . Suma- tra.—This is a medium - sized bird with long drooping tail- plumage of very rich greenish black. It is much used in making certain crosses. Black-breasted Red Malay.— This is a large, handsome bird. The cock is twenty -six in- ches high and weighs nine pounds; the hen is eight- een inches high and weighs seven pounds. The color of the cock is chiefly a rich reddish brown ; that of the hen is dark brown with black in some sections. Fig. 580. Silver Duckwing cock. POULTRY Black-breasted Red Malay bantam.—The Malay is also produced in bantam size, which is very popular. Ornamental bantam family. Sebright: Golden, Silver.—These are proud little birds. The cocks and hens are feathered alike. The plumage of the Golden Sebright has a yellow base, and each feather is distinctly laced with black. The plumage of the Silver Sebright has a white base, and the same black lacing as the Golden. Rose-comb bantam: Black (Fig. 581), White-—Both black and white types are found among these. Both sexes ot both varieties have a proud carriage, a large, white ear- lobe and a long tail. Booted White bantams.— The peculiarity of this breed is a heavily feathered vulture hock, which gives it the ap- pearance of wearing boots. Brahma bantams: Light, Dark.—These are simply the two standard vari- eties of this name in miniature. It has been very difficult to get them sufficiently dwarfed in size. Cochin bantam: Buff, Partridge, White, Black.— Each of the four standard Cochin varieties has its corresponding bantam, very grotesque little crea- tures. The Standard weight for cocks is thirty ounces and for hens twenty-six ounces. Weights four ounces higher disqualify. Japanese bantams: Black-tailed, White, Black. —The leading characteristic of Japanese bantams is that they are seemingly almost legless, that their long wings touch the ground, and that their big, high tails come as near as possible to touching the back of their heads. Polish bantams: Bearded White, Buff Laced, Non- Bearded.—These follow the standard Polish vari- eties already referred to, except in size. The cocks should weigh about twenty-six ounces and the hens about twenty-two ounces. reece Fig. 581. Black bantam. Miscellaneous breeds. Silkies.—These are a peculiar white fowl of small size, with bluish red face and comb. Their leading characteristic is that their feathers are without quill or web, thus giving them a plumage that is soft, downy and fluffy, from which the name is derived. (Fig. 529.) ; Sultans. —These are booted Polish fowls, with both muff and beard. Their plumage is white. The comb should be invisible or very small V-shaped with two small spikes. The crest is large, full and compact, the feathers falling backward. Frizzles—These are fowls of any size or color, but having the tip of each feather turned back so Ss Ms give them a peculiar ruffled appearance. (Fig. Literature. For references, see page 527. POULTRY 569 Ducks. Anatide. Figs. 582-585. By Charles McClave. The domestic duck is a web-footed, short-legged fowl that is raised chiefly for its meat. The eggs cannot compete on the market with hen’s eggs, and are seldom offered for sale except for hatching purposes. It is the general opinion of naturalists that the domestic duck of today is a descendant of the wild Mallard (Anos bosechas), and that different types and colors have been produced only after many generations of careful selection and breed- ing. "The American Standard of Perfection recognizes twelve varieties of domestic ducks as follows: Aylesbury, Rouen, Pekin, Cayuga, Crested White, Indian Runner, Blue Swedish, White’ Muscovey, Colored Muscovey, Gray Call, White Call, and Black East India. These twelve varieties comprise all colors, types, and sizes of the duck family, from the little two-and-one-half-pound Call to the twelve- pound Muscovey or Pekin. Aylesbury. The Aylesbury duck is the leading English mar- ket variety. Itis native of the county of Aylesbury, England. It is to Europe as a market duck what the Pekin is to America. The Aylesbury is slaty white in color, of large size, with flesh-colored beak and yellow shanks and feet. It is a good layer, rapid grower, and ranks high as a market variety. Rouen. (Fig. 582.) The Rouen duck is a descendant of the wild Mal- lard, which it resembles in color. By careful selec- tion and breeding it has attained more than twice the weight of the Mallards. Some writers have designated it as a native of Rouen, a city in the province of Normandy, which is noted for its fine Rouen ducks. Fig. 582. poultry, but this cannot be verified, as larger and better specimens can be found in both England and America than in Normandy. The Rouen is the largest and most popular of all colored market varieties. The standard weight of mature speci- mens is nine pounds for drakes and eight pounds for ducks. 570 POULTRY Black Cayuga. This is the largest solid black duck known. It is strictly an American production and first made its appearance about Lake Cayuga, New York, from whence it derived its name. It is of fair size, a mature pair weighing fifteen pounds. The body is of good length. It is a good layer, the young grow rapidly, and as a market variety it ranks with the Rouen and Aylesbury. Pekin. (Fig. 583.) The Pekin is the greatest market duck of modern times. It was first imported to America from China in 1873. For two or three years following this importation, Pekin duck eggs for hatching were difficult to secure at ten to thirteen dollars per dozen. The Pekin is today the largest white duck in existence, exhibition specimens frequently weigh- ing as high as ten to twelve pounds each. Asa market variety, it outranks all others. Without doubt, there are more Pekins grown for market in America than all other varieties combined. The head and beak are long, and of good size; beak orange-yellow in color ; back, breast and body long, broad and deep, with deep keel; color creamy white. It is a good layer, feathers early and matures rapidly. Crested White. This is a medium-sized white duck, with large white crest or topknot. It is about two-thirds the size of the Pekin, and resembles it in color and shape of body, with the exception of the crest. It is strictly an American production. It is a good Fig. 583. Pekin ducks. layer, and the young grow rapidly. The Crested White is an excellent market variety, and at the same time is very ornamental, so that it is in demand. Blue Swedish. The Blue Swedish is the latest acquisition to the standard varieties. It is an English production, and has been bred in England for several years. It is of good size, mature birds weighing fifteen pounds per pair, and is of the same general charac- POULTRY ter as the Pekin, except in color. The color is a uniform steel-blue throughout, except on the bib or front of the breast, which is clear white and heart- shaped, extending to the throat. The beak in drakes is greenish blue in color, and in the duck smutty brown, with dark brown blotch, the eyes deep hazel ; shanks and feet reddish brown. Indian Runner. (Fig. 584.) This is a small variety midway in size between the Call and the Crested White. It originated in England. It is termed the “Leg- horn of the duck family” because of its great lay- ing capacity. It is, without doubt, the best- known layer of the aquatic fam- ily. In color it is entirely different ; from any other standard variety of ducks. The head is long and flat, light fawn in color, cap and cheek-markings light fawn; bill straight, green in | color with black bean at tip; eyes hazel; neck white from head to point where breast-markings begin; back light fawn or gray; breast light fawn, evenly divided half-way between point of breast- bone and legs; body light fawn, the rear half white; shanks and feet orange-yellow; carriage very erect, almost in a perpendicular form. The young feather rapidly and come to maturity earlier than the larger varieties. Black East India. The Black East India duck is an exact counter- part of the Black Cayuga, except in size. It is rated with the Call as the bantam of the domesti- cated duck family. The best authorities inform us that it is a “sport” from the common or wild Mallard (Anos boschas). It has the same general characters as the Mallard. While it should be solid black in color, many specimens have white on the breast, which is a disqualification. It is more freely bred in England than in America. Really good specimens are scarce and hard to secure at any price. Colored Muscovey. (Fig. 585.) The Colored Muscovey is an entirely distinct species from all other standard varieties of ducks. It is a native of South America and inhabits the country along the equator from Guiana to Para- guay. It is the native wild duck of that locality and is not a migratory bird, as are nearly all other varieties of wild ducks. While it is somewhat slow and inclined to be awkward on foot, it is very Fig. 584. Indian Runner duck. POULTRY active on wing and can.fly miles with a very little effort. The males are about twice the size of the females and pugnacious in disposition, especially at breeding time. The Muscovey will cross with other domestic ducks, but the progeny are useless for breeding purposes. The Colored Muscovey is of good size, black and white in color, the black predominating. The most peculiar characteristic is that the side of the head and the region around the eye are without feathers and are carunculated or corrugated and scarlet in color. Unlike many other varieties, this duck builds her nest and never scatters her eggs. She will sit, hatch and rear her young with diligent care. It requires the Muscovey five weeks to hatch, while other varieties hatch in four weeks. It is the duck that never quacks. White Muscovey. The White Muscovey has been bred from the Colored variety by careful selection of the whitest specimens for many years, and now breeds true to color. The young usually show some black at the top of the head and frequently on the back, under- neath the wings, but this disappears after the first molt. Unlike others, it molts but once a year. The White is the same as the Colored variety except in color. , Gray Call. The Gray Call duck is the bantam of the duck family, and weighs only four to five pounds per pair. The color is identical with that of the wild Mallard or the Rouen. It is an ornamental variety and is used principally as a decoy to bring down wild ducks, and for ornamenting the waters of public and private parks. While domestic in its habits, it is very active on the wing and flies as well as any wild variety. The female prepares her nest very carefully in a secluded place and lays ten to four- teen eggs; she is a good mother, rearing all her young, barring accident. The young are rapid growers and come to maturity at eight to ten weeks old. White Call. This has the same general characteristics as the Gray Call, except that in color it is a spotless white. The White has never been so popular as the Gray and good specimens are not plentiful. Wild ducks of America. There are more than fifty known species of wild ducks scattered over North America from the Canal zone to the Arctic ocean. Some varieties are much more numerous than others. It will be possible here to mention only a few varieties and to describe the one or two most important. The most important are the Wood duck, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveller, Cin- namon Teal, Blue Wing Teal, Green Wing Teal, Widgeon, Godwall, Mottled duck, Florida Dusky duck, Black duck and others. All of these are what are termed non-diving varieties, and derive most of their living from the vegetation found in the shal- low water of streams, pools and marshes. The POULTRY 571 fresh-water ducks also relish any kind of grain or animal food found in the water. All varieties are practically migratory in their habits, passing the summer and nesting in the North, and wintering in the South. There are fully twenty-five species of diving ducks, including the well-known Canvas-backs, Red-heads, Broad-bills, Labradors, American Hiders, Velvet Scooter and many others. Nearly all vari- eties migrate more or less at night, especially vy hen they are disturbed by hunters, and frequently pass the day on the water far from shore as a means of protection. Wood or Carolina duck (Aix sponsa).—This is the handsomest and most gorgeously colored of any American variety. While a migratory bird, it does not go so far north as most other varieties of wild ducks, and confines itself at all seasons of the year Fig. 585. Colored Muscovey ducks. a long flowing crest, extending backward nearly to the shoulder. It is purple and green in color, with bright metallic reflections. Two narrow lines of white, one starting from the upper base of the bill, the other at or behind the eye, pass backward to the point of the crest; the throat and side of the neck are white, nearly enclosing the violet-black back of the head. The breast is chestnut, shaded with purple, and spangled with triangular patches of white; the wing coverts and back are purple and black, with rich reflections; the sides of the breast are marked with a broad black bar; the sides of the body are barred with fine black lines with yellowish brown ground or undercolor, the longer feathers ending with a white bar. The bill is deep red or scarlet, with black at the base, and black bean or nail; eyes bright red with scarlet eyelids ; legs and feet dusky yellow. The female is similar to the male in color, but much duller in shade. The Wood duck is rivaled only by the Mandarin duck of China, which is a smaller variety and some- what less gaudy in color. The Wood duck prefers a secluded place, near a small lake or swamp where trees abound. The nest is usually made in hollow trees near the water, and is composed of feathers 572 POULTRY and down only, plucked by the duck. Should the nest be far from the water, the young are carried by the mother in her beak, one at a time. Here they are at home, and like other wild varieties come to maturity in a very short period. The Mallard duck (Anos boschas) is the most numerous of all North American varieties, and is found more or less in Europe and parts of Asia and northern Africa. In color, it is the same as the standard Rouen; medium in size; head of the male clear lustrous green; bill greenish yellow; eyes dark hazel; neck green, with distinct white ring nearly meeting at the back; breast clear purple, brown extending well back; back ashy gray, shaded with green; wings grayish brown shaded with green. The duck is entirely different in color from the drake, the entire plumage being light brown penciled with dark lustrous brown throughout. Literature. Geo. E. Howard, Ducks and Geese: Standard Varieties and Management, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 64, United States Department of Agriculture (1906). [For further references, see page 527.] Geese. Anatide. Figs. 586-590. By Charles McClave. The goose is a water-fowl raised for its meat and feathers, and also to some extent for orna- nental purposes. The breeding and rearing of domesticated and wild varieties of geese is an industry that is not only interesting in many ways, but of value from a commercial standpoint. The goose may be said to be midway in general appearance and size between the swan and the duck. It is much smaller, with shorter body, wing and neck than the swan, and much larger than any known variety of ducks. The beak of the goose is different in form from that of the duck, being nar- rower and deeper and more like that of the swan. The tarsus or shank—that is, the part of the leg not covered by feathers—in the goose is covered by naked skin, marked with small lines, enclosing sections like meshes of a net. In the duck family this is very different ; the front of the shank or tarsus is covered with scales or scutellz, one over- lapping another and forming a perfect covering just as the scales cover a fish. In the goose the tarsus is said to be reticulate, while in the duck it is said to be scutellate. The origin of all our domestic and standard varieties of geese, except the wild or Canadian, is said to be the European gray-lag variety (Anser cinereus). By careful selection and breeding for a great number of years, man has wrought many changes in color, type, and general characteristics of the domestic varieties. The geese that excited the attention of the guard by their loud noise and saved the Roman capitol from destruction by the enemy, were of a very different type from our improved varieties of the present day. The varieties of geese recognized by the Ameri- can Standard of Perfection are the African, Emb- den, Toulouse, White Chinese, Brown Chinese, POULTRY Wild or Canadian and Egyptian. All are natives of the eastern. hemisphere except the Wild or Cana- dian. The first three varieties are generally desig- nated by breeders and specialists as the “heavy weight” or “market” varieties of the goose family. Mature geese, when fattened for market, weigh seventeen to twenty pounds each; single specimens have been known to reach more than twenty-five pounds, but the latter figure is an extreme weight. The following notes on African, Embden and Toulouse geese, not prepared by the writer of this article, are inserted by the Editor to complete the discussion. African. African geese rank with the Embden and Tou- louse in size, and are considered more prolific than either. They are strong, vigorous and active birds. They are characterized by a large head, bearing a pronounced black knob, and a heavy gray dewlap under the throat. The neck is long, back broad and flat, breast full and round, body large and upright. The thighs are short and plump, and the shanks medium long and dark orange colored. The wings are of good size, and fit close to the body. The plumage of the neck is rather light gray in color, traversed from the head to the body by a stripe of dark gray color. The breast is gray, the under part of the body and thighs a lighter gray, and the back dark gray. The wings and tail are dark gray. The standard weights are given as fol- lows: Mature gander, 20 pounds; mature goose, 18 pounds; young gander, 16 pounds; young goose, 14 pounds. African geese are most profitable because of their prolificacy and early maturity. Nine-pound market birds are ready in ten weeks. Their dark bill and skin is against them, and they are consid- Fig. 586. Embden. ered difficult to pick. But the flesh is fine-flavored, and esteemed for the table. The ganders are sure breeders, and mate readily with any geese and with large numbers. The females are splendid mothers, and fairly good layers. African geese are an old variety and were brought to America at an early date, variously known as African, India and Guinea geese. They have not been much shown, and consequently are not so well known as some other breeds, but are highly prized by a few breeders. POULTRY Embden. The beautifu. white plumage, square, compact body, and tall, erect carriage of the Embden make it a very attractive bird. It is not so prolific, per- haps, as the Toulouse, averaging only about twenty eggs in a season, but it is highly esteemed as a practical bird. The neck is long and massive- appearing, carrying rather a large head and a medium-sized, orange-colored bill. The back is slightly arched, the breast round, deep and full, shanks short, stout, and deep orange in color, the thighs strong and well-proportioned, toes straight. The wings are large and strong and the tail short. The eyes are bright blue, indicating vigor and attention. The standard weights are given as fol- lows: Mature gander, 20 pounds; mature goose, 18 pounds; young gander, 18 pounds; young goose, 16 pounds. Embden geese were originated by the north Ger- mans, and especially those living in or near the province of Westphalia. For breeding, it is well to choose a bright, active gander of good parentage, that is two to five years old. The goose should have similar qualities, and be clean and compact. Fall or early winter is the best time to mate. The gander and geese, one to three in number, should be put together and isolated until they become acquainted. Embden geese will breed profitably until ten to twelve years of age, but they are not generally allowed to do so. They like to hide their nests, and it is well to place the nests in out-of-the-way places, free from disturb- ance. A few nest-eggs should be provided so that the eggs may be removed each day, and stored at a temperature of 45° to 60°, until enough for a sitting have been secured. By that time the goose will be broody. Incubation takes thirty days. If the eggs are hatched under a hen, she will need attention at hatching time, until she gets familiar with her strange brood. Toulouse. Toulouse geese are an old French breed, and have long been popular in France for their superior fat- tening qualities and hardiness, making them very profitable. They derive their name from the city of Toulouse in France. They are bred largely on farms in America, and are in demand on the mar- ket. They are less esteemed for table purposes than some other breeds, owing to the coarse and flabby nature of the flesh. They are late maturing and prolific, averaging about forty eggs in a season. Toulouse geese are blue-gray in color, marked with brown ; the head is gray, the neck dark blue- gray, the back dark gray, the breast a tight gray or steel-blue, the belly and under surface of the tail white ; the shanks and feet are deep orange-red colored, and the bill is orange colored. The prima- ries of the wings are brown, the secondaries a darker brown, edged with lighter gray, the coverts dark gray. The head is rather large but short, the bill short and stout, neck medium long and well carried; body compact, medium length, deep, the belly almost touching the ground; back broad, moderately long, slightly arched ; breast broad and POULTRY 573 deep; wings large, strong, folded close to the body; tail short ; thighs and shanks stout. The standard weights are given as follows: Adult gander, 20 pounds; adult goose, 18 pounds; young gander, 18 pounds; young ; goose, 15 pounds. The comparative value of the differ- ent breeds for mar- ket purposes is a matter of opinion. African geese are hardy, good breeders and prolific; other- . wise they are not so- good for market pur- poses as either the Embden or the Tou- louse. African gan- ders are frequently used to cross on other breeds, but they are pugnacious, quarrelsome and hard to han- dle. The Embden is preéminently the market goose for family trade; especially is this so where pro- ducer and consumer deal direct. Young geese are often as good or better breeders than old. Breeding qualities are to be judged by results rather than by age. It is well to keep the good breeders as long as they produce satisfac- torily. Geese that have been good breeders should not be condemned on one season’s failure. All breeding geese have their “ups and downs,” and results are not always good. It is better to set all but the last eggs under hens ; the latter are easier to handle, and the goose will usually lay two litters. White and Brown Chinese. ( Fig. 588.) The White and the Brown Chinese (Cygnopsis cyg- noides) have the same general characteristics, but are entirely different in color. The original Chi- nese were colored and the White has been bred from sports. It is thought that no entirely white variety of geese existed among any known wild species of the goose family. These two varieties are native of China, and are bred in Europe and America in large numbers. The Chinese are the most ornamental of all domestic varieties of geese. For ornamenting the lakes and lagoons of public and private parks they rank high, even rivaling the European swan in this respect. They are also a practical variety. In egg-production they outrival even the famous Toulouse. As a market goose, the Chinese are of very superior quality. The bodies are plump and round and the meat is of excellent quality. As feather-producers they are also valuable, being covered with a good coat of soft feathers and fine down. They are of medium size, mature specimens weighing ten to fourteen pounds each according to flesh. In general appearance, the Chinese have long arch necks, carried very upright, with a large round knob or protuberance at the base of the beak—the larger the knob the better. They dis- Fig..587. Toulouse goose. 574 POULTRY play a short erect body and carriage, giving them a novel appearance. They are especially valuable on farms on which marshy or broken land by stream or brook abounds, for this is their natural home. During the spring and warm months they gain nearly their entire liv- ing from pas- ture and water. During the win- ter, they need the protection of an open shed, and if supplied with clover hay and other rough fodder require only a _ small amount of grain each day. The breeding geese should be fed sparingly on corn or other grain, as fattened specimens are poor egg-producers and eggs from them hatch few goslings. Experience has taught that it is best to mate two geese with one gander, although some ganders will mate with three geese. When large flocks are kept together, they usually mate in pairs and trios, and at laying time the ganders become pugnacious among themselves and fight viciously. It is advis- able to allow the goose to sit and hatch her young, but the eggs can be hatched by chicken hens and reared by hand with good success. Should the latter method be adopted, the goose should be removed to new quarters as soon as she begins to be broody, and in a few days she will lay again. After the second laying it is well to allow the goose to hatch and grow the young. The young grow rapidly from the shell, and at four months of age are nearly mature. The gander will always care for and protect the young as well as the goose. The young hatched and cared for by the chicken hens can be turned over at any age to the flock, as the ganders will fight for the young at any age, and every old gander in the flock will endeavor to father the young goslings. Wild or Canadian. (Fig. 589.) The American wild or Canadian goose (Branta Canadensis) is a native of North America from the gulf of Mexico to the Hudson bay country and even Alaska. It is a migratory bird, spending the winters in southern United States and in Mexico and California. In the early spring great flocks are seen passing northward, beyond the eye and habi- tation of man to the silent desolations of unknown countries. It seeks the wild solitudes uninhabited by man, on the shores of lakes and marshes. It usually nests near the water on elevated patches of ground, and frequently on muskrat houses made of reeds in the water. The nest is carefully made and Fig. 588. White Chinese geese. POULTRY protected with diligent care by both gander and goose. The goose does not begin to lay until three years of age, and produces five to eight eggs of large and uniform size. Invariably all are fertile and each brings forth a strong, vigorous gosling. As soor as all are hatched, the young are taken to the water by the parent birds, where they feed mostly on vegetable matter and water insects. The young are very rapid growers and come to maturity in about twelve weeks, while other vari- eties of our domestic geese require four to five months to reach maturity. The Canadian Wild geese mate only in pairs. Wild geese were domesticated and bred on farms at an early period with varied success. No change in appearance or color has been wrought by man; their appearance and habits are the same. The writer has had many years of experience in breed- ing and handling these wild fowls, and finds their wild instincts always foremost. Birds reared with our domestic geese will rise and fly if an opportun- ity presents itself. The only means of controlling them is to remove the last joint of one wing when the goslings are only a few days old so that they cannot fly. The standard weight of Wild geese is ten to twelve pounds. They are of medium size, with long arched neck, small, well-elevated head, with black beak and an ever-watchful eye; head black, with a triangular white patch or cheek piece meeting under the throat ; neck black, shading to gray at base ; the back dark gray, breast light gray, shad- ing to white on under part of the innit wings long, large and powerful, and in color dark gray approaching black. The young are similar in color to the adult, except that they are alittle duller in shade and the white cheek piece is marked with black. This disap- pears at ma- turity, however, and at one year old the young have precisely the same color as the adults. Egyptian (Chenalopex Afgypticus). (Fig. 590.) This variety is entirely different from all other standard or domestic varieties of the goose family. It produces only a small number of eggs and is of little value except for ornamental purposes. Its native home is north and central Africa and the shores of the Mediterranean sea. Historians and naturalists allude to the Egyptian as the oldest and most ancient variety of pure-bred geese. At pres- ent it is common over southern Europe and occa- sionally fine specimens can be found in America. It is the native wild goose of the River Nile country. Because of its small size and peculiar Wild or Canadian geese. Fig. 589. POULTRY shape, some naturalists place the Egyptian as much in the duck family as in the goose family. It is the smallest standard or domesticated variety, weigh- ing six to ten pounds, the latter weight being the extreme for mature males. The male and female are alike both in shape and in color, and it is frequently difficult to distinguish the sexes under ordinary circumstances. It is necessary to “wing” both mature and young birds to prevent their flying away. They care little for other domestic vari- eties of geese and ducks, and prefer to remain by themselves near the pond or marsh. They are sought principally for parks and public ex- hibitions. While small in stature, the old males are very pugnacious and quar- relsome with all other _ aquatic fowls, and es- * pecially with males of their own species. With better domesti- cation this trouble- some characteristic will no doubt be overcome to a great extent. In color, the Egyptian goose is the most varied and gaudy of the goose tribe. The head is small and rather long, a little inclined to duck shape; the bill of medium length and rather flat, and in color purple or shaded red ; the eyes orange color, prominent and bold; the neck medium length, small, gray and black in color; the back narrow and arched or egg-shaped from base of neck to tail, color grayish black; the breast round and deep, with a chestnut-colored middle, the lower part dark gray. The same chestnut color extends around the eye, covering the side of the head in both male and female. The wings are large and powerful, and underneath the wing joints are pro- vided with a strong, horny spur five-eighths of an inch long, being entirely different in this respect from other varieties of geese. The surface of the wing is white, with a narrow black stripe or bar of clear metallic luster, wing flights clear black, tail medium size and metallic black, thighs pale buff or gray, feet reddish yellow. Altogether the Egyptian is a most interesting variety and worthy of more than passing attention. It breeds well in confinement under favorable conditions, the goose producing six to eight eggs, making a nest and hatching her young. If it has access to a pond or waterway, it requires very little attention or grain food. Fig. 590. Brown Chinese Geese. Sebastapool. The Sebastapool goose is a native of eastern Europe and western Asia and the Black sea, and was imported to America as early as 1860. It isa POULTRY 575 pure-bred, but not a standard variety, pure white in color, of medium size, mature specimens weigh- ing ten to eleven pounds each. The peculiarity of this most novel variety is its plumage, the back and wing surface feathers being long, inclining forward and downward, without shaft and curling as though fanned by the breezes. The irregular ribbon-like plumage attracts attention wherever exhibited. Very few good specimens are to be found in America. Wild geese of North America. Brant found some twenty distinct types or vari- eties of wild geese in North America. We here men- tion only a few of the more prominent. All North American varieties are birds of rapid and powerful flight, non-divers except when wounded, and nest on the ground in high latitude; but nests have occasionally been found in the forks of a low tree afew feet from the ground. The wild Blue goose (Chen cerulescens) is a dis- tinct variety found in the interior in the Missis- sippi valley and north to the Hudson bay country. It is rarely seen on the Pacific or Atlantic coasts. It winters along the gulf of Mexico and nests in the interior of Labrador. It is somewhat smaller than the Canadian Wild goose and much shorter in neck. The head and the upper part of the neck are white, the breast, back and wings brown and blue tinged with gray, the tail brown edged with white, the bill pale pink with a black mark along each mandible, and the shanks and feet bright pink in color. Large Snow goose (Chen hyperborea).