AGBRIOGOULTURE. 221 
in the state are of pure Spanish blood, but there is a consider- 
able number of American cows and half-bloods, which are 
constantly increasing in number, while the Spanish cattle are 
decreasing. Most of the American cattle are in the Sacra- 
mento basin and the coast valleys north of Monterey, while 
along the southern coast they are very few in number. 
During the last four or five years about seventy-five pure- 
blood Durhams, twenty-five Devons, and four Ayrshire bulls and 
cows, have been imported across the Isthmus of Panama. The 
freight on the steamer and railroad, from New York to San 
Francisco, for a bull or cow, is two hundred and seventy-five 
dollars. The food is carried free of charge, but the owner must 
find a person to feed and take care of the animal during the 
voyage. Some of these imported animals are of the best English 
stock. The better the blood the larger the beeves grow, and 
the more readily and rapidly they fatten. The Spanish catt!e are 
too uneasy ; they run about so much that they lose flesh. The 
half breed American cattle are more quiet, the full-blood Ameri- 
can still more quiet, and the Durham the best of all. But as our 
beef cattle get no food save such as they pick up in the open 
country, I doubt whether it will pay to import these pure-blood 
Durhams to improve the breed. The excellence of the Durham 
is caused by care in breeding, protection against the weather, and 
an abundance of good food ; and the excellence cannot be main- 
tained without a continuance of the same system of manage- 
ment. The Durham will, in a few generations, cease to be a 
Durham, if he gets no food save such as he can pick up in the 
valleys and hills; but if carefully fed, he will, of course, do as 
well here as elsewhere. It is said that the Durham needs suc- 
culent food ; if so, the blood will soon degenerate on the dry 
grasses of California. The Devon stock, which has been praised 
by the importers of it as peculiarly fitted to thrive on our in- 
digenous grasses, has not found much favor. Our dairy cows 
are the only ones which are well taken care of; and therefore 
the Ayrshire blood is really more needed, and likely to be 
better preserved, than either the Durham or Devon. Roots 
