justice to the high standard which should control the breeding of cattle 
among us, to recommend to the yoke and the shambles. 
“ It is quite manifest from the prevailing character of the cattle exhib¬ 
ited, that the points which go to make up^the best animal, either for the 
yoke, dairy, or butcher’s stall, are not generally known, at least are not 
sufficiently appreciated and regarded by those who are raising cattle, to 
stimulate them to make the requisite efforts to improve their stock. Too 
many inferior animals are suffered to run at large as bulls, and few 
farmers are sufficiently careful that their cows, and those of a select char¬ 
acter, are served only by such males as are possessed of merit, and pecu¬ 
liarly adapted to breed well with them. This evil will doubtless continue, 
to a greater or less extent, while our present system of pasturing in 
common upon our open prairies continues. It is to be hoped that as the 
balance of our lands are enclosed, by those settling upon them, and are 
converted into farms, more attention will be paid to the improvement of 
cattle. 
“A matter of much importance to the farmers in the present state of 
cattle culture among us, is the selection of good animals of the most im¬ 
proved breeds, from which to raise a stock of decided merit; what the 
breed shall be, depends upon the end sought to be obtained. 
“ There are three of these ends which should be kept prominently and 
distinctly before the minds of our cattle breeders—animals fitted for the 
yoke by their strength of bone and muscle, their power of endurance, 
their sprightliness of movement, their beauty of form and color—animals 
for the butcher’s stall possessing early maturity, readiness to fatten, and 
surpassing in the quality of their flesh—and animals for the dairy, easy 
to be kept, gentle to handle, and which furnish an abundance of rich 
creamy milk. To the attainment of the first of these ends, we regard 
the Devons as being without a rival. They are beautiful cattle, of me¬ 
dium size, of deep red color, with rich yellow noses, the tip of the tail 
white, and their horns long and gracefully curved. To the attainment 
of the second of these ends, the Durhams and Herefords will contend 
with nearly equal claims for the honor. The former are heavy cattle, 
arrive early at maturity, fatten easily, and their flesh is beautifully mar¬ 
bled with fat; the latter are inferior, perhaps only in size, come to ma¬ 
turity early, are good and quick feeders, and their flesh of excellent 