—This vari- ety is native from Alaska to Texas and Cuba. It feeds largely on the land from growing vegetables, and returns to the water for resting and drink. The adult specimen is white in color, except the primaries of the flights, which are black, shading to gray at the base. The bill and feet are bright red. Small Snow goose—The color and general char- acteristics of the Small Snow goose are the same as those of the Large Snow goose except as to size. It is found from the Mississippi valley to California, and from as far south as Lower California to as far north as Hudson bay. The Ross goose.—This goose is the same in color as the Snow goose, but very small in size,—in fact, it is the smallest of all wild varieties, mature specimens weighing only about three pounds. It is without doubt the bantam of the wild goose family. It is not numerous. In summer it occupies the country about the Arctic ocean and in winter is found along the Pacific coast and in southern Cali- fornia. The White-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) is of medium size and grayish brown in color. The first short feathers from the beak toward the eye are white bordered by dark brown, and hence the name, White-fronted goose. The bill, legs and feet are pink or red. It inhabits the entire western part of North America from Mexico to the Arctic ocean. It feeds almost entirely on grass and other vege- table matter, and occupies the water only at night 576 POULTRY and during the molting period. The nest is made on the low ground near fresh-water marshes and small lakes. The goose produces five to seven eggs of a cream color. The Hutchins, Western, and Cackling varieties of wild geese are all similar in characteristics and color to the Canadian Wild goose except in size, and are less numerous. The Bernacle goose (Bernicla eucopsis) is said to be a straggler from Europe, where it is common. It is very scarce in America, and is found only along the Atlantic coast. It is a small bird about the size of the Brant. The head is white except the top, which is black ; the neck, back and wings are white, the under part of the body dull white, ending in clear white at the rear end; the tail, bill and feet are black. The Emperor goose is a rare variety, found princi- pally about the Bering sea, and said by some writ- ers to be the handsomest of all American varieties. In color, the head and back of the neck are white, the front and sides of the neck are brownish black checked with white, the tail is dark gray at the base and white at the end. The wing and body plumage is of a bluish shade, each feather ending with a band of white and lacéd by crescent-shaped black markings; the primaries of the wings are black, and the secondaries slaty black laced with white. It nests on the low marshy islands of Alaska, near the water mark. Black Brant. (Branta bernicla.)\—This goose is of medium size, nearly black in color except the under rear part of the body. It inhabits nearly all of North America as far east as Greenland, and nerth to the Arctic ocean. The nest is made on the ground on small islands in fresh water in Franklin bay. The nest usually contains four or five eggs. Wild varieties of the eastern hemisphere. Of the wild varieties of Europe, there are three distinct types: the Gray-lag goose, the Pink-footed goose and the Bean goose. The common domestic, or English variety, is no doubt a descendant of the wild Gray-lag. The wild Gray-lag goose (Anser cinereus), alone among wild varieties, will cross with domestic geese and produce fertile progeny. Very few Gray- lags are to be found in Europe except in the Shet- land islands and on the coast of Norway. As a variety it has become almost extinct. The Bean goose (Anser segetum) closely resembles the Gray-lag in many respects, but is shorter in beak and has greater length of wings or flight feathers. Pink-footed goose.—Very little can be said regard- ing the Pink-footed goose except that it resembles the Gray-lag and Bean varieties in color and gen- pe type, and is very difficult to distinguish from them. The Gambian or Spur-winged goose is a native of . the eastern hemisphere, and is very rare in Amer- ica. The plumage is black and white, the former predominating. The goose is of medium size, erect in carriage, with a knob on the head similar to that in the Chinese variety. The eyes are bright brown, POULTRY the beak and shanks dull red. Because of its wild nature it is rarely bred in confinement. The Cereopsis goose is a native of New Holland and is becoming very scarce even in Europe. It is a handsome variety. It is very pugnacious in dis- position, and cannot be kept successfully with any other variety of water-fowl. Judging geese. For judging geese, the American Standard of Perfection provides a standard weight for each standard variety—adult male, adult female, young male and young female. In competition with others of the same kind, the specimen nearest the required weight, other conditions of color and form being equal, shall be the winner. However, in the large market varieties, such ‘as the Toulouse, the Embden and the African, the writer thinks that, all other conditions being equal, the largest specimen should be the winner. Literature. Geo. E. Howard, Ducks and Geese: Standard Varieties and Management, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 64, United States Department of Agriculture (1906). [For further references, see page 527.] Grouse, Domestication of the Ruffed. Bonasa umbellus., Tetraonide. Figs. 591, 592. By C. F. Hodge. The possibility of rearing the ruffed grouse, or American partridge, in domestication is now a dem- onstrated fact. Six birds from a clutch of twelve were thus reared by the writer in 1904, and three were brought to maturity by Arthur Merrill, of the Massachusetts State Hatchery, at Wilkinson- ville, in 1906. One pair of the former lot bred successfully in captivity when they were ten months old, and those at the Wilkinsonville Hatch- ery are apparently breeding normally this season. Rearing the birds. The ruffed grouse lays ten to sixteen eggs in a slight depression in the ground, in a brush-pile or at the base of a tree. The clutches are usually completed in Massachusetts by May 1 to 10, and the incubation period is twenty-four days. At any stage of incubation the eggs may be transported by the “hat method” in perfect safety. This method consists in laying a pad of cotton-batting in the crown of a felt hat, placing the eggs on this and then simply wearing the hat with the eggs next to the head. One case is known in which the chicks actually hatched in the hat. The young pip the shell usually a full day before they finally emerge. The eggs hatch well under Cochin bantam hens (less so, thus far, in incubators), and the young may be allowed to remain undisturbed in the nest one day without feeding. The rule to be followed after this is, feed lightly and often, and keep them hungry: especially, keep them hungry and active. The only excepticn to this rule is at night, when they must be fed enough to send them to sleep con- tentedly. After feeding liberally one evening, for POULTRY example, one four-days-old chick was found wan- dering disconsolately about in the dusk. It ate sixty-five full-grown maggots before it crept under the hen. This incidentally illustrates both quanti- tatively and qualitatively the food of the young chicks, which is, at first, almost wholly small insects and spiders. Feeding and care.—The best first-feed is supplied by cutting branches of apple, maple, chestnut, and elm, with leaves covered with aphides, and spread- ing them down before the brood; or the chicks may be allowed to pick the small insects from the grass or from the plants in the garden. If the weather is cold or wet so that they cannot be risked out of the brooder, they may be fed for the first day or two on well-ripened and cleaned maggots, a few at a time; and if these fail, as they do in exceptionally cold seasons, the attendant may give sparingly of pheasants’ custard. This is made by beating up a fresh egg with a half cup of fresh milk, and baking or scalding until coagulated. It is well to add a pinch of chick bone-meal to each feeding. The chicks will also need a good supply of grit, and it is well to keep a bunch of fresh chickweed, wood sorrel, shepherd’s purse, or wild peppergrass before them from the first. They should, in fact, be encouraged to eat all the bulky, coarse, vegetable matter possible. Grated carrot is excellent during the first weeks. All this vegetable food may be kept constantly before them, as it always is in nature. This rule also applies to all kinds of fruits as they ripen through the season, from strawberries, mulberries and cherries to huckleberries and black cherries, which are a staple food through the summer, and grapes and apples, chestnuts and acorns in the late fall. Throughout the summer, grasshoppers form the staple insect diet. These can generally be secured in any desired quan- tity by sweeping the mowings with insect nets. In the late summer and fall, leaves of trees and shrubs form a large part of the bird’s diet. It is strange that, with all sorts of fruits and grains before them, they will insist on eating leaves and buds; but queer as the taste may seem, there is no disputing it. The birds winter easily, in fact, winter them- selves if supplied with abundance of budding brush, poplar, apple or birch, some grains and seeds, as of kafir, corn, buckwheat, millet, wheat and sunflower, a cabbage head occasionally and apples. We may also add cranberries and winter- green berries, but these may be an unnecessary extravagance. If provided with a warm shelter with sunny windows, the partridges will spend their days in it wallowing and feeding. They C37 Ruffed grouse cock about five months old. POULTRY 577 sleep, however, invariably outside, either perched in the brush, preferably a thick mass of spruce, pine or hemloek branches, or in snow burrows that they dig whenever the snow is deep enough. In the spring the flock must be carefully watched and the cocks must be put each into a separate cage as soon as any signs of fighting appear. The hens may be kept inacage together, at least until mated, when it will probably be best to give each one a cage or run to herself. When the cocks begin to drum, place the hens with them and they will mate immediately. The hens should then be removed, as it seems to be the rule for a cock to peck a hen to death if confined with her after mating. Fig. 592. Ruffed grouse strutting. Difficulties in the way of domesticating ruffed grouse. It is usually stated that the ruffed grouse is untamable, and this is given as the reason why the species has not been successfully domesticated. The experience of the past five years has entirely disproved this theory. It has also been asserted that it is too nervous to submit to the necessary confinement of domesticated fowls. This, too, is disproved. If actually hatched under domestic conditions, the birds are quite as tame as barnyard fowls, and remain so; and they are quiet, show no abnormal restlessness and appear quite as contented as ordinary fowls. The real reason why the Ameri- can partridge—and this probably applies to the bobwhite and other native grouse—has not been brought under domestication is, that the species succumbs to a disease, generally present in the domestic fowl. The disease is caused by a parasite which produces the “black-head” or “favus” of the turkey. This disease has made the rear- ing of turkeys over wide areas impossible on ground contaminated by the domestic fowl, and will render the rearing of grouse with fowls impos- sible in the same regions. Turkeys or grouse may be reared in these localities if the chicks are kept in brooders, off the contaminated ground, for the first two or three weeks, and are then taken to the woods where the ground is uncontaminated by fowls. It is possible that a resistant strain may be developed, but this will take time. Cochin ban- tams may also be reared in incubators and brood- ers so as to be entirely free from the parasite, and then, on uncontaminated ground, they might be used successfully to rear grouse or quail. How- ever, experiments have only recently been pro- jected along this line on the theory, which is probably safe, that the parasites are not trans- mitted through the egg. Another disease, known as the grouse disease, has recently been distributed among the breeding 578 POULTRY stations and has presented a new and serious dif- ficulty. This is bacterial in origin, due to B. Scoticus. All precautions should be taken against spreading or harboring this germ wherever the rearing of grouse is to be attempted. Literature. Sylvester D. Judd, The Grouse and Wild Turkeys of the United States and Their Economic Value, Bulletin No. 24, Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture (1905); C. F. Hodge, Domesticating the Ruffed Grouse, Country Life in America, April, 1906. Guinea-fowl. Numida meleagris. Numidide. Fig. 593. By T. F. McGrew. The guinea-fowls belong to the gallinaceous division of birds. They were found originally in Africa, and are said to have been reared centuries ago by the Greeks and Romans as table poultry. They were brought into the West Indies by immi- grants, and from there were well distributed over the entire American continent. They are of a semi-wild nature ; even when domesticated they almost refuse to make their nests other than in hiding, where they deposit, hatch and rear their young. Varieties. The Pearl guinea, the most common variety of the family, has been so named from the fact that its plumage is dotted with white spots, the body color being purplish gray. The spots are of a pearl shape and color. The head is bare of plu- mage, with a bony pro- tuberance on the crown that is often called a helmet, sometimes spoken of as the comb of the guinea-fowl. It has small wattles, bright-colored eyes, and alert, quick car- riage. It is difficult to distinguish the male from the female. The male has a tendency to travel on tiptoe as he moves about, and his ery or call is a little louder and harsher than that of the female, and of greater duration. This variety is most valued because it is the largest and most vigorous. Vulturine guinea (Aeryllium vulturinum).—The so-called Vulturine guinea-fowl is a most beau- tiful wild bird. It is not a true guinea-fowl, but ‘ears a close resemblance. It is seldom produced in _aptivity. A few specimens have been known to deposit their eggs when confined in runways, but there is no record of their having reared any young in captivity. The Vulturine has a bare head, the neck, which is of a reddish color, is ornamented with flowing feathers of considerable length, which have a broad stripe of white down the center. The Fig. 593. Common Sante -fowl. POULTRY feathers of the back are of similar form, dotted with white spots; other parts of the body are blackish brown, ornamented with numerous spots. The breast and sides of the abdomen are of a beau- tiful metallic blue, shaded with black. The whole plumage is emblazoned with rich, metallic blue, and some parts are shaded with a dull pink. The wild crested variety is said to have come from Hastern and Central Africa. It has a black crest instead of the bony protrusion of the other varie- ties. It has also blue markings instead of white ; the neck and wattles are of a bluish cast. The white variety is thought to have originated from albino sports of the Pearl guinea. This, like the broken-colored varieties, is not natural to the breed, but has resulted from sports. Attention has been — given the breeding of the white guinea-fowl within — recent years, and much has been added to its size, vigor and attractive qualities. Raising. Guineas prefer to mate in pairs, but they do not object to mating with three to five females, or in trios when there are more females than males. They lay small eggs, about two-thirds the size of an ordinary hen’s egg. The shell is very strong, of a dark color, and spotted throughout. The eggs are usually remarkably fertile. The fowls have been known to make a deep, tapering nest, in which they would lay twenty-seven to thirty eggs, and hatch the greater part of them in four weeks’ time. They like to conceal their nest, and will leave it if they see a person near it. It is said that they are able to detect whether the hand has touched the nest in their absence, and if so they will de- sert it. If eggs are removed with a stick or spoon, either some should be left or others sub- stituted, so as to leave about five in the nest. When first hatched, the keets (young guineas) need to be fed frequently on finely broken particles of grains or seeds. As they grow older, whole wheat and cracked corn seem to be the best food to furnish them. Barley, oats, buckwheat and millet are also recommended. Guinea-fowls generally feed with the’ chickens, and thrive on the same foods. They should not be over-fattened for market. A fatten- ing period of one to two weeks is ordinarily enough. Generally, only a few guinea-fowls are bred on afarm. A few attempts have been made to breed them in considerable numbers, the most successful of which were in Ohio, where a guinea broiler farm of modest pretensions has been conducted for several years. The place most suited to the guinea- fowl is the farm, from the fact that it prefers to live in a partially wild state. It is a wonderful forager, and will almost support itself and young during the entire summer months, if there is a good supply of bugs, worms and seeds over the range. It likes to wander over great distances. It retains in captivity its ability to fly almost as well as though it had never been domesticated. Guineas prosper remarkably well in the South. It is not unusual to see large numbers of them in flocks during the early fall. They seem to cluster in groups at that time, as do the blackbirds. They POULTRY take up their abode at night in the trees near to buildings, or feed-lots, where they can gain a food supply from waste grain and other materials. Improvement. If proper attention were given to the mating of guinea-fowls to improve their size and laying qual- ities, they could be developed into a most profitable kind of poultry. They are prolific ege-producers during the spring. Attention should be given to the culling out of inferior specimens and the smaller sized hens, breeding for improvement being done only by the best specimens. Uses. The eggs are more valued for cooking than for table use. The guinea-fowl is very wholesome meat, and the broiler is considered one of the delicacies in poultry. Both old and young are used as substi- tutes for game birds. Guineas are very watchful, and sound the alarm if the poultry-yard is molested. Literature. J. H. Edgerton, Guinea Culture, Marietta, Ohio ; The Guinea-Fowl: and Its Use as Food, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 234, United States Department of Agri- culture. [For further references, see page 527.] Pheasants and Related Fowls. Phasianide. Figs. 594-597. By Homer Davenport. The pheasant family includes within its scope, the turkey (which see), peafowl and jungle-fowl, aside from what are called pheasants in common speech. The guinea-fowl is nearly related. The members of this group are valued chiefly for their feathers and for ornamental purposes. But the economic value of pheasants to the farmer is scarcely sufficiently appreciated. The birds destroy enormous numbers of injurious insects. Upwards of twelve hundred wire-worms have been taken out of the crop of a pheasant; if this number were consumed at a single meal, the total destroyed must be almost incredible. There is no doubt that insects are preferred to grain, while the roots of various weeds are apparently relished. One pheas- ant, shot at the close of the shooting season, had in its crop 726 wire-worms, one acorn, one snail, nine berries and three grains of wheat. Yet it must be noted that in captivity grain forms the favorite food, and a field of standing beans, as is well known, will draw pheasants for miles. Pheas- ants are occasionally carnivorous. Description. The pheasants, typified by the genus Phasi- anus, are readily distinguished by their long, straight, pointed tail feathers, eighteen in number, the middle pair being much the longest, and the tail tapering to a point. These tail feathers attain their maximum development in the Reeve’s pheas- ant, reaching, in that species, to a length exceed- ing five or six feet. The writer once exhibited a Reeve’s pheasant that measured six feet and one POULTRY 579 inch from the first bar on his tail to the tip. The pheasants are all destitute of feathered crests or fleshy combs, but are furnished with small tufts of feathers behind the eyes. In their native state they are essentially forest birds, frequenting the mar- gins of woods, coming into the open tracts in search of food, and retreating into the thick under- wood at the slightest cause for alarm. The flight of the pheasant is strong, and is per- formed by rapid and frequent beats of the wings, the tail at the same time being expanded. The wings, considered with reference to the size and weight of the bird, are short and small (with the exception of those of the Argus pheasant), the sec- ondary quills being nearly as long as the primary ; they are very rounded in form. The third and fourth primary feathers are the longest. The wings are not adapted to very prolonged flight, although the denizens of the wilder districts in the country fly with a speed and cover distances that are unknown to the oyer-fattened birds in our pre- serves. Long flights, however, are not altogether beyond the powers of pheasants. The compara- tively small size of the wings necessitates their being moved with great force and velocity, and consequently the moving powers or muscles of the breast are very large and well developed, taking their origin from the deep keel on the breast-bone. Breeding notes. As the breeding season approaches, the crow of the male of the common pheasant (Torquatus) and others of like species, may be heard distinctly, resembling the imperfect attempt of a young fowl. It is followed, and not preceded, as in the game cock, by the clapping of the wings; the pheasant and the domestic cock invariably reverse the order of succession of these two actions. Like the domes- tie fowl, pheasants will also answer any loud noise, occurring either by day or by night. The display of the plumage by the males during courtship varies in almost every species of gallinaceous birds. Pheasants seem to possess no other mode of dis- play than the lateral or one-sided method. In this, the males disport themselves so as to exhibit to the females a greater number of their beautiful feathers than could otherwise be seen at one view. In a state of nature there is little doubt that the pheasant is polygamous. The males are armed with sharp spurs, with which they fight, the stronger driving away the weaker, and the most vigorous propagate their kind. This is true with the single exception of the Argus pheasant, most beautiful of all in plumage. The nest of the female is usually a simple hollow scraped in the ground. The eggs that are laid vary largely according to the species. The Torquatus pheasant in its wild state in Oregon generally lays fifteen to nineteen eggs in its nest before sitting, whereas the Pea- cock pheasant lays but two. Asa rule, the male pheasant takes no heed of the eggs laid by the female, but he seems to have great regard for the offspring, and in some instances will defend them to his death. Pheasants usually nest to lay in the latter part of April, the date varying somewhat 580 POULTRY with the season and the latitude. The Silver pheas- ant usually is the first to lay, and the Impeyan, or Monaul pheasant, the last. DESCRIPTIVE NOTES Peafowl or peacock. The peafowl or peacock represents the genus Pavo of the sub-family Pavonine, of the pheasant family (Phasianide). Of the peafowls there are two distinct species, both apparently coming from India or the neighbouring countries. The common or grey-winged peafowl is the one generally seen throughout the civilized world at the present time. The green or Java peafowl is found in Java and Burmah, and is a distinctly different species from the others. The black-winged peafowl, which is probably a variety, is said to have originated in Japan. Two other varieties are known, the white and the pied. The Green or Java (Pavo mutieus).—This bird is a native of Chittagong, in the eastern part of India, through Burma to Java. Perhaps, if feather for feather were contrasted with other birds, this would rank as the most beautiful of all known birds, possessing in its majestic plumage every color of the rainbow, every tint and tone in the prismatic scale. Its neck feathers, less rich in hue than the blue of its rival, have a particularly beautiful effect, as if made of metal ; and the almost * equal beauty of the hen places her far above the dowdy mate of the common peacock. It is much larger than other species, breeds readily in any cli- mate, and is a handsome ornament to any country home. Most important, perhaps, is the fact that it does not utter that shrill, ear-splitting scream that makes the common peacock a rather unpopular bird. The Common peafowl (Pavo cristatus).—Little need be said of this beautiful bird. It is found all over the world, breeds readily in any climate, and is very tame. The Japanned or Black-winged (Pavo nigripennis). —This peafowl, erroneously called the Japanese peacock, is attributed to Japan. It is among the really beautiful types of the peacocks. The male bird is the darkest of all the peacocks, and, strangely enough, the female is the lightest, being almost white. It is hardy, and can be reared in any climate where peacocks are bred. White and pied peacocks.—Of the peacock family, there are two other varieties, the white and the pied. Both have attained wide popularity owing to their delicate beauty. The white peacock has reached its highest state of cultivation in India, and for a time, at least, was supposed to have been worshipped as a sacred bird by some of the people of India. The pied peafowl is one of the most attractive, and, possibly, is the result of the cross- ing of one or two species of the peacocks. Pheasant. The Argus (Argusianus argus) is classed by some naturalists in the peacock group. It is a native of Malacca, Siam and northwestern Borneo, POULTRY frequenting the jungles. It is undoubtedly one of the most magnificent of the pheasant family. It is so extremely shy in its habits that there are few instances of its being shot, even by native hunters. It measures five feet in length, the tail being three feet and over in length. The prevailing color is ochreous red or brown, without brilliant relief. There is a pronounced harmony in the distribution of the tints, there being such a profusion of small spots, sometimes lighter and sometimes darker than the ground, that they assume, apparently at will, the tones of their environment. Its broad secondary feathers are covered in their entire length by a row of eye-like spots imitating half globes, and nothing from the brush of nature is more artisti¢ or more beautiful. It is from these spots that the Argus takes its name. The naked skin of the face and neck is bright blue, contrasting well with the bronze hue of the plumage. The female pos- sesses none of the markings of beauty characteris- tic in the male, and is but twenty-six inches in length. Although the Argus is remarkably wild in its native state, it becomes unusually tame in cap- tivity, returning to its aviary at night after enjoy- ing full liberty during the day. The Impeyan (Lophophorus impeyanus).—The Monaul or Impeyan pheasant is one of the most gorgeous birds. The wonderful metallic brilliancy of the cock’s plumage, gleaming in purple and gold, baffles description. It inhabits the high ranges of the Himalayas, seldom coming below an elevation of 6,000 feet. It is tough and hardy, and digs with its strong bill for roots and worms. It becomes tame enough in eaptivity to be allowed to run loose in the barnyard. Owing to its unsurpassed beauty, combined with its rugged nature, few species of pheasants are more attractive than the Impeyan. The Tragopan (Tragopan, or Ceriornis, spp).— There are five species of the Tragopan family: Crimson, Temminck’s, Cabot’s, Horned and Slater’s. They are easily secured, with the exception of the last named. In the display of his plumage, the Tragopan cock is more interesting than any other of the pheasant family, mainly for the reason that under the proper conditions the male bird elevates a tiny pair of bluish fleshy horns on either side of the ears on top of the head. This gives the bird a satanic expression, bewildering and unparalleled in the bird family. Under the throat he drops down a fleshy bib. Then, with the tail scraping on the ground, and his wings down like those of a turkey, he struts in a semi-circle. The Tragopan is very tender. It is bred readily in captivity. Manchurian or Eared pheasant (Crossoptilon Ma churicum).—This bird is a native of Pekin. It is not of gorgeous plumage, although a majestic bird. It is hardy, with a glossy hair-like plumage of the richest bronze, shading to a delicate purple on the lower feathers of the tail; the upper tail feathers are peculiarly curved up and down. Under the throat it has a white muff running up back of the head, giving the appearance of a person with a sore throat having a handkerchief tied round it. It is the only member of the pheasant family in which the plumage of the male and the female are POULTRY exactly the same. There are several species of the Manchurian or Hared pheasant. Peacock pheasant (Polyplectron chinquis). —This strange pheasant is one of the most peculiar, and, at the same time, one of the most fascinating. It inhabits the deep gullies of the Asiatic mountains. Tt is small and quick of flight. The hen lays but two eggs before sitting. On the male bird, at the A ee we Bee LEE“ yj Vay end of each gray feather, is a metallic purple or greenish spot, whence the name Peacock pheasant. Unlike other pheasants, the legs of the male are adorned with many spurs, and the writer has had males with as many as five spurs on one leg. The - cock bird whistles so plainly that he has been known to call the dogs. Reeve's pheasant (Phasianus Reevesi).—This is the largest of the true pheasant family, and is one of the grandest. It is a very hardy bird, and is the swiftest of all the pheasant family on the wing. Its tail measures more than six feet. It inhabits the mountains of China. Semmerring’s pheasant (Phasianus Semmer- ringi).—This bird, also called the Copper pheasant, is a native of Japan. It is one of the handsomest of the true pheasants. The males are very pugna- cious and sometimes battle to death with others of the same race. It is rather rare, both in aviaries and in the wild state, mainly, perhaps, because of the number killed for the feathers. The tail of this pheasant is frequently seen dangling from women’s hats. Elliot’s pheasant (Phasianus Ellioti).