• us, no breed more promptly and strongly stamps its impress upon other blood than this one, 411 the writers on cattle unite in this opinion, and some even advocate crossing the short-horn or other pure races, with a view to their, improvement. We shall usually find, 'r; however, the most remarkable and satisfactory results when a short-horn is put upon a mongrel or a lately established breed, as then the deep breeding of the sire will obliterate the numerous thin strains of the dam's blood, and the produce will resemble the superior race. The cross between the native cow and the short-horn bull almost always produces good milkers, and, as a whole they afford more milk of a better quality than other beef breeds, and, when dry, they feed quickly and make excellent beef. In this con nection we extract from the Fifth Annual Report of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture a portion of a statement made to them of the dairy performance of some grades of short-horns belonging to Mr. Robinson, of Barre. The cows were half and three-quarters bred. Seven of them yielded, during the first seven days in June, 2,207-1- pounds of milk, averaging forty-five pounds per diem to each cow. From this milk 232 pounds of cheese was made, averaging one pound of cheese to nine and a half pounds of milk. The same cows gave during the three following days 955 pounds of milk, from which forty-one pounds nine ounces of butter was made, averaging one pound of butter to twenty , three pounds of milk. It will be seen that the ' milk that makes one pound of butter will make two and a half pounds of cheese. These cows had no extra feed during the trial, having been turned to ,pasture on the 15th of May. This instance is selected not as a very extraordinary performance, but as a well-authenticated and carefully-conducted experiment. We limy, with out fear of contradiction,. pronounce the females of the cross of the short-horn and native as essentially and almost uniformly deep milkers. The original strong predisposition to milk that marked the race, which is shared by none of the other pure races, is admirably fitted to combine with the occasional and accidental quality in the native and in the progeny to assure pre-eminence on this point., steers are thrifty, and lay on flesh rapidly nd evenly, and are ready to turn off at two and a half or• three years old. They are hardy as their native parent, and bear trans portation and driving admirably, shrinking less than the thoroughbreds. The greater propor tion of the cattle now brought from Ohio, Indi ana Illinois, Iowa, and further west, to supply markets of the seaboard cities, and for exporta tion, are crosses of this character, and none pay the feeder better, and again the butcher is rarely disappointed in the fifth quarter. Among the eastern importations were those of 1815, 1822, 1823, 1828, 1835, 1839, 1849-50 into the State of New York. Into Massachusetts, in 1818, 1820, 1823. Into Kentucky, in 1817, and again in 1887-38 and '39. In 1834, large importa tions were made into Ohio, and again in 1835-36. These were widely distributed, and that they were good animals may be inferred from the fact that they were sold at prices varying from $500 to $2,500 each. The first direct importation of short-horns from England to Illinois was in 1858. These were superior animals and sold at satisfactory prices. Since that time the work of importing and breeding has been carried on all over the North, the Middle States, the West, the Northwest and the northern line of States South, until the time came when animals superior to those English bred were sent back to England, It prices all the way up to $80,000 for single ani mals. In the breeding of short-horns ( anada has not been behind the United States'. Since 1835, importations have been common, from England. The breeding has been prosecuted most successfully, and of late years there has been many interchanges of blood between the Dominion and the United States, back and forth, and with satisfaction to all parties con cerned, and to-day there are no higher bred or better short-horns in the world than are to be found in the United States and Canada. The points of short-horns, and which will apply in judging all beef animals, with slight variations, arc worthy of a somewhat minute description. The points are of two classes, those observed with the eye and those felt with the touch. By the eye we observe the general contour of the animal, size, length, breadth, thickness, fineness of body, head and limb, the loin, back, thigh, the spring of the rib and the manner in which the animal is ribbed close to the hip bones. The
touch, that is the feeling under the touch, sho'ws length and quality of the ham, thickness and elasticity of the skin. Thus, the eye and expres sion of countenance is indicative of disposition and temper; an elastic, mellow, and yet firm hide of medium thickness, shows thick, well marbled flesh. A floating, soft skin of blubbery fat, indicates a bad feeder and often an animal of dark colored flesh. The butcher, in buying an animal for beef has now-a-days but a single object in view. The animal that will turn out the greatest amount of lean meat, in the prime parts with the least offal, and only a moderate amount of fat, for fat is now one of the cheapest portions of the animal. Years ago in the days of tallow candles, the reverse was the case. The back, loin and ribs are the choice bits, next the rump and thighs, then the shoulders, while the neck and head are comparatively worthless The saga cious breeder while keeping this constantly in view, seeks to add early maturity to good flesh. He who comes nearest to this has the best animal whatever the breed, or the pedigree of the par ticular breed, for, the butcher's block is the final and the crucial test. Derived from alarge breed, the improved short-horn is heavy, less in height than the originals of the Tees, rounder and deeper in the trunk, the limbs shorter, chest and back broader, appearing less in bulk, while really greater in weight. The skin is light-colored, hair reddish brown or white or mixed, the muz zle flesh-colored, the horns shorter and lighter colored than the former breed, the skin soft to the touch, the form square, the shoulder upright, and the hind-quartel large. The color can not be characterized by a single term, varying greatly from a pure white to a rich red, a mixture being quite common as roan or strawberry. The skin should he velvety and not too thin, while the hair should he plentiful and of a mossy soft ness. The head of the female is finer and more tapering than that of the male, the neck thinner and lighter, and her shoulder inclining to nar row towards the chine. The short-horn looks smaller than he is. He excels all other stock in facility of fattening, making good and heavy beef in thirty months, and even in two years. Henry Strafford, an excellent judge, thus sums up his points: The head of the male animal is short, but at the same time fine; very broad across the eyes, but gradually tapering to the nose, the nostril of which is full and prominent; the nose itself of a rich flesh color, neither too light nor dark; eyes bright and placid, with ears somewhat large and thin. The head, crowned with a curved and somewhat fiat horn, is well set on to a lengthy, broad, muscular neck; the chest wide, deep, and projecting; shoulders fine, oblique, and well formed into the chine; fore legs short, with the upper arm large and powerful; barrel round, deep, and well ribbed up towards the loins and hips, which should be wide and level; hack straight from the withers to the set ting on of the tail, but still short, that is, from hip to chine, the opinion of many good judges being that a short-horn should have a short back with long frame. Well treated and kept, both alike in the same pasture, with equal winter for age and shelter, at eighteen months old the native may acquire a weight of 600 to 800 pounds, while the short-horn will weigh 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. At two and one-half years the native may have attained a weight of 1,000 pounds, and the short-horn of 1,200 to 1,400 pounds. The latter will be in a profitable beef-condition, while the former will be immature and not fit for mar ket. By adding another year to their keeping, the native arrives at perhaps 1,200 pounds and the short-horn at 1,500 to 2,000 pounds, the for mer being still unripened, while the latter is at full maturity, and will sell at one or two cents per pound higher than the native. The common steer, at less than four and one-half years, is not fully ripe as a market-animal, and then, with the capital and interest invested in him, together with the risk of disease or death, and the addi tional forage for the extended time, he brings less money than a short-horn a year younger. These facts, together with the fact that the short horn has but a small amount of bone and offal according to its weight, and gives a much larger percentage of choice, meat than the native, slaughtered at whatever age, prove that the short-horn is more profitable for the breeder, the grazier, the feeder, and, what is quite important, the consumer.