SECRETARY'S REPORT. 31 



judgment of the true value of cattle, they are precise and accu- 

 rate. They may not talk learnedly of the structure of an ox, 

 but they will select with unerring eye that animal which con- 

 forms most nearly to the best rules ; and when he is selected, 

 they subdue him to their own service, with such quietness and 

 decision, that he is but an obedient machine in their hands. 

 They can cultivate root-crops, with what seems to be almost a 

 slight of hand. When they turn their attention to the dairy, 

 what a fragrant product they bring forth. There may be larger 

 dairies than are to be found in New England — but none neater, 

 none more reliable. The accomplishment of labor, with the 

 smallest amount of means, seems to be one characteristic of the 

 farming of New England ; a knowledge of what to do, and how 

 to do it most easily. 



These remarks may not be universally applicable. There 

 are bad cultivators, sluggish hay-makers, indifferent teamsters, 

 careless ploughmen, injudicious feeders, clumsy dairymen, poor 

 cattle husbandmen, and poor shepherds ; but, still, the virtues 

 of which I have spoken do exist, and they belong to our best 

 farmers. Whenever the free and untrammeled intelligence of 

 the American has been applied to any point of farming, it has 

 usually insured success. Not far from tliis very spot, may be 

 found some of the most careful and judicious breeders of cattle, 

 in the world. They have steadily pursued their vocation, until 

 they have enriched the community in which they dwell, and 

 have taught it what good cattle are, and how they can be 

 obtained. As one crop after another failed to be remunerative, 

 how have the farmers of this valley accepted new branches of 

 husbandry, and entered into successful competition with even 

 milder latitudes, in the cultivation of a profitable staple for the 

 market. And to go beyond our own State, can there be found 

 a better illustration of inteUigent American capacity, than that 

 presented by the farmers of Vermont in their devotion to sheep- 

 husbandry, and in the degree of perfection to which they have 

 brought their flocks ? Half a century ago, they began with their 

 breeding of Merinos, when they were surrounded by all the dis- 

 couragements which always follow an excited speculation. 

 They soon learned that tliese animals were particularly adapted 

 to their soil and climate. Observation soon taught them what 

 quality of wool, and what shape of carcass, were the most profit- 



