392 REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



zled arouud it before drinkiug, precisely like its sire ; has done everything like its sire. 

 The dam simply carried it, as a mother holds her baby iu her lap, and never marked it 

 at all. Now, may not the old Arabs have such facts iu mind? May tlieynot, when 

 they laid down the maxim, "the foal always follows the sire," have had this in mind, 

 that there should be no dam bred to a sire that would interrupt the sire in propagating 

 himself ? I know a man that has a mare that has foaled two colts. He bought her for 

 $87. And yet she is invaluable, AYhy? Because each of the colts that came from her 

 are not only like the sire in a general sense, but they are the sire in miniature. In 

 interior habits of the stable, in the way they move about in the stall, th^ way they 

 toss their heads, and the way they feed and drink, they are the sire over again. 



You may take all my fashionable, high-bred mares ont of my stable, if you will leave 

 in their places such mares as that, for you have eliminated for me in doing it half the 

 diflEiculty out of the problem of breeding, namely, the difficulty which the tempera- 

 ment, structure, and habits of dams bring to the breeder. For instance, I could select 

 an animal that is jierfect — one I know is perfect — one that can transmit himself if 

 he is not bothered and interrupted in doing it by the dam. I know I can, I say, 

 select such a stallion in New York, in New England, and in six or eight stables in the 

 Middle States ; and if I can find a dam that will not trouble that sire in the offspring, 

 I can repeat the sire in every colt. The Arabs may have selected their dams iu that 

 way. 



Now, then, will you see the possibility of this old Arab maxim being true in our prac- 

 tice? First, select a dam that will simply carry the foal, feeding it with its blood and 

 milk, but not affectiug it at all. and then select a horse that has, first, the general ex- 

 cellence that you want, then the special excellence, and then the power to transmit 

 both the general and special excellence, and would not the maxim be true that "the 

 foal follows the sirey 



Mr. Murray states that, in breeding for the market, the first great 

 point to be considered is pedigree ; second, size ; third, color ; fourth, 

 health ; fifth, temperament j sixth, speed. The order iu which he breeds 

 in his own stables is, first, beauty. A beautiful horse, he says, will 

 always find a buyer, and at a good price. The second thing he breeds 

 for is docility; the third, speed. If he can get the first two in large de- 

 gree he has no fears but ho can secure an early sale, but if he secures 

 speed without these two points prominently developed, he will have to 

 wait four or five years, or until the horse makes a record, before he can 

 get his money back. 



In a discussion on cattle-husbandry, Dr. G. B. Loring gave his ideas 

 of a good cow as follows : 



' If you ask me, "Wliat is this animal called an Ayrshire T" I say, it is a good' cow, 

 but the law will apply to any other class of cows as it will to Ayrshire cows. I 

 mean a cow of such moderate size that she will not interfere with anybody, to begin 

 with ; a cow that manages herself handily, easily; a cow that possesses that vigorous, 

 elastic, powerful constitution which never belongs to a coarse-boned, overgrown frame. 

 An Ayrshire cow, then, is a cow made up, anatomically, physiologically, upon the 

 best model for a cow ; that is, a good cow, generally. She has that structure of the 

 bead which indicates a contented, placid disposition and a powerful constitution ; a 

 calm and steady eye ; a face that is as expressive as a cow's face can be ; as much of an 

 intelligent look as an anira.il of that description can have. A horn not too large at the 

 base, but large enough to indicate that there is a strong constitution there ; a head wide 

 between the eyes, and pretty high above the eyes to the root of the horns. I think a 

 cow that has a broad base to her head is the best. And if she has a large, luxurious 

 month, that looks as if it was made for business, and can fill her stomach rapidly, so 

 that she can lie down and rest and repose, she will bo all the better fitted for the busi- 

 Jiess of the dairy. I would have a cow's neck small enough to be graceful, but not too 

 small ; not a ewe-neck, that is not necessary, but gracefully, delicately, and elegantly set 

 on, without a waste muscle in it, but with muscle enough to make it a strong, vigorous, 

 and powerful part of the animal's body. The shoulder of an animal of this description 

 should be as near like the shoulder of a good trotting-horse as it can be ; not straight up 

 and down like a thoroughbred's. The shoulder of a good dairy-cow should be a little loose, 

 with the blades not rising above the backbone, with strong, powerful muscles, and a 

 good, substantial base, with a fore quarter under it as straight as a plumb-line. Crooked- 

 legged, knock-kneed cattle are never graceful, and seldom profitable. The legs should 

 bo strong and well defined, and the cords and muscles should stand out clean and prom- 

 inent. The milk-vein should indicate a good superficial vascular system, which means 

 simply this : it is an organization in which the superficial circulation of the blood in- 

 dicates that what are called the secretory organs are active in the interior. The next 



