14 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



bad feeding, has reduced the average of our stock to a very 

 low standard. We have been led to believe that there may be 

 somewhere an universal breed of cattle, suited to all purposes, 

 of general excellence for the combined business of the dairy, the 

 stall, and the yoke. And with tlie hope of arriving at this we 

 have been groping in the dark, until we seem to have fairly lost 

 our way. By undertaking too much, and without proper rule, we 

 have, as usual, accomplished but little. Most of us can call to 

 mind the unsuccessful efforts made in a region of short pastures 

 and scanty food, to improve the stock by the introduction of a 

 Short-horu bull — feeble cows and coarse oxen being the natural 

 consequence. "We have all seen a Jersey bull sent into a 

 rich grazing region, and serving merely to glorify by contrast, 

 the large and thrifty cattle already planted there. How many 

 vain attempts have been made to introduce Ayrshires, with all 

 their dairy qualities, into a luxuriant section, whose " paths 

 drop fatness all around ! " How much food have we seen 

 wasted on misplaced Devons ! " A place for every thing and 

 every thing in its place," is the motto for cattle-breeders, who 

 occupy such a diversity of soil and climate as ours. Amidst 

 the general inferiority of our cattle, we find exceptions, where 

 either wisdom oi; accident has produced a gratifying result. 

 So true is this, that every sagacious purchaser of stock 

 knows where to go in pursuit of choice animals. There are 

 certain towns, certain counties, certain valleys of rivers, in 

 New England, which have become noted for their fine cattle, 

 and whose reputation has been established, by the fortunate 

 introduction of blood well adapted to the place. 



There is no doubt that our cattle need improvement, both by 

 breeding and by feeding. Whatever may have been the origin 

 of our so-called natives, they have become a mass of confusion, 

 without any distinctive features which would give them value, 

 and without any certainty of transmitting even the good 

 qualities which they do possess. Large numbers of cattle are 

 raised among us, which in no way remunerate the raiser or 

 feeder, even when the cost of keeping until ready for market, 

 is estimated at the lowest possible figure. 



We are too apt to breed badly. Sufficient care is not always 

 used in selecting the female, in the first place. A cow that 

 happens to be a good milker, in spite of many bad points, and 



