Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.djvu/59

COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES The most popular breeds arc the Berkshire^ Chester-White, Duroc-Jcrscy and Poland- China, all of the fat or lard type of swine. It is not possible to designate (he particular breed that is in the lead, neither can we state the number of animals shipped. Sufficient to say that the industry is a thriving one and in the future will be of considerable importance in this section of the State.

SHEEP

Only enough sheep are raised in Columbia and Montour counties to supply the local butchers, the wool being a side issue, and of little importance in a monetary way. There are many reasons for the decline of this industry here. First come the many useless dogs, which soon develop a fondness for sheep killing. Then the fences arc rapidly being taken down on the farms, and sheep are death to crops. Third, the farmers of (he West are in a better position to raise sheep at lower prices than in the East. lastly, the constant care required by this most defenceless animal makes the industry an unprofitable one to the farmer, who can utilize his energies in more lucrative employment.

HORSE BREEDING

Before the Civil war the breeding of horses was one of the chief of the side lines of the farmer in these counties, but in later years the Western horses came into the market at prices that made home-raised stock unprofitable. There was a time when a good Western team could he bought for $300, but the prices are slowly increasing as the Western ranches are cut up into farms, and the local horse breeding industry is regaining some of its lost prestige. A number of farsighted farmers arc entering this field, but still the local market cannot be supplied by local breeders, and from six to ten carloads of Western horses are each year brought in by dealers, who hold frequent sales at prominent points in both of the counties.

CATTLE EPIDEMIC IN MONTOUR COUNTY

Montour county has been unfortunate in having been the point in central Pennsylvania from which the aphthous fever, or foot and mouth disease of cattle, originated. The first discovery of this disease was made on Nov. 9, 1908, on the farm of Jacob Shultz, of Cooper township. Almost at the same time it broke out among the cattle of Edward Shultz, of Boyd's Station, on the south side of the Susquehanna river, opposite Danville It also infected the herds 01 the town. The first germs came from cattle shipped here from Buffalo, N. Y., in that year.

About the first of November, 1914, there was an outbreak of the aphthous fever, or foot and mouth disease, among the cattle of Columbia and Montour counties. It was brought to this section in shipments of cattle from Buffalo and Lancaster. Several fine herds were found to be infected and prompt measures were taken by the State Livestock Sanitary Board to stamp out the disease. At the farm of Henry Cooper in Limestone township, Montour county, over thirty head of cattle and several hogs were killed by the State; at the farm of Henry Cooper in Madison township, Columbia county, about the same number were killed; and on the farm of Charles Umstead. near Washingtonville, ten cows and a lot of hogs were kilted. The infection of all of these came from one shipment from Buffalo. At Danville two herds were found to be diseased and promptly killed. They were in the stock-yards of William Mourey and at the farm connected with the Danville Hospital for the Insane. At the latter place over one hundred head of cattle and sixty hogs were killed. The infection here came from a shipment from Lancaster.

PROMINENT FARMERS

Among the prominent farmers of Montour county are Dr. W. R. Paules, whose large farm is near Washingtonville; D. R. Roinrock, owner of Pleasant Hill farm; Alexander Billmeyer, who owns fifteen farms, aggregating a thousand acres, near Washingtonville: George W. Watson, owner of Buttonwood Spring farm; and William L. Satteson, who operates Wiimshurst farm, near Exchange. T. E. Hyde, a stock raiser and extensive farmer, has a farm called Edgemont, on the edge of the two counties, near Grovania. that is a model in its methods of operation. An¬ other enterprise is the Guernseydale Stock Farms, near Rupert, owned by a corporation of considerable size, with still another farm near Catawissa.

GRANGERS, OR PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY

One of the strongest orders in Columbia and Montour counties is that of the Patrons of Husbandry, or Grangers, as they arc generally called. They have existed in Pennsyl