History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 51

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company
Number of Pages: 776

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" As the county became more settled up new arrivals from stock-growing districts brought their cattle with them, fully awake to the importance of good cattle, and satisfied that here was a place where they could be grown to great advantage. These men kept up their

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stock by bringing more as they were needed, and in many cases did not hesitate to obtain them from a considerable distance, generally the locality where they formerly resided. To such men as these, full of energy and awake to the possibilities of a new country, who were content to wait years to reap their re- ward, and were not discouraged if the im- mediate benefits were not great; who could withstand the opposition of their short-sight- ed neighbors, we owe our present improved stock of beef cattle.

" The short-horns were the breed of cattle most extensively used in improving our beef cattle. Devons were introduced to some extent, but they finally gave place to short-horns. The short-horn cross on the native cattle was such an obvious improvement, and the pure bred ones such fine looking animals, that no effort was made to try other breeds, as this one so nearly satisfied all, and was more easily ob- tained. I do not know of a Hereford ever being owned in the county up to the present time.

" Polled cattle have been introduced lately, and are very popular with some people. They can never be subjected to as severe a test as an improved breed in this county as the short- horns were, because the average quality of our cattle on which they are to be crossed is so far ahead of the stock on which the short- horn was crossed with such marked success. So far the polls are all black, being either Galloway or Angus.

" The first lot of these polls was brought to this county by A. L. Stevenson, of La- moille, in April, 1882. They were brought from Canada, and were mostly grade Angus, only a few being full-blooded.

"In October, 1882, a shipment of twenty heifers and one bull of the Galloway breed were landed at Quebec, direct from Scotland. These were imported by I. H. Norris, of

Lamoille, and after the usual quarantine, arrived at his farm. They were a strange sight to most of the people, as they saw them for the first time, with their long, shaggy hair and hornless heads, their jet black color in decided contrast to the snow; and their gen. eral appearance was so different from the cattle usually seen here.

" In February, 1883, Charles Woods, of La- moille, got a few Galloway cattle from Michi- gan, mostly grades. This made Lamoille the center of polled cattle for the county, and when, a year after receiving his first, Mr. Norris received twenty-three Galloway calves direct from Scotland, he took the lead in polled cattle for the county. They are a new thing, and as yet but little tried, and their special merits in this prairie country are not yet known. Their friends are very enthusiastic and predict a bright future for their favorites.

"So far as I can ascertain, the first pure bred short-horns were brought to this county by Evan Ogan, from Greene County, Ohio, in 1848. This was only two years after the publication of the first volume of the Ameri- can Short-horn Herdbook, and pedigrees were not so carefully kept then as later, and it is not much to be wondered at though greatly regretted that the pedigrees of this lot were lost. It may have been for the common good that such was the case, as without pedigrees their value was materially lessened, and people could afford to own them who might not have been able to own the same cattle with pedigrees. Then, too, they stood on their individual merit, and were sought after and kept for their superior qualities, and their worst enemies could not say pedigree was all there was to them. They were good representatives of the breed as it existed then, and their descendants are still owned and highly valued in the same neighborhood

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where they first arrived. They still furnish some of the best cattle that go from here to the beef-markets. About 1856 he returned to Ohio and brought out six head of pedi- greed cattle, which he kept here until about 1870, when he went to Missouri and took most of his cattle with him.

" Ira P. Evans purchased of J. N. Brown & Sons, Berlin, Ill., a bull, in 1854, and the same year or the year following purchased several heifers of the same firm.

" The same year William Cummings, of Buda, purchased a bull, and has used thor- oughbred bulls ever since.

" In 1863 Owen Lovejoy, of Princeton, pur- chased two heifers and a bull, of Alexander, of Kentucky. The bull was by the imp. Duke of Airdrie (12730), and one of the heifers was recorded, the other was not. Before this Mr. L. had kept Devons. These Kentucky cattle were sold at the sale, and the stock remained in the neighborhood.

" In 1864 William Norris, of Arlington, pur- chased three registered cows of J. N. Brown & Sons, which formed the foundation of his present herd. He had used short-horn bulls a few years before. This is the oldest herd now kept in the county, and at the pres- ent time contains more thoroughbred cattle than any other herd in the county.

