2S0 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



denomination as the Devons, viz., the ' middle- 

 horn' tribe of cattle : they are considered to be 

 an aborii?inal breed, and descended from the same 

 stock as the Devons. Little is known respecting 

 their orif^in, further than that for many generations 

 they can be traced as the peculiar breed of the 

 county from whence they take their name. Yet a 

 few years since they were not of the same uniform 

 appearance of colour as now, there having been 

 some herds self-coloured like the Devon and Sussex 

 breeds, and opinions have been published that this 

 was their original character. Subsequently we find 

 the grey, the mottled, and the white-faced, each 

 with their distinct admirers and their successful 

 breeders. This sub-division of a race of animals 

 (it may be readily imagined) would occur from the 

 use of a self-coloured bull with a white-faced cow, 

 or the reverse ; but that the race was originally red 

 with a white face, is clearly indicated by the almost 

 perfect uniformity of colour which the breed of the 

 county now presents. The Hereford cattle have 

 hitherto been held in high estimation for the 

 j-apidity with which they feed and the quality of 

 their flesh, together with the working powers of 

 the oxen, which display the activity of the Devon 

 combined with the strength of the Dui-ham. 



"The calves usually run with their dams iu a 

 natural state— a rude state of things which the 

 breeders ought to alter, as its present effect is to 

 depreciate the value of the whole race. In this 

 thickly populated kingdom it is necessary that 



both milk and flesh be produced. "We hope to be 

 excused for making this allusion, particularly as 

 we are aware that not only can these cattle be 

 greatly improved by cultivation, but that their milk 

 is of a superior qualitj', and yields a return equal 

 to that of any other breed possessing similar pre- 

 tensions to flesh. 



"Among the earliest breeders of celebrity, of 

 whom anything is known, the names of Tully, Yeo- 

 man, Skyrenc, Williams, and Weyman, may be 

 mentioned as some of the most successful. Sub- 

 sequently those of Tomkins, Price, Hayton, Jones, 

 Hewer, Jeffries, Knight, and Smithies. These, 

 too, have passed away; and in our present day we 

 see recorded in the Society's Journals an increasing 

 number of competitors from different parts of the 

 kingdom. This proves that the value of the breed 

 is becoming more appreciated. A few years since 

 they were almost exclusively in the hands of the 

 tenant farmers of their native county; they now 

 form the principal breed of the counties of Mon- 

 mouth, Radnor, Brecon, Salop, and parts of the coun- 

 ties of Gloucester, Worcester, Warwick, Stafford. 

 Wilts, Herts, Dorset, Somerset, and Cornwall. There 

 are also some good herds in North 'Vales and 

 Scotland, for which districts their hardiness of 

 constitution, thick but mellow hides, wavy, soft, 

 and moderately long hair, render them peculiarly 

 adapted. Recently a considerable number have 

 been exported to America and the Australian 

 colonies, where they are rapidly gaining favour." 



COTHERSTONE; a Thorough-bred Stallion, 



THE PROPERTY OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL SPENCER. 



Cotherstone, bred l)y Mr. Bowes in 1840, is by | 

 Touchstone out of Emma, by Whisker, her dam 

 Gibside Fairy by Hermes — Vicissitude by -Pipator — 

 Beatrice by Sir Peter. 



Touchstone, by Camel out of Banter by Master 

 Henry, has long been famous as the most success- 

 ful stallion of the day. His box at Eaton was one 

 of the local attractions of the recent Agricpltural 

 Meeting at Chester, where the old horse was to be 

 Been still fresh and well, 



Emma, foaled in 1824, has been almost equally 

 renowned in the stud. She was the dam of Mundig 

 and Cotherstone, two Derby winners, as well as of 

 Trustee, Mickle Fell, Trustee, Black Beck, and 

 others. Emma died in the autumn of 1852. 



Cotherstone was a magnificent horse when in 

 work ; in fact, we never saw a Derby winner show 

 more power and substance. He left the Turf in 

 his fourth year, and was at once purchased by the 



late Lord Spencer, and taken to Althorp, where he 

 has since continued. His stock first came out in 

 1848, and he is the sire of some very good winners. 

 His portrait, however, is more especially present- 

 able here as being the sire of the best thorough- 

 bred hunting stallion entered at the last meeting of 

 the Royal Agricultural Society. Curiously enough, 

 the Chester Show addeS yet further to Touchstone's 

 honours, as thestallion the judges selected was Spen- 

 cer by Cotherstone,and Cotherstone by Touchstone. 

 The priz ■ horse, although a very neat one, has by no 

 means the size or substance of either his sire or 

 grandsirc. It would have been a great thing to 

 have had either of them on the Roodee at such a 

 time. 



Cotherstone's companion in the print is Mr. 

 Wilson, the stud groom at Althorp. We refer the 

 reader for any further particulars to our List of 

 Stallions for the season in the present number. 



