If the thought enters the mind of the reader that a youth (?) of sixty-seven is not competent to write upon agricultural improvement for the entire century, the answer is that such improvement can scarcely be said to have begun until near the middle of the century; that the early forties saw the writer at work on a farm; that he has ever since lived on a farm; and that he, therefore, writes from personal experience of the improvements which have transformed agriculture from a simple art to a profound science.
To realize the progress agriculture has made, we must understand its condition in the first half of the century, and the causes which prevented improvement at that time. The soil was rich with the accumulations of centuries, and the farmer was at no expense to either maintain or restore fertility, for with but indifferent cultivation large crops could be raised. When a field became impoverished, with axe and torch a new field was soon cleared from the forest. The implements in use were of the crudest and mostly manufactured by the nearest blacksmith, and it cost but a few dollars to equip a farm; still they were sufficient for the wants of the farmer of that date. So it will be seen that the difficulty was not in the farm nor with the farmer; for he could grow not only all that was necessary for family use, but more than enough to supply the demand for such market as he had. Perhaps the greatest difficulty in the way of agricultural progress was the want of transportation facilities; for a market was of little use to a farmer if he was separated from it by a hundred miles or more of roads which, through almost the entire winter, were so deep with mud that modern farmers would think them utterly impassable, with streams unbridged and hills ungraded. The first step toward relieving the farmer of this trouble was John Quincy Adams’ message to Congress in 1827, when he recommended the construction of the National Road, the eastern terminus of which was to be in Maryland and the western at St. Louis, Mo. This road was constructed within a few years. It was the first outlet for the crops of the great West, and over it, across the Alleghany Mountains, a procession of covered wagons passed during the entire year, carrying the products of the farms to the Eastern markets and bringing back manufactured goods. One other avenue was opened for the interchange of products between these two sections, the Erie Canal being completed in 1825, and enlarged and improved many years later.
During the thirties, just preceding the era of railroads, there was almost a craze on the subject of canal building, and scores of miles of canals were begun which were never completed, as with the beginning of the fourth decade of the century the railroad idea had taken possession of the minds of the people. In some cases the tow-path of the canal formed the roadbed for the railroad which superseded it, and probably more lines of canal were abandoned than were completed. The era of railroads—that wonderful factor which was to revolutionize farming—dates from about 1830. The first locomotive in the United States was imported from England and placed upon the rails in 1829, and in 1830 the first American locomotive was built. It was, however, very near the middle of the century before the system of railroads had been completed so as to materially improve the condition of agriculture; and although the fact may sound strange to some, the first railroad train ran into Chicago in 1852. During these years of depressed agriculture, however, the population of the country was rapidly increasing.
While the railroad system of the country was developing, turnpikes were being built radiating from the principal markets and railroad stations. With the beginning of the second half of the century the farmers awoke to the fact that the United States was a large and populous nation, requiring an immense amount of supplies, and that improvements for transportation had been furnished so that the markets were easily accessible. Before passing, however, from the discouragements and difficulties of agriculture in the early days, some practical illustrations of the difficulties met with seem necessary to give a clear understanding of the condition. What would the farmer of to-day think were he obliged to start with a load of wheat in midwinter over roads which crossed unbridged streams and wound over clay hills, not a rod of which was macadamized and all of which were poorly graded, spending ten days with a four-horse team to make a round trip of one hundred miles with thirty-five bushels of wheat, and sell it in the market for 35 cents a bushel? Yet such was the fact which the writer had from the lips of a farmer who had been through this experience. Two thoughts may occur to the reader—first, that thirty-five bushels was a light load for a four-horse team, and, second, that hotel bills would more than absorb the money received from such a load of wheat. But both of these are explained by saying that one cause of the lightness of the load was that the farmer must carry feed for his team for the entire trip, and another, the uncertainty of the condition of the roads; for though he might start with the roads frozen solid and possibly worn smooth by the teams which had preceded him, he was liable on the trip to meet with a sudden thaw which reduced the roadbed to mortar, so that the wheels would sink almost to the axle, and in many cases the load would be found too heavy for his team. It was no uncommon sight to see a score of places to the mile where the fences had been torn down and rails carried into the middle of the road to be used in prying the wagons out of the mud when hopelessly mired. The reason the hotel bills did not consume the proceeds of the load was that there were none; for the farmer carried his camp kettle, bedding, and provisions with him, and slept in the wagon during his entire trip. The same farmer referred to, in telling his story, said that all the money spent on the ten days’ trip was three “fips” (18¾ cents), and that, presumably, was for three “nips” of whiskey.
