into the family, that he shall be severely
punished, and the dog hanged.--I was obliged to adopt this practice
whilst I resided at home, and from the same motive, that is for the
preservation of my Sheep and Hogs.... It is not for any good purpose
Negroes raise, and keep dogs; but to aid them in their night robberies;
for it is astonishing to see the command under which the dogs are."

After the Revolution, in imitation of English farmers, he made use of
hurdles in pasturing sheep and milk cows. Thereby he secured more even
distribution of the manure, which was one of his main objects in
raising stock.

Washington's interest in cattle seems to have been less intense than was
the case with some other kinds of stock. He always had a great number of
cows, bulls, oxen and calves upon his farms--in 1793 over three hundred
"black cattle" of all sorts. He was accustomed to brand his cattle with
the letters "G.W.," the location of the brand on the body indicating
the farm on which the beast was raised. To what extent he endeavored to
improve the breed of his cattle I am unable to say, but I have found
that as early as 1770 he owned an English bull, which in July he killed
and sold to the crew of the British frigate _Boston_, which lay in the
Potomac off his estate. In 1797 he made inquiries looking toward the
purchase of an improved bull calf from a cattle breeder named Gough, but
upon learning that the price was two hundred dollars he decided not to
invest. Gough, however, heard of Washington's interest in his animals,
and being an admirer of the General, gave him a calf. An English farmer,
Parkinson, who saw the animal in 1798, describes him in terms the
reverse of enthusiastic, and of this more hereafter.

A large part of the heavy work on all the farms was done by oxen. In
November, 1785, there were thirteen yoke of these beasts on the Mount
Vernon estate and the number was sometimes still larger. In 1786
Washington recorded putting "a Collar on a large Bull in order to break
him to the draft.--at first he was sulky and restive but came to by
degrees." The owner always aimed to have enough oxen broken so that none
would have to be worked too hard, but he did not always succeed in his
aim. When they attained the age of eight years the oxen were usually
fattened and killed for beef.

The management of the milk cows seems to have been very poor. In May,
1793, we find the absent owner writing to his manager: "If for the sake