SECRETARY'S REPORT. 55 



By proper care breeders could direct Devons towards milk or 

 beef, as they might desire, without going beyond the race. In 

 England, Mr. Bloomfield, having the care of the estate of the Earl 

 of Leicester, published a challenge in which he contemplated a 

 trial of forty Devon cows against forty of any other race for milking 

 qualities. The challenge was not accepted, and it came from a too 

 important quarter to be overlooked. In this country, Mr. Patter- 

 son of Maryland, had shown that the Devons can be bred to be 

 very deep milkers. 



A late writer thus concludes one of a series of very able papers 

 upon the several breeds of neat stock : " For grazing in rich levels 

 or alluvial valley countries, the Durham Short-horn is indisputably 

 the best ; for the dairy in a similar country, the Ayrshire is supe- 

 rior ; for the combination of working capacity and feeding proper- 

 ties, the Devonshire will be found preferable to either ; and for the 

 union of all qualities, working, milk yielding, and feeding, where 

 the surface of the country is hilly, the soil not particularly fertile, 

 and the climate not genial, the Devonshire cross will beat all 

 others." 



We all know that the Morgan horse is surpassed in size, in style, 

 in weight, and in almost every single quality, when taken by itself, 

 yet we all concur in pronouncing that the blood for Maine horses. 

 Years of experience have proved his perfect adaptation to our soil 

 and climate, to the broken surface of our country, and to our gen- 

 eral wants and purposes. Why not adopt the same principles in 

 choosing neat stock which have produced such happy results in our 

 horses. 



Mr. Goodale thought the importance of suiting our stock to the 

 capacity of our lands so that it may be fully fed, was not generally 

 appreciated. Agriculture might be likened to manufacture. From 

 the soil, by applying manure and labor, (through the agencies of 

 nature,) we manufacture crops — we make corn, potatoes, &c. And 

 BO animals may be looked upon as machines : and as with other 

 machines, it costs something to keep them running. A cow or an 

 ox requires a certain amount of food to supply the constant waste 

 of the system, and another amount to support animal heat. These 

 must be supplied at any rate. If more food is given, it may bo 

 converted into meat or milk, and is profit. The greater the amount 

 of food which any animal can thoroughly digest and assimilate over 

 and above the quantity required to keep the machine in good run- 

 ning condition, the greater the profit iu the shape of increased 



