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.pdf/59

 30

COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

T he most popular breeds arc the Berkshire^ Chester-W’hitc, D uroc-Jcrscy and PolandChina, all of the fat or lard type o f swine. It is not possible (o designate (he particular breed that is in (he lead, neither can w*c state the number o f animals shipped. Sufficient to say that the industry is a thriving one and in the future will be o f considerable importance in this section of the State. s iie E P

Only enough sheep arc 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 o f this in* dustry here. F irst come the many useless d c ^, which soon develop a fondness for sheep killmg. Then the fences arc rapidly ^ i n g taken down on the farm s, and sheep are death to crops. Third, the farm ers o f (he West are in a better position to raise sheep at lower prices than in the East. l.^stly, the* con­ stant carc required by this most defenceless animal makes the industry an unprofitable one to the farm er, who can utilize his energies in more lucrative employment. HORSE BReeotN G

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

Shultz, o f Boyd's Station, on the south side of the Susquehanna river, opposite D anville It also infected the herds 01 the town. T he first germs came from cattle shipped here from Buffalo, N. Y ., in that year. About the first o f f?ovembcr, 19 14, there w as 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 o f cattle from Buffalo and I^ncastcr. Several fine herds were found to be infected and prompt measures were taken by the State Livestock Sanitary Board to stamp out the disease. A t the farm o f H enry Cooper in Limestone township, Montour county, over thirty head o f cattle and several hogs were killed by the State; at the farm o f CMvin Cooper in M adi­ son township, Columbia county, about the san>e number were killed; and on the farm of Cliarles Umstead. near Washingtonville, ten cows and a lot o f hogs were kilted. T he in­ fection o f all of these came from one ship­ ment from Buffalo. A t Danville two herds were found to be diseased and promptly killed. They were in the stock-yards 01 William M ourey and at the farm connected with the Danville Hospital for the Insane. A t the latter place over one hundred head o f cattle and sixty hogs were killed. The infection here came from a shipment from I^ncaster PROMINENT FARMERS

Among the prominent farm ers o f Montour county are Dr. W. R. Paules, wjiose l a t « farm is near W ashingtonville; D. R. Roinrock, owner o f Pleasant H ill fa rm; Alexander Billm eyer, who owns fifteen farm s, aggregat­ ing a thousand acres, near W ashingtonville: ( jw r g c W. Watson, owner o f Buttonwood Spring fa rm; and William L . Sattcson, who operates Wiimshurst farm, near Exchange. T . E . H yde, a slock raiser and extensive farm er, has a farm called Edgemont, on the edge of the two counties, near Grovania. that is a model in its metho<ls o f operation. A n ­ other enterprise is the Gucm seydatc Stock Farm s, near Rupert, ow*ned by a corporation CATTtF. EPJOBMIC IN MONTOUR COUNTY o f considerable size, with still another farm Montour county has been unfortunate in near Catawissa. having been the point in central Pennsylvania from which the aphthous fever, or foot and GRANGERS, OR PATRONS OF JIUS8ANDRY mouth disease o f cattle, oripnatcd. T h e first One of the strongest orders in Columbia discovery o f this disease was made on Nov. 9, 1908, on the farm o f Jacob Shultz, o f and Montour counties is that of the Patrons Cooper township. Almost at the same time o f Huslxindry, or Grangers, as they arc gen­ it broke out among the cattle o f Edw ard erally called. T hey have existed in Pcnnsyl-