2;i2 



•TS'EW ENGLAND FARMER. 



REMARKS 

 0\ THE niPROVF.MLNT OF CATTLE, fcc. 



J.I a Litlcr to Sir John Saunders Sebright, Bart. M. P. 

 by Mr. John ff'ilkmson, of Lenton, near J^'otlin<^- 

 ham. 



Let each ^uccccdinj race employ your care, 

 Distinguish which to shuighter, which to spare ; 

 Mark well the lineage, — kt the purest make, 

 From purest blood, its just proportions take. 



Having read, sir, your valuable treatise on 

 the improvement of live stock, in a letter to 

 Sir Joseph Banks, that great patron of all sci- 

 ence ; I have taken tlie liberty to enlarge upon 

 some of your observations, and to olTer to your 

 consideration such fresh matter as appeared to 

 me of importance to the subject. And this I 

 have been encouraged to do, not only on ac- 

 count of the great pleasure you always take in 

 questions of this nature ; but also, because ma- 

 ny of your assertions are corroborated by my 

 own experience. 



It has always occurred to me, that in order to 

 understand the true art of breeding, we must 

 have recourse to the first principles ; and that 

 it will be easier to show how any improved 

 breed may be continued, when we have previ- 

 ously shown how it was first formed. 



In the following remarks, I shall confine my- 

 self chiefly to neat cattle, as being that species 

 of anitnal with which I am more particularly 

 concerned ; but it will be easy to perceive that 

 the observations there advanced, will bo appli- 

 cable, in a greater or less degree, to every oth- 

 er kind which is destined to be the food of man. 



Whether the difl'eronl breeds with wliich we 

 are now acquainted, descended originally from 

 one common stock, the »vild Bison, i*; a question, 

 1 thiidi, hard to be determined. Of this how- 

 ever, we may be assured, from the very nature 

 of the case, that the distinct breeils at first, if 

 more than one, could have been by no means 

 numerous; so that the great variety which we 

 behold at present, is owing to food, to climate, 

 or to other collateral and accidental circumstan- 

 ces. An<i perhaps of all the ca\iscs contributing 

 to this multiplicity, none would be more effec- 

 tual, than the hitklon springs of nature itself — 

 For though w.t perceive that there is a strong 

 tendency, for like to proilucc likr, as it is usually 

 termed ; yet he th.it is at all conversant with 

 nature, must perceive also, that there is a cer- 

 tain tendency to change. .And this law of na- 

 ture »vould soon be assisted by man, who is ev- 

 er fond of novelty; and delights in diversity, 

 even for its own sake. 



Thus then, we have seen, that distinct breeds 

 might readily be formed by the joint etforts of 

 nature and of art ; nor will it be more dilficult 

 to perceive how they might afterwards be im- 

 proved. That all \vould be capable of improve- 

 ment is too obvious to need discussion. For no 

 one can behold any breed whatever in its more 

 natural or less improved state, without perceiv- 

 ing a great variety in the shapes of individuals, 

 their difi'erent degrees of tendency to feeding, 

 or certain other remarkable properties, which 

 might give to some a decided superiority over 

 the rest. These, therefore, must be selected 

 from the whole herd; and as you yourself. Sir, 

 have remarked, the male and female be proper- 

 ly matched. When we come to this progeny, 

 some will probably be worse, some equal to, 

 and some even better, than the parents them- 



selves. The worst must unquestionably be re- 

 jected, while the rest, and especially the best 

 of these, are carefully to be j)reserved for fu- 

 ture stock. And thus by a judicious selection of 

 male and female, and discarding every thing that 

 Is refuse, we must continue to proceed. And 

 by such procedure, animals hare at length been 

 [iroduced, so different from the generality of the 

 slock from whence they were originally taken, 

 that none but such as are well acquainted with 

 these matters, could have any idea, that there 

 existed between them the least affinity. The 

 distinction indeed between some, and their own 

 particular variety, has scarcely been less, than 

 the distinction between that variety and the 

 whole species. The longer also these perfec- 

 tions have been continued, the more stability 

 will they have acquired, and the more will they 

 partake of nature itself As to the leading 

 properties which may constitute the excellence 

 of any breed, or of any particular family be- 

 longing to that breed, I shall next inquire. 



And first with respect to form ; in which case 

 I shall give, what I conceive to be the most im- 

 portant points for the true symmetry of Neat 

 Cattle in general. These are as follows. 



