126 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



" Although little has been written on it, the improvement of the 

 Devon has not been neglected ; on the contrary, its breeding has 

 been studied like a science, and carried into execution with the 

 most sedulous attention and dexterity for upwards of two hundred 

 years. The object of the Devon breeder has been to lessen those 

 parts of the animal frame which are least useful to man, such as 

 the bone and offal, and at the same time to increase such other 

 parts (flesh and fat) as furnish man with food. These ends have 

 been accomplished by a judicious selection of individual animals 

 possessing the wished for form and qualities in the highest degree, 

 which being perpetuated in their progeny in various proportions, 

 and the selection being continued from the most approved speci- 

 mens among these, enabled the late Mr. Francis Quartly at length 

 to fully establish the breed with the desired properties. This re- 

 sult is substantially confirmed by the statistics contained in Davy's 

 'Devon Herd-Book.' We have been curious enough to examine 

 these pedigrees, and find that nine-tenths of the present herds of 

 these truly beautiful animals are directly descended (especially in 

 their early parentage) from the old Quartly stock. Later improve- 

 ments have been engrafted on these by the Messrs. Quartly of the 

 present day. The example of various opulent breeders and farmers 

 in all parts of the country has tended to spread this improvement, 

 by which the North Devon cattle have become more general and 

 fashionable. The leading characteristics of the North Devon breed 

 are such as qualify them for every hardship. They are cast in a 

 peculiar mold, with a degree of elegance in their movement which 

 is not to be excelled. Their hardihood, resulting from compact- 

 ness of frame and lightness of offal, enables them (when wanted) to 

 perform the operations of the farm with a lively step and great 

 endurance. For the production of animal food they are not to be 

 surpassed, and in conjunction with the Highland Scot of similar 

 pretension, they are the first to receive the attention of the London 

 West-end butcher. In the show-yard, again, the form of the Devon 

 and its rich quality of flesh serve as the leading guide to all decis- 

 ions. He has a prominent eye, with a placid face, small nose and 

 elegantly turned horns, wliich have an upward tendency (and cast 

 outward at the end) as if to put the last finish upon his symmetrical 

 form and carriage. These animals are beautifully covered with 

 silken coats of a medium red color. The shoulder points, sides, and 

 forcflanks are well covered with rich meat, which, when blended 

 with their peculiar property of producing meat of first-rate quality 



