The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-01-24
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.


IL must be admitted that Just now the
short'horn business resembles II patient
whose physiC has disagreed with him, or
bean. stalk after the first frost has fallen.
Men are too apt TO take n discOuraging
view Of the prospects. Their impressions
come like the fragments Of a routed army
to the point Of rendezvous. The first
that arrive are sure 10 be "all that are
left Of the whole division" BY and by
the saved appear in such numbers as to
make you wonder at the smallnG@ of the
loss. Let there be steadiness all around
Nounduc excitement. No panic. There
have been uslrper5 on the throne. Men
came to be called 4" Sh0rL-horn Kings
when they were not entitled to the name
on the office. Their cattle came to be
called the royal family, when the blood
was no bluer than that Of the otherr
that were not pushed to the front. This,
applied to men, bcgets unhealthfuIncs4
ana allllctiOn. out Of alliCtiOn grows
publication. The physic must pain ere
it gives relief. After frosted leaves we
look for well-flllcd pods Of ripencd seed.
There is no need Of other than a
cheerful outlook for the short-hOrn bust.
ness. The average three year old Texan
steer is worth twelve to twenty dollars
the average native but little more while
the shOrthOrn Of the same age brings
seventy to eighty dollars. The demand
for meat is greater than ever before,
Can 1t be, then, that men are engaged in
furnishing stock to bring up the standard
OF value in our native cattle, OF which
there Is such apparent need, will fail ?
We think not, The failures we now have
TO regret IL the result Of speculation,
pursuit OF false ideas, and the contrac-
ton OF the currency.
lhe effect will be TO level and lower the
prices, which were inflated beyond rca-
sOn. We shall have no more forlv-
thousand'dollar cows, but good ones will
sell for their real value. There will be
no more top lotical h%andsprings into
fortune, and we hope no more disastrous
tumbllng. Lower prices will stimulate
the use OF short-horn cattle. Many are
the farmers who will buy Il hundred.
dollar COW, but could not compass one at
Ave hundred.
Again, the good resulting from the
present break up" will be a ~leveIing Of
good families of short.horns. Men viii
select breeding animals from the famiIie,
that bring the heaviest carcasscs TO the
hooks, whether these be found in the
herds Of II Of the "%cattIe kings" 50
called, or in that Ofsome humble breeder.
There will be a new deal, in which alt
pure bred cattle will have Il show, We
do not mean by this that bad or deficient
pedlgrces will be recognized. The pcdi-
gree must be both true and good. The
animal must be good and of undisputcd
Lineage. There are very many families
That possess these requirements. Some
are better than Others in individual
worth these will of course bring a com
paratlveIy higher price, but will not
hereafter rise TO the unapproachable
fancy To illustrate, take a late sale
where in animal that once sold for 81, 600
brought 800 under the hammer. The
former was fancy; the latter real. Re
action always overdoes what it is meant
to correct. This is the case now. Fine
cattle OF approved breeds are worth more
than they are bringing at present. They
Will improve, but only up to the point
OF real WORTH Farmcts' H0mc bmnaL.