30 



wood to cut up that he could not stop to have his saw filed, Mr, 

 Whitman is never hurried or fretted by his work, and his herd of 

 Short Horns are just what such a man might be expected to own. 

 Starting with the conviction that a union of great milking capacity 

 with the properties of symmetry, early maturity, large size, and 

 quick feeding, is possible and desirable, he has brought to bear both 

 skill and capital to illustrate his theory ; and he has now confess- 

 edly the best herd in New England, while he is doing much, very 

 much, to diffuse correct ideas on the subject of breeding. FuUy 

 recognizing the two important axioms, that like produces like, and 

 that, especially for purposes of reproduction the best is always the 

 cheapest, Mr. Whitman has filled his stalls with worthy represent- 

 atives of the best herds in the country, and a like judicious liberaHty 

 is perceptible in his selection of assistants to whose care these val- 

 uable animals are entrusted. But the feature in Mr. Whitman's 

 management to which we wish especially to caU attention, is the 

 thorough, business-like record which he keeps of all matters relating 

 to his stock. . Their marks, age, pedigree, coupHngs, produce from 

 first to last, and, what is most unusual, the quality, composition and 

 cost of their food, and their daily yield of milk, are all systematic- 

 ally recorded and can be instantly ascertained, and precisely stated. 

 The value of such a register for a breeder's own guidance, for the 

 satisfaction of purchasers, or for the information of the public, can 

 scarcely be over estimated. 



Mr. Wliitman's partner. Dr. Miles, has a large herd of Ayrshires ; 

 and the quality of his herd, and the fullness and precision of his 

 statements, clearly show that his management is characterized by a 

 hke methodical care and good judgement. 



To tiu'n fi'om these pleasant pictures to examine the practice of 

 Messrs. Gammon, Snap & Co., is no agi-eeable task; but the illustra- 

 tion of our subject requires it. 



In the purchase of stock their first requisites are cheapness and a 

 pedigree. They have lots to say about the aristocratic lineage of 

 their herd, but it is usually difiicult to trace the family hkeness, and 

 in the pedigrees there is often a lamentable hiatus of a generation or 

 two, bridged over with animals bred no one certainly knows how or 

 by whom. If the cows are with calf, and you ask the date of their 

 service, Michael is appealed to, and after mature consideration fixes 

 the period by reference to an interesting circumstance which occured 

 about a fortnight or three weeks before Owen Flannigan's wake ; 

 but whether this latter occasion was celebrated in March, April or 



