REPORT ON MILCH COWS. 



The subject of this report is one that is second to none in its 

 importance, either at the fair or at home on the farm, and for this 

 reason I wish it were in more able hands than mine to present it in its 

 deserving embellishment of words to the members of the Hampshire 

 Agricultural Societ}'. 



It gave the Committee great pleasure to find in entering upon their 

 duties, that the number of entries in this class was twice as large as 

 that of the previous 3'ear. The wish was expressed then, that the}' 

 might continue to increase in this ratio for several years, and then the 

 Societ}" would again receive its old-time compliments on the show of 

 this most necessar}' of all farm animals. The cows entered for pre- 

 miums w^ere of the five leading breeds ot the day, viz. : — Shorthorn, 

 A\'rshire, Jerse}', Devon, and last but net least, because such a large 

 proportion of the cow^s in the State belong to it, the Native breed. 

 Some of the cows from their deserving merits should be noticed here, 

 but it would be unadvisable to lengthen out this report by any special 

 remarks upon each animal. 



Beginning with the Shorthorn : — The breed represented b}- the 

 largest number of animals entered for premium, the cows shown 

 b}' P. West & Son, of Hadley, should be mentioned first, for it is 

 praiseworthy ot any breeder to be able to exhibit such fine animals and 

 ones that give such large returns to the milk pail. Other exhibitors 

 of this breed were Mrs. R. A. Hunt, of Amherst, who showed a fine 

 cow, the milk record of which all must have seen, as it was in the 

 Secretarj^'s report of the Fair, printed in the Amherst Record of Sept. 

 29th, 1880 ; Wm. A. Childs, of New Braintree, who had some fine 