—This spe- cies, named after Prof. D. G. Elliot, of Chicago, is one of the very fine species of the true pheasant. It is very hardy. It inhabits the mountains near Ningpo, China. In aviaries, the hens have been known to hatch and rear their young without a single loss. The Mongolian (Phasianus Mongolicus), Fig. 595. —The Mongolian pheasant is a native of Asia. It comes from the valley of Syr-Daryr, and as far east as Lake Saisan, in the valley of the Black Irtish. In England, it has been crossed on the common Eng- lish pheasant, and the hybrid has produced a remark- able game bird. Only one pair is known to have reached America alive, and they were so wild that no young were ever reared from them. This pheas- ant is commonly mistaken for the Chinese ring- necked pheasant (P. torquatus), but the Mongolian is a much larger and more beautiful bird. Versicolor or Green Japanese (Phasianus versi- color).—This beautiful small bird inhabits nearly all parts of Japan. Owing to its use to the milliner, it is perhaps better known than any other variety, POULTRY 581 although the pure specimens are very rare in America. Ring-neck (Phasianus torquatus)—This hand- some game bird, called also the China torquatus, is the common pheasant of China. It is frequently miscalled the Mongolian pheasant. In 1884, a few specimens were liberated in Oregon, and today there are probably more in Oregon than in China. Throughout the Willamette valley, in Oregon, it can be found in great numbers. It is far superior to the English pheasant as a game bird, as it is much wilder and swifter on the wing. It is exceed- ingly hardy. English (Phasianus colchicus)—The common Black-necked English pheasant was a native of Cen- tral Asia, and is supposed to have been brought to England by the Romans. Owing to the infusion of Torquatus blood, it is almost impossible at the present time to find the old common English pheas- ant in its purity. Cheer (Catreus Wallichi).—This rather large pheasant inhabits the mountains of Asia. It is very hardy and relishes roots, but seldom eats grass. Its plumage is a sort of monotonous check of gray. The male and the female much resemble each other. Siamese Fireback (Lophura prelata).— There are several species of the Fireback pheasant, the most common of which is the Siamese, which in- habits parts of Siam. It is a beautiful, small, gray bird, witha tassel on the head, and an oddly hooked black tail. The male displays the beauty of his plumage by lowering his wings, so that his bright yellow and red back are exposed to view. Bornean Fireback (Lophura nobilis)—This spe- cies is, perhaps, the next most familiar of the Fire- backs. It comes from Lower Borneo, and is very similar to the Siamese, except that the color of the flesh of the face, instead of being bright red, is deep blue. It is also a slightly larger bird. Villiot’s Fireback (Lophura rufa).—This is pos- sibly a more beautiful bird, owing to its brilliant blues, than the other species of Fireback. It is a Fig. 595. Silver pheasant (Genneus nycthemerus).—The Silver pheasant is one of the most common species of the family known as the “Kaleege.” It isa native of China. The males are strikingly marked, the upper part of the body being white, delicately marked with black diagonal stripes ; the lower part of the body is jet-black. Lineated pheasant (Genneus lineatus).—This spe- cies of pheasant inhabits Burmese countries. It is very beautiful and graceful, quick on the wing and very hardy. 582 POULTRY Anderson’s Kaleege (Genneus Andersoni).—This type is native of the Himalayas. It is as handsome as any of the Kaleege, and as hardy. It is slightly lighter than the Lineated and darker than the Sil- ver pheasants. The Melanotus or Black - backed Kaleege (Genneus Muthura).—This pheasant inhabits Sikhim, Napal. It is characteristic of the male to churn the air with his wings until he causes vibrations that are truly remarkable in their effect. Swinhoe’s pheasant (Genneus Swinhoii).— This bird inhabits Formosa. Its glossy feathers have the appearance of blue velvet. The female of this spe- cies is unlike most of the other dull brown hens, as her feathers resemble exquisite tapestry, so deli- cate and finely are they marked. The Lady Amherst (Chrysolophus Amherstie), Fig. 596. —This bird, as an ornament for the aviary, cannot be surpassed. It is more striking, even, than its relative, the Golden pheasant. It is found in China, bordering on Eastern Tibet, and is called by the natives the Flower pheasant. The species de- rived its name from the fact that Lady Amherst, of England, is considered to have received the first pair that ever came to Europe. The Golden (Chrysolophus pictus).—This pheasant, perhaps, needs no description. It is to be seen in every zoological garden. It inhabits the mountains of Western and Central China. The male bird is much prized for his gaudy red and golden feathers. Black-throated Golden.—The habitat of this beau- tiful pheasant is not known. It varies slightly from the common species. The hens are darker and handsomer, and the chicks when small have white throats. Jungle-fowl. The jungle-fowl are of the genus Gallus, of the pheasant family. They are native of southeastern Asia, India, Sumatra, Java and’ Borneo. Four spe- cies are known, and all bear striking resemblance to the common domestic fowls, being rather over bantam size. They possess the carriage of the Fig. 596. Lady Amherst pheasant. pheasant, but the tail is vaulted and carried rather low. The cocks have single, small-sized combs and long sharp spurs. The Red (Gallus ferrugineus), Fig. 597.— This resembles the old Red-black Game of the English fighting type, and is frequently mistaken for small specimens of that breed. This gives rise, with jus- tice, to the conclusion that it is the direct ancestor of all our domestic breeds of fowls. It is easily tamed. The hen lays nine eggs. The cocks are very POULTRY pugnacious and will battle to the death. The Red jungle-fowl is found in India and most of the islands south as far as the Philippines. The Gray or Sonnerati (Gallus sonnerati).—A)- though rather somber, this species possesses a peculiar hackle feather, tipped with a wax-like sub- stance that resembles : burnished gold. It is less hardy than the Red jun- gle-fowl, particuiarly in captivity. The Gray jun- gle-fowl is one of the rar- est of the pheasant fam- ily, and it is indeed un- usual to find one in any of the great “zoos” of the world. It inhabits lower India. The cock’s cry re- sembles a scream more than a cry. It is impos- sible to domesticate this jungle-fowl. The Green or Java (Gallus varius).—This is the most distinct of all the species. The cock’s comb is plain edged, and not serrated. The face is very naked, and instead of wattles he has a dewlap that expands and contracts like that of a turkey, the face and dewlap changing color when the latter is contracted. Under this condition the bird actually blushes a bright red. The neck, instead of being composed of hackles, is made up of green scale-like feathers that extend to the upper part of the back. The general plumage is a metallic-purple and golden-green. It is the rarest of all the jungle- fowls. Although the writer has bred this species in captivity, he has failed up to the present to rear any mature birds. The Ceylon (Gallus Lafayettii).—This is found on Ceylon, and is seldom met with in captivity. It is not, in any particular, so beautiful as the species above described. The peculiarity of the cock is the yellow center to his comb, and the peculiar note that he issues in his cry, which, at a distance, sounds like some one calling “George Joyce.” Fig. 597. Red jungle-fowl (Gallus ferrugineus or bankiva.) Literature. Tegetmeier, Natural History and Management of Pheasants, new edition, New York (1907); Elliot, Monograph of the Phasianide, London (1870-72); Stejneger, Standard Natural History, Vol. IV, Bos- ton (1885) Nolan, The Domestic Fowl. Pigeons and Squabs. Fig. 598. By Thomas Wright. The raising of pigeons for fancy has long re- ceived attention, but it is only comparatively recently that the raising of squabs for meat pur- poses has assumed commercial importance. Fancy or “toy” pigeons are generally kept for amuse- ment, and are valued rather for their ornamenta- tion than for their usefulness. [See Pets.] Most of them are too small to be classed as utility birds, although occasionally a few grow to good size, and Columba, spp. Columbide. . POULTRY because of imperfect plumage are killed and dressed for the table. The following varieties, among a great many others, are raised for fancy: Tumbler, Owl, Turbit, Jacobin, Barb, Archangel, Fantail, English Carrier, Nun, Swallow. The utility or squab-breeding pigeons are receiv- ing more attention today, perhaps, than the toy pigeons. The breeder who grows squabs for the market not only has the pleasure of handling the pigeons, but gets a reward for his efforts in addi- tion. Choice of pigeons for squab-raising. Practical men differ in their opinions as to the best variety of pigeons for squab-raising purposes, just as there are advocates of certain breeds of dairy or beef cattle. By some breeders the Homer pigeon is held to be the best, and many of the squab plants in America raise only Homer pigeons. The writer, among others, has had best results from a bird that combines the qualities of the Runt (English), Mondaines (Swiss and French), and typ- ical Florentine Amalgamated, infused with the Homer. This pigeon produces a large, heavy squab for the same outlay as the Homer, and is equally prolific. In crossing for utility, the cock should always be the largest bird and should be young. One should never breed a bird that may often be seen with the wings drooped, as it is direct evidence of poor health or lack of constitution. The front of the legs and the beak should be a light color, as dark legs and beak denote dark meat. A black bird with a bright red leg is more desirable than a white bird with a dark leg or beak. The male should exhibit a good disposition; the bird that does much cooing and promenading is likely to be a good breeder. A bird with an apparent sullen, phlegmatic disposition should not be used. The plumage should not be ruffled in any way, but the feathers should be close to the body. Any other condition of the plumage is unnatural in a perfectly healthy speci- men. One should not use a bird for breeding that is in any way related to its mate or that is bred from blood relations. Inbreeding is frequently in- dulged when type alone is required, but it is per- missible only under certain conditions. Market specimens need a vigorous, hardy constitution, and this depends much on the union. Feeding and care. In the matter of feeding, variety is essential. A good ration consists of equal parts of whole corn, cracked corn, red or amber wheat, Canada field- peas and kafir. Hemp seed, millet and rape may be fed occasionally at the rate of about one-tenth the quantity of other ingredients. Two kinds of green feed that may be fed safely are lettuce and plantain, and it is well to supply them in season. The drinking-water should be placed inside the pens, preferably in a galvanized fountain. A bath- pan, eighteen inches across and four inches deep, should be placed in the aviary outside, and should POULTRY 583 be accessible every day, except in the severe weather of winter, when it should be placed inside, twice each week. A box containing grit and oyster shells should be on the floor of the pen. A piece of mineral rock salt, similar to that used for cattle, should be always before the birds. Table salt, which is sometimes recommended, is likely to be used too freely for health and may better not be used. Housing. A house for pigeons should be entirely free from dampness and should be set up on posts at least two feet above the ground. Any building that is tight and dry may easily be converted into a pigeon house. A southern exposure is preferable. About one-third of the front should be of glass, so as not to admit of any draft. Pigeons are hardy and not very susceptible to disease, and owing to the fact that the blood is about 50° warmer than that of man, they can withstand rather severe weather without evil results. A warm house that is damp will promote disease very quickly. Three A well-designed pigeon ‘‘ fly.’? Fig. 598. square feet of floor space in the pen to every pair of breeding birds is about right. Perches may or may not be used in the lofts. If the birds are properly working, while one of the pair is sitting on the nest at night, its mate is roosting on the front of it. If roosts are desired they may be made by nailing a piece of scantling seven inches long to the end of a piece six inches long, each piece being five inches wide. When nailed they form the letter V. These pieces are turned up-side-down, and may be nailed to a strip the height of the pen, seven or eight inches apart. On these the birds may roost, one above another, without fouling one another. The droppings are easily gathered, and are always in demand by leather manufacturers, who pay about sixty cents per bushel, by florists and by gardeners. The use of earthern nest-pans, or “nap- pies” as they are more generally known, is a matter of dispute, and many large commercial plants have abandoned their use. The writer has had good suc- cess by using nest-pans nine or ten inches across and four inches deep, and has not been troubled with the squabs getting over the edges, as some growers have reported. 584 POULTRY Dressing. It is impossible to dictate a method of dressing, as so much depends on the wishes of the customer. Some buyers prefer the squabs simply with their necks broken; others prefer to have the feathers removed ; still others prefer to have them bled as is done with poultry. If they are picked, they should be placed in cold water after picking, as it gives them a plump appearance. Picking should be done while the body is still warm. When sold un- picked, they should always be laid on a cool recep- tacle with the breast down, for the animal heat to leave the body. Diseases. Pigeons are relatively free from disease, and will endure much privation and abuse without bad results. The most common ailments are atrophy or “ going-light,” megrim and canker. Atrophy may be treated most easily and success- fully by giving five or six drops of cod-liver oil night and morning for four or five days. All tail feathers should be drawn and a good variety of food should be fed, including bread crumbs, which never injure the birds. Megrim is generally the result of injudicious feeding, and afflicts only over-fat birds. Carbona- ceous food, such as corn, fed to excess, causes the blood to congest in the brain. The bird may be seen with the head twisted, and often throwing itself on its back as if in a convulsive state. The remedy is to isolate the patient in a perfectly dark pen, and give it a mild dose of Epsom salts. It is taken from its dark solitude once each day to drink. The bird is held in the hand and the beak inserted in the water. A few days should effect a cure. If this treatment is not successful the bird should be killed. Canker is a form of diphtheritic roup. Gener- ally, a bird afflicted with it should be killed. Literature. Money in Squabs, Howard Publishing Company, Washingfon, D. C.; Tegetmeier, Pigeons, London (1868); Evans, Birds, New York (1900); Wm. E. Rice, Squab-Raising, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 177, United States Department of Agriculture (1904). [For further references, see page 527.] Quail, Domestication of the Bobwhite or Ameri- can. Colinus Virginianus (sub-family Odonto- phorine). Tetraonide. Figs. 599, 600. By C. F. Hodge. No bird is more prolific or more easily reared in domestication than the bobwhite; and certainly none makes a more interesting and companionable household pet. The past season a pair nested and laid eighteen eggs in a window-box. Two hens with a cock in a yard at the Massachusetts State Hatchery produced seventy-six eggs. Merrill has found that bobwhite eggs can be hatched _suc- cessfully in an incubator by allowing them long periods for cooling off, as much as one, and, in hot weather, even two hours a day. They also hatch ‘eges,” maggots POULTRY well under bantam hens, the incubation period being normally twenty-four days. The young have been reared successfully simply by allowing them to range about the yard with their bantam mother, care being taken that they are well supplied with food for the first few days. This may consist of scalded or fresh “ants’ or pheasants’ custard, and, best of all, in- sects secured by sweeping the grass with an insect net. As with the ruffed grouse, there is danger of dis- ease, especially if the brood is confined with the hen. The safest method is probably to hatch and rear them with the incubator and brooder. Great numbers of eggs from nests broken up in cutting hay and grain might be saved and be made to supply a domesticated strain of the species. The eges may always be prevented from chilling by ~ wearing them in the crown of a hat, and they may be carried in this way for the better part of a day without injury. The young mature rapidly, being nearly full-grown in about ten weeks from hatching. Uses. Perhaps no bird is capable of rendering more varied and important service to American agricul- ture than the bobwhite. The young have been found to eat their weight of insects daily. For the year as a whole, animal matter, mainly insects, forms about 15 per cent of the bird’s food; and from May to September this item increases to 31.5 per cent. The great variety and large numbers of the insect pests consumed by the bobwhite make 5 this bird a more effect- ive ally of the farmer than many smaller birds, although the latter may eat a larger percentage of insect food. “ Over one hundred potato bee- tles” and “a tablespoon- ‘SS ful of chinch-bugs” are = reported from the crop \ of a single quail; and, Fig. 599. One-week-old bobwhites, hatched in an incubator. :}) if sufficiently numerous, /)}} probably similar num- bers of nearly one hun- reared ~~ dred other injurious in- sects would be eaten, among them the rose beetles, cucumber beetles, squash - bugs, cutworms, cotton- worms, tobacco- worms, clover-weevils, all kinds of grasshoppers and crickets, cabbage caterpillars, many plant-lice and mosquitoes. A bobwhite about three weeks old ly Axx Fig. 600. Bobwhite, from the egg. POULTRY ate 568 (all there were) mosquitoes as fast as it could catch them. The bobwhite eats the Hessian fly larva, pupa and adults, and would consume thousands daily if they were numerous and accessi- ble. A tame bobwhite hen was fed, in addition to all the seeds and grains she wished, 1,280 fully grown rose-slugs in one day. Weed seeds form over half the bobwhite’s yearly food. Among the weeds whose seeds are thus con- sumed may be mentioned ragweed, pigweed, dock, bindweed, lamb’s quarters, sorrel, wild buckwheat, beggar-ticks, witch-grass, crab-grass and barn- yard-grass, and perhaps one hundred others. The quantities taken at a meal are enormous: 300 smartweed seeds, 500 red sorrel seeds, 1,000 rag- weed seeds, 2,000 ticktrefoil seeds, 5,000 foxtail grass seeds, and 10,000 pigweed seeds. It is little wonder that the farmer is beginning to lose sym- pathy for the sportsman. And to one who, as a boy, has lived on a birdless farm and seen more chinch-bugs than wheat on the platform of the reaper, it would seem that the farmer’s judgment in the matter is correct. In addition to its value as a destroyer of insect pests and weed seeds, at present prices the bob- white might be reared to better profit than ordi- nary poultry. After securing breeding stock, a prime condition of success must be the strict con- trol of natural enemies, chief among which at present in most localities is the cat. If it were not for this arch enemy of bird life, we might soon have the bobwhite at home in every garden in the land. Other comparatively rare and occasional enemies, as snakes, foxes, weasels, minks, skunks, - rats and certain hawks and owls, must be dealt with effectively. It is about as easy, and much more interesting, to keep traps always set in likely places as it is to have them lying about idle, as is commonly the case. Winter care of native quail. Great numbers of bobwhites are killed during severe winters, especially in sleet storms that may cover their food with ice or imprison whole coveys under the crust. Winter provision should be gener- ally made north of Virginia and Kentucky, by leaving clumps of sumac and wild rose under shelt- ered banks and on the south sides of groves. An ideal shelter with food combined may be made cheaply by laying down first a pile of weeds, chaff or hay-loft sweepings, placing over this a lot of brush, and then piling over all a rick of coarse weeds cut before the seeds drop, as ragweed, pig- weed, sunflower, dock, and the like, leaving the brush exposed on the south side. An arrangement of this sort, placed in a sunny, sheltered exposure, will pro- vide food accessible at all times as well as shelter and protection from hawks. Fresh supplies of screenings or grain may be thrown into the brush as needed during the winter. In this way great numbers of bobwhites might be carried safely through the winters, their numbers rapidly in- creased up to the natural limits of insect and weed- seed food-supply, and the range of the species extended northward considerably. POULTRY 585 Literature. Sylvester D. Judd, The Bobwhite and Other Quails of the United States in their Economic Relations, Bulletin No. 21, Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture. Swan. Cygnine. Fig. 601. By Charles McClave. Swans are the largest aquatic fowls of the duck family and are found wild in the eastern and the western hemispheres, especially north of the equator. Black (Chenopis atrata). Australia, isolated south of the equator, has a distinct variety—the Black swan. Like many other so-called black varieties of water-fowl, it is not solid black in plumage. The bill is red, edged with white, the eyes scarlet, the plumage shaded black, edged with gray, and the wing flights slaty white or pure white. The slender, arched neck and curly appearance of plumage over wings and back give it Fig. 601. Swan. a novel appearance on the water. Though less common than the white swan, this species is a familiar sight in city parks. It is mute. Mute (Cygnus olor). The Mute swan is a native of Europe, Asia and Africa and is the common domesticated species. The neck is long and slender, the bill red, the eyes brown, the legs and feet brownish gray, and the entire plumage spotless white. The young cygnets for the first year are gray or dusky chestnut in color, but change to white after the first molt. When migrating, it is a very rapid flyer, and with a favorable wind has been known to travel fully one hundred miles an hour. Polish. The Polish swan is a large white variety of C. olo7-. found in Europe. It resembles the Mute swan, but the shape of the head is different. The young cygnets hatch white instead of gray or chestnut. Whistling (Cygnus musicus). The Whistling swan is also a white species, but is somewhat smaller than the foregoing species ; the neck is shorter and thicker, and the bill is yellow without protuberance. The naturalist, Olaf, writing of the notes of the Whistling swan, speaks as follows: “ When a company of these birds passes 586 POULTRY through the air, their song is truly delightful, equal to the notes of a violin.” It is a native of northern Europe and is seldom domesticated. Berwick (Cygnus Berwicki). The Berwick swan is the smallest white variety. The neck is short and very slender. This swan is very shy and wild in disposition and difficult to breed in confinement. Black-necked (Stenelus nigricollis). The Black-necked swan is native to South America. It is very rare and is seldom seen in pub- lic or private parks. It is of good size, with brown eyes, the bill a lead color with a red protuberance at the base, the legs a reddish orange. The plum- age is spotless white except on the head and neck, which are clear black with a narrow band of black across the eye. The carriage of the neck is much straighter than that of any other variety of swan. Trumpeter (Olor buccinator). The Trumpeter swan is a native of the United States and is found principally west of the Missis- sippi river, but has been seen as far east as Ohio. In former years it bred in Dakota, Montana and Idaho, but at the present time it nests in the country about Hudson bay. The nests are made on small islands and in the marshes and shores of lakes. Five to seven eggs is the usual number pro- duced. Mature birds are pure white, while cygnets are gray or rusty color. American (Olor Columbianus). The American swan is a pure white variety slightly smaller than the Trumpeter swan. It is a native of the United States and is found principally west of the Mississippi river, although often seen in autumn south to Florida and Maryland. It win- ters principally in Oregon, Washington and Cali- fornia. In early spring, it migrates north to Alaska and the Yukon country to nest. Literature. Stejneger, Proceedings of United States National Museum, Washington (1882); Newton, Dictionary of Birds, Vol. IV, London (1896); Grinnell, Ameri- can Duck Shooting, New York (1901). Turkeys. Meleagris spp. Phasianide. Figs. 602- 604. By T. F. McGrew. The present-day turkeys are all grouped in one breed, but represent a number of varieties. The origin of the present domestic turkey was undoubt- edly in what is known as the North American turkey, which existed ina wild state over the greater part of North America from the Carolinas well up into Canada. Records show that turkeys were grown or domesticated in England as early as 1541. They were reasonably plentiful in 1573 throughout the agricultural districts of England. Some writers think that the first ones were taken from the West India islands into Europe. POULTRY Wild turkeys. (Fig. 602.) There are three distinct “originals” or wild turkeys, one known as the North American, one the Mexican, and the third, the most delicate of all, the Honduras or Ocellated turkey. The American “original” or wild turkey, the one that frequented the United States north of Carolina and into Canada, is designated as Melea- gris Americana. The color of this type is black, shaded with a rich bronze; the breast plumage is very brilliant, tinged with a finish of coppery gold inflection. In the rays of the sun the combination of bronze with the copper and gold glistens like burnished metal. From this wild original, crossed with the do- mestic Black turkey, which was undoubtedly brought by the early settlers from England, was created the well-known variety of Bronze turkeys. Fig. 602. Wild turkey. The Mexican wild turkey (Meleagris Mexicana) is of shorter build than the northern turkey. The color is very much the same, but even more bril- liant in shading than the North American variety, with the distinction that the tail and other feathers are tipped with white. This species seems to have been the first introduced into Spain and other coun- tries. It is thought that the white markings of this variety had an influence in creating what is known as the Narragansett turkey. Honduras turkey.—The wild species known as the Honduras turkey (Meleagris ocellata), the origi- nal breed of Honduras and Central America, is described as the most beautifully colored of all the turkey family. The head and neck of this wild variety are naked. No breast tuft is found thereon. The caruncles of the head and neck differ some- what from those of other turkeys. The plumage color is described as a beautiful bronze-green, banded with golden bronze-blue and red, with some bands of brilliant black. This variety has never been domesticated successfully. The few that have been kept in confinement have failed to produce of POULTRY their kind, and live but a short time out of their own natural realm. They are of what might be termed a low carriage, the breast rather drooping, the tail usually carried in a downward or low position. Crested turkey.—A distinctive domestic variety is the crested turkey. This has a crest or topknot of feathers on the head, or rather just back of the head on the neck. This type cannot be classed as an original variety. Common domestic varieties of turkeys. The domestic varieties of turkeys, as known to this country, are the Bronze (Fig. 603), Narragan- set, Buff, Slate, White (Fig. 604) and Black. The Bronze, as originated in the United States by crossing the wild variety with the Black turkey, known in England as the Norfolk. It is the largest, hardiest and most admired of all varieties of tur- keys for the market. The Narragansett turkey undoubtedly had somewhat of the same original blood as the bronze, influenced, perhaps, by a cross of the variety from Mexico, which gave a mixture of white in the bronze and black plumage of this variety. It is second in size only to the Bronze, and has been most favorably considered in many parts of New England. The Buff turkey should have true buff plumage throughout. As usually seen, the feathers are of a reddish buff, the wing flights, and at times other feathers of the wing, being white. The Bourbon Red, which is undoubt- edly a kindred variety of the Buff, that originated in Kentucky, perhaps, is of deep reddish buff in plumage, and somewhat larger than the Buff variety. It is thought to have been created through a mixture of the wild and the Buff varieties. The Slate turkey might be called a blue variety, the plumage color being of a bluish, slaty shade. The White variety is pure white in plumage throughout, and has pinkish white shanks. the Black vari- ety is pure black throughout the entire plumage. As we now see it, it has un- doubtedly been crossed with the Bronze variety to improve its size, and this cross has illuminated the plumage somewhat with coppery shading. Fig. 603. Bronze turkey. Turkey-raising. Considerable attention has been given to the raising of turkeys for market throughout the world. The early tendency to neglect the constitu- tional requirements and permit constant inbreeding without the intermingling of new blood reduced the vitality and permitted a disease to creep in, POULTRY 587 known as black-head, which can be obliterated only through care in selecting the most vigorous speci- mens and introducing them as new blood into the flocks. Turkeys seem to adapt themselves to diverse climatic conditions. They do equally well far north into Canada and south into Texas. The climate both of New England and of California seems fitted for the growing of large numbers of them for market pur- poses. Locality does not seem to influence their cul- tivation, provided the parent is strong and healthy and the young are pro- tected from the cold, damp and in- sect vermin, all of which may be con- sidered most dire- ful enemies of young turkeys. Being of a rather semi-wild nature, they do best when permitted to have their freedom and range with their young over an extended area. Where the natural food on the range is unbounded, they prosper best. These fowls do not seem to do so well in confine- ment as other poultry, being more like the guinea- fowl. They become nervous and restless when con- fined in limited quarters. A few of them may be handled successfully in enclosures, as are poultry. . Under such conditions they will not grow so large nor prosper so well as they will in freedom. The turkey hen lays thirty-five to forty eggs in a season. It takes twenty-eight days for the eggs to hatch. The young turkeys feed themselves as soon as they come from the nest. “Little and often” is the rule for feeding the young turkey for the first few days after coming from the shell. [See article on Feeding Poultry.] Turkeys for breeding purposes should be strong, vigorous, healthy, well matured and not akin. Constitutional vigor is of first importance in the male or tom, as it is called. A medium-sized male with good fair-sized females of strong constitu- tional vigor and mature age will give best results. The best rule for mating is to have four or five females to one male, although greater numbers of females have been used with good results. Fig. 604. White Holland turkey. Literature. T. F. McGrew, Turkeys; Standara Varieties and Management, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 200, United States Department of Agriculture (1904); J. F. Crangle and others, Turkey Culture ; Herbert Myr- ick, Turkeys: How to Grow Them; Turkeys: Their Care and Management, Reliable Poultry Journal, Quincy, Ill. [For further references, see page 527.] 