30(3 



^EW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[April 22, 



of breeding bulls /ro/n them. This wrs about 

 60 years ago. Bull calves from our best cows, 

 should certainly be selected and reared with e- 

 qual — or rather with greater care, because of 

 their more extensive use, than the females. — | 

 Bakevvell's lonj-horned cattle in his life time, I 

 had a higher reputation than any other breed ■ 

 in England. Sub-iequently, the improved short 

 horned rose in estimation ; and, imder the latest 

 improvements, seem to have gained the ascen- 

 dency. 



Bakf.wem/s primary object in his improve- 

 ments of cattle, was the production of beef ; and 

 his principle [^-.lys You.vg) was, '• to gain a beast 

 that would weigh most in the most valuable 

 joiBts." Hence he aimed at reducing the head, 

 neck and bones : and by his skilful selections 

 from his own stock, anrf/rom tlie itocks of others, 

 ■where he found animals superior to his ici'n, he at 

 length obtained slender heads and necks, slender 

 and short legs, and s?nall bones. He asserted, 

 (says Young) that the smnller the bones, the 

 truer would be the make of the beast, the quick- 

 er she will fatten, and her weight, we may con- 

 ceive, will have a larger proportion of valuable 

 meat; flesh not bone is the butcher's object." — j 

 And Sm John Sinclair remarks, that " the eel-' 

 ebrated Joii.n Hu.nter [an eminent anatomist] de- 

 clared that small bones were generally attended 

 with coriiuli ncy, in all the various subjects he 

 had an oppoiiunity of examining." 



As to form Sir John ju.stly observes, (hat 

 *' though it is extremely desirable to bring the' 

 shape of cattle to as much pert'eclion a« possible, ' 

 yet pro/?( and utilily oughi not to be sacriticod ' 

 for mere bcautij, which may please the eye, but ' 

 not till the pocket ; and which, depending much 

 ■upon caprice, mwl be often changing."'* Far-j 

 Iher, as to (orm he says, th;it it sliould be com- i 

 pact, and no pari disproportionrd to the other; | 

 and the whole distinguished by a fullness ami 

 roundness of shape, that the chest should he' 

 broad, — no animal with a narrow chest being 

 easily made fit. .\iid IMr Cli\f. — (an eminent 

 surgeon in London) — is quoted by Sir Joh.v as 

 staling — ■•' that the lungs of an animal are the 

 first object (o be attended to, for on their 

 size and soundness, (he health and strength of 

 an animal principally depend," hence the impor- 

 tance of attending (o the size and form of the 

 chesi [in which the lungs and heart are lodged] 

 and to its breadih in particular." — .And that (he 

 muscles and tendons should be large, by which 

 an animal is enabled to (ravel wi(h greater 

 speed ;■' and, he might have added — to exert 

 superior torce in every kind of labor. Bake- 

 WELi,"s cattle were round bodied; the ribs spring- 

 ing from the chine almost horizontally ; and 

 hence giving a broad and liat hack. I will add, 

 that the best milking cows that I have seen, 

 were deeper in the body immediately before the 

 hind leg-, than immediately behind (he (ore 

 legs. I Ijelieve this was very apparent in (he 

 Oiikes cow. 



Should the intimation now given, of the 

 most expeditious means of improving in (he 

 first instance, our native breed ofcallle, be ac- 



* Sir Jolin (Coite ot .'Xgiic. p. B7) meijtiuns the late 

 Mr Uavis, the reporter ot the husbandry of Wiltshire, 

 whf^m tie prunoiinces to liave heen one of the ablest 

 agriculturists that England had produced, — as la- 

 mt riling ' ih«t Wiltshire farmers had that " pride of 

 s'ock," which iniluced them to prefer /;f(in/i/ and Jiif 

 t. ■ ttilily and prn'"' ' Are not some American Farm- 

 < IS, lovers of hus' audry, falling into the same error.' 



ceplabie to our farmers, and be adopted in prac- 

 tice, — a higher improvement may soon be ex- 

 pected, by the exhibition of the improved ani- 

 mals at the County and Slate Cattle Shows. — 

 There we may expect (o find some individuals 

 possessing the requisile qualificadons to become 

 skilful and successful breeders, like Bakewell 

 and his followers in England ; and who, like 

 (hem, ready (o give adequate prices (or fine 

 animals, will ul(ima(ely be amply rewarded by 

 an increasing demand, and the continually grow- 

 ing prices of (heir superior slock. 



f am happy in being able to quote (he opinion 

 of Mr Lowell, President of our State Society, 

 corresponding with my own, on the subject un- 

 der consideration. He says — " Possessing, as 

 we unquestionably do, the materials among our 

 oivn stock, of improving our breeds by careful 

 selection, we should follow (he example ol 

 Bakewell and other British farmers, who in 

 fif(y years have raided the stock of Great Britain 

 to a state of perfection little short of what it is 

 supposed ihey can ever reach."* On another 

 occasion the President said — " Care in selec- 

 tion and in rearing our animals, would soon 

 have placed us on a fooling with any na- 

 tion in Europe. Our neat cattle were general- 

 ly good ; and individual animals might have 

 been found in New England, which under the 

 skilful management of such men as Bakewell 

 and Princ::p and Champio.«j, would in twenty 

 years ha\ e rivalled either the Holderness or the 

 Herefordshire races." Again Mr Lowell says 

 •■wc repeat what »ve have ofien urged — (hat 

 more is (o be expected from excited attention 

 to the improvement of our own stock than fioin 

 importation." 



