252 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the business of raising milch cows for his dairy, to possess 

 his soul in especial peace. He must keep them quiet and in 

 as much repose as possible ; he must feed accurately and care- 

 fully, or he will not increase his herd as he desires. He 

 must direct the energies of that herd toward the encourage- 

 ment of the milk-producing organs, and not to the encourage- 

 ment of the beef-producing organs, or he will utterly fail in 

 the object at which he aims. The breeder of milch cows, 

 therefore, has the most difficult process on his hands ; and 

 when you consider that this is almost the only breeding that 

 is of any value to the New England farmer, you can appre- 

 ciate the importance of observing here the best rules of breed- 

 ing and feeding. 



Now let us consider for one moment what sort of a selec- 

 tion we are to make for the specific purpose towards which 

 we are aiming. Let us turn our attention for a moment to 

 the beef-producing animal. It is not necessary to describe 

 the two sexes, but let us consider the characteristics of these 

 animals as a class. I consider that the head and brain of a 

 beef-producing animal should be comparatively small ; that the 

 bones should be comparatively fine ; that the expression of 

 the countenance should be somewhat serene and calm. The 

 rib of a beef-producing animal should be round and compact ; 

 the shoulders firmly fixed to the body, not projecting in any 

 way like the shoulder of a good dairy-cow or of a good trot- 

 ting-horse. The parts behind the shoulder should be well 

 filled in, never broken ofi" in any way, because underneath that 

 line lie all the vital organs of the animal, which are so neces- 

 sary for the preservation of his health. The barrel of a beef- 

 producing animal should be comparatively straight and round. 

 The rump should always be level and long, and that rule, my 

 friends, is applicable to any stock that you see fit to produce 

 on your farm. Breed out and expel all rough and sloping- 

 rumped beasts. I never saw one in my life that was up to the 

 standard ; there may be exceptions here and there ; one may 

 have a good constitution ; but, as a general thing, the animals 

 that have the best constitution, that feed the best, that sell the • 

 best when they fall into the hands of the butcher, are those 

 which have level rumps from the hips to the roots of the tail, 

 and certainly they are the most comely. If a man has any 



