Phenix Gazette

Cattle—We are happy to find that more attention than ordinarily has been recently paid to the raising of stock. The sale of the celebrated cattle of John Hare Powell, of Philadelphia, enabled many farmers of means and enterprise to possess themselves of some valuable animals. A good proportion of this valuable stock is now in the possession of Charles A. Barnitz, Esq. of Springdale farm, near York, Pennsylvania. The following description of one or two of the cows, which we copy from Poulson's Advertiser, will be found interesting to many of our readers. We are inclined to class farmers who give their attention to the improvement of stock, among the most, if not the most useful of our citizens.

"To see these cattle alone is worth a visit to his residence. There are about twenty and thirty head of the full blood, besides nearly as many of common and mixed blood. Among the former is the celebrated Bellina, the famous butter cow. In her appearance she is far below many of her companions, though when critically examined, her points are all good. The straight back, the perfect level of the spinal column from the horns to the tail, the square sides, the wide hips, the full brisket, the intelligent countenance and wide-spreading bag are all there; but she makes a pound of butter at every milking, and hence she has not the sleek fat sides, and the filling up so necessary to a finished and beautiful subject. She illustrates the idea perfectly, which we have so often inculcated, that a deep milker or a great butter yielder cannot be easily kept fat. She illustrates another position we have advanced, that milk from different cows, apparently of equal richness, is very differently constituted. In some cheesy matter and whey prevail, in others cheesy matter and oil, and in others oil and whey prevail with but a slight quantity of cheesy matter. The first is common milk, affording a small quantity of cream, and poor skim milk; the second affords a medium quantity of cream, and makes good cheese, and good skim milk; the last affords a very large quantity of cream, no cheese scarcely, and very poor skim milk—so poor indeed that it is scarcely fit for use. This latter is the case with Bellina: when her milk has stood the proper length of time, the cream, (the milk being three or four inches deep,) is nearly half an inch thick, and so firm that it will almost bear lifting like a buckwheat cake, the skim milk being very inferior.—Mrs. Barnitz took about half a pint of her cream in a bowl, and in a few minutes produced six ounces of the finest butter we ever tasted, by simply stirring it with a teaspoon. The buttermilk produced was less than a small wine glass full, and that of quite a poor quality. This cow, unlike the generality of her breed, has coarse hair, and is of ordinary size, and, as before remarked, would be taken for an ordinary animal, except upon critical examination by a good judge. Very high offers have been made for her and her calves. Another cow presented a remarkable character: she was the largest we ever saw, measuring between the points of her hips about two feet four inches. We could not take the measurement exactly, as she was rather shy of our stick, but we satisfied ourselves that we were not an inch out of the way, and think we are within the truth. She is of good proportion in all her parts. She has not had a calf since she was imported, in consequence as it is supposed of some injury on the voyage. The proprietor expects to fatten this cow for the Baltimore market, and if he does we shall be able to boast of a beef superior in weight and quality to any ever slaughtered in America. There are many beautiful young bulls and heifers for sale. We noticed a pair of calves as white as swans; of equal size and age, that attract great attention, and induce high offers.—We must not pass over the fine young animal selected by Mr. B. for his stock bull. He is beyond all comparison the finest animal of the kind we ever saw, and has the fine points of his breed in the greatest perfection imaginable.—When we have heard that if the legs were cut off upon a line with the bottom of the belly, and the neck perpendicularly with the breast, the body would form a perfect oblong square, the sides of which would be just double the width of the ends, we have been in the habit of considering it a fancy sketch; but actual measurement and examination of this bull convinces us of its truth."