224 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



accustomed to look at cattle, could help noticing the bright, 

 cheerful, yet mild eye; the deep chest and broad shoulder; 

 the clean limbs of small bone, but strong sinew ; the small but 

 compact and beautifully proportioned form of this bull. Near 

 to Mr. Wilbur's, stands " Napoloen," Mr. Day's Devon bull. 

 How they resemble one another in all these points of excel- 

 lence ! The observer could well understand that a committee 

 must ponder well before deciding which is entitled to the first 

 premium. The reseml)lance of these two thorough-breds, com- 

 ing from different localities, and of diiferent families, con- 

 vinces him that they may be considered as types of the breed of 

 North Devons ; a belief still strengthened by examining a third 

 Devon, the bull belonging to Mr. Durfee, of Rhode Island. The 

 farmer sees at once that for breeding light, active, docile and 

 tough working oxen, that, when their work is done, will cover 

 well and rapidly, and make fine beef, there is nothing like the 

 Devon. Now, then, let him pass along the line of pens. Com- 

 ing upon Mr. Shepherd's yearling, he thinks he finds another 

 Devon, so strongly is he marked with the characteristics of that 

 breed, but Mr. Shepherd's bull is only half bred, got by Mr. 

 Day's "Napoleon" out of a native cow. Mr. Page's heifer, 

 and every grade Devon on the ground, all help to teach the 

 important lesson that " blood will tell." That the thorough- 

 bred will mark his offspring, and that the more nearly an animal 

 approaches purity of blood, the more he will resemble the thor- 

 ough-bred parent, the more certainly he will be marked by the 

 characteristics, and possess the merits of the breed to which he 

 is allied. The study of the short-horned bulls, and the grade 

 short-horns at the recent show, would have conveyed the same 

 lesson, and so it was with the Alderneys or Jerseys. 



Now, as we conceive, the practical application of this lesson 

 by the farmer cannot be mistaken. It is plainly this : "When a 

 farmer of Bristol county wishes to improve his stock, he must, 

 if a choice is within his reach, make use of the services of a biiU 

 of the breed, possessing, in the greatest degree, those charac- 

 teristics that he desires to impress upon his herd. The purer 

 the blood of that bull, the greater will be the certainty that the 

 calf will resemble the sire. It is fortunate that we possess in 

 our native cows such a hardy and well-acclimated race to serve 

 as mothers, and impart good constitutions to our calves. Wc 



