generations of this practice is continued the produce seems irregular, some still fine and some very coarse, and very frequently I have noticed a sullen, ugly disposition and impaired animal instinct. Another defect quite common is a defective chest, the natural result of an impaired constitution.

This paper being designed merely to contain a few general suggestions to practical men, it is not within its purpose to describe in detail the form we should endeavor to preserve in breeding these animals; the various works that have been written and are presumed to be in the hands of all good breeders contain all that is to be desired upon this head. It is likely that the best specimens of the Durham breed of cattle as we now have them, are as near perfection as could be desired.

It is, however, respectfully suggested, that the prevailing fashion upon some points in reference to their characteristics is not entirely correct. For instance undue importance is attached to hips of great length and breadth. As remarked by that high authority, Youatt, "a full hip may be an advantage, but surely a protuberant one." I like a wide and long hip, but have seldom seen animals exceeding the average in these particulars, that were not defective in the middle. There is no point more important than a good rib; by which I mean not only that the chest and barrel shall have the proper shape, but the animal shall lay flesh on the rib, a quality rarely found in animals with hips of extraordinary width.

As to the horns, the fashion requires them to be light, very light, without which the best animal is seldom placed first on the prize list; and yet certainly this is a point of no useful importance at all. Many judges also insist upon a delicate, heifer-like appearance in a bull. I respectfully suggest that animals thus fashioned are seldom good breeders. We must have some indication of masculine vigor about the head and neck of a bull, or we cannot expect a good sound constitution.

It is the prevailing practice, too, other things being equal, and frequently when they are not equal, to place the largest animal first. I do not object to size if we have compactness, but this is indispensible, and it will be found that it seldom or never is found in an animal that is much larger than the average size of his breed.

It is believed that breeders generally do not attach sufficient importance to QUALITY. By which I mean, first and most important of all, that the animal shall be a good feeder. This indispensable excellence is generally indicated by a plump, round "middle piece;" broad chine and loin; low flank; full twist; light head, with sprightly, intelligent countenance, and bones small and fine at the extremities; and particularly, by good hand. ling. That is, a skin soft, yielding and elastic, with long, soft and abundant hair.

But we must not be satisfied with the propensity to "lay on flesh," important as it is. We must have it distributed evenly all over the valuable parts. Without this "point" made good, no animal, whatever may be its other merits, should ever be placed on the prize list. When the flesh is irregularly laid on; when the animal is, as we say, "patchy," the beef is not well "marbled," the lean portions being dark in color, tough and inferior in quality, and the fat distributed in lumps, so as to be worthless for the butcher.

In some quarters the practice prevails of breeding cattle in distinct families, beginning with some cow of distinguished reputation whose name designates the tribe. So far as my observation extends, this system has not been productive of any very successful results. At this day the individuals of these fashionable families have very little of the blood of the animals from which they derive their names, certainly not enough to claim much excellence on that account. In most instances the pedigrees will show that not more than one-sixteenth of the blood of the original favorite remains; though in later generations, we have generally very close in-and-in breeding, as if it were designed to induce the belief that there has been a strong concentration of the superior blood. This practice, instead of producing uniformity, produces diversity, some animals exhibiting a very high degree of excellence and many others being exceedingly indifferent; far inferior, indeed, to the average of the breed; exhibiting defective chests and crosses, bad constitutions and ill-temper.

The practice is calculated, if not designed, to deceive the public, by inducing the belief that these families have some superior excellence not possessed by other thoroughbred animals, which excellence will be transmitted with as much certainty as the peculiarities of a distinct breed.

It is admitted that it is not enough that our breeding animals are thoroughbred. The importance of selecting for this purpose the best individuals of the race, has been already urged. But this advantage is not secured by confining ourselves to particular families, or the practice of keeping up distinct families. That pedigree is the best in which are found the largest number of good animals, each being judged by its own merits, and not by the fact that some remote ancestor was distinguished for excellence.

The breeding herd should also be composed of animals which are not only good in themselves, but possessing in addition the merit of being good breeders. Bulls should be used which have been tested and proved to be good getters; for every intelligent breeder knows how often we find first class "show bulls" that turn out inferior breeders. The practice of breeding untried bulls, though good in every point, in a large and valuable

herd of thoroughbred cows, is frequently productive of very serious loss. For the same reason, a bull that has proved himself a superior breeder, should be carefully managed and preserved for service as long as he retains his vigor, which they frequently do to the age of eight or ten years, and even older. A bull of this description is worth more to the owner of a large herd of thoroughbred cows than any untried bull, however superior in individual excellence.

In England, aged bulls, of good reputation as breeders, are frequently let for service for a single year for more money than good untried bulls are sold for. With us the practice is altogether different, it being exceedingly difficult to sell an aged animal however excellent his progeny; and to this fact may probably be attributed the apparent difficulty of maintaining the excellence of our cattle.

Reference has been made to the number and value of cattle annually bred in Ohio; the immense amount lost on account of breeding inferior animals, and improper management, and the great importance of improvement. Some of the discouraging indications as to the future excellence of our stock, have also been mentioned. We have, however, a sufficient number of thoroughbred cattle of the highest merit, to make our stock in a few years superior to that of any State in the Union.

