FUTURE AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 63 



able cattle are those which make the largest return for the 

 amount of food consumed. The old system of importing 

 Shorthorns, regardless of the locality on which they are to be 

 fed, has gone by. The attempt to introduce a breed of cattle 

 among us, which only constitute an expensive luxury for the 

 rich and an attraction chiefly because they are expensive, has 

 failed among those who turn their attention to profitable agri- 

 culture. Since the easy transportation of cattle from the West 

 has been secured, there has been less attention among us to the 

 feeding of beef than formerly. And while, a quarter of a cen- 

 tury since, a farmer was judged by the size of his cattle, the 

 largest oxen being considered an index of the wisest owner, 

 form and thrift and quality and fitness are now deemed of 

 greater value, even when attended by reduction of size. The 

 average weight of our cows has undoubtedly diminished ; and 

 I have no doubt that the profit derived from them has increased 

 in corresponding ratio. 



Every attempt to force an animal on land unfitted for it, 

 every attempt to compel a large, heavy-carcassed cow to get a 

 living on pastures adapted only to a smaller one, must end in 

 fail.ire. Our cattle should find abundant nourishment on our 

 hills and in our stalls, and should ])e selected with reference to 

 this rather than to that magnitude of proportion which gratifies 

 only the ambition or tlie taste, regardless of the purse. It is 

 well enough for the inexperienced, those who have no knowl- 

 edge of agriculture, to linger at our exhibitions by the pens of 

 cattle remarkable for size alone ; but for the farmer of New 

 England, who depends on the income from his pastures for a 

 part of the summer profit of his farm, this will not do. It is 

 well enough for the exquisite and artistic lovers of beauty to 

 recommend a breed of cattle for the deer-like beauty of their 

 heads, and for that alone ; but the farmer who judges of cattle 

 well, knows that delicacy and timidity of expression are not the 

 characteristics most desirable ; neither is he willing to excuse a 

 whole carcass of defects and weaknesses for a pretty face. 

 There are abundant indications of a growing disposition to 

 select animals, here in this dairy region, especially adapted to 

 its wants. And I cannot doubt that the time will come when 

 New England will be as famous for its valuable dairy herds, 

 bred with reference to her soil, as is an analogous section of the 