" In 1869 Mr. Norris purchased of F. W. Stone, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 3d Grand Duke of Moreton 8252. This bull proved very prepotent, and at one time the number of his sons used as sires in the county far excelled those of any other bull. They were prepotent like their sire, and it can be safely said that this bull did more to improve the general grade of cattle than any other ever owned in the county. His sons and grand- sons were universally extra beef animals.

" The original stock increased, and additions were made by purchase, new bulls being

required every few years, and cows were added to raise the standard of breeding in the herd. Some of these cows were of noted stock. Among them might be mentioned Miss Maggie, a daughter of the famous Miss Wiley cow, Duchess of Clark; Geneva's Beauty, by 5th Duke of Geneva (33645); Sidonia 5th, by imp. Grand Duke of Thorn- dale, 2d (31298); and her daughter, by Duke of Oxford, 38th (38172); a Renick Rose of Sharon, and others from some of the best herds.

"Among the bulls used on the herd, the Young Mary bull, Kentucky 44074, was one of the best. He was bred by Vanmeter and Hamilton, Kentucky, sired by 20th Duke of Airdrie 13872, and is nearly related to the cow, Young Mary Duchess 2d, sold by A. L. Hamilton, Kentucky, June 11, 1884, for $2,275.

" The last purchase was the imp. Oxford bull, Baron Oxford, of Niagara 42811. He comes of royal stock, and from the Bates standard, he is the best bred bull ever owned in the county; and but few of his family are owned in the State.

" This herd now contains over 150 head, all females but about twenty.

" In 1865, B. Vantress, of Malden, purchased a thoroughbred bull, and the next year a cow, which formed the foundation of a herd. He has been a breeder ever since, and while his herd has never been very large (comprising at present about thirty head), it has contained some noted animals, and Mr. V. has shown much enterprise in obtaining good cattle, and the stock he raised has done much to improve the cattle of the county. The Princess, bull, Prince Oxford 53317, heads his herd.

" In 1869 William Cummings, of Buda, pur- chased a few cows of Robert Otley, Kewanee, mentioned above, and C. B. Price, of Ottawa, which formed the foundation of his herd,

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HISTORY OF BUREAU COUNTY.

which at present numbers seventy- eight head, and is headed by Earl of Richmond (29480); (a Crnickshank bull); Viscount Booth and Major Bly, 3d. They have shown their cat- tle at local fairs more perhaps than anyone else in the county, and notwithstanding they have competed with herds from a distance, and even from different States, have been successful in winning many prizes, show- ing that our county has as good cattle as others. He owns the famous show cow Con- quest 2d, A Young Phyllis, bred in Ken- tucky, and winner of over $2,300 in. prizes.

" In the fall of 1873 Dr. Winter, of Prince- ton, purchased two thoroughbred cows and a bull calf, and in Angust, 1874, purchased the entire herd of Dr. J. M. Irvine, Sharon, Penn., consisting of nineteen head, lead by the Lady Elizabeth, bull, Clay Muscatoon 11517, bred by William C. Vanmeter, Ken- tucky. He proved to be a remarkably fine breeding bull, and laid the foundation of the present standing of the herd. In 1876 he purchased of George Murray, Racine, Wis., the bull Mayflower 10469, noted among short- horn breeders as one of the best breed- ing and show bulls. His get have brought as high as $1,650 at public sale. Mayflower raised the character of the herd very much. The Princess bull '2d Duke of Mt. Zion 29303', was used on the herd with good result. In 1882 he purchased the imp. Wild Eyes bull, 'Wild Duke of Geneva, 14th,' a pure Bates bull, and his calves are proving very fine. Anyone breeding Bates cattle might well be proud of owning such a bull. Of his cows he has more Young Marys than any other family, and prizes them highly. Among his other cows are a well-bred Vel- Ium, a Hilpa, Butterfly's Duchess, etc. Dr. Winter owned imp. Maid of Honor, the prize cow at the Centennial, for several years, but

she left him no produce. His herd now numbers seventy-five head.

" The Pleasant Ridge stock farm herd, owned by J. W. Aldrich, of Arispe, was founded by Verry Aldrich, in 1874. It now numbers twenty-eight head. The imported Victoria heifer, from the herd of Amos Cruickshank, Lyttiton, Scotland, together with the bull Viscount (35894), from the same place, were perhaps the best animals brought into the herd. Viscount was a very fine breeding bull, and was followed in the herd by Royal Duke of Pleasant Ridge 36889, one of his get, improving the stock very much.