And surely our farmers have wealth enough and enterprize enough to justify the hope, that this improvement, so obviously profitable to them, will be rapidly carried forward. But this expectation will not be realized, unless those breeders who have large means will engage heartily in the work. They must, by establishing herds of superior excellence, present examples for the imitation of their neighbors. Ohio has the right to expect that the owners of her large and fertile farms will not neglect the opportunity here presented of adding to the wealth and reputation of the State; that this class of her citizens have intelligence enough to look beyond the immediate profits to be derived from their operations, to the more important future results to flow from the possession of superior thoroughbred stock, the highest evidence in any country of the prosperity and su periority of its agriculture.

The domestic animals of England are superior to those of any other country in the world, and this excellence has been attained by aid of the liberal encouragement of her noblemen, who hold the large landed estates. Shall it be said that this titled class, who hold their property by an accident, have more intelligence and public spirit than the rich landholders of Ohio, whose property has been acquired, for the most part, by their own enterprize and intelligent industry?

PRECOCITY OF DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO THE RESULTS OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF BREED-i ING AND FEEDING.

BY PROFESSOR BROWN, V. S.

From the Journal of the Bath and West of England Society.

In dealing with any subject of importance it is desirable to avoid confusion at the outset, by affixing a precise meaning to the terms employed. This is especially the case with reference to "Precocity of Development,' since it is quite possible that what one man may consider to be rapid another may regard as comparatively speaking tardy. What we really mean by the term "Precocity of Development" is the premature occurrence of the ordinary signs of maturity, in size, appearance, and general qualities. But how are we to decide whether an animal's arrival at maturity is premature or not? By ascertaining the time required for perfect development in a wild state, before definite attention was paid to the means of accelerating growth.

The originals of our several breeds cannot be found, nor has their history been very minutely traced for us; but enough has been recorded by careful observers to prove that a change has taken place in the capabilities and characteristics of most breeds of animals coming under the denomination of Stock. So generally admitted is this view that its denial would be taken as an imputation upon the breeders of the present time. Universal assent will, therefore, probably be accorded to the proposition that varieties of animals, distinguished as cultivated or improved breeds, arrive at maturity earlier than their originals did when existing under less. artificial conditions. Starting from this point it is required to determine what effects follow this production of premature maturity, whether beneficial or other

wise.

As bearing upon this question, we may adduce the maxim, that whatever is rapidly produced is by consequence wanting in stability. In sup port of this idea instances without number might be drawn from mechanics and from natural history. It seems, indeed, to be a settled point, that every work in nature or in art, to be properly elaborated, requires a certain amount of time to be devoted to its construction; whilst an attempt to accelerate its completion always results in some radical omission or defect; so that under all circumstances it would be accepted as a legiti mate apology for faulty performance, that sufficient time had not been allowed for the proper arrangement of the necessary parts. In the vegetable kingdom it is proverbial that plants of slow growth are the most durable,

whilst that produced in a single night may wither in the next day's sun. In animals, not only are the tissues subject to the operations of this rule, but even the intellect, which precociously matured is rarely lasting, seeming by its very vigor to exhaust itself. Thus we are told that the prodigy of six years is often the imbecile of twenty. The explanation of these phenomena is scarcely possible; no more so, indeed, than is that of the primary properties of matter, whether hardness, transparency, affinity, or polarity.

It must be accepted as a general rule that certain combinations, possessing durability, can only be effected under proper conditions, time being one of the essentials. Thus, in the absence of the proper amount of time; or of any other essential circumstance, the results although apparently perfect, lack the power to resist the various destructive influences to which they are exposed, and hence the combination soon ceases to exist. So far the argument is in support of the general idea; but on the other side of the subject there is something to be urged. In the first place, it is alleged with truth that there is no direct proportion between the time occupied in the development of the foetus and the average duration of the animal's life after birth. Thus man, whose foetal life continues for nine months, has a longer average existence than the horse, whose foetal life extends to eleven months; and further, in reference to other animals, including birds and fishes, discrepancies are constant. Next, it may be remarked that the time required for effecting permanent combinations is not definitively fixed, and therefore it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to determine what is premature development and what is not. The first objection is unanswerable, and so far affects the general proposition, as it proves it to be open to exception. The second objection is readily disposed of by remarking that experience will determine the requisite time under all circumstances. Thus the period required for the proper development of the foetal structures is fixed in each case, and has not, so far as we know, been influenced by change of circumstances, nor in any great degree been subject to variation.

If we could accelerate the process of foetal growth, it would then be easy to decide the general question, how far such change would affect the subsequent duration of the animal's life; but in the absence of such power we are compelled to leave the problem unsolved, and proceed to the particular proposition which more immediately concerns us, viz., the influence of external circumstances in relation to the growth and development of the animal tissues after birth.

Here, again, the question of time returns in reference to the attainment to maturity, and again the answer must be given in accordance with ex