The committee in their report remark: "In making decisions upon the relative merits of the horses presented for our inspection, we have awarded, in all cases, the first premium to the horse which possessed the greatest combination of speed, strength and action, believing that these qualities, when united with good anatomical conformation and proper nervous energy, compose the perfect animal of that species. The horses designated by us as, in our opinion, entitled to the premiums as offered, we consider possessed of the above qualities in an eminent degree; and while upon this subject we cannot refrain from expressing our very favorable opinion of Badger Boy, as a horse well worthy the attention of breeders of the road horse, as a native of our State and as a horse uniting beauty, strength and speed, superior to anything else presented for examination. "We would also commend to the attention of the Executive Committee, as worthy of a discretionary premium, the grey stallion Vermont Morgan, owned by T. J. Wood, Esq., of Baraboo, which was exhibited to us while in the discharge of our duties, although not for premium, to our regret. We consider him superior to any other stallion here except the Badger Boy, in all those requisites which, in our opinion, constitute a perfect horse. "Having performed a difficult and undesirable office conscientiously,. and as we believe justly and fairly, we close our labors by submitting the above." MATCHED, DRAFT AND SINGLE HORSES.-No. OF ENTRIES, 27. Judges-WILLIAM S. TURNER, Watertown; DANIEL BLODGETT, Beloit ;: WILLIAM HOBKIRK, Waupun. Best pair of matched horses; Isaac Howland, Janesville. Diploma and $5. Second best pair of matched horses; Robert Fargo, Lake Mills. $5. Best pair of draft horses; C. R. Taylor, Berlin. Diploma and $5. Second best pair of draft horses; J. H. Woodruff, Fisk's Corners. $5.. Best gelding; Isaac Howland, Janesville. Diploma. Second best gelding; W. W. Robinson, Ripon. $3. $3. Best mare, seven years old; H. W. Bronson, Lake Mills. Diploma. "In $3. Mr. Hobkirk accompanies the report with the following remarks: my estimation there is too little attention paid to the procuring of good brood mares. The horse is rightly called the noblest animal in the service of man, for though there are others of the brute creation whose carcasses are of infinitely greater value as food and as material for the manufacture of articles of daily use, it is the strength and sagacity of the horse that enables the farmer to perform with facility, many of the most important operations of agriculture, to say nothing of other and innumerable spheres where the labor of the horse, his patience, docility and aptness are brought into requisition. "The number of horses in the United States, according to the most recent computations, is 4,325,652. The breeding has been so promiscuously carried on, and with so little regard to correct and scientific principles or rules, that the number of varieties is almost past computation. Some of these varieties, especially trotting horses and roadsters, are seldom surpassed in any country. One of the most important elements of success lies in the proper choice of brood mares. Never breed from a mare that is not well bred. By well bred, I do not mean having many crosses of blood, for many mares nearly and even quite thorough bred are very undesirable animals to breed from. In the true sense of the word, a well bred mare is one whose progenitors for many generations back have been carefully selected. The object should be to produce colts of an ambitious character and of good size, then if they should be unfit for fast work, they can at least do their share of labor on the farm. I know of no better test of success than this, viz: that the colt when it has lost a portion of its conventional value, should still retain its real usefulness. Always make strong, well-set forelegs a primary object. They should be placed forward so as to be an efficient support to the animal, and the shoulder ought to stand backwards in order to allow the legs liberty of action. The shoulder should be somewhat round and full, not thin and confined as many imagine. Never breed from either mare or stallion with a decidedly bad shoulder. An animal may dispense with almost every other point of excellence and yet be of some value, but if it has a bad shoulder it bears so thoroughly the stamp of worthlessness, that nothing else can make amends for that fundamental malformation. If your mare is tolerable in her shoulder but not very good, endeavor to find a stallion particularly excellent in this respect. "The forelegs and shoulders being right, action usually follows; but this being a very important point do not take it for granted, but subject the matter to your strictest scrutiny. For my own part, I think so much of action in a horse, that the most fabulous combinations of beauty, breeding, temper and shape, would not induce me to buy one that did not possess this quality. It may be laid down as a general rule, that the horse ought, if possible, to be a better animal than the mare. Then there is the difficulty, even when a horse of tried excellence is found, of discovering whether his points and his blood are suited to the mare. The art and science of breeding first rate horses is not to be mastered without much thought, trouble and research. There is no royal road to it. "He who wishes, in spite of every obstacle, to attain golden results, must adopt a course entirely antagonistical to the too common one of putting some mare, because he happens to have her, to some horse because he happens to come into his yard. He must never breed from a bad mare or a bad horse, nor must he grudge a few dollars spent in securing the best of either sex within his reach. A judicious outlay of capital will here assuredly not fail to reap the reward which has attended the improvement of every other description of stock.” LONG AND MIDDLE WOOL SHEEP.