NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



309 



of the parsnip. The cost of a yearling bull of the 

 pure Jersey breed would be from £10 to £12 ster- 

 ling, ($18 to .'*;-58,) delivered at Southampton, and 

 a yearling prize heifer would be furnislied at from 

 £10 to £1.5. 



The breed of cattle familiarly known in Great 

 Britain as the Alderncy, and correctly termed in the 

 article Cattle, of the Library of Useful Knowledge, 

 the "crumpled horned," was originally Norman, it 

 is conceived, as cows very similar to them, in form 

 and color, are to be seen in various parts of Nor- 

 mandy ; but the difference in their milking and 

 creaming qualities is really astonishing, the Jersey 

 cow producing nearly double the quantity of butter. 



llie race is miscalled " Alderney," as far as Jersey 

 is concerned ; for about seventy years since, M. Du- 

 mas, Esq., of St. Peter's, afterwards the chief magis- 

 trate, sent some of the best Jersey cows to his 

 father-in-law, the then proprietor of -\lderney ; so 

 that tlie Jersey was already at that period an im- 

 proved, and superior to the Alderney race. It has 

 since been vastly amended in form, and generally so 

 in various qualities, though the best of those re- 

 corded at that period gave as much milk and butter 

 as the best do now. 



Ten years have elapsed since the attempt was first 

 made, by fixed rules, to improve the form and quality 

 of the Jersey cow. Two beautiful cows were se- 

 lected, with the best qualities, as models. One of 

 these was held to be perfect in her barrel and fore 

 quarters, the other equally so in her hind quarters. 

 From these two, points, thirty-six in number, were 

 laid down to be the rule for governing the judges in 

 all the cattle- shows of the Jersey Agricultural So- 

 ciety. 



The accuracy of the arrangement is proved by the 

 fact that no deviation from it has been made, the 

 experience of ten years having only added to the 

 scale of the points for general appearance and con- 

 dition. 



THE ATMOSPHERE OF STABLES. 



The frequent and violent exertions which man 

 requires of the horse render it a matter of the high- 

 est importance that the animal's physical condition 

 be as perfect as skill and attention can secure ; and 

 as there are no organs of this noble animal so se- 

 verely taxed during the performance of either fast or 

 heavy work, as the organs of respiration, it is obvious 

 that too much attention cannot be given to all cir- 

 cumstances which tend to secure perfection in the 

 condition of that delicate apparatus which plays so 

 prominent a part. A pure and uncontaminated 

 atmosphere, in all respects suited to the process of 

 respiration, is, therefore, a sine qua non ; one cannot 

 help, for these reasons, expressing surprise at the 

 almost universal inattention to stable ventilation 

 which so lamentably prevails in even many of our 

 first-class establishments. But there is no circum- 

 stance connected with domestic life, that appears to 

 me more extraordinary, than the almost universal 

 want of attention to scientific arrangements in the 

 construction of modern buildings of every dcscrij)- 

 tion, both jmblic and private, from the largest 

 theatre, or assembly hall, down to the cottage of the 

 most humble peasant. It is not, therefore, wonderful 

 that gross errors may be discovered in the tenements 

 devoted to the accommodation of our domestic ani- 

 mals. That these occur to a much greater extent 

 than many intelligent persons are aware of, I shall 

 presently show. I hope I may confidently jircsumc 

 that most educated jicrsons are aware that air once 

 breathed by an animal is, by the simple process of res- 

 piration, converted into a deadly poison, and there- 

 fore should be instantly removed from its presence, 



and replaced by a proper supply of pure and whole- 

 some air. It is well knov\'n that the oxygen of the 

 air is absorbed, and carbonic acid is thrown out at 

 each expiration — a gas wliich neither supports life 

 nor combustion ; of the truth of this, the unhappy 

 fate of the unfortunate sufferers in the Black Ilole 

 of Calcutta but too paini'uUy demonstrates. 



WORK-FAINT NOT. 



There are times when heaviness comes over the 

 heart, and we feel as if there was no hope. AVho 

 has not felt it ? For this there is no cure but work. 

 Plunge into it, put all your energies into motion, 

 rouse up the inner man — act ; and this heaviness 

 shall disappear as mist before the morning sun. 



There arise doubts in the human mind which sink 

 into lethargy, wrap us in gloom, and make us 

 think it were bootless to attempt any thing. Who 

 has not oxpcricnccd them ? Work ; that is t!ie cure. 

 Task your intellect, stir up your feelings, rouse the 

 soul, and these doubts, hanging like a heavy cloud 

 upon the mountain, will scatter and disappear, and 

 leave you in sunshine and open day. 



There comes suspicion to the best of men, and 

 fears about the holiest efforts, and we stand like one 

 chained. Who has not felt it ? Work ; therein is 

 freedom. By night, by day, in season and out of 

 season, work, and liberty will be yours. Put in 

 requisition mind and body, war with inertness, snap 

 the chain-link of selfishness, stand up as a defender 

 of the right, be yourself, and this suspicion, and 

 these fears will be lulled, and like the ocean storm, 

 you will be purified by the contest, and able to bear 

 and breast any burden of human ill. 



Gladden life with its sunniest features, and gloss 

 over with its richest hues, and it becomes a poor 

 and painted thing, if there be in it no toil, no hearty, 

 hard work. The laborer sighs for repose. Where is 

 it ? W^hat is it ? Friend, whoever thou art, know 

 it is to be found alone in work. No good, no great- 

 ness, no progress is gained without it. Work, then, 

 and faint not ; for therein is the well-spring of 

 human hope and human happiness. 



THE POETRY OF AGRICULTURE. 



The principles of agriculture are exceedingly 

 simple. That they might be made so, God himself 

 was the first great Planter. He wrote its laws, visi- 

 bly, in the brightest, loveliest, and most intelligible 

 characters, every where upon the broad bosom of 

 the liberal earth ; in greenest leaves, in delicate fruit 

 flowers ! But he does not content himself with this 

 alone. He bestows the heritage along with the ox- 

 ample. He prepares the garden and the home, 

 before he creates the being who is to possess them. 

 He fills them with all those objects of sense and 

 sentiment whicli are to supply his moral and phys- 

 ical necessities. Birds sing in the boughs above 

 him, odors blossom in the air, and fruits and flowers 

 cover the earth with a glory to which that of Solo- 

 mon, in all his magnificence, was vain and valueless. 

 To his hand we owe these fair groves, these tall 

 ranks of majestic trees, these deep forests, these 

 broad plains, covered with verdure, and these mighty 

 arteries of flood and river, which wind them along, 

 bcautifyin!' them with the loveliest inequalities, and 

 irrigating tliem with seasonable fertilization. Thus 

 did the almighty Planter dedicate the great planta- 

 tion to the uses of that various and wondrous family 

 whicli wa.s to follow. His home prepared, supplied 

 with all resources, adorned with every variety of 



