242 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



months upon poor hilly pasture, to bring them down in condition, 

 and immediately after this they bred without difficulty. Captain 

 J. T. Davy has communicated to me some similar instances, in 

 which most hopeless cases of barrenness were overcome, by 

 turning the heifers upon poor common land with a young bull. 

 He states that in other cases the same result had been attained 

 by working the heifers in the plow, like oxen, after which there 

 has been no trouble in getting them to breed. I am also informed 

 by Mr. Strafford, of another instance, in which apparent sterility 

 has been successfully overcome. The late Mr. Jonas Webb, 

 purchased a valuable cow from the herd of the late Lord Spencer, 

 for a moderate sum of money, in consequence of her being con- 

 demned as barren. 



"After the purchase, she was driven from Wiseton to Babra- 

 ham, (her old home to her new one,) a distance of between one 

 hundred and one hundred and twenty miles, and within a short 

 time she bred. 'Dodona,' the cow in question, when a heifer, 

 produced twin calves, and subsequently she produced another 

 calf, but, as she then ceased to breed, she was sold. A change 

 of climate, however, brought her into breeding condition, and at 

 the time of her decease, no less than one hundred and sixty valu- 

 able animals could be traced to this cow, which had been sold on 

 two occasions as barren. Mr. Webb had an almost parallel case 

 in 'Celia,' which, under somewhat similar treatment, after being 

 condemned as barren, had a progeny of over one hundred and 

 eighty traced to her at the time of her death. 



"These results were all gained by somewhat severe treatment, 

 whereby unhealthy accumulations of fatty matter, previously 

 existing in the body, impeding generation, were taken up into 

 the system for the support of life. I have known cases in which 

 heifers which could not breed were exercised daily, by being led 

 about for a certain length of time ; but this treatment is seldom 

 sufficient to reduce those accumulations which impede gener- 

 ation. 



