SUCCESSFUL CROSSES 43 



black. The half-bred Chillingham- 'bulls did not throw red 

 markings in their progeny, and though one heifer calf came 

 fourteen years later with red ears all the intermediate 

 parents having had black points even she has bred well- 

 marked calves. The crosses that appeared in 1893 indicated 

 a marked development of constitutional vigour and hardiness. 

 They showed a decided increase in size, and also in the amount 

 and quality of hair, as compared with the pure-bred cattle. 

 The faces were shorter, the foreheads broader, and the horns 

 stronger and more upright. 



A Vaynol Park bull was procured in 1896 to aid in the 

 substitution of " line-breeding " for "in-and-in breeding," and 

 a record of the herd is now kept in three sections (i) the 

 Hamilton-Chillingham, (2) the Hamilton-Vaynol, and (3) the 

 multiple crosses resulting from a combination of the two. 

 Six out of seven of the Vaynol Park crosses in 1904 were 

 properly marked. The progeny of the Vaynol bull is more 

 fleshy than the others heavier behind and lighter in front 

 than the old breed, which had a massive neck and shoulders. 

 They have the reputation, also, of being quieter and of 

 feeding more easily, although their disposition is more 

 treacherous. Two barren heifers of the Vaynol Park cross 

 were killed by a butcher in Hamilton at four and five years 

 old. The beef was said to be the finest that had been seen in 

 his shop for twenty years. This cross has a greater tendency 

 to black spots on the body (both skin and hair) than the rest 

 of the herd, only a few of which have black spots, generally 

 obscured by white hair in winter. In October 1904 only 

 three old cows remained of the original pure breed. The 

 regenerated herd does not get so poor in condition in winter 

 as the intensely in-bred cattle which preceded them, and the 

 cows do not scour so badly on being excited. A crisis in the 

 history of the herd has been got over without any trace of 

 the occurrence of tuberculosis, and the original type, in form 

 and colour markings, is being steadily worked up to. 



There is little doubt that the step taken at Hamilton is 

 one in the right direction, although the practice of killing off 

 the badly- marked calves kept down the total number of the 

 herd for some years. It may take longer again to breed 

 up the true type of the cattle in respect of form than in 

 respect of proper markings, but its achievement can be only 



