40 MILCH COWS. 



mane, and more judicious mode of treatment. We have probably 

 noiv a hundred cows, well fed, well housed, tolerably well groomed, 

 and generally Avell cared for, where not a tithe of that number were 

 so treated thirty years ago. The reasons are obvious. 



That period of thirty years has witnessed the birth, (infancy it 

 had none) the fabulous growth and the gigantic manhood of that 

 great business of the county — manufacturmg, in its different vari- 

 eties. Within that time our population hag nearly doubled, and 

 with the increase of population the demand for dairy products has 

 been proportionately increased. To use a common expression, the 

 producing of milk and butter has paid, and farmers generally have 

 found that good liberal feeding produces the most milk and butter, 

 and therefore pays best. A great many men in the county who are not 

 farmers, or who make farming subsidiary to some other pursuit 

 keep cows. These feel a landable pride in having their animals 

 look well — and they know that cows, certainly, will not look well 

 unless they are fed well. It is true almost without exception, that 

 cows kept by men who are not professed farmers, and who gener- 

 ally have abundant means to keep a much larger number than 

 they do, are always maintained in good condition ; for pride and 

 profit conspire together — and the patient, faithful cow, so indispen- 

 sable to our comfort, gets the benefit of the combination. If the 

 day ever arrives when there are no exceptions to this rule, among 

 those who make farming the " paramount interest " — to the cattle, 

 it will certainly be a day of universal thanksgiving and praise. 



Any increased product, therefore, is attributable to improved 

 care and feeding, rather than to any improvement in the quahty of 

 the stock. 



If, then, we have made no material improvement in the milking 

 properties of our cows, we have been either mistaken in the direc- 

 tion from which improvement is to come, and have been looking the 

 wrong way, or else we have sadly abused our opportunities. Per- 

 haps, to a certain extent, we have done both, for it is most true 

 that all attempts at improvement by crossing with foreign breeds, 

 either in the county or out of it, have been without system, without 

 aim, without judgment, without even the first idea of the principles 

 which govern reprojlactioa — if not without thinking that it was de- 

 pendent upon any principles. The whole of it has been a mere 



