SECRETARY'S REPORT. 33 



kept in the ordinary way, and will thrive as well as in summer, 

 on grass. 



The best provender for milch cows, I consider, is equal parts 

 of oats, rye and Indian meal, four quarts a day, put on to cut 

 hay or corn fodder, and half a bushel daily of carrots. With 

 this keeping, a cow will give more milk in winter than by grass 

 in summer. 



In selecting cows for the dairy, the general appearance of the 

 animals should be bright and active ; they should have a good 

 constitution, aided by good care when young; broad hips; 

 slim, clean neck ; bag broad when full ; good sized teats, well 

 set apart ; bag extending well up behind ; a yellow skin is 

 most desirable. Cattle for the stall should be from three to 

 five years old. A friend of mine, who stalled three hundred 

 annually, always selected three-year-old steers as the most 

 profitable. Snug-built animals are the best to fatten. Cows 

 should go dry two months before calving. Maturity of breed- 

 ing animals I do not consider essential. A well-developed two- 

 year-old heifer will produce as good a calf as a mature cow, 

 and perhaps better. Poor keeping will degenerate any class of 

 animals. A good breed of cattle, with good feeding, will make 

 the perfect ox or cow. 



Another gentleman writes from a town in Berkshire County, 

 about twenty miles south-west of Pittsfield, that most of the 

 cattle in his town are crosses between the native, Hereford, 

 Ayrshire, and short-horns. There are no pure breeds in this 

 section, except a few short-horns that have lately been intro- 

 duced. I have two heifers of this breed, three years old last 

 spring, which I have milked two seasons, and they have more 

 than met my expectations as milkers. They give a fair quan- 

 tity and a good quality of milk, and seem to be well adapted to 

 our climate, and to graze well upon our Berkshire hills. The 

 oxen are well suited to the heavy work upon our farms, and 

 when fat they occupy an important position in our markets. I 

 think they combine more good qualities than any other breed, and 

 are destined to supplant all breeds that have yet been introduced 

 into this section of country. Heifers should come in at two 

 years old, if you wish to obtain milking qualities. If they are 

 intended for breeding only, perhaps it would be better they 

 should come in at three years old. 



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