CATTLE. 125 



wrote in 1807, and since liis day many improvements have taken place 

 in the breeds of cattle; and- experience has proved, that the improved 

 Yorkshire cow, in which the characters of the Durham and Holderness 

 are minoled, unites the two qualities in high perfection. 



Reproduction, Rearing and Fattening.— The heifer ought not to be 



permitted to breed until over two years old; the reason is obvious, 

 llcr own system before this period is not sufficiently matured for the 

 tax upon it — a tax wliich will be paid not only by the dam, but also by 

 her progeny, for both will suffer from a deficiency in nutriment, the 

 whole of which is necessary for the growth of the former, which during 

 the second year is rapid. If the bull be kept separate from the herd of 

 cows, the farmer may regulate the succession of calves almost at pleas- 

 ure, so as to suit his pasture or his arrangements. The best time as it 

 respects the mother, the calf, and the free supply of milk, is when the 

 spring grass is beginning to shoot luxuriantly, atfording a good and 

 sufficient store of nutriment. It is true that veal and butter yield a 

 better profit at an earlier period, but the breeder must judge in points 

 of this nature from circumstances. The period of gestation in the cow 

 is generally stated as nine calendar months, or 270 days; but there is 

 often considerable variation of time. M. Tessier observes (in a memoir 

 read to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris), that the shortest 

 period, as far as his opportunities of observation enabled him to ascertain, 

 was 240 days, the longest 321 ; the difference being eighty-one days.* 

 This range of time is very extraordinary, and appears to depend on the 

 care paid to the animal, and on its state of health ; by which the 

 development of the calf is intiuenced through the sanguiferous system of 

 the mother. With respect to the bull, he does not attain to a due degree 

 of strength till two years old, and is in higher vigor at three ; but how 

 long the breeder may keep him after that age must depend upon his 

 own judgment, and a variety of circumstances. The cow seldom pro- 

 duces more than a single calf, sometimes, however, twins, and very 

 rarely three. In the case of twins, if they be respectively male and 

 female, the female is generally, but not always, unproductive. 



It is sometimes desirable that the farmer should possess the power 

 of coutrolllnf/ the ratio of the sexes in the animals he breeds. The 

 wonderful ratio in which they are produced in nature, is one proof of 

 the all-wise provisions of the Almighty in making them subject to 

 certain laws. Many investigations have been made to show how far this 

 is within the control of man. A dairy-man is particularly interested in 

 the production of heifer calves, wdierewith to increase his dairy stock ; 

 a grazier may be equally desirous of producing bullocks for large weights 

 and summer grazing; while a breeder for sale may be anxious to see a 

 goodly proportion of bulls. How far he can control this production is 

 a question of interest and importance. Ilofkener, a German, made some 

 calculations as regards the human species, which tended to show that 

 where the father was younger than the mother, the proportion of male 



* In the Bulletin des Sciences, by the Soc. Pliilomatique, Paris, I'rgY, M. Tessier 

 says, that out of 160 cows, some calved in 241 days, and five in 308 ; giving a 

 latitude of 67 days.— See Sir E. Home's Paper on Phil. Trans. Part 1, for 1822. 



