IMPORTED STOCK. 12J 



native cows to which the highest prizes liave been awarded. The writer knows not a single 

 instance wViero the offspring of any one of these liigh-preminrn native cows h;ts inherited the 

 valuable properties of the dam in a snHicient deirree to induce liie owner to raise it, with the 

 exception, perhaps, of the famous Groton cow, whoso descendant,*, in the hands ot" Colonel 

 .laques, might have added greatly to the value of" our dairy stock, had the Colonel possessed 

 the means of ciurying out liis plans ; iind, in this instance, the vahiable properties of the dara 

 were tnuismitted to the progeny solely by the means of crossing with the pnrt; Vjreed of a 

 foreign stock. The cautions fanner will not run the risk, nor incur the expense, of raising a 

 calf from stock, of the origin of which, and of the blood of the various breeds that runs in the 

 veins of his fiivorite cow, he knows nothing. Acting from a belief in the tnith of the old ad- 

 age, which has been taught him from his youth upward, that '• a good cow viay have a btid 

 calf," he can have no assurance that the descendant of his native cow will not take its char- 

 acter from, and inherit the inferior properties f)f some near or more remote ancestor. He 

 had rather take his chance in the next drove that comes along, knowing that he shall at least 

 avoid the expense and ti'ouble of rearing a calf uj)on wliose good properties lie can make no 

 certain calculation. Now it will hardly be pretended that the oflering and awai'ding of pre- 

 miums for this description of cows has, or ever will have, the eflfect to improve the daiiy 

 stock of the country. 



The writer would by no means detract from the value of these accidentally good cows, 

 the natives of the countiy. There are, no doubt, to be found, among the fanners of Ma.ssa- 

 chusetts, many cows of native origin, possessing as valuable properties for all purposes, ex- 

 cept for breeding, as any that can be imjxirted fi-om abroad. And they are not without their 

 value as breeders, where they and their d(;scendants may be crossed with the pure blood of 

 some long and well established race of foreign animals. In this way we mav chance to per- 

 petuate the rare qualities of our native cows, united with the weU-cstablished ti'aits of chai- 

 acter of the imported stock. 



It may be contended that we need not the aid of foreign stock to raise up one of the best 

 breeds of cattle in the world. This may be tnie ; but who Avill undertake it ? What indi- 

 vidual fanner has the patience, the skill, the intelligence, and the capital to engage in a task 

 that will require many years and much capital to bring to any considerable degiee of perfec- 

 tion ?* And where woidd be the jiropricty or the economy of midertaking a work of this 

 kind, when, by a little e.\.ti-a expense at the commencement, we may find the work already 

 done to oiu- hands ? 



Many fanners in this part of the country, though depending principally for their income 

 upon their milch cows, are not aware, it is apprehended, of the small produce derived from 

 them ; and would, no doubt, be sui-prised on learning that their cows generally do not yield 

 an average daily produce of more than from two to fom" quarts of milk for the ycivc. 



The average price of milk ftir the year, when drawn from the cow, will not exceed thi'ee 

 cents per quai't, either for the purposes of manufacturing uito butter or cheese, or to sell in 

 the market. t Let the farmer set otl' the expense of keeping against his six or twelve cents 

 a day income from his several cows, and he will see but a small chance of acquiring wefdth 

 from the income of his dairy. But let him have a stock that, with the same keeping, will 

 yield a daily average produce of six or eight quarts of mUk, and he will find the produce of 



* Enough of them, if they can be assured of remunerating prices, but not if there should pre- 

 ▼ail a general apprehension that, when such stock is needed, either individuals or societies will 

 continue to send abroad to procure them. [Ed. Farm. Lib. 



t In New-York, and the neighborhood, the price varies. Milk is brought more than a hundred 

 miles by steam ; some sell on their farms, in the vicinity, for 2^ cents a quart — but lliey sell hon- 

 est milk from the cow, before the pail goes to the pump. Odiers prefer to take or send their milk 

 to town, and there the price varies in a remarkable manner. Those who sell to the hotels in large 

 quantities, and to few customers, are content to get 4 cents, while others, who are known to sell 

 the genuine article, have their old estabhshed customer.?, from whom they get G\ cents a quart. 



One farmer — a most industrious, practical, economical, and exemplary man — Mr. Tow.vse.nd, 

 BCnior, from a farm of 1.30 acres, sells, for one item, Sl,200 of milk. 



In the country around Philadelphia the farmers are getting in the way of retaining their milk, 

 and converting their cream into ice crciun, which they send and sell, in large quantities, in the 

 common market and find it very profitable. We are not aware that this practice prevails, or to 

 what extent, wuh farmers in the neighborhood of other cities. The price, we believe, of genuine 

 ice cream is rarely less than .50 cents a quart. 



There are so many devices, " by hook or by crook," to get the farmer's'money out of Ids pocket, 



that it is well if he can sometimes hit upon some experiment that will bring him more directly rt 



contact with the consumer, and so save the commissions to the go-between, which are always 



taken finally out of the first producer, as is found when the transaction is sitted to the bottom. 



[Ed. Farm. Lib. 

 (265) 