An interesting personal experience in the winter of 1846–47 was in driving hogs from Anderson, Ind., to Cincinnati, Ohio, a distance of about 150 miles. The drove was started with the mercury at zero, and the first difficulty met was in getting them across White River, as there was no bridge and the stream must be forded. The hogs absolutely refused to enter the icy water, but the pioneer of that day was equal to any emergency. The drove was soon huddled on the bank, rails were carried from an adjoining field, and a close pen was built around them; then two plucky frontiersmen, with thick leggings reaching from ankle to hips, towed them by the ears to frozen shoal water in the centre of the river, and pushed them across the ice, when they were obliged to go ashore on the other side. Two days later a sudden and unexpected thaw set in, when for one hundred weary miles the drivers urged the hogs through mud which reached from fence to fence, and which was so fluid that not a trace was left behind, as it flowed in to fill not only the track of the hogs but the footsteps of the drivers. When after days of urging the hogs began to lose strength and fall by the way, they settled down into the ooze, from which the men must lift them into wagons which accompanied the drove or were hired from farmers along the road. When Cincinnati was reached it seemed that the worst trouble of the journey was over; but not so, for the climax of disaster with this drove was reached at the slaughter-house, when for two weeks the weather was so warm that no slaughtering could be done, and the price of pork declined day by day, until the entire drove was finally sold at one and three quarters cents per pound dressed weight—and during the entire time, both on the road and in the pens, the hogs had been losing rapidly in weight every day. This was the lowest price recalled for hogs; but it was very common to have a glut in the market of some staple which reduced the price so low that it scarcely paid for transportation, and in some cases made it actually unsalable.
A neighbor relates that when he was a boy, needing some money, his father made him the offer that he might have all the corn that he would shell, take to mill, and market the meal in Cincinnati, forty miles distant. He went to work with a will, prepared a two-horse load, and reached Cincinnati with it safely, only to find the market glutted so that he could not get an offer on it. A part of it was finally sold at 10 cents per bushel, and the remainder was taken home.
During the closing years of the fifth decade the prices of stock were at the lowest, good dairy cows bringing from $7 to $9 per head; yearling calves from $1 to $2; the very best horses, $40, and stock hogs selling for $1 or $2 each. At the same time many of the necessities of life were sold at exorbitant prices, and an examination of an old account book shows the following figures: Salt, $4 per barrel; nails, 6 to 8 cents per pound; calico, 12½ cents per yard; drilling, 25 cents per yard; clocks, $40 each (the value of the best horses!).
Some other facts must be taken into consideration to understand why the farmers did not attempt improved methods. One was the condition of the currency. The United States Bank, which it would seem should have afforded security and stability to the currency, had been wrecked by the action of Andrew Jackson in vetoing its rechartering and withdrawing the United States funds (at that date about $43,000,000) from it; and private banks had been established over the entire west and south, a system of what was then known as “wild cat” banks supplying the people with currency. The man who was trading needed to carry in his pocket at all times a “bank detector,” to which he might refer to ascertain how many cents on the dollar the issue of each bank was worth.
Looking back at the condition of affairs as described, remembering how few the markets, how easily glutted, how unstable the currency, and all the uncertainties connected with the disposal of the farmer’s products, what was there to stimulate him to improve his methods or increase his products? If, as was occasionally the case, the farmer determined to improve his stock, he must import from England or buy at high prices from an importer, and there being no express companies to deliver his stock, he must either go in person or trust to private individuals to drive them over the mountains or, if small stock, to bring them in wagons the entire distance.
He could not afford to carry on a wide correspondence, for each individual letter cost twenty-five cents postage, if the distance was over three hundred miles. It was not until 1845 that postage was reduced to ten cents, and ten years later it was reduced to three cents for letters of half an ounce.