-NO OF ENTRIES, 11. Judges-ALLEN H. ATWATER, Oak Grove; EBENEZER BRIGHAM, Blue Best South Down buck, over two years old; N. B. Clapp, Kenosha. $4. The Committee in their report remark: "That the Leicester buck exhibited by Mr. Clapp is of fine size and perfect symmetry. They also speak of his South Downs as a breed of Sheep well worthy the attention of the farmers of Wisconsin, believing the profits of the farmer would be much greater if this breed was more generally introduced. Mr. Clapp's South Downs they regard as the best they have ever seen. "Dear Sir, "You request me to furnish you with a statement of the general management of my flock, both in summer and winter, and my opinion as to the kind of sheep most profitable to the farmers of Wisconsin. For my views on the general management of sheep, I will refer you to my letter to you on that subject, dated December 27th, 1851, and published in the Transactions of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society for that year. At that time my flock consisted of 500 fine wooled sheep. At present I am keeping but twenty-four-eighteen thorough-bred South Downs and six thorough-bred Leicesters. My management of these, wherein it differs from that of my former flock, is as follows: "My lambs are dropped the last of March, or the first of April. My reason for this is, that South Down and Leicester lambs are much more hardy and less liable to chill than my former flock, and my ewes have an abundance of milk for their offspring at that time; and as the demand for bucks is greater than I can supply, by this early dropping they are fit for service in the coming fall, particularly the South Downs, which mature early. "Another reason is, that the South Downs are great milkers, and if allowed to go to grass some days before yeaning, with a great flow of milk, their udders frequently become inflamed and require much care and milking both before and for a few days after dropping. This last difficulty not unfrequently occurs with the Leicesters, though not as often as with the South Downs. I wean my lambs about the first of August, or when about four months old, as I think they do better to be taken from the ewes at that age. After weaning my lambs I am careful not to allow my ewes to get too fleshy, as they are liable to do if they have good rich grass. The disadvantage of a superabundance of flesh is, that ewes in this condition often become barren. The difficulty is more likely to occur with the South Downs than the Leicesters. I commenced my flock of South Downs in the fall of 1850, by the purchase of six lambs, five ewes, and one buck. They were from the flock of Leonard Sheaf, of New Hamburg, Dutchess county, N. Y., and since that time I have made several small purchases from the best flocks in New York, which State, I believe, stands first in the Union for carcass sheep. My Leicesters, I purchased in the fall of 1852, of Elias L. Barlow, of Dutchess county, N. Y., who, I think, has taken, in the last five years, more premiums for long-wooled sheep at the New York State Fairs and those of the American Institute, than any other man. "In the summer I keep my sheep on grass, and in the winter on good hay, both breeds fareing alike to test their relative merits. For two weeks before dropping, I feed each one daily half a pint of oats, or an equal amount of nutriment in other grain. After lambing, I feed the ewes once a day with carrots, cut fine, to those having twins, and full half of my South Downs and one quarter of my Leicester ewes are thus blessed. I give, in addition, a pint of wheat bran mixed with water, till well wet, and if the lambs get too large before their mothers go to grass, I add a little oat, corn, or barley meal to the bran. "I sheared last spring twelve South Down ewes that raised lambs, and their fleeces clean washed weighed thirty-five pounds. From a buck of the same breed, two years old, I clipped seven and one quarter pounds. of clean wool. The lightest fleece of four Leicester ewes weighed four and three quarter pounds, and the heaviest seven and a quarter. "In answer to your request for my opinion as to the most profitable kind of sheep for the Wisconsin farmer, I will give it to you frankly and freely, and my reasons for the same, allowing you to judge of their weight and force. From my letter referred to, you can see that I have had considerable experience in fine-wooled sheep in this State. In New York, for several years, I was well acquainted with the long-wooled breeds, and in this country I have had five years experience in South Downs. Taking into consideration keeping, wool, and carcass, I give the latter breed preference to all others I have kept. |