interest for his money; because I take it for granted, that farming in England is not pursued upon the principle of sport or fashion, by the majority, but that the object is to obtain as good a return as possible from the land. I am by no means ignorant of the high value set upon particular breeds in England, but I am well convinced that a false judgment, and an imaginary value placed upon them, occasion the high prices at which they sometimes sell. A wealthy man may indulge his whim in giving five hundred guineas for a ram, cow, or bull, because they may be of a certain shape, which this or that great breeder and improver has declared to be perfection; but the honest, hard-working cultivator, will reflect before purchasing, and ask himself, will the ram give me finer wool, or better mutton, than one which I can buy for.one or two guineas? Will the cow give me more milk than my own? or will the bull enable me to raise a stock of kindlyworking, easily-kept, fast-walking oxen, which, after having done my ploughing for three or four years, will furnish tender, finegrained beef, marbled with fat on the ribs, rumps and surloins, after one summer's grazing? In forming an opinion of the real value of the above animals, these considerations force themselves upon us, and I wish you to attend to them, in the answer I hope to receive from you.

I do myself the pleasure to send you a copy of the premiums proposed by our Agricultural Society, and shall also, if our communication be not cut off shortly, forward the first part of our transactions.

Accept my respects.

-Mr. John Nicholson, Gipton, Yorkshire.

JAMES MEASE.

SIR,

ANSWER TO THE FOREGOING.

I RECEIVED your letter dated 25th October, 1807, requesting me to give you particulars respecting the bull I sold, which I will endeavour to explain to the best of my abilities. The first question you ask is easily answered; the purchaser will receive

above one hundred guineas for cows this year, at one guinea each; and there is little doubt but he will do as much for another or two to come: therefore, he will be soon reimbursed, and receive good interest for his money.

You will think that valuable beasts in England are easily to be met with; but it is astonishing the slow progress the breed of cattle makes. I perfectly agree with you, that it is not the high price that makes them better; but their value is so well known amongst experienced farmers, that they will neither sell nor let either cow or bull without a good price. To the butcher in Leeds the difference is material; there is not less than five pence per pound difference in the price of meat in the same beast, and it is very common to see two, of seventy stone each, one of which is worth more by six or seven pounds than the other, by having his chief weights in the carcase or middle, as we call it here, such as the crops,* ribs, surloins, rumps, flanks, &c. which are worth at this time nine pence per pound; the coarse parts (which are light in this sort of animal) about four pence: the other sort of beast is very light in all these valuable parts, but heavy in his neck, shoulders, thighs, &c. with a large head, and great bones, and very little fat on any part: it is well known there is this difference in two steers or oxen. I hope it will be allowed, that a valuable bull must be a great acquisition in a neighbourhood. The bull you mentioned weighed one hundred and sixty stone, fourteen pounds to the stone, alive.† Supposed to weigh one hundred and ten stone his four quarters,‡ then three years two months old. He stood on very short, small legs; his breast very great, looks fine; horns the colour of cream; crops, surloins and rumps very flat and quite level, so as that a line would touch them all; his flanks very great, dropping down with the lowest part of his belly. I have a painting of him, which cost seven guineas, and am strongly solicited to have a print. If I can get as many subscribers as will pay for the plate, I will make you a present of one, if you will accept it.

breed

I will take the liberty to relate to you how I came by my of cattle. Six years ago I rented a farm, sixty miles north from

here, in the-North Riding of Yorkshire, where, for a few miles round, including a part of the county of Durham, prevails, without any doubt, the best breed in England. One of the first improving breeders is Mr. James Brown, of Albrough, near Richmond, whom I had the good fortune to get very intimate with, so as not only to improve my breed, but convince me of its great superiority. As a proof of the perfection of his cattle, I give you the following instance to judge of. In November, 1803, I sold six beasts, all of his own breed, then three years and a half old, for two hundred and thirty pounds seven shillings: or thirty-eight pounds eight shillings each. They were slaughtered at Leeds, by Mr. William Arton, and his book will certify, they weighed ninety-four stone each, 14 lbs. to the stone, the four quarters. Their hides were sold for three guineas each. Tallow from nine to ten stone each. This price was rather better than eight shillings per stone, sinking the offal; the general run of the market that day was from six to seven shillings per stone, notwithstanding, the butcher does to this day acknowledge them cheap. There is another great advantage attending the improved breed of cattle, which is, that of easy calving: the cows in general are formed wider in those bones, and the calves have small heads and bones. I have kept thirty cows the last six years, and can say with confidence, I never had any difficulty, and very seldom any assistance to afford them; but where the old breed still prevails, half a village is called together at a cow's calving, and very probably either the one or the other is lost. There is a disorder prevails much here, which is commonly called the milk fever, and numbers of cows die of it. They generally are attacked with it at from four to ten days after calving. I believe it arises from want of proper treatment. The common farrier or cow doctor is sent for, and gives a hot, or what he calls a comfortable drink, which generally terminates with death. I have tried a very simple experiment, for these six years past, as a preventive of this disorder. A few days previously to calving, I give the cows linseed cake, and when calved, give them twice a day, for three weeks, or a month, or till there is no danger of

