ileportt- 



StoclAi ill. Greiieral. 



In all ages of the world, and in nearly all Cduntrys, cattle 

 husbandry has been a chief source of wealth and prosperity. 

 In this mother our country or state are not an exception. The 

 early settlers brought cattle to Virginia and New England, with 

 their first emigrations, and cultivated and propagated them 

 with the greatest care to secure their numbers, though they 

 neglected the essential principals of breeding for pure and fine 

 stock. These first importations were from the West Indies, 

 England, Holland and Denmark. The Virginia cattle were from 

 England and the West Indies ; the New York settlers brought 

 theirs from Holland, Massachusetts procured hers from England, 

 and New Hampshire hers from Denmark. These cattle were 

 exchanged between the colonists, and however pure the origi- 

 nal importations might have been, they soon became a mixed 

 race of various forms and colors. The Denmark cattle seem to 

 have left their impress on most of the New England cattle, imd 

 it can be determined by their yellowish color. From these Den- 

 mark importations came the splendid Avorking stock of the 

 Northern States, a better than which cannot be found in the 

 world. Cattle increased rapidly in the country, and we find 

 that during the last century it was a leading pursuit of the 

 farmers to grow stock, and manufacture butter and cheese. At 

 that time dairies numbering from fifty to seventy-five cows were 

 not uncommon. The efforts of stock growers a century ago, 

 were little directed to the growing of stock with care for spe- 

 cific purposes, as for beef, milk, butter or cheese. Later breed- 

 ers in this country, but more especially abroad, have by great 

 care and discrimination developed breeds of cattle unlike their 



