366 [Senate 



reared in the only way that farmers, who breed cattle either for milk, 

 work or the shambles, can profitably do it. At three days old the 

 calf is taken from the cow, and fed with new milk two or three weeks, 

 after that with skim milk and porridge till they are three or four 

 months old, and then turned into a good pasture. 



The first horses that I have any account of as bred in this county, 

 were the Narraganset breed. They were generally chestnut or sor- 

 rel, very fleet, sure footed, high spirited, and a valuable breed for the 

 saddle. Many mares of this br^ed were bred to " Ranger," for a 

 time kept at Hartford, an imported Arabian, that in 1777 or '78 was 

 taken to Virginia, and there called "Lindsay's Arabian." He left 

 many colts of fine figure and action. In 1783 and '84, a black horse 

 called " Paoli," about fifteen hands high, was for two years kept in 

 this town. He left many valuable colts, and distinguished himself as 

 a racer. From 1790 to 1794, three blood horses were brought from 

 Virginia to Hartford, and were bred to our best mares, and their de- 

 scendants were celebrated roadsters. From about 1798 to 1800 there 

 were two importations of horses from England, in all ten or twelve 

 blood horses, and one of the cart-horse breed, called " Black Prince." 

 Up to about 1806 there were bred in this county a great many very 

 valuable roadsters, by the use of the blood horses to our country 

 mares, and many valuable draft horses by the use of Black Prince. 

 Since that time horse breeding has been on the wane, and we are now 

 dependent on other States for our best horses. 



In this county we have no large flocks of sheep. Since 1810 we 

 have had flocks of Spanish Merinos, and since 1824 Saxon Merinos, 

 also various grades of the two varieties. We have had careful and 

 skillful sheep masters, that were the owners of their flocks, and by 

 care they have been improved. It is not the name, be it Paular Me- 

 rino, Ramboulette Merino, or Saxon Merino, even if individual sheep 

 have attached to them as high sounding names as Fortune or Gran- 

 dee, that can make them favorites here. It must be the intrinsic value 

 of the fleece in proportion to the weight of the carcase, regardless of 

 name. 



The swine of this town and county are now principally white, and 

 are nearly the same breed that have been bred here for thirty years. 

 They have no particular name as a breed. They have small bones 

 and thin skins, are well formed, mature young, and, if well fed, fre- 

 quently at nine or ten months old, whole litters will cut up from 

 three to four hundred lbs. each, and at sixteen and eighteen months 

 old, five hundred to six hundred lbs. each. 



Berkshires were never favorites with but few, and that few have 

 now abandoned the breeding of them to those breeders who breed for 

 other purposes than the profit to be derived from making pork. 



I am sir, respectfully, 



Your obedient servant, 



HENRY WATSON. 



