SECRETARY'S REPORT. 43 



serve a better purpose. If this is the case, if a small, hardy, 

 thrifty cow is wanted, one that will give a large quantity of 

 good milk for the amount of food required, then it is clearly the 

 duty of the institution to set the example, and to consiUt the 

 interests of the community, by adopting one of those breeds, 

 and bringing it within the reach of the farmers there. I speak 

 advisedly on this point, for I have seen the Shorthorns on their 

 native meadows, and the Ayrshires too, as to that matter, and I 

 know that however well they can be developed in the vicinity of 

 Taunton, they cannot be made to compare at all favorably with 

 the same breed under circumstances well adapted to its full 

 perfection. And what satisfaction can there be in keeping a 

 class of cows where they do not, and never can belong ? 



But we may be told by the farmer of the Taunton hospital 

 that they get a large quantity of milk from their Shorthorn cows. 

 Quite likely. Some Shorthorns so far depart from the general 

 and acknowledged characteristics of the present modern improved 

 breed, as to give a good yield of milk. But it is seldom that 

 such animals can compete in the show-yard, with any success, 

 with those that do not milk well. Milking qualities are not the 

 standard by which this breed is judged now-a-days, because it is 

 rarely the case that it is bred with any reference to them. I 

 admit, too, that it makes grand crosses, especially in a cheese- 

 dairying section, where the pasturage is abundant ; but that does 

 not affect the question in Bristol County, nor prove the policy of 

 trying to keep the breed there. The real question is, whether 

 or not, as a breed, it is adapted to the wants of small farmers on 

 thin, light farms, such as those most commonly found in that 

 part of the State ? If it is not, then I say the institution is not 

 accomplishing its work, or the work which, as a public estab- 

 lishment, it might and ought to accomplish, in improving the 

 stock of that section of the State. 



The course I have advocated, as that which should be promptly 

 adopted on the part of our public charitable institutions, is one, 

 the importance of which can hardly be overestimated. It offers 

 the means of developing and improving the stock interest of this 

 State to a vast extent, as it would bring the means of improve- 

 ment within the easy reach of a large number of enterprising 

 farmers. It offers the means of creating a greater uniformity in 

 our stock, and of laying the foundation of a desirable reputation 



