BREEDING. 



fiippofed to be an advantage on tlie fiJe of large animals, 

 tliat the mtat, wlien pix-fcrvcd, ixtains the juices more 

 perfcftly, and that is thtre lefs wafte in onlfidcs. 



0.\ tlic fuppofition that fnial! fixed anim:ils are in general 

 more linrdy than large ones, Mr. Knight remarks, "that it it 

 be meant merely that lluy are capi'.bk- of fnblilUng on (hoitrr 

 btrhage, it is right ; as a large animal, thongh it may have 

 exafily tlie fame form as tlie fmall one, neeelfarily requires 

 more time for reit. It feeds and removes itfelf with grcatir 

 labour ; and notwithllandnig it may be as Urong again, as 

 having double the weight, it will Hill, in relation to itfelf, 

 be a weaker auinial. Its licad and neck will be as heavy 

 again, and from their greater length, the weight will recede 

 fai ther from the cenlre of motion in the nioulder,confequently 

 increafe in power in proportion to the dillance : and the fame 

 thing holds good in rtfptft lo the whole of the limbs." Lut 

 that '- in the ftall jr the fold, where largo oxen are moftly fed, 

 thefe difadvaiitages are of no con!eqnciice. as the food is re- 

 ceived without the trouble of looking for it ; and if the ne- 

 ceflity of a better pallure does not proceed from the large 

 animal confuming much more, but from lefs power in col- 

 Itfting food, the conkqcier.ee will be, tliat it nitill affoid the 

 largetl weight of flefh with the fmallcil confumptionofgrafs." 



With regard to tlie injury done to the ground by poach- 

 ing, being greater in large than fmall llzed animals ; the 

 fame writer otferves, " that the queftion is not, whether the 

 feet of the formtr be wider in proportion to their weight, 

 but whether the feet and mouths of t\i'o fmall animals will 

 not injure the herbage more than thofc of one large one." Li 

 favour of the latter it is contended, that fmall fiicep do not 

 produce any mifchief at all in this way, yet that a fcore, 

 weighing a ton in the aggregate, will do more harm to a 

 rich pnfture in forty-eight hours, than an ox of the fame 

 weight in a week. But though this may, in fome degree, be 

 true, there cannot be any donlvi, but that fmall ftoek may 

 be kept longer in the paftiires in the autumn, than large, 

 without mifchief by poaching, which is a great advantage 

 in many cafes to the farmer. 



In milking ftock the advantage is allowed to be on the 

 fide of fmall fize, as fuch aniinals give, individually, nearly the 

 fame quantity of milk as thofe of the large kind, _and are 

 capable of being fupported on fhorter herbage, without in- 

 juring the land in the fame degree. 



There are likewife advantages in the fmall fized anuvials, 

 in their being capable of being wholly fattened on grafs 

 without the aid of other more expenfive kinds of food, and 

 on inferior pai^ures, as well as in their being procured by 

 the grazier with greater facihty ; being niore adapted to the 

 convenier.cies of different fituations, and the iofs being lefs, 

 in cafe of accidents. 



It is evident, therefore, that as each fize of ftock has ad- 

 ■vantages, under particular circumftances, the breeder (hould 

 be chiefly regulated in his conduft by the nature of his paf- 

 tures, and the command he has of other forts of food. 



In refpect to the t/i/po/ition of animals, there can be little 

 doubt but that it mull be advantageous to the farmer to 

 have them tame and gentle without their being fluggifli or 

 too dull, as they will be not only lefs difpofed to ramble, 

 but be fed, reared, and fattened with lefs trouble, and with 

 a fmaller proportion of food. That this property is much 

 influenced by the mcde in which the animals arc reared is 

 fully feen by the facility with which they were managed in 

 the practice of Ivlr. Bakewell. 



The quality of hardinefs is likewife extremely defirable and 

 ititerefting to the grazing farmer, in moft cafes, but parti- 

 cularly in bleak and expofed fituations, as fuch forts of flock 

 conftantly fucceed better, and keep themfelvea in more per- 



ftft condition, than tliofe in the contrary circum(lanc«. 

