4 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April G. 
i his pig, and many a cow or two. I, for my part, also 
! have formed no exception. In talking about cows, pigs, 
&c., 1 shall, therefore, principally coniine my remarks to 
i the prevailing practice in this part of Cheshire, believ- 
j ing that, in the main, it is good. And, indeed, in order 
| to show the bearing of the live-stock question on the 
| modes of culture necessary to be pursued, I will offer a 
| few remarks on cows and pigs, as bearing on the chai'ac- 
ter and proportion of green-stuff, roots, &c., with a glance 
at the grain and meal question. 
With regard to the kind of Cow most suitable to such 
cases, it is not easy to say anything very definite. Lo¬ 
calities differ; certain districts have peculiar breeds for 
which they have long been famous, and from which they 
see no reason entirely to depart. Thus, if we go to the 
north, we meet with more’or less of the Holderness or 
Durham breed, signalised by their immense size, their 
great feeding capabilities, and the immense flow of milk; 
the latter, of course, more noted for quantity than qua¬ 
lity. Go down to the sbuth, and there we hear more or 
less of Devons, with their crosses ; and then cross the 
water, and we get amongst the Alderneys and their va 
rieties, in the Channel Islands. 
It is to me extremely probable that, in this respect, 
the cow question much resembles the apple question— 
an odd comparison, certainly. Persons not unfrequently 
apply to me to know which are the best apples; of 
course, I cannot forbear naming some of our old friends, 
such as Ribstons, Nonpareils, &c„ but at the same time 
I always deem it expedient to qualify such recommend- j 
ations, especially in the case of kitchen apples, by 
observing that apples of notoriously high qualities do j 
not thrive equally in all districts. 
But the great fact is this, the character of the live 
stock must ever be ruled, in some degree, by the cha¬ 
racter of the soil. Thus, who'would think of speculat¬ 
ing in our big carcased Leicester sheep, or Durham 
cows, on the Downs, or shallow upland chalky soils of 
tne Derbyshire hills? The dairy stock in Cheshire is, 
in general, of a mixed character; formerly they had the 
old long-horned Cheshire cow on most cheese farms, but 
these, although excellent butter and cheese cows, gra¬ 
dually gave way before the Durham or Holdernesse 
breeds, which began to be introduced extensively some 
thirty.years since. These were crossed in various ways 
with the old Cheshire cow, and much improved the pro¬ 
duce; for the old stock was supposed to be “ breeding 
out,” to use a business term. But, at the same time, 
the Alderney breed, called pure “ French,” were called 
in request, and produced capital crosses, especially as 
butter cows; and, during later years, a cross between 
the Welsh and these improved breeds has risen high in 
the esteem ot many farmers. It so happens, that a cow 
may be excellent for the cheese tub, but still not a capi¬ 
tal butter cow. When I first came into Cheshire, I 
thought that this must be prejudice, or mistake, but it 
was I who was mistaken. 
As we are near to Liverpool, that great recipient of 
both Irishmen and Irish produce, it may naturally be 
expected that we have occasionally received a sprinkling 
ot Irish dairy stock, and such is the case. Formerly, 
the Irish stock was in ill repute, for they were as long- 
legged and gawky as their pigs; but they have so im¬ 
proved of late years, that the old prejudice is wearing 
fast away, and many of our old farmers no longer look 
with contempt on an Irish cow on sale at a fair. 
And now, after this little examination into a question 
which, it appears, concerns the case in hand, it may be 
expected that I may venture on a little advice as to 
selection. Here I may point to one reason why the 
very large breeds of Durham and its crosses are sought 
after by the Cheshire farmer. These beasts give an 
enormous quantity of milk, which, although not unfre¬ 
quently of a very moderate quality as to butter-making, 
is good for cheese-making, and, moreover, produces 
plenty of swill for the pigs, which are a part of the 
dairying system. Moreover, if anything happens to a 
C ow ol this class, which has, perhaps, cost eighteen or 
twenty pounds, there is, at last, a good bouncing car¬ 
case for the butcher; and as our farmers frequently : 
make them half fat, or more, before they “ weed them I 
j out . such, in a barren state, frequently realise from 
twelve t<3 fifteen pounds, thus in great part covering 
their original cost. 
It becomes our readers, therefore, who farm their six 
to ten acres, and who wish to keep a couple of cows, to i 
I consider these things; of course, they want chiefly 
butter cows, and, near thriving towns, both butter and 
j milk may bring more-profit than cheese-making, and, 
by consequence, the selection of breed may somewhat 
; differ. It is, however, at times, difficult to meet with 
I the desired breed or cross; and as little holders have, 
in my opinion, no business with rearing, they must not 
be over fastidious as to peculiar crosses. For a person j 
keeping about a couple of cows only to indulge in a I 
hobby of rearing stock is, as 1 think, unwise ; for a per- I 
son may have the best fancy cow in the neighbourhood, 
and may obtain a cross from a “crack” bull, and yet be 
quite deceived in the produce. 
I may again repeat, that if the pasturage is not good, 
it is vain to think of keeping stock of enormous size, 
unless most of the work is to be done at the manger or 
crib. The pure Alderney is much esteemed as a butter 
cow, as everybody knows, by small holders, but they are 
bad, indeed, to sell if barren. They look poor outside 
when they are quite fat within ; and a butcher, who is 
trying to purchase, will expatiate freely on the lean ap¬ 
pearance of the beast, knowing full well all the time 
that, to use a butcher’s phrase, “ she will die well.” A ' 
cross, of which nearly half is Alderney, will, in general, 
as I think, be found the best; but when we get towards j 
the Welsh borders, the Welsh blood may fairly take the 
place of the Alderneys; and towards the borders of j 
Scotland, there are the Ayrshires and other very good 
breeds: as for the south, who has not heard of the 
fame of the Dorset butter cows? 
In my next paper I will oiler a few r remarks on the 
feed of cows, stating Cheshire practice, Ac. A few con¬ 
siderations of this character will bring me, step by step, 
to cultural matters having reference to the keep of both 
man and beast. R. Erringtox. 
MEETING OF THE HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY.— March 21st. 
We had an unusually large meeting to-day, and the 
tables were well supplied with ornamental plants, being 
particularly rich in Orchids; very little fruit; and I 
nothing for the kitchen, or still room, except sallad 
plants from the garden of the Society, and foreign 
produce of the same kinds from Mr. Solomons, of 
Covent Garden. There were many specimens of woods, 
and a share of the usual lecture referred more par¬ 
ticularly to that part of the exhibition; and, last of all, j 
we elected several new members by ballot 
Before the meeting, I spent an hour between Covent 
Garden and Mr. Stevens’ sale-room, close by. He had ; 
his largo room full of poultry ready arranged for the ; 
hammer, more than two-thirds of which were of Buff 
Cochin-Chinas. In front of Mr. Stevens’ rostrum stood 
the largest cock of that breed that ever was seen, and, 
taking him altogether, lie was the finest feathered bird 
that has ever been offered for sale; but he had the common 
fault of the breed—the want of a prominent chest. There 
does not seem to be any difficulty in getting motherly- 
looking hens; but ninety-nine out of every hundred cocks 
of the Shanghae breed look like half-pay officers, buttoned 1 
