STOCK. 275 



to turn from the motley collection of thin-necked, long-legged 

 heifers, as hardly worthy of a moment's attention. But he who 

 deems this part of the exhibition unimportant, or even unattrac- 

 tive, must be indeed unthinking. It is true that more note- 

 worthy specimens of bovine excellence, measured by popular 

 standards, may be found among the other classes named than 

 can be found among the heifers ; but it is mainly among the 

 latter we must look for any assurance of the future improve- 

 ment of our county stock. 



In this belief we visited the pens on the day of exhibition, and 

 found there, awaiting examination, twenty-four heifers, all of 

 which were in our opinion worthy of exhibition. Had the 

 number of premiums at our disposal been eighteen, instead of 

 nine, we should have awarded them all without hesitation, even 

 although some of them might have been awarded for animals 

 not fully up* to the recognized standard of perfection. 



The description given on the entry lists seemed to us, in some 

 instances, objectionable as lacking definiteness. It is the policy 

 of the society to encourage the breeding of pure stock. If, in 

 some cases, premiums may be awarded for grade animals for 

 special uses, as, for instance, to a cross of the Jersey and Ayrshire 

 for dairy purposes only, the precise character of the grade should 

 be known before an award can be understandingly made. The 

 statement of a competitor that his heifer is a " grade," a " grade 

 Jersey," or a " grade Ayrshire," conveys no definite information 

 as to her promise or pedigree. 



Since the word " native " has been discarded from the 

 nomenclature of breeds, the word " grade " has in many cases 

 been made to do duty in its stead. Used by itself, without 

 qualification, it has come to mean any mixture of pure blood, 

 recent or remote, with any other blood, pure or impure, in any 

 proportion, known or unknown. The claims of a heifer so 

 described to consideration in the award of premiums, must, in 

 the nature of the case, be somewhat questionable. When, on 

 the other hand, a heifer is known and entered as a cross of dis- 

 tinct breeds, in specified proportions, the committee have some 

 data from which to calculate the probable value of the result. 



We fear farmers have not as yet all learned that the largest 

 heifer, of a given age, is not necessarily the best. Neither do much 

 fat, large bones or thick muscles indicate special excellence in a 



