THE DEVONS. 53 



of Leicester, (then the noted Mr. Coke, of Holkham, a distin- 

 guished farmer, and landed proprietor,) as he considered them 

 eminently fitted for grazing on the light sandy soil of his estates. 

 They are now bred in many other counties of England, and 

 are decided favorites on hilly soils, where their lighter weights 

 and activity in movement are better adapted to grazing and 

 labor than the more sluggish cattle of the heavier breeds. 



The most noted breeders of Devon cattle in England, for the 

 past forty years, have been the Davy brothers, Messrs. Quartly, 

 Merson, Childs, Turner, the Duke of Bedford, and some others 

 in the west of England, the Earl of Leicester, and. Mr. Bloom- 

 field, in Norfolk, and among the earliest of the improvers, the 

 Lords Somerville, and "Western. From the herds of all these 

 breeders, noted prize animals have been drawn, and their fame 

 has largely added to the popularity and dissemination of the 

 breed. As an economical animal, the Devon may be classed 

 under three distinct heads, viz.: for the dairy, the yoke and the 

 shambles. 



AS A DAIRY COW, 



The Devon may be called medium, in the quantity of milk she 

 yields, and in its quality, superior. The older, or unimproved 

 race, were somewhat noted for the quantities of milk they pro- 

 duced, as well as its good quality. A gallon of Devon milk 

 yielded more butter than that of almost any other breed, as it 

 does now, except the Alderaey. But their improvers, in the 

 attainment of a finer form, and heavier substance in their ani- 

 mals, perhaps sacrificed somewhat of the quantity of milk, 

 for the more liberal development of flesh, well knowing that 

 both flesh and milk could not thrive equally together in the 

 same animal ; although, when the milk ceased, the flesh came on 

 with due rapidity, under generous feed. Yet, with an eye to 

 breeding her solely for milk, she is well fitted for a dairy cow. 

 Docile in temper, easy of keep, placable in disposition, she is 