588 REINDEER REINDEER. Rangifer tarandus, Linn.; Rangifer lapponicus, Frisch. (Rangifer refers to the old French word “rangier,” plus the Latin “ fera,” wild beast, while the common name, reindeer, is probably an adaptation of the Lapp “reino,” pas- turage, or of the Icelandic “hreinn,” reindeer.) Cervide. Figs. 7, 605, 606. By C. C. Georgeson. The reindeer has been successfully introduced into Alaska, and efforts are now being made to ‘introduce it into Labrador, to supply the inhabit- ants of the barren lands with meat and other products, and to afford a means of transportation. The reindeer is the only domesticated member of the deer family. Fundamentally, it is identical with the American caribou, although the latter has been divided into several species by mammalogists, the name “reindeer” being now applied, however, only to the European deer, both wild and domesticated, while caribou is the name of the wild deer found on the American continent. Description. Reindeer vary much in size. The food supply is an important factor in their development, as in the case of other animals. Again, breed—or, per- haps, we should call it race—characteristics are a factor having an influence on size. The average animal is three feet and nine inches to four feet at the withers, but some breeds are larger, as for example, the Tunguse deer in Siberia. Many of them stand five feet high and can carry a burden of two hundred pounds on their backs, and because of their strength are rather generally used for riding. Compared with other members of the deer family, the reindeer is not a graceful animal. The head is large, muzzle broad and nose covered with hair ; neck short, set low and usually carried horizontally; when the animal walks, the top line of the neck is below that of the back; the withers are high, reaching above the line of the back; shoulders rather heavy, with prominent shoulder points. The back is narrow, rump sloping, hind-quarters light, flank low and rather full, and the under-line nearly parallel with the back. In the fawns, the legs seem disproportionately long, but in the mature animal, on the contrary, they appear rather short. The fore-legs are straight, but the hind-legs are crooked and spread outward from the hock as if to brace the hind-quarters. The feet are large and the hoofs spread when pressed against the ground—a provision of nature which aids the animal to get over soft snow or mud. The prevailing color of the domestic reindeer is a grayish brown—darker in summer, lighter in winter, but many are more or less spotted and some almost white. All are lighter on neck, shoulder and belly than on the back. The coat is thick, longer in winter than in summer, and underneath the neck the hair is five or six inches long. There is no mossy undercoat, such as most animals have that are indigenous to arctic latitudes. The hair is brittle and breaks readily when handled. For this reason, reindeer skins do not make good rugs. The hide is thick and imper- REINDEER vious to water to a marked degree, and, by a cer- tain mode of tanning practiced by the Lapps, it can be made perfectly impervious. On the face and lower parts of the legs, the skin is particularly thick and durable, for which reason the Lapps use these parts for footwear. A peculiarity of the genus is that both males and’ females have horns, or antlers. They shed them annually in March and April, after which a new pair immediately starts to grow. The young animal has cylindrical horns, which grow to a foot or more the first summer; as the animal grows older the horns become palmated and curve outward and backward. The prongs or branches increase in number annually up to the age of seven or eight years ; from that time they decrease in number, until in old animals there are only a few points on the outer ends of the horns. In the prime of life, one, or sometimes both horns produce flattened branches that reach down over the face. The size of the antlers varies with the size of the animal ; those on females are smaller than those on males. Antlers have been found that measured four feet in length and weighed as much as forty pounds ; but this is extreme. Half this length and weight more nearly represent the average on the domesti- cated animal. It is not easy to see just what function the horns fulfill in the animal economy. They appear to be a hindrance rather than a help in the struggle for existence. It must be a vast drain on the sys- tem to furnish nourishment for their rapid and prodigious growth, and they are tender and of but little use for defence during the summer months while growing. They are at this season covered with skin, which is abundantly supplied with blood vessels, and a coat of fine hair. This condition is technically called being “in the velvet.” They are full grown about the time the breeding season begins in the fall of the year, and then the males use them freely on each other. Otherwise, they are not of use either for offence or defence ; instead, reindeer strike their antagonists with their fore- feet. Nor does the animal use the antler in digging away the snow to reach the moss underneath, for this is done with the feet and nose. The natural life of the reindeer is about fourteen years, and it does not reach its prime until it is six or seven years of age. History of reindeer in Alaska. Although the reindeer has been domesticated for ages by the Eskimos on the Siberian side of Bering Strait, the Eskimos on the American side have not kept it. They could not have been ignorant of the value of the deer, because trading expeditions from one side of the Straits to the other were of fre- quent occurrence. One is forced to the conclusion that they lacked the enterprise and thrift neces- sary to take up the work of reindeer-breeding. Instead, they hunted the wild caribou, which was abundant; they hunted the whale, the walrus and the seal, and the spoils of the hunt gave them their food, and the furs and skins afforded them goods for barter, With the coming of the white man all REINDEER this was changed. He killed or drove away the whale, beyond the reach of the Eskimo with the means at his command. The fur animals became reduced to the point of extinction; the caribou was killed or driven away. In addition to this, the white man introduced intoxicants, and his vices spread disease and destruction among these primi- tive people so as to reduce their power to pursue, as well as the amount of their food supply. This was the condition of the Eskimos in arctic Alaska, when, in 1890, Dr. Sheldon Jackson was sent to that region by the United States Commissioner of Edueation to establish schools. It became apparent to him at once that something must be done to provide the Eskimo with a food supply, and, in cast- ing about for means to that end, it occurred to him that the reindeer would solve the problem. On his return to Washington, he urged that Congress should make an appropriation for the introduction of reindeer in Alaska. Congress did not act imme- diately, however, and as the needs were urgent, Dr. Jackson, with the approval and aid of the Com- missioner of Education, Dr. W. T. Harris, made an appeal for funds through the public press, where- with to begin the work. In response, the sum of $2,146 was received, and with this fund he began the purchase of reindeer in Siberia and their transfer to Alaska. The first importation consisted of sixteen head, which were landed in Unalaska in the autumn of 1891. During the summer of 1892, he made five visits to Siberia and purchased and imported 171 head of reindeer. These deer were landed at Port Clarence, where, on the 29th of June of the same year, the first institution in Alaska for the breeding of reindeer was estab- lished. It was named Teller Reindeer Station, in honor of Senator Teller, of Colorado, who had taken much interest in the enterprise. The government aided in the work, however, by assigning a revenue cutter to transport the purchased deer to Alaska. The first appropriation by Congress for the intro- duction of reindeer into Alaska was made March 3, 1893, and consisted of $6,000, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of the In- terior, who delegated the work to the Bureau of Education, and Dr. Harris, the Commissioner of Education, assigned the task to Dr. Jackson, who has thus been the prime mover of the enterprise throughout. The object was primarily to provide food for the Eskimos, but, before the deer could become of real benefit to them, it became neces- sary to teach them how to care for and handle the deer. The task was beset with difficulties. It meant a change in the mode of life of these primi- tive people. As fishermen and hunters their chief accomplishment was to destroy life; now they had to learn to foster and preserve it. It was a process of education. They had first to learn the advan- tages of the new life and then slowly and labori- ously be introduced to it, and the plans that were finally adopted for the breeding and distribution of the deer were formulated with a view to meet these conditions. Appropriations and purchase of deer.—From the first appropriation, in 1893, to the close of the REINDEER 589 fiscal year 1906, Congress had appropriated $222,- 500 for this purpose, in varying amounts from $6,000 to $25,000 annually, and in all, twelve hun- dred and eighty deer were imported from Siberia between the years 1892 and 1902. No importations have been made since 1902. Of these imported deer, 254 were the large Tunguse deer, a race or breed kept by the Tunguse people in central Siberia. These were purchased and introduced by Lieut. E. P. Bertholf of the Revenue Cutter Service, who was detailed for that duty. They are noted for their great size and strength. The herds brought here have done so well that it is deemed unneces- sary to make further importations. Plan of distribution.—Since the object of their introduction was to benefit the Eskimos, it was evident that the sooner they could be taught to handle and care for them the sooner the end in view would be attained. Arrangements were there- fore made with a number of mission stations, already established at all the main settlements of natives, to become teachers of their wards. The government made loans of small herds, usually one hundred head, to these stations, as an outfit of an Pym ill WAG Hy, ty és “- EE YIU in. Fig. 605. Reindeer as pack animal. industrial apparatus, the loan to be returned to the government at the end of five years, .but the increase to remain the property of the mission. The slaughter or sale of female deer was strictly prohibited. Male deer might be sold, but only with the advice and consent of the government reindeer superintendent. The mission obligated itself to support a corps of apprentices, while under instruc- tion in the art of herding and training the deer. The apprentices were selected from the brightest young men, and the average period of apprentice- ship was fixed at five years. As a reward of merit, each of these young men who faithfully completed the stipulated period as a pupil was given a few deer, which were to form the nucleus of a personal herd. Competent teachers to instruct the appren- tices were hired by the government. These instruct- ors were Lapps who had been reindeer masters in their native country and who were brought to Alaska for the purpose. The government assumed general supervision over all the herds. At present, the reindeer territory is divided between two general 590 REINDEER superintendents in the employ of the government, one having charge of the herds along the shores of the Arctic ocean and northern Bering sea, and the other having charge of the herds on the shores of Golovin bay, Norton Sound, and in the valleys of the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. Stations.—According to Dr. Jackson’s report, there were, in 1906, the following stations, with the number of deer at each: Deer Barrow and Wainwright (Presbyterian mission). 797 Kivalina (native Eskimos). ........ 279 Kotzebue (Society of Friends) ....... 900* Deering (Society of Friends). . ...... 649 Wales and Shishmaref (Congregational mission). 1,770* Gambell, St. Lawrence island (Presbyterian) . 250 Teller (Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran) . . 1,169 Golovin (Swedish Evangelical Union) . . . . 1,434 Unalakleet (Swedish Evangelical Union) . . . 1,177 Eaton (Swedish Evangelical Union)... .. 1,395 Bethel, Kuskokwim river (Moravian) 1,700* Illiamna (Government) .........-. 535 Koserefsky (Roman Catholic) ....... 320* Danang) (episcopal) iia, sur) waite ete eninine 440* Bettles, Koyukuk river (Government). . . . 400* 18,215 *Estimated. Report not in. The missionary societies here named do not own all the deer accredited to their respective stations. In 1905, seventy-eight Eskimo apprentices had become the owners of a total of 3,817 deer, acquired partly as rewards of merit and partly through loans from the government on the same basis as to the missions. Several of the Lapp herders had in like manner received loans of deer from the goy- ernment, as wages for their services, and all these various owners, with their herds, were located at the stations named. In 1905, when the total num- ber of deer aggregated 10,241, the ownership was divided thus: Eskimo apprentices 3,817, govern- ment 3,073, mission stations 2,127, Lapp herders 1,224. These various owners kept their herds at the stations named, scattered from Point Barrow in the extreme north to Lake Illiamna on Cook Inlet. Inecrease.—The average annual increase in the herds by fawns, from 1893 to 1905, was 45 per cent. This does not mean the number of fawns born, but the number that survived each year. As the herds increase in size the percentage of fawns that survive, however, is slightly diminished, prob- ably due to the fact that the native herders are less vigilant than their Lapp teachers, who could give every deer individual attention when the herds were small; but it is assumed as a safe basis of computation that the increase will not fall below 33 per cent, and at that rate there will be 256,000 deer in Alaska in 1919. From 1892 to 1905, 4,184 deer were sold, butchered or died. An importation from Lapland.—An experiment, which proved a failure, should be mentioned, because it has been advanced as a proof against the practi- cability of the reindeer enterprise. In the winter of 1897 the rumor spread that many American miners in the Yukon valley were on the point of REINDEER starvation. Congress appropriated money for their relief, and it was thought that the best way to transport provisions to them was by means of rein- deer. Pursuant to this plan, 539 trained reindeer and sixty-eight Lapp drivers with their families were imported from Norway and brought to the head of Lynn Canal, Alaska, from which point they were to start overland. Owing to unforeseen delays, the moss brought from Norway, on which to feed the deer, became exhausted before the start was made, and the alfalfa and other hay given them caused digestive disturbances which resulted in the death of most of the deer before they could reach the moss fields in the interior. In the meantime, word came that the report of starvation was untrue, and the expedition was abandoned. These deer © were geldings, and form no part of the breeding experiments. Distribution. The reindeer occupies the arctic zone on both hemispheres. In the western part of the American continent the caribou ranges from the shores of the Arctic ocean, along the Alaskan range, through British Columbia to the boundary of the United States, and in the eastern part through Labrador to New Brunswick and Newfoundland, where it is yet numerous, while on the plains it ranges as far South as latitude 64. The domestic reindeer can also maintain itself, therefore, through the whole - of this range. In Europe, the reindeer is found throughout the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Russia and Siberia, the range extending far below the arctic circle. It is found in Iceland, in Greenland, in Spitzbergen and other islands of the Arctic ocean, even beyond the eightieth-parallel. It is domesti- cated in this extensive region, wherever man has a permanent abode, but more particularly by the Lapps in Norway, Sweden and Russia, and also by the tribes occupying Eastern Siberia from Kamt- chatka to the sea of Okhotsk, and other regions of northern Siberia. In short, the present range of the reindeer and caribou is bounded on the south by the isothermal, which determines the character of the vegetation on which they feed, and on the north by the limit of mosses and lichens in quantity sufficient to sustain it. In a by-gone epoch, the reindeer inhabited all of Europe, even down to the Mediterranean, having apparently been driven south by the advancing ice. Its remains have been found in France and else- where in continental Europe, and in Scotland and Treland. Caribou were numerous in Alaska until recent years. But, since the influx of the white man in pursuit of gold, the number is rapidly decreasing. In the Kenai peninsula they may still be found, — although scarce, while in the interior they are now numerous only in the unexploited regions, more particularly in the so-called Alaskan range, in which Mt. McKinley is the principal peak. In the winter of 1905-6, thousands of them crossed the Tanana river some miles below Fairbanks, and were slaughtered by the hundreds. REINDEER The reindeer occupies a zone wholly outside that in which agriculture is possible. It lives on lichen and herbage peculiar to the region where no agri- cultural plants will grow. It does not thrive in the warmer regions where agriculture is practicable, and it cannot live on the kind of forage we feed to cattle and horses. But it is by far the most useful animal under domestication for the region north of the agricultural belt. It is a means of transmuting a vast amount of otherwise useless vegetation into forms that can be utilized by man for food and shelter. Training. Training for the sled begins at the age of three years, and the stoutest males and geldings are selected. The lessons begin by lassoing the se- lected animals. The poor beasts are much scared and jump about in frantic efforts to escape. When quieted, they are led about for some time, or tied to a post to accustom them to confinement. They are then released, to have the lesson repeated day by day until they are tame enough to be harnessed, and in the same manner accustomed to draw light loads. This takes a long time and persistent work. There are several methods of harnessing them. The most primitive and least humane consists in putting a raw-hide strap about the neck, and to this attach a single trace, which is either drawn between the legs, or simply stretched along the side of the animal, and fastened to the sled. An improved harness used in Alaska consists of a col- lar and a pair of light hames, from which a short trace goes back on each side to the ends of a swingle- tree, suspended under the body by a strap over the back. From the center of this, a single trace goes back to the sled, either between, or on one side of the hind-leg. This trace is covered with fur, to prevent it chafing the legs. A single line is fastened to the left side of the halter, and with this the animal is guided and held in check. In Alaska, as in Lapland, there is seldom more than one hitched to a sled. The accompanying illustration (Fig. 606) shows two forms of the sleds used. The one placed above is imported from Lapland, and is there called a “pulka.” It is seven feet long and two feet broad, pointed in front, and square in the back, and rounded underneath like a boat. It pulls easily and does not sink into soft snow. The other sled figured is like the dog sled or hand sled in common use. It is largely home-made, and varies in size and shape with the art and fancy of the maker. It is usually nine feet long and two feet broad, built of thin slats, and the top inclosed by a railing’ a foot high. It may or may not have han- dles behind to use in guiding it, or to hold on to when the driver runs behind for exercise. Habits. The reindeer is gregarious, and, when left to itself, pastures in great herds, sometimes number- ing thousands. In summer it feeds on the twigs and leaves of the alder, willow and other shrubby plants, on lichens and mosses, and to a less extent REINDEER 591 on grass. In winter it lives almost exclusively on a whitish nutritious lichen (Cladonia rangiferina), which for this reason has been termed reindeer moss. It feeds also on other mosses and lichens, however, and is very fond of mushrooms. It is of a roaming disposition and is almost constantly on the move from place to place in search of food. For this reason a herd requires constant watching day and night to prevent its breaking up and stray- ing off in different directions. It is timid like other members of the deer family, and a herd is easily scattered by dogs, wolves or other wild animals. It is polygamous, as are cattle. The rutting season occurs in the fall, and the fawns are dropped in March and April. If the weather then happens to be severe, there is large mortality among the new- born fawns. The herder’s life then becomes stren- uous, indeed. He cannot seek shelter himself, but must face the storm and give succor to the fawns by way of shelter and warmth. Uses. In Siberia and among the Lapps, where the rein- deer is almost the only domestic animal, it supplies all the frugal needs of its owner. The meat is his chief food; from the milk he makes cheese, or he keeps it in frozen chunks for use in cooking, or it is made into butter; the blood is saved and eaten ; the fat is used for food, for candles, and for making footwear and clothing waterproof; the skins are used for clothing, for tents, mats and blankets, straps and thongs; the bones and horns are used for tools and utensils, or, together with the hoofs, they are used in boiling glue; during life, the animal draws his sled over the snow and carries his burden. The reindeer thus enables part of the human race to secure a livelihood in a region where, without it, life would be well nigh impossible. Their value tested.—That the reindeer is an unqualified success both as a source of food and as a means of transportation has been proved re- peatedly in the last ten years. The most severe test to which they have been put was, perhaps, the relief expedition to Point Barrow, under the leader- ship of Lieut. D. H. Jarvis of the Revenue-Cutter Service, in the winter of 1897-98, when the whaling fleet froze in and some 300 whalemen faced starva- tion. Lieutenant Jarvis, assisted by Lieut. E. P. Bertholf, Surg. 8. J. Call, Mr. W. T. Lopp, and some natives, drove a herd of several hundred deer for more than 800 miles, across the barren snow-cov- 592 REINDEER ered, uninhabited waste, from Norton Sound to Point Barrow, during the dead of winter, with the temperature 20° to 50° below zero, and brought them safely to their destination. The deer found their own food in the moss which they uncovered by scraping away the snow, and on arrival in April a large number of healthy fawns were born to the herd. The leading participants were awarded gold medals and the thanks of Congress. Reindeer have also been employed to carry the mails between the scattered settlements along Bering sea. They have the advantage over dogs that it is not necessary to carry their food with them. Diseases and disabilities. Hoof disease, perhaps, is the most troublesome affliction of the reindeer. It produces a swelling above the hoof, with a formation of pus. Opening the swelling and treating it with disinfectants may result in a cure; or it may become systemic, in which case the animal usually dies. An affliction designated “liver and lung disease,” resulting from an affection of the spleen and from congestion of the brain, is usually fatal. No adequate remedies appear to have been discovered. The great number of savage, wolf-like dogs that infest all Indian and Eskimo settlements in Alaska wound and kill many deer, and are a great drawback to the handling of the herds. The reindeer is also very prone to acci- dent. The bones are brittle, especially during the summer, when the antlers are growing fast. Many deer break their legs, their necks, or their backs while running about, or while fighting with each other. Reindeer for Labrador. By D. W. Prowse. Guided by the good results secured in the intro- duction of tame reindeer into Alaska by Dr. Sheldon Jackson, the Governor of Newfoundland, Sir Wil- liam Macgregor, and Dr. Grenfell, of the Deep Sea Mission to Labrador, very earnestly took up the project of introducing domesticated reindeer into Labrador. Before the scheme could be carried out practically, measures were taken by the Governor and Dr. Grenfell, assisted by the Moravian mission- aries at Labrador, to ascertain whether the common food of the caribou existed in sufficient quantities all over the peninsula. Specimens of mosses, lichens and grasses from every part of the great peninsula were collected. These were carefully arranged and sent tothe authorities at Kew, England, for classi- fication and identification. They were pronounced to be the true reindeer moss and the actual common food of the reindeer. This was a foregone conclusion, as the native caribou were known to have been abundant at Labrador. The indiscriminate slaugh- ter of the herds by the Eskimos has driven them farther inland, but they are still fairly abundant, although not to be compared with the vast herds of Newfoundland. With these preliminaries settled, the next prob- lem was to secure funds for the experiment. Dr. Grenfell toured the United States and Canada, and SHEEP aroused much interest in the undertaking. The Canadian government made a grant of $5,000 for the work. The Newfoundland administration may alsoassist. Togetherwith private subscriptions, suffi- cient funds were collected to begin the enterprise, and it is now in the process of accomplishment. The purpose of the undertaking is largely the same as in the Alaska importations, namely, to provide food and other products, and a means of transportation for the people living on barren Labrador. The place for the landing of the rein- deer has been carefully chosen. Lapland herdsmen will instruct chosen apprentices from among the natives in the handling of the reindeer, and, even- tually, if the experiment succeeds, the animals will be parceled out to the natives. Much interest cen- ters in this venture, as far-reaching results may be expected if it is successful. In this connection, the question arises, why not domesticate the native wild caribou? Every year fawns are taken and trained, and they make delight- ful pets. But thus far it has been impossible to erad- icate the wild nature, and it would probably require many generations to develop a domesticated type. About $13,000 was collected, and in 1907, after a highly satisfactory voyage, a herd of 300 domes- ticated Lapland reindeer were landed in northern Newfoundland, accompanied by Lapland herdsmen and dogs. As soon as navigation opens up, a part of the herd will be taken to Labrador. Some fifty reindeer were also brought over by the Harmsworth Company, and have been placed on their estate at Grand Falls, Newfoundland. So far, the experiment has been a complete success, and the reindeer are | reported to be in excellent condition. SHEEP. Ovis aries, Linn. Bovide. Figs. 50-54, 133, 288, 607-638. Sheep-farming in North America has passed through several phases, and it is now represented by several rather distinct types of effort. In the eastern states, sheep-farming is a business of small flocks that are kept within fenced fields and are housed in winter in regular barns. The European system of shepherded flocks is practically unknown anywhere in this country, due to the price of labor, the fact that persons are not trained to the busi- ness of shepherds, and to general economic and social conditions. In the great West, a characteristic American type of sheep-ranching has developed, on a very large base. This ranching is subject to ups and downs, depending on the price of wool and mutton; but as a general statement it may be said that it is following the large-area cattle-ranching, which is now passing away. Sheep can subsist on lands that are not adapted to cattle-ranching, and the returns from sheep are rapid, as there is a crop each year of both wool and lambs. The business of winter sheep-feeding has now grown to great proportions. This consists in the feeding of purchased sheep—chiefly range sheep of the West—for the winter and spring market. Immense feeding enterprises of this kind are con- Wein ur esuer daays “IXX 011d SHEEP ducted in the sheep states, as in Colorado, Montana, ‘Wyoming, the animals being brought down to the feeding-pens from the high summer ranges. These “feeders” are also shipped into the Hast, as far as New York, where great numbers are now fed in barns and sheds, in close proximity to the markets. Because of the great areas of cheap lands and public range in parts of the West, sheep-farming has largely passed out of the East. The equilibrium romises soon to be restored, however. Not only will the old style of sheep-farming be revived, but it is probable that something like the range effort of the West will come into the cheap-land hill regions of the Hast. Many of the semi-abandoned areas are excellently adapted to sheep, particularly when several farms can be combined, or when the owners can agree to engage in a similar business. In some eases it will probably be found to be more economical to introduce a system of shepherding than to attempt to re-fence the old arms. Another type of sheep business is the rearing of “hothouse lambs.” Ewes are bred at such time that the lambs are dropped early in winter, and the lambs are fattened by forced feeding and extra care, and are ready for market in about sixty days. Not all sheep, or all kinds of sheep, will breed freely at this time of the year (in June or summer : the period of gestation for the sheep is five months), and importations of Dorsets and others have been made for this purpose. It is now a prevailing opinion that the mountain-bred sheep of the West are well adapted to this business, whether because they are mountain-bred or because they are of the proper type for this business, is not determined. The long-wool kinds do not breed well for this pur- pose, nor do the lambs fatten quickly. The Merino types give better results but the pure Merinos - seem to lack in milk-producing and other qualities for the best production of winter lambs. The middle- wools, as the Dorset, are now preferred, the large producers of hothouse lambs securing their ewes mostly from the West, but the smaller producers breeding their own stock. The ideal season for win- ter lambs to be dropped is November, but it is difficult to make sheep breed early enough for this, so that December-dropped lambs are more common. The hot- house-lamb business depends on very special markets and it does not appear to be increasing at present. It must not be inferred that the sheep business has actually left the East, for this would be erro- neous; but in some regions it has decreased, and in few has it developed codrdinately with other agricultural business. The business of breeding sheep, as well as the general rearing for mutton ‘and wool, is important in many eastern regions, particularly in parts of Canada; the interest in high-class animals has not died out for sheep more than for other live-stock; there are many sheep- breeders’ societies in the Hast ; and at present the interest in sheep in that region is rapidly increas- ing. One of the great handicaps to sheep-hus- bandry is the danger from dogs. Tight woven- wire fences prove to be effective barriers to dogs ; but the only real relief is to make all dog-owners legally responsible for the acts of their dogs, and C 33 SHEEP 593 this