" George M. Betz, of Mendota, has a herd of about seventy-five animals, headed by the Gwynne bull Nigel 46653.

" John R. Paden, Ohio, has a herd of nine head, and Webb Bros., of Buda, one of twenty two head, reported in the Directory for 1884 of the Illinois Short-horn Breeders' Association.

" There are many others who keep a few short-horns, and still others who have been prominent breeders and dealers, but have since gone out of the business. A list of these is necessarily incomplete. Among them are: John Shugart, Elijah Dee, P. R. Shugart, A. C. Boggs, H. C. Reasoner, W. C. Henderson, H. C. Hield, Princeton; Jo. Brigham, S. P. Clarke, Dover; J. Benedict, John Fields, Arlington; B. Kirk, M. Dewey, A. J. Hains, Ohio; V. O. Cresap, Lu. Long, Van Orin; Samuel Hills, H. L. Pick- ering, Lamoille, and George Otley, of Nepon - set, who once owned the best bred and high- est priced herd in the county, but these were sold a few years ago, and but few of them remained in the county."

[The above notes on improved stock were furnished by W. L. Norris of Arlington. ]

I. H. Norris and his daughter, Mrs. Ken-

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dall, imported, in 1882-83, two droves of world-wide celebrated Galloway cattle. These were the first importation of this breed into the county, and there is not much doubt already but they will at once take front rank among the cattle breeders. The short-horns, the polled Angus and the Galloways are now the great leading favorites in the world, and while the Galloways are the last to come here, they certainly are destined not to re- main the least. They take their name from Galloway County, Scotland, where they have been reared for centuries. The distinguish- ing marks of these cattle are: The color is black, with brownish tinge; head short and wide, without the slightest symptoms of horns or scurs; hair soft and wavy, with mossy undercoat; wiry or curly hair is objectionable. Quite a controversy is now raging in En- gland over the comparative value of the polled Angus and the Galloways. Of the latter it is conceded they are the thriftiest and hardi- est cattle in the world. Centuries of growth upon the bleak hills of Scotland, upon a stubborn soil and in a severe climate, and without stabling, they seem to combine qual- ities that have never before been equalled.

It is mainly as a beef-producing breed that the Galloways have made a name for them- selves. The quality of their beef is very similar to that produced by the West High- land and polled Aberdeen-Angus breeds, and is exceptionally good. Indeed, the beef of these varieties ranks as "prime Scots" in Smithfield and the other leading British fat markets, where it sells higher than that of the other breeds. Its superiority arises from he fact that it is well marbled, the fat being well intermixed with the lean. The Druid- the celebrated H. H. Dixon, author of the Royal Agricultural Society of England's Prize Essay on Short-horns, 1865, says: " There is no better or finer mottled beef in

the world than the Galloway and Angus, and so the Smithfield prices show." To a similar effect Mr. M'Combie, the well known polled Angus breeder testifies: "There is no other breed worth more by the pound weight than a first-class Galloway." Joseph Hill, butcher, Wigan (England), who has been fifty years in the trade, says: "As a beef-producing breed there are no cattle in my opinion equal to Galloways. The quality is superior to any I ever killed, and the offal more profita- ble. I have been fifty years in the trade, and always found Galloway cattle second to none." Thomas Burrell, cattle salesman, London, says: "I can safely say that no breed of cattle in the London market fetch more per pound than Galloways when they are prime fat." John Gibbons & Sons, cat- tle salesmen, Liverpool, say: "Galloway cattle have always been in great favor with butchers in our market, being full of flesh, and having good offal. When fat no beef commands a higher price per pound." John Cross, butcher, Warrington, says: "It is my opinion that Galloway cattle are the best butchers' beasts, both as regards quality of beef and proportion of offal. They are with- out doubt what is wanted at present-beef, not bone and fat." These testimonies borne by breeders, feeders, cattle-salesmen and butchers are sufficient to show that the beef produced by Galloway cattle cannot be ex- celled in any point of view. In respect of proportion of dead to live weight, Galloways kill unusually well. Butchers who purchase the best class of matured Galloways state that they estimate them to dress about 60 per cent of their live weights, which, we need not say, is above the average of other breeds. Exceptionally good animals yield even a higher percentage. A feeder a few years ago sold a Galloway heifer, two years nine months old, whose live weight was 1,690 pounds, and

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her dead weight 1,120 pounds, that is, up- ward of 66 per cent of beef.

