102 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



Feb. 



THE BEST BKEEDS OP COWS. 



HERE are now several distinct 

 races of cattle in the country 

 f% possessing very diflferent char- 

 Si acterlstics and properties, and it 

 becomes an interesting and import- 

 ant question to the farmer, what 

 breed shall I keep and raise? 

 To answer this question intelligent- 

 ly, several circumstances must be taken into 

 consideration. In the first place, for what 

 purpose does' the farmer raise his stock? Is 

 it for the shambles, or for general dairy pur- 

 poses, or to furnish milk for the market ? 



If it is for beef, the animal that will make 

 the most beef at the least expense of keeping, 

 and in the shortest time, will be sought. If it 

 is for making butter and cheese, the breed 

 that will yield the largest amount of these 

 products, at the least cost, and which possess 

 the requisite hardiness and the least liability 

 to disease, will best meet this object. If it is 

 to furnish milk for the market, then quantity 

 of milk, rather than the quality is sought, and 

 those cows that yield the largest quantity, and 

 continue the flow the longest will be preferred. 

 But these are not the only circumstances to 

 be taken into the account. The soil, the cli- 

 mate, the facilities for reaching the market, 

 and the probability that the progeny will pos- 

 sess the qualities of the parents, must also be 

 considered. 



We have, first, the native stock ; by which 

 •we mean that which descended from the im- 

 portations of the early settlers, and which con- 

 stituted nearly the whole stock in the country 

 previous to the close of the last war with Eng- 

 land in 1815. This stock is of moderate size, 

 hardy and well acclimated, and among it may 

 be found many superior animals both for beef 

 and the dairy ; but in general they are deficient 

 in beauty of form, and in those points that are 

 desired by the butcher, and their progeny is of 

 very uncertain character. 



Next we have the Durham or Short-horns, a 

 large, thrifty breed of cattle, that make fine 

 oxen and yield a large amount of beef. They 

 are less hardy than the native race in the colder 

 parts of the country, and require high keeping. 

 Where climate and soil are suited to them, 

 they probably meet the wants of both the dairy 

 and the beef raiser better than any other breed. 

 The Devons are a beautiful and hardy race, 



smaller than the Durhams, giving less milk, 

 but of a richer quality, and they arrive at ma- ■ 

 turity earlier. They are easily kept in good 

 condition, and generally, in the colder parts 

 of the country, are fitted for the butcher a 

 year earlier than the Durhams. They are ac- 

 tive and docile, and the oxen make fine work- 

 ers. 



The Ayrshires are slightly larger than the 

 Devons, less s} mmetrical in form, but hardy 

 and active, and yield a larger quantity of milk, 

 at the same cost of keeping, than any other 

 breed which we have. Individuals may be 

 found among the native stock that will yield* 

 as large a quantity of milk as any of the Ayr- 

 shires, but the quality of yielding a large quan- 

 tity of milk has become so well established in 

 the Ayrshire breed, that we may breed from 

 them with much greater certainty of retaining 

 this quality than from the best of the native 

 stock. They fatten easily when not giving 

 milk, and make good beef. 



The Jerseys are a small race of animals, 

 with but little beauty of form, except when 

 young, and possessing at no period of life the 

 the points desired by the butcher. They are 

 of but little value either for veal or beef, and 

 they consume more food than any other breed 

 among us, in proportion to their weight. But 

 their milk is richer than that of any of the 

 larger breeds. Their food seems to be ex- 

 pended largely in elaborating butter, which 

 often constitutes from twenty to twenty-five 

 per cent, of their milk. They commence to 

 breed very young, and when well kept con- 

 tinue to give a good quantity of milk through 

 the year. In quantity their milk is less than 

 the Ayrshires and Durhams. 



The Dutch breed, recently introduced is a 

 large race, well fitted for beef, and yield a 

 large quantity of milk, but requiring rich pas- 

 tures and high feed. 



Some fancy breeds, as the Kerry and. the 

 Britanny, fitted rather for the park and the 

 lawn than for the farm, have lately been in- 

 troduced. 



We said that soil and climate must be taken 

 into consideration. The larger breeds are 

 found most profitable where they can be sus- 

 tained upon rich pasturage during a large part 

 of the year, or upon intervales and river bot- 

 toms, which yield large quantities of good 

 hay and roots for the long winters. Upon 



