138 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



in your mind, breed for it, make the subject a study, and if you 

 engage in breeding and rearing animals in this manner, mak- 

 ing careful selections, nine cases in ten you will succeed. 



The reason why so many make a failure in stock raising 

 is, they enter into it upon the excitement of the hour, with- 

 out any practical knowledge whatever of what they are 

 undertaking. They attend a fair, perhaps, and see a noble 

 animal of some particular breed, raised at enormous expense 

 for show purposes, and without any further investigation as 

 to the relative merit of the breed, rush in and buy, loudly 

 declaring that they have found the right breed, and as loudly 

 denouncing all others, thereby advertising their own folly. 

 But I take the ground that all these pure breeds of cattle in 

 New England have their good qualities and adaptations to 

 certain localities and wants. While the noble Shorthorn is 

 adapted to the luxuriant grass regions of our country, and is 

 highly prized by its many admirers as a beef animal, and 

 when crossed with other breeds fine working oxen and good 

 milkers are often produced, and in many of the older por- 

 tions of the State the Shorthorn has been the "foundation 

 stock," and a good foundation they have made, yet the beau- 

 tiful little Channel Island cattle, acknowledged as the dairy 

 breed, have made great inroads into the older counties and 

 have endeared themselves to the dairyman and the lover of 

 golden butter and richest cheese. Yet with all her claims as 

 the dairy cow, I would not by any means be understood to 

 recommend every farmer to go into Jersey stock. There are 

 other considerations which are of quite as much importance 

 to the general farmer as dairy qualities. Then comes in for 

 a claim to our attention the sprightly Devon, which has won 

 for itself quite a reputation in the midland counties of Eng- 

 land, as well as in some portions of our own country ; well 

 adapted to the hilly portions of any country with a dry, even 

 temperature. The Devon ox is highly prized in Massachu- 

 setts, Ivhode Island and Connecticut for the road and farm 

 labor, and there are claims made for the Devon cow as a 

 milker, which I may speak of before I close. 



