CATTLE. 35 



On a high bluff, overlooking the village of Prattsville and the farm where this work was 

 done, the profile of Col. Zadock Pratt stands out in bold relief, cut on the solid rock, a fit 

 ting monument to one of the first men who systematically undertook, in an inexpensive way, 

 the improvement of the common milch stock of America, and left an authentic record of his 

 doings as a guide and encouragement to others. 



Some men feel satisfied, if, on keeping a record of the product of the whole herd, it 

 shows a good annual average per cow. A very common mistake is made in dividing the 

 gross product of the herd by the average number of cows in milk, instead of the whole num 

 ber kept. It should be remembered that every cow has to be fed twelve months in the year, 

 and every twelve months lessens her period of usefulness by a year; therefore what is wanted 

 is not what the animal will yield while in milk, but what she produces during every calendar 

 year. 



Still further: as to a record, milk-production alone is not sufficient; quality as well as 

 quantity must be considered in the question of profit, especially if butter-making be the 

 object. The only sure way is to test the milk of every cow separately, often enough to 

 determine its butter-making capacity. For this purpose the cream-gauge is insufficient. 

 There is no fixed relation between the percentage of cream from a certain cow s milk and the 

 percentage of butter. Cows differ as nmch in their cream as in their milk. The weighed 

 butter is the test. But if, by the record, you know how much milk a cow gives each month, 

 and once a month ascertain how many pounds of her milk are required to make a pound of 

 butter, you have a correct guide to the value of the animal.&quot; 



If such results can be attained by skillful management with only the native stock, what 

 may not be accomplished with the improved and valuable breeds that (especially for grading) 

 are within the means of almost every farmer of the country. Here is certainly an example 

 that speaks volumes of truth and encouragement in behalf of a systematic and judicious 

 management in the breeding and care of cattle. By consulting various authorities it is 

 found that in the year 1710 the average weight of Smithfield beef cattle was three hundred 

 and seventy pounds; and in 1794 the average weight of cattle in the English market was 

 four hundred and sixty-two pounds, this being an increase of twenty-five per cent, during 

 the preceding thirty years. &quot;Very few animals were fatted at that period under five years of 

 age, they being of slow growth and maturity. When we compare these with some of the 

 present improved breeds, with respect to size, weight, rapidity of growth, maturity and 

 quality of beef product, the manifest difference in favor of the latter is great and the improve 

 ments brought about by careful breeding and judicious management is truly wonderful. 



Texan Cattle. These cattle are of Spanish origin, and were introduced into Mexico 

 (of which Texas was then a part) about the year 1500, being brought to this continent by 

 the early adventurers. They are supposed to have been of the same race as those kept for 

 many centuries by the Moors on the plains of Andalusia, and their sticcessors, the Castilians, 

 although we have no positive proof of this fact. 



These cattle in time covered the vast grazing plains of Mexico, Texas, and California, 

 becoming, to all appearances, wild cattle, feeding upon the abundant herbage the climate and 

 soil of those regions afforded. Immense numbers of them have been killed annually until 

 within a few years, simply for their hides and tallow, notwithstanding they had increased to 

 the extent that within a few years their estimated number in Texas alone was over four 

 millions, and at that time constituted about one-seventh of the cattle of the United States and 

 territories. They congregate in large herds and range and propagate with little care, being 

 known to their owners only by the marks or brands that are put upon them. They are 

 gathered once a year for identification, when the calves are castrated and branded, while 

 those fit for beef are selected and driven to market. They are impatient of restraint, and 

 having led a wild, roving life, never become really domesticated. When from five to seven 



