50 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



« 

 *well began those skilful experiments in breeding and with 

 such marked success as to impress his influence upon the 

 progress of agriculture all over the civilized world. 



It was, of course, some years before Bakewell's magnifi- 

 cent results began to attract public notice, even in England, 

 and their influence was much slower in reaching this country. 

 It began to be felt, here toward the close of the last century, 

 or more properly, perhaps, directly after the close of the rev- 

 olutionary war, for Mr. Goff and two other gentlemen of 

 Maryland imported some very large animals from England, 

 in 1783, which appear soon after to have gone into the hands 

 of Matthew Patton of Virginia, who, about the year 1794, 

 removed to Kentucky and carried the cattle with him. A 

 part of the same stock was taken to Ohio in the year 1800 by 

 John Patton, a son of Matthew. These* cattle were well 

 known in Kentucky and Ohio, where they soon gained a wide 

 reputation. 



There were a few other importations about that period, all 

 of them in small lots, the most important of which were some 

 cattle introduced into Maryland by a Mr. Miller, between 

 1790 and 1795, and a few Shorthorns into "Westchester 

 County, New York, in 1792 and 1796. These were probably 

 the only importations made with any design of improving 

 American cattle. Here and there a Jersey of that day, and 

 possibly a very few individual animals of other breeds, 

 brought over by ship-masters, are known to have been intro- 

 duced and kept here, but they made no perceptible mark on 

 our common cattle. Nor were there many or frequent impor- 

 tations until after the year 1820, though a herd of Devons, 

 consisting of a bull and six heifers, presented to Robert Pat- 

 terson of Baltimore, by Mr. Coke, afterwards Earl of Leices- 

 ter, were imported in 1816; twelve head of Shorthorns ar- 

 rived in Kentucky in 1817, and two more in 1818. It Avas in 

 that year the celebrated bull Ccelebs, the founder of Colonel 

 Jaques's " cream-pot breed," Fortunatus, owned by Gorham 

 Parsons of Brighton, and Young Denton, owned by S. "Wil- 

 liams of Northborough, were imported into Massachusetts, 

 while Henry Clay introduced the Herefords into Kentucky in 

 the year 1817, and Colonel Saunders's importation of Short- 

 horns arrived in that State the same year. 



