48 



TREATISE ON MJLCH COWS. 



As to ourselve9-^for whom, as we have already informed yoa, Gentlemen, the method was no long- 

 er a secret — it was with constantly renewing feelings of interest and astonishment that we fol- 

 lowed up tliese examinations and contemplated, the accuracy of their results. Two members 

 particularly of the Committee, whom their special pursuits and their physiological knowledge of 

 domestic animals entitle to great confidence, had, from the very first examination, been struck 

 with tlic truth and strength of the system, the successful applications of which were multiplying 

 under our eyes. This system. Gentlemen, we do not fear to say it, is infallible. The signs upon 

 which it is founded, ever constant, invariable in the place w^hich they occupy, are strongly impress- 

 ed upon the animal by the hand of Nature. To appreciate them becomes an easy task ; all tliat 

 is requisite being, after having examined the animal and ascertained what marks she bears, to ex- 

 amine the drawings and fix upon the one in which those same marks appear. Then, by means 

 of a brief but precise explanation which refers to that drawing, the qualities of the animal under 

 examination become known, and the class and order to which she naturally belongs are indicated. 

 It is by proceeding thus — by examining, first, the marks upon the animal, and then seeking among 

 the drawings for the one in which those marks were reproduced — that the members of your Com- 

 mittee, after witnessing the first experiment, have been able theraeelves to apply the system, and 

 to form judgments wliich were afterward corroborated in the same way^that those of M. Guenon 

 were. 



In the hight of our admiration, Gentlemen, it was a subject of lively regret that the wbole Soci- 

 ety were not present ; but we have tlie consolation of hoping that each of you will soon experi- 

 ence the pleasure which we have enjoyed, and have it in^his power to apply this discovery to his 

 own use and benefit. M. Gudnon is not disposed to keep it secret ; he proposes, so soon as a list 

 of iliree thousand subscribers shall have been filled, to publish a work, in which his syatem, com- 

 pletely developed, shall be placed in the strongest light. The distinctive signs of each class and 

 each order will be exactly described, and accurately represented by engraved or lithographic 

 drawings ; and the quantity ef milk which each description of Cow is capable of yielding will be 

 slated. 



By moans of this faithful guide, which is within the capacity of every understanding, errors 

 will be dispelled, and the ability to form correct judgments of Cows w^ill become common to all 

 classes o husbandmen. Before long, none but Cows and Bulla of the first order w^ill be used to 

 breed from ; this race of animals, which has become degenerate through bad crosses, will be ele- 

 vated ; and, as in other species of domestic animals, individuals of pure blood will be readily ob- 

 tainable. Tlien, guided by sure and positive knowledge respecting the future qualities of young 

 Cattle. \vc shall no longer rear, at great expense for tln-ee or four years, a Calf whose secretion of 

 milk can never bo otherwise than small in quantity and poor in quality ; while, on the other hand, 

 we shall no longer blindly consign to the butcher, young animals that would repay all the care 

 that could be bestowed upon them. 



These considerations will, we feel persuaded. Gentlemen, determine you to encourage M. Gue- 

 non to the publication and dissemination of a method which promises to be so useful to the agri- 

 culturist. How many poor families, in the neighborhood of large cities, where there is always a 

 great consumption of milk, find in a small number of Cows the means of their subsistence ! Hovv 

 extensive a branch of trade is supported by the production of butter and cheese in many of our 

 Provinces— Brittany, Normandy, the Pyrenees, and others ! Holland and Switzerland, those coun- 

 tries of fine pastures, are they not indebted to this branch of husbandry for a prosperity which is 

 ever reproducing itself, and never wearing out — a prosperity less rapid, less brilliant, perhaps, 

 than that which results from adventurous traffic, but safer at least for those who depend upon it; 

 which is never deceptiire ; which, more than any other, attaches man to his country, and favors 

 morality, and seems sheltered from those political tempests which, in other lands, so often prostrate 

 the tallest fortunes. 



[Signed] GUICHENET, Veterinary Professor of t?te Department. 



LECONTE, 

 F. PELISSIER. 



After the reading of this Heport, the Society decreed as follows : 

 1st. That a gold medal be awarded to M. Francis Gudnon. 

 2d. That he be proclaimed a Member of this Society. 

 3d. That fifty copies of his work on Milch Cows be subscribed for. 



4th. That a thousand copies of the Report be printed for distribution among the Agricultural 

 Societies of France. 