can readily be done and the law can be effec- tively enforced when the sheep-growing sentiment of the community is well developed. The western ranching. The sheep-farming of the mountain states of the West is practically a pasturage business. Advantage is taken of the very high pastures in summer, and of the plains in winter. Immense flocks or “bands” are kept, being moved from place to place as the pasturage dictates. This nomadic business requires men and a regular “ out- fit” of camp equipment that move with the sheep. The work is done in a wholesale way, with very few of the niceties of care and feeding but with an excellent business management of the entire enter- prise. The sheep are exposed to many risks and the losses of animals are likely to be great. The real range ranching business is largely speculative. Tt is often spoken of as a “game.” With the pass- ing of the public range, this type of business will recede, and a kind of fenced farming, with fewer risks, will take its place, although, because of the character of the land, great areas will still be held in single ownerships and large flocks will be kept. For years there has been dispute and contention between the cow-men and the sheep-men as to the occupancy of the public range. This contention has often taken the form of open violence, usually, in the past, to the disadvantage of the sheep-men, who have sometimes lost whole flocks by having them driven over cliffs and into canyons and by other means. With the passing of the big cow- men, however, and the growth of the sheep busi- ness, the sheep-men have now gained supremacy in many parts. This old strife will soon be a part of the romantic history of an unsettled country. In so vast a region, it is to be expected that the practices will vary greatly; but it is possible to pre- sent a graphic picture of features of the business as it is followed in at least part of the great West. The essential features of the sheep-ranching of the West are the winter range and the summer range. The winter range is the home area or the place of business. It is on the plains or in a val- ley. It may be an enclosure or domain of several hundred acres or several thousand. It usually becomes parched in summer, and it is also too hot for the best success with sheep. The summer range is on the high lands, often above timber-line and near the snow-line. Here the grasses are fresh and nutritious, and the cli- mate is cool. To the summer range the sheep are taken—either “trailed” or shipped by train—just after shearing, and here they remain till the sea- son closes. The summer range is usually not owned by the sheep-man. The summer range will be una- vailable with the settling of the country, and this will determine the extent of the business. On the summer range the sheep are in charge of herders, whose business it is to see that the band is moved on to fresh pastures, that the band is kept together, that poisonous weeds (page 119) and wolves are avoided, and to look after the sheep that are drepping lambs and to take care of the 594 SHEEP lambs themselves. The herder remains with the band the entire season. The sheep may be herded by corralling them or by allowing them to run free. The corral is made of board fencing in panels fourteen to sixteen feet long and about four feet high, which is transported by wagons. The corral is made near a water-hole or spring, and is moved when the pasturage becomes poor. The free ranging allows the sheep to drift over the country, being guided by the herder and his dogs. The herder lives in a covered wagon. Often there are two men, one man doing most of the herd- ing, on horseback, and the other cooking and acting as assistant. If the band contains only 2,000 to 2,500 sheep, only one herder may be needed and he may not have a horse ; the camp-tender visits him two or three times a week, bringing provisions and moving camp. In whatever way the herding is done, the men on the range are supplied with “grub” from head- rete ere tego He «eraser ¢ ene eoserecme yh : ame evrer s -_-* SHEEP The weather is often rainy at the lambing season. The new arrivals, when first dropped, must be kept under cover if the weather is not bright and warm, The herder in charge of the “drop band” must keep a sharp lookout for ewes that are having lambs, for these sheep, with their lambs, must hauled to the main corral. The wagon for this work is divided into compartments, altogether hold- ing about twelve ewes. The man driving this wagon goes to the herder and determines how many ewes have had lambs and where they are. The teamster then catches the ewes and, seeing that the lamb has had milk, he puts ewe and lamb in a compart- ment. He then takes them to the main corral where the man in charge checks up the ewes and sees that they all claim their lambs. There is often trouble if the ewe is roughly handled and she is frightened, for when turned loose she may leave her lamb. In this case, the corral man catches her and puts her in a “claiming pen.” Fig. 607. quarters once or twice a week, taken out by a camp-tender. One tender makes the rounds of all the herders in an “outfit” or single ownership. A hardy and self-reliant lot of men are bred in this herding business, but the occupation lacks the pic- turesqueness of the old cowboy days. When the summer ranging is over, the herders go to head- quarters and are assigned duty on the winter range. Plains that are apparently lifeless in summer often afford excellent grazing after the rains come. The sheep roam at large all winter, securing feed from various plants and the natural hay made of the dry grasses. In many establishments, cheap sheds are provided on the winter range where supplemental feeding may be given in very cold weather or when the snowfall is heavy. These sheds are usually covered with wild hay. A shed one hundred feet square will provide feeding-place for 2,000 to 3,000 sheep. Seventy-five tons or less of hay should provide winter feed for 2,500 sheep. Wethers are handled in bands of 2,000 to 3,000 animals. Ewes are handled in bands about half this size, for the care of lambing sheep is arduous. 7% ; “ff . All i A Montana sheep corral and range. meer omette “a Sai Te Water-hole in the distance. This pen is just large enough for her to stand in, and yet give the lamb a chance to get milk without being butted away. If the ewes all “claim,” they are taken to a small corral that will hold about one day’s drop, with good pasturage near. One day’s drop on the start, with 2,500 ewes, will be 25 to 30 lambs, increasing to a maximum of 100 to 150 in the middle of the period. These small bunches of ewes and lambs are moved from one small corral to another to make Way for different days’ drop; and after ten days they are merged into what is called a “lamb band.” This band is added to daily as the lambs become strong, and, finally, when all the ewes have lambed, it becomes the main band. The lambs that come in the night are separated, with their mothers, by the night man, who patrols be corral all night. It requires about ten men to “lamb” a band of 2,500 ewes, and this is as many as can be lambed together with good results. When the lambs are about a month old, their tails are cut off, they are ear-marked, and the ram lambs castrated. To ascertain the percentage of increase, the tails are SHEEP counted, this giving the exact number of lambs. The average increase, one year with another, will be from 75 to 80 per cent. This means the lambs that are counted in the autumn. It is generally estimated that it costs twenty-five cents per head for every lamb dropped, but this depends on how close expenses are watched. Probably there is no place in the world where the sheep-dog is more useful than in this ranching in the great West. The dog is a Collie, light, quick, intelligent. The pup is usually trained by working him with an older dog. The dogs bring in the straggling sheep, round up the flock, look out for wolves and other dangers, and guard the outfit. They are the objects of much affection by the sheep-men. They work persistently on rough and often cactus-covered lands, and share with the herder his privations of food and water. This use of the sheep-dog (see page 383) is in marked con- trast to the damage done the sheep industry in other regions by untrained and irresponsible dogs. Tt is said that the dog and western wolf cross, and that the hybrid animal is preferred by some herders as being hardier and also tougher in the feet. Others say that the dog and coyote cross. This cross is said to partake of the color of the coyote, but, when the dog parent is a collie, the animal carries himself more like a dog, holding his head in the air rather than carrying it down as the coyote does. The fact that no systematic efforts are put forth to make either of these crosses, Taises a question as to their value, if they occur. As a general proposition, the sheep-rancher cal- ¢culates that the wool crop will pay the cost of the business. This leaves mutton and lambs to repre- sent the profits. Although the chief crop is wool, yet, where so many sheep are raised, there are a great number of mutton wethers shipped out each year. The major part of this mutton product goes Hast, chiefly to Chicago. The sheep that are in prime condition and fat go directly on the market. They will average about 110 pounds, and bring from $3.50 to $4 per hundred live weight. It costs from 60 to 75 cents per head to ship and care for them in transit. They are shipped in double-decked cars, each car holding about 225 sheep, this, how- ever, depending on the size of the sheep. From points in Montana, these sheep are unloaded and fed twice before reaching Chicago. They are finally delivered at some of the numerous feeding stations near the market, where they are held for a few days and generally put on the market in from two- to six-car lots. The commission man regulates the quantity, however, and orders from day to day the number of cars he thinks he can sell to the best advantage. The sheep that are not in shape to send to market at once, are put on feed. This feed consists of mill screenings, corn and hay, all of which is given them for about ninety days. The sheep intended for long feeding are gener- ally put in the feed-pens during the autumn and winter. Very few, if any, are fed in summer. Tn late years, the farmers of Michigan, Illinois and Indiana have fed great numbers of western sheep. They seem to have made good profit, for they secure SHEEP 595 the market price or better for their grain and hay by feeding it, and they have the manure and are able to find employment for their men. The shearing on these ranches is performed by men who go from place to place, beginning early in the South and working northward with the sea- son. The work is done by piece or contract, either by hand or with clippers run by electric, steam or gasolene power. Although the machine is nearly as slow as hand-shearing, it does cleaner work and therefore gives the owner a heavier fleece. An expert workman will shear about one hundred sheep per day on an average, although the number runs as high as 150 sheep in ten hours, and it is said that there is a record of 308 in this time. At eight cents each, a shearer expects to earn $8 to $10 a day. Great numbers of high-class sheep have been introduced into the western sheep regions in recent years, largely of the fine-wool and middle-wool classes, and these are having a marked effect on the flocks. Sheep-breeding centers are developing in the West. From its natural adaptabilities, the region will always remain a great mutton and wool country. The number and farm value of sheep in the United States, and in the seven leading states (all above a farm value of $10,000,000), on January 1, 1907, are given in the Yearbook of the Depart- ment of Agriculture (1906) as follows: Number Farm value United States . . 53,240,282 $204,210,129 Montana. .... 5,636,711 20,833,283 Wyoming 4,986,796 19,244,045 QHO coo ca 6 3,140,720 15,119,427 New Mexico 4,558,365 13,468,363 IGENW® og co 00 0 3,648,133 13,184,353 WIN 65 oo 6% 2,853,250 11,131,953 Michigan . 2,108,795 10,314,117 The wool-product for the United States, and of the eight leading states (all above 10,000,000 pounds), is given in the same Yearbook as follows: Wool washed No. of sheep and unwashed April 1, 1906 lbs. United States . . . 38,540,798 256,915,130 Montana ..... 4,940,000 35,815,000 Wyoming..... 4,531,000 32,849,750 Idaho = -= = = 23300;000 16,905,000 New Mexico. . . . 2,900,000 15,950,000 ORO 6 6 6 50 0 1,800,000 15,300,000 California. . ... 1,750,000. 13,125,000 Wins ao 6 6 00 1,900,000 12,350,000 Ohio 1,850,000 11,562,500 The imports and exports of wool, unmanufac- tured and raw, for the seven months ending Jan- uary 1, 1906, 1907, 1908, are given as follows in the Quarterly Report of the Treasury of the United States: Pounds Value IOS 555000 100,180,796 $18,165,727 MOE 6) bugs Oo. c 95,339,555 17,532,704 1908 - 71,205,366 13,860,068 Exports— , IWS 256 6 oo 5 11,375 $2,126 WO 6 56 60 6 169,824 40,118 NGOS Me mere sais cuire 41,763 12,005 696 SHEEP The Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1906, gives the number of sheep in Canada as follows : Year Number Motali@anaday yin enews 2,971,212 New Brunswick . 1905 183,000 CeO S665 Bb Se oo 4 1906 1,304,809 Manitobat.ti) <1 eohemte 1906 28,975 Saskatchewan ..... 1906 121,290 PA Dextan-ietue) nc eee emt 1906 154,266 Others ecto) scares 1901 1,178,872 The Canada Yearbook for 1905, gives the value of sheep in 1901 as follows: Total Canada, $10,- 490,594; British Columbia, $164,679 ; Manitoba, $144,018; New Brunswick, $538,682; Nova Scotia, $757,278; Ontario, $5,518,403; Prince Edward Island, $384,790; Quebec, $2,376,471 ; Territories, $606,273. Literature. Probably the one book that has had most influ- ence on American sheep-husbandry is Randall’s “Practical Shepherd,” by H. 8S. Randall of Cort- land, N. Y. Since the publication of this work the character of the business has changed radically, and no single book now has undisputed precedence. Following are some of the titles: Youatt, Sheep : Their Breeds, Management and Diseases, London (1837); L. A. Morrell, The American Shepherd, New York (1846); H. S. Randall, The Practical Shepherd, Rochester (1863); same, Fine Wool Sheep Husbandry, New York (1868); same, Sheep Hus- bandry, New York (1883); Powers, The American Merino, New York (1887); Spooner, Sheep; His- tory, Structure, Economy, Diseases, London (1888); Henry Stewart, The Shepherd’s Manual, New York (1890); same, The Domestic Sheep, Chicago (1898); Carman, Heath and Minto, Special Report on the History and Present Condition of the Sheep Indus- try of the United States, Washington (1892); Wrightson, Sheep : Breed sand Management, (1893); Coleman, Cattle, Sheep and Pigs of Great Britain, London (1887); Craig, Judging Live Stock, The Author (1904); George W. Curtis, Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Swine (1888); David Low, On the Do- mesticated Animals of the British Islands, London (1842); Wallace, Farm Live Stock of Great Bri- tain, Edinburgh (1907); Shaw, The Study of Breeds in America, New York (1905); Sanders, The Breeds of Live Stock, Chicago (1887); The Best Breeds of British Stock, London (1898); Plumb, Types and Breeds of Farm Animals (1906); J. E. Wing, Sheep Farming in America, Chicago (1905); Rushworth, The Sheep, Buffalo (1899); Milburn, Sheep and Shepherding ; Bennett, Wool and Sheep ; Miller and Wing, The Winter Lamb; Clarke, Fitting Sheep for the Show Ring and Market. It is seen that the literature on sheep is abun- dant. These little animals have long been popular with writers, popular and scientific, and as well with those who delight to use the camera. Numerous illustrated articles. are to be found in the current magazines. There are many experiment station and government publications on sheep, which may be traced through the Experiment Station Record. SHEEP INDEX TO SHEEP ARTICLES Origin of Domestic Sheep ........ ane 36 Wool- and Mutton-Production. ........ 9} The Feeding of Sheep. ........ oo « » OO Determining the Age of Sheep ......... 08 Common Ailments of Sheep ........ « . 608 CheviotiSheep) Ss) 6 ey 0c mentee ope J Cotswold Sheep. . ......=.-6 o +) 5 = lo Dorset-Horm Sheep) ~ % ©.) = nen ielnene ee 1s Hampshire Down Sheep ............ 614 Leicester Sheep. ....... oe. sn Tincolns SHEep ec! =) eis) a) Nelo aae oe = f Merino Sheepie ec) )- 1-1 i- ti eietennenae oie eluate American Merino ....... o a) le la veig Delame Merino. =. aes 2 osha Rambouillet or French Merino ...... . Oxford) Down Sheep) =.) +) =a 7 one Shropshire Down Sheep ...... Arr Southdown Sheep. - 9: = = = slleitensntsnemm Suffolk Down Sheep. .... oo e Net oh na Miscellaneous Breeds of Sheep . . .....s « Origin of one Domestic Sheep. musimon). The argali, or wild sheep of Asia, is a large! Kamschatka and the ocean. They are very agile and strong, but wary and suspicious. They roam together in small flocks. They are hunted for thei flesh and their skins, which are made into clot Taken young, it has been found possible to t oughly domesticated. ; The musmon or mouflon (Fig. 608) inhabits ¢ the is with aed domesticated. The musmon has been crossed with the common sheep and the prog eny are fruitful. Whether these two wild forms are really to he regarded as distinct species, and whether our com: mon sheep have descended from them, or ei one of them directly, or from a related form extinct, are questions that do not appear to h been settled by zodlogists. There are other forr of wild sheep in many parts of the world, but the apparently have not contributed to the commo domestic races. All members of the sheep tri are mountain and highland animals. In fact, there are few animals that live in more inaccessible and inhospitable heights. Our domestic sheep inherit SHEEP this peculiarity, preferring cool climates, high lands, open ranges, and quickly suffering when closely housed for any length of time. In North America there are three species of wild sheep,—the big-horn (Ovis canadensis, some- times called O. cervinus and O. montanus), the black sheep (Ovis stonei), the white sheep (0. dalli). There are two or three subspecies or forms of these. Of these, the best known is the big-horn, native to the mountain region from Mexico to The musimon (Ovis musimon). Adapted from Brehm. Fig. 608. British Columbia, but are most abundant in the northern parts of the United States and parts of Canada. This animal, which is considered as one of the “big game” of the West, is characterized by immense horns curled downward at the sides of the head. It stands, when mature, about forty inches high and weighs 325 pounds. It is yellow- ish in summer and gray-brown in winter. It is exceedingly alert and very difficult to capture. There is now a herd of about two hundred head of these fine animals in the Yellowstone Park, roam- ing free. There appears to be none in captivity, nor has any effort been made to breed them. The white sheep and black sheep are smaller than the big-horn, with much lighter horns. The white is an Alaskan species; efforts to bring it into cap- tivity have failed. The black sheep is native to British Columbia; specimens are in several z00- logical parks. Not to be confounded with the big-horn or other mountain sheep are the “wild sheep” or “native sheep” of the West and South, which are degener- ate and run-wild forms of domestic sheep early introduced by the Spaniards or others. With the set- tlement of the country, better blood is being intro- duced and the scrub range sheep are passing out. An animal that may be confused in the popular mind with the big-horn and the “native sheep” is the mountain goat (Oreamnos montanus). This is a SHEEP 597 goat only in looks. It is more nearly allied to the antelopes. It inhabits the highest ranges and peaks from Idaho and Washington to Alaska. The male animals weigh as much as 300 pounds when mature. The mountain goat has a coarse shaggy coat of white hair and nearly straight erect shin- ing black horns. It is a peculiar beast, quite unlike any other animal in any part of the world. No efforts have been made to domesticate this animal, but a few specimens are in captivity. As is to be expected of an animal that has been long under domestication in many countries, the Sheep presents many forms. The animal is grown chiefly for wool and meat, and there are breeds valuable primarily for wool and others primarily for mutton. There are variations that are not cor- related with these uses, however, as those with three, four or more horns, and those with no horns. There are short-tailed and long-tailed breeds, and there is an Asian breed with very thick fat tails. There are also dwarf races, as the Shetland and Faroe island sheep, yielding a fleece of two pounds or less, which is pulled instead of being sheared. There are many kinds of fleece. Some kinds of sheep have a marked double coat, and in tropical countries there are woolless sheep. The Shetland and similar sheep have a fleece with hair inter- mixed ; in fact, this intermixture is characteristic in cold, moist climates. Sheep differ greatly in color, the exposed parts being soft white or some- times jet-black. There are Asian forms with an extreme development of fat on the haunches. In Roman times, the mountains of Spain were recognized as excellent sheep countries; and as more northern regions were not then civilized, the Spanish sheep early gained great prominence. The Spanish sheep is a fine-wool type. The English de- veloped coarse- wool types, apparently not from Spanish foundations. The early Spanish introduc- tions to North America gave character to our early sheep husbandry. Later, the long wools and middle wools of England were introduced, and they are now the prevailing types. The character of the introduc- tions from Europe has changed from time to time, depending very largely on the tariff conditions and the general nature of the demand for wool-stuffs. The domestic sheep is a good illustration of the influence of domestication. The modern animal has very few characters that would indicate its descent from the wild species. Sheep have been under sub- jection to man from earliest recorded time. Abra- ham’s wealth was measured by his “sheep and oxen and camels.” The peculiar sheep-herding methods recorded in scripture are followed today by the Kurds, Turcomans and Arabs of Asia. There are remains of sheep in the prehistoric lake dwellings of Switzerland. The character of the wool has given rise to the classification of breeds. The domesticated varieties of sheep are numerous. In this article only those of most importance to America are considered. The breeds most prevalent in America are the Merino, a breed noted for the fineness of its fleece, and the Shropshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, South- down, Horned Dorset and Cheviot, sometimes 598 SHEEP called middle-wooled breeds, but more frequently spoken of as mutton sheep. The Lincoln, Leicester and Cotswold are large breeds with long, coarse fleeces, primarily raised for their flesh. It has been a common practice to classify sheep according to the length or quality of fleece pro- duced. Thus, we have (1) fine-wool breeds : Ameri- can, Delaine and Rambouillet or French Merinos ; (2) medium-wool breeds : Dorset-Horn, Hampshire Down, Oxford Down, Shropshire Down, Southdown, Suffolk Down, Tunis; (8) long-wool breeds: Cheviot, Cotswold, Leicester, Lincoln. Another classifica- tion would group the breeds, according to utility, into the fine-wool type, as (1) above, and place all the others together under the mutton type. There are numerous miscellaneous breeds, not included in this classification, as Black-Faced Highland, Kent or Romney Marsh, Wensleydale, Herdwick, Ryeland, Barbados. Wool- and Mutton-Production. By G. C. Humphrey. The production of wool and mutton is an indus- try of very great proportions, and of increasing national interest. Wool-production. Wool is a staple article, very essential to all mankind. Next to cotton, it is the product most extensively used in the manufacture of cloth, felt and other fabrics. Argentina, Australia, America, Russia, Great Britain and British India are the most noted wool-producing countries. According to an estimate made by the National Association of Wool Manufacturers, the world’s wool clip for 1900 was 2,685,000,000 pounds. The United States, in 1905, as reported by the National Department of Agriculture, produced 298,915,130 pounds of wool, equivalent, when scoured and ready for the manufacturer, to 129,410,942 pounds. For many years, sheep-breeders in America devoted their main efforts to the improvement of wool, and developed some excellent types of the American and Delaine Merino breeds. These were most popular when sheep were reared principally for wool-production, and prices for wool were com- paratively high. Since the marked decline in the prices in 1893, and the demand and prices for mut- ton have increased, sheep-growers, especially in the East and middle West, have turned their atten- tion largely to the medium-wool mutton breeds, and have had little regard for the improvement of wool. The time undoubtedly will never come when the sheep-grower can afford to ignore the value of his flock for mutton-production, but he likewise cannot afford to ignore or neglect the improvement of wool. Improvement of wool.—tIn all instances, wool is incidental to the growth and existence of sheep, and any improvement in its character insures greater profits in sheep-rearing. At the present time, to say the most, wool is very much neglected and badly handled in America. On the ranches of the West and the Southwest, more attention is SHEEP given at present to wool-growing than in the eastern states. Experience has taught that the fine-wool breeds, especially the strong-bodied, well- wooled Rambouillets, are more hardy and more capable of withstanding range conditions than are the Down breeds. The ranchman has also learned that he can better afford to produce and market a good clip of wool than attempt to fatten sheep for market. He can grow lambs for feeders, and for this reason, a breed that will combine wool and mutton qualities is being sought. The United States Department of Agriculture is lending aid to this project through the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, which is endeavoring to estab- lish and develop a breed of sheep highly adapted to the range. Great improvement can be made in the wool of all breeds, without altering their other character- istics, by giving careful attention to the selection of pure-bred rams that are well-wooled, providing better feed and shelter, and giving more heed to keeping dirt and foreign substances out of the fleece. A good fleece should be dense and even over the entire body; be free from foreign sub- stances, kemp and cot; possess a strong, well- crimped fiber of bright and lustrous appearance ; and have sufficient yolk or oil to preserve and keep the fiber strong. Exposure and lack of proper nourishment affect the value of wool from the point of view of the manufacturer, who buys wool on its merits and is dependent on the grower for the quality. There should be a close relationship between the grower and the manufacturer, which would force the local buyers and commission men to make more distinction between prices paid for different lots of wool than they are accustomed to make. Classification and grades of wool.—According to Mumford, wools are classified on the basis of their length and strength as (1), clothing wools, com- prising short, fine wools suitable for making high- grade woolen cloth; (2), combing wools, which are strong, over three inches long, used for worsted goods; and (3), delaine wools, which are fine, strong wools, two to three inches long, desirable for making delaine cloth. Clothing wools, according to the fineness of their quality, grade as Picklock, XXX, XX, X, No. 1 or 4 blood, No. 2 or 2 blood and No. 3 or # blood. Picklock and XXX are very rare grades, which formerly found their way to American markets among imported wools. Combing wools do not grade higher than 2 blood. Delaine wools grade as fine, medium and low. Marketing wool.—All wools that are bright and comparatively clean are termed “domestic wools.” Dirty and discolored wools are quoted as “territory wools.” The bulk of wool is marketed today as “unwashed” or in the grease,” which refers to wool with dirt and yolk adhering to it. Formerly, it was the common practice to wash sheep and remove a part of the dirt and yolk, when the wool was marketed as “washed wool.” “Tub-washed wool” is wool that has been washed by hand or machinery after it has been taken from the sheep. SHEEP “Scoured wool” is factory-washed wool, from which all dirt and yolk have been removed and which is ready for the manufacturer. Growers should familiarize themselves with market demands and quotations, endeavor to re- move all features that are objectionable to the manufacturer, and insist that local buyers and com- mission men pay prices corresponding to the merits of the wool. Mutton-production. The rearing and feeding of sheep for the produc- tion of mutton is today a prominent feature of the live-stock industry. The number of sheep slaugh- tered during the years 1880 and 1907, respectively, at the Chicago Union Stock Yards, the greatest packing-house and live-stock center in the world, indicates the growth of the sheep industry and the popularity of mutton as an article of food. In 1907, there were 3,069,391 sheep slaughtered at this point, as compared with 179,300 in 1880. Prices paid per hundred pounds in 1907 for sheep, grouped in the following classes, ranged, according to the grade, as follows: Native sheep, $2 to $7; native yearlings and lambs, $4 to $8.60; western sheep, $2 to $7.25; western and Mexican lambs, $4 to $9.25. These prices, on the average, have not fluctuated materially for the past ten years, although the sheep market tends to fluctuate at certain seasons of the year in a manner greatly to concern feeders having large flocks to market. Methods of producing mutton.