Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 February 1869 — Agricultural and Domestic. [ARTICLE]

Agricultural and Domestic.

The tliitftis Bretdg'V Cattle. |Kliiilb« Aitrrinm #Jt*Vo4m2.\ We cannot any what might have been the original type of many of.<mh dt*roe»tic animals, tor the inquiry wojjkl c*iry a* beyond any history or tradittwi regarding would doubt that all our varieties of tWdrtvfse', the ox, sheep, and fchs sprang originally,.from a iqngie type, and that the countless varieties are due to causes connected with their domestication. Of those reclaimed within the period of memory may be named the turkey. This was unknown to the inhabitants of the old con tinent until discovered here in a tfftd State. Since then, having been domesticated and widely disseminated, it uoiv offers varieties of wide departure from , the original type, and which having been nurtured into self sustaining breeds/ distingHtshed from ench otlrer by the |>ossessiuM of peculiar cliarayteristics. Among what are usufally reckoned the more active causes ot variation may I** named climate, food. mxilluduL .Auiitiala in cold climates are provided with a thicker covering of I^4- than in warmer om-s. Ind eed it is said that in someof the tropical provinces of South America there are cattle which have an extremely rare and fine fur in place of the ordinary pile of hair. Various other instances could be cited, if uecanary, going to show that a benificent Creator has implanted, in many animals, to a certain extent a. power of accommodation to the circumstances and conditions amid which they are reared. The supply of food, whether abundant or scanty, is one of the most active causes of variation known to be within the control -of man. For illustration of its effect let us suppose two pairs of twin calves, as nearly alike as possible, and let a male and female from each pair he suckled by their mothers until they wean themselves and be fed always after with the most nourshing food; and the others be fed with skimmed milk, hay tea, and gruel, at-first, to * tie put to grass at two months old, and subsequently fed on coarse innutritious sod der. Let these be bred from separately, and the same style of treatment kept up, and not many generations wcftild elapse l>efore we had distinct varieties or breeds, differing materially in size, temperament, nnd time of coming to maturity. Suppose other rindiwi* p»tts and one from each to be placed in the richest blue-grass pastures in Kentucky, or in the fertile valley of the Tees, always supplied with abundance of rich fijgjffe These live luxuriently, grow rapidly, increase in height, bulk, thickness,every Vfhy* they early reach the full wlikli thev are. canaldaf’iiL

uttaiuing; liaviug nothing to induce exertion, they b'Tome inactive, lazy,'lethargic andfift. Heiug bred from, the progeny resemble the parents, “only lnoye so." Each generation ac quiring more firmly and fixedly the characteristics induced by their situation, these become hereditary, nnd we, b} r and by, have a breed exhibiting somelvbat of the traits of the Teeswnter or Dui lvaiue, from which the improved shbrt-horns o^the present day have been reared. The others we will suppose to have been placed on the billaides of Naw. England, or on the barren isle of Jersey, or on t bp highlands of Scotland, or in the pastures of Devonshire. 'These Iteing obliged to roam longer for a scantier repast, grow slowly, develope their capabilities in regal'd to size not only more slowly, but, perhaps nos fulljK at all. They become morfe active in temperament and habit, t hinner and flatter in muscle. Their young cannot bo soon shift fojr themselyes, and require ittbre milk and the dams yield if. Each generation in it* turn aatire'follYaod completely adapted to the circumstances amid which they are reared: and, if bred indisa; « • ’ j W* -fi r -a* J _ U S KtP , Wr i V -4 WI V liit>ff 'iftlfipL'yp ‘ Gy Hfin

ed natives: or, if kept more 1 disfl6dtU(ra laite. Bvuicthing. approaching the Devon, the Av or the Jersey breeds. A due consideration of the* natural effect of climate nnd food is a j>oint worthy the special atteniiqnof the stock husbandman. ’ff'the breeds employed be well adapted to the situation, and the capacity of j the soil is sack as to feed them fully, profit may be. safely caU culated upon. Animals are to be looked upon ns machines fi>r converting herbage into money. Now, it costs a certain amount to keep up the motive |Kriver-of any machine, and also to- make goml the wear and tear incident to its working; and in the case of animals it is only so mtich as is digested, and assimilated in nddtfio)i to the amount thus required which is converted into meat, milk, or Avdofl; that the greater the proportion which the latter bhirß to the former, the greater will be the profit to be realized from keeping them. In many Section there exists a prefei-ence for cattle ot large size; and if they possess symmetry and all other good qualities commensurate with the size, and if plenty of nutritious food can be supplied, there.is an advantage gained by keeping such, for it costs less, other thmys heiny equal to shelter and caee for one animal than for two. Hut if the pastures and meadows are not of the richest, and we select such as reipiire, iu order to give the profit which they are capable of yielding, more or richer food than oitr farms can supply, or than we have tilt- means to purchase, we nr. st uecessarily".fail to reap as much profit as we might by the selection of such as could be easily fed upon home resources to the {mint of highest; profit. Whether the selection be of such as are either larger or smaller tlian suit our situation, they will, and equal in both cases, vary by degrees toward the fitting size or type for the locality in which they are kept; but there is tins noteworthy difference, that if thehugoyjfcnetdSf bgftught in, thSgJr will not only diminish,-but deteriorate, while, if smaller ,be brought in, they will enlarge and improve. The bestowal ot food sufficient both ill amount and quality to enable animals to develop alt the excellencies inherent in them, aud to obtain all the profiit to be'derived from them, is something very distinct In m undue forcing .or pampering. This process may produce wonderful animals to look at. but neither useful htic. profltable ones, and there is dariggr of thus producing a most uudesirble variation; for, as in plants, we find that forcing, pampering, high culture, or what ever else it may be called, may be carried so far as to reult in the production of double flowers, (an unnatural dev e lop *fsamnci with greater or less inability to perfect seed; so in animals the same process may be carried far enough to produce sterility. Fish.— ln boiling salt fish—as cod—previously soak it six hours fort Wo pounds, changing the water until fresh. Set & then upon the fire, where it will gradually heat and simmer gently. When nearly ready to serve let it come to a boil, then take it and serve with drawn butter or egg sauce. . •' OftFORD Cookies. —Six cups of Hour, two of sugar, one of butter, oue of cream, and one teaspobnful of saleratus. Rub the butter into the flour', and then add the other ingredients. 801 l very thin and bake in a 6low oven. —lndiana i 8 the second greatest corn growing State in the Union. In 1862 she produced 80,332,000 bushels, 10,975,000 bushels iu excess of 1867. V - » .. -> W ■ . ■ •»»#-• ‘ - Goon Doughnuts. —Three eggs, oue cup of sugar, one cup of cream, one teaspoonful of soda, salt and nutmeg.