THE AET OF BREEDING.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 275, 8 May 1873, Page 7

THE AET OF BREEDING.

. o Commenting on the fat stock shows in England, a writer in the " Times " gives the following racy but by no means exaggerated description of the marvellous power possessed by the true breeder in fashioning his stock :—: — " The breeder deals with a class of difficulties not to be found in the workshop or the laboratory, for he has to mould and modify animated nature to the requirements of man. A late distinguished horticulturist offered to produce any kind of flower one might please to describe, but did not live to accomplish his boast, beyond a few striking varieties. jßutif you wi[l only be to good as to say just what kind of cow, or sheep, or pig you would like to haye — nay, if you will draw your ideal on paper — you are sure of having your order completed in a reasonable time. Tou may, have either size or weight, or flesh or bone, or the meat concentrated on the choice parts or equally distributed ; the surface either soft or hard ; a model of symmetry and natural grace, or something less ornamental but of a more useful

character; a good breeder, a good milker, or a good feeder ; a fine or a hardy quality ; a smooth coat, or as rough as a bear's ; horns, or no horns ; leg-*, long or short ; red, or any other color, and with any fancy qualities you may desire. You may have these in any combinations, and you will find, on reference to the laws of arithmetic, that the possible combinations are all but infinite. The varieties of sheep and pigs are only less amazing. It ia like putting the points into a kaleidoscope and by a turn of the tube discovering a new animal. But as this wonderful power is in the hand of men whose interest and business is to turn it to good account, it is not wasted on prodigies or eccentricities. It is directed to the production in the shortest possible time, at the smallest possible cost, the greatest possible quantity of the best possible beef, mutton and pork. Thirty years ago the sheep was just kept alive on the hungry downs, with the smallest and cheapest addition of winter keep, for two or three years, and then advanced step by step to the metropolitan market. Science and the railway have changed all that, and London is supplied with good mutton which it has taken only fourteen months to manufacture far down in the provinces. The lon^-legged Irish pig of our youth might in these days be exhibited, not at Islington, but at the Zoological Gardens. His place is now filled by a round mass of nutritious food, of twice the size, though rot so terrible to look at. In everything that is eatable there is the same rapid progress, for the competition is universal ; the public are the judges ; their tests are the palate and the purse , with them it is a fair field and no favour. The public come to market with money in hand, and the agriculturalists have no choice but to supply them with what they ask for.'

"We have sometimes thought that it would not bo a bad idea for companies and persons interested in quartz claims in this district to jointly commission some practical and intelligent man to visit the quartz claims of California, and bring us from thence whatever new and improved appliances or hints he could pick up. There is no doubt but that in some mining matters the Californians are far ahead of us ; and we need not wonder at this when we consider their more lengthened experience as a gold-producing country. The last new thing from California is an improved perforated stamper plate, which will last four times as long as the ordinary ones in use on Bendigo ; and will not rust or get choked up. The plate is made of the very best Russian iron, and presents a surface more like steel than iron. The apertures are clean pierced, without burr, and are cut longitudinally with a sharp blade. The apertures, of course, can be made of any size, and at any distance from each other, and the great advantage of these plates is, that, unlike those perforated in the ordinary manner, the Derforations in the plate never become blocked up. Another advantage is that the plates do not rust. Their first cost is little more than the ordinary plate, but they are infinitely more economical in the end. At present the only sample of them to be seen on Bendigo are in the hands of Mr. Middleton, the engineer of Foret street, and that gentleman will be happy to let any person interested in the 'extraction of gold from quartz inspect them. We may observe that those practical men who have seen these plates have expressed themselves highly pleased with them, and have pronounced them to be vastly better than the ordinary ones. The manager and engineer of Koch's Pioneer Company (and there are no better authorities in these matters anywhere), and numerous other managers and engineers of crushing plants, have been amongst those who have seen and approved of, the new Californian plate. — " Bendigo Advertiser.'* A San TjYancisco paper says a chunk of gold weighing over 247 pounds, and worth 50,000 dollars, was found in the claims of To Ten and Co., at Moor's Flat, Nevada county, on the 26th January. DR. BRIGHT'S PHOSPHODYNE.— Multitudes of people are hopelessly suffering from Debility, Nervous and Liver complaints, Depression cf Spirits, Delusions, Unfitness for Business or Study, Failure of Hearing, Sight and Memory, Lassitude, Want of Power, &c, whose case admit of a permenant cure by the new remedy PHOSPIIODYNE. (Ozonic Oxygen), which at once allays all irritation and excitement, imparts new energy and life to the enfeebled constitution, and readily cures every stage of these hitherto incurable and distressing maladies. Sold by all Chemists and Storekeepers throughout the Colonies, from whom Pamphlets containing testimonials may be obtained. CAUTION.— Be particular to ask for Dr. Bright's Phosphodyne' as imitations are ■cbroad, and avoid purchasing single bottles, the genuine artjfle being sold in cases only. Holloway's Pills — Weary of life. — Derangement of the liver is one of the most formidable causes of dangerous diseases, and the most prolific source of those melancholy forebodings which are worse than death itself. A few doses of these noted Pills act magically in dispelling low spirits and repelling the covert attacks made on the nerves by excessive heat, impure atmospheres, over indulgence, or exhausting excitement. The mo3l shattered constitution may derive benefit from Holloway's Pills, which will regulate disordered action, brace the nerves, increase the energy of the intellectual faculties, and revive a failing memory. By attentively studying the instructions and obediently pnttingtham in practice, the most despondent will soon feel confident of a perfect recovery.