Such improvements of our native cattle, so 

 imjiorlant to eur farmers in general, will also 

 be inleresling (o those who are possessed of fine 

 imported cattle: for ifihe la((er, on full (ri.iU 

 shall be found to be really of greativ superior 

 excellence, — iiT-proved individuals of our native 

 breed will furnish better subjec(s for couiding 

 with them ; and enable the owners of (he im- 

 ported animals more expedidously to improve 

 and increase a superior stock, whether for their 

 own use or for sale. 



I have mentioned I\^^RSHALI.''s opinion of the 

 Herefordshire breed o(' caitle— taking all in all 

 as the best in Great Bridan. And Sir John Si.\"- 

 CL.MR, ai'ier remarking (hat '■'• a breed of cattle 

 equally well ndapted to the bulcher, to (lie dai- 

 ry, and to the plough, or carl, is no where to 

 be met with," — says — " perhaps the llereloid- 

 shire cattle approach (he nearest (n that perfect 

 state, of any of the larger breeds. They arrive 

 soon to maturity, and are fit for labour, but it is 

 a ditTerent varieiy of (he same breed (hat is 

 prclerred for (he dairy." At (he last ca((le 

 show at Brighton, I saw a bull and heifer of the 

 Herefordshire breed — stalely anim.ils — sent by 

 Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin (a native of Mas-:achu- 

 setts) to the Mass. Society of .Agriculture. The 

 heifer was very large and of fine form ; but her 

 ba^ was very small, and her teats, clustering (o- 

 gedier, were not bigirer ihan one's little finger. 

 Observing lo the President that this bejfor 

 would no( be a good milker : he answered that 

 her breed was destined lor labour and beef — 

 John Prince Esq. of Roxbury, at whose farm the 

 two Herefordshire animals are now kepi, lately 

 intoimed me, that (he heifer has never had a 



* Mass. Agricultural Repository and Journal, No. 3. 

 Vol 7. 



calf, nor is likely ever to have one : yet what 

 I suppose rarely happens, she gives a little milk. 

 Probably (his is (he variety of the Herefordshire 

 cattle mentioned by Sir John Sinclair as adajit- 

 ed to labour and to make beef: while another 

 variety is preferred for the dairy. 



'■Early maturitj',"' or a disposition to fatten 

 well at an early age, is considered in England 

 as a distinguished excellence. •' When animals 

 bred for the carcase merely, (as Sir John Sin- 

 clair remarks) become (at at an early age, (hey 

 not only return sooner the price of their tbod, 

 with v'rofil to the feeder, but in general, also, 

 a greater value for their consumption" [for the 

 quantity of fooil they consume] "than slow feed- 

 ing animals." On this subjecl I once (ook oc- 

 casion (o observe, that '-a disposilion to iatten 

 at an early age. a point of excellence zealously 

 sought for in England, where husbandry labours 

 are chiefly performed by horses, is not of male- 

 rial consequence (o New England farmers, 

 when oxen for (he drauglit and cows fir (he 

 dairy constitute (heir mos{ interesting stock."* 

 I doubt not, however, that many of our farmers 

 have had experience of heifers entering into 

 their (bird yrar, and grazing in rich pastures, 

 becoming fa( lor the bulcher, iu the same seas- 

 on, on grass alone. Sir John Sinclair remarks, 

 that the propensity to fallin at an early age, is 

 ;i sure proof Ihat an animal will fa((en speedily 

 at any other period of life. — [t is a remark of 

 Mr Marshall, " (ha( a cow may be so coiislilu- 

 (loned as (o ci'n\ert heraliment intomilk, while 

 milk is continn.d (o be drawn (Voin her, and, 

 when (he draught is stopped, to convert (he 

 same current of chyle into fal." .And we may 

 well suppose, that cows possessing the (aciiMy 

 of cin»ei'ting their (bod into milk so rich as (o 

 yield an ex(raiTdinary quanti(y of butter, would 

 >vhrn dried o2', fitlen faster, and in a higher de- 

 gree, then coivs which had given ihin milk, on 

 Ihe same quanlity of food. This presents an- 

 other and very weighty moliv;, to cherish and 

 propagate (iia( breed of cattle of which the 

 cows are so productive of butter. 



T. PICKERING, i 



The following: well merited compliment from (he peu 

 of the Ldilor ol the Amotican Farmer, will we hei^t, Lie,^ 

 I rendered the more arceplable to the noble donor, \> liose 

 patriotism and liberality elicited the rr marks, li ora the 

 circumstance of its emanating from a m ry resjiecta- 

 ble aid disinterested source. Trai.-e IVorii the praise- 

 worthy is t le highest and dearest reward of merit. — El. 



I At a meeting of ihe Board of Trustees ot the 



' A!i)ssacluis(tts Agricuhurat Society, held the 22d 



' inst. (he cordial thanks of the board were voted 



to Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, of the British navy, 



for a Stud Horse and Mare, of the Yorkshire 



; Cleveland B,iy«, the most highly apfiroved breed 



in England, for the coach and lor the road, and 



which were ready lo he pn-senled by him, and 



lo be placed at the direction of Ihe Socuty in 



Liverpool. They are expected to arrive in 



(his ci(y in June, when notice will be given 



where ihey will be placed — Boston Paper. 



[The members of the Massachusetts AgricuU . 

 tural Society, who are, without any e.\:iggera» | 

 lion, amongst the most substantial and enlighten- 

 ed citizens of (his coun(ry, will know how to 

 appreciate (he value of the present above men- 

 (iotieil. For our own par(, we cannot register i(, 

 without paving the tribute of our feeble praise 

 to one whose munificence and honorable recol- 



*Addrcss to Mass. Ag. Society, at Brighton, Oct. 1822. 



