NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



253 



ikl and larg-e. Let anj one for instance, ob- 



rve another whose mind is at rest from atten- 



in to outward objects ; the muscles of the e^e- 



Js relax and the lids themselves come closer to- 



Mher, in which case, the eye necessarily as- 



jimes a smaller appearance ; and the contrary 



" kes place when our attention is again excited. 



must remark however, that an animal which 



isscsses naturally every essential for quick 



cding, and whose countenance indicates that 



^position by the mildest appearance, may have 



as appearance altered by ill treatment or oth- 



r accidental circumstances. I observed that 



le lower or bony part of the tail ought to be 



lin, but the upper part broad. The tail has 



10 often been designated by the former appel- 



lion only, which is incorrect in the descrip- 



nn of a good animal. For on the upper part 



f the tail of one that is in tolerable condition, 



icre ought to be a considerable quantity of fat ; 



at as the lower consists chiefly of bone, it ought 



1 be thin ; and will always be so, when the an- 



nal itself is a small boned one. Perhaps some 



iny think, that the two latter observations, 



imely, with respect to the countenance and the 



lil. are but of little consequence; since how- 



vcr, these signs generally accompany a good 



nimal, they ought not to be passed over; the 



lUer is an invariable attendant; and the fbrm- 



r natnrally so, but may sometimes be altered 



V adventitious circumstances, as has already 



cen observed. It is one thing to be able mere- 



• to distinguish in the gross between a good 



nl a bad animal ; but another and a far more 



ilTicuIt one, to be able to point out every defect 



owever trilling, and to discover every excel- 



■ncc. And 3'et no man can arrive at any great 



'gree of perfection in the art of breeding with- 



iF making this latter kind of knowledge his 



lief aim and most ardent study. 



Some breeders have asserted, among wliotii 



as Mr. Bakewell himself, that a disposition to 



nt fat was necessarili) combined with a shape 



milar to that 1 have been describing. The 



utli of this may very justly be questioned ; and 



le examples so well chosen by j'ourself, prove 



lat (he above mentioned properties are not 



ivariably found together. Had they said with 



on, Sir, that " this particular formation gener- 



Utj indicates a disposition to get fat," they 



ould have been borne out in the assertion by 



he lact itself: for it must be observed, that it 



i one thing to sa}^ that two qualities are neces- 



irilii combined in the same subject; and anoth- 



r to saj', that they are invariably found together. 



^nd if this latter term would have been too 



trong for the occasion, and that it would, we 



lavc already seen; how much rather ought 



he former to be rejected ? It is frequently no 



lasy matter indeed, to determine whether two 



|ualities are necessarily combined; nor in the 



[acition before us, is it at all necessary. For 



f quickness of feeding generally accompanies 



his peculiarity of shape (and that it does, it can 



lever be denied.) that alone would surely be a 



ufficient reason for a preference to this form ; 



say nothing of its other and great advantages 



vith respect to the weight of the animal, the 



ayingon of the flesh in the prime parts, fcc. kc. 



r'erhaps these gentlemen have no design to 



uislead us, but were not sufficiently carel^ul in 



he choice of their language. It is material 



lowever, that we should not only have clear 



.deas ourselves, but also, that we should convey 



them to others in the most e.'jplicit terms. And 

 in treating on any subject, we ought always to 

 state things as they arc actually found to be, 

 and not as we mifyht wish them. One satis- 

 fictory reason, I think, wc may easily discover, 

 why the best feeders arc most frequently found 

 amongst Hiosc animals, that at (lie same time 

 possess the best shapes. For without making 

 the former a necessary consequence of the lat- 

 ter; those breeders that had skill enough to 

 select cattle of the most perfect svmmetrv, 

 would also have skill enough to select out of 

 these the best fleshed ones. For my own part, 

 1 would not keep an animal that had a bad qual- 

 ity of flesh, if the form were perfection itself 

 The observation which Dr. Jenner made to 

 you, " that no animal whose chest was narrow 

 could easily be made fat,"' is a fact borne out by 

 almost universal experience ; and I believe is 

 satisfactorily accounted for on natural principles. 

 For the chest being too narrow, there is want of 

 sufficient room for the proper action of the in- 

 ternal organs. 



The form that I have already described, is 

 not only the best for affording the greatest 

 weight to the animal ; but the flesh is also chief- 

 ly laid on, in what is usually called, the prime 

 parts. 



I have just had occasion to speak of goodness 

 of flesh, but how to describe this quality in any 

 thing tike adequate terms, is a thing extremely 

 difficult. — Some persons of great experience, 

 would very rarely be wrong, judging by the 

 sight only. But the best method of discovering 

 it, is by the touch ; and it has a richness, a mel- 

 lowness in the feel. 



