The Improvement of Home-bred Stock* 
35 
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If cows are wanted for the dairy, look to a 
good milking race on both sides . This is not 
less important in the male than the female. His 
maternal ancestry, sh-ould throughout possess 
this quality. The cow, besides affording a large 
supply of rich milk, should exhibit as nearly as 
possible, certain developments of form, as being 
much more likely to have received her charac¬ 
ter through her descent, and more probably se¬ 
curing its perpetuation in her progeny. The 
color with some is paramount. Red, and no¬ 
thing but red, will answer for their complexion; 
hut while we allow a partiality for this color, 
and deny that it can be bettered, we must ac¬ 
knowledge we have seen choice milkers of al¬ 
most every hue. Red, though in our opinion 
desirable, is not absolutely essential. But she 
should have a long, though light head; a clear 
placid eye; a long thin ear; small, waxy, taper¬ 
ing horns; or no horns at all, (for we never saw 
a polled, or hornless cow, that was not a good 
milker ; though the Galloways are denied this 
character:) a thin, slender neck; without dew¬ 
lap ; full chest; clean, straight legs; light be¬ 
fore and heavy behind ; tail well set on, long 
and tapering; broad, level back; large, well 
developed milking veins; large udder and ra¬ 
diating teats, (standing or pointing out from the 
bag:) fine hair, and soft mellow skin; as little 
offal as possible; good constitution; hardy; 
quiet in the pasture ; and mild and pleasant in 
her disposition. If you have a good breed, in¬ 
digenous to the soil, possessing these qualities 
to a great degree, be cautious of changing, far 
nothing is of more importance to stock than to 
be adapted to soil and climate. There is an 
adaptation in size and character when judicious¬ 
ly managed, insensibly acquired by all kinds of 
stock for their peculiar location and feed, and 
injuries have been sustained by hasty innovations, 
that years have hardly rectified. Most of the 
short horns afford a valuable cross for the dairy 
where the pastures are abundant, though there 
are some exceptions among them as milkers; 
but with scant herbage and indifferent fodder, 
smaller hardy animals “to the manor born,” 
whose ancestry for generations have been inured 
to privation, are unquestionably to be preferred. 
If the object is exclusively to raise beef, in 
early maturity, great size, just proportions and 
beautiful symmetry, with a rapid and economi¬ 
cal conversion of vegetable into animal food, 
the short horns cannot be surpassed. The great 
size and short legs of this valuable breed are, 
however, impediments to his safe and easy con¬ 
veyance to market, and when an economical 
transportation is not afforded to those remote 
from it; a cross giving more length of leg with¬ 
out impairing the fatting qualities may be found 
peculiarly desirable. This can be effected by 
both the Herefords and Devons, and without 
any sacrifice of fatting properties; and where 
the feed is occasionally short, perhaps either the 
last mentioned would be a proper substitute for 
the Durham. 
If sheep are the objects of improvement, the 
first thing to consider is, what we most desire in 
them; a heavy carcass, rich and juicy for the 
table, with indifferent or medium wool; or 
small carcass and a choice fleece. If the latter, 
we must look to the Merino and Saxon alone, 
as affording it; but in the selection of such, 
particular regard should be had to a sound, 
healthy constitution. It is a mistaken opinion, 
unfortunately practised to the loss of thousands, 
that a fine wooled sheep is necessarily a tender 
one. Whoever practises on this theory, prac¬ 
tises to an unnecessary loss. The Merinos have 
been brought to perfection on the cold mour.tains 
of Spain with an average latitude of the State 
of New-York ; and the silken wooled Saxons 
have attained their unrivalled excellence in lati¬ 
tude 51°, under the chilling influence of the 
Erzeberg snows. And further, if a sickly or 
delicate constitution is the necessary appendage 
of a fine fleece, we should unhesitatingly say, 
abandon them altogether. Imperfection and 
disease in the animal frame, are only to be tole¬ 
rated in man; nor scarcely then, but where the 
electric fire of genius blazes so intensely, that 
the vessel which supplies the oil is hidden by 
the flame. But we shall show in some subse¬ 
quent number that the finest wool can cover a 
good carcass and a sound one too. 
If a larger animal is required, affording a 
large though medium quality of fleece, it is 
afforded in the South Down. In this invaluable 
variety, every thing but the Merino or Saxon 
coat can be found. If desirable still further to 
enlarge the carcass and lengthen the wool at 
the expense of its fineness; we must look to the 
Cotswold, the Lincolnshire and the Bakewell; 
but care must be taken, if these last breeds are 
selected, that the feed be lengthened and thick¬ 
ened, and a larger range provided, for they can¬ 
not be sustained on the penurious pastures, that 
would afford the former an abundant supply. In 
breeding from either of the above, we must reject 
all such as have large offal; and if we must 
have horns at all, let them be as small as possi¬ 
ble ; head small and pointed; ears thin and not 
too large; tapering neck of moderate length, 
firmly set into the chest, which, as in all the pre¬ 
ceding animals, must be wide, deep and project¬ 
ing ; broad and level back ; round, plump and 
smooth throughout; legs standing wide and 
straight and but of moderate length; and the 
skin mellow and elastic. With such a form, 
we are sure to find a good constitution and rapid 
tendency to fat. 