The head ought to be rather long, and muz- 

 zle fine ; the countenance calm and placid, which 

 indicates a disposition to get fat ; the horns fine ; 

 the neck light, particularly where it joins the 

 head ; the breast wide and projecting well be- 

 fore the legs; the shoulders moderately broad 

 at the top and the points well in, and when the 

 animal is in good condition, the chine so full as 

 to leave no hollow behind them; the fore flank* 

 well filled up, and the girth behind the shoul- 

 ders deep ; the back straight, wide, and flat ; — 

 the ribs broad, and the space between them and 

 the hips small ; the flank full and heavy ; the bel- 

 ly well kept in, and not sinking low in the mid- 

 dle ;t the whole forming not a round or bar- 

 rel like carcass, as some have expressed it, 

 for this would leave a deficiency both in the 

 upper and lower part of the ribs: the hipsglo- 

 bular, wide across, and on a level with the back [ 

 itself; the hind quarter", that is from the hips; 

 to the extremity of the rump, long and straight ; ! 

 the rump-points fat and coming well up to the j 

 tail; the twist wide, and the seam in the mid-i 

 die of it so well filled, that the whole may very I 

 nearly form a plane, perpendicular to the line i 

 of the back ; the lower part of the thigh small ; ; 

 the tail broad and fat towards the top, but the | 

 lower part thin; the legs straiijhf, clean, and i 

 fine boned ; and when the animal is in high con- 

 dition, the skin of a rich and silky appearance. 



Those appear to be the most material points 

 for the formation of true .symmetry in Cattle ; 

 there are others of minor consideration, which 

 will readily be suggested by attention and ex- 

 perience; but I did not think it necessary to 

 mention them here. 



Many of the most important of the foregoing 

 properties, may be expressed in the following 

 stanzas, as descriptive of a beautiful Cow : and 



* The fore flank is the lower part of the side immedi- 

 ately behind the fore legs. 



t Perhaps the nearest description that can be given, 

 of the carcass, would be to say, that a section of it 

 (made by a plane passing through its middle, in a di- 

 rection perpendicular to the line of the back) ought 

 nearly to resemble an oval, whose two ends an: of the 

 same width, and whose form approaches to that of a 

 circle ; or (to those who understand the nature of the 

 figure) an ellipse, whose eccentricity is not great. 



since verse is frequently found to assist tVT 

 memory, I have therefore inserted them thw 



ghe's long in her face, she's fine in her horn, 

 f^he'll quickly get fat, without cake or corn ; 

 She's clear in her jaws, and full in her chine. 

 She's heavy in flank, and wide in her loin. 



She's broad in her ribs, and long in her rump, 

 A straight and flat bark, with never a hump ; 

 She's wide in her hips, and calm in her eyes, 

 She's wide in her shoulders, and thin in her thighs. 



She's light iu her neck, and small* in her tail, 

 She's wide in her breast, and good at the pail, 

 She's fine in her bone, and silky in skin ; , 



She's a Grazier's without, and a Butcher's within. ,1 

 Should any difficulty still remain in forming! 

 clear conception of the points described, 

 think in such a case, I may very safely recoi 

 mend a Print which I published a short tin 

 ago, and that too, without vanity ; as it reflc( 

 far more credit on the artist, than on myself. 

 In such a recommendation moreover, I feel t 

 greater confidence, both because I was reque 

 cd to publish it by many of the first agricull 

 rists in the kingdom: and since published, ith 

 met with their highest approbation. This pr.fc 

 consists of a groupe of five animals, so arran 

 ed as to show the just proportion and prop lit. 

 symmetry of every essential part. The Prjiii 

 traits were taken from the most perfect aninoi 

 in my possession ; and the Engraving, whichi 

 in a style far superior to that in which Cat 

 are generally executed, was finished with t 

 greatest care. And if I am correct in my d 

 cription for the proper formation of Cattle, a 

 the portraits in the above mentioned Print 

 also good ; I think he who carefully compa 

 the Portraits with the description itself, cam 

 long fail of being at least a very tolerable jud: 

 For any one reading the description of a p 

 ticular part, as for example, of the breast; 

 will there find, that it ought to be wide, am 

 project well before the legs; and on turninglfj, 

 the Print, he will immediately see this proj 

 fion shewn in the side view of the Bull, 

 the width in the Heifer which faces him: 

 so on, with respect to every other part, 

 as each animal is placed in a different posit 

 from the rest, there is no important point wli 

 is not fully presented to the view. 



In the description which I have giveo 

 the formation of Cattle, I have said that.,1| 

 carcass ought not to be round or to approxii 

 to the form of a barrel, as some have descril 

 it; anil have oOered a suflTicient reason why t 

 should not be the case. Whoever indeedtali 

 such a form for his model, would quickly 

 told by a judge, that the animal was not d 

 enough in its sides. I have, moreover, desci 

 ed the countenance as calm and placid, Jnst«l 

 of speaking of the boldness of the eye ; li (,„ 

 reason of which will easily be discovered b ^c 

 person of your singular penetration. For (li 

 boldness of the eye is frequently caused bj 

 restless or vicious disposition ; but a quiet i 

 a docile look denotes evenness of temper, so 

 sential to quick feeding. And we have W 

 to consider the nature of animals in general, 

 perceive that this quiet disposition which I ha 

 been describing in Cattle, and which in W 

 might be termed indolence, has a strong t 

 dcncy to make the eye appear small, rather tl 



(f! 



'li 



ii 

 '&' 

 lit 

 see 

 m 



* This epithet alludes to the lower part of the 

 only, the higher part ought to be broad, accordjnj 

 the former description. 



iipf 

 W(r 



Ale 



IWiif 

 lileii 

 itch 



