NEAT STOCK. 256 



they, who at the present time expect to rear profitable stock for 

 the dairy, by breeding their coarse, small-uddered cows, to any 

 bull they can find, without the slightest regard to the laws of 

 successful breeding. To us, it is a matter of constant surprise, 

 that intelligent farmers, who are so careful to select for their 

 seed corn, only the plumpest and soundest ears, who must even 

 know the pedigree of a squash, before they will plant from it, 

 and who will not commit to the earth the seeds for an acre of 

 onions without some guaranty from the seedsman, such as Sam 

 Weller required of the vender of veal pie, viz. : that " he was 

 quite sure he knew the 'voman as made it," will not exercise 

 at least some degree of similar caution and judgment in the 

 reproduction of their neat cattle. 



Do the farmers of Worcester county need practical illustra- 

 tions of the correctness of the views which we are attempting 

 to present to their consideration ? — they have only to contrast 

 the numerous fine herds which are to be found at the present 

 time upon the farms, of Barre, New Braintree, Hardwick and 

 vicinity, with those which predominate in some other parts of 

 the county. Those herds owe their origin to the efforts of a 

 few intelligent and public spirited individuals, who have in- 

 grafted some of the best Durham blood, upon well-selected 

 specimens of the " Old Red Native Stock," of New England, 

 until they have by such repeated judicious crossings, obtained, 

 we might say, a race of milkers, which possess the distinguishing 

 characteristics of the thorough-bred stock, and which can very 

 generally be relied upon, as with pure blooded animals, to 

 transmit their excellent qualities to their descendants. 



The efforts made many years since, by a distinguished citizen 

 of this county, who was an active member of our society, the 

 late Mr. Williams, of Northborough, should not in this connection 

 be forgotten, for to him we believe belongs the high honor of 

 having first introduced into this county, if not into the State, 

 one of the finest specimens of the Durham breed of that branch 

 known as the Denton, or Tees water, whose descendants, whether 

 grades or thorough-breds, even to the third and fourth genera- 

 tion, show in their superior qualities for the dairy, the excellent 

 characteristics of their distinguished ancestry. We might go 

 on and enumerate other instances of a similar nature, for the 

 purpose of showing the good results of individual efforts in 