The Galloways are wintered in the open air. As the Druid in his Field and Fern said: "The sky and the hills of the glen are their only winter shelter; and however deep the snow may be they are kept out in the field." This plan has been pursued from time immemorial. Aiton, writing in 1810, says: " The calves are allowed the shelter of a byre in the night time and some fodder during the first winter, but are turned out and only get a little straw or hay in some shel- tered place in time of snow in after winters." This system is pursued not from scarcity of house accommodation, but of deliberate choice by farmers who could conveniently give them the shelter of a roof. The induce- ment is not to save labor in attendance upon them, but it has been found from very length- ened experience that from their hardy consti- tution, and being inured to exposure, they are not only able to stand the severities of the climate, but that they thrive better and make more progress during the succeeding summer and autumn when wintered in the open air than under cover. The uniform testimony of experienced persons is that if two lots of Galloway cattle are wintered, the one in the house and the other outside -- each lot being fed on the same diet, not only dur- ing the winter, but also during the summer months-the ones which have had no roof except the sky above them will be decidedly better cattle the following autumn than those which were well housed during the winter. As the Druid put it, "Capt. Kennedy's ex- perience is to the effect that unsheltered bul- locks come to hand quicker in the spring than if they have the shed option." In Au- gust, 1883, a lot of Galloway steers, eight- een months old, were sold in Wigtownshire to a Liverpool cattle salesman for grazing

purposes at £25 (120 dollars) each. Unfort- unately they had not been put on the scales, so that we cannot give their weight, but, ex- cept for two months after they were calved, they had never spent a single night with a roof over their heads.

Galloways are thus able to endure hard- ship arising from exposure to the elements during the severest weather in winter. The temperature in the lower parts of their na- tive province is occasionally very warm in summer, and they stand that extreme equally well. They arestill grazed pretty extensively in some of the warmest counties in England, and no breed there suffers less inconvenience from the heat or makes more progress than they do. It has, indeed, long since been demonstrated, that their vigorous, hardy con- stitutions enable them to stand the fatigue of traveling in very hot weather. At the end of the last century and beginning of this, when annually from 20,000 to 30,000 head were driven on foot from Galloway, a dis- tance of 400 miles, to the southeastern coun- ties of England, it was found that however broiling and trying the heat was, they not only remained fresh and active during the journey, but they invariably improved in con- dition on the road. We may add-what is an important consideration in the case of cows which drop their calves in the open- that newly dropped Galloway calves are hardy, active, and well covered with hair, and, therefore, they can withstand the cold as well as seek their natural food at a very early period. In a very short time after birth " they are up and at it."

Some of the best cattle men in England and in this country fully agree with Thomas Burrell, cattle-salesman, London, when he said: "I find after several years' experience that the cross between the Galloway and short-horn are the best feeders, and they are

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the best cattle in our Christmas market every year."

Milkers .-- This industry has not kept pace with that of raising the beef-producing cattle in this part of the State. We predict this will not always be the case, because this is a natural point for cheese factories and creameries. One of the staple crops here, next to King Corn, is grass; and the luxuriant growth of blue grass will always furnish the best pasturage, and the supply of the purest water can be furnished from wells that will tap an inexhaustible supply of pure water a few feet below the surface, and cheap windmills will keep them flowing crys- tal fountains. It is obvious that here is every essential requirement for the products of the dairy in their best form.

Mr. R. B. Frary, raiser and dealer in reg- istered Jersey stock, of Lamoille, sends us the following on this subject:

" It is now a well estabished fact in the minds of all who have given the subject at- tention that Bureau County is an excellent one for dairying purposes. Careful compari- son of the products with that of the New England States demonstrates that ours is not inferior to theirs. We have all the requisites for making butter fully equal to the best. We have the Jersey cow, a luxuriant growth of rich grasses, and we depend largely on wells and wind-mills for our stock water, and consequently have an abundant supply of pure water, an indispensible article for mak- ing good butter. In about 1874 Deacon Enos Smith, of Maldon, brought into this county a pair of Jersey calves, a bull named Frank, and a heifer, Lillie Bell, from which he raised a choice dairy herd. In 1876 I shipped in from Massachusetts the famous Jersey bull, Bob Muhler (1442), and two cows, and I have made repeated ship- ments since, in all, 120 head. Many of these

