CHARA.CTERISTICS OF BREEDS. 135 



forty years is due to them than to any other ; yet as a 

 pure breed they are not adapted to New England wants. 

 Their size is beyond the ability of most farms to sup- 

 port profitably : crossed upon such as through neglect 

 in breeding, scanty fare and exposure were bad feeders, 

 too small in size, and too slow in growth, they effected 

 great improvement in all these respects ; and this 

 improvement demanded and encouraged the bestowal 

 of more food and better treatment, and so they pros- 

 pered ; — inheriting their constitutions chiefly from the 

 hardy and acclimated dams, the grades were by no 

 means so delicate and sensitive as the purebred animals 

 to the cold and changes of a climate very unlike that of 

 the mild and fertile region where they originated. 



The lethargic temperament characteristic of the 

 Short-horn and which in the grades results in the 

 greater quietness and docility so highly valued, neces- 

 sarily unfits them for active work ; pure bred animals 

 being altogether too sluggish for profitable labor. 

 This temperament is inseparably connected with their 

 aptitude to fatten and early maturity, and these both 

 demand abundant and nutritious food beyond the ability 

 of many to supply and at the same time are incompati- 

 ble with the activity of habit and hard service demanded 

 of the working ox. 