 It is probable th.it this property di peiids in a conlidtrahie 

 degree on the nature of the breed, and tiie manner in whieli 

 the animals liave been rnrtd. It lias often been fnppofcd 

 to be denoted by a d.irkuefs of cjlour, and a roughncfs in 

 the liair ; but to thefe there are numerous exceptions. 



iChiicinefj if ari'ivh:^ at mjl;:rily is another quality that 

 greatly intcrells the breeding farmer, ai his prolits are ob- 

 vioufly mucli inllncneed by it. And it is likewife of ninclx 

 impoitance to the public, as the al>undance of fnpply mull 

 obvioudy be much connected with It. The length of time 

 that ditlertnt forts of live Hock may be kept with advaptage, 

 under dilleri-nt circumHances, has, however, not been yet 

 well afcertaincd, but neat cattle may generally, it is lup- 

 polVd, be kept longer wiili profit to the farmer than flicep. 

 It is obvious, however, that the method in which the ani- 

 mals are treated in refpeft to food mud greatly influence the 

 matter, as where they are abundantly fupplied at all times, 

 and of courie conftantly prefervcd in a thriving ftate, they 

 will, without doubt, arrive much earlier at a Hate of ma- 

 turity, than when the contrary is the cafe. In all forts of 

 Hock this mull invariably be the confequence. It has, in- 

 deed, been well obferved, by fir John Sinclair, that where 

 the animals are conftantly well fed, a greater progrcfs vv'ill 

 be made in three years, than in the common pinching mode 

 cm be made in five. The necelllty and advantage of not 

 fnfl'ering live ftock of any kind to be reihiiTled, efpecially in 

 their more early growth, from the want of due care, food, 

 and warmth, are therefore fufliciently clear, and ftiould 

 ncfcr be difregarded by the breeder in rearing of his ftock. 



In addition to the obfervations that have been already 

 made on the natun of the JJiJh of animals, it may be re- 

 marked, that its goodnefs probably iti a great meafure de- 

 pends on the breed being a quality inherent in the miifcular 

 fubftance. Mr. Marfiiall has indeed obferved, in the Rural 

 Economy of the Midland Diftrids, that there " the grain 

 is clearly underftood to depend wholly on the breed, and 

 not, as has been heretofore confidered, on the fize of the 

 animal." Experiments are wanting to fliow how far the 

 flavour and colour of the flefti of different animals may de- 

 pend on or be influenced by the nature and quality of the 

 food on which they are fed, and on the breed. The com- 

 mon notion of its being in fome degree connefted with the 

 colour of the flcin of the animal, is moft probably without any 

 real foundation. The great deviations that have fometimes 

 been obferved in the flefli of animals from the natural ap- 

 pearance, can only be accounted tor on the fuppofition of 

 their being difcafed. It is remarked in a late work on jirac- 

 tical agriculture, that " in the living ftate the proofs of good 

 flefh are a mellow, elaftic, rather firm feel, without any de- 

 gree oi hailhnefs, and in the dead condition a fimilarity of 

 feel, with a fine grain and marbly appearance. There may 

 likewife be fome difference in the quality of the flefli of ani- 

 mals in proportion as they are more old or young, being in 

 the former cafe more hard and lefs tender and juicy than in 

 the latter. The fmenefs of the grain may alfo vary accord- 

 ing as the animal is male or female, being in general coarfer 

 in the former than the latter. 



The dfpojiiton to fatten readily while young is another 

 property which has fome relation to that juft noticed; and 

 which greatly intcrefts the profits of the grazing farmer, as 

 where it does not occur, a large proportion of food muft 

 often be confumed to little or no advantage. It is well 

 known, that fome animals of different kinds, and fome par- 

 ticular breeds of different forts of animals, become readily 

 fat with but a trifling confumption of food, while others 

 that confumc in a valtly increaf d proportion have not the 

 2 leaft 



