1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



133 



persevere in crossing, to produce good results. 

 He spoke of the 180,000 cows in this State in 

 1855, and thought that by proper intermixture of 

 blood such a herd might have been increased in 

 value as much as five dollars apiece. He deplored 

 the existence of bad bulls, and intimated that 

 they should be. "summarily treated" by law, as in 

 the West. The Durham cross with our natives 

 he regarded the most valuable — the Short-Horns 

 excellent for beef. 



Mr. SiiELDOX, of Wilmington, being called 

 upon, said he had spoken much upon this subject 

 before, for the past twenty years, but it might bear 

 repeating. His knowledge now was the same. 

 For working oxen he thought the North Devons 

 the best, and for fattening, the Durhams. In re- 

 gard to cows for milk, he said we should pay no 

 regard to breed, and recommended the natives. 

 He spoke of some excellent ones which he pos- 

 sessed, and said he lost one valuable cow by try- 

 ing to dry her! He also alluded to the external 

 signs of a good ox. He should have large nos- 

 trils, a hazel eye, rather slim horns, toes straight 

 out before him, and bosom full. Rather than be 

 controlled by breeds, ho would sooner run his risk 

 bKndfolded at a market, in the selection of good 

 cattle, as he had great confidence in "feeling." In 

 speaking of liis own stock — their lack of dainti- 

 ness, easy feeding, &c., he said he gave some of 

 them to a neighbor to winter, who, mentioning 

 one of them, said "she was a fool, for she didn't 

 know the difl'erence between meadow hay and the 

 best herdsgrass !" Upon inquiry by Mr. Stedman 

 what bull he would choose, Mr. Sheldon replied, 

 "the best he could find !" 



Mr. Howard spoke of Mr. Sheldon's stock, and 

 commended some of them as excellent natives. 



Mr. Sheldon gave a statement of a man who 

 wanted him to fatten a cow, or to buy her. He 

 took her, gave her two bushels of turnips and four 

 quarts of meal per day, and English hay. Yet she 

 fell away in flesh and in milk ! The butcher took 

 her, and as she served him the same way, he made 

 way with her before she was still leaner ! Mr. S. 

 said, also, that his own young cattle were slight 

 eaters. He referred to the physical points of a 

 good cow : flat horns, lean face, hollow ribs, or 

 open below the last ones, medium-sized bag, and 

 well-shaped, though not large teats. As to color, 

 he preferred a light brindle. 



Mr. Davis, of Plymouth, found a cow in the 

 woods, which seemed to possess all the good 

 marks of a fine animal. She had been brought up 

 by a Marshpee Indian, and Mr. D. bought her. 

 But her horns were long and tiny, and he was dis- 

 appointed in her. Mr. Sheldon's feature of the 

 "flat-horns" he thought a good one He spoke of 

 the importance of blood buUs, and intimated that 

 agricultural societies should ofi'er premiums for 



them. He thought the bull had more influence 

 on off'spring than the cow ; a good bull produces 

 a good cow. The Oakes-cow heifers were worth 

 nothing. And he had had experience that an ex- 

 cellent cow was quite likely to produce a bad calf. 

 The cry that good bulls only benefited the fancy 

 farmers was unfounded. He advised those inter- 

 ested in such matters to look into the English 

 books for authority. 



Mr. Sheldon said, in reply to Mr. Davis's the- 

 ory concerning the influence of the bull, that he 

 differed from him, as he had got better heifers 

 from good cows than from good bulls. 



Mr. Wetherell, of Boston, said that in breed- 

 ing, the blood on one side should be full. Farmers 

 do not wish to breed from gi'ade sires. With a 

 good bull you are sure to get a good calf. The 

 Short-Horn improves every stock, and it is the bull 

 which exerts the dominant influence. There ex- 

 isted some good grade stock, but it has no cer- 

 tain identity. He alluded to "scrub bulls" run- 

 ning at large in Illinois, their pernicious efTect 

 upon stock, and the interference of the Legislature. 

 Our State should not allow a grade bull in its 

 dominions. The product of the Short-Horn is the 

 best, and we should have this stock for the beef. 



Mr. Howard said some of our best stock were 

 grades. And in England, where they can main- 

 tain their identity, they are a breed. He cited 

 experiments on sheep. The Leicesters were once 

 a gi'ade, now a breed. 



The hour for closing having now arrived, Mr. 

 Stedman moved that the same subject be contin- 

 ued for discussion at the next meeting — which mo- 

 tion being sustained, the meeting adjourned. 



USE OF FAT, 



"What is the use of fat ?" It performs several 

 offices ; one is to round the system and complete 

 the beauty of the person. Your cousin Jane's 

 smooth neck owes its beauty to the skilful man- 

 ner in which the adipose matter is packed into aU 

 the crevices between the muscles, veins and arte- 

 ries. For nature expends no small amount of la- 

 bor in the production of beauty. "Behold the lil- 

 ies of the field ; not Solomon in all his glory was 

 arrayed like one of these !" Another use of the 

 adipose matter is to serve as a reservoir of aliment 

 for the support of the system. In the fever which 

 I recently had, my stomach was in such a state 

 that it could digest no food, and by one of those 

 beautiful adjustments so common in nature, my 

 ap])etitc rejected it, and I did not eat a mouthfnl 

 for several days. The consequence was that the 

 heat of the body had to be kept up by burning the 

 fat in the system, and how rapidly this was con- 

 sumed ! I suppose I lost twenty pounds in the 

 course of three days. Hibernating animals, that 

 sleep through the winter, are generally as fat as 

 they can be, when they crawl into their nests in 

 the fall. Their tliick furs prevent the radiation of 

 heat, so that little is required to be generated ; 



