New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-06-16
THE WAINWRIGHT DEVON SALE.

There could scarcely be required stronger proof
that blooded stock is coming into general favor among
American farmers, than tina, several Of our largest
breeders have adopted the custom Of holding annual
sales auction. They do not hesitate TO commit high
bred animals Of great cost 10 the chances Of the auc
toneer's hammers and it is found that buyers come
from even the remoes parts Of the country in search
of bargains Sometimes the prices realized by the
seller are extremely high, sometimes very low, but
the average at Mr. Alexanders and other sales is sat
isfactory.
The custom of annual sales il, we believe, purely
American. There have been, u is true, hundreds Of
sales made of British herds, and sometimes great
breeder may have sold parcels Of his stock every few
years although we cannot recall such an instance
but the plan Of regularly offering the supusncrea OF
the herd year by year was not, that we are aware,
adopted until the fashion was get in l849 by COL Lewis
G. Morris Of Westchester County.
The first public sale Of blooded stock held in the
United States was that of the herd of the late Charles
Henry Hall Of Harlem, in October, 1880. His cattle
brought prices ranging from $75 to $500, which were
thought remarkably good for that period The expert
ment was duplicated in the Spring of the following
year by Colonel Powell of Philadelphia the pioneer Of
Short.born breeders in country, and most capital
Judge IS stock Col Powells animals did not all find
BUYERS 90 those left over were placed in the hands Of
Charles Baritz of York, TO be managed for the joint
account of himself and the owner. Col. Powell then
sailed for Europe and made disposition of his herd
until 1895. when second auction cleared out the
entire lot.
Col. Morris Who before l8i9 had established a
reputation for skilful breeding and fair dealing, finding
his herd increasing on bis hands too rapidly advertised
first auction sale in the year above named, which
resulted in such manner as to induce an annual repe-
on until 1856 inclusive, in which year nearly all the
balance left over after the SALE sold in one lot to
Samuel Thorne and the Colonel retired from business
Mr.. r. Aiicheson Alexander, in the heart Of the
celebrated Kentucky bluegrass region, has the repu-
taton of being the very prince OF Sborhorn breeders
at the West Our readers will recoect the accounts
of bis farm and his fifth annual sale published in The
TRIBUNE last year. Mr. Alexander, encouraged by
the success of previous American Sales inaugura.ed
the system on his Woodburn farm in 1855, and has
made sale each year subsequently.
Mr.. c. S. Wainwright Of Rhinebeck prominent
breeder Of North Devons whose farm and herd we re-
Gently sketched adopted the plan at much later date,
the sale which we attended Wednesday being only
his third. OF late years considerable demand for
Devons has sprung at the West and we saw at the
shows lat Fall fine representatives from at least q
dozen herds At the South, too, the preaching and
example of Richard Peters and other Devon men have
created popular sentiment in favor Of using Devons
on the scanty pasturage Of the plantations The blood
of Mr. Wainwright's Devons has been already mingled
with that of other herds in fifteen different States, and
il was expected that his name and the fame of his
stock would have attracted many buyers to Z" The
Meadows on Wednesday. Such was not the result
however, and the greater part of the stock put up was
withdrawn for want of bidders. To our mind two rea-
sons for this want u present themselves The
occurrence Of several other stock auctions on the same
day. and dread Of the cattle disease. There can be
no doubt whatever that the Western and Southern
Devon men who might have attended with view to
purchasing, unwisey COMPOUNDED the banks OF the
Hudson with the banks of the Connecticut, in one
great infected district and lost the chance Of making
fine bargains. There can be no greater folly than to
suppose the pleuro-pneumonia has stolen marchbe-
yond the sanitary cordons of Massachusetts, and got to
the blooded stock of NewYork. To say nothing Of the
hundreds of miles which separate the districts the
utter and entire absence OF any serious disease what
ever from every breeding herd in this State with which
we are acquainted makes it foolish in the extreme for
distant breeders TO avoid New York sales. They are
not 70 sbrewd as they should be- if they allow them
selves TO be cheated out of bargains for any such
reason.
AT the appointed hour on Wednesday, company Of
about sixty persons had collected at Mr. Wanwrght's
place to attend the sale. The greater part OF these
were from the surrounding country, and were mainly
wealthy country gentlemen Three or four Devon
men from North Carolina and one from Western New
York were the only possible buyers on the ground, il
we except two who were represented in the memo
randa of orders written Oh paper which Mr.. Kelly
held in his hand.
Before proceeding to business, the company were
invited to the haybarn to discuss cold luncheon
spread on the two long tables which had been extern
ported for the OCCASION and certainly if we may infer
from the way in which the rounds of beef and hams
suffered there must have been present judges of beef
cooked, if not buyers of beef on foot.
The ring had been made, unwifely we think, in an
open pasture SO situate that buyers exposed to
the full force of the MONDAY sun, and the change to
the shade of wide spreading willow in the avenue
nearer the stables was welltimed The services of Mr.
j. r. Page the artist farmer had been secured for the
occasion as auctioneer and in due time he mounted
grassy knoll beneath the willow and called the first
lot, which was Helena 9Th, beautiful three-yeas-od
COW, sired by May boy, an imported Turner bull She
has the peculiarly OF her family of carrying out the
rump and has touch of good quality. There seemed
no disposition to purchase her. however, and after
few minutes of Intellectual appeals from Mr. Page she
was withdrawn
Helena 18th, ar other Omar calf, but ont OF H. "a,
was then put up Der dam sold at ears old for
$780, and it was confidently expected that her younger
daughter would have brought fair price, but Mr..
Kelys bid of $3.50 was topped by only few los and
o. and he got her at last for $780, for Mr. hcCutcheon
of Louisiana II s proper TO remark that MIR. VAIN