112 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



mortals must not expect the success which attended the efiforts 

 of Thury and Cornaz. 



I could have wished to have gone into other phases of this 

 subject, and especially into the qualities of the different breeds 

 and races of animals, and the application of the principles of 

 breeding to their perpetuation and improvement. But these 

 will, perhaps, be treated to more advantage iu the discussion 

 which will follow. Perhaps there is no subject in connection 

 with rural economy, which is more worthy of study on the part of 

 the agriculturist than is breeding in all its phases and relations. 

 Many of its conditions, it must be confessed, are as deeply hid- 

 den from our sight as is the secret of life itself, but some are 

 already obvious enough, and with such results as are offered to 

 us in our various improved breeds, we have the strongest possi- 

 ble stimulus to continued effort in this direction. An enthu- 

 siastic devotion toward carrying out the known principles on 

 which the amelioration of breeds is based, and a zealous inves- 

 tigation with the view of elucidating more information on the 

 functions of reproduction, cannot fail to bring a rich reward in 

 the future as it has done in the past. 



Mr. Goodman, of Lenox. Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, — 

 This subject is one which perhaps no unprofessional man can 

 treat well, but I am always roused to the discussion of this sub- 

 ject, and particularly when I hear the words " cock-tail horse " 

 or " cock-tail bull " uttered, because there is nothing that we 

 who are engaged in breeding are compelled to fight so continu- 

 ally as the persistency of our brother farmers in using these 

 " cock-tail bulls." We have in most of our societies eliminated 

 them, cleaned them out ; but every year the question is brought 

 up, and we have to fight it over again. But we are in hopes 

 that, this year, this Board or the legislature will fix it so that 

 hereafler none of these " cock-tail bulls " shall be brought out 

 for service, or, at any rate, for the premiums at our fairs. 



But this subject of breeding is one that very few farmers 

 understand ; and this arises from deficient education. It is very 

 difiicult for any man of mature age, who has not been well 

 grounded in science, to arrive at a nice appreciation of those 

 distinctions which learned men make, or to understand and 

 carry away with him much information from a lecture like this, 



