CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 51 



HOW CATTLE DEGENERATE. 



Should the careful nursing, constant and minute attention, bestowed 

 upon the English breeds of cattle be relaxed ; should they become care- 

 less and indifferent, herd them together in vast numbers, and place 

 care-takers over them that are reckless and vicious, within twenty 

 years almost every tra(& of what is known as fine blooded cattle would 

 be eradicated. As proof of this no better illustration could be offered 

 than we find in the wild mongrel Texas herd. These cattle are unques- 

 tionably descendants of the Spanish stock introduced into Mexico by 

 the early Spanish settlers towards the year 1500. We know from his- 

 tory that Mexico possessed no cattle or horses, because those ridden by 

 Cortez and his band inspired superstitious reverence that was one of 

 the chief factors in the easy conquest of Mexico. We know from his- 

 tory that both cattle and horses were imported by the Spaniards into 

 Mexico. With a mild climate, forage in abundance, the absence of 

 beasts of prey, and the negligence of man these cattle increased to a 

 marvelous extent, but relapsed into their natural state and lost every 

 trace of breeding that their ancestors had so highly possessed. It would 

 not have been worth while for the Spaniards to import cattle to -Mexico 

 if they had been as inferior in quality as those of Texas ; therefore we 

 know with almost exactness that the cattle from which this mongrel race 

 has sprung was the splendid stock of Spain, that now holds equal rank 

 with the best breeds in Europe. 



What lesson does this teach Americans'? It shows them on the one 

 hand what care and attention will do and on the other what negligence 

 will undo. It shows them that the question of blood is a question of 

 care and attention, and that we have untold treasures in the races of 

 cattle that we now regard as scrubs. 



IMPORTS OF BLOODED CATTLE INTO THE UNITED STATES. 



Mr. Wade Hampton, sr., of South Carolina, was one of the first to im- 

 port blooded cattle into the United States. These were cows and bulls 

 of the Durham race. I think this was about the year 1782 or 1783. By 

 careful attention this stock flourished and did exceedingly well. The 

 common cattle of the neighborhood of Columbia, S. C., were dashed con- 

 siderably by what was soon known as the "Hampton stock." I do not 

 know the exact subsequent history of this stock, or whether there exists 

 a trace of it now. It would be interesting and valuable to the Depart- 

 ment to get a statement from Senator. Hampton relating to this subject, 

 as well as to others in the Unfted States who are interested in the sub- 

 ject of breed. From such data- one could form an opinion perhaps of 

 how short a time is required for a breed of cattle to lose their distinctive 

 qualities, and from that to judge of how long it requires for a breed to 

 become pure. That which I have said here of cattle may be equally 

 applied to our horses. 



THE AMERICAN FARMERS AT FAULT. 



With a virgin soil, a large area under cultivation, good seasons, and 

 an abundant yield, life has gone so easy with the American farmer, that 

 economic questions have not, up to this time, forced him to a study of 

 these things, as it has in Europe, where density of population is so 

 evenly balanced with the means of subsistence. There is a sad want 

 of enterprise on his part ; his progress has not kept equal pace with that 



