154 CATTLE ENGLISH WHITE POLLS 



blood came the rough poll, a greater breadth of forehead, 

 low set ears, black spots on the skin of the neck and 

 shoulders and legs, sometimes black teats, and in a few 

 instances considerable sheets of black skin over the back, 

 growing white hair. Fresh, though nearly related, blood has 

 been imported by exchange from time to time from the 

 Blickling Herd, as in 1888 ; and a bull was got on loan for a 

 few months from R. E. Lofft in 1889; but, owing to the 

 increasing difficulty of securing a satisfactory change of 

 blood, a white Shorthorn was again used towards the end of 

 last century, with satisfactory results as regards size and 

 constitution, but to the detriment of the colour-markings, 

 which have lost uniformity of type. At the time of the 

 writer's visit in the spring of 1905, the herd consisted of 

 14 cows, 6 heifers, and 3 bulls massive, well-built animals of 

 the general-purpose type. Only two cows remain which have 

 not more or less of the recent importation of Shorthorn 

 blood. Four cows have red points, and all of that colour have 

 correlated white teats. A number have little colour-marking, 

 which has decreased in area under the Shorthorn influence. 

 The cows breed regularly and are fair milkers, considering the 

 nature of their pasture, which is light and of second quality. 

 One cow in 1906 gave up to 45 Ibs. of milk daily before going 

 to grass. Farmers bring cows to the white bull, and a good 

 many white polled half-bred cattle, greatly appreciated by 

 butchers, are to be seen in the neighbourhood. A 3 J year old 

 bullock, weighing 910 Ibs., fetched 25 in March 1907. 



In May 1895 the Stanton Herd of twenty-five White 

 Polled cattle, owned by Robert Emlyn Lofft 1 of Troston 

 Hall, was dispersed at auction by John Thornton & Company, 

 and realised 341 J guineas. In an interesting historical notice 

 in the sale catalogue, under the title of "The Monks' Cattle," 2 



1 His old "Thompson" cow bred always true to type "White Polled 

 with red ears," even when crossed with a Shorthorn bull ; but this rule did 

 not hold good with other families in the herd. 



2 This note was kindly supplied by J. M. Webb, 7 Princes Street, 

 Hanover Square, W. : "The field known as Haberdon, in Bury St 

 Edmunds, was held in monastic times by the singular tenure that the 

 tenant should find a white bull as often as it should happen that any 

 gentlewoman should visit the shrine of St Edmund " to make the oblation 

 of the said bull " with a view to secure a favourable answer to her prayers 

 for offspring. On such an occasion the bull was led from the pastures 



