The History of Warren County, Ohio, Part 35

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1081

USA > Ohio > Warren County > The History of Warren County, Ohio > Part 35

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CATTLE.

The cattle of the early settlers were introduced from various quarters, im- migrants from Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky bringing many with them; and it is believed by some that cattle raised by the Indians previous to the first settlements by the whites, were an element in the original or common herds in the West. Of course, they were a heterogeneous collection, yet, in process of time, the stock was assimilated to the locality, acquiring local characteristics, by which the experienced cattle-dealer determined from their general appear- ance the region in which they were reared. The early farmers suffered their cattle to wander through the woods and uncultivated grounds, browsing for their living, and thus some of the native grasses and shrubs were extirpated by being cropped off early in the spring before their flowers and seeds were formed. In winter, the cows were not housed nor sheltered, but found their subsistence at a stack of wheat-straw, or in the corn-field, after husking time; or, at best, were fed twice a day in an open lot with fodder and unhusked corn. The practice, which is still common, of securing the corn before it is fully ma- tured by cutting off the stocks near the ground and stacking it in the field, is said to have originated with the cattle-feeders of Virginia.

Warren County early felt the effects of the interest manifested in different parts of Kentucky and Ohio for the improvement of the stock of cattle. The Shakers, at Union Village, having large landed estates, and more abundant means at their command than any single farmer, took the lead in the intro- duction of improved breeds in all kinds of farm animals. The Patton stock of English cattle, early in this century, doubtless found their way from Ken- tucky to the Miami Valley, and were crossed with the common cattle. Some of the early descendants of the Kentucky importation of English cattle, made in 1817, were brought to Warren County; the long-horns first; afterward, the short-horns. Excellent short-horn cattle continued to be introduced until there is hardly a neighborhood in the county in which more or less of their cross is not found. In 1854, Robert G. Corwin, in connection with the Society of Shakers, made an importation direct from Scotland of fine herds of thoroughbred short-horn cattle. Of late years, the Jersey cows are coming into favor, on ac- count of the richness of their milk, especially in the towns and on farms adjoining the towns.

SHEEP.

Sheep were raised by the early settlers before the wolves had disappeared, and old men still living remember to have seen wolves in pursuit of sheep. The journals of the Shakers show that Merino sheep were introduced on their premises August 2, 1812. Jeremiah Morrow, then a Member of Congress, soon after introduced them into Deerfield Township. The number of sheep in the county continued to increase until about 1850, since which time they have de- creased in numbers.

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

SWINE.

The raising of hogs has proved so well adapted to the agriculture of the county that on almost every farm it has been carried on, and the animal has been' made to serve both as a popular and cheap article of food, and a means of condensing for the market a large part of the extensive crops of Indian corn. Of all domestic animals, the hog comes to maturity quickest, requires least skill and care to handle, and has been most generally relied on in the regions around Cincinnati for domestic consumption and for profit. The fact that the celebrated Poland-China breed of hogs originated in Warren County and attained the development which has given it so high a reputation in the two counties of Warren and Butler, renders a full history of Warren County hogs desirable. The principal authorities which have been followed in the preparation of the following historic account, are the report of Hon. John M. Millikin, of Hamilton, Ohio, to the National Convention of Swine Breeders, held at Indianapolis in 1872, and a paper published in the Western Farmer by Cephas Holloway, the venerable business manager of the Shaker Society at Union Village.

The swine of the early settlers were long and slim, coarse, large boned and long-legged, with erect bristles on the neck and back. They were active and healthy and capable of making heavy hogs, but two years or more were re- quired for them to mature. Until a short time before being butchered or driven to market, they were suffered to run at large in the woods, subsisting as foragers. They were sometimes known as "razor-backs."

Some time during the war of 1812, Col. Thomas B. Van Horne, who was in command at Fort Erie, purchased two Russia pigs, and, carrying them in a basket to Pittsburgh, brought them thence by water to Cincinnati, and raised them on his farm one mile east of Lebanon. About the same period, the By- field breed was also introduced in the Miami Valley. These two improved breeds, the Russia and the Byfield, and, to some extent, the Bedford, were profitably crossed with the common bristle breed.

