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THE SOUTHERN WORLD, SEPTEMBER 1, 1882.
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LITE STOCK VARIETIES.
An euay read before the State Agricultural
Society of South Carolina, at ite Auguet tee-
tion, by Hon. T. J. Moore.
Mb. President.—This is such a compre
hensive subject that I cannot, in the limits
of an ordinary essay, treat it elaborately.
I will therefore content myself with giving
you a cursory view of it, and ask you to be
content therewith.
Properly, the subject contains two dis
tinct themes, affording subject matter
enough for two essays—one upon the Varie
ties of Live Stock and another upon their
Feeding on Southern Products. I am sorry
this division was not made, in order that
each might have received the attention its
importance demands. However, as I have
been assigned to discuss the whole, I shall
endeavor to do so, to the best of my ability,
touching only upon the leading varieties of
live stock; those attracting the most atten
tion, and of the most worth to us as an ag
ricultural people, and afterwards shall offer
a few general remarks upon Economic Feed
ing.
The varieties of live stock treated of shall
be those relating to the Equine, Bovine,
Ovine and Porcine tribes, and those only.
These are the fruitful themes of all school
boy beginners in composition, and if I fail
to entertain you, I hope you will attribute
it to the multiplicity of matter—not to the
want of something to say—to the doubt in
my mind, what to say and how to say it. I
might write a good sized book or two, and
then not more than half exhaust the subject.
I will try to be brief as the nature of the
case will admit,
One might naturally suppose from the
number of wild animals of the domestic
type, roaming over our western plains, that
their native habitation was this country.
Such is not the case. All of which I treat
came to us from the Old World, probably
the far east, though the foundation of our
improved breeds were mostly laid in Europe,
principally in Great Britain, France and
Spain.
How these animals came to this country
no one can tell. Julius Caesar found them
in Britain when he invaded it.
The wild horses of our western plains are
the descendants most probably of those
abandoned by Be Soto in his memorable
march to the Father of Waters; the cattle
and other stock, those of the early settlers.
Lest I be called in question, for saying
that the native habitat of these animals is
not this country, as I was when before this
Society some years since I said that the
bee came across the waters, I will add that
though the discoverers and early settlers
found none of them here, there are geologi
cal evidences that some or all of them, may
be, existed here before man’s advent, their
remains being found along with those of the
Masterdon and other extinct animals.
The varieties of our domestic «nim tt l« |
which are now becoming quite numerous,
cannot be traced very far back, but are of
rather recent origin, As knowledge increas
es, the principles of breeding are better un
derstood and applied, so that new varieties
are being constantly brought to our atten
tion. It is wonderful what climate, feed
ing and proper coupling of male and female
have done for us. Who would ever have
thought that the wild boar of England, or
the lean lank Irish pig, would have been de
veloped into the shapely pig of to-day; or
the rough country horse into the beautiful
and symmetrical thoroughbred of to-day.
TUB UOBSB.
In no class has greater improvement been
made than in that of the horse. To-day we
have the Blood Horse or the Kacer, of Eng
land and this country. The genuine Amer
ican hone, to which class belongs the mag
nificent Trotter and some splendid Draft an
imals of more breeds than one—a horse you
may say adapted to every purpose.
The Blood horse is that which traces back
with unerring certainty through a long line
of distinguished ancestry to the game lit
tle animal from the deserts of Arabia about
the middle of the 16th century. The first
impress was made by the Darley Arabian
imported into England in 1703, which horse
may be said to have laid the foundation of
the present improved racers of to-day.
Twenty-five years later, the Goldolpbin
Arabian, a horse of Barbary was imported
into England and from that time the success
of the race was assured. Previous to these
importations, however, other horses from
Arabia, Barbary and Turkey, had been in
troduced, but without any marked effect,
until the two above named entered the
field. From these English horses sprang
the celebrated imported horses of this coun
try Diomed, Priam, Leamington and Bonnie
Scotland, and such natives as Sir Archy,
Medoc, Lexington, Vandal and Enquirer.