If any one is inclined to throw the blame upon the farmers for not having done their part to improve agriculture and bring prosperity, he should consider the conditions under which they had lived for a generation; the uncertain markets; the low prices of products; that they must construct roads and bridges, build schoolhouses and churches, clear the farms, nearly all of which were covered with heavy timber; and the fact that all this work was done with the crudest implements. It will be seen that the farmers had been accomplishing wonders and were worthy of the highest praise rather than blame.
With the beginning of the last half of the century, the farmers suddenly awoke to the fact that the conditions had become wonderfully favorable. Towns and cities were growing up on every hand, offering new markets. Railroads and other means of transportation were opening to them. Inventive genius had taken up the improvement of implements of agriculture, and, best of all, prices had advanced greatly for all the leading products. The improvements of methods in farming, which have not been less than those in manufacturing and other callings, date from this time, and will be described under the following heads: Improvements in implements; in stock; in drainage and tillage; in the maintaining and increasing of fertility; in care and feeding of stock; in and around the farmer’s home; and education, which includes agricultural literature, farmer’s organizations, and schools.
In writing on the improvements in agriculture one can scarcely fail to be impressed with the fact that whenever the human race comes to the point that it must have help and make a demand upon nature, she always honors the draft; and as the steps are portrayed by which the agricultural products of this continent have been increased a hundred fold, while the power of the individual worker has increased wonderfully, and the labor has been lightened by machinery, we can see that these inventions and improvements came just as fast as they were needed, and no faster. God has given to the human mind such power, and to the hands such skill, that whatever is necessary is soon provided when the want is made known. Perhaps there is no better way in which this can be traced than in the appliances by which the farmer feeds the world. It is an interesting study to note the successive steps in the improvement of implements for the work of the farm. In the beginning of the century the sickle and flail were all that were needed to cut and thresh the grain; and it was by a series of steps that the steam thresher and the combined mower and binder were evolved. The sickle was all that was needed until population increased and markets were made accessible; then the cradle was invented. With the former, an expert could cut an acre a day, and with the latter four or more acres; but all the work was done by human muscle. The man using a sickle must work with bended back all day. The cradle enabled him to work erect, and lightened the labor; but when the “Reaper sickle” was invented the labor was transferred to brute muscle. The first machines were clumsy and heavy to draw, requiring as much, or more, power to cut the grain as to cut and bind it with the light running modern binder. Now, the man who sweltered with bended back ten or twelve hours to cut an acre of grain with the sickle “drives his team afield,” and by simply guiding it cuts and binds ten or fifteen acres a day, and carries the bundles to the shock row.
The improvement in threshing machinery has been as marked as in that for harvesting the grain. In the first part of the century all the work was done with the flail, and on farms where a large amount of grain was grown it kept a man busy a good part of the winter to thresh it. The first improvement was in threshing the grain by tramping it out with horses, and with two men and four horses, under the most favorable conditions, from fifty to one hundred bushels could be threshed in a day. But by both these methods there was the disadvantage that in all damp weather the work must be stopped, as the grain would become so tough that it could not be threshed. Another disadvantage of these methods was that it took a long time to prepare the crop for market, and in case of a sudden rise in price the farmer could not take advantage of it as he now can when his grain is all threshed in a single day and held in the granary for sale. In the thirties, the first threshing machines were put in use, and were but little improvement over the method of tramping with horses. The machines were of small capacity, and simply threshed the grain, but did not separate it from the straw and chaff, both of which operations had to be done by hand; and if the straw was to be saved, either in the barn or in a stack, it had to be all handled with rakes and forks. The first threshing machine that the writer ever saw was one that was called “The Traveller.” This was followed by machines run by stationary horse-power. These were called “chaff pilers,” from the fact that they threshed the wheat but did not separate it from the straw or chaff. The first horse-powers were inclined planes, or endless chain powers, as they were called, and were run by the weight of the horses, the floor revolving under their weight as they attempted to go up the grade. These were soon superseded by lever powers, made at first for two or four horses, but afterward increased in size and power until ten or twelve horses were used; and about this time the machinery for separating the grain and chaff was added to the machine. It almost seemed to the farmers at this time that perfection had been reached when two or three hundred bushels could be threshed in a day and also cleaned; but the feeding of this large number of horses was a heavy tax upon the farmers, particularly when a rainy day would