CATTLE HUSBANDRY. 19 



charge was preferred against me rather sharply ; but I have 

 never yet repented of the course I pursued on that occasion ; 

 and considering the fact that the committee were somewhat 

 solicitous that I should open this meeting with similar talk, I do 

 not propose to be governed by that warning at all, but to do 

 what I can, in the best way I can, to commence the discussion 

 upon this important question. I know, and you know, that it 

 is the opening of a debate or a discussion which gives it char- 

 acter and importance. All that the opening speech contains 

 may not be true, it may all be false ; but whether it is true or 

 false, the more thorough and declared it is, the better oppor- 

 tunity it gives the meeting for discussion after it is over. 



Now, this question of cattle husbandry is unquestionably the 

 most important question that can be brought before an agricul- 

 tural assembly. It lies at the foundation of our whole business 

 of farming. There may be those who are engaged in the raising 

 of root-crops, those who are engaged in the raising of tobacco, 

 those who are engaged in market-gardening, so-called, those 

 who are engaged in the raising of grass for sale in the market 

 as hay, but go where you will, the bottom of the whole business 

 is the condition, the quality and the utility of the cattle that 

 are used in every district. From them comes, mainly, the best 

 quality of manure that we can use. Every man who is accus- 

 tomed to cultivate the soil, and cultivate it well, knows that his 

 cattle really are the sources from which he can derive the best 

 fertilizers for his soil ; and they are the sources of the produc- 

 tion of meat for the market, and of all the products of the dairy ; 

 and I say the production of all these things really lies at the 

 foundation of almost all the most successful branches of farming. 



When we remember all this, we must be aware that the 

 whole business of cattle husbandry differs as localities differ. 

 To one man, cattle husbandry means the breeding of animals of 

 a certain description for specific purposes up to the highest 

 standard of which they are capable. To the Scotchman, it 

 means the breeding of Ayrshires for milk and cheese. To the 

 Englishman, it means the breeding of Shorthorns and Herefords 

 and Devons, for the purposes of meat. To the channel islander, 

 it means the production of a choice and carefully selected herd 

 of cattle, for the purposes of the dairy alone, and not, as those 

 of you who know the channel islander well, understand, for the 



