466 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



consequently, few have sought and. practiced the art of breeding ; and the true test ol 

 value, which is the shambles, has been neglected. The price now is too fieqiiently 

 made the test of merit. Under such influences, short-horns arc in great danger oi 

 deterioration. * * * -pjjjj breeder must know what constitutes a 



lirst-rato short-horn. Then the great i^riuciplo is, that like begets like. Therefore, he 

 must select the best, and none but the best, as breeders. There is no herd of cattle, or 

 even a family, but there are better aud worse cattle in it. The best should be retained 

 and bred, and in the course of thirty years' breeding this will be a better herd than at 

 the commencement. That these cattle arc susceptible of improvement there can be 

 no doubt. There cau scarcely two animals be found of like quality in all their points. 

 One Will be better in a certain jjoint than the other, and worse in auother ; and an 

 inferior animal may be better in a point or two than the most superior. There is a 

 certainty, therefore, that imiirovemeut may be made. 



In a discussion which followed the delivery of this address, Mr. W. 

 W. Thrasher alluded to the importance of good handling-qualities. His. 

 attention was first called to the matter at a fair in 1854, when he served 

 as one of the judges. Some seventeen heifers were brought into the 

 ring looking as much alike as so many eggs; but in handling-qualities 

 they were quite different. From experience, since gained, he knew good 

 handlers made better beef than hard handlers. General Meredith coin- 

 cided with the speaker. He thought there was a great deal in handling- 

 qualities. Those soft to the touch fattened more readily than the hard 

 handlers, and brought higher prices everywhere. Many hard handlers 

 thrived well, but in consequence of the discrimination against them in 

 the market it was not prohtable for breeders to produce animals of this 

 character. The feeding qualities, in his opinion, went with the hand- 

 ling, as a general rule, although there were undoubtedly exceptions. 

 In thirtyyears' experience he had never known a hard handler to be a 

 superior milker. Mr. Lowder spoke of the superior qualities of short- 

 horns as milkers. He said that some men regarded short-horns as 

 worthless for milk and butter, and especially for butter. There are 

 some families of which this is true ; and many, who had been so un- 

 fortunate as to get these cattle, believe they have tested the milking 

 qualities of the shorthorns, when really they have done no such thing. 

 There are some families of short-horns which are as good milkers as can 

 be found in the world — as good milkers as the Ayrshire in regard to 

 quantity, and the Jersey in regard to quality. He had a cow which 

 yielded 22i pounds of butter in ten days; and this same cow fattened 

 very quickly. Mr. Thrasher said the Ayrshires were better average 

 milkers, but when a good short-horn milker was found, she would prove 

 much more valuable than an Ayrshire. He never knew a good short- 

 horn milch cow which was not also a good feeder. 



On the second day of the convention a constitution and by-laws were 

 adopted, the fifth article of which provides for an annual meeting of 

 the short-horn breeders of the State on the fourth Tuesday in May. 

 After the adoption of the constitution the subject of grazing was taken 

 up, and discussed at length. Mr. Lowder alluded to the necessity of 

 grazing becoming more general. The continual taking of crops from 

 the soil tends to its impoverishment, and the consequent impoverish- 

 ment of the people. Mr. Thrasher spoke of blue-grass pastures, and 

 said they should be well treated, and not overstocked. With proper 

 treatment the older it gets, the better. A portion of the pasturage 

 should be set apart ungTazed in summer for use in the winter season. 

 He regarded the short-horns as the most profitable to raise. With the 

 same keep, care, and treatment as common stock, short-horns will make 

 the most beef, aud beef which will sell for more. - 



The i)resident expressed his high appreciation of the economic ad- 

 vantages of grazing to the country. The grazing of common cattle 



