206 MILCH CATTLE HOLSTEIN OR DUTCH 



other Western fairs, and shipped them when they came into 

 sale condition to supply the English demand. 1 



Although Kyloe and other alien blood has from time to 

 time been introduced among the common cattle in the hands 

 of small crofters, who exercise no special care in breeding, 

 yet the tendency to breed back to the original type is so 

 strong in the Kerry breed that a few excellent specimens can 

 yet be picked out of very common droves at the fairs. This 

 is held to be an evidence of the ancient origin of the breed, 

 which is acknowledged to be connected with the West 

 Highland, the Welsh, and the Devon breeds, and the Wild 

 White Cattle of Britain. The three men who did most in the 

 Kerry country during the latter half of last century to 

 maintain the old standard of quality, and to bring the use of 

 good bulls within reach of their poorer neighbours, were the 

 Knight of Kerry, Glanleam ; Richard Mahony, Dromore 

 Castle ; and the late James Butler, near Waterville. 



Kerries, of both kinds, especially females, cross remark- 

 ably well with other breeds ; with the British flesh-producing 

 breeds for fattening cattle, and with the milking breeds 

 Channel Islands and Ayrshire for dairy cattle. Cross 

 animals, at a little distance, often strongly resemble West 

 Highlanders in the variety of their shades of colouring. This 

 is additional evidence of the common origin of the breeds. 

 The first cross with the Shorthorn is a remarkable butchers' 

 animal the Dexter cross exhibiting greater breadth of 

 shoulder and greater depth through the heart, in proportion 

 to size, than any other British breed. The Straffan Dexter- 

 Shorthorns were bred from first crosses by a Shorthorn bull 

 (page 93). The Red-Polled cross is an excellent general- 

 purpose beast, and the Polled Aberdeen-Angus-Dexter has 

 made a creditable appearance at Smithfield. 



Dutch or so-called " Holstein" Cattle in Great Britain. - 



In the U.S. Consular Reports on Cattle and Dairy Farming, 

 Part II., p. 504, the following list of breeds of Dutch or 

 Netherlands cattle is given, with the relative percentages 

 attached to indicate the popularity or usefulness of the different 

 strains, which, although all good dairy cattle, vary con- 



1 The trade is now carried on by Robertson & Sons, La Mancha, 

 Malahide, Co. Dublin. 



