392 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the mists disperse, the vapors of night flee away, and the 

 warmth and joy and life of the summer's day gladden the 

 land and give strength and vigor to our hearts. Our pulses 

 throb with delight, and we rejoice with all nature because 

 another day is born into the world, and the sun still sends 

 forth his beneficent beams to gladden, to beautify, to fructify 

 the earth ; and yet it has all come about so gradually, so 

 quietly, so silently, that none noted the forces, but all 

 appreciated and rejoiced in the result. 



Such has been the influence of the Board of Agriculture 

 of Massachusetts. We cannot turn our investigation in any 

 direction but we find the influence of this Board has, or its 

 strongest members have, been before us, enriching the whole 

 circle of our varied industries, and nature's storehouse is 

 enlarged to us by its investigations. 



Range through the series of domestic animals, the horse, 

 the cow, the sheep and the swine, and mark the progress in 

 each department. 



The plodding horse, bred without method, aim or object, 

 has given place to the Morgan and to the Hambletonian, to 

 "Dictator," "Electioneer" and "Alcantara;" and so sure 

 is the pace secured that the foal has its price assured while 

 it is by its mother's side ; or for draft the Percheron, or for 

 strength and the road the French coach horse. Then in the 

 care and handling of horse or colt what a change. The 

 mongrel colt, with his often ugly disposition, broken in — 

 and broken down — when three or four years old, has gone 

 never to return. The cruel treatment, the harsh methods 

 that rendered intractable and often frantic the timid animal, 

 have given place to gentle treatment and reasonable, instruc- 

 tive training. So the horse of to-day is another creature ; 

 he is bred to intelligence, and intelligently. 



Then the cow, strange to say, one of the last to be under- 

 stood and her qualities determined. Strange, because she 

 is so closely connected with the profits of the dairy and the 

 comforts of the home. Even now the light is just breaking 

 upon the farmer's vision, and the profit he secures or the 

 loss he suffers is brought directly to the animal, without 

 mistake or possibility of injustice by new and simple methods. 

 By them the dairy value of each cow is determined, and this 



