Breeding and Rearing of Sussex Stock. 



187 



tion the breed had attained at the SmithfieUl 

 Ckib Shows. The cows were not as a rule good 

 milkers, but that was a secondary considera- 

 tion compared with the production of meat ; 

 and the effect which resulted from paying 

 attention to their quality, combined with their 

 aptitude to fatten, was the production of steers 

 which a little over two years old were worth 

 from ;^2o and ^2^ a-head — a speedy and 

 profitable return all would admit. Scarcely 

 any roots were then grown, and the calves 

 had a little bran and ground oats with chaff, 

 a short time before and after weaning, and 

 were wintered generally on the pastures with 

 some hay daily. Yearlings fared much the 

 same the first winter, but older beasts were 

 yarded on hay and straw as thrashed from the 

 barns once a-day, without any artificial food 

 till they were stalled for fatting. He recol- 

 lected the progeny of some highly-bred short- 

 horns being treated thus with Sussex stock, 

 and they degenerated so much that the trial 

 was abandoned. Compared with the present 

 treatment of stock, it seemed to him that little 

 was done until lately to help Nature, and he 

 ventured to suggest whether the increased 

 cost of feeding resulted in a better return than 

 under the old regime, taking all things into 

 consideration. His practical knowledge of 

 the subject of breeding stock as applied to a 

 distinct and pure breed of stock ceased nearly 

 fifteen years ago, when he sold the herd of 

 Sussex stock on the Bayham Home Farm. 

 This herd was his only for a year, but he had 

 for several years previously been a witness of 

 its rise and progress under his father's care. 



As he had before remarked, the introduc- 

 tion of the railway caused farmers to turn 

 their attention to dairy farming and the supply 

 of milk to the metropolis. This resulted in 

 a cross breed being substituted for the Sussex 

 on the majority of farms. He was not aware 

 that hitherto much attention had been paid 

 to the breed other than to the size and milk- 

 ing properties of the cows, and he could not 

 help thinking, therefore, that landowners and 

 large dairy farmers would do well, and would 

 render great assistance to breeders, by im- 

 porting into the district some pure-bred bulls, 

 by which means the progeny when reared on 



their own farms might possess quality and 

 growth enough to become profitable stock. 



He would throw out one or two sugges- 

 tions, and would remark that having deter- 

 mined upon the breed best fitted for their 

 purposes, it would be well to select one or 

 two cows possessing the approved qualities 

 of the herds, and in order that a family like- 

 ness might be secured, which was a great 

 feature in the rearing of stock, it should be 

 formed gradually by selecting heifers from 

 good dairies, and correcting faults and defi- 

 ciencies by the judicious selection of bulls. 

 Having thus disposed of the breeding, he 

 would next refer to the feeding of cattle. His 

 own practice was to give oil-cake in small 

 quantities while at grass towards the end of 

 the summer, which was increased generally 

 with the improved state of the animal. He 

 gave roots with chaff in addition once a-day 

 when in the yard, with ground corn or pea 

 meal and a little hay likewise, as he was of 

 opinion that the hay assisted Nature in cud- 

 ding, and, therefore, helped forward the fat- 

 tening process. Whilst fully appreciating the 

 great value of roots (such as swedes) in the 

 fattening of cattle, he was almost induced to 

 give up the cultivation of them, because he 

 found it was antagonistic to the cultivation of 

 hops, which was of great importance to 

 farmers in this neighbourhood. The root 

 crops and the hops required attention gene- 

 rally at the same time, and there was such 

 an inclination on the part of labourers to work 

 in the hop-garden that it was impossible, ex- 

 cept at ruinous outlay, to get them to work 

 in the root fields. 



It had, too, become not uncommon for 

 covered buildings to be furnished for the ac- 

 commodation of neat stock. He, however, 

 somewhat questioned their utility, except in 

 the finishing off of stock for the butcher. 

 Young stock should be treated more natur- 

 ally, to secure hardihood and to resist disease. 

 Once shut up they should remain so to the 

 end, as an unexpected change of weather 

 might, when they were turned out on the 

 pastures, lay the seeds of disease fatal to their 

 well-doing. As regarded sheep, he had a few- 

 lambs of the Bayham flock until last year, 



