1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



139 



they keep as easy, eat as heartily, and withstand 

 the cold as well as any other kind of cattle. 



Mr. Sheldon, of Wilmington, strongly urged 

 the superiority of the native cattle over all others. 

 In 1835 h" worked 113 cattle in this city, among 

 which was a yoke of good Durhams, but he 

 thought they were not so spry as the others. — 

 Talking with one of his old teamsters last week, 

 he asked him to name the cattle which he could 

 recollect were considered by himself and others to 

 be the best in Mr. Sheldon's possession while ho 

 was in his employ. The teamster mentioned some 

 eight or ten yoke, all of which were native stock. 

 If you go to the butchers, nine out of ten of them 

 will tell you that the flesh of native animals suits 

 their customers better than foreign, and at Brigh- 

 ton, handsome native cattle are the most praised 

 by the butchers. As an offset to Mr. Sprague's 

 remark, last Tuesday evening, that the specimens 

 of superior native 'fcattle cited were selected from 

 drovers of a thousand at Brighton, he would re- 

 mark that the specimens of foreign animals 

 brought to this country are selected from herds of 

 tens of thousands, and at enormous prices. 



Mr. BucKMixsTER, of Framingham, thonglit 

 that finer cattle than some of our native stock 

 could not be found, and that we ought to cultivate 

 it. He denied very positively that a yoke of pure 

 blood Durham or Devon oxen had ever been seen 

 in this country. He explained the reason to be 

 that breeders could get more for a single bull 

 than for a pair of oxen, and hence would not 

 raise oxen. The cattle we have are crosses, and 

 he would give ten dollars to the man who would 

 find a yoke of j^ure blood Durham or Devon oxen 

 in this State. By selecting the best native bulls 

 and cows, he thought a very superior race of 

 cattle could be obtained. In fifty years we might 

 get up as good breeds as any in England. Our 

 fault is that we have not patience enough in this 

 matter, and are hot willing to wait for such a 

 result. As to breeding in-and in, he did not see 

 any difficulty in it, if properly understood. The 

 human race sprung from one pair, and wild 

 horses, which are swifter and stronger than those 

 domesticated, breed in this manner. He stated 

 that stock imported into this country forty years 

 ago, had grown better and better under this sys- 

 tem. He remarked, in conclusion, that the cows 

 of this Commonwealth did not probably yield, on 

 an average, more than five pounds of butter per 

 week, while, with proper attention to the ani- 

 mals, ten pounds might be obtained from the 

 Bame amount of food consumed. 



Mr. Frederick Emerson, of Boston, said it was 

 very uncertain what was meant when "native" 

 stock was spoken of, and described several varie- 

 ties which would probably be called native by 

 some. 



Mr. Merriam thought the discussion had shown 

 I that all were agreed as to the necessity of yooa 

 \hlood in order to secure good cattle. Lot the 

 farmer ascertain definitely wliat he wants in an 

 I animal — beef, milk, or working qualities — and 

 then select accordingly. 



Mr. Fay, of Essex, said the quickest way to 

 obtain a good breed of cattle was to select a pure 

 blood bull from a mother possessing in the Iiigh- 

 est degree the qualities desired, and take a mixed 

 female. The pure blood will finally overpower 

 and eradicate the mixed blood, and the progeny 

 will be of pure blood. A French gentleman had 

 succeeded in doing this with sheep in five crossings. 

 He commenced by uniting a pure merino with a 

 pure Leicester, and ■ the result was a mixture 

 which produced sometimes one thing and some- 

 times another — a pui-e merino or a pure Leices- 

 ter, just as it happened. He found that this 

 would not work. Two pure bloods were brought 

 together, and they only wavered without pro- 

 ducing any decisive result. He therefore, after 

 much reflection, procured a sheep whose blood 

 had been mixed five or six times, and placed her 

 with a pure male. The consequence was that he 

 attained the object he sought, a peculiar breed of 

 sheep. The mixed blood becomes purer on every 

 crossing. If it is desired to raise a particular 

 race of cattle, instead of looking for superior ani- 

 mals of both sexes, take a pure blood bull and the 

 most mixed male that caa be found, no matter 

 how inferior, even if one horn grows downward. 



Mr. Dodge, of Sutton, thought it would take 

 at least twenty years to get a race of cattle such 

 as we want, and that there was nothing better to 

 begin with than our native cattle. 



After considerable discussion, it was voted that 

 the subject of Farm Stock be continued for dis- 

 cussion another evening, and at 9^ o'clock the 

 meeting adjourned. 



For the Xew England Farmer. 



CORRECTION. 



Mr. Editor : — Sir, — Permit me to correct a few 

 mistakes that occur in a report of my remarks at 

 the State House, puljlished in your paper of the 

 lOtli ult. In one part I am made to say that in 

 order to mitigate a disease known as p/ei(ro-pneu- 

 monia^^'-thcj'anner is to innoculate the diseased ones 

 with the breath of the healthy and a cure tcill be the 

 result.''^ I stated that veterinary surgeons in Eu- 

 rope, are now experimenting, by innoculatingeat- 

 tle for j)kuro-pnenmo Ilia ; that they obtain mat- 

 ter (rot ''brcrilh") from t' e (.aaeaseJ animal, and 

 introduce it into the systems of healthy ones in 

 view of palliating tliat awful disease. 



Spasmodic "c/to/t'/-a," should read colic, is loca- 

 ted in the muscular coat of the intestines. It aris- 

 es from perverted nervous action, and therefore, 

 medicines that act on the nervous system of an 

 anti-spasmodic character, should be used. 



Yours, with respect, G. H. Dadd, V. S. 