Here it may be very necessary to caution the 

 inexperienced against a certain description of 

 animals, usually called light fleshed ones. — 

 And of these, there are too many in the hands 

 of some breeders, not altogether destitute of 

 eminence. The objection to such, is not on 

 account of the quality of the flesh as regards 

 richness, but the deficiency of its quantity when 

 the animal is in a lean state. I have known 

 such highly approved by some, when shewn to 

 them alive and made very fat, but this has cer- 

 tainly been for want of better judgment ; and 

 had the same persons been able to distinguish 

 between fat and lean, they must have drawn a 

 very different conclusion." This kind is proflta- 

 ble, neither to the grazier, nor yet to the con- 

 sumer. They are not profitable to the grazier ; 

 because in the first place, they are naturally 

 tender — and moreover, they carry so small a 

 quantity of flesh in their lean state, that they 

 have much to do, when put to feeding, before 

 they come to any tolerable weight. Neither 

 are they profitable to the consumer; for fat 

 without lean is of no other use, than to be wast- 

 ed in the kitchen. Whenever they are found 

 in the hands of a Breeder, it is generally in 

 the hands of such as are in the habit of keep- 

 ing their stock remarkably high ; and when 

 they are sold, and fairly kept as store stock, 

 they bring a considerable loss to the purchaser, 

 and disgrace on the original possessor. It is 

 to be hoped indeed, that this kind of animal will 

 soon be exploded in Neat Cattle, as it has been 

 long ago in the new Leicester Sheep.* Of 



• 1 have here been misunderstood by one gentleman, 

 who supposed f was spt aking against the breed of new 

 Leicester sheep ; whereas I was only speaking against a 

 particular variety of tbi» breed ; namely, light fleshed 



this we may be assured, whenever a stock is 

 generally known to be of this descrijition, the 

 Breeder himself will soon fall into disrepute. 



There is another kind which carry plenty 

 of lean flesh, but of a bad quality. These are 

 invariably slow feeders; and may always be 

 discovered by the touch, the flesh 1 eing natur- 

 ally hard. Some of these are so bad, that when 

 put to the best keeping and continued at it ev- 

 er so long, (hoy will scarcely have a stone 

 weight cf fit, cither within orvvitliout. 



The perfection of breeding, as far as flesh 

 is concerned, is a great quantity of rich lean 

 flesh in the first instance, which when the animal 

 is well kept, will soon.be covered with a prop- 

 er proportion of fat. And such not only lake 

 a shorter time in preparing for the stall than 

 any other; but their beef will also sell for 

 more a pound; being of (he very first quality, 

 and (he kind tliat is eagerly sought after for the 

 tables of our nobility and gentry. It is not here 

 meant that this kind can never be made too fat ; 

 they may be very much so, this however can 

 always be prevcnt^'d by the time allowed for 

 feeding. 



In a word; it is not the animal which has 

 scarcely any flesh, when at a store keeping, 

 and which when fed, will consist almost of fat 

 alone, which is the most profitable either to the 

 grazier, or yet to the consumer; nor is it the 

 animal, whose flesh is ever so abundant, if hard 

 and bad, and incapable of having its proper 

 quantity of fat; but it is that, which when at 

 store pasturage only, carries a great quantity of 

 rich lean flesh, and which by good keeping, 

 may be made as fat as we please. And of these 

 three sorts of animals, I think the first nearly 

 as unprofitable as the second, notwithstanding 

 the injudicious praise they sometimes meet 

 with. 



Having already treated on those two impor- 

 tant qualifications, good symmetry n ith richness 

 of flesh, I shall now controvert a hackneyed 

 assertion, that a great tendency to feeding, is in- 

 compatible xaith a great tendency to milking. And 

 here I shall observe first, that there seemed to 

 be no reason to draw this conclusion before the 

 fact was ascertained by experience, and second- 

 ly, that the experience of some in the present 

 day proves the assertion untrue. 



In the first place then, it may be remarked 

 generally, that tendency and effect are two very 

 different things ; that a tendency may exist, 

 when its effect is wholly or partly destroyed by 

 some other counteracting cause, that when the 

 effect of such counteracting cause can be rs- 

 moved, the o(her cause may be wholly produc- 

 tive. If it were assumed therefore (for I am 

 now speaking independent of the experience I 

 shall afterwards advance) that a cow, while giv- 

 ing a great quantity of milk, cannot possibly 

 keep herself^ in good condition ; because so 

 great a portion of the food being conveited in- 

 to milk, the carcass could not properly be sup- 

 ported ; yet I think it would be a rash conclu- 

 sion, to infer from hence, that the same animal 

 could not have a great tendency to get fat; and 

 that when dried of her milk, this tendency 



ones : a sort which had been introduced by some, but 

 were soon rejected by all good judges. As to the breed 

 itself, my opinion may l)e best ascertained, by saying it 

 is tlie kind 1 have always kept. 1 do not litre, hower- 

 er, mean to speak against any other breed whatev«» 

 as different fciods may suit different situations. 



