AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
Farm, GrarcLeii, and Household. 
"AGRICULTURE 19 TnE MOST HEALTHFUL, MOST USEFUL, AND MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN.''-W« 8 hin.ito.... 
oraxge judo & co.,i ESTABLISHED IN 1842 ( $1 - 50 PEK annum, in advance. 
PUBLISHERS AND PROPRIETORS. j- J SINGLE NUMBER, IS CENTS 
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Entered according to Act of Congress in April, 1SG8, by Oranoe Jodd 4 Co., in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York. 
VOLUME XXVII.— No. 5. 
NEW YORK, MAY, 1868. 
NEW SERIES— No. 25G. 
A ROMAN FARM-YARD S C E N E . - From a Paintwo by C. H. PoYNDESTKE.-Dra 
and Engraved for the An 
This spirited scene, so foreign in its -whole 
air, yet so thoroughly agricultural, affords us a 
fine opportunity to present the chief peculiari- 
ties of form, which distinguish the cattle of Ita- 
ly. A herd of cattle, which had been turned out 
upon the Campagna to graze, have been collect- 
ed by horsemen, and, excited by their hallooings, 
have rushed, impetuously following their leader,' 
into the wrong enclosure, to the dismay of the 
occupants of the quaint court-yard, with its odd 
old well, and shrine of the Virgin, before which 
hangs the ever-burning lamp. A race of cattle, 
for years bred without the admixture of foreign 
blood, their owners perhaps being guided in the 
selection of breeding animals more by uniform- 
ity of color, size, and strength, than by anything 
else, will, of necessity, present a similarity of ap° 
t Agriculturist 
pearance hardly possible among cattle bred for 
milk and beef, with a secondary regard to other 
characteristics. Though domesticated, they are 
essentially a wild race, because they have been 
bred in accordance with a sort of natural selec- 
tion, like that which prevails under the rule of 
the strongest upon the pampas of South America, 
or great plains of Texas. Travellers in Southern 
Europe are familiar with the mouse-colored 
cattle of Italy. This is not the universal color, 
by any means, yet it exists extensively, shading 
into dingy cream-color in parts of Tuscan v, and 
running also into French gray with dark legs 
and heads. The mealy muzzle familiar to us 
in the Channel Island breeds is universal. The 
oxen are marked by immensely long and power- 
ful horns, massive necks, and full dewlaps. The 
breed is coarse-boned, and the cattle generally 
thick-hided and poor feeders. Formerly it is 
likely greater pains was taken in their breeding, 
but it is said there is now very little, except in 
Parma, whence the markets of the world are 
supposed to be supplied with Parmesan cheese. 
Here a marked improvement in the milking 
qualities of the cows is noticed, which is no 
doubt largely due to the introduction of Swiss 
blood, and it is accompanied by the usual evi- 
dences of a crossed or mixed breed. The artist 
has thrown great character into his animal 
figures; and the spirited piece of by-play be- 
tween the hay-laden hone, the ass, and the goat, 
introduced boldly into the center of the picture, 
is a great success, and does not detract from the 
effect of the alarming incursion of the cattle. 
