No. 1. 



Form and Constitution of the Cow. 



29 



blight, on soil which gave them a rapid 

 growth. From these facts — and from the 

 further fact, that all the examinations we 

 have seen recorded on the subject, have 

 never been able satisfactorily to attribute 

 the blight to any species of lice or insect — 

 we are inclined to the opinion, that it is 

 owing to a surcharge of the fluids. We 

 are aware that there are difliculties con- 

 nected with this suggestion, to which we 

 have not time to refer; but we make it for 

 the consideration of those who have leisure 

 to attend to tlie investigation. 



The ill success we had with the pear, 

 owing to the ravages of the blight, discou- 

 raged us from its cultivation, so that, for the 

 last sixteen years, we have paid no atten- 

 tion to this kind of fruit, relying mostly on 

 the apple, until a year or two back, encou- 

 raged by the few that have been saved from 

 the blight, and the discovery that some soils 

 are better adapted to the cultivation of the 

 pear than others, we have recommenced at- 

 tending to the pear again. We have pro- 

 cured several varieties from the nursery of 

 Mr. Nicholas, of Belmont county, and have 

 engrafted several kinds ourself. 



We are of opinion that our practical men 

 would do a good service to direct their at- 

 tention to such kinds of the pear as are 

 adapted to the cUmate, and proof against 

 that fatal disease, the blight. TJie pear is, 

 perhaps, the most delicious fruit that is cul- 

 tivated, and he would do a great favour to 

 the gratifications of the community, who 

 would promote the cultivation of this rich 

 luxury. We have no hesitancy in saying, 

 that the Philadelphia Butter Pear above, is 

 the best article of tiie kind that we have 

 any knowledge of. In the first place, the 

 tree seems to be free from the blight ; in the 

 second place, it is a good bearer, and begins 

 very early to produce fruit; thirdly, it is the 

 most delicious of the fruit kind that we ever 

 tasted. It is so rich that a man of ordinary 

 appetite cannot eat more than two or three 

 when they are in a state of perfection. 

 There are many varieties called Butter 

 Pear, but this is the Philadelphia Butter 

 Pear, and is said to be the best pear brought 

 into the Philadelphia market. 



C. Springer. 



Meadow Farm, Ohio, June 13th, 1844. 



The Philadelphia Butter Pear is said to 

 be the same as the Virgalieu, or White Doy- 

 enne. 



It is better to seek a good appetite for 

 one's food, than to be curious to get good 

 food for one's appetite. 



Form and Constitution of the Cow. 



It is well known that animals of the 

 same breed fed on the same food, will yield 

 milk not only in difierent quantities, but 

 also of very different quality. In regard to 

 the form, Mr. Youatt states that the " milch 

 cow should have a long thin head, with a 

 brisk but placid eye, — should be thin and 

 hollow in the neck, narrow in the breast 

 and point of the shoulder, and altogether 

 light in the fore-quarter — but wide in the 

 loins, with little dew-lap, and neither too 

 full fleshed along the chine, nor showing in 

 any part an inclination to put on much fat. 

 The udder should especially be large, round, 

 and full, with the milk veins protruding, yet 

 thin skinned, but not hanging loose or tend- 

 ing far behind. The teats should also stand 

 square, all pointing out at equal distances, 

 and of the same size, and although neither 

 very large nor thick towards the udder, yet 

 long and tapering towards a point. A cow 

 with a large head, a high back bone, a small 

 udder and teats, and drawn up in the belly, 

 will, beyond all doubt, be found a bad 

 milker." Thus while much depends upon 

 the breed, the form of the individual also 

 has much influence upon its value as a 

 milker. 



But independent of form, the quality of 

 the milk is greatly affected by the indivi- • 

 dual constitution of every cow we feed. 

 Thus in a report of the produce of butter 

 yielded by each cow of a drove of 22, chiefly 

 of the Ayrshire breed — all of which we may 

 presume to have been selected for dairy pur- 

 poses, w'ith equal regard to their forms, and 

 which were all fed upon the same pastures 

 in Lanarkshire, the yield of milk and butter 

 by four of the cows in tho same w-eek, is 

 given as follows : 



Milk. Butter. 



A yielded 84 quarts, which gave 3^ lbs. 



F and R each 86 " " " 5^ " 



G yielded 88 " " " 7 " 



Showing, that though the breed, the food, 

 and the yield of milk were nearly the same, 

 the cow G, produced twice as much butter 

 as the cow A, — or its milk was twice as 

 rich. This result would have been still 

 more interesting, had we known the rela- 

 tive quantities of grass consumed by these 

 two cows respectively. I will not insist 

 upon other causes by which the quality of 

 the milk is more or less materially affected. 

 It is said that when stall-fed, the same cow 

 will yield more butter than when pastured 

 in the field — that the age of the pasture 

 also influences the yield of butter — and that 

 salt mingled with the food, improves both 

 the quantity and the iquality of the milk. 