—Several methods of feeding and fitting sheep for the market are in practice. One is the forcing of lambs from the time they are dropped until they are six to ten weeks old, when, if properly fitted, they furnish the finest quality of mutton and bring the highest market price. When special houses are provided in which to force this class of lambs, whatever may be the season of the year, the term “hothouse lambs” is given them. Such lambs, depending on the season they are produced, are also termed “Christmas,” “winter,” “Easter” or “spring lambs.” They are much sought, and, when one understands breeding and forcing them, large profits are derived. The cost of production, so far as feed is concerned, is relatively low; but unless one has suitable build- ings and is willing to devote the utmost care and attention to the work, he had better be satisfied to produce mutton after some other method. The selection of ewes that will breed at the proper season of the year, be prolific and produce an abundance of milk, is the first consideration. The profits come in having the lambs at some extraordinary season, when extremely high prices will be paid for them. Consequently, one must aim to breed the ewes much earlier than the usual time. Dorsets are the most popular for early lamb pro- duction, since it is characteristic of them to breed at any season of the year, be prolific and produce an abundance of milk. The Rambouillet, Tunis, Hampshire and Delaine breeds are also worthy of consideration, if one can select choice deep-milking ewes. At the Wisconsin Agriculturul Experiment SHEEP 599 Station, six ewes, four being grade Dorsets and two Shropshire—Merino grades, produced seven lambs at about New Year’s time. A warm pen haying arti- ficial heat was provided for the ewes at lambing time, and the feed for ewes and lambs was care- fully recorded after the lambs were dropped. The ewes were fed oats, bran and oil-meal, 20:10:1, with clover, alfalfa, cabbage, roots and silage. By providing a lamb-creep, the lambs were fed, sepa- rately, bran, oats, corn meal and oil-meal, 4:2:2:1, and alfalfa hay. The lambs were marketed when seventy-five days old. They averaged 60.4 pounds per head, and returned a profit over and above the cost of feed for ewes and lambs, and of marketing lambs, of $6.48 per head. Another method more commonly practiced than the above, is to carry the lambs until fall and sell them at a time when they otherwise would have to be housed. By feeding well-bred lambs continuously a small amount of grain, perhaps one-half pound per head daily, while on good pasture, it is possible to make them weigh close to one hundred pounds at the age of eight months at a comparatively low cost. To sow rape (Brassica campestris, Dwarf Essex variety) in corn or on ground specially set apart for it, and pasture it supplementary to grass, greatly assists in this method of fattening sheep. A third popular method of fattening sheep for market is feeding native or western lambs and yearlings, beginning at about the ages of eight or twenty months, respectively. Corn is the principal grain, used in conjunction with clover or mixed hay, corn stover or other dry roughage. Oats are excellent at the beginning of the feeding period, since sheep like them and will eat them at once without harm. They produce little gain, however, and should be substituted by corn as rapidly as sheep will bear the change and continue to mani- fest a keen appetite, which is essential to insure good results. Peas produce excellent results, but are usually too expensive. Barley has been tried and produces fair returns, but will prove more satisfactory if mixed with other grains, as peas and corn. Some succulent feed, silage or roots, tends to keep fattening sheep healthier, and thus make better gains. Pea-straw and corn stover are next to alfalfa and clover hay as roughage for fattening sheep. Cull ewes are usually marketed soon after shear- ing, when a sacrifice can be made, if necessary, on the amount they will bring for mutton. Using good, pure-bred rams, docking and castrating lambs at ten days to two weeks old, and giving them a good start, are factors to be emphasized in attempting to produce mutton. Literature. Mumford, The Production and Marketing of Wool, Bulletin 178, Michigan Agricultural College (1900); National Association of Wool Manufactur- ers, Annual Wool Review, Boston; Wisconsin Experi- ment Station, Twenty-third Annual Report (1906); Union Stock Yard and Transit Company of Chicago, Annual Live Stock Report (1907). [For further references, see page 596.] 600 SHEEP The Feeding of Sheep. Figs. 609, 610. By John A. Craig. It is noticeable that the most successful shep- herds are invariably quiet in manner, low-voiced and gentle in their ways. Sheep respond to such characteristics on the part of their care-takers more sympathetically than other classes of stock, and at no other time more than at the feeding hour. They are easily frightened and stampeded, and con- versely, they are very trustful and dependent on those having charge of them. Boisterousness, coupled with rough usage and reckless driving in changing about from pasture to feed-lot, and any carelessness in management, are directly opposed to thrift and well doing. It is necessary to see that the food and the troughs are clean. This requires that the troughs should always be cleaned before the sheep are fed from them ; and, furthermore, especially in the case of lambs, the troughs should have a strip along the top which will prevent the lambs crowding into the trough, or putting their feet into the feed. They dislike damp and muddy conditions, so that a clean and dry feeding-place is necessary. Sheep can stand almost any amount of cold, provided the quarters are dry and they are sheltered from wind. The latter not only materially interferes with their comfort, but also induces eye troubles under some circumstances. Regularity in feeding is imperative. Irregularity will make the sheep restless, which will retard their thrift and gain. Under most conditions, it will be advisable to feed sneep twice a day. The more the shepherd sees his AaMyi )onusi LW) nok mn om alt Fig. 609. Sheep-feeding scene. sheep, and the more he is with them, the better they are likely to thrive. When only a pound of grain, or less, is fed, it is hardly necessary to divide it into two feeds. The usual practice, unless self-feeders are used, is to feed the grain first, and then fill the racks. In this way the shepherd may follow the feeding more closely, for at no time is it easier to gauge the thrift of the sheep than when they are lined up at the feeding trough. It is often good practice to go among the sheep, and by feeling their backs make accurate note of their condition. As a rule, it does not pay to grind grain of any kind for sheep, although this statement should be SHEEP qualified when peas or beans are fed, for sheep do very decidedly better when these are cracked. In the case of young lambs, ground corn will give gains so much greater over the whole corn as to pay for the grinding. In the case of old ewes with lost teeth, it will pay too, although when feedirg such, especially in the summer, soaked corn will give even more satisfactory results. It will likely prove profitable to shred or cut corn fodder, owing to the reduced waste; but clover hay, pea-straw, oat hay and other forage of this class, may just as well be fed uncut. Roots may be fed sliced, more satisfactorily, as a rule. As accessories to success- ful feeding, the sheep need to have access to salt and water at all times. Some shepherds are of the opinion that water is not necessary where snow is abundant; but clean, fresh water at all times certainly contributes to their well-being. It is a common practice to mix some sulfur with the salt, and this may be considered good practice for a few _ days at a time during dry weather. Feeding lambs before weaning. When a ewe has but a single lamb and she has an abundance of milk, there is no need of feeding the lamb any grain until near weaning time. In fact, some ewes give too much milk for a single lamb, and the latter may become too fat in the early stages of its life to secure the best ultimate results in health and thrift. When a ewe has two lambs, the latter are the better for getting some grain. It is generally advisable to feed some grain prior to weaning, so that when the lambs are being weaned they can be carried on without any check in growth or thrift because of the withdrawal of the mother’s milk. It is very easy to teach lambs to eat grain before weaning by arranging a creep that they can go through into a small lot or sec- tion of the fold and get the grain without the ewes going through. When the ewes are getting nourishing and succu- lent food, there is nothing gained by feeding them grain while they are suckling lambs; hence, if any grain is to be fed, it should be given to the lambs direct. If the lambs are to be sold before weaning, or at that time, and it is advisable to have them then as fat as possible, it is necessary to begin feeding them grain as early as possible. When they are two weeks old, they may sometimes — be induced to eat a little grain, but it is not likely they will do so until they are about a month old. The most satisfactory mixture, if rapid gains are desired, is, perhaps, a combination of three-fourths corn meal and one-fourth bran by weight. The lambs will take their time in beginning to eat, but soon after they start to eat_this ration they will be eating one-fourth to one-half pound per head, daily. — When they begin to eat it, it is well not to feed them enough to cloy their appetites. They should be given only what they will eat up clean, and always with a relish. If they are somewhat back- ward in eating after they have been started nicely, — old feed should not be left in the feeding-trough, but regularly changed, so that the feed may not be stale at any time. Lambs intended for breeding — SHEEP purposes, as a rule, do not require any grain until very shortly before weaning; then they should have it in order that they may not become checked in growth incident to weaning. The aim in feeding lambs intended for breeding purposes should be to pee them in nice flesh and splendid growing con- ition. Feeding lambs after weaning. To keep the lambs unchecked in growth after weaning, they should have the best of feed and care just at this time. It is well to have for them fresh pasture, or rape, or some other succulent feed which they like. If grain has been fed before weaning, the lambs have gradually become accus- tomed to grazing, and have relied more and more on the grain as the milk of their dams has dried up. So, when the lambs reach the weaning age, they are relying mostly on their own rations, and they will not miss the milk. It is advisable to remove the ewes as far as possible from the lambs, so that they will be encouraged to forget each other. In addition to good pasture, or rape or some other green food, the lambs should be fed liberally on grain. Those intended for breeding purposes should get such food as tends to favor growth as well as condition, such as bran and oats, while those that are intended for market should be fed more fattening food. For these reasons it is well to separate the wether lambs from the breeding lambs. Again, the latter should be separated so that the ewe lambs are together and the ram lambs by themselves. If the wether lambs are to be fattened for the early fall market, they should be given a liberal allowance of grain. There is no grain more fatten- ing for lambs and wethers than corn. But to get the best results from it, some other grain should be fed with it, so that the appetites of the lambs may be sustained and the gain in flesh progress steadily. Bran is always a safe food to feed wethers, and it is always advisable to feed some of it, although it has never proved very fattening in any feeding experiments. The same is true of oats. They are both very wholesome and nutritious feeds, greatly relished by sheep. When it comes to making fat or gain, however, corn or cracked peas are the most satisfactory. Cracked corn and peas, with some bran, make a very superior ration for fattening. In feeding wethers that have already had grain, it is an easy matter to start them gaining quickly and sustain the increase; while some care is needed, yet there is seldom any danger, as in the case of feeding sheep unaccustomed to grain. Lambs fed grain before weaning will take a pound of grain daily, per head, after weaning, and make satisfac- tory gain on it, while, to feed lambs unaccustomed to grain that amount, immediately after weaning, would likely result in serious loss. When the lambs are being fed so that they may go on the market fat, sometime during January or thereabouts, they do not need such rapid crowding during the fall months, for it is easy to get mature lambs too fat and heavy for the highest market price SHEEP 601 per pound. It isa fact that the general market prefers a fat lamb of one hundred pounds or under to one that is over that weight, provided the con- dition as to fleshiness is the same. For fattening mature lambs during the fall season, there is noth- ing better than good grass pasturage and rape or rutabagas, with a mixture of grains, such as corn and oats. The grass pasture should be used to turn the lambs on in the morning before they are permitted to go on the rape. If the lambs get a small grain ration, too, in the morning, before be- ing permitted to graze on the rape, there is very little danger from bloating. This grain ration may consist of bran and corn or oats and corn, half and half by weight. After the season for rape and roots and pasture is passed, the wether lambs being fattened should be penned or yarded. They apparently do better Fig. 610. A sheep-feeding shed in Utah. when limited in range at this time. A nice, dry yard adjoining the feeding-pen is very desirable to turn them in. In the North, fattening lambs need dry shelter but do not need to be closed in so as to be warm. Dryness, with free ventilation of the quarters, are the main considerations. In the South, it is advisable to have a corral on a high dry site, where the lambs can be put during feeding time and at night. A woven wire corral, dog and wolf proof, is a necessity under such con- ditions. In the South, the lambs can be allowed to run on rape or turnips during the greater part of the winter season, and fed dry fodders only a short time before shipping, so that the shrinkage may be reduced. In the North, fodder-feeding becomes a necessity during the yard-feeding, although such foods as wheat screenings, or others in which there is considerable chaff or roughage, may be fed alone. Both dry and succulent fodder, with some grass, will give the best results. Of the dry fodders for fattening, it is hardly likely that any will surpass alfalfa or the clovers. For succulence, corn silage or roots are very satisfactory, while for grain, corn, oats and bran and, perhaps, some oil-meal or cottonseed meal, if not too high in price, may be used to advantage. The lambs, when put in the feeding yard or pens, should be taking about a pound per head daily of the oats-and-corn mixture. This should be increased gradually. Highly bred mature lambs, accustomed to grain all their lives, will ultimately take two and one- half to three pounds of grain per head daily when they are ripe for market or show ; but, of course, this high feeding cannot be continued long. They 602 SHEEP will make corresponding gain on it, thus showing what careful training in feeding will do, coupled with inherited fattening tendencies. The lambs need just enough exercise in the yards to keep them strong and sound on their legs; more than this or any excitement tells in reduced gain. Referring back to the breeding lambs, they should have a run of rape and pasture and have some oats and bran, although, if they keep in good growthy condition without the grain, it would be good economy to withhold it. By keeping the ewe lambs growing steadily and feeding them nourish- ing fodders during winter, such as clover hay, corn fodder, and some oats or bran during the winter, they grow into good large yearlings and clip a surprisingly heavy fleece in the spring. The ram lambs should also have an abundance of nourishing food,—clover hay, oats, roots and such foods as tend to encourage growth and flesh rather than fat. Both the ewe lambs and the ram lambs should have abundant exercise. This may be encouraged in the North by feeding them their fodders some distance from the sheds, and thus inducing them to take exercise to get their feed. Short fattening period—The majority of the lambs that go on the fat market have had a short fattening period of three to four months. Western lambs, or those from the ranches, are fed in this way. In feeding these lambs, the first point to remember is that they have never had any grain,— nothing except grasses. To feed such lambs on the farm, it is advisable to get them comparatively early in the season, unless the market is not favor- able for purchasing. When they are brought on the farm early, they may do a great deal of good in cleaning up stubble corn-fields, weedy pastures and the like before the feeding begins, provided the fields are free from burs. For such lambs there is nothing better than a month or so of pre- paratory feeding on rape or roots, as it puts them in sappy and thrifty condition. They need to be managed very carefully while becoming accustomed to the rape. Of all things, they need most the run of a pasture before being turned on the rape, and when on the latter, they should be hurdled; that is, a temporary fence should be used in such a way that the lambs get only a limited amount of rape. For grain, bran or oats is about the safest feed to begin with. At first, put about one-fourth of a pound per head daily inthe trough. As soon as they realize what the grain is for, they will be anxious for more. Whether the grain should be increased rapidly or very slowly will depend greatly on the quality and previous feeding of the lambs. At any rate, it is always safest to increase the quantity slowly. At the end of two weeks, they may have one-half pound per head daily, and by the end of a month, one pound per head daily will be about as much as they should have. When this quantity is reached, make the grain ration one-half corn and one-half bran or oats by weight, and feed this mix- ture in two feeds, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. For fodder, feed clover hay, corn- stalks, or pea-straw, varying the ration according to the foods available. SHEEP At the end of three months of careful feeding, the lambs will be taking one and one-half to two pounds of grain, and about two or three pounds of clover hay, according to the quality and their relish for it. A pound and a half to two pounds per head per week may be considered to be the range of gain in live weight from such feeding. A western lamb weighing fifty to sixty pounds when purchased may be expected to weigh eighty to ninety pounds at the end of three and one-half months of feeding, provided the lamb is of a smooth, thrifty type, and continues to do well on such feeds as those men- tioned. Feeding breeding ewes. While sheep will eat a wider range of weeds and other plants than other classes of stock, yet they show very decided preferences for some fodders. To carry breeding ewes over winter successfully, in the North, it is very necessary to know their likes and dislikes. Breeding ewes, and, in fact, all classes of sheep, have a decided liking for clover hay, and the finer it is in leaf and stem the cleaner they will eat it up. For this reason, alfalfa and alsike are greatly liked, although second crops may surpass either of these. Pea-straw, shredded corn fodder and oat hay are good. The fodders may be fed some distance from the fold so that the ewes are forced to take some exercise. A mutton grade ewe, weighing 100 to 150 pounds, will eat two to three pounds of these fodders daily during the winter season. If the breeding ewes have had good grass in the fall, they will have gained in flesh after the weaning of the lambs, and they are not likely to need any grain unless just at breeding time. They should certainly have some oats if the pasture has not been sufficient and they have not received any rape to supplement it. The ewes should go into winter in strong condition. It is advisable to cor- ral them and handle their backs, to be satisfied on that point, although most shepherds can tell by a ewe’s appearance as to whether or not she is thrifty enough. As lambing time approaches, the ewes should be fed liberally on a variety of roughage. Some suc- culent food, such as corn silage and roots, is thought to induce a free flow of milk. As soon as the ewes lamb, they should receive some grain. Wheat bran and oats are very satisfactory. Corn may be fed in moderation, but it cannot be con- sidered as wholesome a food for breeding ewes as bran or oats. If the ewes lamb about the time grass is ready for them, there will be no need of feeding them further on grain, although, if the grass is very lush and immature, some grain may be fed profitably. Frequent change of pasture, with some rape cut and fed, should keep the ewes milk- ing well. They may become thin, but it is not advisable to feed them grain if the succulent feed is available and the ewes remain in good condition. Feeding rams. In the feeding of ram lambs, there is no grain more satisfactory than clean heavy oats. The ram lambs should get oats from weaning time. This, SHEEP with good pasture, will be all that is necessary until winter. Then clover hay and corn fodder, with roots or silage, should constitute the ration. The ram lamb should be given little service, if any. A ram lamb that was born very early and has made an uninterrupted growth, and has been fed well, may be used for service as a lamb, but as arule it is best to delay until a year old. During the winter the ram lambs should be run together. They should get their fodder outside, so that they are made to take as much exercise as possible. During the breeding season, a ram requires extra attention, especially in feeding. Bran and oats are splendid foods, and these should be fed liberally if necessary to maintain the ram’s condi- tion. A ram in good condition, with firm flesh, will prove more satisfactory as a breeder than one over- or under-fed. To secure such condition, experience teaches that the most effective method is to include liberal feeding on clover hay, roots and oats, coupled with abundant exercise. Literature. For references, see page 596. Determining the Age of Sheep. By H. H. Wing. Sheep have two sets of incisor teeth, on the lower jaw only. The first or middle pair of tempo- tary teeth is replaced by permanent ones when the lamb is thirteen to fifteen months old, and there- after the succeeding pairs of permanent teeth appear at intervals of a little less than a year. Most shepherds reckon a year for each pair, so that, when the last pair is fully up and in wear, the sheep is four years old. As age advances, the teeth grow narrower and slimmer until advanced age, eight or nine years, when they often shorten rapidly from wear and finally disappear. So long as the teeth remain strong and fairly firm, the sheep may be said to be in good working condition. Common Ailments of Sheep. Figs. 611-614. By Louis A. Klein. We may group the ailments of sheep that are to be discussed in this connection under three general heads: (1) Diseases caused by animal parasites; (2) bacterial diseases; (8) non-con- tagious diseases. It is possible to consider here only the more common ailments that come under these three heads. I. DISEASES CAUSED BY ANIMAL PARASITES The diseases that are most common among sheep, and that are of the greatest economical import- ance, are caused by animal parasites — worms, flukes, ticks, mites, lice, grubs. Because of their smaller size and strength and, to a less extent, their habit of cropping forage close to the ground, sheep are more vulnerable to the attacks of these pests than the domestic animals of other species; while the custom of keeping them in flocks favors ‘to one inch long, of a whitish color with SHEEP 603 the reproduction and development of the parasites. Lambs are more susceptible than older sheep. The warm season of the year is the most favorable period for the development of the parasites and the infestation of the sheep, which fact explains why these diseases are more severe in the warmer sec- tions of the country; but the symptoms of disease do not usually appear until late summer or in the fall. Low-lying wet pastures, and those with a retentive soil or with a clay subsoil near the top, supply conditions favorable to the development of the parasites. Keeping sheep continually in the same lot or pasture also assists in the propaga- tion of the parasites, and the smaller the pasture in comparison with the size of the flock, and the longer it is used, the more severely will the sheep suffer from these diseases. Stomach-worm disease. This is the common name for a condition which occurs when the fourth stomach is infested with a large number of thread-like worms (Hemonchus or Strongylus contortus, Fig. 611) one-half a red spiral running through the body like a cork-screw. The infested animals are unthrifty, dull, and gradually lose flesh and strength. After a time, a soft, non-inflammatory swelling appears under the jaws and diarrhea develops. Thirst is increased. The appetite for food may be diminished or it may continue to the end, the animals eating after they are too & weak to stand. The eggs of the worms ~~ pass out with the manure and young ae Be worms hatched from them are swallowed ¢tomach by sheep and cattle feeding on infested worm on ground. In this way the disease is trans- blsde. mitted from one animal to another. Treatment.— Changing the flock to high, dry, well-drained land which has not been occupied by sheep for at least a year, feeding generously and providing plenty of salt, will bring about an im- provement and usually stop losses, although it will not save those animals that are in the advanced stages ; and, if the sheep are moved from time to time to other lots or pastures, the improvement will continue. No drug or combination of drugs can be absolutely depended on to remove the worms from the sheep, but good results may be obtained with coal-tar creosote or gasoline. Ten drams of coal-tar creosote are shaken up ina gallon of water, and of this mixture four to six tablespoonfuls are given to lambs, and eight to ten tablespoonfuls to yearlings and older sheep, every other day until three doses have been given. The mixture should be well shaken before measuring out each dose. The gasoline is given in milk, raw linseed oil or flaxseed tea, two teaspoonfuls for lambs and one tablespoonful for sheep daily, for three successive days, each dose being measured and mixed sepa- rately. The sheep should have no feed for at least twelve hours before the medicine is given, and no feed or water for at least three hours after. All the sheep in the flock should receive treatment. 604 SHEEP Medicines intended to operate in the fourth stomach or in the bowels are most effective when given in a liquid, being poured slowly into the mouth from a bottle, with the sheep standing in a natural position and the head slightly elevated. Those who may prefer the easier but less effective method of giving medicine with the feed can use: Arsenious acid 1 dram, sulfate of iron 5 drams, powdered nux vomica 2 drams, powdered areca nut 2 ounces, common salt 4 ounces ; mix thoroughly, divide into thirty doses and give each sheep one dose daily in ground feed for ten days. Eradication of the worms from infested lots or pastures has been attempted in several ways. Burning off the grass in the spring or fall has proved effective. Keeping sheep out of a pasture will not cause the worms to die out unless cattle are also excluded for at least a year. Nodular disease. Nodular disease is characterized by the presence in the wall of the intestines of tumors or nodules, in which is found a miniature worm about one- eighth of an inch long, which is the cause of the disease. This is the larval stage of the (sophagos- toma columbianum. The fully developed worms are one-half to three-fourths of an inch long, and are found attached to the inner lining of the large intes- tines. The eggs and worms pass out withthe manure, and the pastures or feeding lots, and pools receiving the surface drainage from them, become infested. Lack of condition may be the only indication of the disease. When the infection is more extensive the sheep is dull, weak and thin, the wool dry and the eyes and lips pale. In severe cases there is rapid emaciation and diarrhea. Treatment.—The entire flock should be removed from the infested pastures to land that has not been used by sheep for at least eight months, should be given as much range as possible, and should be shifted about as often as conditions will permit. A plentiful supply of salt, with some grain in addition to the grass, would also be beneficial. Water free from infection should be provided. Much can be accomplished in this way in repressing the disease even if it is not eradicated, especially if the sheep are placed on high, dry land. If prac- ticable, each sheep should recéive a dose of thymol, thirty to forty-five grains, shaken up in water or in the coal-tar creosote solution prescribed for stomach worms, before the flock is removed to the clean pasture. Repeat in a week or ten days. The greatest benefit will be derived from the medical treatment, if the sheep are removed in about a week or ten days from the inclosure in which they are placed after treatment, to another clean pasture. Tape-worms. Two species of tape-worm are found in sheep in America, the fringed tape-worm (Tenia fim- briata) and the broad tape- worm (Tenia expansa). When fully developed, the fringed tape-worm is six to twelve inches long and consists of a head and a large number of small joints or segments; but in the immature form in which it is swallowed SHEEP by the sheep, it is only one-fifth of an inch in length. The broad tape-worm also consists of a head with many joints or segments attached, and is found only in the intestines. It attains a length of five yards and grows very rapidly. The seg- ments or joints at the end become separated and pass out with the manure, and, as these are filled with eggs or embryos, pastures are infested. The indications of infestation develop slowly. Unthriftiness is usually the first sign. Later, there is gradually increasing weakness and loss of flesh, the flanks are drawn up or distended with gas and the gait is unsteady. The appetite for feed and water is often increased, or preference is shown for unusual substances. In cases of extensive infes- tation, the weakness and emaciation is extreme and there is pronounced diarrhea. Segments or joints of the worms may be observed in the bowel discharges. Treatment.—Sheep that do not show symptoms of infestation should be removed to a pasture or lot which is not infested and provided with clean drinking-water, fed well, given plenty of salt, and provided with sufficient protection against severely cold weather and storms. Those that are visibly affected should be cared for in the same way, and if they can also be placed on land free from the worms it will be advisable to do it. The pastures should not be overcrowded, and the sheep should be moved fre- quently from one pasture to another. Planting for- age crops will greatly facilitate the change to fresh feeding-ground at frequent intervals. Drugs are of little or no value in combating the fringed tape-worm, as it is not possible to reach the worms in the bile ducts; but when the broad tape-worm is present, every sheep in the flock should receive one-half to one dram of the extract of male fern in two to four ounces of castor-oil, or one to one and one-half drams of kamala. They should have no feed the night before, nor on the morning of the day on which the medicine is to be given, and they should receive no water for five or six hours after treatment. Feeding pine sprouts is recommended; also pumpkin seeds, twenty to thirty seeds to each animal. The species of tape-worm present can be deter- mined by making a post-mortem examination of one of the most seriously affected sheep. Pastures that are badly affected with the fringed tape-worm can be most economically cleaned by excluding sheep and using them for horses and cattle until the worms die out. Where the broad tape- worm is present, cattle must also be ex- cluded, as this worm infests cattle as well as sheep. Fluke disease or liver-rot. This disease is caused by flat, leaf- shaped parasites (Distomum hepaticum, D. lanceolatum Fig. 612) which, after haying a5 been swallowed with the food or water, iver fluke. migrate to the liver and destroy the sub- Natural stance of that organ. The eggs deposited *"~ by the flukes are carried out with the manure, but the embryos that are hatched from them must pass a period in certain snails (Limneus truncula- SHEEP tus s. minutis), and another stage in the water before they are capable of infesting sheep. Damp, swampy pastures and stagnant pools of water fur- nish the conditions favorable to the development of the parasites. Lambs and yearlings and sheep of feeble consti- tution suffer most readily. The symptoms of the disease do not appear until the damage to the liver is extensive—about one and one-half to two months after infection. Then, there is a rapid loss of condition and weakness ; the wool becomes dry and may drop off ; the eyes and lips become blood- less and puffy swellings may appear around the eyelids, under the jaw and along the brisket ; the appetite is poor, or unusual substances may be eaten; the bowels are irregular, constipation alternating with diarrhea. Treatment.