360 BOARD OF AGRICtTLTURE. 



producing steer; and as there was no trouble in getting symmetry 

 and size and early maturity in the milk or beef producing animals, 

 equally or nearly equally, so that there would be no disadvantage 

 in trying to combine the two. I put a good deal of confidence in 

 his. opinion, because it was based upon experience, which is the 

 best teacher. Nevertheless, 1 think that something must be 

 sacrificed to the combination ; chat there is a thinness of shoulder 

 and an openness of joint in the milk producing stock that is not 

 most conducive to the shape of oxen for great hardiness or 

 weight In- other words, there is a looseness of build about the 

 eminent milk family that would not constitute the most valuable 

 characteristic for merely beef oxen. The fact that a cow used for 

 dairy purposes would be milked for a greater length of time than 

 would conduce to the health of her stock, if that stock was to be 

 converted into oxen for labor and beef, shows that you must im- 

 pair the one in order to strengthen the other. If you allow a cow 

 to go dry half a year, you would not be cultivating her milk 

 qualities, nor if you allow her to go dry from three to six months 

 in order that she might produce the best oxen or steers, and give 

 the best constitution and the greatest hardiness, so that, if at any 

 time they were equally adapted to both purposes, they would lose 

 equal adaptation if cultivated exclusively for either purpose alone. 

 But I have been led to doubt whether the cows that run most 

 exclusively to milk, in quality and quantity, were, on the whole, 

 the most desirable. Such an animal is a very active machine. I 

 have seen cows that required to be handled and managed with the 

 utmost care to keep the machinery in order when moving up to the 

 highest speed of her capacity, and so 1 have been led to believe 

 that something intermediate, something approximating to the high- 

 est, would be more desirable on the whole to most persons. 



Mr. Secretary desires me to relate some facts which would 

 amount to a rehash of an article that 1 sent to the Maine Farmer 

 some year and a half ago. I would remark before doing so, that 

 where a breed or family runs ex sessively to milk, there may not 

 be much advantage in having a large proportion of them do so. 

 It would be dangerous to manage them. It would be difficult to 

 keep up the health and vigor of tin animal in our cold winters, if 

 run exclusively to milk and to reduction of fat in the system. I 

 had a cow bought of Mr. Lothrop', some years ago, that was an 

 eminent milch cow. She was a full blood Shorthorn, of Duel. 

 and Princess families mixed. While the Booth and some other 