intervene before the job was finished, and they were obliged to keep the horses two or three days. The invention and introduction of the mounted steam-engine not only saved the farmer from this expense, but also increased the power and doubled the daily capacity of the machine. For a short time the farmers were satisfied with this; but the engine was heavy, and often the farmers’ teams were light, and as it was the rule that each man must draw the engine from his farm to where the next job was to be done, and often the distance was great and the roads bad, it was not long until he tired of this. Then came the traction engine, which not only transported itself but also drew the thresher and separator. About this time another difficulty arose; for now that the machine had been improved and the power increased so that under favorable conditions a thousand bushels could be threshed in a day, the handling of the straw became a serious problem, for it was impossible to build it in a stack suitable for keeping as fast as the machine would deliver it. The first step to lighten and expedite this labor was in adding a straw carrier, a kind of revolving platform, which was attached to the separator and would lift the straw some twelve or fifteen feet. For a year or two the farmers were satisfied with this help, but soon found that it was inadequate for the work. Then the stacker was invented, a separate machine which was backed under the straw carrier to receive the straw, and which had, mounted on wheels, an elevator which would carry the straw to a height of twenty-five or thirty feet; and not only could it do this, but it was the work of a moment, with a crank at its base, to raise it, and it could be run at any angle. When the machine first started, the straw carrier was placed horizontally, and as the stack grew in height, it was raised until in the finishing out of the stack it stood at an angle of forty-five degrees or more. The straw carrier could not only be raised, but by an ingenious arrangement of small wheels, it could be moved from side to side by a light pressure with one hand, or by a man on the stack pushing it with his fork. With this admirable machine for handling the straw, it seemed as though perfection had been reached, and that there was now practically nothing more to be desired. But it was not long until the farmer found that with the delivery of six tons of straw per hour it was heavy work for six men to build the stack, and that it was the most disagreeable work about the machine because of the dust. About 1890, some inventive genius produced the “blower” to take the place of the stacker. This is a long jointed tube, some sixteen or eighteen inches in diameter, mounted at the rear of the cylinder through which the straw is forced by compressed air which is furnished by the machine. It can be raised or lowered, turned to the right or to the left, so as to deliver the straw at any desired point on the stack. It is managed by a man standing on top of the separator near the rear end, does away entirely with any hands on the stack, and thus reduces the force about six men. Some other improvements which have been added are the putting of knives in the cylinder to cut the bands, thus saving one or two hands, for often it was necessary to have a man on each side for cutting the bands when the wheat was dry and the work was done with the greatest rapidity. Then a revolving platform, called a self-feeder, was added in front of the cylinder, on which platform the bundles could be thrown from a wagon standing on each side, and be carried automatically and dumped into the cylinder, doing away with the man who formerly fed the bundles to the machine. To some machines an automatic weigher has been attached, which does away with a man for measuring and keeping tally of the wheat. Compare for a moment this modern machinery which, with a force of twelve or fourteen men, will thresh and clean for market from 1200 to 1600 bushels of wheat per day, with the man with the flail laboriously pounding out ten bushels, and you will get a vivid idea of the progress in agricultural machinery. One somewhat curious fact must be taken into account in this, which is, that with some of these most wonderful machines the cost of labor is about the same it formerly was. But the advantage is that the work can be done in a few hours, and the farmer’s crop be ready for market to take advantage of increased prices, while by the old plan the work would reach almost through the winter.
In the cutting and handling of hay there has been as great improvement as in any portion of the farm. A first-class mowing machine, new from the shop, can now be bought for $40 or less, and with it the farmer can drive to the field after supper, in the cool of the day, and in an hour cut more grass, and do it better, than a man could with a scythe by working hard all day.
Instead of shaking out the swaths slowly with a fork, with a single horse hitched to a hay tedder about two acres an hour can be shaken up and left in such shape that both sun and wind have perfect access to it and cause it to cure rapidly.
Instead of raking the hay laboriously by hand, a steel sulky rake does the work easily and quickly, doing more in an hour than was possible in a day with the hand rake. On farms where the acreage of hay is large, a self-loader attached to the rear of the wagon gathers the hay from the windrow and delivers it on the wagon. At the barn, instead of the slow and wearisome hand pitching, the hay fork and hay carrier deliver it in the top of the highest barns.
The invention of the hay baler enables the farmer now to condense his crop, so that one third of the room for storage formerly required for hay will answer; and it also enables him to ship it to market by rail, where formerly it was necessary that it should be taken in wagons.