These all established a world wide reputa
tion. They owed their superior qualities as
follows: Beauty and speed to the Arabian,
strength and stride to the Barb and size and
hight to the Turk.
TUB AMERICAN HOR8E
of to-day is the cross of these blooded ani
mals upon the cold blooded or partly blood
ed animals of this country, from which
many family strains have sprung, but of
which time forbids that I should speak. To
this class belongs
THE TROTTER,
a cross of the English Racer and the French
Canadian horse, which last was already re
markable for good trotting, but not to be
compared to the trotters of the present time.
It was tbis mingling of blood that gave us
such horses as the Clays, Morgans, Pilots, and
Copper Bottoms. Said a distinguished Ken
tucky breeder, “We found no excellence in
trotting until they obtained it from the Pi
lots and Copper Bottoms." The fine form and
movement of the American Trotter show
that the French blood gave length of stride
on the track and the thoroughbred endur
ance and spirit.
Thus by a proper mating, just such a
horse as is wanted is produced. The Eng
lish, and in this they have been followed
by the Americans, knowing this and finding
the racer too small and mettlesome for the
carriage and tbc saddle, crossed the thorough-
blooded horse upon a suitable cold blood
mare, and produced the carriage horse and
this half blooded animal again upon the
thorough blood, producing the saddle horse,
both of which are so much sought after.
TUB DRAFT DORSE
includes such animals os the American
horse and such foreign ones as the London
Cart, the English Draft, the Belgian, the
Norman Percheron, and the Clydesdale.
Only the two last have been extensively im
ported in this country, ui^j alone demand
our attention.
THE NORMAN PERCHERON
is a French horse of rather large size, weigh
ing about 1,600 pounds. He is a dappled
gray of tine form and action and is used in
France for labor and especially for drawing
the heavy and cumbersome diligence or Btage
coach at the rate of eight or ten miles per
hour. He is being introduced into this
country pretty extensively, and is becom
ing very well known. He is nota handsome
horse, but when his size .and activity, and
especially, his docility are taken into con
sideration, he deserves more attention at
our hands. I am inclined to think he
would make a desirable horse for the aver
age small farmer of the South.
* THE CLYDESDALE.
is an animal of larger size and possesses
many desirable qualities. He is a Scotch
horse largely imported into the Northern
and Northeastern states,—a bay or brown,
generally in color, with some white in the
face and on the feet, stands from 16 to 17 hands
high, and weighs from 1,600 to 2,000 pounds,
in exceptional coses reaching as much os
2,600 pounds. I have seen some noble spec
imens in Northern cities drawing immense
loads at a rapid walk, two pulling as much
as a half dozen of our ordinary mules. 1
never see them but I think how nicely two
of them would pull a double plow. I am
not sure, but he or the Norman-Percheron,
or some cress upon one or the other, is to be
the coming draft horse, and may take the
place of that obdurate self-willed animal,
the mule, the cross of the Spanish Jack
which was first imported into this country
by George Washington, upon common mares.
That you may know exactly what sort of an
animal the Clydesdale horse is I transcribe
what a noted importer and breeder has to
say of him;
“He is very long, round and smooth, deep
and broad in the chest, with immense quar
ters, with a beautiful neck set upon elegant
shoulders, broad and smooth on the back
and hips. He stands firmly on his limbs,
which are of remarkable width, flat and
hard. His hoofs are of good size, well
formed, seldom flat and of good substance.
The back of the leg from the knee and the
hock of the hoof is covered with long hair,
which is a characteristic highly valued in
his native country, being an unmistakable
evidence of purity of blood. His mane and
tail are heavy and usually curly. His clean-
Ty cut head and clear bright mild eye, de
note the kind, gentle disposition for which
the hone is so generally noted. He seems
to work almost from instinct. A colt at
three years—often at two—can be taken
from the yard or pasture, and without the
loss of a day in breaking will perform al
most any service required of an ordinary
hone. He is a very rapid free walker, good
traveler, and is easily kept, requiring no
more food than ordinary breeds of much
size."
