CATTLE. ^ 348 



If a farmer wished to collect a dairy stock for any bpecial 

 purpose, as, for instance, the production of butter or of cheese, 

 or the manufacture of large quantities of milk, for sale as such, 

 he could find animals not only among our common stock, but 

 also among all the well-known breeds, that would be well 

 adapted to his objects. Still, there would be a decided differ- 

 ence in these animals. With those selected from any of the 

 well established breeds, especially cows that have been bred 

 with reference to the dairy, he would find a remarkable degree 

 of uniformity. He would soon discover that they transmitted 

 their good qualities to their offspring with certainty, and that 

 he could rely upon them to produce their kind, when bred to a 

 male of their own class or breed — -while in those selected from 

 the common stock of the country, he would see no uniformity, 

 either in size, color, or milking capabilities, and that they could 

 not be relied upon to produce a progeny like themselves. And 

 here is the great and most striking defect of the " native" stock, 

 so called. While much of it possesses high qualities, thare is 

 no reliance upon the quality of its progeny, as there is among 

 the well established breeds, and hence the advantage of a resort 

 to the latter. 



Dairy stock may be divided into three classes : Cows that are 

 adapted to the Butter dairy, or where the making of butter is 

 the leading object; cows that are adapted to the Cheese or 

 Milk Dairy ; and cows more especially adapted to the Family 

 Dairy. Animals best adapted to either one of these purposes 

 might be unfit for the others. 



The Butter Dairy. For the butter dairy, we want a cow 

 that gives a rich quality of milk, or a milk in which the oily 

 or butter particles readily separate from the water, and rise in 

 a thick, rich, golden coating upon the surface. Quality, here, 

 is more important than quantity. The milk of some cows is 



