204 



HEALTH AND ITS PRESERVATION. 



Scotch graziers and farmers are second to those of 

 no other country in intelligence and industry; and 

 their abandonment of cross-breeding may be regard- 

 ed as additional evidence of their good sense and 

 skill as practical husbandmen. In localities adapted 

 to the Short-Horns, the Hereford, the Devons, or the 

 Ayrshire?, there can be no objection to the introduc- 

 tion of either of these popular breeds, and to a lim- 

 ited extent, crossing it with the native cattle of the 

 district; but this course should never prevent the 

 keeping of the new blood pure in the country. In 

 this way, the imported ^tock may soon become per- 

 fectly acclimated, and whatever merits it may have 

 in form, in early maturity, or disposition to fatten 

 will be preserved without deterioration, provided al- 

 ways, it is properly kept. Perhaps the most valua- 

 ble cow on the British Islands for milk is the Jersey 

 breed. So early as 1789, the insular legislature pass- 

 an act, which is still in force, " prohibiting the impor- 

 tation into Jersey of any cow, heife^ calf, or bull, 

 under the penalty of 200 livres, with forfeiture of the 

 boat and tackle; and a further penalty of DO livres is 

 imposed on any sailor on board who does not inform 

 of the attempt. The animal itself is to be immedi- 

 ately slaughtered, and its flesh siven to the poor." 



The breeding of dairy cows for exportation, has 

 long been a profitable business for these islanders. A 

 Jersey-man, it is said, will treat every animal on his 

 farm with neglect e.\'cept his cow. She is penned on 

 a narrow space, and shifted to fresh spots of herbage 

 several limes in a day, and in the nights of winter 

 she is warmly housed, and when about to calve, is 

 nourished with cider. Throughout all the year these 

 little pet cows are to be seen in their patches of mea- 

 dow, often under the shade of apple trees, but so fas- 

 tened that they cannot raise their heads to pull the 

 fruit. 



With proper care and attention, and breeding in 

 a direct line, it is not difficult to form a distinct breed 

 of domestic animals, and one that possesses many 

 valuable qualities. There are, in the United States, 

 the nuclei of at least a score of breeds of neat cattle, 

 which might be extended and cultivated with equal 

 profit to the owners, and benefit to the community. 

 Native cattle, having been reared iu the districts 

 where they exist, and perfectly naturalized to their 

 respective climates, soils, and means of subsistence, 

 are very favorably situated for valuable improve- 

 ment. To efiecl this, a knowledge of what are term- 

 ed "points" of excellence in cattle, is indispensable. 

 In the State of New York, where stock-growing and 

 dairy husbandry have long been prosecuted on a some- 



what extensive scale, and with great success, much 

 attention has been given to the investigation of this 

 subject, under the auspices of its very flourishing 

 State Agricultural Society; and we can hardly ren- 

 der the husbandmen of the other States a better ser- 

 vice than to copy at length from the thirteenth vol- 

 ume of the Transactions of said society, the "points 

 of excellence in cattle," established for the guidance 

 of its committees, in awarding annual premiums. 



HEALTH AND ITS PRESEEVATIOH. 



MuoH has been said and written of late upon the 

 subject of health, and but few of our readers, we 

 presume, are ignorant of the necessity of a timely 

 removal of all causes of disease, such as decaying 

 and decayed substances, whether animal or vegetable, 

 from their premises and the importance of cleanliness 

 in person and apparel. 



Yet such is the indifference of many who know the 

 right, and yet practice it not, that line upon line and 

 precept upon precept are as necessary in their case as 

 in the education of children of smaller growth. Ac- 

 curate medical researches have conclusively shown 

 that heat and moisture, with defective ventilation are 

 prolific sources of disease among na But heat and 

 moisture alone are not of themselves predisposing 

 and effective causes, unless others act in conjunction 

 with them. 



We were much interested a short time since in pe- 

 rusing an account of an expedition of discovery up 

 one of the branches of the Niger, into the heart of 

 the African continent. Previous to the return of 

 the expedition alluded to, we have no account of any 

 previous expedition that has returned to the sea-coast 

 without the loss of one-half, or nearly the whole of 

 their number by diseases peculiar to the climate, yet 

 of the sixty and more individuals comprising the ex- 

 pedition, all returned in comparative health, after an 

 absence of eight months. 



Such a remarkable exemption from disetse deserves 

 more than a passing notice. The means resorted to 

 as preventives, were as follows: 



1st. Thorough cleanliness in persons and apparel. 



2d. The decks and cabin floors were scrubbed and 

 rubbed with hot dry sand, and in damp wet weather, 

 fires were daily kindled in the hold, in order thorough- 

 ly to di7 the vessel and ensure ventilation. 



3d. Chlorides, both of lime and zinc, were freely 

 used in all parts of the vessel, and the bilge water 

 daily removed. 



4th. The men were not allowed to expose them- 

 selves to the morning au-, without having first taken 