animals have been sold to parties, thus form- ing nuclei for dairy herds. Among the pur- chasers were: D. W. Lawrence, of Berlin; J. M. Stultz; Richardson Bros., of Ohio Station; Fredrick Hintz, of Selby; A. L. Steele and M. Bradon, Dover, and Palmer & Foreman, Walnut, and many others. I be- lieve all these would readily testify to the good qualities of the Jersey as a butter-mak- ing cow. And as this has now ceased to be a wheat-growing country, the farmers of ne- cessity have had to turn their attention more to stock-raising; and I see no reason why the raising of a well-known breed of dairy stock should not be as remunerative as the raising of beef breeds or horses. My experience of eight years in handling and raising Jerseys is that a well-bred heifer will command as good price at two years old as a well fed steer will bring at three years old."

Creamery .- The Walnut creamery, but now of Lamoille, was built in 1881 by J. J. McNeil. It is now run by J. J. and W. McNeil. During the past summer season (1884) they manufactured 1,300 to 1,700 pounds of butter daily; this being, we be- lieve, the largest daily yield of any other creamery in the State. At the Lamoille branch during the winter months they man- ufacture butterine.

Cheese Factory .- The Willow Springs Factory, of Indiantown, was originally built by a joint stock company. It was burned in 1880, and rebuilt in 1881 by P. C. Bacon and S. G. Loverhill. They sold to Fosmer & Crofoot, and after running it a short time they sold back to P. C. Bacon, its present proprietor. The capacity of this factory is 10,000 pounds of milk per day, and the whole is so arranged as to easily convert it into a creamery. The products are not shipped away, but are used to supply the lo- cal demand.

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Horses .- " He snuffs the battle afar off; he clothes his neck with thunder," said the sacred songster thousands of years ago. This was the war-horse, more human than his bar- barous master, yet he made his glories mani- fest even to them; and now how true it is that peace hath her victories more renowned than war. The horse is the crowning glory- the fleet-footed, proud-stepping King-of the whole brute creation. He has kept pace with the march of man in the line of civilization. From the degraded pack-horse to the famed war-horse, where he has gained the post of chief mourner, bearing the empty saddle in the procession as his dead rider was carried to his final resting-place, when his country was draped in solemn black, and in the walks of peace has taken his place as still the best and first of man's dumb and faithful slaves and companions, until he has in the markets commanded the highest prices in money val- ue of any other slave, either brute or human. The story of the victories and achievements of the thoroughbred horse are quite as inter- esting and far more instructive than the best constructed romance. The names of Lex- ington, Hambletonian, Flora Temple and Maud S. and many others will not soon be forgotten. Hambletonian for many years yielded his owner $350,000 annually. This is a fact well known to horse-men. The writer will never forget the grand sight he witnessed at the St. Louis fair in 1855, when there were displayed in the ring fifty of the best bred stallions in the country. And among them was Lexington. He was blind and feeble with age, and was led in with a groomsman at each side of his bridle bit. His head was drooped, as were his ears, and those who knew nothing of the horse must have wondered why that old " crow-bait " was led into the ring. But the crowd recog- nized him, and what a cheer went up from

the vast audience. The blind old horse heard the wild cheering, and in a moment his head and ears were up, his nostrils were dilated, and he was Lexington again-upon the track, and ready to dash forward to the goal. What an instantaneous-what a won- derful transformation! And when his noble blood was fired how grand he looked-the very soul of action and strength and endur- ance.

The Blue Grass regions of Kentucky have become celebrated as the natural home of the finest type of the horse. The soil, the grass and the water are the secrets of this great success. Many of our best informed stock- men are convinced that Bureau County pos- sesses every special advantage that may be found in Kentucky for the propagation of thoroughbred stock, horses and cattle espec- ially. And while the business is now in its experimental state, yet its rapid growth in the past few years and the intelligent inter- est that is manifested by the leading meu of the county, plainly indicate a great future is in store here for the stock fanciers. The following is a partial list of the leading breeders of fine horses in the county: Isaac H. Norris, Lamoille; S. P. Clark, Dover; William Norris, Arlington; Dr. W. H. Win- ter, Princeton: James Dunbar, Lamoille; Justus Stevens and J. I. Carpenter, Prince- ton; and Dr. Ezekiel Stitson, Neponset.

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History of Bureau County, Illinois, Part 51

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company Number of Pages: 776

Author: Bradsby, Henry C., [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago, World publishing company
Number of Pages: 776