. The book of the farm : detailing the labors of the farmer, steward, plowman, hedger, cattle-man, shepherd, field-worker, and dairymaid. Agriculture. THE POINTS OF HORSES. 439 country to be fed off. The temptation of larger profits has already- caused the Cheviot to drive the Black-faced breed from the lovi^er pastures to the highest, while the cross-bred Cheviot, with the Leicester, have de- scended, on the other hand, to the low country, and there have met the true bred Leicester. This result, upon the whole, has done good, as it has in- creased the quantity of mutton in the market ; and th
. The book of the farm : detailing the labors of the farmer, steward, plowman, hedger, cattle-man, shepherd, field-worker, and dairymaid. Agriculture. THE POINTS OF HORSES. 439 country to be fed off. The temptation of larger profits has already- caused the Cheviot to drive the Black-faced breed from the lovi^er pastures to the highest, while the cross-bred Cheviot, with the Leicester, have de- scended, on the other hand, to the low country, and there have met the true bred Leicester. This result, upon the whole, has done good, as it has in- creased the quantity of mutton in the market ; and the skillful pasturao-e which the hills have received since a regular system of breeding has been introduced, has caused them to yield a larger quantity of finer grasses. The crossing of the Black-faced sheep has undergone a change ; the Lei- cester tup is too heavy to serve Black-faced ewes on the hills, and to bring those ewes to the tup in the low country is attended with ti'ouble and ex- pense. Instead, therefore, of the Leicester tup being so employed, the Cheviot tup has been substituted ; and though the cross is inferior—for nothing can exceed the beauty of the lamb produced between the Black- faced ewe and Leicester tup—it is a good one, and has enlarged the Black- faced mutton. So long as crossing is conducted with the breeds in their natural state, it will go on without confusion, but the moment cross-bred tups are employed as improvers of stock, their interference will produce confusion in the crosses, and throw discredit upon crossing altogether. I purpose giving a short description of the animals whose portraits are given in the Plates illustrative of this work, and shall make such T'emarks on the form of the animals as to give you an idea of their leading points, whether good or bad. In order to render reference to the figures in the iPlates more easy, wood-cuts of their points have been provided, that they may be more distinctly indicated. Horses.—Among horse
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
