38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



were well selected, — we have the elements for determining 

 the diiference ; and this difference must be the grade differ- 

 ence. 



Mr. Wetherell. Did not the gentleman select prize 

 animals from Scotland, from Canada, and from Northern 

 New York? and if so, whether the same pains were taken, 

 on the other hand, to obtain the same quality of high grades ? 

 that is the point. 



Dr. Sturtevant. I have referred to the published state- 

 ment of INIr. Miles, of Fitchburg, who has not an imported 

 animal in his herd. He gives the yield of his cows for three 

 years "past, and, strange as it may seem, his average for 

 three years comes within one quart of our average for three 

 years, — 2,587 quarts in his case, and 2,588 quarts in ours. 

 We have given the average for three years, of a Ijreeding 

 herd of Ayrshire cows, while the native cows were not a 

 breeding herd, but a herd fed for milk, when we have had no 

 young stock in the barn ; raised none from them. The condi- 

 tions are perfectly even for comparison. 



Mr. Perry, of Worcester. What our friend Lewis said, 

 in regard to cows having early feed in the pastures, was 

 all very well ; but it seemed to me he Avent on afterwards to 

 contradict himself. He says, by all means have your cows 

 in one pasture. Now, my experience is, that if you turn 

 your cows out early, as he recommends, into one pasture for 

 a few days, then change them into a second and into a third, 

 they in that way get the feed as it comes tender from the 

 ground ; whereas, if you turn them into a large pasture, they 

 select the sweetest portions of that pasture, and neglect other 

 portions which are not sweet ; and they grow up and become 

 useless for feed. I contend that if a man has forty acres of 

 pasture, and has four pastures, he can keep twenty-five per 

 cent, more stock, and get twenty-five per cent, more milk 

 than if he kept the whole forty acres in one pasture. Then, 

 again, Mr. Lewis spoke in regard to winter food. He seemed 

 to lay a great deal of stress on grass ; and grass is good in 

 its place. He rejects the views that all fjirmers have enter- 

 tained, I think, in regard to the clover crop. I have been in 

 the dairy business for the last fifteen or twenty years, and I 

 think I can speak from experience. I think there is nothing 