While the plough has not been improved to the extent that many of our farm implements have been, it is vastly superior to those used by the pioneers, and modifies somewhat the adage of “Poor Richard,” who wrote:—
for the modern ploughman must not only hold and drive, but drive three horses at that, and turn as many acres in a day. Another adage attributed to “Poor Richard” was—
But the modern farmer has learned that the depth to which he ploughs must be governed by the nature of his soil, and that deep ploughing on heavy clay lands, or lands with a crude subsoil, is often the cause of short crops and permanent injury to the soil.
It is doubtful if in any line of farm implements there has been more improvement than in that of harrows; and yet this improvement dates back but about a quarter of a century, as previous to that time the old “A” harrow or drag, which was hard on the team and did indifferent work, was the only one found on most farms. More recently the cutting and slicing harrows have been largely introduced, and many other forms of improved harrows have been put on the market. For the preparation of hard land for a seed bed, especially for small grain, the disk harrow cannot be excelled.
But for garden use, or for pulverizing sod land which has not been too much compacted, the slicing Acme harrow is the most perfect implement in use, it being of light draft, easily transferred from field to field, and capable of making the finest and best seed-bed.
The cultivators in use have been greatly improved. It is necessary to describe but two of them. The two-horse cultivator with fenders, which enables the farmer to cultivate both sides of the row at once, driving two horses in the field instead of one, as by the old method, has more than doubled the capacity of the individual; as by its use he is able not only to cultivate both sides of the row at once, but to dispense entirely with the man who, under the old rule, was obliged to follow the cultivator and uncover the corn. This “fender” is exceedingly simple, and the only wonder is that it took the farmer so long to find out its value. Costing but a few cents, it has saved the farmers millions of dollars, as previous to its adoption it was necessary to have one man follow each one-horse plow to uncover the corn. There are two forms of this “fender,” the simplest being a light piece of galvanized sheet iron attached to the cultivator or plow so as to come just between it and the row of corn; the other is in the form of a rolling cutter, and attached in the same way. With either of these the farmer goes into the field as soon as the young plants can be seen in the row, drives his team astride the row, and stirs every inch of the soil, putting a little fresh earth around each hill of corn or potatoes without covering a single plant. As a single State grows some millions of acres of corn, it can be seen that the saving from this little invention to the farmers amounts to millions of dollars in a single year.
The old idea of deep cultivation of most crops has been proven to be wrong, and modern implements are made to cultivate the surface to a depth of two or three inches rather than to tear up the roots of the plants; and one of the most perfect of all implements for this purpose is the “Planet Junior one-horse cultivator.”
Perhaps no other class of machines has relieved the farmer more than the ones for planting the grain; and with a modern two-horse corn planter two rows can be planted at a time in checkered rows, so that it can be cultivated both ways and with more precision, both as to alignment and as to the number of plants in a hill, than by the old hand method of planting. The small grain is sown by a two-horse drill arranged for not only the grain, but at the same time to deposit commercial fertilizer along the rows of grain, and with a grass seed sower attached. In the garden a hand drill is used. It is easily adjustable to any sized seed, from that of the turnip up to beans and peas, and the seed is perfectly distributed in straight rows, while the garden hand cultivator does away largely with the use of the hoe.
One other modern implement, which promises to be very useful, is “the weeder,” and its value rests on two facts which it required the farmer many years to discover. The first is that the thorough pulverizing of the surface, even to the depth of an inch, breaks the capillaries and checks the evaporation of moisture; but to do this it is necessary that the work be done just as soon after a rain as the land will crumble, and since often if a drying wind blows the land gets dry in a few hours, a machine is needed that will enable the farmer to thus stir a large surface in a short time; and this the weeder does, as it is made to cover the width of three rows at once, and more than two acres an hour can be stirred with a single machine. The other fact which makes this implement of great value is that all weeds are easily exterminated when in embryo, and this stirring of the soil kills every one that is starting.
One other machine which has been greatly improved is the clover huller. Previous to its invention, most of the clover seed was sown in the chaff, and when clean seed was required it took several days’ work with four horses to tramp out three or four bushels, and then much of the seed was left in the chaff.
