96 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
supplied with nourishment. In time, however, by continual pressure; 
and accumulating depositions of solid matter, the vessels and the cells 
become less and less pervious to fluids; till at length all farther dila¬ 
tion is prevented. But the tree still continues to enlarge its trunk by 
the annual accessions of vigorous and expansible alburnum, and to take 
its station among its kindred inhabitants of the forest; till, arriving at 
maturity, its majestic form towers above all the junior or less vigorous 
trees.* 
The development of each branch takes place in the same manner, 
and by the same kind of process, as that of the trunk. The buds from 
which they originate, spring from the angle formed by the stalk which 
supports a leaf, and which is termed by botanists the axilla of that 
leaf. A law of symmetry is established by nature in the development 
of all the parts of plants. The leaves, in particular, are frequently 
observed to arise in a circle, or symmetrically around the parent stem; 
forming what is called a whorl , or, in botanical language, a verticillat- 
ed arrangement. In other cases they are found to have their origins at 
equal intervals of a spiral line, which may be conceived to be drawn 
along the stem, or the branch from which they grow. When these in¬ 
tervals correspond to the semi-circumference of the stem, the leaves al¬ 
ternate with one another on its opposite sides. 
The stems of most plants, even those that are perfectly erect, exhibit 
a tendency to a spiral growth. This is observable in the fibres of the 
wood of the pine, however straight may be the direction of the whole 
trunk. This tendency is shown even in the epidermis of the cherry 
tree, for it may be stripped off with more facility in a spiral direction 
than in any other. The primitive direction of the leaves of endogenous 
plants is a spiral one. It is particularly marked also in the stems of 
creepers and of parasitic plants, which are generally twisted throughout 
their whole length; a disposition evidently conducive to the purpose of 
their formation, namely, that of laying hold of the objects with which 
they come in contact, and of twining round them in search both of nou¬ 
rishment and support. The twisted stems of the hop and of ivy show 
this structure in a remarkable degree, and the purpose for which this 
tendency was given cannot be mistaken.— Roget’s Bridgewater Trea¬ 
tise. 
OF THE CHOICE OF LIVE STOCK FOR THE PURPOSES OF BREEDING OR 
FEEDING. 
The most desirable properties of live stock destined for food are con¬ 
sidered in The Code of Agriculture, in respect to size, form, a tendency 
to grow, early maturity, hardiness of constitution, prolific properties, 
quality of flesh, a disposition to fatten, and lightness of offal. 
Before the improvements introduced by Bakewell, the value of an ani¬ 
mal was entirely judged of by its bulk; and if a great size could be ob¬ 
tained, more regard was paid to the price the animal ultimately fetched, 
than to the cost of its food. Of late, since breeders began to calculate 
with more precision, small or moderate sized animals have been gene¬ 
rally preferred, for the following reasons:— 
Small sized animals are more easily kept, they thrive on shorter herb¬ 
age, they collect food where a large animal could hardly exist, and 
thence are more profitable. Their meet is finer grained, produces 
richer gravy, has often a superior flavor, and is commonly more nicely 
marbled, or veined with fat, especially when they have been fed for 
two years. Large animals are not so well calculated for general con¬ 
sumption as the moderate sized, particularly in hot weather; large 
animals poach pastures more than small ones; they are not so active, 
require more rest, collect their food with more labor, and will only con¬ 
sume the nicer and more delicate sorts of plants. Small cows of the 
true dairy breeds give proportionably more milk than large ones. Small 
cattle may be fattened solely on grass of even moderate quality; where¬ 
as the large require the richest pastures, or to be stall-fed, the expense 
of which exhausts the profit of the farmer. It is much easier to pro¬ 
cure well-shaped and kindly-feeding stock of a small size than of a 
large one. Small sized cattle may be kept by many persons who can¬ 
not afford either to purchase or to maintain large ones, and by whom 
the loss, if any accident should happen to them, can be more easily 
borne. The small sized sell better; for a butcher, from a conviction 
that, in proportion to their respective dimensions, there is a greater 
superficies of valuable parts in a small than in a large animal, will 
give more money for two oxen of twelve stone each per quarter, than 
for one of twenty-four stone. 
