142 YALE AGRICULTURAL LECTURES. 



view in selecting his cows. The animal most profitable for a 

 milk dairy may be very unprofitable for a butter or cheese 

 dairy. The first cattle imported into New England arrived at 

 Plymouth in 1624, and they are described as of a variety of 

 colors. These, with the importations of Capt. John Mason, 

 from Denmark into New Hampshire, in 1631-4, laid the foun 

 dation of the native stock of New England ; and this stock 

 must be regarded as an exceedingly valuable foundation for 

 improvement, which may be effected either by careful and ju 

 dicious selections, or by crossing with foreign and already 

 highly improved breeds. 



Grades are often more valuable for practical purposes on the 

 farm than pure breeds. In breeding it is important to have a 

 specific object in view, as for beef, milk, or labor the complete 

 union of these qualities being, to a considerable extent, imprac 

 ticable. Great milkers are rarely very handsome animals. 

 They seldom have the well-rounded forms of fattening animals, 

 but are often coarser looking and more angular. In breeding 

 to produce large milkers, it is especially important to select 

 males that come from great milking cows since the dairy 

 qualities are transmitted more surely through the male offspring. 

 The most celebrated dairy breeds are the Swiss, the Dutch, the 

 Jersey, and the Ayrshire. The Jerseys give the richest milk, 

 and the Ayrshires the largest quantity, in proportion to the 

 food consumed and their size, and are very valuable as a means 

 of improving our common or grade stock. But, whatever 

 breed is selected, success will mainly depend on the care and 

 management, and especially on the food. VEKY LITTLE MILK 



COMES OUT OF THE BAG THAT IS NOT FIRST PUT INTO THE THROAT. 



It is poor economy to overstock the farm, as is too often the 

 case : the cows come out of the stall in spring in no condition for 

 the profitable production of milk. The cow should be regarded 

 as an instrument of transformation ; a machine for the manufac 

 ture of milk. The food is the raw material, milk the product 

 salable, and always in demand. The machine is the capital 



