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from which they succeeded in creating the famous im- 

 proved Short-horn, which has probably already gained the 

 highest position among English beef cattle. From the 

 time of the sale of Charles Colling's herd, Oct. 11, 1810, 

 up to this time, the breed has continued to rise in public 

 estimation and the fabulous prices received for the ani- 

 mals, both in England and in this country, indicate a high 

 reputation, whether deserved or not. There seems to be 

 no doubt that they are a very profitable animal to raise in 

 certain sections, reaching early maturity, taking on fat 

 during the whole period of growth, and attaining great 

 size. So far as our observation goes, they make very su- 

 perior grades, and unless allowed to degenerate by scanty 

 feeding and improper care, in which case they become 

 raw, mis-shapen brutes, they become a valuable acquisi- 

 tion to almost any district. They have their defects, 

 however, as what races have not? Short-horn beef, al- 

 though profitable to the producer is not so to the consumer 

 — being coarse in texture, poorly marbled, and, from its 

 early maturity, deficient in those nitrogenous compounds 

 which are the true sources of nutriment. This is not true 

 to so great an extent of the grades as of the thorough- 

 bred ; and while I have no doubt that pure bred ITerefords 

 or Devons would be more profitable for the iSTew England 

 farmer, whose mode of feeding is not calculated to pro- 

 duce early maturity, I find many judicious farmers who be- 

 lieve that an admixture of Short-horn blood, properly dis- 

 tributed, is of greater real profit than the same use of either 

 of the others. I have seen, moreover, grade Short-horn 

 cows in New York and some sections of Massachusetts, 

 whose milking properties are extraordinary, notwithstand- 

 ing the universally acknowledged fact that pure-bred im- 



