On the most profiial'le Size of Farming Cattle. 365 



table age. The consumer must be ever advantaged by fbe 

 smaller animal, it having proportionablv much less oflal. 

 Of Ijorses, I need not observe the larger animal has but its 

 particular use ; the middling animal must, for general use, 

 be ever preferred. 



C. Gordon Grey. 



Tracey-Park, 1804. 



Among the different objects of improvements to which 

 the attention of this society has- been long directed, none 

 has been more remarkable than thatof improving, on sound 

 and general principles, the various kinds of live stock ; an 

 object confessedly of great moment. The ardour which the 

 society has evinced under this head, had been excited by the 

 prevalence of an opinion, which jn many instances seemed 

 to be gaining ground, that the largest races of animals were 

 the most profitable to the farmer, as paying most for the 

 food they ate. And this opinion seems to have derived 

 considerable cov.nlenance of late years from the frequent in- 

 stances of premiums and bounties given by the amateurs in 

 London for samples of large animals, produced at the 

 Smithfield meeting. Strong suspicions of the soundness of 

 this dextrine having taken place in the minds of some practical 

 men concerned in fatting stock, very useful experiments 

 have been accordingly made. In many instances it bad 

 been obvious that too many of the favourers of large ani- 

 mals, though proic'-iing to calculate on the profit of the 

 food consumed, had not in reality so done ; but were de- 

 ceived .by attending to the most striking feature of the bu- 

 siness, the nominal profit per head, instead of closely calcu- 

 lating the agsrregate advantage per acre, which is certainly 

 the true criterion. This latter mode of calculation, requir- 

 ing accurate comparison of one race against another, seems 

 to have involved too much care and extent of comparative 

 account, to have been pursued in general practice, and to 

 general conviction. Some gentlemen may be of opinion, 

 (which indeed seems. to have been the fact) that difl'crcnces 

 of profit in favour of large animals, especially horned cattle, 

 will be occasioned by local circumstances, as of very rich 

 and luxuviaiU. lands, or Unds abounding with very strong 



grass. 



