CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



VARIETIES OR BREEDS. 



The breeds of cattle throughout the United 

 Kingdom vary in different districts, from the 

 small hardy varieties of the Shetland and Orkney 

 Isles, and the north and west Highlands, to the 

 handsome and more bulky breeds of the arable 

 districts. 



Short-horn. 



The Short-horn or Teeswater breed is con- 

 sidered of great value, both for milking and feed- 

 ing. Those of the best strains of blood are 

 large, well proportioned, broad across the loins, 

 chine full, legs short, head small and handsome, 

 neck deep, in keeping with the size of the body, 

 skin thin and mellow, colour generally white or 

 red, or red and white mixed, or roan. The flesh 

 of the Short-horn is thick and close-grained, the 

 lean and fat well intermixed, and retains the 

 juices. From this circumstance, it is in request 

 for victualling ships going on long 'voyages. 



Authorities are at variance with reference to the 

 milking qualities of this breed ; some asserting 

 that, unless the climate and food are very favour- 

 able, they are seldom good milkers, having a 

 greater tendency to produce fat than milk ; others, 

 again, maintaining that any deficiency in their 

 milking capabilities arises not from the peculiari- 

 ties of the breed, but from the neglect of breeders 

 to develop the property of giving milk, their atten- 

 tion being chiefly bestowed on the development of 

 flesh and fat The dairies in London and the 

 neighbourhood of the metropolis are generally 

 occupied with cows of this breed, or of crosses of 

 the Short-horn. As grazing-cattle, they stand first 

 in point of value. Their ' aptitude to fatten,' says 

 a writer in the Cyclopedia of Agriculture, ' and 

 the amazing weight and maturity of carcass to 

 which they attain while their age is only reckoned 

 by months ; their symmetrical form, rich colour, 

 and quiet temper,' have ' secured to them the pre- 

 eminence over all other cattle. So thoroughly, 

 indeed, do they meet the requirements of our 

 arable husbandry in its highest modes, that we may 

 warrantably expect, at no distant day, to find them 

 recognised as the one appropriate breed of the low- 

 lands of the kingdom.' Animals of this breed 

 generally realise high prices. 



The following is the result of four auction sales 

 during the past year (1872) : 



Highcit Lowest 

 price. price. 

 Guinea:. Guineai. 



I2OO 

 1650 

 000 

 55 



40 



3 

 30 

 40 



Arcrage. 



. d. 

 242 18 9 

 253 8 

 iS3 * . 

 195 18 7 



Earl of Dunmore (selection) 54 



Messrs Harward and Downing. .61 



E . Bawley ( selection) 30 



T. E. Pawlett (deceased) 40 



At Lord Dunmore's sale, three Oxford heifers 

 realised 3070 guineas. Extreme prices may be a 

 source of speculation, but it is difficult to estimate 

 the value of cows when their bull-calves sell readily 

 for a thousand and twelve hundred guineas each, 

 and a three-year-old bull realises .1732, lew. ; or 

 when yearling bulls are let from two to three 

 guineas each for the season. Equally high prices 

 are obtained in Canada and the United States ; 

 indeed, not fewer than 26 animals of fashionable 

 blood, as well as two young bulls of Booth blood, 

 sent over by Mr Cochrane of Canada, have been 

 imported to this country, within the last twelve or 



626 



fifteen months, by the Earl of Dunmore and Mr 

 Cheney. 



The Herefords are to be found in perfection in 

 the county from which the name is derived. They 

 are of large size, with round cylindrical forms ; the 

 back and quarters broad ; the head of moderate 

 size ; muzzle, broad ; eye, large, prominent, and 

 placid ; horns of medium length, spreading out- 

 ward and forward, with the points upward. The 

 colour of the skin is almost uniformly deep red, 

 with face white, and a white patch on the shoulder. 

 Sometimes they have the ridge white, with belly 

 and legs of corresponding colour. There is a strain 

 of blood in which the animals are nearly white, 

 with brown spots. For the dairy, the Hereford is 

 the least productive of all the English breeds. 

 The secretion of milk is at no time great, and the 

 period of lactation is short. The cows generally 

 suckle the calves, nearly the whole of which are 

 reared. As animals for labour, the Herefords are 

 admirably adapted, from their great weight in the 

 yoke, their quick step, and their generally healthy 

 constitutions, enabling them to undergo consider- 

 able fatigue. They are now little used for field- 

 work ; it is for their value as grazers that the 

 Herefords are prized. When well kept, they are 

 ready for the butcher at two and a half years, but 

 are not generally slaughtered till they reach three 

 to four years. The flesh is evenly laid on, and 

 on the best parts, giving less coarse meat than 

 perhaps any other breed. The flesh is highly 

 esteemed; but when fully fattened, there is an 

 excess of fat. Oxen of this breed always appear 

 to great advantage at the Christmas fat shows. 

 The Hereford has been long deemed the rival of 

 the Short-horn, and, in the county of Hereford, is 

 asserted to be superior. 



The Devons occupy the third place in the 

 English agricultural prize-lists. They are smaller 

 and more delicate in structure than the Here- 

 ford. When reared on the richer lands of Somer- 

 setshire, the size is considerably increased. Speci- 

 mens are met with nearly as large as Herefords. 

 Their form is symmetrical ; the head, small ; the 

 eye, clear and placid ; the horns are finely tapered, 

 spread out and upward ; the horn is longer than in 

 the Hereford. The colour of the Devon is deep 

 red, without any white marking. As dairy-stock, 

 they occupy a medium place, the milk being rather 

 rich than abundant. There are dairies of Devons 

 containing about loo cows, which are stated to 

 yield a large return of dairy-produce. As oxen 

 for labour, the Devons are much prized ; hardy, 

 active, and quick steppers, they perform nearly as 

 much work as ordinary farm-horses : the want of 

 weight, however, operates against their working in 

 pairs. As beef-producers, they are inferior to the 

 Hereford ; the quality of the meat is indeed supe- 

 rior, but it is unequal. This is a general complaint 

 against the Devon in the London dead-market 



The Sussex breed is somewhat similar in form, 

 and identical in colour with the Devon ; it stands 

 higher, and is less symmetrical. It is inferior for 

 the dairy, but nearly equals the Devon for labour. 

 It is long in arriving at maturity ; but when 

 fattened, the beef is of good quality. As a breed, 

 it is not equal to the Devon. 



The Suffolk and Norfolk polled breed is sup- 

 posed to be descended from the polled Galloway. 

 They are of medium size, somewhat deficient in 

 symmetry, but are roomy and wide-set. The 



