188 WORCESTER SOCIETY. 



Peter B. Stockwell, of Sutton, presented a fine blue bull, 

 two years old, of the Alderney breed. 



A fine Devon bull three years old, was presented by Walter 

 Bigelow, of Worcester. Thomas W. Ward, of Shrewsbury, 

 offered a fine bull for exhibition only. The committee think 

 Mr. Ward deserves the thanks of the society for this contribu- 

 tion. 



The four year old North Devon bull of Sewall Sargeant, of 

 Leicester, came down to overlook the distribution of the Soci- 

 ety's prizes — withdrawing from competition therefor from the 

 proud consciousness that what bull could do he had done, hav- 

 ing received all that the rules of the society would allow him 

 to take away. 



There was need of nice discrimination in determining to 

 which of the eight competitors the three premiums should be 

 given. After repeated examination, there was awarded : — 



To Rufus Rich, of Spencer, 1st premium, - - I^IO 00 

 Coolidge Pratt, of Oxford, 2d do. - - 7 00 



Peter B. Stockwell, of Sutton, 3d do. - - 5 00 



In all that has been done to improve our stock of neat cattle 

 we have not as yet succeeded in establishing a distinct breed, 

 suited to our climate and feed. In England the horse is em- 

 ployed mostly in agricultural work. Here the ox is universally 

 used, and consequently in any attempt to improve our breed of 

 cattle, regard should be had to the qualities sought for in work- 

 ing cattle. For these qualities the North Devons are unrival- 

 led. A few years ago the farmers of Sutton possessed a stock 

 famed for their working properties, of a uniform red color — 

 hardy, active, and docile, rather under size, seldom weighing 

 more than three thousand pounds to the pair. These oxen 

 carried off most of the prizes of the society. The '• Sutton 

 Ox" was as well known in New, as the Devon Ox in Old 

 England. The Sutton Ox was the Devon of the United 

 States, nearly thorough bred from the imported Devon of Eu- 

 rope. 



But the cows failed — the milking qualities of this breed was 

 low, and to obviate this defect recourse was had to crossing 



