12 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jan. 
Letters on British Agriculture—VIII. 
IMPROVED BREEDS OF CATTLE. 
London, Oct. 31,1S53. 
L. Tucker, Esq. —It is no secret that domestic ani¬ 
mals, well born and judiciously managed, are profita¬ 
ble, while those of low origin and meanly provided 
for, seldom repay the expense bestowed upon them. To 
rear pigs that will give more pork than bristles ; sheep 
that will afford fine wool and fine meat; and horses 
that gratify a just admiration of strength, elegance and 
graceful movement, is certainly wiser than an opposite 
course. So with regard to horned cattle ; there can be 
no doubt that those of good parentage and well reared 
will give an earlier and a better return. Wisdom, in 
this matter, if not in all others, is better paid than folly. 
British agriculturists have long understood this, 
have reared their best calves for the sake of the future 
herd, instead of consigning them to the shambles be¬ 
cause they would bring a little more ready money ; 
have brought those animals together, which, according 
to the ascertained laws of propagation, would be likely 
to produce the best progeny; and have already re¬ 
ceived their reward, not merely in the possession of 
here and there a fine animal to admire and to sell for 
a great price, but in the general improvement of farm 
stock. I have spent much of this day in the Smith- 
field market, and I hardly know which most to admire, 
those splendid animals seen at the agricultural gather¬ 
ings, or the thousands upon thousands of good, well 
fattened cattle, exhibited in the market. Unquestion¬ 
ably, the raising and propagation of fine cattle is 
among the prominent means by which the present 
advanced state of British agriculture has been 
reached. It is less than a century, hardly more than 
half that time, since the business of breeding for im¬ 
proved races has been intelligently entered upon, and 
yet I am told, and I suppose it to be true, that the 
average weight of the cattle now sold in the Smith- 
field market is more than double of those brought to 
the same place a hundred years ago. They are now 
better cared for; the cost per year of keeping is un¬ 
doubtedly greater than formerly ; but it should be con¬ 
sidered that the time of growing them has been dimin¬ 
ished ; and it is therefore doubtful whether the whole 
expense of rearing and fattening them is much in¬ 
creased. 
Were you to ask my opinion of the different breeds, 
I might be in difficulty. Not being remarkable for 
moral courage, at least, not wishing to invite antago¬ 
nism, and being unwilling to throw a single obstacle in 
the way of any of my countrymen, who have invested 
money in the importation of fine breeds, I might fear 
to give an opinion. It could be of little use. 
One thing, however, is certain. I say it with profound 
respect for English good judgment—Americans must 
judge for themselves. Their objects in keeping cattle 
are different, in one respect, at least, from those of the 
English ; there, the working properties of oxen are an 
important consideration. English farmers hardly take 
that into account; because, the} mistakenly, as I 
think, though they must be supposed to know their own 
business, reject the labor of the ox. They appear also 
to think less of the milking properties than we do.— 
Wi ththem, it seems to be beef, beef beef —beef first, 
beef middle, beef last. The breed that will produce 
the greatest body, lay on fat most easily, and come 
earliest to maturity is hard to be competed with in 
their latitude, whatever may be the milking or work¬ 
ing qualities ; and it will be perceived that there are 
reasons for this here, which do not exist in America. 
The price of beef is higher here, as compared with 
those of butter and cheese, than in our country. One 
reason of this is, in the tastes of the people, or perhaps 
I might better say, in their opinions. They do not be¬ 
lieve it healthy to flood their food with butter; nor, if 
eaten cold, to lay it in in junks. I doubt whether the 
thirty millions of people here consume more than half 
as much butter as the twenty-five millions there. Fat 
meat is more to their taste. Give an Englishman fat 
beef, bacon and ham, and he will toast the Queen and 
say Old England for ever. An American demands 
more bread, more cakes, more pastry, and a great deal 
more butter and cheese. There is another reason why 
meats are retailing higher here ; butter, cheese and 
eggs can readily be, and are to a great extent, import¬ 
ed, while the speed of steam is not quite equal to the 
importation of fresh meats. 
Climate, also, has much to do with this question.— 
The best breed for England might not be the best breed 
for America, were all other things equal. There are 
not wanting here men, who insist upon cattle already 
acclimated to their own region, while they admit that 
other breeds are decidedly better for other counties; 
and yet the difference of climate between the but-end 
of England and the tip end of Scotland is almost no¬ 
thing compared with that between this whole country 
and ours. The former is never hot, never cold, always 
humid ; the latter is now scorching, then stinging, often 
changing from one to the other, but generally dry and 
stimulant. The difference is not that we have less rain 
—we have more. But with us, when it rains, it rains, 
and gets done some time or other, and the air becomes 
dry and exhilirating, so pure that you can see objects 
distinctly fifty miles, whereas here you can seldom see 
them five. These peculiarities essentially affect all 
animal life, from man down to the insect that troubles 
his tillage. I am now going to express two opinions, 
and I do it with the utmost positiveness, knowing as 
well as I can know any thing, that I am right, though 
Americans will dispute me outright on the one, and 
Englishmen will laugh at my taste on the other. The 
first is, that we, in America, can never rear nor propa¬ 
gate cattle, with all that watery, bloated, but to the 
eye most admirable size and plumpness, that absolute 
perfection of form, seen here. That we have fine cat¬ 
tle, I know. That we can have better, I have no doubt. 
My best wishes are with the importers of any ana every 
fine breed. I believe that good will come of it to the 
country; and may the men who are fdoing well for 
their country, do well for themselves ; such is my ear¬ 
nest desire for them ; and if others, instead of giving 
