DUTCH CATTLE. 295 



defect, -which in the end run the stock down very low. They were not satis- 

 factory as a dairy stock. 



Feeling that the trial of Shorthorn stock by my father was unsatisfactory, 

 on account of the peculiar hereditary difficulties attached to that special family, 

 I bought six cows and a bull of Samuel Thome's splendid stock. They were 

 beautiful animals ; some of them had gained a first-class reputation in this 

 coimtry, and in England before they were imported. The progeny of this 

 stock was the finest I hare ever seen in Maine of Shorthorned stock. Wliile 

 I had this stock I saw your Dutch cattle at Springfield, and being struck with 

 their peculiar vigor and milking qualifications, so different from the cows which 

 I then had, I desired to buj"- them as an experiment in crossing with the Short- 

 , horned stock. I had no idea of making a specialty of them, or any other 

 stock, without comparison with other breeds, that I might be able to see for 

 myself what appeared to be best adapted to the wants of Maine. 



I do not wish to convey to you the idea that I believe Dutch stock, or any 

 other breed, are suitable to every locality among us. But were 1 situated upon 

 clay loam soil, or good grass land. I should decidedly choose Dutcli and their 

 cross upon Shorthorn cows as the sine qua non of mj"^ wishes. I do not wish 

 to be understood as encouraging any one to breed them for the special purpose 

 of butter-making, but as a stock uniting a hardy, vigorous constitution — 

 which it proves by developing the most remarkable growth of bone and muscle 

 — with a power to assimulate thereto a more varied and cheap class of food 

 than any other stock that I have ever met. One point which struck me as 

 peculiarly desirable was the distribution of fat tlirough the animal, rather than 

 in lumps or deposits upon the surface. 



The half-bloods of this stock are remarkable for their thrift. A few days since 

 I met a butcher who does a large business here, and sends much meat to mar- 

 ket; he said it was unfortunate that I had allowed tlic Dutch bull to go out of 

 Maine, and remarked tliat he paid from four to five dollars per head more for 

 calves four weeks old from this bull than any other. 



I pm unwilling to have you think that I underrate Shorthorned stock ; on 

 the contrary, T admire them, and ir breeding a mixed stock I should certainly 

 aim to select cows of tliat breed, whenever they could be found prime milkers 

 or feeders, of their progeny. So far as I can judge, the cross of Dutch bulls 

 on Shorthorn cows is admirable. 



" I am inclined to the opinion, so far as my observaiion extends in this country 

 and in England, that Shorthorns in the main have been bred to beef and form, 

 withoiit much attempt to develop their milking (jualitics. And I am fully 

 aware that no one quality can be urged to the utmost without taking from 

 others. 



My own experience has taught me that any kind of cattle or horses which 

 assimilate their food to flesh in their own organisDi, cannot food or supply the 

 demands of their offspring. And the longer this tendency is bred, the more 

 absolute it qualifies the stock. This is the point I wish to make when I urge 

 the cross of Dutch and Shorthorned stock. TRe one gives its large, vigorous 

 organism and secretive power, wliile the other gives symmetry and compact 

 configuration, combined with early maturity. 



The secretive power of the Dutch cow is very astonishing in many cases, 



