518 
MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE. 
portion as in those points he comes nearer to the mother who 
is the base of the operation. By employing, therefore. 
Southdown sires which are relatively inferior in those points, 
we obtain less improvement than by blending with either of 
the other two English breeds, while the difficulty remains the 
same in rearing the lambs if we go beyond the first cross. 
Still it may be said, you have not exhausted the subject by 
your many and various trials with the three English breeds 
of which you have spoken. The further question arises in 
looking for the new animal we require, namely, whether 
some French breeds be not better suited for the purpose 
than others, whether the ill-success of your experiments 
have not arisen from imperfect mothers rather than from 
sires known to be perfect. But these trials have in fact 
been made with different French breeds, yet with uniform 
disappointment. 
While one is varying these experiments with rams of 
various English breeds and ewes of various French breeds, 
years roll on and time slips away. No one of course can 
expect to solve such a question in the space of one life with- 
out making many such trials at once. Hence arises a com- 
plication of care and of facts to be registered with exactness, 
if one hopes to reach the light through so many dark and 
narrow passages. It is on this difficult ground that the 
writer has laboured for many a long year, acting on opinions 
the most erroneous, led by the most varying opinions, subject 
to mortifying mistakes, often losing almost every ray of 
hope, and on the point of giving up all result from so much 
anxiety, so many journeys, and so much expense. But it 
often happens that the human mind harasses itself long in 
search of a thing which might have been found easily by 
acting scrupulously upon laws of nature that were already 
known, instead of groping in the dark among accidental 
circumstances . — Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society . 
( To he continued .) 
MANAGEMENT OE DAIRY CATTLE. 1854 to 1856. 
By T. Horsfall. 
On entering upon a description of my treatment of cows 
for dairy purposes, it seems pertinent that I should give 
some explanation of the motives and considerations which 
influence my conduct in this branch of my farm operations. 