—Preventive measures are of more value in combating the disease than medicinal treatment, as the flukes are so located that drugs cannot operate on them with sufficient effect, and, in those sheep showing symptoms of infestation, the changes in the liver are too extensive to be repaired by drugs. The sheep should be removed to high, dry pastures, the sick being separated from the well; they should be given nourishing food with a plentiful supply of salt. Infested past- ures and pools should be drained and should not be used by cattle or sheep fora time. As snails are essential to the development of the flukes, their destruction will assist in the eradication of the parasites. Frogs, toads and carp have been used for this purpose with good results. The introduc- tion of carp into the Willamette and Columbia Tivers was followed by a great decrease in fluke disease in sheep pasturing in slough lands along the lower parts of those streams. Gid, sturdy, staggers, turn-sick (Fig. 613). The most prominent and characteristic symp- toms of this disease are the peculiar, unconscious and uncontrollable movements of the victims— moving in a circle, twisting or turning as on a pivot, swaying and reeling, running straight forward with the head elevated, and the like. It is caused by the presence in the brain or spinal cord of the gid bladder worm (Cenuris cerebralis), the cystic or blad- der stage of one of the tape- worms infesting the dog (Tenia cenuris). The eggs are scattered by the dog on the grass or in the drinking places, and the embryos that are hatched from them when they are swallowed by sheep migrate in some manner to the brain or spinal cord. This period of migration lasts eight to ten days and is attended in some animals with little or no dis- turbance, while others are more seriously affected, depending on the number of parasites. There may only be some depression, a clumsy gait or stupid- Skull of sheep, showing brain infested with gid bladder-worms. SHEEP 605 ness. When the infestation is more extensive, the head is hot, the eyes red, the head is held in a peculiar position, and the animal may run aimlessly about, turn in a circle, press to one side, or stag- ger. Death may occur in four to six days, but usually the symptoms subside when the embryos ‘have established themselves in the brain or spinal cord, to reappear in four to six months when the bladders have reached a sufficient size to seriously affect the functions of these organs. The animal will stop eating suddenly without any apparent cause, there is dullness and weakness, the eyes are glassy and staring, sight is lost, and the uncon- trollable and unconscious movements referred to above occur at intervals several times during a day. Treatment.—It will be found most economical to slaughter infested animals when the first symp- toms of the final stage appear, and while they are still in good flesh. Preventive measures are very important. Carcasses of infested sheep should be disposed of in such a manner that the brain or spinal cord cannot be eaten by dogs; and the dogs on the place should be treated at regular intervals for tape-worms. This treatment should be given as follows: the dog should receive one to two tablespoonfuls of castor-oil to empty the bowels, and should receive no food for a day except a lit- tle soup or milk. The next morning, fifteen to forty minims of extract of male fern should be given, followed in two hours with a tablespoonful of castor-oil. During the course of treatment the dog should be kept tied up, and the bowel dis- charges should be buried in quicklime or burned. Grub in the head. This is a disease of the cavities of the nose and sinuses of the head, which is caused by the larvee or grubs of the sheep gadfly (@strus ovis). On the appearance of the flies the sheep become greatly excited, and seek to protect themselves by thrust- ing their noses between the fore-legs, holding their heads close to the ground, or by crowding together in a circle with heads depressed. If larve are de- posited about the nostrils they shake their heads, run about and rub their noses against their fore- legs or any object that may be accessible. No symptoms of disease appear until the following spring, when the larvee begin to emigrate. Then a nasal discharge occurs, which is sometimes bloody, and there is also considerable sneezing and snort- ing, during which larve are often cast out. These are three-quarters to one inch long and of yellowish brown color. There is also shaking and swinging of the head and rubbing of the nose; the eyelids are often swollen and there is a discharge of tears; sometimes the brain is also affected and then there is dullness, fits of dizziness, an unsteady gait, or convulsions. Treatment.—It is possible to open the sinuses with a trephine and remove most of the larve, but this method of treatment is not available to the average flock-master. Injections are of no value as they cannot be used in sufficient strength to destroy the larve without injuring the membranes of the nasal cavities and sinuses. All animals 606 SHEEP severely affected should be sent to market; the others will recover as soon as all the larve have emigrated. All larvee found on the ground should be destroyed and the heads of any infested sheep that may be slaughtered should be disposed of in a manner that will destroy the larvee. Where the gadfly abounds, the noses of the sheep should be smeared every three or four days during the swarming season with a mixture of equal parts of tar and grease, or tar and fish-oil, or tar and whale- oil. Another method of prevention is to plow a furrow in the pasture to give the sheep an oppor- tunity to bury their noses when the fly approaches. Hoose, husk, paper-skin, lung-worm disease. These terms are used to designate a disease of the lungs and bronchial tubes produced by two species of parasites, the thread lung-worm (Strongy- lus filaria) and the hair lung-worm (Strongylus ovis- pulmonalis). The thread lung-worm is one-half to two inches long and is found in the bronchial tubes. The hair lung-worm is much smaller, two-thirds to one inch long and of the diameter of a hair, and is found in the air cells and lung tissue. Infested sheep do not show any signs of disease until many worms are present and extensive changes have occurred in the bronchial tubes and lungs. The most prominent symptom is a cough, which occurs in fits or spasms, leaving the victim almost suffocated. During these coughing spells the worms are ejected and scattered about, and as these discharges contain the embryos, food and water contaminated in this way become infectious. There is also a discharge from the nostrils in which the young worms and fragments of old worms can likewise be found. In the later stages, the skin is dry and harsh, whence the name paper-skin; the wool is dry and can easily be pulled out; the eyes and lips are bloodless and there is loss of flesh and gradually increasing weakness. The appetite is fair in the beginning but later it may disappear entirely. Treatment.—It will be best for the flock in which this disease appears to send all the sheep which seem to be most infested to market, unless they are of value for breeding purposes, or unless the dis- ease has advanced so far that they are weak and emaciated ; in any case, they should be separated from the flock, as they are a source of infection to the others. The entire flock should be removed to non-infested enclosures and given nourishing feed, plenty of salt, and water free from the para- sites. Lambs should be weaned as soon as possible, and placed in a pasture or lot which has not been occupied by sheep since the previous winter at least. Injections of vermicides into the wind-pipe, either in solution or in the form of a spray, have given good results in the treatment of sheep infested with the thread lung-worm, but these methods are not available to the ordinary flock-master. A more simple method of treatment is fumigation. To carry this out, it is necessary to have a tightly-closed room in which to place the sheep. A mixture of flowers of sulfur and alcohol in a deep dish or pan floating in a vessel of water is then placed in the SHEEP room; the alcohol and sulfur is ignited, and the door closed. Some one should remain in the room with the sheep, or they should be closely watched, so that they will not be suffocated. A mixture of one part of salt to twenty-five parts of copperas is also advised, to be kept constantly before the sheep. For the eradication of the worms from infested lots or pastures, the same methods can be used as for stomach worms. Scab. (Fig. 614.) Scab is an itch or disease of the skin caused by a species of mite (Psoroptes communis) just large enough to be visible. These little insects bite the skin to obtain food, and the irritation or itching thus produced causes the sheep to scratch, rub and bite the infested places; little blisters form where the mites | bite, and therub- bing, scratching and biting of the sheep inflames the skin, which becomes red, thickened, hot and tender. The blisters rupture and the yellowish liquid they con- tain, drying on the skin with the sweat and dan- druff, forms the yellowish-brown scab from which the disease takes its common name. The wool be- comes “tagged” or glued together in tufts and finally falls out, exposing the rough, dry, scab, which may be full of cracks or fissures and ulcera- tions. The disease is very contagious from one ani- mal to another. Tags of wool from infected sheep, fences or posts against which scabby sheep have rubbed, sheds or buildings occupied by them, or old bedding may harbor the mites and convey the dis- ease to healthy sheep. The common variety of scab affects the back, sides, rump and shoulders. The other varieties—head scab or black muzzle, foot scab and follicular seab—occur very rarely in this country. Itching caused by ticks and lice, inflam- mation of the skin glands, and rain-rot have been mistaken for scab; but such mistakes will not oce if the mange mite is always searched for in the edges of the scab. , Treatment.—When scab appears in a flock, all 0: the sheep should be sheared and confined to one part of the farm or in a certain pasture for tw to four weeks, after which each animal should b “dipped” in a mixture that will kill the mange mites, and returned to the same part of the farm, or to the same pasture. Seven to ten days later they should be “dipped” again, and then placed in that part of the farm or pasture from which they have been excluded since shearing. The lime and sulfur dip is one of the most satisfactory mix tures for treating scabby sheep. It is made as fol- lows: To eight to eleven pounds of unslaked lime add enough water to slake to a paste ; sift into this paste exactly three times as many pounds of flowers” of sulfur as of lime used, weighing the sulfur and A case of sheep scab. ‘ Fig. 614. SHEEP lime accurately ; place the mixture ina boiler, add twenty-five gallons of water, and boil for at least two hours, stirring frequently ; allow the sediment to settle, and then dip off the fluid and add enough water to make one hundred gallons. While using the dip, it must be kept at a temperature of 100° to 110° Fahr., the temperature being determined by a thermometer. Each sheep should be kept in the dip for two minutes by the watch, the entire body being covered with the liquid, and the head immersed at least once. When only a small flock is to be treated, an ordinary kettle may be used for preparing the dip, and a wash-tub for the dipping ; but when large numbers of sheep are to be dipped, involving much work, special apparatus will be found most economical. Sheep ticks. The sheep tick, which is really not a tick but a wingless fly with a leathery, bristly, flattened body about a quarter of an inch long, inhabits the fleece of the sheep and bites the skin at intervals to suck blood. When the ticks are few in number, they have little effect on the sheep, but when they are numerous the itching and pain caused by the bites of the insects keep the sheep biting and scratching most of the time, affecting their general condition. Lambs suffer most severely. Treatment.—Dipping the flock in the lime and sulfur mixture or in a kerosene emulsion will rid them of the parasites. The kerosene emulsion is made as follows: shave a pound of soap into a gallon of water and dissolve by boiling, add two gallons of kerosene and churn or mix until the oil is “cut” or emulsified; use one gallon of the emulsion to eight of water. It is best to dip twice, with an interval of two weeks, and to keep the sheep out of the old pens or pastures for a week. The pens and other resting-places should ke scraped out and cleaned. Sheep lice. The sheep louse is very small, only one twenty- fifth of an inch in length, with a reddish head and whitish body. Itching is a symptom of the pres- ence of this parasite, which also causes the skin to become thickened, rough, and covered with small black scabs, while the wool covering these places becomes short, dry and twisted. Infested flocks should be dipped in the kerosene emulsion. Maggots. Maggots are sometimes found in wounds on sheep. These are the larve of a fly (Lucilia macel- laria) that is common in America, especially in the warmer sections, and that is to be recognized by its blue body, streaked with darker blue or purple bands. The fly deposits its eggs on the wool or in the wounds or sores, and when the larve are hatched they burrow into the diseased tissues, causing much distress to the sheep. Flowers of sulfur and benzoated lard, mixed in equal parts, or oil of tar, applied to the diseased areas will destroy the maggots and also prevent the fly from depositing eggs, SHEEP Il. BACTERIAL DISEASES For information concerning those contagious or infectious diseases which affect sheep as well as the domestic animals of other species, the reader is referred to the article on Infectious Diseases of Animals, pages 124-146. Foot-rot. Foot-rot usually begins in one foot and subse- quently attacks one or more of the others. Lame- ness is the first indication of the disease, and when the foot is examined a red, moist spot is found in the cleft just above the horny part. The disease extends beneath the horn, and inashort time there is a thin, sticky discharge of a disagreeable odor from a hole in the horn. The region above the hoof becomes swollen, hot and tender. If the dis- ease is neglected, a large part of the horn is under- mined and loosened, and the extension may continue until even the bones are affected. During warm weather, maggots may attack the affected parts. The disease is caused by a germ (Bacillus necro- phorous), which exists in large numbers in the dis- charge from the diseased feet, and healthy sheep placed on ground or in sheds contaminated with this material are liable to contract the disease. Contagious foot-rot should not be confused with foul-foot, which results from muddy lots or marshy pastures, or from wounds from sharp stones and the like; or with the swelling, suppuration and lameness that occurs when the opening of the lit- tle oil gland in the cleft of the hoof is choked up with mud or sand. Treatment.—When the disease is discovered, the feet of the healthy sheep should be treated with a solution of one pound of chlorid of lime to each twelve quarts of water, or one pound of carbolic acid crystals to each four gallons of water, after which they should be removed to uncontaminated lots or pastures. When the flock is large, the solu- tion may be placed in a wooden trough about six feet long, twenty inches wide and one foot deep, the solution being about four inches deep, and the sheep made to walk through it slowly. The diseased sheep should be treated as follows: Cut away all loose or undermined horn and all proud flesh, and stand the animal for ten minutes in a solution con- taining four pounds of copper sulfate in each five gallons of water, applying a soft bandage when deep cutting has been necessary. When the disease has extended into the deeper parts, the affected area should be carefully washed with a solution containing one ounce of carbolic acid crystals in twenty ounces of water, then dusted with a pow- der consisting of equal parts of boric acid and oxid of zinc, and covered with a soft bandage. After treatment is begun, the diseased sheep should be placed in lots or pastures free from infection. In order to prevent the introduction of the dis- ease, sheep purchased for addition to the flock should be kept under observation in separate quar- ters for a few days. Keeping the feet of the sheep properly trimmed will assist in keeping the cleft of the foot free of dirt and help to prevent the 608 SHEEP spread of the disease. Pastures occupied by dis- eased sheep can be used safely for healthy sheep the following spring, but infected lots and sheds should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Sore mouth and feet. The contagious foot-and-mouth disease of Europe does not exist in this country, but sheep are some- times affected with an ulcerative condition of the mouth and feet that is often referred to by this name. This disease, which is caused by the Bacillus necrophorous, does not spread from animal to ani- mal like the true foot-and-mouth disease, but cer- tain lots, pastures or sheds become infected with the germs, which enter the tissues when the mouth or foot is injured by stiff, brittle forage or briars, and set up the disease. Ulcers appear in the skin of the leg above the hoof, and in the membrane lining the lips. If the disease is neglected, these ulcers may spread over a large area and extend deep into the tissues; the ulcers may also appear on the face. When the feet are affected there is lameness, while disease of the lips is accompanied by an interference with feeding. Treatment.— Removing the scabs or shreds of tissue from the diseased areas and washing them twice daily with a solution of one tablespoonful of creoline in a quart of water, then painting with Lugal’s solution of iodine, will result in a complete cure, if treatment is begun in time. In using the latter solution on sores in the mouth, care should be taken to confine the application to the diseased places. Infected lots and sheds should be cleaned and disinfected. Sore mouth may also result from the sheep feed- ing on grains or grasses affected with fungi and other vegetable organisms, a condition which may exist in wet seasons. Blisters or ulcers are seen on the membrane lining the mouth and lips, and the breath may have a sour odor. These blisters and ulcers sometimes occur on the teats of the ewes, and lambs suckling them suffer an attack of the mouth disease. The treatment consists in changing the feed, washing the mouth with a solution contain- ing a half ounce of boric acid to a pint of water, and afterward placing a little powdered alum on the tongue. Affected teats can be treated with the same drugs. Sore mouth has occurred in sheep fed on wheat screenings rich in mustard seeds, and ulceration of the gums and jaw-bones has occurred from the barbed awns of squirrel-tail grass. Malignant catarrhal fever. This disease usually affects a number of sheep simultaneously. There is a discharge from the nos- trils; the eyelids are swollen and may be stuck together with a greasy matter; in addition, there is a cough, rapid breathing, constipation or diar- rhea, and loss of appetite. Treatment.—Sheep that are severely affected should be slaughtered, and the healthy animals should be separated from those slightly affected. The sheds occupied by the diseased animals should be cleaned and disinfected. The entire flock should be given nourishing feed and each sheep should SHEEP receive a tablespoonful of the following tonic mix- ture in the feed twice daily : Powdered nux vomica 3 drams, powdered sulfate of iron 3 ounces, powdered gentian root 4 ounces, powdered potassium nitrate 1 ounce, linseed meal 8 ounces, mix thoroughly. Ill. NoN-CONTAGIOUS DISEASES Wool-eating. Wool-eating is regarded as a habit and also as an indication of a deficiency in certain food ele- ments. Asa rule, the general health is not affected, but, when the vice is practiced excessively, wool is swallowed in such quantity that digestion is dis- turbed, and there is loss of condition. The affection usually develops during the winter, when the sheep are confined and are being fed on dry feed, and disappears when they are turned out to pasture. Treatment.—W ool-eaters should be immediately separated from the flock, and there should be a change of feed, especially of the hay or roughage. The feeding of corn often has a good effect. A generous ration should be fed, and the following should be mixed with the ground feed, one tea- spoonful being allowed for each sheep in the flock : Powdered gentian 4 ounces, common Salt 8 ounces, bicarbonate of soda 4 ounces, and sulfate of soda 4 ounces. Some veterinarians have used with great success hypodermic injections of apomorphine, one and one-half grains daily for three successive days. Lambs usually begin the practice of the vice by gnawing the soiled “tags” of wool about the udders of the ewes, and for this reason trimming the udders has been recommended. Bloating. Bloating usually occurs when green corn, rape, clover and other succulent plants are eaten by sheep unaccustomed to them, or when these plants are consumed in unusual quantity ; the condition is especially liable to occur if the plants are wet from dew or rain. Drinking cold water in large amount immediately after eating, and frozen feed, are other causes. The digestive processes of the paunch are deranged and the material in this organ ferments, forming gas. The abdomen becomes swollen or bloated, especially on the left side, and emits a drum-like sound when struck with the fingers ; feeding and rumination ceases, there is dullness or depression, and breathing is difficult. Usually a number of sheep are affected, and prompt action is necessary to save them from suffocation. Treatment.—Relief can be afforded most quickly and certainly by letting the gas out of the paunch with a trocar and canula; if one of these instru- ments is not available, a knife may be used, but the blade should be clean. Following the operation each sheep should receive a tablespoonful of baking soda dissolved in a half pint of warm water to check the fermentation. Driving the sheep into a stream will often cause the expulsion of the gas. After the acute symptoms have subsided, each ani- mal should receive the following dose : Sodium sul- fate 3 ounces, powdered Jamaica ginger 2 drams, tincture of nux vomica 4 dram, water 1 pint. ae —-— we vb, Plate XXII. Breeds of long-wool sheep 1. Oxford Down ewes 3. Border Leicester ram 5. Shropshire ewes 7. Hampshire ram 2. Romney Marsh ram 4. Lincoln ram 6. Shropshire ram 8. Cotswold SHEEP Bloating may also occur in choking. In such eases it will disappear with the removal of the obstruction in the gullet. Scours. The chief sign of this disease is a diarrhea, the foul-smelling discharges soiling the tail, hips and legs; the appetite is lost; the abdomen is dis- tended ; there is abdominal pain, which is mani- fested by restlessness and switching the tail; gradually increasing weakness and emaciation fol- low. In sucklings, the condition results from faulty feeding or mismanagement of the ewe, or is due to a contagion that enters through the navel cord immediately after the lamb is dropped. In the lat- ter case, the lambing pens must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and as soon as the lambs are dropped the stump of the navel cord must be washed with a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid and then painted with tincture of iodine. Over- feeding, sudden changes from dry to green feed, cold and damp quarters, are some of the causes of the condition in weanlings. In these cases, two teaspoonfuls of castor-oil containing two or three drops of creolin should be given at once, end fol- lowed with a tablespoonful of the following mix- ture three times daily: Paregoric 1 dram, sherry wine 3 drams, subnitrate of bismuth 2 drams, salol 4 dram, mucilage of acacia 5 ounces. Attention should also be given to the feeding, and clean, dry, sunny quarters provided. Grass staggers. Grass staggers is a term used to describe chronic catarrh of the stomach and intestines when it is associated with a staggering gait, restlessness, delirium, running into objects, drowsiness, or other symptoms of nervous derangement. The condition sometimes occurs when dry, woody, and innutri- tious feed is eaten in large amount with insufficient water; when sudden changes of feed are made repeatedly ; and when rich concentrates are fed in excess, and the roughage or bulky feeds are insuf- ficient. Millet hay rich in seeds has also caused it. Usually, the disease develops slowly. At first, there is only diminished appetite and irregular rumination ; then, constipation, abdominal pain, grinding of the teeth, groaning, and fever, which is indicated by the dry, hot nose and staring eyes ; later, the nervous symptoms mentioned above may appear. The condition should not be confused with gid. Treatment.—A ffected animals should receive the purge prescribed under “Overloading,” and this should be followed with two tablespoonfuls of the following mixture in a half-pint of linseed tea twice daily: Aromatic spirits of ammonia 14 ounces, fluid extract of nux vomica 4 dram, alco- hol 2% ounces. When the appetite returns, easily digested feed should be given, with oil-meal. Gar get. There are two diseases commonly known under this name. One is a simple inflammation of the udder, which results from increasing the grain C 39 SHEEP 609 feed too rapidly after lambing, lying on cold ground, the bunting of the lamb, or from the milk not being removed, as may occur when a lamb dies. The udder, or a part of it, is swollen, hot and tense; the milk contains clumps of pus or streaks of blood. The other disease is a malignant inflam- mation in which the udder is swollen but soft or doughy, and the skin is red or purple. In addition, the general health is affected; the ewe is dull, stops eating, is feverish and loses flesh rapidly. Finally, the. affected part of the gland becomes gangrenous and sloughs off. This form is infec- tious. } Treatment.—In the simple form of garget, five ounces of epsom salts, dissolved in a pint of water, should be given; the udder should be bathed fre- quently with warm water and rubbed with cam- phorated oil and kept milked out clean. Treatment of the malignant form is very unsatisfactory, but much good can be accomplished by preventive measures in controlling the disease. Affected ani- mals must be isolated, and the places they have occupied cleaned and disinfected. When gangrene has set in, the affected part should be amputated. Injections of antiseptics into the udder are of no value. Interature. For references to literature on ailments of sheep, the reader should consult the publications cited on pages 124-146, 330, 446, 657. [Figs. 611-614 adapted from publications of the Bureau of Ani- mal Industry, United States Department of Agri- culture. ] Cheviot Sheep. Fig. 615. By David MeCrae. The Cheviot is one of the mountain breeds of Scotland, named after a range of grassy hills on the eastern borderland between England and Scot- land. It is noted both for wool- and for mutton- production. Description. The Cheviot is of medium size, hornless, face and legs white, the body closely covered with wool of a soft fiber akin to the Down wools; but unlike the Downs, which are always likely to have more or less a gray tinge to the wool, the Cheviot gives a pure white wool. The head is bold and broad, and the fleece of snowy whiteness comes close. up, forming almost a ruff about the face. The ribs are flatter than in either the Southdown or the Highland. It is a very active, hardy animal, with a bright eye and erect ears. Unfortunately it has a tendency to scatter rather than flock together. The following scale of points was adopted by the American Cheviot Sheep Breeders’ Association : SCALE OF POINTS FOR CHEVIOT SHEEP Bertoct ri 1. Blood.—Pure-bred from one or more importa- tions from Scotland 2. Constitution and Quality.— Indicated by the form of body ; deep and large in breast and 110 SHEEP ScALE OF PoINTS FoR CHEVIOT SHEEP, continued Perfect score through the heart ; back wide and straight and well covered with lean meat; wide and full in thigh; deep in flank; skin soft and pink in color ; prominent eyes ; healthful countenance. Deficiency of brisket or fish-back objectionable. 20 3. Size.—In fair condition, when full-matured rams should weigh not less than 200 pounds, ewes, 150 pounds (when bred in America. Imported stock, rams, 125 to 150 pounds, ewes, 100 to 15) ee aOR lt Chora ery Cai Vea 10 4, General Appearance.—Good carriage; head well up; elastic movement ; showing symmetry of form and uniformity of character throughout. 10 5. Body.—Well proportioned; small bone; great scale and length ; well-finished hind-quarters ; thick back and loins ; standing with legs well placed outside; breast wide and prominent in front ; tail wide and well covered with wool. 10 6. Head.—Long and broad, wide between the eyes ; ears of medium length and erect ; face white, but small black spots on head and ears not objectionable ; straight or Roman nose; a white nose objectionable; end of nose dark (but never smut nose on top with black or brown); no tuft of wool on head... ... 10 7. Neck.—Medium in length ; thick and well placed onthe:shoulderss cjesireme-n i-mate Smee: 5 8. Legs and feet.—Short legs, set well apart ; color white ; no wool on legs ; fore-legs round; hind- legs flat and straight ; hoofs black and well Shaped! "as Susie ts: smeaen a cee 5 9. Covering.—Body and belly well covered with fleece of medium length and good quality. . 10 10. Quality of wool.—Medium; such as is known in market as half combing wool Perfection History. The cheviot has been bred for a very long pericd on the Scottish borders. The monks of the middle ages had the breed about the pasture lands of the old monasteries ; and to the sheep-farming church- men of Teviotdale are we indebted for the first improvements in the breed. The monks of Melrose had large flocks, which were dispersed in the bor- der fields. It was not till about 1750 that the bor- der farmer gave much attention to the breed or accomplished anything in its improvement. In America.—Cheviots were taken to Canada early in the nineteenth century. In 1838, Robert Young, of Delhi, New York, made an importation, followed four years later by other importations to the same county. In 1845, they were imported into Wisconsin by T. J. Carmichael. Subsequent importations have been made, but the breed did ee much progress in America prior to Distribution. In the Cheviot hills, the Cheviots are still the lead- ing breed. About the year 1800, Sir John Sinclair tried them in Caithness shire, in the extreme north of Scotland, and they have spread into Sutherland- shire, where they are bred in large numbers, They SHEEP have done well in many parts of the United States, but not so well in Canada, where the close confine- ment of the winters is against their active habits. Wherever they can have outdoor exercise all the year round, they are at home. They are specially adapted for high, grassy tablelands. They are most numerous in central and eastern United States, but have become very widely scattered throughout the country. Uses. The Cheviot is remarkably hardy, and can live on very poor grazing; but, nevertheless, it must have grass of some kind, and with it needs little else. It yields a good class of well-marbled mut- ton, that is not too fat. It dresses a carcass of good weight. It bears traveling on foot for long distances better than other modern breeds, and is exceedingly hardy. The ewes are good, careful mothers, and highly prolific. The Cheviot cannot be said to be superior as a wool-producer, owing to the light fleece, which, however, is of good quality, medium length, and in demand. Accord- ing to Wallace, an average clip for ewes is four and one-half to five pounds of washed wool. The tendency of American breeding is to improved wool-production and more compact form. Cheviot ewes produce a good class of early maturing grade mutton sheep when crossed with Lincoln, Leicester or Oxford Down rams. These crosses have been popular in the native home of the breed for some years. Organizations*and records. The Cheviot Sheep Society of Great Britain was organized in 1891, and has published a volume of its flockbook for each year, Volume I having been issued in 1893. The American Cheviot Sheep Breeders’ Association was organized in 1891, at Hartwick, New York, and two years later issued its first flockbook. In 1894, the National Cheviot Sheep Society was organized at Indianapolis, Indi- ana. Six years later, these two societies united to form the American Cheviot Sheep Society. The latter organization continues the publication of the flockbook. Literature. For references, see page 596, SHEEP Cotswold Sheep. Fig. 616. By David McCrae. The Cotswold is a breed of sheep raised both for wool and for mutton. It is of large size, and capa- ble of enduring much hardship and exposure, and well adapted to many soils. The name is derived from a range of bleak uplands in Gloucestershire, England, known as Cotswold hills. Description. The Cotswold is a large, high-standing breed, with heavy fleece of long, white, lustrous wool. A mature ram should weigh 250 pounds or more, and a mature ewe 200 pounds at least. An ample top- knot, often covering the eyes, is one of the distin- guishing characteristics of the breed. It is uniform in type, with bold, upright carriage, broad back, and shows a fair leg of mutton. It is a superior feeder, specially well adapted to good pasture land, and fairly prolific. The following is the standard of excellence and scale of points adopted by the American Cotswold Sheep Association : SCALE OF PoINTS FoR COTSWOLD SHEEP For rams rerfect score . Head.