I hope some of the breeders of the South
will import the Norman-Percheron and Cly
desdale horses, if not for breeding pure, at
least to cross upon our common mares, that
the average farmer may have a better ani
mal than the mule, something of larger size,
more strength and more tractable, behind
which he can trust his wife and children in
his one horse wagon or carryall. Certainly
some improvement is demanded.
CATTLE.
The leading varieties of cattle in this
country at this time are, Natives, Ayrshire,
Shorthorns, Devons* Herefords, Holsteins,
Brahmins, the Polled breeds and the Chan
nel Island cattle, mostly so-called from their
place of nativity. Formerly they were
classified according to the horns, these being
the most distinguishing marks, as Long
Horns, Middle Horns, Short Horns, Crump-
ledHorns and Polled.
NATIVES.
The term natives is not to be understood
as descriptive of any known breed, but only
os applied to the common stock of the coun
try, which does not constitute a breed, but
are a sort of conglomeration of all breeds.
Breed properly applied to animals of the
species, possessing besides the general char
acteristics of that species, other character
istics which they owe to the influence of
climate, soil, nourishment and habits of
life, to which they are subjected, and which
they transmit with certainty to their pro
geny. The Natives present many different
characteristics transmitting none with cer
tainty, and hence we may say that they are
all unlike. They are not of sufficient im
portance to demand more than a passing
notice.
THE AYRSHIRE.
The Ayrshire is a native of Scotland and
is peculiarly adapted to the wants of the
South. She is essentially a dairy animal,
being noted for the large flow of milk, rich
in butter, but more especially in casein or
cheese. Though a cow of medium size, she
has been known to give ten gallons of milk
per day. She has been called the poor man’s
cow, which is a little well merited. Of
rather small size and hardy. She bears much
bad treatment, subsisting on scanty pastures
at the same time yielding much milk. The
oxen make fair beef and work animals, but
do not excel as such. Considering the worth
of the breed, I do not think sufficient atten
tion has been given to their breeding.
Altogether for general purposes, 1 am not
sure if she does not embrace more desirable
qualities for the South than any other. I
am therefore astonished to find some breed
ers selling out, and investing in a more
fancy class which command higher prices,
but are practically of less worth.
THE SHORT HORN
is preeminently a beef animal though there
are some families of fair milkers. They are
bred for beef mostly, but little attention be
ing paid to the milking qualifications. Of
very large size and rapid growth, they are
better adapted to the rich pastures of Ken
tucky and Ohio, and hence they have not
sustained their fine reputation with us.
They come to us from the northern coun
ties of England, where they were probably
an accidental variety, though it is claimed
they were introduced from Hollund or Den
mark, where a breed of large animalsexisted
Always held in high repute, they rapidly
gained in reputation when the cross upon
the cattle of Durham was made, giving the
Short Horn Durham—an animal justly cele
brated. Much interest has been manifested
in the breeding of this race for the last fifty
years in Kentucky, and contiguous States,
by the most celebrated breeders, and as a
consequence we have the Improved Short Horn
which stands unrivaled for beauty of form,
size and beef. Some strains command fabul
ous prices. It occurs to me that 1 remember
a few years ago one sold for something like
forty thousand dollars to be shipped to En
gland.
THE DEVON
from Devonshire, England, is a most beauti
ful race, extensively imported to the United
States, and largely to the South. They are
of medium size, und of a beautiful blood-red
or cherry color, and are remarkable for har
diness and symmetry. They are bred for
beef, rather than the dairy, and for work
oxen, in which last, they excel, being un
equaled in docility, quickness and beauty,
and the facility with which they are match
ed. After serving their time at work, the
oxen are readily converted into beef, which
is finely marbled or grained. As milkers,
they stand low down in the scale. They
give a small quantity, but that is very rich.
