Middletown transcript., 1874-10-10

the same blood, and bred with hin
until 1849. His herd was sold in 1851
, to Lord Ducie, who died three years
afterwards, and the stock was agair
sold in 1851. At this last sale por.
ton of the herd of the duchess" and
"Oxford" strains, were purchased by
Mr.. Thorne of Duchess County. New
York, Mr.. Lewis G.. Morris and others,
who again sold them, until finally Mr..
Campbell became the proprietor Of this
famous Importation. and their progeny.
You all well remember how in 1873
the prices that seemed fabulous were
paid at Mr.. Campbell's public sale, and
S46, 500 given for a single duchess, F"
and nearly as much for others-to 60
back to England.
Now, the men who pay these prices
are not wild enthusiasts, but long head
ed men, with full knowledge of the val
ue of money, and they bought some
thing they knew was good bargain
What was it
They secured breed of cattle Capable
Of indefinite increase in numbers) which
gave them, in two years time, matured
COW for milk, and at three steer full
grown for market Each with a full
ness of flesh all over the body, with
choice flesh where common cattle have
none, or else mere offal; an animal, in
short, whose head. tail and feet being
severed, was left square piece Of solid
beef with no waste, comparatively.
They not only thus save two years in
bringing their stock to an early and
profitable maturity, and obtain an
animal vastly superior in size, weight
and quality Of meat, but they also claim
that these cattle are less feeders for their
weight than common stock.
Thus it is seen what quick an
generous return is made to the breeder
for the cost in care and money of the
outlay.
And fine as are the English short
horns, we know that in this country
they are closely riv.lled by the milk
and beef giving qualities oftbe Holstein
breed-a most important and valuable
contribution to onr Dairy farms
Now for all these cattle mild climate
and level and gently undulating
country, such as we have in this PENN
sula, offers the best home for successful
breeding rough and bleak country
will not answer.
l cannot but believe that capital and
care would be wisely ventured in this
direction by many whose faces | see
before me-
HORSES
And what has not careful Sc
lectioDa and breeding accomplished
with the horse? Let us consider this,
because the success of your association
will depend much upon its attracti0e-
ness, and what is SO attractive as an ar
ray Of really fine horses
The effect upon the character Of a COM
munity in possessing really fine stock
of horses. is Of great moment, not as
question only of utility and pecuniary
value, but of sentiment.
Look at the money value of time a.
lone, and see how it is saved by swift
horse The aggregate of minutes which
swell to hours, and those rolled up at
the end of year, make SO large frac-
tion of the whole
A man lives FIVE miles from his
Bank or post-ofice, and drives sleepy
drudge that distance in one hour, while
his neighbour slips by in lively gait
in half the time, or less, and this trip
is made three times a week. until in a
year, 1856 hours have been saved by
clever roadster, being really equal to
the business hours of more than three
entire weeks.
The contemplation of the beauty and
high spirit of horse is pleasure Of
high order, not merely innocent but ell
evating, and Abd-el-Kader, the Arab
Chieftain, wrote of what he knew when,
in his letter to General Daumas. he de-
scribed 1.-THE high moral qualities of a
horse" We are creatures Of imitation
and may improve even by centemplat-
ing the virtues of horse, such q one
as have seen described -
As patient as he is courageous,
As enduring as he is fleet,
As useful as he is ornamental.
Strong at the plough,
Untiring on the road,
Vigorous, hardy, and cheerful,
An honor to his race,
And credit to his owner.
Does it not seem impossible that
man could harbor mean, unworthy
thoughts whilst in such company?
We can have just such horses by a
proper degree Of development and i'm
provement in breeding; and to secure
steady improvement, intelligence and
constant care are requisite. In some
countries the State assumes this duty, |
but under our system, it fortunately
is left to individual enterprise. The
finest horse in the world, to-day, is the.
English thoroughbred, and short-ref-
erence to the history Of his progress to
his present excellence may be useful
and interesting When the invasion |
Of England was threatened by the
Spanish armada. in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, there were only three thous-
and horses in the kingdom. which could
be collected for cavalry, and this use
of them produced the most serious in
terruption in the internal traffic of the
country.
Fortunately. on board the Spanish
ships were numbers of Andalusian
Horses intendes for cavalry by the in
vader, which, however, being captured
by the victorious Admirals Drake and
Howard. furnished an excellent and
much need infusion, by which the Eng
lish stock of horses was greatly improv-
ed. There were also importations of
horses in the reign of Charles I'd, and
racing was practiced, but the fountain