The modern huller is equipped with the blower and self-feeder, and with it from twenty to fifty bushels can be hulled and cleaned in a day, the amount depending on how well filled the heads are with seed.
It is quite recently that machinery has been invented that relieves the farmer of the hard work of planting potatoes by hand, and at the same time does the work better than the old way, as the machine drops the seed at a uniform distance apart and covers it perfectly. A man with this machine will do the work of eight or ten men dropping by hand. Several potato diggers, operated by horse power, have also come into recent use. They greatly lighten and accelerate the work, and the cost of growing potatoes has been reduced several cents a bushel by these inventions.
Perhaps it would be well in beginning to write on this subject to ask, what is “pedigreed stock”? Many people have the idea that pedigreeing is an arbitrary rule adopted by stock growers to mystify the buyer and secure larger prices for their stock. The fact is that it is intended as a protection to the purchaser, and is, or should be, a guarantee that the stock has been bred along certain lines for a sufficient period to establish the desirable qualities which it is wished to perpetuate. A rigid censorship is exercised over the record books, and it makes every one recording stock, in a certain sense, a detective to see that the records are truthful and represent the animals just as they are.
It is doubtful if along any line of farm operations there has been greater improvement than in the breeding and care of stock; yet there were greater difficulties to overcome in doing this than in improving the implements. These difficulties may be classed as follows: First, the one already alluded to in the opening chapter, to wit, the expense of importing and the consequent high price of thoroughbred animals; and when we recall that this was at a time when the farmers were hewing out their homes from the forest, and could not obtain large prices for their products, it will be seen that few farmers could afford to improve their stock. Second, as to cattle and hogs, it was almost impossible to breed pure stock; for all animals were allowed to run at large, and the woods were full of “tramp males,” which would break through the fences and invade the fields where the improved stock was kept. Third, those engaged in breeding stock found that there was a limit which when reached brought barrenness to high-bred animals, and in many other cases reduced the vitality so as to invite disease. That this evil was a real and serious one is shown from the fact that large numbers of high-priced animals failed to produce young among cattle, and that many herds of pedigreed swine were carried off by epidemic diseases. Fourth, and perhaps the most serious hindrance to improvement, was the indifference of farmers and the want of appreciation of good stock, and of course the farmer who did not want it would not coöperate in producing it.
The difference between the improvement of implements and stock consisted largely in the fact that trained mechanics were responsible for the former, and they would perfect the implements until the farmers could not afford to do without them; while the slipshod farmer would be satisfied with his common stock, and would fail to accept the help of the men who were trying to improve it. Another thing which farmers learned slowly was that good stock requires good care, which not only means shelter and liberal feeding, but also that the food be adapted to the wants of the animal. More fine animals were ruined by over-feeding with corn—a heating and fattening diet—than by insufficient food and exposure to cold and storm. It took many years to teach the farmer what a balanced ration was, and why it was necessary.
MODERN CLOVER HULLER.
Showing Uncle Tom’s Stacker and Self-Feeder.
It would be interesting to take up each separate breed of cattle and trace its source, giving credit to the men who improved and developed it, and the date of each importation; but the limitations of this article forbid anything more than brief mention of the more prominent breeds, and many which possess great merit cannot be even mentioned. The improved cattle of the United States may be grouped under three heads—beef, dairy, and general purpose. Of the first the Short-horn holds, perhaps, the highest place, or certainly did for a long series of years. These for many years were bred under the name of “Durham,” but about a generation ago the name began to undergo a change to Short-horn.
These animals, while especially adapted to the block, are fairly good milkers, and some strains of them are superior dairy cows. They have the quality of early maturity and produce a larger per cent of fine cuts of meat than most, if not any, other breeds. These cattle were first imported into America in 1797, and many other importations were made during the first half of the present century.
Another breed which closely resembles the Short-horn is the Hereford. These cattle are usually of a uniform color—a pale red—with white face, breast, and flanks, and drooping horns. They were first introduced by Henry Clay in 1817. Another importation was made in 1840, but it was not until 1860 and subsequently that they were imported largely and a “herd book” established for them. Since that time they have multiplied largely.
