THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



545 



eion will he mnde, not from nnkindnees, hut merely 

 lor exiirn|)le ; lor he, like Mr. JJ.iUevveii of Enij- 

 larul, is h tnc^iiiiucni lo illiisMaie ihe iniprupneiy 

 of the praciice. This hreeiler (now less noto- 

 rious) had, several years siiiee, one ol tlie finest 

 herds ol' niilkinj? nnii hreedini; blooded caiile in 

 Keniucky, and deservedly had tiijjfli reputation 

 as a t)reeder. But, vainly imaiiiniiiiT that they 

 were lar superior lo all others, proper crossinjr 

 was neglected ; the sloo.lc be<jan to diminish in 

 eize ; many of them became hornless ; and their 

 constitutions were impaired, in consequence of 

 which they suHered more from cold in winter, and 

 were more liable lo disease in summer; the mur- 

 rain soon n;o; among them, and played such sad 

 havoc in one short se;ison, that at present, only 

 a lew venerable animals remain, ol' that once su- 

 perior but ill-lated lierd. 



With this short digression we will again quote 

 our valuable author. " It has therelbre become a 

 kind ol' principle with the agriculturist to effect a 

 change in his stock every second or third year ; 

 and that change is most conveniently effected by 

 introducing a new bull. This bull should be as 

 nearly as possible of the same sort ; coming from 

 a similar pasturage and climate; but possessing 

 no relationship, — or at most a very distant one — 

 not related to the stock to which he is introduced. 

 He should bring wiih him every good point 

 which the breeder has labored hard to produce in 

 his stock, and if possible some improvement ; 

 and especially where the old stock may have 

 been somewhat deficient ; and most certainly he 

 should have no manliest delect of form, and that 

 most essential of all qualifications, a hardy consti- 

 tution, should not be wanting." 



4. — The importance of good keep. 



In the rearing and improvement of a stock 

 of cattle, nothing, perhaps, is of more import- 

 ance than the subject at the head of this article. 

 Even the powerliil excellence of blood and lamily 

 are unavailing and insufficient long to sustain a 

 valuable herd, without this indispensable accompa- 

 niment. Upon this subject our valuable authority 

 has only a few remarks, but they are very com- 

 prehensive and decisive. 



" There is one circumstance, however, which 

 the breeder occasionally forgets, but which is of 

 as much importance to the permanent value ol 

 his stock as any careful selection of anim.als can 

 be — and that is, goodkeep. All good stock must 

 be both bred with attention, and well fed. It is 

 necessary that these two essentials, in this species 

 of improvement, should always accompany each 

 other; lor without good resources in keeping, it 

 would be vain to attempt supporting a capital 

 Block. This is true with regard to the original 

 stock; it is yet more evident, when animals are 

 brought from a better to a poorer soil." 



Jjet it not be iniagined that good keep is thus 

 indispensably necessary, only lo the improved 

 blooded cattle, lor it is invariably true that mean 

 feeding will produce mean animals, no matter 

 what may be the breed. The owner of ihe hardy 

 Bcrubs cannot reasonably expect ihem to produce 

 large and well fatted carcasses, or abundant secre- 

 tions of milk, without rich pasturage in summer, 

 and bountiliil sup, .lies of nutritious lood in the 

 winter. I believe it is conceded that blooded cat- 

 VoL. IX.-02 



tie require more luxuriant pasture and richer food, 

 to cause them most fully and most rapidly to de- 

 velope theirexcellencies, than the scrubs usually 

 receive, nor is it matter of wonder or regret ; lor 

 how can it be expected that an animal which 

 secretes two gallons of milk, or gains two pounds 

 of fieeli daily, should t^ubsist ufion as lidle as one 

 which secretes or gains but hall that quantity! 



This great necessity of good keep begins with 

 the very existence of the animal ; and nature, as 

 if to leach us the lesson, ere its entrance into the 

 world, iias provided lor its use a su[)erabundant 

 store. As the first year of the animal's existence 

 is naturally the period of most rapid growth, so 

 also it should be the peiiod of most luxuriant leed- 

 ing. As the most liberal provision is now most 

 amply repaid, so also is the slightest neglect ifie 

 cause of irreparable loss. Instances are not 

 uncommon of calves which have gained a hun- 

 dred pounds a month, lor several months, upon 

 kind feeding; and thus, in a It^w months, attain a 

 size, which, perhaps, is not attained in the whole 

 existence of those v;hich are consigned lo a scanty 

 allowance ol milk, and the more scanty grass of 

 the yard or orchard. 



The kind feeding of the calf is scarcely more 

 bountifully repaid than good keep to the dam. If 

 she is kept in good condition she will not only be 

 more healthy, but will conceive more quickly and 

 more surely : wilt bring a better, and a more 

 thrifty calf; will pass through the dangers of 

 parturition more salely, and will cleanse herself, 

 and be restored, more speedily than if she is 

 emaciated and exhausted by poor or scanty 

 feeding. 



Neither is good keeping without its genial in- 

 fluence even upon the sire of the herd, ft is 

 unquestionably true that a bull which is fed upon 

 generous lood will he a surer and a better breeder, 

 than if his subsistence was poor and scanty. 

 True, he neither stands to the pail, nor draws at 

 llie yoke ; but when fully engaged his labors and 

 excitements are scarcely less exhausting than are 

 the duties of the cow or the ox ; generous diet is 

 therefore necessary to sustain him in imparting a 

 vigorous constitution and fine spirit to his off- 

 spring. The observing farmer will readily avoid an- 

 extreme in this matter, by which heifeis are some- 

 times made too fat to breed, and bulls too fat to 

 be useful. But this is an extreme far less to be 

 shunned, because lar less dangerous than the 

 other. 



5. — The proper age for breedings 



"The proper age at which the process of 

 breeding may be commenced will depend upon 

 circumstances. Even with the early maturity of 

 the short horns, if the heifers could be suffiered 

 to run until they were two and a hall, or three 

 years, they would become larger, finer, and more 

 valuable; and their progeny would be larger and 

 stronger. But the expense of keep for so long 

 a time is a question that must be taken into serious 

 consideration. 



"The custom, which at one period was begin- 

 ning to be so permanent in the breeding disiricta 

 of putting the heifer to the male at one year old, 

 or even at an earlier period, cannot be too mucfi 

 reprobated. At the time when they are most 

 rapidly growing themselves, a sufficient quantity 

 of nutriment cannot be devoted to the full develops- 



