THE BEEF BREEDS OF CATTLE 227 



imported were not high-class specimens, there were among 

 them many of the very best cattle both individually and 

 in breeding to be had in England. From individuals of 

 these importations have been developed families or strains 

 that have become very popular. On the foundation of 

 these importations the American breeder has made a very 

 great improvement in the conformation of the Hereford. 



260. Description. The most distinctive feature of 

 the Hereford to the ordinary observer is his color markings, 

 or the distribution over the body of the red and white 

 colors. The head, including jaws and throat, is white, 

 with white under the neck, down the breast, under the 

 belly and more or less on the legs. The bush of the tail 

 is also white, and there is a white strip on the top of the 

 neck from about the middle thereof to the top of the shoul- 

 ders. The body, sides of the neck, and usually some parts 

 of the legs, are red. The red in different animals varies 

 from very light or yellow-red, as it is termed, to very dark 

 red. An animal is classed in point of color as a light red, 

 a medium red or a dark red. The foregoing is the popu- 

 lar distribution of the colors of the Hereford, yet there is 

 sometimes a considerable variation therefrom in different 

 animals. While as a breed of cattle they are very uniform 

 in conformation and color markings, yet they do not by 

 any means have the same degree of uniformity as the 

 self-colored undomesticated animals. 



The head of the Hereford (Plate VIII) is short, with 

 broad forehead ; the eyes are full and not sunken ; the 

 horns are usually rather strong and of a whitish yellow 

 color, free from black tips, in the best types, and come 

 forward with a more or less drooping tendency ; the 

 neck is short and thick, merging smoothly into the 

 shoulders, free from surplus skin in the under parts; 