In 1816, John Wallace, then a trustee of the Shaker Society, visited Phila- delphia on business, and was shown what were called the Big China hogs; he was pleased with them and purchased four hogs, and brought them the same season to Union Village. These four hogs were entirely white, except one, upon which were some sandy spots, in which appeared small black spots. They were represented to be either imported or the immediate descendants of im- ported stock, and are believed to have been the first China hogs in South- western Ohio. Subsequently, other China hogs were introduced. They were extensively raised and crossed with the best breeds then existing, and the prod- uct of these crosses constituted a breed of fine qualities, which was generally known as the "Warren County hog," sometimes as the "Shaker hog." These hogs increased in good qualities and were extensively bred in the great corn- producing regions of Warren and Butler Counties.

The Berkshires were introduced into Warren County in 1835 or 1836, by Mr. Munson Beach, who operated, in connection with his brother, Louis Beach, then a prominent merchant in the city of New York. Subsequently. they made other shipments of the same stock to Warren and Butler Counties. The Berkshires introduced by the Messrs. Beach were generally black, with occasional marks of white, either on the feet, the tip of the tail or in the face. They were muscular, active and round-bodied hogs, and, in most cases, had sharp-pointed, upright ears. Some families, however, were large in size, deep in their bodies, with ears that lopped.

The Irish Grazier breed of hogs was imported direct into Southwestern Ohio by William Neff, Esq., of Cincinnati, about 1839. The Graziers were

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white, with only an occasional sandy spot which appeared about the eyes. Mr. Neff committed some of these hogs to the care of Mr. Anthony Keever, whose farm adjoined the Shaker lands on the south. Mr. Keever was a judicious breeder, and, esteeming the Grazier highly, he bred them and crossed them liberally.

These two breeds-the Berkshires and Irish Graziers-were extensively used in making crosses by the best breeders in Warren and Butler Counties, and, to some extent, in Clinton and Hamilton Counties. Having been care- fully bred and intermixed with the descendants and crosses of the Big China with other breeds, the stock thus produced constituted the true and original basis of what is now known as the Magie or Poland-China hogs.

Many of the most successful breeders of these hogs resided in the vicinity of Monroe, near the Warren and Butler County line. Since 1840, no new blood has been introduced. In 1870, the Illinois Swine Breeders' Association resolved to call these hogs the "Magie breed " (pronounced Magee), from the name of one of the most successful breeders of the stock in Butler County, but Poland-China is now the established name. The first part of this name, how- ever, is a misnomer, as the best authorities agree that there never was a breed of hogs known as the Poland in the Miami Valley, and no Poland cross entered into the formation of the breed. The first part of the name is believed to have originated from the fact that a Polander, residing in Hamilton County, having purchased some of the Shaker or Warren County hogs many years ago, disposed of them to purchasers who named them Poland or Polander hogs. The National Convention of Swine Breeders of 1872 retained this misnomer for the reason that the great mass of breeders so called the breed, and to change a' name generally used is difficult.

These celebrated hogs have been exported from the Miami Valley to many different States and foreign countries. They have been sent to Australia, and, in 1879, received the highest premium at the great stock exhibition of New South Wales.

AGRICULTURE OF WARREN COUNTY IN 1849.

The following is the first general review of the agriculture of the county known to have been made. It was prepared by William R. Collett, Esq., an intelligent farmer, soon after his election as the first Secretary of the County Agricultural Society, in 1849, as a report to the State Board of Agriculture, and is in the form of answers to inquiries by the Secretary of the State Board:

1. Principal Crops .- Corn, wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, clover seed.

2. Wheat .- The usual average product of wheat per acre in this county is from twelve to fifteen bushels. The most approved varieties are Mediterranean, golden straw or Kentucky rock, blue stem, and red-chaff bearded; of these, the Mediterranean is the heaviest, often weighing from sixty-two to sixty-four pounds per bushel, but it is considered inferior to the others for flour, on account of the dark color of its husk or bran.

This variety also ripens earlier than either of the others; the golden straw ripens next. Hitherto the Mediterranean has escaped injury from winter-killing as well, if not better than any other kind-has been less injured by the fly, and has never been affected by rust until the present season. The crop is most liable to injury from rust. The past season all varieties suffered from this cause, and the whole crop of the county is not over half the usual average yield. The most effective manner of preventing rust is to sow a variety that ripens early.

Early sowing, deep covering, and a ridge or uneven and rough surface are considered the best guards against winter-killing. Our farmers used formerly to be satisfied if they had all their wheat in by the 10th of October. Now, many sow in August, and nearly all are done before the 20th of September.

