EEPOET OF THE BUEEAU OF ANIMAL IKDUSTEY. 409 



behalf of superior hardiness, this breed has met with a good degree 

 of favor. 



The Devon, early introduced into the country, has always been the 

 favorite with some, and has merit freely conceded by all a beautiful 

 red color, often excellent form, much hardiness and activity, produc- 

 ing beef of fine quality, and yet has never been widely popular. The 

 chief objection has been lack of sufficient size. There is no instance 

 in which any breed of animals chiefly designed for meat production 

 has secured, or .at least retained, wide-spread popularity, unless it 

 was above medium size for its class. In the last few years the Sussex, 

 a breed which in color and in some other characteristics, may be 

 popularly described as larger Devons, have, been imported and bred 

 in small numbers and have attracted much favorable comment, but, 

 as yet, the breed has had no perceptible effect on the cattle of the 

 country. Something like this is also true of the Red Polled breed 

 from Norfolk and Suffolk, England, of which there are one or two 

 thousands in the country, which breed is meeting favor as possessing 

 merit for both beef and milk production, with a popular color and 

 and absence of horns. 



The Ayrshire, a favorite of some dairymen, has never been largely 

 bred in the chief beef -making regions. 



The large black and white cattle of Holland, now known in the 

 United States as Holstein-Friesians, have been largely imported and 

 bred, have won high favor in dairy regions, and have had some 

 influence on the beef production of the country. Often a little coarse 

 in form, the good size and rapid growth of the calves have given the 

 breed favor with a considerable number of farmers who combine 

 dairying with beef -making. 



The Jersey is undoubtedly only second to' the Shorthorn in num- 

 ber in the country, and has been exceedingly popular among butter- 

 making dairymen. Naturally it has made little headway in the great 

 beef-making regions, and cross-bred calves produced by the. use of 

 Jersey bulls in dairy herds have, as a rule, not been kept to maturity. 

 Except that they have not been imported or bred in equally large 

 numbers, the same comment may be made on the Guernseys. 



Of other breeds, so few have been imported that they are objects of 

 curiosity to most cattlemen rather than serious factors in improving 

 or injuring the beef product of the country. 



The Texas cattle should be mentioned, not because of merit, but 

 because of their large numbers, striking peculiarities, and marked in- 

 fluence on the beef product of the country, especially in former years. 

 The descendants of the Spanish cattle brought to the West Indies 

 and Mexico, they bred in enormous numbers on the plains of Texas, 

 retaining many of their characteristics, but becoming lighter in body 

 and flesh, longer and fleeter of limb, wider in spread of horn, wilder 

 in disposition, and slower in coming to maturity. When well fat- 

 tened their flesh was of good quality, but they were unprofitable ex- 

 cept under such conditions as produced the breed. Of recent years 

 large numbers of bulls of the improved breeds have been used in Texas 

 and other southwestern districts, and the quality of the cattle has 

 been perceptibly improved. The typical Texas steer will probably 

 become a thing of the past within a lew years. 



The influence ^of cattle of improved blood has been very great, but 

 the large majority of the cattle are yet chiefly of common or unim- 

 proved blood. There is no means of determining exact percentage, 

 but it is believed there is no State in which one-half of the cattle can 



