THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



such as are to our knowledge bred by 

 Richard Peters, Esq., of Atlanta, Ga.. 

 Geo. Patterson, Esq., of Maryland, Dr. 

 W. R. Holt, of Lexington, N. C, and 

 A. G. Summer, Pomaria, are the best dai- 

 ry stock for Southern plantations, which 

 we have seen anywhere. They yield a 

 fair quantity of milk, and that of the very 

 best quality. Good milk is a great bless- 

 ing ; but tiie poor bluish fluid which is 

 yielded by the forty-quart cows so much 

 boasted of, cannot be of much value, 

 either for the table or the churn. A good 

 Devon cow will give from fifteen to twenty 

 quarts of rich milk, which will yield but- 

 ter per head with the milk of any other 

 breed. We are aware that the milk of 

 the Alderney or Jersey cow, is the richest 

 in the world ; but allowing that an Alder- 

 ney cow will give eight quarts of milk, 

 we know dairymen who will test the last 

 eight quarts of a Devon's udder for butter- 

 making, against this famous breed. This 

 would, of course, be a fair criterion by 

 which to judge the relative qualities of 

 the breeds The cut which we give is 

 "Comet" (162), imported in 185L For 

 pedigree, see " Davy's Herd Book," page 

 144, vol. 2. Winner of the first prize for 

 imported Devon bulls, in the Connecticut 

 State Fair in 1855 — the property of Lins- 

 ley Brothers, West Meriden, Conn. As 

 we make it a point to practice our pre- 

 cepts, we will change our neat cattle for 

 Devons, as fast as it will be practicable to 

 get them of the right stamp, which at pre- 

 sent, is only to be done by speaking in 

 time for such animals as are wanted. Fe- 

 male Devons cannot be hail from the best 

 breeders at any price, as they are all desir- 

 ous of increasing their herds. We saw 

 three hundred dollars refused for a heifer 

 three months old, and a similar offer for 

 the forthcoming progeny of certain impor- 

 ted cow r s. This is a high price when we 

 consider the rates usually paid for cattle in 

 our country ; but when we see the late 

 sales of short-horns at more than ten 

 times that figure, we are really startled.— 

 Well-bred Devon bull-calves, can be pur- 

 chased at prices ranging from $150 to 

 $250. These are, however, the best of 

 the rac^e, and to such as may wish to pur- 

 chase, we refer them to the gentlemen 

 above named, as being altogether reliable 

 in their transactions. This article is 

 penned as much as an answer to an accu- 



mulated correspondence from various indi- 

 viduals, making inquiries as to the best 

 bred of cattle, as it is to give our own 

 opinion to the puble. [South Carolina 

 Agriculturist. 



Tea Drinking". 



If the question be narrowed down to 

 'Tea or no. Tea," we advocate the weed. 

 The world will be happier and healthier by 

 the moderate use of any of the China teas, 

 in their purity, than without them. The 

 immoderate use of cold water is prejudicial 

 to health, whether as a drink or a lave- 

 ment, and so is the immoderate use of 

 bread and butter. Jt is the argument of a 

 fanatic to say that because the excessive 

 use of anything is injurious, it should 

 therefore be discarded altogether. 



Chemistry decides that the essential el- 

 ements of coffee and tea are identical, and 

 are nutritious. Tea is a stimulant, and so 

 is any other nutritive article. That which 

 imparts no stimulus is not fit for food, — 

 An ordinary meal stimulates the pulse to 

 a greater activity by five or ten per cent. 



Tea, being used warm, and at meal 

 time promotes digestion by its warmth, as 

 any other w 7 arm drink would do. Any 

 cold drink, even water, taken at meal time, 

 arrests the progress , of digestion, until it 

 is raised to a heat of about a hundred de- 

 grees, and if that arrest be too long pro- 

 tracted, convulsions follow, and sometimes 

 death — as has happened to children many 

 times by eating a couple of hard boiled 

 eggs hastily, or, upon an empty stomach, 

 or, indeed, eating much of any indigesti- 

 ble article. 



Thus it is, that, so far as the use of tea at 

 our meals banishes the use of cold wa- 

 ter at meals, it is a safeguard. Late and 

 hearty suppers destroys multitudes, either 

 outright in a night, or in the insidious pro- 

 gress of months and years. It is almost 

 the universal custom to take tea for supper. 

 It is a stimulant. It aids the stomach in 

 digesting more than it would have done, just 

 in proportion to its stimulating qualities. 

 And as all eat too much at supper time, 

 the general use of warm tea as a drink at 

 the last meal of the day is beneficial in the 

 direction just named. 



True wisdom lies in the moderate use 

 of all the good things of this life. It is 

 stated that at a tea party of sixty old wo- 



i 