The Mediterranean having suffered but little the past season from rust, and having, notwithstanding the general failure of all the other varieties from this cause, yielded above the usual average of the county, has become a great favorite. Probably one-half of all the wheat sown the present autumn is of this kind. I have cultivated it the past three years, and it has never yielded me less than twenty bushels per acre, nor weighed less than sixty pounds per bushel. The rye complexion of its kernel, and the weakness of its straw, are

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

real objections to this variety, but both may be partly obviated by cutting as soon as the grain is out of the milky stage.

3. Corn .- The usual average yield per acre is forty-five bushels. The crop, this year, has been generally estimated from five to ten bushels below the average, but so far as gathered bas exceeded the expectation of the farmer, and will approach very nearly to an average yield.

Our farmers generally plant what they call the "large yellow," and "large white" corn, having no other generally received distinctive names for the different varieties. There is more yellow corn raised than white. As a whole, the yellow corn ripens earlier, and is more sound and more weighty. The white will yield more to the acre, and is preferred by our housewives for meal. I suppose the aggregate amount grown in the county is about 2,150,000 bushels, and its value $537,500.

4. Oats .- The usual average yield, about twenty-five bushels. A little less the past year. Aggregate of the county is probably 35,000 bushels.

5. Rye and Barley .- Very little rye grown; not so much as formerly. Usual product per acre about eighteen bushels. Winter barley yields from twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre; spring barley half less. Usual price in the nearest market about 60 cents per bushel. The amount sown is yearly increasing.

6. Grass and Hay .- The grasses most approved for meadow, are timothy, and a mix- ture of timothy and clover-the former for horses-the latter for cattle and sheep. For pasture, a mixture of timothy and clover is usually sown; but herd's grass and orchard grass are beginning to be used. Timothy is usually worth $4 to $6, and yields one and one-half tons per acre.

7. Root crops .- Potatoes usually yield from eighty to one hundred bushels per acre. Neshanocks have generally been preferred, but rot badly, and I think are not so good for the table as formerly. I have tried cutting off the tops and application of salt as a remedy for rot, without any apparent effect. Early planting is preferred.

8. Fruit .- The fruit of our county is pretty good; but our farmers exercise too little care and judgment in selecting such kinds as are really good, and adapted to our soil and climate. On the whole there is a gradual improvement.

9. Seeds .- Have no data from which to make any accurate statement. Clover seed is, to a small extent, an article of export. Timothy is not produced beyond the home demand. Very little flax grown.

10. Dairy Products .- There is a growing attention to the production of milk and but- ter for the Cincinnati market. Very little cheese made. No means of ascertaining the amount of butter manufactured. The native cows generally preferred for the dairy.

11. Sheep and Wool .- The books of the Auditor show that there are 28,634 sheep in the county; these would yield at least 3} pounds of wool per head (washed on the sheep's back), worth 25 cents per pound. Total value, $23,262. Decrease in two years, 2,127 head. Merinos preferred-considered hardier than Saxony sheep-fleece heavier. Quality im- proving. Dogs destructive.

12. Pork .- 41,717 hogs were returned for taxation this year; estimating these to aver- age 240 pounds when slaughtered, and to be worth 24 cents per pound, the whole would weigh 10,012,080 pounds, and the total value is $275,332. Our farmers generally feed late, and I have put the average, perhaps, too low. We think our stock as good as, if not better, than that of any other county or State. We have for more than thirty years had what is now called the "Old Warren County stock," which is generally thought to be a mixture of the China and Russia breeds, and on this have crossed the Berkshire, Irish Grazier, and Chester County (Penn.) White.

18. Beef .- No means of ascertaining the facts inquired after under this head. Some few individuals, and also the Society of Shakers in this county, have for several years given especial attention to this branch of business, and find it profitable; and our farmers are slowly learning that it is more profitable, and quite as easy to raise a good animal as it is a poor one. Durhams are preferred.

14. Horses and Mules .- I suppose about 2,000 horses are annually produced in our county, and that about 1,200 are exported. The average value of horses at three years old is about $60.

15. Implements .- Threshing machines have been in use many years, and new kinds with separator and fans attached have recently been introduced and approved. Rollers are coming into more general use. A few are experimenting with wheat drills, and sub-soil plows are beginning to be inquired for, though few have been introduced.

16. Other Improvements .- Have heard of no experiments in the renovation or enrich- ment of soils, but there is, manifestly, increased attention paid to rotation of crops, clover- ing, and preserving and applying barn-yard manure. Under-draining has, within a few years, been resorted to by several of our enterprising farmers for the recovery of their wet lands, and with encouraging results. How this can be done most thoroughly, most perma- nently, and, at the same time, most cheaply, is beginning to be an Important question with many of us, and I hope that by another year we can give our quota of facts having a bear- ing upon these points.

