132 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



Marcb 



LEGISLATIVE AGRICDLTITRAL SOCIETY". 



Beported for the Farmer by D. W. Loturop. 



The fourth meeting of the series was held on 

 Monday evening last, at the Representatives' Hall, 

 and the subject for discussion was — Neat Stock — 

 the adaptation of different Breeds to different lo- 

 calities and purposes. Mr. Sanford Howard, 

 of the Boston Cultivator, was present, according 

 to announcement, and presided. 



He observed that the subject had been frequent- 

 ly discussed before at these meetings, and as he 

 had engaged in the discussion, he was prompted 

 to excuse himself for speaking again. The sub- 

 ject was important, as no nation has attained to a 

 high St ate of agriculture which does not make this 

 a prominent division of its system. All our do- 

 mestic cattle are of one species, and indigenous 

 to Europe. In this country we have two native 

 species, the bison and the musk-ox. The bison is 

 a valuable animal and should be preserved, but he 

 is not a good beast of burden. The speaker al- 

 luded to some experiments of a gentleman in Mis- 

 sissippi for the domestication of this animal, but 

 found he could not be made serviceable ; yet by 

 crossing with this animal a better ox would be 

 produced than cow. 



Most of our cattle have been derived from Eu- 

 rope — some from the continent, others from the 

 British Isles, and a few from Asia. By a law of 

 nature, no one breed of cattle is adapted to all lo- 

 calities. He cited the different breeds in Great 

 Britain, and observed that some of these breeds 

 had maintained their purity for a long while. Those 

 on the plains cannot subsist on the mountains, 

 with coarser and less abundant food. Mr. How- 

 ard here alluded to the various crossings of differ- 

 ent breeds, by cattle raisers, and observed that un- 

 less we take pains to breed uniformly, Avhile Ave 

 might produce some good accidental animals, we 

 could get no breed. Much could be learned by 

 reference to the principles of breeding in England, 

 where cattle are raised with an adaptation to soil 

 and to climate. Cattle not mixed should be re- 

 garded as aboriginals. In England they had two 

 specimens of the aboriginal or wild breed. He 

 had examined 100 head, belonging to the Duke 

 of Hamilton, which dated back over a hundred 

 years, and had been guarded against intermixture, 

 yet they have not degenerated, nor will they for 

 all time. 



Of breeds prominent in England stand the De- 

 vons. They were introduced here in 181G-17, 

 and are divided into two kinds, the North and the 

 South. The South Devons are not superior for 

 dairy purposes, but are used generally for beef. 

 In New England the Devons are used for labor, 

 and they fatten well on light soils, and are fair 

 milkers. The Herefords are good for beef, but 

 not valuable for milk. The Long-Horns were a 



breed common in some parts of England, and were 

 much improved by Mr. Bakewell. They were ear- 

 ly introduced into Maine, were good workers, 

 hardy and long-lived, and good for the dairy. 

 ' The Galloways do not succeed for ordinary pur- 

 poses, but are fitted for a locality. They were of 

 good size, sometimes measuring eight and nine 

 feet girth, and could produce 1600 lbs. of clean 

 beef. Had been introduced into Canada, where 

 they were bred chiefly for the butcher. The West 

 Highlands were a hardy cattle, had long, shaggy 

 hair, with an under fur which protected them from 

 cold and rains in their native place, where they 

 sometimes gathered their own food. They might 

 do well in the Western States. The Kerries were 

 a valuable, small aboriginal breed common in Ire- 

 land, and if the people were deprived of them 

 would be obliged to fill their place with the goat. 

 They possessed great power to endure inclement 

 weather. Mr. A. W. Austin, of West Roxbury, 

 has some of this breed, whose milk is about four 

 quarts per day, and very rich. They weigh from 

 500 to 700 pounds. Another aboriginal breed in 

 Great Britain is the Channel Island, or Jersey cat- 

 tle. They give the richest milk known, and on 

 the Channel Island, are raised exclusively. We 

 have some good crosses here. The Short-Horns, or 

 Durhams, Mr. II. regarded as an artificial breed, 

 as they were produced by a mixture under the 

 care of Charles and Robert Collings, whose im- 

 proved herd sold at a great price. The improvement 

 upon the old Short-Horns was evident in greater 

 symmetry of form, richness in milk and fineness 

 of flesh. In fact, on fertile soils they are the very 

 best for beef. Mr. Howard, however, thought 

 that in England crossing had been carried too far, 

 and cited some instances. Another artificial breed 

 was the AjTshires. In 1780 the nucleus existed in 

 Ayrshire, and in 1790 it had assumed so good a 

 character as to be considered a breed. It is the 

 only dairy breed now in Scotland, is increasing in 

 England, and its introduction is recent here, 

 though some of our herds number from 20 to 70 

 head. The Rump cattle of India were alluded to 

 and recommended for the Southern States of 

 America, as they stand heat well. They were al- 

 so good in the harness, and would trot off almost 

 as well as a horse. Mr. 11. concluded by a re- 

 quest that gentlemen would give us some facts in 

 relation to the various breeds of cattle, and said 

 the meeting Avas open to remarks from any one. 



Ml". Stedman, of Chicopee, spoke to the point, 

 how we could furnish ourselves with the cattle we 

 need. Our natives are "no breeds." Shall we 

 improve these or procure foreign breeds ? He 

 thought it best to cross our cows Avith the best 

 bulls of pure foreign stock, and said the Devon 

 crossed AA'ith our native stock very much improved 

 the latter. We should cross, and continue and 



