218 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
been connected with that of the human race. The advance¬ 
ment of civilization has caused a corresponding change in their 
condition, so that it may be truly said that the development of 
the stock marks a people’s progress as sure as the school house 
does. Whether the school-house is the result of an improved 
breed of cattle, or the cattle the result of the school-house, 
may admit of the same argument as Buckle’s theory of re¬ 
ligion and civilization. 
Almost every farm in Wisconsin is adapted to stock raising 
as a part of mixed husbandry, but to be profitable, cattle rais¬ 
ing must be pursued in all its adaptations to agriculture. 
In the purchase of cattle for stock raising, we can have no 
better guide than the well recognized law of selection fur¬ 
nished us by nature. Select always the largest, with straight 
backs, broad, high quarters, short legs, medium sized head, bright 
eye, and above all, kind-tempered animals, and what is of 
equal importance, buy of a kind, even-tempered farmer, who 
is habitually a good feeder. The disposition of the breeder 
has everything to do in fixing the tractability of an animal 
raised under his care. A quiet, careful farmer will, by his ex¬ 
ample, allay the fear of timid animals, and draw the tem¬ 
per from high-spirited ones. The practice of kindness for a 
series of years establishes a trait or disposition, and the 
breed will transmit the development acquired by the care thus 
bestowed. 
This practice of careful and judicious selection should be 
thoroughly understood without going into the refinements of 
Darwin. By relying upon the experience of any observing 
farmer, sufficient information can be obtained to guide one in 
carrying out a plan based on proper selection. Small herds of 
cattle, small flocks of sheep and even the dooryard pig exhib- 
i t a superiority as the result of greater care bestowed on 
them. If another principle is admitted, i e., that the develop¬ 
ment can be carried on and continued in the progeny, getting a 
better class each generation to a limited extent, then we have 
made progress in cattle raising. 
In the droves of wild cattle there is but an imperfect natural 