As a strong evidence of progress and prospective improvement, I have the satisfaction

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

of reporting under this head, that we have just now organized a county agricultural society, with most flattering prospects of the general co-operation of our farming population.

17. Mills, etc .- There are thirty-two flouring mills, some of them large; forty-eight saw-mills; four woolen factories; two paper mills; four distilleries; one oil mill.

The greater part of our surplus production reaches the Cincinnati market, which is about thirty miles distant from the center of our county. Part is conveyed by the Little Miami Railroad, which passes through the east and southeast portions of the county, and part goes by the Miami Canal, which cuts the northwest portion of it; not a little also is transported thither by wagons, over turnpike roads. Recently, corn has been shipped northward by canal, and a few live fat hogs have been sent by railroad to Boston. Our wool is mostly sold or traded to our dry goods merchants, who ship it to Philadelphia.

COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY AND FAIRS.

Previous to the organization of the Warren County Agricultural Society, in 1849, several exhibitions of agricultural and mechanical products were held at Lebanon. One of these, which was announced as the first Warren County Fair, was held November 15, 1839, in Osborn's Grove, east of the town; others were held at the foot of Broadway. These exhibitions were not large, but they did something to awaken the spirit of improvement.

The Warren County Agricultural Society was organized at a meeting held in the old Town Hall at Lebanon, December 1, 1849, the call for which had been published in the Western Star and the Buckeye Mercury. About seventy persons paid $1 each to constitute themselves members. A constitution was adopted and the following persons were elected as officers: President, Ezra Car- penter; Vice President, Isaac Evans; Treasurer, William Eulass; Secretary, William R. Collett; Managers, Jacob Egbert, James M. Roosa, Edward Noble, George Kesling and William B. Strout. A committee of four persons in each township was appointed to solicit members, and John A. Dodds was appointed delegate to the State Board of Agriculture.

The first annual fair of the society was held on the farm of John Osborn, one-half mile east of Lebanon, on September 26 and 27, 1850, and was deemed a respectable exhibition. The total receipts of the society reported after the close of this fair were $354.50, of which sum $214 had been received from membership fees, $25 were donated by the Shaker Society and $115.50 were received from the County Treasury. The second annual fair was held on the same grounds, September 9 and 10, 1851. In 1852, the society leased ten acres of ground from Robert G. Corwin, Esq., for fair purposes, and built & tight board-fence, eight feet high, around five acres of the same, and erected within the inclosure a frame building, eighty feet by twenty-four feet. The first fair on these grounds, which constitute a part of the present fair grounds, was held on September 22 and 23, 1852, and was more largely attended than either preceding exhibition. An admission fee of 15 cents was charged for all persons not members of the society. The price of single admission tickets was afterward raised to 25 cents, and later, to 50 cents.

Addresses were delivered at the fairs in 1851 by Robert G. Corwin, Esq .; in 1852, by Judge John Probasco; in 1854, by Dr. John Locke, then a resi- dent of Lebanon, and, in 1855, by John M. Millikin, Esq. The annual addresses were afterward discontinued. In 1858, the society reported a mem- .bership of 1,300, twenty-two acres of ground, leased for seven years, with im- provements thereon worth about $2,000. At the fair of 1857, $800 were awarded in premiums, the largest of which was $30 for the best-conducted ex- periment of one-eighth of an acre of Chinese sugar-cane, with the product in sugar or molasses. A premium of $25 was awarded to R. C. Fuller, of Frank- lin, for the best "Essay on the mode of cultivating and managing farms in this vicinity so as to produce the largest profits on investments in land." On May 13 and 14, 1856, a horse fair was held, at which there were 175 entries

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

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of good horses from Warren and adjoining counties. In 1872, Theodore Thompson, of Franklin Township, received the premium for the best five acres of wheat-number of acres, thirteen and one-third; number of bushels pro- duced, 400; average per acre, 30 bushels; the soil was Great Miami bottom.

The society now owns the fee of thirty acres, and has erected many struct- ures thereon. Fairs have been held every year since the organization of the society, excepting two years while the civil war was in progress. Public in- terest in the annual fairs has constantly increased. The total receipts of the fair of 1850 were $354; of 1855, $544; of 1870, $3,000, and of 1880, $5,000. For several years past, from $2,500 to $3,000 have been paid annually in pre- miums, more than one-third of which has been for fast horses. The following figures are taken from the Secretary's report of the fair of 1881:

No. Entries.

