20G MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



varieties as between cattle which are frequently considered of 

 distinct breeds. The term Yorkshire may be said to compre- 

 hend the great bulk of Short-horn cattle having no pedigrees, and 

 those having unknown or indefinite degrees of the improved 

 blood. They have frequently been imported to this country, 

 sometimes as " ship's cows," but are often elevated to the rank 

 of "Durhams" on their arrival. A variety called Holderness, 

 from a district of that name in Yorkshire, was formerly cele- 

 brated for milk. The Yorkshires have been kept extensively 

 in England for milk, on rich pastures, and for the milk-dairies 

 of cities. But they are not adapted to short pastures, on account 

 of their great size and rather weak constitutions. They are not 

 a breed that would be profitable here, under ordinary circum- 

 stances. 



There was formerly a variety of cattle in Yorkshire called 

 the Yorkshire Brindle, much prized for their milking properties. 

 From some of the remnant of this variety that I have seen in 

 England, they may be said to differ considerably from the Short- 

 horns. Their color is widely different, being, as their name 

 indicates, brindled, while the ordinary Yorkshire, as well as 

 Short-horns in general, are either roan, or red and white; the 

 head is generally shorter and broader, with longer and more 

 upright horns. From descriptions of cattle imported into Vir- 

 ginia in the latter part of the last century, and subsequently 

 transferred to Kentucky, it seems probable that some of them 

 were of the Yorkshire brindle breed. 



The Leicester or Long-horned breed is one of great antiquity, 

 being generally considered indigenous to Britain and Ireland. 

 It appears to have occupied, originally, the lower and more 

 fertile portions of the country, while the hilly or mountainous 

 districts were possessed by a smaller race, better fitted for scanty 

 fare and exposure. The Long-horn cows of both England and 

 Ireland have always had the reputation of being good milkers, 

 except the variety originated by Bakewell, in which the fatten- 

 ing propensity was cultivated without regard to milk. They 

 are of rather large size, ranking next to the Short-horns in 

 bulk of frame, but do not generally fatten to as great weights 

 as the Ilerefords. They are not as extensively kept in England 

 and Ireland as formerly, having given way, in the beef-making 

 districts, to breeds of earlier maturity; but in some of the dairy 