In favor of the large sized, it is, on the other hand, contended, that 
without debating whether from their birth till they are slaughtered 
the large or small one eats most for its size, yet on the whole the large 
one will pay the grazier or farmer who fattens him as well for its 
food: that though some large oxen are coarse-grained, yet where at- 
* It is contended by Dr. Darwin, and other writers on vegetable physiology, 
that each annual shoot should he regarded as a collection of individual buds, 
each bud being a distinct individual plant, and the whole tree an aggregation 
of such individuals. I shall have occasion to revert to this question when I 
come to consider the subject of vegetable nutrition. 
tention is paid to the breed (as is the case with the Herefordshire,) 
the large ox is as delicate food as the small one; that if the small 
sized are better calculated for the consumption of pravate families, of 
villages, or of small towns, yet that large cattle are fitter for the mar¬ 
kets of great towns, and in particular of the metropolis; that were the 
flesh of the small sized ox better when fresh, yet the meat of the large 
sized is unquestionably more calculated for salting, a most essential 
object in a marine and commercial country, for the thicker the beef the 
better it will retain its juices when salted, and the fitter it is for long 
voyages; that the hide of the large ox is of very great consequence in 
various manufactures; that large stock are in general distinguished by 
a greater quietness of disposition ; that where the pastures are good, 
cattle and sheep will increase in size, without any particular attention 
on the part of the breeder; large animals are therefore naturally the 
proper stock for such pastures; the art of fattening cattle, and even 
sheep, with oil-cake, being much improved and extended, the advan¬ 
tage of that practice would be of less consequence, unless large oxen 
were bred, as small oxen can be fattened with grass and turnips, as 
well as oil-cake; and, lastly, that large oxen are better calculated for 
working than small ones, two large oxen being equal to four small 
ones in the plough or the cart. 
Such are the arguments generally made use of on both sides of the 
question; from which it appears that much must depend upon pas¬ 
tures, taste, mode of consumption, markets, See. and that both sides have 
their advantages. The intelligent breeder, however, (unless his pas¬ 
tures are of a nature peculiarly forcing,) will naturally prefer a mode¬ 
rate size in the stock he rears. Davis, of Longleat, one of the ablest 
agriculturists England has produced, has given some useful observa- 
tions on the subject of size. He laments that the attempts which have 
been made to improve the breeds of cows, horses, and sheep, have pro¬ 
ceeded too much upon the principle of enlarging the size of the animal; 
whereas, in general, the only real improvement has been made in the 
pig, and that was by reducing its size, and by introducing a kind that 
will live hardier, and come to greater perfection at an earlier age. 
Though it is extremely desirable to bring the shape of cattle to as 
much perfection as possible, yet profit and utility ought not to be sacri¬ 
ficed for mere beauty which may please the eye but will not fill the 
pocket, and which, depending much upon caprice, must be often chang¬ 
ing. In regard to form, the most experienced breeders seem th concur 
in the following particulars:—That the form or shape should be com¬ 
pact, so that no part of the animal should be disproportion to the other 
parts, and the whole distinguished by a general fullness and rotundity 
of shape; that the chest should be broad, for no animal whose chest is 
narrow can easily be made fat; that the carcass should be deep and 
straight; that the belly should be of a moderate size; for when it is 
more capacious than common in young animals it shews a diseased 
state, and in older ones it is considered a proof that the animal will 
not return in flesh, in milk, or in labor, the value of the extra quantity 
of fruit which it consumes; that the legs should be short, for the long- 
limbed individuals of the same family or race are found to be the leasf^ 
hardy, and the most difficult to rear or to fatten; and that the head, the 
bones, and other parts of inferior value, should be as small as is consis¬ 
tent with strength, and with the other properties which the animal ought 
to possess. In animals bred for the shambles, the form must likewise 
be such as to contain the greatest possible proportion of the finer com¬ 
pared to the coarser and less valuable parts of the animal. This, by 
selection, may be attained, and thus the wishes of the consumer may 
be gratified. As to the broad loins and full hips, which are considered 
as a point of excellence in particular breeds, it is evident that the old 
narrow and thin make, required improvement; but the alteration is 
now carried to a faulty excess, and often occasions great difficulty and 
danger in calving. 
Tho form of animals has fortunately attracted the attention of an 
eminent surgeon, Henry Cline, Esq. of London, whose doctrines we 
have already laid down at length, and the substance of which is:— 
That the external form is only an indication of the internal structure; 
that the lungs of an animal is the first object to be attended to, for on 
their size and soundness the health and strength of an animal princi¬ 
pally depend; that the external indications of the size of the lungs are 
the form and size of the chest, and its breadth in particular; that the 
head should be small, as by this the birth is facilitated; as it affords 
other advantages in feeding, &c. and it generally indicates that the 
animal is of a good breed; that the length of the neck should be in pro¬ 
portion to the size of the animal, that it may collect its food with ease; 
and that the muscles and tendons should be large, by which an animal 
in enabled to travel with greater facility. It was formerly the prac¬ 
tice to estimate the value of animals by the size of their bones. A 
large bone was considered to be a great merit; and a fine boned ani¬ 
mal always implied great size. It is now known that this doctrine was 
carried too far. The strength of an animal does not depend upon the 
the bones, but on the muscles; and when the bones are disproportionably 
large, it indicates, in Cline’s opinion, an imperfection in the organs of 
