32? 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



COBA. the short-horn in size. As to dairy qualities, 



Cora is a fine looking animal, now three years thej^ are as good as any cattle in which the fat- 

 old, and ui)on looking at her reminds one more'temng tendency is as_ highly developed. They 

 . , , • • . 1 ^u c\ • • -1 nive rich milk, and it it were desirable, the milk- 



of tender and juicy steaks than of brimming pails, P^„ ^^^^^^^^ ^.^^^. ^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^^.^^^^^ ^^_ 



pots of cream, and yellow butter. The Herefords | grgg, but as it would be at the sacrifice, more or 

 have not yet gained a reputation as profitable less, of the fattening propensity, the breed would 

 milkers, and from their tendency to take on fat, 'not probably be, on the whole,'improved by this 

 and want of those points which are considered '^o"^^^*- There is a place for the Herefords, as 



[ the breed is at present constituted, in this coun- 

 try, and so far as they have been fairly tried, they 



indispensable in good milch cows, it is improba 

 ble that they will ever be favorites as milkers. 



Below, we give part of a report of the Judges 

 on Hereford stock at the Massachusetts State 

 Fair, held at Boston last fall. 



The Herefords belong to the class of middle 

 horns, according to the arrangement of varieties 

 of the ox adopted by zoologists. Like their con- 

 geners, the Devons, the West Highlanders, and 

 the cattle of Wales, they are considered indige- 

 nous to Britain — that is, they were found in cer- 

 tain districts of that kingdom at the earliest pe- 

 riod to which history or tradition reaches. The 

 breed appears to have undergone some changes 

 ■within the last century, which changes are chiefly 

 the result of systematic selection and breeding 

 in reference to particular purposes, and not the 

 admixture of other blood. 



In 1824, Admiral Coffin, of the Royal Navy, 

 presented to the Massachusetts Society for Pro- 

 moting Agriculture, a Hereford bull and heifer. 

 The cow never bred. The bull was kept for some 

 time by the late Hon. Isaac C. Bates, of North- 

 ampton, and died in that vicinity at the age of 

 nineteen or twenty years, leaving a progeny high- 

 ly esteemed for general usefulness. 



The predominant characteristic of the Here- 

 fords, is a tendency to fatten. In a paper by E. 

 F. Wells, published in the London Farmers' 

 Magazine for February, 1848, the following sen- 

 sible remarks are made in regard to the proper- 

 ties of the Herefords : — "It is allowed on all 

 hands, I believe, that the properties in which 

 Herefords stand pre-eminent among the middle 

 sized breeds, are in the production of oxen and 

 their superiority of flesh. On these points, there 

 is little chance of their being excelled. It should, 

 however, be borne in mind, that the best oxen 

 are not produced from the largest cows, nor is a 

 superior quality of flesh, such as is considered 

 very soft to the touch, with thin skin. It is the 

 union of these two qualities which often charac- 

 terizes the short-horns ; but the Hereford breed- 

 ers should endeavor to maintain a higher stand- 

 ard of excellence — that for which the best of the 

 breed have always been esteemed — a moderately 

 thick, mellow hide, with a well apportioned com- 

 bination of softness with elasticity. A sufficien- 

 cy of hair is also desirable, and if accompanied 

 with a disposition to curl moderately, it is more 

 in esteem ; but that which has a harsh and wiry 

 feel is objectionable." It is for beef, chiefly, that 

 they, as well as the "improved short-horns," and 

 the Devons, are bred in England. They are more 

 hardy than the short-horns, and their beef is of 

 better quality, commanding a price in the Eng- 

 lish markets equa' to any, except the Highland 

 Scotch. As oxen, they are active, with weight 

 and strength equal to the performance of any la- 

 bor usually required. The breed ranks next to 



have given good satisfaction. Wherever beef 

 and labor are the leading object for which cattle 

 are kept in New England, and the northern sec- 

 tion of the country generally, the Herefords are 

 worthy of a thorough trial, inasmuch as the ex- 

 periments heretofore made with them, indicate 

 their adaptedness to this purpose. 



FOWLS BBEEDING IN AND IN. 



It has been said, if you continue to raise from 

 the same species, for a number of years together, 

 your stock will degenerate, and will become use- 

 less. 



I will now give my experience ; and we will 

 see, if by being particular in selecting the ances- 

 tors, the result is not the reverse of the above. 

 My first experiment was at a hen-house, a mile 

 from where I live ; my stock of fowls then were 

 the Black Mexican. I turned out six hens and 

 a cock, from my first year's raising, and to all 

 appearance they were as fine, trim made fowls as 

 any I ever saw. The second year I found my 

 chickens losing size ; then I selected a tall spare- 

 made cock, as being the finest chicken in the lot, 

 and thought he would give them height ; whilst 

 the hens, which were low in stature, would give 

 them size enough ; but to my mortification the 

 chickens became tall and slender, and in four 

 years were not to be compared to the original 

 stock. Now, at the same time I was trying an 

 experiment where I live, in one of my lots, on 

 the Earl of Derby fowls, and to my surprise they 

 improved in form and some in weight. 



I selected four pullets of good size and large 

 bone ; the cock I selected from chickens hatched 

 in March ; he was broad across the breast, back 

 short and round, wings long and strong, feet 

 small, legs large and straight, and in symmetry 

 unsurpassed ; then I gave him the run, and 

 raised from him two years, though I turned out 

 a cock the first year ; and when I saw the chick- 

 ens, the most of them wanting height, I selected 

 the hens, not the cock, with long legs ; and in 

 that way I can keep a stock pure for any length 

 of time without degenerating. My stock of 

 Derby s are finer to-day than they were when I 

 got them. 



Late chickens should never be turned out to 

 raise from, unless you intend to cross them, for 

 that will, of itself, make your chickens small. 

 March chickens are preferred by me to any other 

 month. 



You should never keep many chickens crowd- 

 ed in one hen-house, especially during August 

 and September, for it will be sure to give them 

 the distemper. The distemper is known by the 

 chickens discharging a watery mucus from the 

 nostrils, and the head looks pale, and the chick- 

 en has no appetite. — Southern Planter. 



