Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1869-01-20
agricultural.
Early ImprOyers of Cattle.

Early imprOyerS OF Cattle.
Few of us, at the present day, can rightly
appreciate the efforts of the carly imprOvers
OF farm stock. We are to remember that
they stood by themselves. isolated as it were,
that they had to strike out into new channels
of thought and action, that they had no
models, or very few, if any, TO guide their
experiments, that there was no general spirit
of Improvement from which they could de-
rive inspiration and encouragement in their
experiments. When large numbers of the
community are experimenting in any given
direction to attain certain definite and well
defined objects, it is not surprising that other
individuals should catch the spirit of enthu-
siasm which animates their ~neighbors. 1t is
a very different thing from originating a new
course of improvements.
But at the time Bakewell began to develop
his ideas about the breeding of animals, he
had not the advantage of the experiments
and Investigations of previous breeders. No
we'll directed efforts had been made, or if they
had, they had not attracted public attention
so as to become generally known. Some To-
calities possessed classes or races of stock
peculiar to themselves, it is true, and these
races had their peculiar merits that were, no
doubt, well known to the owners of cattle,
but there was no spirit of improvement
abroad in the community, and few individual
improvers, till Blackwell "sat in the huge
chimney corner of a log kitchen, hung round
with the finest joints of his drled oxen, pre-
served as specimens of proportions a tall,
stout, broad shouldered man, of brown red
complexion, clad in a brown loose coat and
scarlet waistcoat, leather breeches, and top
boots" and demonstrated what could be done
by attention to true physiological laws in the
breeding Of cattle.
Blackwell was a man of remarkable sagac-
ity and close observation. Convinced that
the ideas then generally prevalent, in regard
to the size and form of the animal best cal
culated to pay, he went to work to put them
to the proof. He aimed to establish a new
system of animal Developments He wanted
70 build up a breed that you'd yield the
greatest amount of salable beef for the food
consumed, and to put it upon the best part
where it would bring the most money. Size
was no object with him in itself. 1t was an
old notion that where you have large bone,
there would be plenty Of room to lay The
flesh on. To his mind this was a mistake
To him the pro position was clear that t" the
smaller the bone the truer will be the make
of the beast, the quicker she will fatten, and
her weight will have a larger proportion Of
thluable meat. y thea dem,
~5.gfFaTed That. the-i6fmass5sr&oEx Arg
booy system was the result of defective nu-
triton
This was the first attempt TO build up q
new and artificial breed on the basis of thu
~longhorns, then found in the midland coun
ties, and it succeeded. But nature had lons
been at work in isolated localities. in th'
formation Of strongly MARKED races like thu
Devons and the Herei0tds, Sminently ftteC
for the production Of a high duality OF bee
but neither of them suited 70 the purpose o
q profitable dairy animal. Beth these oil
races possess high qualities Of their kind
hardy constitutions great symmetry and beau
ty both of form and color. They seldom fai
in the points where the high priced beef lies
They are good working cattle, also, easil,
matched, docile, strong, quick and useful,
quality not of very great account when it
considered that human labor is at a low eb
: anyhow where it is found associated wit
advantage with so slow an animal as tn
OK.
The West Highlander grew up in the sam
way, the produce of centuries among tn
steep hills and the deep glens of Scotland
Unrivalled for the production of beef, it
not, as a race, to be thought of as having
place in the dairy.
The success of Blackwell undoubtedly di
much to stimulate other breeders to make a
effort in other directions. Charles Collin
began about the year 1850 the developmer
of the shorthorns. The basis of these III
NC
ut that time in Lincolnshire, Durham, an
in some parts Of Yorkshire, noted as mixer
and remarkable for size, which was due
the striking fertility of the region. So su
ceptiblc were these animals in the hands
the skillful breeders, that they rapidly game
a high reputation, and to this day they har
maintained their position though as a bret
they have lost, to a great extent, the strong
developed milking qualities of the olde
stock. This is, perhaps the fault of the bree'
er rather than the breed. The abundance
nutritious food furnished to the young anima
induced an early Development which led
the general practice of breeding for be
rather than for milk, and to the neglect
the dairy qualities.
Some families of shorthorns have retain,
the milking quality, however, to a muc
greater extent than others, and a few bree,
ers have taken special pains to keep the dali
in view.-PbughmGn.