266 [Senate 



cattle with those of England, we sometimes are disposed to forget 

 the difference in the time, feed, care and skill, usually made use of 

 by the English and American feeder, in preparing animals for the 

 butcher. The ox under consideration is but one of several, of nearly 

 equal quality, which have been fattened by Mr. Rust. Under the 

 skillful management of this gentleman, thousands of those which 

 are now annually sent half fed and half fattened to market, might be 

 made to rival those which have been fed by him. The Geneva and 

 Elbridge cattle, exhibited at the State Fairs, go to support the same 

 conclusion. 



We shall not be understood as asserting that our " Native" breed 

 is the best, or even equal to some foreign varieties. But what we 

 wish to impress on the public mind is this, that our " native" breed, 

 or a judicious selection of them, will furnish the suitable ground- 

 work, on which the American breeder can, by selection and crossing^ 

 upbuild an improved variety .^ excelled by none. If this can be done, 

 every one must perceive the superior convenience and economy of 

 such a course, over the attempt to substitute an entire foreign breed 

 for our own. That it is in process of being done, and that it has al- 

 ready been measurably accomplished, we are willing to submit to 

 the ordeal of the show yard, the sha^mbles, or the pail. 



After some experience with several English varieties, our conclu- 

 sion is unhesitating, that it is to the blood of the Improved Short 

 Horn, mainly, that we are to look for the ameliorating change. We 

 will not pretend to say, that " dashes" of other blood would depre- 

 ciate, or under certain circumstances, would not even prove advan- 

 tageous, to the produce of such a cross. For high or thin soils, the 

 cross effected by a Durham and Devon bull, on our native stock, 

 might be superior to that effected by a pure Durham, &c. 



There is less of skill and mystery in making the first cross between 

 the Durham and the native, than many suppose. That there will be 

 a disparity between the produce of different cows by the same bull, 

 is of course true. But with the proper bull, the cross will always be 

 a successful one — that is to say, the produce will always be a decided 

 improvement on the dam. But the qualities of the dam will always 

 more or less affect those of the offspring, and therefore we should 

 breed from cows possessing, so far as they can be obtained, the points 

 desired in the produce. 



We have used the phrase " the proper bull," — and this does not 

 always mean the best bull, when judged by the standard of the im- 

 proved variety to which he belongs. Ample experience has abundant- 

 ly convinced us that many superior bulls of the Short Horn variety 

 are not successful stock getters with native cows. It is to be regret- 

 ted that a proper respect to the feelings of others does not perait us 

 to specify instances of this in animals well " known to fame." The 

 largest class of Durham bulls rarely succeed with the native cow; 

 and if inclining to coarseness, the failure is still more apparent. A 

 large and coarse bull usually gets shapeless, overgrown calves. 

 There is a family of Durhams characterized by great height and 

 length — standing on high bony legs, and which, although not desti- 