—Not too fine, moderately small, and broad between the eyes and nostrils, but without a short, thick appearance ; and in young animals well covered on crown with long lustrous wool. 8 . Hace.—Hither white or slightly mixed with gray or white dappled with brown . Nostrils.—Wide and expanded; nosedark .. 1 Eyes.—Prominent, but mild looking BoD oO . Ears.—Broad, long, moderately thin, and coy- ered with short hair .......... 4 . Collar.—Full from breast and shoulders, taper- ing gradually all the way to where the neck and head join. The neck should be short, thick and strong, indicating constitutional vigor, and free from coarse andloose skin .... . 6 » 7, Shoulders.—Broad and full, and at the same time join so gradually to the collar forward and chine backward as not to leave the least hol- lori UNE ECDs o oo hoo ooo 8 8. Fore-legs.—The mutton on the arm and fore- thigh should come quite to the knee. Leg up- right, with heavy bone, being clear from superfluous skin, with wool to fetlock, and may be mixed with gray .. 9. Breast. —Broad and well forward, keeping the legs wide apart. Girth or chest, full and deep. 10 10. Fore-flank.—Quite full, not showing hollow be- hind the shoulder 11. Back and loin.—Broad, fiat and straight, from which the ribs must spring with a fine circular arch 12. Belly.—Straight on under-line . a > OW eo 8 © ee 2 3 13. Quarters. —Long and full, with mutton quite down to the hock ORD: OG LANNE Ion al conan eer tes 14. Hock.—Should stand neither in nor out . . . 2 15. Twist, or junction inside the thighs, deep, wide and. full, which, with a broad breast, will keep the legs open and WON 6 5 o oo Oa OO 5 16. Fleece.—The whole body should be covered with long lustrous wool. ....... suorono. dls) IRGC Go oo bo ooo oO 100 SHEEP 611 SCALE OF POINTS FOR COTSWOLD SHEEP, continued. For ewes Perfect score 1. Head.—Moderately fine, broad between the eyes and nostrils, but without a short, thick appear- ance, and well covered on crown with long lus- (ON WOO so oa po oop oo DOO Face.—Hither white or slightly mixed with gray, or white dappled with brown. . ...... . Nostrils.—Wide and expanded, nosedark ... 1 . Eyes.—Prominent, but mildlooking. . .... 2 Ears.—Broad, long, moderately thin and covered with short hair . Collar.—Full from breast and shoulders, taper- ing gradually all the way to where the neck and head join. The neck should be fine and graceful, and free from coarse and loose skin. 5 7. Shoulders.—Broad and full, and at the same time join so gradually to the collar forward and chine backward, as not to leave the least hollow in either place 8. Fore-legs.—The mutton on the arm or fore-thigh should come quite to the knee. Leg upright with heavy bone, being clear from super- fluous skin, with wool to fetlock, and may be mixed withgray. ........- 4 9. Breast.—Broad and well forward, keeping the legs wide apart, girth or chest full and deep . 10 10. Fore-flank.—Quite full, not showing hollow be- hind the shoulder 11. Back and loin.—Broad, flat and straight, from which the ribs must spring with a fine circular ARAN 6 6 9 0 5 2 12. Belly.—Straight on under-line . . 5 8 2 OD PC Po 13. Quarters. —Long and full, with mutton ‘quite down tothe hock .... op a 4 14. Hock.—Should stand neither in “nor out... 15. Twist, or junction inside the thighs, deep, wide and "full, which, with a broad breast, will keep the legs open and upright . . D 16. Fleece.—The whole body should be covered witn long lustrous wool. .....2.-.+.... 18 IDAHO 6 6 5G G-O000 6 D980 6 6 0 JNO) History. The Cotswold is an old English breed, whose antiquity is undoubted. It is one of the earliest sheep mentioned by name in Anglo-Saxon records. In the time of the Roman conquests, the region from which these sheep came is said to have been famous for the production of wool. Low suggests that the Cotswold was developed from the sheep found in the counties of Warwick and Oxford at an early period. The modern Cotswold is not so large nor so high-standing as was the older breed, but has more style, being remarkable for symmetry, early maturity and weight, with a lofty carriage, a fine, well-covered head, and an abundant fleece of white, wavy wool. Much of this improvement is ascribed to the use of Leicester rams on Cotswold ewes, a practice very common about the beginning of the nineteenth century. The type of the breed has been well maintained by the English breeders, and the flocks of the vari- ous breeders now show a uniformity that is very desirable. Garne of North Leach, Hugh Aylmer of Norfolk, Gillett of Chalsbury and Swanwick of Cirencester were notable breeders who had flocks of good type. 612 SHEEP In America.—We have a record of an importa- tion of Cotswold sheep by Christopher Dunn, of Albany, N. Y., in 1832. Doubtless there had been previous importations, for even at that date sheep of this type were rather common in New York. In 1834, Isaac Maynard took a small flock into Ohio. In 1837 they reached Kentucky, where they later became very popular. In 1840, Erastus Corn- ing, also of Albany, brought over a select lot; and W. H. Sotham made an importation of nineteen about the same time. In 1854, George Miller, of Markham, Canada, brought over thirty head, and these were shown at the Provincial Fair. In Que- Cotswold ewe. Fig. 616. bec Province, A. H. Torrance, of Montreal, and J. L. Gibb Compton had good flocks, from which they sold into Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont. Begin- ning about 1870, with the decreasing popularity of Merinos, the Cotswold experienced an increasing demand, and many flocks were established, espec- ially in central United States. Distribution, The Cotswold has become wide-spread in Amer- ica. The largest number of breeders are in Ontario, although there are many flocks in the other proy- inces of Canada. In New York, there are good flocks. Going westward, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin stand in the order named for number of breeders, but all are ex- ceeded by Oregon, which has the largest number of any state in the Union. There are large flocks in Utah, and many half-breeds in Montana and other sections of the West. Kentucky at one time had large flocks, and the blood there is still in evidence, but they have not been kept on record. In England, the Cotswold is most popular in its native county of Gloucester and neighboring counties. It has been exported to Russia, Germany and France, on the continent, and to Australia and New Zealand, as well as to many parts of North America. Uses. The Cotswold is a fair mutton sheep, giving a big carcass of strong mutton, very popular in the SHEEP mining districts of England. It has not been se popular in America for mutton, except the lambs, The abundance of external fat is against it. In America it has been used for crossing on Merino and native sheep, the produce being a lamb of the mutton type, quick-feeding and hardy, weighing 120 to 140 pounds at a year old and carrying fair fleece. For wool, the breed has always been cele- brated, giving a heavy fleece of strong combing wool, weighing sixteen to eighteen pounds per fleece in the best specimens. The staple should average ten inches in length, and frequently exceeds this. The half-bred lambs yield a large fleece, giving much profit to the wool-grower. Organizations and records. In 1878, the American Cotswold Sheep Associa- tion was formed to keep the record of the breed. Fourteen volumes of the record have been issued, with over forty thousand animals recorded. The list of breeders is steadily increasing. The pres- ent headquarters of the association are at Wau- kesha, Wis. The English representative of this breed is the Cotswold Sheep Society of Eng- land, organized in 1892. It also publishes a flock- book. Literature. For references, see page 596. Dorset-Horn Sheep. Fig. 617, 618. By H. P. Miller. The Dorset is an English breed that takes its name from the county in which it originated. It is a mutton breed, specially valuable for crossing to produce early lambs. It is characterized by grace- fully curving horns in both male and female. Description. In form and fleece the Dorset-Horn closely re- sembles the Down breeds, but in some features pre- sents strong contrasts. Its face and legs are pure white, and the modern American type has a flesh- colored nose. Both sexes have horns, the rams very heavy ones that have a forward spiral curve. In size these sheep are between the Southdown and the Shropshire, the standard weight for rams being about 200 pounds and for ewes, 160 pounds. They generally are taller than either of the above, but are not so uniform. In length, quality and quantity of fleece they are also between the above two breeds. Some of the breed early brought to America were excessively tall and inclined to be coarse. They were also quite bare of wool on legs and belly. The prevailing type at present approaches the Shropshire © in form, although it is not so heavy in the breast and chest. It is now well covered over the body and legs to knees and hocks, and has a good foretop. There is still lack of uniformity, style and quantity of fleece. A somewhat common defect is a con- stricted heart-girth. The breed stands confinement well and is a good feeder. It is also prolific. [A general discussion of the mutton type is given on pages 51, 52.] SHEEP The Continental Dorset Club adopted the follow- ing scale of points for scoring Dorset-Horn Sheep : ScALE OF PoInTS FoR DorsET-HoRN SHEEP Perfect score 1. Head. —Neat, face white, nostrils large, well covered with wool on top and under jaws. . 5 2. Horns.—Small and gracefully curving forward, PAMEETCLOSLLOMJAW at =) ces (el (eoie) (er ie) ies) 5 3. Eyes.—Prominent and bright .. . 2 4, Ears.—Medium size and covered with shod siti Na tre Wel fey dor iso (sic) te 2 5 . Neck.—Short, symmetrical, strongly ‘set on shoul- ders, gradually tapering to suction with Gaal Gg Louomonomae cate tenia 5 6. Shoulders.—Broad and full, joining “neck and chine, with no depression at either point . . 15 7. Brisket.—Wide and full, chest full anddeep. - 8 8. Fore-flank.-—Full, showing little depression be- lind! aw iG Bod 6 Bn of evo alr a ale 8 9. Back and loin.—Wide and straight; ribs should spring with a fine circular arch ...... 10 10. Quarters. —Wide and full, with mutton extend- ne donani@ lil 6.6 4.6 0 Gb G oo aio 10 11. Belly. —Straight on under-line. . . . 3 12. Fleece.—Medium grade, of even quality, oxionde ing over belly and well down on legs, and pre- senting asmooth surface. ........ 12 13. General conformation.—Of the mutton type, body moderately long; short, stout legs, placed squarely under body; skin pink; appearance attractive History. The Dorset is one of the oldest distinct breeds in England, no other race having been mingled with it originally, within the time of any records referring to it. It was first mentioned in 1707, when it was reported to have yeaned in December and again in June. The two counties of Dorset and Fig. 617. Dorset-Horn ram. Somerset seem to have been the home of two races, differing somewhat, which became mingled in the present Dorset. The original stock of Dorsetshire was small, light in the shoulders, with white face SHEEP 613 and legs and a black nose. Both males and females bore horns. The stock of Somerset was larger, coarser, longer-wooled, with flesh-colored nose and better form. The Dorset seems never to have had a devotee with the genius of Bakewell or Ellman, and at one time came near losing its identity Fig. 618. Dorset-Hom ewe. through admixture of the improved breeds of the day. Its ability to produce lambs earlier than any other breed seems to have saved it. The Dorset was first recognized at the leading English shows in 1862. It has been greatly im- proved since that date ; in fact, American breeders have greatly modified and unified the breed in the past quarter century. In America.—The introduction of Dorsets to America has been very recent. The first specimens were shown at the Chicago Fat Stock Show, in 1885. That same year an importation was made into Canada. In 1887, A. Thayer, of Hoosic Falls, New York, and E. F. Bowditch, of Framingham, Mass., made importations. In 1889, T. S. Cooper, of Pennsylvania, imported 153 head. They have not as yet gained the popularity in America that other English breeds have, and have had only a limited trial on the ranges. Distribution. The principal flocks in America are to be found in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsyl- vania, Virginia and Canada, although the sheep are found in other states. A few have been taken to Australia and elsewhere, but they have not the wide dissemination of the other English breeds. They are numerous in théir native counties of Dorset and Somerset, in England, while very excel- lent flocks may be found on islands of Wight and Portland. Uses. The strong recommendation of the breed in America, as in England, is for the production of hothouse or winter lambs. It will breed earlier than any other of the English breeds, and the ewes, being heavy milkers, prepare their lambs for mar- ket in about ten weeks, so that they command a good price for mutton. Under high feeding they 614 SHEEP will produce lambs twice a year in some climates, but it has never proved expedient to have them do so. It is doubtful whether they have superior merit as a general farm sheep, but for the produc- tion of early market lambs they are especially suited. Rams of the breed are very satisfactory for use on grade Merino ewes in the production of feeders. The ewes are also bred to Shropshire or Southdown rams to produce market lambs. The mutton, except that of fat lambs, is not superior. For wool-production the Dorset-Horn has rather a light fleece. The fleece is short, and still some- what scant under the body. Ewes average about six pounds and rams about seven pounds of wool of fair quality. The fleece probably has the least oil of any of the middle-wool breeds, and is less dense. Organizations and records. Z The American Dorset-Horn Sheep Breeders’ Asso- ciation was organized in 1891, and the Continental Dorset Club in 1897. The former issued two vol- umes of its flockbook bound together, in 1894, and the latter issued its seventh volume in 1907. The Continental Dorset Club publishes a book on the breed entitled “The Winter Lamb.” The Dorset- Horn Sheep Breeders’ Society of England, organ- ized in 1891, has issued six volumes of its record. Literature. For references, see page 596. Hampshire Down Sheep. Figs. 133, 619, 620. By H. P. Miller. The Hampshire breed derives its name from the county of that name in the south of England, one of the counties in which it was developed. It is a mutton breed. Description. The Hampshire is a black-faced breed, larger than the Shropshire, and is ranked by some persons as the largest of the Down breeds, although that dis- tinction is generally accorded the Oxford. An average weight should be 250 pounds for mature rams, and 185 to 195 for mature ewes. It is the coarsest in bone and head of any of this group. Its fleece somewhat resembles that of the Southdown, although it is coarser and less dense. The breed ranks rather low in wool-production, the Suffolk only ranking lower. The wool is of about the same grade as that of the Shropshire, but shorter, and covering the body less completely. The face is inclined to be long, and the nose somewhat Roman in the rams. The ears are large and drooping, the face and legs are almost black, or a very dark brown. As compared with the Shropshire, it is somewhat longer in body and leg, and perhaps 10 per cent heavier. The ewes are prolific and heavy milkers. They strongly compete with the Shrop- shire in the production of twins. [A general discus- sion of the mutton type is given on pages 51, 52.] The American Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders’ Association adopted the following standard in 1890: Head moderately large but not coarse, and SHEEP well covered with wool on forehead and cheeks; nostrils wide ; color of head and legs, dark brown or black ; eyes prominent and lustrous; ears mod- erately long and thin; legs well under outside of body, straight, with good size of bone; neck a regular taper from shoulders to head, without any hollow in front of shoulder, set high up on body ; shoulders sloping, full, and not higher than the line of the back and neck; chest deep and full in the heart place, with breast prominent and full; back straight with full spring of rib; loin wide and straight without depression in front of hips; quar- ters long from rumps to hips without sloping, and deep in thigh; also broad in hips and rumps with full hams ; inside of thighs full. SCALE OF POINTS FOR HAMPSHIRE SHEEP Pertees 1. Head.—Size and shape ........ . 2. Eyes ‘andieaes'. . .\. << < vane tateneeeenne 3 3. (Color... 2. \0Re ie) fe) see, fo 0) ol oa ear 5 4, legs and) feet™=) |. 2). cee) cae a ones 5. Neck, shoulders and breast.—Neck ..... 5 Shoulders! (2 = 5 0: °-1 0 sete a', caine) ene Chest and ‘breast =< < = =) -senmene epee aie’ 6. Body.—Back and loins. .... Pererey cra 2 Ribs) Ge = in toe eon 2 7. Hind-quarters.—Length < es 6 le eee Width... %.20 2 2 che eee Ps Twist. Soest sss, eee oe 0) © al tae 8. Wool.—Forehead and cheeks ....... oe Belly well covered .......2.e-e-s ae Quality * . =. % % % 2/%s) Sa Rmene mre 5 Periection emcee sient a Sesto el ene aoe History. The Hampshire Down sheep was produced by the use of the Southdown on the Wiltshire-horned and the Berkshire-knot sheep. The former was a white- Hampshire ram. Fig. 619. faced race, and the latter black-faced. The Wilt- shire was considered the largest of the native breeds. Mr. William Humphrey, of Newbury, Hamp- shire, who is accredited as being the first and SHEEP greatest improver of the breed, assembled, about 1834, a flock of carefully selected ewes of what were then referred to in a general way as West- Country Downs, including the two above-mentioned lecal strains. He began his work of improvement by selection, but later became imbued with the idea Fig. 620. Hampshire ewe. that crossing would be advantageous, and in suc- cessive years purchased three Southdown rams from Jonas Webb. A little later, James Rawlence began improvement of what was known as the Sussex sheep. He used some Hampshire and West-Country Down blood. Later, the two flocks were coalesced to form the Hampshire Down breed. Hampshires were first accorded a class at the Royal Agricul- tural Society Show in 1857. In America.—Hampshire Down Sheep were impor- ted into America in 1855 by Thomas Messenger of Long Island. No further importations are recorded until 1881. In that year, Henry Metcalf, of Canan- daigua, New York, imported the ram, Shepherds’ Pride 2. In 1883, the breed was introduced into Michigan, and in 1885 into Ohio. Distribution. This breed is now widely disseminated through- out the United States and Canada, especially in the eastern sections. It seems hardy and well adapted to American conditions, and is a good grazer. it has made its way throughout the southern counties of England, and into all the English colonies. Now it is found in many countries, among which, aside from North America, including Mexico, may be named Russia, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and several parts of South America, notably Argentina and Uruguay. Uses. The claim of the breed to superiority is based on the rapidity with which the lambs grow. In Eng- land, the flocks are generally folded, and the lambs fed for rapid development. It is not unusual for a Hampshire lamb to gain a pound a day. The breed ranks very well for mutton-production, especially where early market lambs are wanted. In this SHEEP 615 country, Hampshire rams are especially prized for siring lambs to be marketed at three to five months of age. They are winning some favor on the range, as sires for mating with Merino grade ewes. The lambs are said to be good rustlers. Pure-breds will doubtless prove profitable for the production of lambs to be marketed in the early spring or summer. But pure-bred flocks will be chiefly valu- able in America for the supply of rams for cross- breeding. As has been said, for wool-production the Hamp- shire Down is very mediocre. The fleece is light, short, and of rather inferior quality. Organizations and records. The Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders’ Association was organized in England in 1889, and had published seventeen volumes of its flockbook up to 1907. The Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders’ Association of America was also organized in 1889, and had issued nine volumes of its flockbook up to 1907. The number of registrations in each is large. Literature. For references, see page 596. Leicester Sheep. Fig. 621. By David McCrae. The Leicester (pronounced Les’ter) sheep are a long-wool mutton breed, developed largely in the county of Leicester in England. The land in this county is fertile and rolling, and well adapted for sheep-raising. Description. The Leicesters are a hornless breed of sheep, of large size, rectangular form of body on clean legs, and with bare faces or carrying a very scant topknot. The Leicester breeders have no authorized stand- ard of excellence or scale of points. The fact that there are two types in the breed, the English or Bakewell, and the Border Leicesters, and that these vary somewhat in form and details, has so far pre- vented the adoption of a uniform scale. Both types are recognized by all Leicester associations. The following scale of points, prepared by the writer, favors the Border type, and, while not authorized, has been carefully considered and approved by good judges of the breed. It is introduced here merely as a Suggestion. SCALE OF PoINTS FoR LEICESTER SHEEP Perfect score 1. Head.—Long, moderataly small, tapering towards the muzzle ; white and well covered with hair; lipsjand mostrilsblacks 3 90-5 3 = + = -- 6 2. Nose.—Somewhat narrow, almost straight in ewes and slightly Roman inrams...... 2 3. Face.—Having a wedge-shaped appearance, well covered with fine white hairs ....... 2 4, Ears.—Thin, rather long, mobile and directed backward; a black speck on face and ears net WAGON 5°56 6 4 6 a 6,00 0.6 6 6 0 2 . Eyes.—Large and prominent ........ 4 (oat 616 SHEEP ScALE OF PoINTS FOR LEICESTER SHEEP, continued Perfect score 6. Neck.—Strong and moderately short, level with the back and broad at its base where it leaves the chest, gradually tapering toward the head, being fine where head and neck join; neck straight from chest, showing a straight line from rump to poll 7. Breast.—Deep, broad and full. ....... 8. Shoulders.—Upright, wide across the top, giv- ing good thickness through the heart... . 6 9, Chest.—Well filled behind the shoulder, with JBTgvoinivo Boo 6 5 5 of a one 8 oe 6 10. Back.—Broad and well-fieshed ; ribs well sprung; loins wide; hips level; quarters straight andlong 12 11. Barrel round, well ribbed home; straight lines aboyerand!| helowsnus eourentel uien tinct ritaeins 10 12. Legs of moderate length, fairly large and wide apart, with strong, flat bone, covered with white hair; brown hair or spots objectionable 6 13. Flesh firm, springy pelt; pink skin. . .... 8 14. Fleece fine, uniform and sound in staple, curly, with good bright luster and no dark hairs or kemp; belly well covered. . ....... 15, Carcass.—Rectangular, legs well set on, hocks straight, pasterns good, with neat feet; good general appearance Perfection . History. The Leicester sheep are named from the county of Leicester (Les’ter) in England, where the breed had its origin. Robert Bakewell of Dishley, near Lough- borough in Leicestershire, began his sheep-breed- ing efforts about 1755. His object was to produce a breed that would fatten quickly at an early age. Before this, bulk of body and weight of fleece had been the aim of breeders of long-wools. The com- mon sheep of the county at that time were large, heavy and coarse-wooled, white-faced, flat-sided, with large bones and long, thick, rough legs. Mr. Bakewell would never tell how he got his flock up to the excellence which later distinguished it, nor yet the breeds he used, but it is thought that the basis was the old Teeswater breed, modified by selections from the local breeds of long-wools in the district. This Teeswater breed, from the valley of the river Tees in Yorkshire, was a tall, clumsy ani- SHEEP mal, small in the bone, round in the rib, and with a thin fleece of long wool. It made good mutton, but was slow in maturing. Bakewell bred for mut- ton, with the least bone and the least waste, and for quick-feeding lambs. The breed was called the New Leicester or Dishley breed. Formed by care- ful selection and inbreeding, the new flocks had great prepotency, were sometimes delicate in con- stitution and shy breeders. Even now, after 150 years, these features sometimes appear. The Dishley flock became famous. Mr. Bakewell decided to let his rams instead of selling them out- right. In 1760, he let three rams for $4 each, and two for $4.50 each. The next year his price was $5 each, and this continued with varying success, until in 1780 he reached $50 for his best. Then the demand increased rapidly. In 1785, the top price was $500. In 1789, he let three rams for $6,000, seven for $10,000, and the remainder of his flock for $15,000. His reputation was established, and the New Leicester became the most popular breed in England. It was much used for crossing with other breeds to produce quick-feeding lambs; and this reputation still holds. In America.—Bakewell or Dishley sheep reached America in colonial days. It is said that George Washington had Bakewell ewes at Mount Vernon. Others were known in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. About the beginning of the nineteenth century, Mr. Toofy, of Quebec, made an importation. Later, about 1806, they were imported into Massa- chusetts. In the same year, Captain Beanes brought some rams and ewes from England, and placed them on a farm in New Jersey. The Beanes flock subsequently, in the hands of others, attained much notoriety. A number of importations were made later, and gradually the breed worked westward. i In America, a type has been developed that differs somewhat from both the English Leices- ter and the Border Leicester, both of which types have been used in many of the flocks in Canada and the United States. Some owners assert that the modern American Leicester is a better sheep than either of the English types, and that this is the only English breed of sheep that has been improved in America. Certainly the modern American Leicester is a fine sheep, evenly developed, and when in good form is a beautiful animal. Distribution. The Leicesters are at home in the borde: counties of England and Scotland, and in other parts of Great Britain. While tried to some extent abroad, notably in part of Europe, New Zealand, Australia and America, they have not attained the reputation of the heavier-wooled breeds. In Amer- ica they are found mainly in Ontario and othe Canadian provinces, and in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. Types. The Dishley or Bakewell type became widely used in England, and has become known as the English SHEEP Leicester. Because of its great prepotency and its quality of putting on fat quickly, it became popular as the greatest of all the mutton breeds for crossing purposes and for early market lambs. The Border Leicester is so named because it is bred in the border counties of England and Scot- land, Roxboroughshire in Scotland being now the headquarters of the breed. George Culley, of Den- ton, near Darlington in Durham, and his brother are looked on as the original breeders of the Border Leicester. The Culleys hired rams from Dishley and crossed them on a stock of Teeswater ewes till they had a flock of Leicesters. When they retired in 1806, their flock, through that of Compton of Learmouth, supplied a part of the Mertoun flock of Lord Polworth. This flock has been bred with the greatest care since 1802, and by judicious selec- tion and without outside blood has been made the premier flock of the breed. The Border breed has a white face, free from wool. The English Leicester may have a small tuft, and may be bluish white in color. At one time, blue faces were in fashion. The head and eye are important points in a quick-feeding animal. “Never pick a rascally head and a bad eye,” no matter what the carcass may be, is the advice of a famous breeder. Uses. The Leicesters are used very much for crossing purposes, to get early lambs for the market. Hav- ing been bred more for mutton than for wool, the breed has so far not been so widely distributed in America as its good qualities deserve. Of late years, however, the market for fat lambs has become a feature, and there is now more demand for the Leicester for cross-breeding. For mutton alone, the breed is inferior. It is too large and too fat, unless killed young. The cross-bred mutton on Hampshires or Merinos is superior to the pure-bred. The Border Leicester-Cheviot cross has found much favor for the production of choice mutton for the British market. The wool of the Leicester is fine and long, and the fleeces will weigh nine to eleven pounds. Fine-wool rams on grade Leicester ewes produce a fine, com- pact fleece that is heavier than that of the Leicester pure-bred. For grazing, the Leicester is in no way supe- rior. It is not specially hardy, and cannot rustle pu cioutly well to adapt it to much of the range ands. Organizations and records. The first organization devoted to the Leicester was the Dishley Society, which was formed to sus- tain the efforts of Bakewell. This society has been succeeded by the Leicester Sheep Breeders’ Society. In England there is also the Society of Border Leicester Sheep Breeders. The American Leicester Breeders’ Association has issued four volumes of its flockbook, since its organization in 1888. Literature. For references, see page 596. SHEEP 617 Lincoln Sheep. Fig. 622. By David MeCrae. This breed is of large size, with a heavy fleece of long, wavy or curly wool and a moderate tuft of wool on the face. Description. For many years, the fleece has been made a leading feature of the Lincoln breed. The wool is long, somewhat lustrous and of a strong and sound combing quality. For length of fiber and strength of staple, no other breed but the Cotswold can rival the Lincoln. The color is white. The head is large, and without horns. The sheep gives the impression of massiveness. It is gentle, and a good feeder, maturing early. Its grazing qualities are fair. It cannot be said to be very prolific. SCALE OF PoINTS FOR LINCOLN SHEEP Perfect score . Constitution.—Body deep, back wide and straight, wide and full in the thigh ; bright large eyes ; ; SkinvSohtran du pin Kemi iaeeesies tice