52 



The Country Gentleman s Magazine 



Another evil is inattention to the dairy, 

 along with the other excellent qualities of the 

 shorthorn. How few breeders pay attention 

 to it at all : if a cow does not give a fair sup- 

 ply of milk, the little that she does give is not 

 increased by care, nor by putting her to a sire 

 from a good milking tribe. It is a well-kno\vn 

 fact, that unless the milking properties are 

 encouraged, the inclination of the breed to 

 develop fat lessens the lacteal secretion, and 

 decreases the propensity to breed. Good 

 milkers are prolific breeders, and the most 

 numerous tribes of pure-bred animals will be 

 found to be those that inherit this valuable 

 quality. A herd of Ayrshires in their native 

 district have their vessels and milking veins 

 most carefully watched ; and so far is this 

 carried that no bull is used unless his breed- 

 ing and formation be right. The want of 

 these observations is possibly the reason why 

 an Ayrshire herd so frequently fails in its dairy 



properties after a few years' existence in the 

 south. A dairy farmer, pleased with the 

 heavy-fleshed shorthorns in his district, buys a 

 young bull, uses him, and rears his offspring, 

 which shew in course of time a decreased 

 supply of milk, so that he returns to his old 

 system of getting a common bull from a dairy 

 herd. In beef-growing districts, such as Aber- 

 deen and Bantf", better prices are given for 

 yearlings and bull calves, because their benefit 

 is readily seen in their produce made into 

 weighty steers ; moreover, Scotchmen are 

 quicker to perceive the merit of the pure- 

 bred beast ; but in the south cattle are not fed 

 to such an extent, nor is breeding the princi- 

 pal feature of farming. It would be better if 

 it were more so, as a greater source of profit 

 to the farmer as well as to the outside public, 

 in making us less dependent of the middling 

 quality of the foreign supply, and providing a 

 superior quality of meat for the table. 



PORTRAITS OF DOMESTICATED CATTLE. 



MISTLETO, A SHORT-HORNED COW. 



WE take the following remarks relative 

 to " Mistleto " from the account given 

 of the herd belonging to Messrs Mitchell, 

 which recently appeared in The Farmer. 



" This noble cow, now eight years old, and 

 of which an admirable portrait, by Gourlay 

 Steell, is possessed by Messrs Mitchell, was 

 bred by Mr Crawley, Stockwood Park, but 

 became the property of her present owners 

 at an early age. She is by Welcome Guest 

 (Booth's) from a Grand Turk dam, and at 

 the Perth Highland and Agricultural Meet- 

 ing in 1 86 1 she was second to Soldier's Bride, 

 and ultimately got the first prize, the Warlaby 

 heifer not having quahfied in time to claim it. 

 Mistleto also stood well in a grand class at 

 the Yorkshire in the following year, and at 

 the Highland and Agricultural Society's 

 Meetings at Stirling in 1864, she was at once 

 put first in an unusually good cow section, 

 besides winning five or six firsts at other ex- 

 hibitions of less note. It was after her Perth 



winning that it was confidently predicted, 

 both in print and out of it, that she would 

 never breed, and yet she has had a calf annu- 

 ally ever since, the only misfortune being, so 

 far as the direct perpetuation of a Mistleto 

 tribe is concerned, that all her calves have 

 hitherto been bulls. Mistleto is a shorthorn 

 all over — one of the sort that the longer she 

 is looked at the better one likes her. She 

 has a perfect head, a fine wide chest, good 

 rib and loin, and excellent quarters. She is 

 a little bare on the top of the shoulder, which 

 age may have helped, but otherwise she is a 

 heavy-fleshed, fine-boned cow, full of rich hair, 

 and withal a great milker." 



The following is Mistleto's pedigree : — 



Roan, calved January 3, 1859, bred by Mr J. S. 

 Crawley, Stockwood Park, the property of Messrs A. 

 cSl a. Mitchell, Alloa ; got by Welcome Guest (15497), 

 dam (Miss Myrtle) by Grand Turk (12969), g d (Olive 

 Branch) by Concord (11302), g g d (Oak Leaf) by 

 Sir Launcelot (5166)— (Old Love) by Orville (4625)— 

 by Tomboy (2765)— by Vesper (1547). 