The last of the three distinctly beef breeds is a hornless race originating in Scotland, and known by the name of Aberdeen Angus, Galloway, or Polled cattle. These cattle have the distinctive quality of hardiness, and as they have very thick, close hair they are able to subsist on the range without shelter better than perhaps any other breed. The males have a remarkable prepotency, and the cross-bred animals very rarely show horns. Like the Herefords, they are poor milkers; for while their milk is rich, the quantity is small, and they usually go dry for several months of the year. They were first imported into this country about 1850, and in 1883 nine hundred were imported and distributed among the cattle breeders of the plains. Polled cattle are becoming more popular every year, and many farmers now dehorn the cattle of other breeds; and the time is not far distant when horned cattle will be the exception and not the rule.
The Channel Island group—the Jerseys, Alderneys, and Guernseys—embraces unquestionably the best butter animals of the world; and if we are to judge by their wide distribution and great popularity, the Jerseys lead the list. They were first introduced into the United States in 1820, and in 1850 large importations were made; but it was during the decade from 1870 to 1880 that greatest interest in the breed was awakened and large and frequent importations were made. There has been a strong and bitter opposition to these cattle by many farmers on account of their small size, but they have won their way until they are more universally distributed, and are to be found on more farms than any other breed. Remarkable yields of butter from the individual have been recorded, many of them running from 12 to 18 pounds per week under high feeding and extra care.
While the Ayrshire possesses great merit, so few of them have been imported into this country that it seems scarcely worth while to more than mention them.
Under the head of general-purpose animals come the Holsteins, Devon, and Red Polls. All of these breeds possess fine qualities. The Holsteins were probably not introduced into this country until the last half of the century, and the “Holstein Herd-Book,” published in 1882, shows that about 5000 registered animals were in this country at that date. While fair beef cattle, the Holsteins are deep milkers, and show a record of the largest quantity of milk of any breed in America,—some cows giving over 12,000 pounds of milk in a year. The milk, however, is not as rich in butter fat as that of the Jersey, but probably they are the best breed of dairy cows for the cheese factory in the United States.
The Devons are beautiful red cattle. They do not rank as large milkers, but produce a superior quality of milk, and are unexcelled in this respect by any breed but the Jersey. One peculiarity about the breed is the comparative smallness of the cow; for while the steer will weigh from 1400 to 1600 pounds, the cows will average only from 800 to 1000 pounds each.
The importation of Red Polls from England is comparatively recent, and they come nearer filling the idea of a general purpose animal than any other breed in America. The first importation was made in 1873, and consisted of only four animals. Two years later four more were imported, and in 1882 twenty-five. Other importations soon followed. They are of a uniformly cherry-red color, with occasionally the tip of the tail white or a little white about the udder. Ninety per cent of the grades are hornless. They are of large size, mature bulls weighing from 1800 to 2200 pounds, and occasionally one will exceed 2500 pounds. Cows weigh from 1100 to 1600 pounds, and will average 1200. That they mature early the following weights, copied from the report of the Smithfield Club, of England, will show:—
Steer, twenty-two and one half months old, weighed 1390 lbs.
Heifer, twenty-one and three quarters months old, weighed 1258 lbs.
Steer, twenty-three and one half months old, weighed 1500 lbs.
Steer, twenty-two months old, weighed 1336 lbs.
At the same show a mature cow was exhibited that weighed 1903 pounds. As dairy cattle they show good records, giving an average of 5500 pounds of milk per year, and some have exceeded 500 pounds of butter in a year, milking over 300 days.
While the United States can show as good horses as any other country in the world, they are not as generally distributed among the farmers as are animals of other breeds of stock. This perhaps can be accounted for, first, from the fact that a horse must be mature, and not less than six years old, before it can be put on the market; and that the low price of the service—fee of grades and scrub stallions—is too great a temptation to the farmer who is in debt and short of money. Still, our standard has been advancing, and there is a sure but slow bettering of the working stock of the country.
In the draft class we have the Norman, Percheron, Clydesdale, and Belgian, and possibly some others, while the Cleveland Bay comes as near the general-purpose horse as any other breed. The importations that have given us the magnificent horses which are being used in this country have been made chiefly from France, England, Belgium, and Germany. The blood of the English thoroughbred and of the Arab has also contributed to the development of the qualities desired.
