No. 3. 



Impai'ted Stock. 



79 



Imported Stock. 



The following description, &c , of the stock recently 

 imported by the Massachusetts Society for prouioliiig 

 Agriculture, is written by E. Phinney, one of the ac- 

 tive officers of that Society, and we copy from the 

 Farmers' Library. It wilt be read with much interest, 

 and we cannot but commend the public spirit of our 

 eastern friends.— Ed. 



The trustees, with an honest desire of 

 promoting- the interests of agriculture and 

 improvement in the various branches of ru- 

 ral economy, had, for many years, devoted 

 the income of the Society's funds to premi- 

 ums on the best cultivated farms, on the va- 

 rious kinds of farm produce, farm stock, and 

 to such other objects as they believed best 

 calculated to promote the interest of the 

 great body of farmers, pf the effect of 

 their labours, the public can the best judge. 



It seemed to the trustees that very little 

 progress had been made, particularly in the 

 dairy stock of the country. They could 

 point to no particular object, no decided 

 mark of improvement or permanent change, 

 upon which the future and progressive im- 

 provement of our dairy stock could, with 

 any certainty, be calculated. 



Thousands of dollars have been offered 

 and awarded in premiums for the best milch 

 cows within the commonwealth, during the 

 last twenty years, and, as appeared to the 

 trustees, to very little benefit. Whoever 

 has attended our cattle shows will have oc- 

 casionally met with a cow remarkable for 

 her milking properties, which the fortunate 

 owner purchased from some drove. This 

 accidental cow is exhibited at tlie cattle 

 show; well authenticated proofs of her great 

 yield of milk or butter are produced; the 

 owner takes the highest prize, and puts the 

 money into his pocket; the calf is sold to 

 the butcher; and the cow the next year is 

 put into the beef barrel. And this has been 

 the beginning and the end of most of the 

 native cows to which the highest prizes 

 have been awarded. The writer knows not 

 a single instance where the offspring of any 

 one of these high-premium native cows has 

 inherited the valuable properties of the dam 

 in a sufficient degree to induce the owner 

 to raise it, with the exception, perhaps, of 

 the famous Groton cow, whose descendants, 

 in the hands of Colonel Jaques, might have 

 added greatly to the value of our dairy stock, 

 had the Colonel possessed the means of car- 

 rying out his plans ; and, in this instance, 

 the valuable properties of the dam were 

 transmitted to the prog-eny solely by the 

 means of crossing with the pure breed of a 

 foreign stock. The cautious farmer will not 

 run the risk, nor incur the expense, of rais- 



ing a calf from stock, of the origin of which, 

 and of the blood of the various breeds that 

 runs in the veins of his favourite cow, he 

 knows nothing. Acting from a belief in the 

 truth of the old adage, which has been taught 

 him from his youth upward, that " a good 

 cow may have a bad calf," he can have no 

 assurance that the descendant of his native 

 cow will not take its character from, and 

 inherit the inferior properties pf, some near 

 or more remote ancestor. He had rather 

 take his chance in the next drove that comes 

 along, knowing that he shall at least avoid 

 the expense and trouble of rearing a calf 

 upon whose good properties he can make no 

 certain calculation. Now it will hardly be 

 pretended that the offering and awarding of 

 premiums for this description of cows has, 

 or ever will have, the effect to improve the 

 dairy stock of the country. 



The writer would by no means de- 

 tract from the value of these accidentally 

 good cows, the natives of the country. 

 There are, no doubt, to be found among the 

 farmers of Massachusetts, many cows of na- 

 tive origin, possessing as valuable properties 

 for all purposes, except for breeding, as any 

 that can be imported from abroad. And they 

 are not without their value as breeders, 

 where they and their descendants may be 

 crossed with the pure blood of some long 

 and well established race of foreign animals. 

 In this way we may chance to perpetuate 

 the rare qualities of our native cows, united 

 with the with the well established traits of 

 character of the imported .stock. 



It may be contended that we need not the 

 aid of foreign stock to raise up one of the 

 best breeds of cattle in' the world. This 

 may be true; but who will undertake it? 

 What individual farmer has the patience, 

 the skill, the intelligence, and the capital, 

 to engage in a task that will require many 

 years and much capital to bring to any con- 

 siderable degree of perfection 1 And where 

 would be the propriety or the economy of 

 undertaking a work of this kind, when, by 

 a little extra expense at the commencement, 

 we may find the work already done to our 

 hands! 



Many farmers in this part of the country, 

 though depending principally for their in- 

 come upon their milch cows, are not aware, 

 it is apprehended, of the small produce de- 

 rived from them ; and would, no doubt, be 

 surprised on learning that their cows gene- 

 rally do not yield an average daily produce 

 of more than two to four quarts of milk 

 for the year. 



The average price of milk for the year, 

 when drawn from the cow, will not exceed 

 three cents per quart, either for the purposes 



