Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-12-17
agricultural.
Influence Of Soil Oh stock.

The study of Physical Geography in its
relation to the animal creation, and espe-
cislly in its bearings upon stock raising, has
not received much attention, but it Is a IA
milisr fact that a change of climate often
produces an entire change in the Characters
tIcs of animals. The long, close, fine wool
of the sheep is given to it by nature as o
warm covering, as protection against cold,
but if the sheep he saken from cold regions
TO warm, the wool becomes coarse, and in
process of time will degenerate into hair.
Dr. Nicholson, of Antigua, says that alter
she third generation the wool disappears
from the whole body of the sheep over the
lOius, and similar change is SAID to take
place on the west coast of Africa. 1t is
stated that the horses kept for years in the
mines of Belgium become coated with vel
vety hair, almost like mole.
The lna Ieace of soil has not been so mu 3h
noted, but 1t has been often remarked that
the size and vlgor of the human frame is at
fected by the geological character of the
country in when men are born and grow up.
How much more will the lower animals that
derive their sustenance directly irsm the soil
be affected by it's peculIarItieS. DIR. Sturte-
want of Pennington, Massachusetts,, at the
late State Fair. read an interesting paper on
this subject, from which We make some sX-
tracts, aud we commend the matter to the
attention of the large class OF intelligent
farmers who are guiding the agricultural in
terests OF the country:
IS The scientific Agassiz, in referring to
the influence OF soil on breeds of cattle, says,
that in those districts of Switzerland which
are entirely made of granite rocks, with tale
and mica states and gneiss-primitive rocks,
as they are called-only cattle of a small
size are found, while in those regions with
limestone subSoIl, the cattle are large. To
allow of no mistakes as to his meaning, he
proceeds La the one region the animal has
a large supply of limestone with which to
build up the heavy frame; In the other, the
supply of lime is small, and the animal can
not build up a large frame.
In some parts of Ireland the influence
of the soil is SO marked that Prlngle writes
that in an inland part of Cennamera, the
cattle, if kept constantly in their native pas
turss, become affected with disease resem-
bling rackets, owing apparently to some de-
fects in the soil.
"In Lunar kshire, Scotland, the Ayrshire
cattle are said TO be larger sized than 10 Wig
ton aud Renfrew, owing to the superior
quality of the soil.
Prot Law states that Short-Horns have
been found to degenerate rapidly on some
the pO Jrer sandy s1ils IN Massachusetts and
Mr.. rnorne sold his Ducness county herd
Osteusibiy because of the deficiency of lime
in the soil. On the calcareous soils of New
York, on the other hand, and on the blue
grass lands OF Kentucky, this breed main
ttius it's highest qualities without extra
effort
The soil is thus seen to influence th,
nf aaft tlu cd
or diminished supply OF food drawn from it
through the heritage. We have accounts OF
other changes in animals and their products
still more important, if not quite as obvi
Gus. Prof. Law states that a damp, IN
drained or marshy soil begets thickness and
ooarseness of the integument and hairy COW
ering, a laxity of tissue, generally, and
phlegmatic constitution, qualities above ali
Objectionable in the horse.
"One of the cheese factories in New York
attempts to show ssatistically that cows fed
on clay soil produce a larger yield of milk
than those from sandy soil. A Scotch essay
list states that the milk of cows feeding on
upland and clayish pastures requires more
rennot TO convert it into cheese, than milk
from COWS feeding on more fertile, low-lying
farms.
These illustrations will then impress on
the breeder the necessity of selecting that
breed of cattle which is suited to his soil l..
He of fertile pastures may select the massive
Short Horn, bat he whose farm overlies the
primitive formation of geology must be con-
tent with the smaller breeds. In England
this is better understood, and the w est
Highland OK is neither vexed by the Short
Horn in his dlstact pastures, nor does the
tenant farmer of the valleys herd the High
lander on his luxuriant meadows. That the
herd and the soil are correlated, is well
shown by the fact mentioned by Darwin,
that ON the banks OF the Onse, the Leicester
sheep were 50 rapidly destroyed by pleuritis
that the owners could not keep them; the
coarse-skinned sheep never being affected