In no other class of stock produced in this country has the improvement been more marked than in the swine, and while there are probably half a score of breeds in the country, a look through the markets shows that probably 90 per cent of them are of the three following breeds: Poland-China (formerly called Magie), Berkshire, and Duroc or Jersey Red; although it is quite possible that the Chester White might take the third place. With the exception of the Berkshire, these may be called distinctively American breeds, and even the Berkshire has been so modified and improved as to almost lay claim to American origin. A few other breeds are kept pure in this country, particularly the Essex, Yorkshire, and Victorias; but they are bred to but a limited extent and then for a special purpose. One thing that makes it easy and rapid to improve swine is the fact that they mature so early, and that a new cross may be made every year if desired. The writer, living in that part of Miami Valley, in Ohio, where the Poland-China swine originated, has seen, in a quarter of a century, these hogs change in form and color and general characteristics, and these fixed so thoroughly that they could be depended on to reproduce them. As this breed existed in the fifties, they were coarse in form, mongrel in color, and slow in maturing, requiring from eighteen months to two years to be made ready for market. But to-day they are early maturing, can be put on the market at six months of age, weighing from 200 to 250 pounds, and are of uniform shape and color. They are still the leading breed throughout the great corn belt of the United States, and the herd-books have registered breeding stock to the number of many thousand.
The Berkshire hog was first introduced into this country in 1823, and a second importation was made in 1832, but there was no systematic breeding and care to preserve their purity, and grades were sold for pure-bred until the breed fell into disrepute; but in 1865 new importations were made of the finest animals to be found in England, and the merits of the breed became universally known. Though called a small breed, they are but little below the Poland-China in weight, and grades from Berkshire males on large rangey sows will give the finest possible hogs for the block; but these grades must not be used for breeding, or the stock will deteriorate.
The American Chester White hog originated in Chester County, Pennsylvania; but it is believed that there was an importation of white hogs from England in 1818. The breed, until within less than a quarter of a century, was coarse, large of bone, and slow of maturity, and sometimes would attain enormous weight, nearly 1000 pounds; but in the last quarter of a century they have been improved until they are a close rival of the best breeds we have.
The Duroc-Jersey Red seems to be a distinctly American breed, having a history dating back to 1824, but it is less than a half century since they came into prominence, and the improvement made in them in that time has put them near the front rank. One thing which caused their rapid increase was the belief that they were proof against swine-plague and hog-cholera, and they were boomed on that idea. But this did not prove true, and our intelligent farmers have learned that it is not in the breed but in the food and care that immunity from disease will be found. These hogs are of a beautiful red color, and of good form. The mothers are prolific and good nursers, and they mature early, making the choicest of pig pork at an early age.
No other class of animals has been subject to so much foreign competition or has figured to such an extent as a political factor as the sheep, and this, for more than a generation past, has kept the sheep industry fluctuating between a depression which destroyed all profit and a boom which placed fictitious values on them, and both extremes have worked harm to the industry. Yet through all these changes, those who have recognized the intrinsic value of the sheep and stuck to the work of improvement, have not only found the business profitable but have prevented the deterioration of the animals which threatened.
While swine are of no value until killed, the sheep gives two coupons in a year, one in the fleece and the other in the increase, and the breeder always has two distinct objects before him,—the production of wool and mutton. The breeds of sheep are almost as dissimilar as are horses from cattle, and some are suited for hot arid lands, while others are adapted to the rich lowlands with their abundant and succulent herbage. The most ancient of all breeds is the Merino; and those who have studied this question trace its descent back in direct line, probably, to the flocks of the patriarchs. For ages they have been the clothers of mankind, first with the skin and later with the fleece, and still they maintain a high, if not first, place among different breeds. They have been wonderfully improved, but the improvement has been along the line of increasing the value of the fleece rather than the carcass, and it has been changed from an animal that would produce two or three pounds of wool, and one which had bare belly and legs, to one which produces a fleece from the hoofs to very near the nose. It is within bounds to say the weight of the fleece has been doubled.
With the long-wool breeds the improvement has been designed to develop the carcass and mutton qualities rather than the wool, and of these the two typical breeds are the Shropshire and Cotswold. Probably the best mutton lambs that are produced in this country are from the Shropshire rams and Merino ewes. The representative Cotswold is of majestic port and large size. The wool is curly, long, and lustrous; not dry and harsh to the touch, and has but a slight amount of yolk; at maturity it ought to be eight inches long. The fleece averages six or seven pounds.