1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



31 



kept covered witli at least two feet of water, 

 nor should they be left entirely out of water 

 until all danger of. frost in the spring is over ; 

 for, what is very singular, while the blossom 

 buds are able to withstand our coldest winters, 

 a very slight frost the last of IMay will kill 

 them, and entirely ruin the crop. This is a 

 fact not so generally known as it should be. 

 When the worms make their appearance, the 

 flowing of the land for a few hours is sufficient 

 to destroy them. If during the month of 

 September there should be any days which 

 promise to be followed by frost, the water 

 should be let on and the fruit thus protected. 

 But the length of this article will not permit 

 me to enlarge. E. Hersey. 



Hingham, Mass., Nov. 10, 1868. 



Remarks. — Even after "twenty-five years' 

 experience" few men could condense so much 

 information into so little space as this commu- 

 nication occupies. While we thank Mr. H. 

 for his valuable facts and suggestions, we 

 would assure him that the brevity of "this ar- 

 ticle will permit him to enlarge," to the great 

 benefit of the readers of the Farmer, on this 

 or any other subject. 



STOCK BREEDING. 



At the farmers' meeting at the Maine State 

 Fair, on Wednesday, Mr. Thomas S. Lang, 

 of Vassalboro', gave a very interesting ad- 

 dress on stock breeding, which we copy from 

 the Boston Journal. It is worthy of careful 

 perusal : — 



The farmer labors for subsistence that he 

 may supply the necessaries and comforts of 

 life, and add thereto those pleasures which are 

 the reward of earnest toil and thoughtfulness. 

 If you admit this, then comes the question, 

 how shall we best acquire what we deem ne- 

 cessary or pleasurable ? I have used the word 

 thoughtfulness ; it is applicable. By thought- 

 ful, careful study of naiure, and the laws 

 which govern the production of all things, we 

 shall be led to satisfactory results. 



Tlius to breed stock with su'ccess, we are 

 governed by general laws of reproduction. 

 It is an aphorism that "like produces like," 

 and this is in the mind of every farmer's boy 

 a tacit acknowledgment of the law of com- 

 pensation or return, which governs every con- 

 ceivable condition of life. As you breed, 

 such will you produce. The question may 

 arite, in this strictly true? I believe it, and 

 if wrong, desire to be set right. Some of 

 you who are stock breeders may say that this, 

 the rule of "like producing like," is not ab- 

 solute. I am aware it is not, in detail, and 

 one often finds circumstances quite puzzling 

 in his experience. But what staggers one. 



said he, is to find two fine animals bred to- 

 gether, producing marked qualifications of 

 preceding sires or dams. These are facts 

 which no breeder doubts who has given atten- 

 tion to his business. Mr. Goodale, with all 

 accepted authorities upon this subject, urges 

 that, to breed successfully, you must breed 

 in the line. 



First, the breeder ought to know what he 

 desires to accomplish before he takes the first 

 step toward breeding. What are the natural 

 advantages, said Col. Lang, of the location in 

 which you are plaCed, is the first question for 

 you to decide. Is it better adapted for breed- 

 ing cattle, sheep or horses.^ If you select 

 cattle, which breed is best adapted to your 

 farm or location? If for beef, that which 

 furnishes the most pounds of beef in the 

 shortest time is th^ one. If, however, you 

 desire to make profit from the dairy, a differ- 

 ent class must be selected. If your lands are 

 high and rocky, they would be adapted for 

 sheep and the more hardy breeds of cattle. 

 The Short-horn or Dutch cattle cannot be as 

 profitably raised upon such land. This matter 

 of adaptation is an important one, and not 

 studied with sufficient care by those farmers 

 who breed stock beyond the necessities of 

 home. 



Having selected the locality, now comes the 

 selection of the animals of the breed desira- 

 ble. If for beef, there can be no question 

 that the breed that matures earliest is the best. 

 Time is an important point. Suppose we fix 

 that an average amount of food given an ani- 

 mal up to three years of age yields 1500 

 pounds of beef, how much is gained over that 

 animal which requires four or five years to ar- 

 rive at the same weight? Here comes the 

 advantage of breeding to a given qualification. 

 It is a question of vital importance. 



I have spoken of time as important to be 

 considered, and this may lead you to remem- 

 ber the law of compensation referred to, 

 which, if true, would lead one to suppose that 

 the 1500 in three years would take a corres- 

 ponding amount of food, as if fed to an ani- 

 mal in four or five years. This is not true. 

 What I wish to convey is, simply, that the 

 three-year-old has characteristics to assimilate 

 more food to beef in less time. You find cer- 

 tain times or conditions in an animal's life 

 that it seems almost impossible to lay on flesh, 

 feed them ever so well. Then, why not find a 

 class of animals that, with a given amount of 

 food, lay on a double amount or nearly so 

 from constitutional habit, health, vigor and 

 power of assimilation ? 



If you work your animals, you draw upon 

 animal economy, and extra feed must pay for 

 labor. A combination of milking, labor and 

 beef qualities, seems to be the aim of the ma- 

 jority of farmers. "We cannot have the 

 bread and eat it," is a proverb well under- 

 stood. He who breeds to milk capabilities. 



