84 Live Stock. 



first introduced ; but their importance afterwards, as the in- 

 struments of cultivation, as the means of supplying a large 

 proportion of our food, and as furnishing a variety of out- 

 most essential accommodations, tends to render this branch 

 of the inquiry peculiarly interesting. 



It is impossible, in a work of so condensed a nature as 

 the present, to attempt any minute explanation of the va- 

 rious particulars, connected with the rearing and after 

 management of live stock, for they are still more numerous, 

 than those which belong to the cultivation of the different 

 kinds of soil,- or raising the various crops which they pro- 

 duce. The subject, therefore, cannot be minutely discussed ; 

 but it is proposed to offer a few general remarks, 1. On the 

 most desirable properties of live stock ; 2. On the origin of 

 improved breeding, and the principles on which it depends ; 

 and, 3. On the proper management of stock intended for 

 consumption ; to which shall be added, 4. Some observa- 

 tions on the size, and most economical mode of feeding 

 horses. 



To enter fully into details regarding these particulars, 

 would have required a volume of no inconsiderable dimen- 

 sions ( 78 ). 



1. On the most desirable Properties of Live Stock intended 

 for consumption. 



The most desirable properties of stock, intended for the 

 purposes of food, may be considered under the following 

 heads: 1. Size; 2. Form; 3. A tendency to grow ; 4. Early 

 maturity ; 5. Hardiness and vigour of constitution ; 6. Pro- 

 lific properties ; 7. Quality of flesh ; 8. A disposition to 

 fatten ; 9. Lightness of offal ; and, 10. Milking properties. 

 The following observations are the result of much careful 

 inquiry regarding these important particulars. 



1. Size. Before the improvements introduced by Bake- 

 well, the value of cattle, sheep and hogs was entirely judg- 

 ed of by their bulk ; and if a great size could be obtained, 

 more regard was paid to the price the animal ultimately 

 fetched, than to the cost of its food. Of late, since breed- 

 ers began to calculate with more precision, small, or mode- 

 rate-sized animals, have been generally preferred, for the 

 following reasons : 



1. Small-sized animals are more easily kept ; they thrive 

 on shorter herbage, they collect food where a large animal 

 could hardly exist, and thence are more generally profit- 



