60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



until he has become indigenous — a native, so called. But this 

 animal is becoming scarce ; and wherever the introduction of 

 modern Devon blood has been made, it does not seem to be 

 attended with that success which its quality would promise. It is 

 not often that a Devon bull of admirable proportions is found 

 among us ; and we do not hear of any sections into which they 

 have been recently introduced with any very marked advantage. 

 In our climate, and with our feed, they too often lose those propor- 

 tions which render them so valuable when found in perfection. 

 A certain deficiency in quarter, and in depth through the heart, 

 and in good proportion along the chine and over the hips, has 

 become too marked among them. And while we can point to 

 herds of Devons of good proportions and size, well adapted to our 

 farms, we still hear too much of the "little Devon bull," whose 

 fine color and brilliant eye constitute attractions it is true, but 

 not such attractions as appeal to the stall-feeder or the grazier. 



Any comparison of dairy breeds is hardly called for here. 

 The Ayrshire and the Jersey, the two breeds of dairy cattle 

 which now claim the most attention, as standing in the front 

 rank, are so differently constituted, and are intended for such 

 different purposes, that they cannot be called, in any sense, rivals. 

 For an animal expected to give a large yield of milk on a small 

 amount of feed, of medium size, great strength of constitution, 

 transmitting well its qualities whether pure or graded, furnish- 

 ing a very fair proportion of butter, and a very large proportion 

 of cheese, taking on fat well, and in the most valuable parts, 

 the Ayrshires cannot be surpassed. But for the manufacture 

 of butter of superior color and flavor, and for the conversion 

 of the most nutritious food into the most condensed form of this 

 table luxury, the Jersey is without a rival. It remains for the 

 farmer, who has a knowledge of his own wants, to decide which 

 of these breeds he will choose. And recognizing as we do, the 

 great importance of the dairy to all New England farming, we 

 urgently recommend the selection of such animals as will 

 materially advance this interest. 



S. L. Goodale, Esq., in his valuable treatise on the " Principles 

 of Breeding," remarks truly, that — 



" There is no bninch of cattle husbandry which promises better returns 

 than the breeding and rearing of milch cows. Here and there are to be 

 found some good enough. In the vicinity of large towns and cities are 



