FARMERS' REGISTER— STOCK FOR THE DAIRY. 



767 



no claims to his rank among the class of carelUl 

 and intelligent husbandmen. The attempts and 

 generous etlbrts, therefore, of these public spirited 

 men who have sought to avail themselves of the 

 long experience and extraordinary advances ol 

 older countries in the improvement of their domes- 

 tic animals, and with the most praiseworthy liber- 

 ality to spread these advantages among us, entitle 

 them to high regard, and justly place them among 

 the benefactors of the community. 



It is with these views, with sentiments of grati- 

 tude and respect, that I have regarded the liberal, 

 and in many cases the entirely disinterested exer- 

 tions and expenditures of gentlemen in various 

 parts of our country, to introduce the best breeds 

 of neat cattle from abroad, and to extend their ad- 

 vantages as widely as possible; and it is with in- 

 effable contempt and disdain that I here the sneers 

 which the malignant, narrow-minded, and ill-bred, 

 cast upon such patriotic services, and to which 1 

 am sometimes compelled to listen. It cannot, how- 

 ever, be demanded, that we should hail every in- 

 novation as an improvement, or that we should 

 admit without ample inquiry, and the severe test 

 of actual experiment, and exact comparison, that 

 the introduction of any foreign breed of animals, 

 with a view to propagation must be an advantage. 

 This is a fiuestion of lair discussion, and one which 

 is to be settled, not by any imaginary or conjectural 

 standard — not by theories, however plausible — not 

 by mere guesses, or vague reports, unattested by 

 competent authority; but by direct examination 

 — by simple, authenticated, and incontrovertible 

 facts. 



From the first time I ever saw one of the fine 

 animals of the Improved Durham Short Horns, I 

 have been an admirer of this beautiful race, not 

 only for the synunetry of form which they pre- 

 sent, but for the wonderllil success which has fol- 

 lowed the skill, perseverance, and enterprise of 

 those breeders, who have boldly attempted to form 

 and propagate a race of animals after their own 

 beau ideal of excellence. It has been my good 

 fortune to see many of the choicest specimens of 

 this noble race which have been brought into the 

 country, and of those which have been propagat- 

 ed from them since their arrival, at the cattle 

 shows at Brighton, Worcester, and Albany; in 

 the establishments of private individuals — at Sa- 

 lem, in the possession of E. H. Derby, Esq. to 

 whose care were entrusted the magnificent ani- 

 mals. Admiral, and Flora, sent as a present to the 

 country by Sir Isaac Coffin, whose munificence is 

 above all praise; at Col. Jacques', in Charlestown, 

 who had in his possession Cujlebs, and the match- 

 less bull Bolivar; at the late Mr. Williams', in 

 Chelsea, who had a numerous herd of them; at 

 Hon. John Wells', in Dorchester, who had sev- 

 eral valuable cows; at Gov. Lincoln's in Worces- 

 ter, who Avas justly proud of Denton's progeny; at 

 James D' Wolf's, Esq. in Bristol, whose cows 

 with their deep udders were magnificent; at Henry 

 Watson's, Esq., in Windsor, where I had the j)lea- 

 eure of seeing the celebrated bull, Wye-Comet; 

 at Charles H. Hall's, Esq. in Harlirm, whose 

 Short Horns, and whose Devons, a present from 

 the fine stock of-Mr. Coke, contended for the palm 

 of excellence; at Powelton, at the establishment of 

 the most liberal importer and most devoted advo- 

 cate of this fine race, whose admirable animals 

 were a perfect justification of tlie enthusiasm witli 



Avhich he regarded them; at Albtmy, where be- 

 sides various fine specimens of the stock fi-om dif^ 

 lerent individuals, (whose names, as I saw their 

 animals, but not their owners, only at a public 

 show, I shall be pardoned for not remembering,) 

 I had the gratification of seeing Mr. Van Rense- 

 laer's extraordinary bull of two years old, and Mr. 

 C. N. Bemcnt's imported cow, whose superior in 

 promise and general appearance I have never yet 

 seen; at Messrs. Percy's and Rogers', at Hoosic, 

 N. Y. whose stock is admirable, and have been 

 managed with great care; and at ifyde Park, at 

 the noble establishment of Dr. Hosack, where 

 without question, judging from the actual inspec- 

 tion of their yield of milk, as well as their general 

 appearance, I found the most numerous and finest 

 fiuiiily of Short Horn cows that I have seen, or 

 which, hklecd, I ever expect to see; and a bull 

 whose splendid form gave him a just right to pre- 

 side over such a seraglio. 



Greatly, however, as these opportunities have 

 contributed to my personal gratification, I shall not 

 assume the character of a practised, or in any 

 measure a competent judge. I hold myself as no 

 other than a plain inquirer after truth; much as I 

 have admired their appearance, and delighted as I 

 have been with the encomiums which I have 

 heard ])assed upon them, and not doubting in any 

 case that great advantages are to result from their 

 introduction into the country — if no other, the 

 great one of seeing Avhat can be done in such 

 cases by human skill and perseverance — still I wait 

 anxiously for more fiicts before I make up my judge- 

 ment as to the extent of these advantages, and in 

 what particular respects these advantages are to 

 be found. I am aware that I am approaching an 

 exciting subject; I recollect with sorrow the angry 

 collision into which two highly respectable gentle- 

 men were brought on this very matter, and the 

 fear of kindling again in others these slumbering, 

 may I not rather hope, these extinguishing fires, 

 has long deterred me from entering upon it. I 

 shall not willingly, however, provoke hostility; I 

 shall engage in no controversy. If there must 

 be contention among the short horns and the 

 long horns, let the cattle settle it among them- 

 selv^es. I go into the field unarmed, and as a non- 

 combatant. 



There are various points yet to be settled in re- 

 spect to these cattle. Their early maturity, a most 

 valuable property, seems to be determined. That 

 they are great consumers is equally admitted. 

 Their general tendency to keep themselves in 

 high condition is not so well settled. In Brighton 

 market they do not sell so well as our native stock, 

 because, as it is believed there, (I have it from the 

 highest authority,) they do not prove as well — 

 that is, do not have so much tallow. It is obvious 

 they can have had but iew samples for. trial, and 

 those not perhaps of the best kind; there must have 

 been very few indeed if any, of the pure blood. 

 But a matter which I deem of great importance, 

 especially to the northern section of the country, 

 is whether they are preferable to stock already to 

 be found among us for dairy purposes. Here it is 

 we want facts; exact, authentic, and well estab- 

 lished statements of the quantity and quality of 

 their milk; how much milk has been obtained from 

 tliem; how many pounds; how many quarts; 

 whether beer or wine measure; how much butter 

 and how much cheese has been obtained from 



