SECRETARY'S REPORT. 221 



1852, were of the common breed of this part of the State ; one three 

 years old — of rather small size, short legs, and compactly built ; the 

 other five years old — tall, gaunt, high mettled, not easily approached 

 by a stranger, ready charged to kick over the pail and the milker ; 

 brought a large calf each year, but would go dry four or five months 

 to do it. This was just the cow that I should not have selected to 

 retain when selling off my former herd. She was left on my hands 

 by a mere accident. 



Neither of these animals possessed any points of excellence, that 

 I could discover, to distinguish them from the ordinary cows of the 

 neighborhood. Under the treatment they have received, the amount 

 and quality of their milk has been so satisfactory, that I have occa- 

 sionally, contrary to general habit, taken note of the product. The 

 daily yield of milk by each cow, has at times reached forty pounds, 

 and sometimes exceeded that weight. This quantity of milk has 

 yielded butter fully up to two pounds per day to each cow. The 

 quality of the milk of the two cows did not perceptibly differ. By 

 a trial during the last week in October, 1858, the smaller cow made 

 eleven pounds of butter. She dropped her calf in May preceding 

 that trial, and again in May following it. I raised this cow's calf 

 of 1857. She is now larger than the mother, and brought a calf in 

 July last, at the age of twenty-six months. The calf was taken 

 away at the end of five weeks — after which, I have found by occa- 

 sional trial, her milk weighed very uniformly during August, Sep- 

 tember and October, twenty pounds per day. 



We will here dismiss the cream of our subject, for the richer 

 theme of, 



6th. The attainment of manure. What is manure ? It is the 

 stuff out of which plants are made. 



It has been said, "The chief business of farming, is bringing 

 manure on to the land, and carrying produce and cattle off of it" — 

 connecting together the manure and produce as cause and effect. 

 The late Rev. Henry Colman wrote for our instruction, " The suc- 

 cess of farming must mainly depend upon such a conduct of the 

 farm as shall not exhaust its productive powers; or rather, that it 

 shall, from its own resources, furnish the means, not only of recruiting 

 its strength, but of actually increasing its- capabilities of production. 

 There is no more obvious way of doing this, than by consuming the 



