1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



647 



an opinion as I can. In my opinion, there are 

 only four breeds of cattle in this country, upon 

 which so much pains and attention have been be- 

 stowed, and in which so much improvement has 

 been effected, as to render them worthy the atten- 

 tion oi'iistnmsier. These are the Devon, the West 

 llio'hland Scot, the llerclbrd, and the Sliort- 

 horned breed. The Devons havetiiree varieties : 

 the North, the INlidland, and the South.' Tlie first, 

 are an excellent breed, fattening very quickly, 

 and producuig lite best quality of meat. They 

 £;ive, however, very little milk, and are of very 

 small size ; consequently, as it costs nearly as 

 nuich to breetl and rear a small animal as a larire 

 one, they are not calculated for those parts of ihe 

 count rv, where the soil is good enougli to produce 

 larrrer "cattle. I believe them to be the only cat- 

 tlethat can keep themselves in good condition, 

 during a dry sunmier, on light and sandy land. 

 The Midland Devons have not the same merits. 

 The South Devons come to a larger size, and are 

 the Devons generally used for draught. For this, 

 they are excellent ; but they are very slow feed- 

 ders, and when at last far, are far from being fa- 

 vorites with the butchers. The North Devons are, 

 as I have said, the best calculated for light dry 

 soils ; but they are not fit fbr exposed and bleak 

 situations. The West Highland Scot, is also an 

 excellent sort of cattle. They are calculated for 

 poor soils ; but their merit is in bearing cold and 

 exposure. The Devons would heat them as much 

 in a dry, hot summer, as they would beat the 

 Devons in a cold winter. I believe they do not 

 produce much milk; but as the practice, in their 

 native country, is to allow them to rear their 

 calves on the foot, upon the sides of the moun- 

 tains, and not to use them at all, I believe, as dairy 

 cows, I am not able to speak positively on this 

 point. They do not fatten very quickly •, but 

 when fat, the quality of the beef is excellent, and it 

 bears a higher price in the provision market, 

 than any other beef which is sold there. No 

 one, I believe, has ever bred the West High- 

 land Scots any where but in mountainous di^ftricts ; 

 and their size is so small, that it could not be ad- 

 vantageous to do so. The Hereford, are a very 

 valuable, large breed of cattle, and cannot be sur- 

 j assed fbr the purpose of grazing, in land of mo- 

 derate or superior value. But they are the worst 

 milkers of any of the English breeds, because 

 (bey do not give so much milk as the Devons, 

 and what they do give, is very poor. 



In the Short-horned breed, there are three va- 

 rieties ; but all evidently of the same family : 

 the Ayrshire, the Holderness, and the properly 

 called Short-horned or Durham. The general 

 characteristic of this family appears to be, that of 

 being very good dairy cows. The milk they give 

 is certainly not rich ; but the quantity is very 

 great. The Ayrshire and the Holderness, retain 

 . this characteristic in its original perfection; The 

 Ayrshire having been located in a more northerly 

 and cold climate, have fallen oflT in point of size, 

 but retain the qualification of being very good 

 dairy cows. The Holderness have kept the size 

 of the breed, and possess, in great perfection, the 

 propensity to give a large quantity of milk ; but 

 neither of these varieties have much tendency to 

 fatten, or to produce oxen profitable to theirrazier. 

 The Short -horned, or Durham, having been located 

 in the rich valley of the Tees, have acquired, from 



constantly feeding in rich pastures, the propensity 

 to fatten, which ihe other two varieties want; and 

 although they have fallen off in their value, as 

 milch cows, yet they retain so much of the family 

 characteristic, as to render them generally much 

 better dairy cows, than are to be found in any 

 other of the grazing sorts of cattle. This is so 

 much the case, that much the largest number of 

 the dairy cows, from which London is supplied, 

 are of this breed. The dairy men tell me, that 

 although they might find cows that would give 

 more milk, yet they fatten so much easier than 

 such cows would, that it answers to them to sacri- 

 fice a portion of the dairy produce, for the purpose 

 of being able more profitably to dispose of the 

 cows to" the butcher, when they are no longer in 

 milk. The Durham or Short-horned oxen, are 

 fully equal to the Herefbrds fbr grazing purposes, 

 and I think when great perfection in shape and 

 quality is required, combined with large size, aa 

 in the case of striving fbr prizes, the Durhama 

 will generally be fbund to be best. I am endea- 

 voring to give you as impartial an opinion as I 

 can ; but it is right for me to tell you, that I am 

 the largest breeder of short-horned cattle in Eng- 

 land. With respect to other breeds of cattle, 

 (hey are hardly worth mentioning. The Gallo- 

 way is a good sort, but its merits are of the same 

 nature as those of the West Highland, and very 

 inferior in degree. The Alderney milk and 

 cream, is a great luxury from its richness ; but 

 the cattle possess no one qualification which a 

 grazing animal ought to have; and I believe no 

 one who farms fbr profit, ever has Alderney cat- 

 tle. The Sufiblk, produce probably as much milk 

 as the Holderness, and of the same poor quality ; 

 hut they are inferior to them in size and propen- 

 p\\y to fatten, to the greatest possible degree. 

 The Glamorganshire, and indeed all the Welsh cat- 

 tle from being very cheap, are frequently purchased 

 by the graziers ; but no man who has ever tried 

 any of the improved breeds, and can aflord the 

 out-lay of capital necessary to buy them, ever 

 continues to graze W elsh oxen. The Lancashire, 

 are a thick-hided, coarse race, with bad quality of 

 flesh, and having no merit of which I am aware ; 

 and the Sufiblk, though good, are only an inferior 

 variety of the Devon. 



For the Farmers' Register. 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE AGBICULTUUE AKD 

 HORTICULTURE OF WESTERN NEW YORK. 



(Continued from page 441.) 



The soil of the interior of New York is well 

 known ; and is not perhaps to be surpassed either 

 in fertility or durability, by any tract of similar ex- 

 tent, in the United States. In some of the conti- 

 guous states, and in other parts of the same state, 

 the system of agriculture is doubtless move perfect. 

 Where nature has been less bountiful, a greater 

 necessity has existed for man to exercise his in- 

 dustry. Improvement being once begun, a spirit 

 of emulation carried it on ; and every farmer felt 

 a pride in at least keeping pace with his neightjors. 

 Such are the circumstances under which some of 

 the finest districte of Pennsylvania and eastern 

 New York, have attained their present state of 

 productiveness, which, under an opposite treat- 



