238 



London Dairies. 



Vol. VII. 



For the Farmer's Cabinet. 

 London Dairies. 



Messrs. Editors, — Your readers are much 

 indebted for a beautiful portrait of that very 

 high-bred bull, Colostra. I had often won- 

 dered that so fine an animal had not, long 

 ago, found his way into your pages: we 

 have now, three bulls and two cows of the 

 pure short-horn Durham?, that might per- 

 haps, be termed matchless — all drawn from 

 the life, by Woodside, and engraved ex- 

 pressly for your work — a Cabinet in them- 

 selves ! 



But it is a fact much to be deplored, that 

 we seem to expect that every quality which 

 is desirable, must concentrate in one indivi- 

 dual breed, without reflecting that, as in 

 England, from whence we derive all our 

 various races, one breed of cattle may be 

 best, under one class of circumstances, and 

 another under others — beef in one, milk in 

 a second, butter in a third, and work in a 

 fourth, without offering disparagement to 

 either, or expecting anything so unreason- 

 able, as an union of all in any distinct breed. 

 But this we have yet to learn, and until the 

 time arrives, I fear we must submit to pre- 

 judices and preferences which are not com- 

 patible with our real interests. Now no one, 

 perhaps, admires the short-horns more than 

 I, but I am willing to admit that other breeds 

 mitiht vie with them in various ways: in 

 short, as has already been said, it is unrea- 

 sonable to expect to find any one partcular 

 breed possessed of the distinctive qualities 

 of all. I freely admit, that there are in- 

 stances of great milkers amongst the Dur-[ 

 hams; and am aware that the advocates ofj 

 the short-horns point to the Dairy cows of 

 London, which are of the highest improved 

 breed of Durhams, as proof of the tact, that 

 they are preferable for the use of the dairy; 

 but the history of these cows is not gene- 

 rally known; and I would here state, for the 

 information of those desirous of understand- 

 ing the matter, that they are selected ex- 

 pressly for the I ondon dairies, over the whole 

 kingdom, at almost, any price, as the greatest 

 milkers, and at five years of aye — -just in 

 their prime ; so that it is probable, not more 

 than one cow out of twenty, from the finest 

 dairies of short-horns in the country, may 

 be deemed fit for the London market. As 

 soon as it is safe to remove the calf, which 

 is left behind for rearing, their dams are 

 driven off to London, to supply vacancies 

 formed by sale to the butcher, of those cows 

 that have pone dry, after having been milked, 

 perhaps, for nearly two years: yielding large 

 carcasses of beef, for which there is ready 

 sale, although it is confessedly of inferior 



quality. Persons undertaking to supply the 

 London dairies with these cows, are always 

 travelling over the country, making con- 

 tracts, even at the time the calf is dropped, 

 to be delivered at five years old, if a great 

 milker: and hence arises the superiority of 

 the London dairies. But great milkers are 

 not confined to any particular breed ; nor 

 sre the largest milkers, any more than the 

 largest cows, always the most desirable, 

 even for the butter dairy; for there are other 

 considerations to be attended to; one of 

 which is of peculiar importance, namely, 

 the continuing to give milk nearly up to the 

 time of calving; a qualification which, al- 

 though deprecated by those whose cows go 

 dry for three or four months before calving, 

 I have never objected to. The Germantown 

 cow, mentioned in your last, must have been 

 a valuable animal, and there are many others 

 of that "no breed," as they have been called, 

 that are remarkable. I have lately heard 

 too, of a pure Devon of the highest blood, 

 belonging to a gentleman near Newcastle 

 Delaware, which is a real prodigy in the se- 

 cretion of milk and butter — and have been 

 given to understand that she is intended to 

 compete for the offer of "$500 for the cow oi 

 other breed than short-horn, that shall give 

 14 pounds of butter per week; with 50 cents 

 additional, for every ounce over that weight;" 

 which has been made by a certain spirited 

 breeder of short-horns in Pennsylvania. 

 There is also a very fine cow of the polled 

 breed, whose portrait is now in the hands ol 

 Mr. Woodside; an engraving from which 

 would be highly valued by your subscribers, 

 and form a variety in the list which already 

 adorns your par.es. It must not be forgotten, 

 that the polled breed of cattle stands A, 1, 

 in tin' most famous butter county of Eng- 

 land — Suffolk; and I know many capita 

 polled milkers in this country, the descend- 

 ants, no doubt, of imported stock of that 

 favourite breed. But we seem not to be 

 aware of the fact, that we have already 

 amongst us, the finest animals of all the dif- 

 ferent breeds of English cattle; and it is 

 only to rid ourselves of the ridiculous pre- 

 ference for tne breed over another, be the 

 situation and circumstances what they might 

 —the easily-besetting sin of our country, 

 and of which many shrewd men have taken 

 advantage — and suit the different varieties 

 to our (liferent wants, as is done in Eng- 

 land, and we should get along- much pleflj" 

 santer, and with far less bickering. And 

 for one, I am pleased to find that public 

 opinion is leaning pretty much to my way of 

 thinking — no disparagement, to short-horns 

 either; for they will be found superior stork 

 for many situations, and under various cir- 



