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NEW ENGLAND FAHMER. 



Mat 



but could not say they were extraordinary. He 

 had raised a heifer from a native cow and Devon 

 bull that was better as a milker than the mother. 

 He thought it desirable to increase the size of the 

 Devons, and if that could be done, farmers might 

 rest satisfied. This could probably be done better 

 by crossing with good native cattle than with Dur- 

 hams. He had been led to suppose that the Dur- 

 hams would deteriorate in size in this country, and 

 on that account he would prefer a half blood to a 

 full blood imported animal. 



Mr. William Buckminster, senior Editor of 

 the Ploughman, said that the best cow he ever had 

 was a native cow and he made from her 14^ pounds 

 of butter in a week. She weighed about 1100 

 pounds. He had a pair of oxen, half Devon, which 

 he fattened last fall, which weighed 3300 pounds 

 alive. They were fattened about two months, prin- 

 cipally on carrots, with half a peck of cob meal part 

 of the time. 



Mr. Sheldon said that he did not believe that a 

 good or bad disposition was confined to any partic- 

 ular breed of cattle. A cow having a hazel eye 

 will have a good disposition, and one with a black 

 or white eye will have a bad disposition. He thanked 

 his friend, Mr. Buckmenster, for confessing that 

 his best cow was a native. 



Mr. Buckminster. — I meant to say that she was 

 the best not only as to the quantity of milk but its 

 quality for butter. But he raised nine calves from 

 that cow, not one of which was good for anything 

 for milk. 



Mr. Sheldon. — Did not you take her to an im- 

 ported bull ? 



Mr. Buckminster. — No sir, but to a common 

 bull. 



Mr. Dodge, of Sutton, spoke of the importance 

 of trying to obtain a distinctive race of cattle of our 

 own. He believed it would be better to work bulls, 

 even though they are kept for breeders of stock. 

 He had a pair, one of which is ten years old, and 

 he intended to work him with another, this season. 



Mr. Sheldon suggested to him as a matter of 

 advice as to breaking them to work, that it would 

 be a good plan when they are first yoked, to put 

 two yokes on them at a time, which would make it 

 impossible for them to turn the yoke. 



Mr. Dodge said that he had kept a good cow till 

 she is now seventeen years old, but he had never 

 obtained a calf equal to the mother, for milk. 



General Salem Towne was called on to speak of 

 the bull, Holderness, which was kept by Mr. Par- 

 sons, of Carlton. He testified to the great excel- 

 lence of that bull, and said that the stock in his vi- 

 cinity had been greatly improved by the introduc- 

 tion of that bull into the country. He said he saw 

 six pairs of cattle, down on the Penobscot River 

 when he was on a visit ^there, and from their ap- 

 pearance he judged them to be Holderness cattle. 



though he did not know that there were any of that 

 breed in the vicinity. After examining them, he 

 was satisfied they were Holderness cattle, and told 

 the owner of them that he was sure they were. 

 "No," said he, "they were raised here in this neigh- 

 borhood." "But what bull are they from ?" "They 

 are from the Towne bull," said he. That reminded 

 him that he had sold several years before, a Holder- 

 ness bull to a gentleman in Maine. He went to 

 see the bull and found it was the same animal that 

 he once owned. 



Mr. Howard, of Boston, said he had in his pos- 

 session the history of the bull Holderness. He was 

 obtained in England, and was from a breed as much 

 entitled to be called Durham as any thing. After 

 the owner got him to this country he called him 

 "Holderness," his former name being Fortunatus. 

 He was sold to a man in Connecticut, and after be- 

 ing kept there some time, he was sold to a man in 

 New York, and he died in a distillery. His qualities 

 corresponded to those of the short-horned breed, 

 in respect to the comparative coarseness of the 

 flesh. Cows of that stock give a large quantity of 

 milk, which makes a great quantity of cheese, but 

 is not good for butter. Farmers should not judge 

 breeds by simple specimens. They should exam- 

 ine many animals of all breeds. 



Mr. W. Buckminster said that he considered 

 it important to keep bulls till they are large, in or- 

 der to keep up the size of stock. He had one 

 which was eight years old last year, and he was as 

 useful as a breeder as ever before. He said he had 

 six Devon cows, whose milk was so nearly alike 

 that it could not be distinguished, and this is of a 

 quality which will produce a pound of butter from 

 four quarts of milk, in the month of October. 



Mr. R. S. Fay, of Lynn, was highly pleased with 

 many of the remarks of Mr. Sheldon as to the su- 

 periority of native cattle. For beef, Avork and milk, 

 there is no breed that is equal to our native stock 

 in all these particulars, as they are found in Mass., 

 and perhaps in Maine and N. Hampshire. But in 

 some respects, he thought that these might be im- 

 proved by crossing them with foreign stocks. To 

 cross with Devons, Alderneys and others may be 

 profitable if it is done with judgment. With refer- 

 ence to the preservation of the good qualities of a 

 good cow, he said it was found, by a long course 

 of experiments in Switzerland, that the way to ac- 

 complish the result was through the bull calves 

 from the good cow and not by the heifers. A bull 

 from a cow that is a good milker, is almost sure to 

 perpetuate in his progeny the good qualities of the 

 mother. That principle is an important one, and 

 it is in harmony with statements made by gentle- 

 men this evening, and it is considered as fully set- 

 tled in Switzerland. The size of cattle may be in- 

 creased without doubt by the introduction of for- 

 eign breeds, and it would be well to introduce them 