So little attention has been paid to their
milking qualities, that they have even dete
riorated in the hands of breeders, milk be
ing subjected to beef.
In the scale of points set down by which
to judge them, the udder is valued atone
point, while the horns and ears are put at
two each, and the color of the nose and the
expression of the eye, at four points each.
In respect to the lacteal development and
the purposes for which they aie bred, they
may be classed along with the
HEREFORD,
another English breed, which rivals the
Short Horns, in size and the capacity to take
on flesh, though somewhat slower in arriv
ing at maturity. It is claimed for them that
they produce more and better beef with a
less consumption of food than the 8hort
Horns. Their general characteristics as to
color are a white face, some times mottled,
white throat extending back on the neck,
and occasionally along the back, the balance
of the body being red, generally dark, but
some times light.
John Merryman, of guano fame, was a
noted breeder, and sold many animals to go
West to be crossed upon the best beef pro
ducing animals there. He is now dead, but
I believe some of his family still breed them
for sale at the old homestead, Hayfield, near
Baltimore Maryland. They have never
gained any foothold at the South from the
fact that they were only bred for beef.
THE HOLSTEIN
or Dutch cattle are exciting some Interest
at the present time in the United States, and
I predict for them a steady growth in public
favor. They came to us from Holland, a
country where the production of butter and
cheese is a specialty, and though bred with
that end in view, they are by no means in
ferior as beef animals. As milk producers,
it is claimed for them, that they stand “unri
valed and alone." Yearly records of 12,000
to 15,000 pounds are not uncommon, some
times reaching 18,000 pounds. It is said that
deep milkers are the rule not the exception.
I have seen the records of twenty-four ani
mals, from a herd of two hundred and fifty,
more than half of wjiich were two years old,
that ranged from 30 to 60 pounds per day, for
tho younger ones, and from 60 to 84%
pounds for the older ones. Several went
over 75 pounds per day. The most noted
breeders and importers say “ that for
beef the Holstein will class with the Short
Horn; in size they will compare favorably ;
und os they are very hardy, vigorous and
fatten readily, when not in milk, they are
destined to take a front rank among the
noted beef breeds." They are of a beautiful
color! being very black with white markings
mostly.
THE BRAHMIN
is an Asiatic animal, brought to this country
some years before the war by Mr. J. B.
Davis, of Fairfield, South Carolina. Besides
being fine as a work oxen, they are celebrat
ed for long legs, which fit them not only
for fast travelling but for high jumping. If
remarkable for any other good qualities I
am not aware of it. If Mr. R. Peters of Geor
gia is not breeding them pure, 1 do not know
who is. They have a peculiarity in the way
of a hump, which is indicative of the breed.
My judgment is they are soon to be numbered
with the cattle that were.
THE POLLED BREEDS
ure much sougut after because of the ab
sence of horns. Otherwise they have estab
lished no special celebrity, and are not to be
compared to some of the breeds before
spoken of. They are however pretty good
animals for general purposes. They are
known as Galloways, Angus and Ab.-rdeens.
As they are not now, and are not likely to
be prominently before the country, I dis
miss them for the more lovely races of the
CHANNEL ISLANDS
which are exciting much interest at the
North, Eeast and South, at the present time.
They belong to the crumpled horn variety,
and were found along the coast of Brittany
about a century ago, but were brought
to the greatest perfection on the islands
whose names they bear, to-wlt, Guernsey,
Jersey and Alderney, in the English chan
nel, off the coast of France, each island
having a race peculiar to itself, and possess
ing characteristics common to all the ani-
muls of that island. Having a common ori
gin and the principles of breeding and feed
ing being much the same, they do not differ
greatly one from the other. The natural
difference consists more in sise and color
than in anything else.
(To be continued in our next ittue.)