98 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



— it is just as necessary that a cow should be quiet, and strong, 

 and calm, and prudent, and well-behaved — as it is that a horse 

 should be. Every man, whether he keeps one cow or fifty cows, 

 knows that what he wants, particularly for a good dairy cow, is 

 a placid temper. There never was such a thing as an irritable, 

 and at the same time a valuable, dairy cow. The two things do 

 not go together. So then you must, in breeding animals of the 

 bovine species, select that calm temperament ; for when you 

 come down to the matter in hand, having secured the shape that 

 I spoke of, it is the animal that is well organized in this way that 

 is a good worker, docile, easily trained, and patient. It is the 

 animal of the kind of which I have spoken that performs her 

 part well in the dairy ; it is the animal of the kind of which I 

 have spoken that breeds well and transmits good qualities to his 

 descendants. And when you pass from the horned cattle on your 

 farm, and go to your horses, every man knows that there are 

 just as distinctive qualities in families of horses as in families of 

 men. You can go into any part of New England, and you will 

 find that there have been certain stallions which have produced 

 good driving, patient horses, with no vices about them. They 

 do not kick ; they do not bite ; they are not opposed to work ; 

 they are ready to go about their business at any time ; and every 

 horse-purchaser goes right to that spot to see if he can get an 

 animal of that family. On the other hand, you find families of 

 horses entirely different ; and in all the animals that we under- 

 take to breed upon our farms, we find the defects of which I have 

 spoken. Now you can create a bad temperament, if you like. 

 There is no question about that at all. A team of oxen will 

 always tell the story of the driver. You need not look at the 

 driver. He may be in a grog-shop, for aught I care, taking his 

 eleven o'clock, or hid under his wagon eating his economical 

 bread and cheese ; look at his team, and the team will tell the 

 story of the driver almost always. See that stately, high-headed, 

 patient-looking team — confident-looking — (that is the word ; how 

 it expresses the appearance of a good ox-team !) — four or six, 

 attached to a heavy load. They stand waiting, confident-looking ^ 

 knowing that there is nothing between them and their destina- 

 tion except the length of the way. Now, it is the man who, 

 having selected his team, imparts to them that confidence. He 

 never despairs, and they never despair ; he never frets, and they 



