14 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



DEVONS. 



THESE beautiful cattle date hack to great antiquity; in fact, there is no well estab 

 lished breed in this country or England that dates back so far. It is claimed by 

 some writers that they were known in England at the time of the Roman invasion. 

 Be this as it may, their origin is involved in obscurity, and the blood of no other known breed 

 can be traced in them. They are of beautiful form and color, admirably adapted to hilly 

 countries and scant pasturage, as well as combining the three distinctive qualities of milk- 

 production, beef, and labor. The chief objection to them seems to be in -their small size. In 

 the latter respect different families vary considerably. Those of the southern part of the 

 county from which the breed derives its name are large in size, and their bones and muscles 

 of coarser texture than those of the northern portion, while their aptitude to fatten is less, 

 although they possess superior milking qualities. 



The portion of this country in which this breed is most numerous, is perhaps New 

 England and some of the middle States, although it is quite extensively disseminated in 

 some of the Western and Southern States. In a special article written expressly for this 

 work, Hon. J. Buckingham of Ohio says: 



&quot; In all his points the Devon is the finest formed and most blood-like of cattle. He is 

 to his congeners what the Arabian is to other horses. 



Goodale defines the difference between a race and breed as follows : Races are varieties 

 moulded to their peculiar type by natural causes, with no interference of man, and no 

 intermixture of other varieties ; that have continued substantially the same for a period 

 beyond which the memory and knowledge of man does not reach. Such are the North 

 Devon Cattle. 



By breeds are understood such varieties as were originally produced by a cross or 

 mixture, and subsequently established by selecting for breeding purposes only the best 

 specimens and rejecting all others. In process of time deviations become less frequent, and 

 greater uniformity was secured, and this is in proportion to the time which elapses, and the 

 skill employed. 



Writers on cattle divide them into three varieties; the Short-Horn, originally found in 

 northern and eastern counties of England; the Middle-Horns in the western and southern 

 parts, and the Long-Horned in the midland counties, and in Ireland; all agreeing that the 

 Middle-Horned, of which the Devons form one variety, are descendants of the aboriginal 

 breed of Great Britain. 



The North Devons (commonly called Devons) are a race of cattle indigenous to the 

 county in England from whence they take their name, where from time immemorial they 

 have reigned alone, admired for their beautiful red coats, elegant form, good disposition, 

 active gait, and also for their strong vitality, as is shown in their power of reproducing their 

 own form, color, and general characteristics in their progeny or their grades. The country 

 and climate had much to do in the muscular development and constitutional vigor, which 

 are so naturally fixed and perfected that crossing with any other breed would be more likely 

 to injure them than improve them. 



Originating centuries ago, when the wild grasses afforded them scant feed, it necessi 

 tated continued exercise in hunting for and gathering their subsistence. 



By such natural exercise continued through many generations, the muscles of the breed 

 have been developed and rendered compact, and their bones solidified, till each bears a due 

 proportion to the other, and both to the size of the body in all its parts, producing a form of 

 the most beautiful symmetry. 



The bulls, on an average, weigh from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds, though when transferred 



