232 BOARD OF AGRICULTimE. 



cuI1(h1 riDin many miles urouml, on account of dairy properties, are 

 conHidorahly above the average, but taking- the cows together they 

 by MO means compan; with the oxen. Farmers generally take 

 iinK li pride in llicii' oxen, and stnve to have as good or better than 

 any of their neighbors, while! if a cow will give milk cnotij^h to rear 

 a big steer calf and a littU; Ijesides, it is often deemed fully satis- 

 factory. 



W the fref|neiit inrpiiries made for choice milking animals, espe- 

 cially by r(!Hid(!nts in cilics and larger towns, and these accompa- 

 nied by the expression of \villingn(\ss to pay the price of a tolerable 

 yoke of oxen for one really good cow, be sufficient ground for an 

 opinion, it wotdd seem probable that increased attention to dairy 

 (jnalilirs, and Ihccidliire of breeds especially lor milking purposes, 

 would i)ay very handsome profits. 



SiiRF.i' have been kept in the State to a greater or less extent 

 ever since its early scUlcment. Those first introduced were of 

 English origin, and g(Mierally not very dissimilar to the ancient 

 uniinproved South Ditwns. j'robably many were these — as many 

 of the lirst ( attlo of Now Englaiul were the Dcvons of that day. 

 During (he war of 18r2-'15 and subse(iuently the Merinos were 

 introduced and extensively bred. At various periods other breeds 

 have been introduce(l. The nnmlier kept has lluctuated exceed- 

 ingly, depending iriainly on the niaiket value of avooI. W'iien it 

 was high all kept sheep, and when it Tell \\\r. Hocks were neglected. 



The Inn- inission of the slieep in rnllillinj;- llio threefold purpose 

 of fnrniHhingyoocZ and rdiiiicnl , (iiul lite means of fertilization , seems 

 not yet to be generally apprehended. One of the most serious 

 defects in the husbandry of Maiiu! at the present time, is the prev- 

 alent neglect of sheep. Ten times the present nundx'r might be 

 easily led, and the}' would gi\(' in nu-al, wool and progeny, more 

 direct profit than any other domestic animal, and at the same time 

 the food they consume would do more towards fertilizing the farms 

 than an eipial amount consumed by any other animal. 



It is an iindouMed fact llial of late years slieep Imsban Iry has 

 seriously declineil in llie State at large, very few being kept com- 

 pared with file uniiilier at some former periods. It is equally 

 notorious that our pastures are seriously deteriorating in ferlility 

 and becoming overrun with worthless weeds and bushes to the 

 exclusion of nutritious grasses. If these two facts as uuiforndy 

 stand to each other in the relation of cause and cllbct, as they cer- 



