STOCK. 275 



Devons. Roebuck, the sire of this bull, was sired by Bloom- 

 field, and imported by the Massachusetts State Society in 1846 

 direct from the Earl of Leicester's celebrated North Devon 

 stock. 



Roebuck is now the property of the Massachusetts Society, 

 and was put under the care of the Worcester County Society, 

 ^and was kept for service at the farm of Harvey Dodge, of 

 Sutton, from 1849, until the spring of 1853. He was con- 

 sidered the strongest blooded as well as best formed bull 

 from that importation. He was not only the getter of Earl 

 of Leicester, but also of the balance of his beautiful North 

 Devon stock, consisting of some twenty-five head, except his 

 last spring calves, which were sired by Earl of Leicester. 



The following remarks on the stock of New England, by 

 Hon. J. W. Proctor, are taken from the Essex Transactions : — 



"What class of cattle is best fitted to the farms of New 

 England, taking into view their cost, their feed, their uses and 

 their products, is the theme proposed for consideration. All 

 will readily admit, that the farmer who expects to live by farm- 

 ing, must keep within the means at his command, in stocking 

 his farm. There is a fitness of proportion in these things that 

 cannot be deviated from, with impunity. The farmer cannot 

 indulge in fancy stocks. He must procure such as will pay, 

 and none others. 



Massachusetts has ever been under obligations to the adjoin- 

 ing States at the North, for many of the best animals in her 

 stall — especially oxen for labor, and cows for the dairy — the 

 main purposes for which animals are kept on our farms. To 

 be sure, occasionally a pair of cattle, or a cow, is fed for beef, 

 after they have passed their period of usefulness in other de- 

 partments, but this is not the purpose for which they are kept. 



Of the comparative value of our native stock for beef, I do 

 not presume to speak, for in this my experience will not war- 

 rant the expression of an opinion. If hearsay is to be credited, 

 I should suppose the Durhams would have the preference, so far 

 as size is taken into view ,• but whether this size can be at- 

 tained without a proportionate expenditure for feed, I am not 



