NEAT 01? HORNED CATTLE. 281 



chest deep ; bosom broad, and projecting forward ; shoulder- 

 bonr thin, flat, no way protuberant in bone (?), but full and 

 mellow in flesh ; chest full ; loin broad ; hips standing wide, 

 and level with the chine; quarters long, and wide at the 

 neck ; rump even with the level of the back, and not droop- 

 ing, nor standing high and sharp above the quarters ; tail 

 slender and neatly haired ; barrel round and roomy ; the 

 carcase throughout deep and well spread ; ribs broad, stand- 

 ing flat and close on the outer surface, forming a smooth, 

 even barrel, the hindmost large and full of length ; round 

 bone small, snug, and not prominent ; thigh clean, and 

 regularly tapering ; legs upright and short ; bone below the 

 knee and hock small ; feet of middle size ; flank large ; flesh 

 everywhere mellow, soft, and yielding pleasantly to the touch, 

 especially on the chine, the shoulder, and the ribs ; hide 

 mellow, supple, of a middle thickness, and loose on the neck 

 and buckle ; coat neatly haired, bright and silky ; color, a 

 middle red, with a bald face characteristic of the true 

 Herefordshire breed." 



Vouatt further describes them as follows: "They are 

 usually of a darker red ; some of them are brown, and even 

 yellow, and a few are brindled ; but they are principally 

 distinguished by their white faces, throats, and bellies. In a 

 few the white extends to the shoulders. The old Herefords 

 were brown or red-brown, with not a spot of white about 

 them. It is only within the last fifty or sixty years that it 

 has been the fashion to breed for white faces. Whatever 

 may be thought of the change of color, the present breed is 

 certainly far superior to the old one. The hide is considerably 

 thicker than that of the Devon, and the beasts are more 

 hardy. Compared with the Devons, they are shorter in the 

 leg, and also in the carcase ; higher, and broader, and 

 heavier in the chine ; rounder and wider across the hips, and 

 better covered with fat; the thigh fuller and more muscular, 

 and the shoulders larger and coarser. They are not now 

 much used for husbandry, although their form adapts them 

 for the heavier work ; and they have all the honesty and 

 docility of the Devon ox, and greater strength, if not his 

 activity. The Herefordshire ox fattens speedily at a very 

 early age, and it is therefore more advantageous to the farmer, 

 and perhaps to the country, that he should go to market at 

 three years old, than be kept longer as a beast of draught. 

 They are not as good milkers as the Devons. This is so 

 generally acknowledged, that while there are many dairies of 



