444 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Indeed, it can only be treated in a manner suggestive, rather than 
practical, or even historical. 
The history of the live stock of the United States, from the first 
settlement of our Atlantic seaboard to its present wonderful expan¬ 
sion to the shores of the Pacific, would be almost a history of the 
people themselves, so close has been the association of their domes¬ 
tic animals with the fortunes of the agricultural population. The 
limits of this paper will only allow me to touch on the introduction 
of our domestic animals, and follow them briefly for about two hun¬ 
dred and fifty years of progress into their present condition and 
prospects for the future. 
It is a very broad subject — the entire category of our farm-stock 
— embracing the nobility of the horse; the utility of the ass, and 
the hybrid offspring of both, the mule; the branches of the bovine 
race; the cow for milk, the ox for labor, and the bullock for beef; 
the sheep for its flesh and wool; the swine for flesh, lard, and oil; 
not omitting poultry, and even the “ little, busy bee,” which con¬ 
tributes to our household comforts and luxuries. You will there¬ 
fore excuse the brevity of my remarks in each department, as any 
questions suggested may more fully be studied by reference to the 
many able works devoted to different branches of this interest. 
First in order may be mentioned 
THE HORSE. 
His domestic history is coeval with that of mankind. He has 
contributed in no small degree to man’s civilization. The most 
ancient of human annals, both sacred and profane, have eulogized 
him. His prowess has been extolled in histories of war; in domes¬ 
tic servitude his indispensable labors have been gratefully acknowl¬ 
edged; in luxury, he is an indispensable agent, and altogether the 
noblest animal ever under human control. 
The first introduction of the horse to the vast territory now com¬ 
prising the United States of America was in all probability made 
by the Spaniards on the coast of Florida, some years previous to 
the settlement of the early English and other European colonists 
on our x\tlantic shores. History gives us little or no account of the 
breeds and characters of those early importations. The Florida 
Spaniards came out chiefly as gold hunters, and what horses they 
brought with them were in all probability of the Andalusian or 
