36 Lincolnshire Red Sliortliorns. 



bull Hercules, who was used in the herd for nine seasons and 

 proved a most famous sire, as was his son Hyllus. The Messrs. 

 Burtt also stand out for special mention, and their " Old 

 Welbourne Reds " have had much influence on the ijuality of 

 stock in the middle and south of the county. 



These and many other men were working for the improve- 

 ment of the breed, and whilst a great measure of success 

 attended their efforts, and there was, no doubt, considerable 

 agreement as to what type was wanted, it was felt that the 

 special qualities of the Lincolnshire Shorthorn should be 

 recognised. It is true that there was already a herd-book for 

 which certain herds were eligible, but the majority of breeders 

 were excluded. The long association of the red cattle with 

 the county had given them an individuality of their own, 

 and the desire of the Lincolnshii'e farmers for their own 

 breed society and herd-book took definite shape in 1895, 

 when the Lincolnshire Red Shorthorn Association was 

 formed. 



The admirers of the Lincoln Reds claim that, on account 

 of their hardiness and thriftiness, and their ability to come 

 to early maturity and fatten quickly and cheaply, they are 

 an ideal tenant farmers' cattle. For a hundred years or 

 more they have been wintered in fold yards with little or no 

 shelter, fed on barley straw and a few turnips, and exposed to 

 the coldest of winds and the wettest of weather. It is little 

 wonder, then, that the weakest have been weeded out with 

 marvellous certainty. They have been turned out to get their 

 own living about the middle of April, having to face the biting 

 East winds from the North Sea, and any delicacy in cow 

 or calf was quickly discovered. Ponds have for the most 

 part provide{l their drink during the hot summer months. 

 And the result ? All the material on which to build up an 

 ideal dual-purpose cattle, for they are founded on the best of 

 Shorthorn blood, and although not registered, they have been 

 just as carefully l)red as if they had been. It only wanted the 

 formation of a breed society, and more extensive and keener 

 competition in the show ring, to eliminate their bad points and 

 enhance their good ones. As the writer remembers them, some 

 twenty-five years ago just before the breed association was 

 formed, thej' were a cattle of great scale, with a considerable 

 wealth of lean flesh and very little waste ; and with all the 

 hardiness, thriftiness, and ability to come to earlj- maturity 

 previously mentioned. But they were still too much on the 

 leg, uneven on the top, faulty behind the shoulders, and a 

 man could hang his hat on their tails. They are a very 

 different cattle to-day, retaining all the good qualities that 

 have made them famoiis, while being much more perfect in 



