The original German horses are of a very infe7 rior race, and the specimens of them, where they have not been improved by the mixture of other breeds, generally bad ; but from this must be except ed those of Mecklenburg, East Friesland, Holstein, and Luneburg, which, for draft or for heavy dra goons, are admirable races, and have been propagat. ed over all Europe. Horses for pleasure, or for mounting light cavalry, must be brought from other countries, but the jennets, a light small breed, are good and quiet. Aims are not common even in the southern part of the country. Mules are to be seen in Hanover, near the Hartz forest, and in the Ty. rolese portion of Germany they are the common beasts of burden.
The cows are of various breeds ; but the hand , somest are those from East Friesland, Oldenburg, Holstein, and the other provinces on the borders of the German Ocean, though generally known under the name of East Frieslanders. The Hungarian breed prevails in many parts, but are esteemed more for the ease with which they are fattened than for the purposes of the dairy. A third sort of cows is the Swiss bred, which does not come wholly from the Alpine regions, but is furnished by Wirtemberg, and a part of Bavaria. The breed of Germany, origi nating from the mixture of these races, is well adapt ed for the dairy ; but, either from want of appropri ate qualities in the animals, or from the imperfect manner of fattening them, the oxen, when killed, are seldom more than 500 pounds weight, and the aver age of them considerably lighter. Some attempts are now making to improve the breed, by the intro duction of the Tyrolese bulls ; perhaps the most per.
feet animal of the cow kind for meat and for draft, ' who, when crossed with the best milkers, produce the most complete cattle. The common practice in Germany, of killing the calves from ten to sixteen days old, produces very bad veal ; but some of the beef, especially near the banks of the Elbe, is excel lent.
The proper German sheep are a mixture of the original coarse-woolled race, crossed by a breed from Ardennes. In a part of Illyria, they have the sheep of Padua. The fine-woolled sheep of Spain have, however, been introduced by many of the Princes, and have been vastly extended, especially in Saxony, Silesia, and Brandenburg, and will probably, at no distant period, be the principal, if not the sole race. The badness of their flesh is of less conse
quence in Germany than in England ; because; in the former country, it is not worth more than the annu al clipping of the wool, which can be sent to richer countries, where they can afford to pay high prices for it ; but the flesh must be consumed at home, and therefore sells for little.
Goats are common in all the States, but are only to be seen in large flocks in the more mountainous parts. Swine are the most important kind of live stock in Bavaria, Westphalia, Hanover, Mecklen burg, and Pomerania. They are of three different breeds ; the long white bent in the back ; the short white, or yellow, with the same kind of back ; and the black, or yellow, of a short make ; but these dif ferent breeds are becoming much mingled together.
The forests of Germany abound with untamed mi. male, which afford sport to its princes and nobles, and furnish a considerable quantity of aliment to the higher and middle classes of the people ; as the noble sportsmen generally sell their prey, and are obliged to dispose of it cheap. Wild deer of various kinds, and wild swine, are very numerous in many parts of the country. With them, foxes are found in some districts in prodigious numbers. At a hunting on the estate of one nobleman in Bohemia, on three days of 1818, more than 12,000 head of game was killed ; and, in Saxony, between 2000 and 8000 hares were shot in one day, and sold for about is. each. There are bears in the southern parts in Illy ria, in the Steyermark, and the Tyrol, of the small black kind, more dangerous to the bee-hives, and the smaller animals, than to man. Wolves are few now, and only in the Trans-Rhenish provinces. In some of the mountains, the beaver is found, though now but rarely, and some other animals, principally valu able for their fur. The most annoying animal is the field-mouse, of a species called the hamster, which are found in thousands in Saxony, and do incredible injury.te the productions. In the months between killing 89,565 of these mischievous animals.
Domesticated birds are very plentiful, but especi ally ducks and geese. The latter form an import ant portion of the food, on many of the farming esta blishments, especially in Pomerania, Bohemia, and the Steyermark; where most houses in the country cure from 50 to 100 for their winter consumption.