the disorder taking place. From its coolness and easy digestion, I firmly believe it prevents the disorder. In my number of cows, for the last six years, I have not lost one; and some of my acquaintance, who have taken the trouble to try that experiment, are of the same opinion. I shall find great pleasure if this, or any other remark I have made, be of the least service to you or your Society.

I have the honour to be, Sir,

Your obedient serv't,

Gipton, April 12, 1808.

JOHN NICHOLSON.

James Mease, Esq. Sec'ry to

the Agricultural Society,

Philadelphia.

The following is part of my reply:

From the account you give of your bull, he must certainly have been a noble animal, and his good qualities entitled him to the high price at which he was sold. His breed would be an acquisition in any country. But I still much question whether such a price would be warranted in the United States, except in the new settlements, where the raising of stock is a great object.* The truth is, that if we have not such superior animals, we hap pily have not that bad breed of which you speak, which are difficult to fatten, and that often suffer in calving. Our cattle at four years and upwards, weigh from 500 to 1200, with one wintering on hay, and a summer and autumn grass; and as to cows, it is a very rare circumstance that they require any assistance at calving. In four years, only one of my cows out of eight, experienced any difficulty, and in two calvings since has not had the

* This is a general remark, and true, when applied to the purchase of stock for breed, with an expectation of profit. Individuals in different states, however, have occasionally given higher prices, when anxious to improve. Thus the late Mr. John O'Donnel and Mr. Patterson, of Baltimore, imported a Bull and two Cows from the successor of Bakewell, which cost when landed in America, $2000. Four Cows from Amsterdam cost $602.89. Upon the death of Mr. O'Donnel, the stock were sold, and brought from $150 to $200 per head, at public anction, in Nov. 1805.

least trouble.* The fathers of my farmer and of his wife, who keep many cows, and several others whom I have consulted, that difficult births in cows rarely occur. No medicine agree is given before calving, nor afterwards, unless the cow does not cleanse speedily, in which case it is a general practice to give the same remedy you recommend, viz. flaxseed, but in infusion, with a mess of warm water and bran. How these act, I do not know, unless the genial warmth they excite, causes the separation of the membranes. But the success of them I can vouch for, and it is singular that the same remedy should be resorted to in both

countries.

Our beef of the first quality, off grass, and highly marbled, sells readily for 10d. 11d. and 12d. per lb. and late in the win ter, or in the spring, if stall fed with Indian corn meal, and potatoes (turnips are never used) 14d. 15d. and 22d. are obtained. The great object with the butchers is, to kill cattle which diffuse their fat through the muscles,and our graziers know well the forms that have that disposition, and that thrive quickly. They uniformly refuse to purchase of the drovers the long-legged, narrow rumped animals (which however are now seldom seen) altho' formerly common, and that still go by the name of the "English breed," probably owing to the importation many years since, of the old bad breed you notice, before the improvements had taken place in English stock. With the view of knowing what forms of cattle are in highest estimation in England, our Agricultural Society imported "Scott's prize cattle," and we were surprized to find none of them differ from what we every day see in this state, except in the article of South Down sheep, which we have not. I have myself a pair of working oxen quite as handsome as those represented in Scott's work. Hence we conelude, that the common breed in England must be bad indeed, when such oxen as are common here, carry prizes at Cattle Shows. The fact of the scarcity of good cattle is confirmed by yourself, and it is really singular, that they should not abound, considering the length of time that has elapsed since the spirit of

* Dec. 1810-No difficulty has occurred since the above date.