Premiums

Offered.

Premiums

awarded.

Cattle-Short Horns.

$ 67 00

$ 12 00

Devons.

91 00

84 00

Thoroughbreds.

52 00

33 00

Horses-Thoroughbreds.

52 00

89 00

Roadsters. .

76 00

66 00

General Purpose

220 00

207 00

Draft.

116 00

84 00

Speed.

1,405 00

1,015 00

Sheep.

124 00

85 00

Hogs.

147 00

Poultry.

148

180 50

47 00

Mechanical Arts.

149

838 50

197 00

Farm Products-Grains, Seeds, Vegetables, Butter, Cheese, Cakes, etc ..

278

171 25

117 25

Horticulture and Floriculture-Fruits.

120

86 00

57 50

Flowers. Pickles, Canned Fruits,

91 50

76 50

Jellies, etc.

634

100 00

92 50

Fine Arts.

188 75

97 50

Textile Fabrics.

816

192 00

129 50

Non-enumerated.

23 50

18 50

Total.

2,184

$8,695 00

$2,565 25

The following is a list of the names of the chief officers of the Warren County Agricultural Society from its organization until 1881:

Year.

President.

Vice President.

Secretary.

Treasurer.

1850

Ezra Carpenter

Isaac Evans

William R. Collett. . William Eulass.

1851

Ezra Carpenter.

. .

Robert Wilson

William R. Collett ..

G. W. Stokes.

1852

Ezra Carpenter.

Robert Wilson

J. P. Gilchrist.

G. W. Stokes.

1853

J. P. Gilchrist.

Robert Wilson.

H. M. Stokes.

John Simonton.

1854

Joseph Anderson.

A. P. O'Neall.

H. M. Stokes.

John Simonton.

1855

William R. Collett. . James M. Roosa.

William F. Parshall .. Edward Noble.

1856

William R. Collett. . James M. Roosa

William F. Parshall .. Edward Noble.

1857 Ezra Carpenter.

A. P. O'Neall.

William F. Parshall .. Jacob Koogle.

1858 Ezra Carpenter

Benjamin Potter.

William F. Parshall .. Jacob Koogle.

1859 Jacob Egbert.

R. G. Corwin

A. E. Stokes

J. M. Roosa.

1860 Jacob Egbert.

J. M. Roosa.

A. E. Stokes. .

J. M. Roosa.

1861 Jacob Egbert.

A. E. Stokes.

Silas W. Egbert ...

A. E. Stokes.

1862 Ezra Carpenter

Samuel Steddom.

George W. Frost ..

John Thompson.

1863 Jacob Egbert.

L. G. Anderson.

George W. Frost.

William F. Parshall.

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24 00

4 00

Mules and Asse8.

41 00

Any other Breed.

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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.

Year

President.

Vice President.

Secretary.

Treasurer.

1864

James M. Roosa.

C. W. Woolley

William B. Sellers. .

William F. Parshall.

1865

John H. Evans.

L. G. Anderson

George W. Carey.

. .

William F. Parshall.

1866

John H. Evans

L. G. Anderson

George W. Carey

William F. Parshall.

1867

John H. Evans.

L. G. Anderson

George W. Carey.

William F. Parshall.

1868

John H. Evans ..

L. G. Anderson

George W. Carey.

Charles A. Smith.

1869

George W. Carey

Jonathan White.

George W. Frost.

Robert Boake.

1870

'George W. Carey.

Jonathan White.

George W. Frost ..

Robert Boake.

1871 George W. Carey.

Jonathan White.

Edward Warwick.

Robert Boake.

1872 George W. Carey ... Jonathan White.

Edward Warwick

Robert Boake.

1873 James S. Totten. .. . William V. Bone.

Thomas Hardy ..

Robert Boake.

1874 Samnel Irons. .

Joseph Jameson.

George W. Carey

Robert Boake.

1875 Samuel Irons.

Joseph Jameson.

George W. Carey

Robert Boake.

1876 Samuel Irons.

Joseph Jameson.

George W. Carey.

Robert Boake.

1877 Samuel Irons .. .

Alf. Edwards.

George W. Carey

M. D. Egbert.

1878 Samuel Irons.

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The History of Warren County, Ohio, Part 35

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1081

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1081