The inquiry is frequently made, what is the best breed of cattle, sheep, &c., for general use. In reply it may be said that no breed can by any possibility fulfill all requirements in the best possible manner; one is better for meat and early maturity, another for milk, another for wool, and so on. Because under certain circumstances it may be necessary or advisable for a man to serve as his own builder, tailor, tanner and blacksmith, it by no means follows that all which is required will be as well, or as easily done, as by a division of labor. So it is better for many reasons, and more profit can be made, by employing different breeds for different purposes, than by using one for all, and towards such profitable employment we should constantly aim. At the same time there is a large class of farmers so situated that they cannot keep distinct breeds, and yet wish to employ them for different uses, and whose requirements will best be met by a kind of cattle, which, without possessing remarkable excellence in any one direction, shall be sufficiently hardy, the oxen proving docile and efficient laborers for a while, and then turn quickly into good beef upon such food as their farms will produce, the cows giving a fair quantity and quality of milk for the needs of the family and perhaps to furnish a little butter and cheese for market. Before proceeding to answer the inquiry more definitely, it may be well to remark further, that among the facts of experience regarding cattle, sheep and horses, nothing is better established than that no breed can be transferred from the place where it originated, and to which it was suited, to another of unlike surface, climate and fertility, and retain equal adaptation to its new situation, nor can it continue to be what it was before. It must and will vary. The influence of climate alone, aside from food and other agencies in causing variation, is so great that the utmost skill in breeding, and care in all other respects, cannot wholly control its modifying effects. It is also pretty well established that no breed brought in from abroad can be fully as good, _other things being equal_, as one indigenous to the locality, or what approximates the same thing, as one, which by being reared through repeated generations on the spot has become thoroughly acclimated; so that the presumption is strongly in favor of _natives_.