SECRETARY'S REPORT. 23 



so that the last rib shall be rather the highest ; the fore thighs strong 

 and muscular, tapering gradually to the knees; the belly deep, straight, 

 and also tapering a little to the hind thighs, which should be large and 

 square ; the roof wide, particularly over the chine and hips, or hooks ; 

 the legs straight, short-jointed, full of sinews, clean, and fine boned ; 

 knees round, big and straight ; feet distant one from another, not broad, 

 nor turning in, but easily spreading ; hoofs long and hollow; the hide 

 not hard nor stubborn to the touch; the hair uniformly thick, shorty 

 curled, and of a soft texture ; and the body long, deep, and round, filling 

 well up to the shoulder and into the groin, so as to form what has not 

 improperly been termed a round, or barrel-like carcase." 



PURE BLOOD. 



Let the object of the breeder be what it may, he cannot 

 expect to arrive at any degree of perfection without the use 

 of a full-blooded male, of the breed which he has chosen. This 

 rule has been strongly urged by some of the best farmers in 

 England, and has so far attracted attention in this country, 

 that premiums are offered for no other bulls by some of the 

 agricultural societies of Massachusetts. And, after having 

 chosen a bull of any breed, whose progeny proves satisfactory, 

 it is undoubtedly judicious to obtain, in changing, for purposes 

 of future breeding, a bull of similar strain of blood. If a 

 farmer has a herd of grade cows, the product of a pure bull 

 of any breed, he can improve the quality of his stock with 

 more rapidity and certainty, by the use of a bull somewhat 

 nearly allied tol'the sire of this herd, than in any other manner. 

 Perhaps this is not desirable, if he has in view the immediate 

 sale of his animals, rather than the improvement of his stock. 

 But constant crossing keeps the breeder always just where he 

 began, especially if the cross is in any way violent — as between 

 a cart horse and a thorough-bred, or between a Jersey and a 

 grade Devon. It is close breeding which has produced our 

 best breeds^ of cattle, horses, and sheep ; and if it stops at such 

 a point that the health and strength of the offspring are not 

 endangered, it is the only means by which we can establish a 

 reliable and valuable breed among us. We have numerous 

 instances in which small families of cattle in New England 

 have been brought to a high degree of perfection by close 

 breeding, combined with good feeding. And what is done on 

 a small scale may be done on a large one. There is no doubt 



