164 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEE. 



Ap 



■which sells at Launccston for tAvopence ; but 

 Tucker, his wife, and Dick, collected during the 

 season a whole ton, to do which thoy must have 

 killed 56,000 birds. What an enormous quantity 

 must be annually destroyed amongst the whole 

 party ! and yet they say that the flocks do not 

 appear to diminish. — A Sketcher's Tour Round 

 the World. 



SEVENTH AGRICULTURAL MEETING, 



At the State House, Tcesdat Evening, Feb. 28. 



Subject: — Dairy Products, — What class of ani- 

 mals are best fitted for the malting of butter and 

 cheese, and ivhat is the best mode of feeding for 

 these purposes ? 



The meeting wag called to order by Hon. Seth 

 Spr.\gue, of Duxbury, and on his motion, Hon. 

 John C. Gray, of Boston, was chosen to preside. 



Mr. Gray, on taking the chair, said he was 

 wholly unprepared to make any elaborate remarks, 

 ou the subject of the evening's discussion. He 

 considered it a very interesting topic, because the 

 products of the dairy contril^ute largely to the 

 sustenance of the people of this country. In form 

 ing a dairy, the first point is in selecting tlic stock 

 and in doing this he thought fine imported stock 

 should not be overlooked, because we can mix 

 their blood with that of our native stock. We 

 all know of the improvement which has been ob 

 taincd in our breeds of sheep and swine by means 

 of imported animals. Of foreign breeds of cows, 

 he mentioned the Alderncys, as possessing many 

 desirable qualities as milkers, although not hand- 

 some animals, nor so good as some others, on ac- 

 count of their leanness, — and alluded to some 

 specimens of this variety owned by the State Ag- 

 ricultural Society, which yield much richer milk 

 than any other stock. Still, he thought we ought 

 to direct our attention to selecting dairy stock 

 from native breeds. One advantage they possess 

 is, that they have grown up on our own soil and 

 in our own climate, which renders them hardier. 

 In this connection he referred to the Oakcs cow, 

 which gave 15 or 16 quarts of milk per day, 6 

 quarts of her milk making one quart of cream. 

 He did not know that she had been excelled by 

 any animal of foreign blood. In his opinion, 

 the most rapid method of improving our stock 

 and securing general good results is to select the 

 finest animals to be found in our ovra villages. 

 Mr. Gray said there was one point often over- 

 looked in the management of dairies, viz. , keep- 

 ing the milk of each animal separate, whereby 

 the quality and quantity of milk which a cow 

 yields maybe ascertained and her value accurate- 

 ly detevmined. If this course be pursued, instead 

 of turning the milk all together, it may not un- 

 likely be found that a cow may l)e found in a 

 herd which is actually unprofitable, and which 

 it is for the interest of the farmer to get rid of. 



Mr. Setii Sprague said he did not own a dairy 



farm, and kept but few cows. Yet he had kept 

 both native and imported cows, and found that 

 both varieties varied in degrees of excellence. Sin- 

 ;le cows could be selected either from the foreign 

 or native stocks which would go far before any 

 of their kind. He had an Ayrshire, which he ob- 

 tained from the farm of Mr. Webster, that gave 

 last summer during 8 days in June, 59 lbs. of 

 milk per day. He found in the fall, however, that 

 the native cows held out best, and in the year 

 round, would be found equal to imported stock. 

 So far as his knowledge extended, it was not gen- 

 eral for all the cows ol' one variety, except, per- 

 haps, the Alderney, to be superior milkers. A 

 gentleman in his immediate neighborhood has a 

 full-blooded Ayrshire, which he obtained from the 

 State Society, from which he gets but very little 

 milk. Still, there is probablv a larger propor- 

 tion of good animals among foreign stock than 

 in native stock. The great question is, where 

 shall we get a race of good milkers 1 Tlie Oakes 

 cow, which is so celebrated, has no_ progeny which 

 equals her, and this is found to be the case with 

 all extraordinary milkers. 



Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, remarked that there 

 was a great diversity of opinion in regard to which 

 were the best breeds of dairy stock, and for that 

 matter he felt unsettled in his own mind. It has 

 taken sixty or seventy years in England for them 

 to raise their pet breeds, and it will take us as 

 long as that to raise ours. The speaker who pre- 

 ceded him (Mr. Sprague) considered foreign stock 

 decidedly the best, but he could not agree with 

 liim. Generally, he did not know as they did any 

 better than other races. The foreign cows yield 

 extraordinary quantities of milk only in exceptional 

 cases, and that cow which gives the most milk is 

 not consequently the best cow, for there is a great 

 difference in the amount of butter which the milk 

 from different cows will make. Cows, too, which 

 yield largely of milk, eat a large amount of food. 

 We need a race of cows which shall be good for 

 their teef and hides, as well as for their milk. 

 The Alderney cow is a lean animal, and her hide 

 is thin and unsubstantial. These considerations 

 should be taken into account in deciding the value 

 of an animal. We want a race which shall com- 

 bine in the greatest perfection, milk, beef and shoe- 

 leather. He thought there was as much in feed- 

 ing as in breeding cattle. He had some doubts 

 whether it was not best, on the whole, to keep 

 cattle poorly during the winter ; get as much bone 

 as possible, and put on the muscle when we get 

 cheap pasturage. At any rate he was trying the 

 experiment this winter with his cattle. It is a 

 pretty nice question. He thought there was a 

 doubt whether Ayshire stock would succeed as 

 well in this country as had been expected — but 

 only a doubt, as there is yet no proof. They have 

 not got acclimated. The D urham give more cheese, 



