166 THE CATTLE OP GREAT BRITAIN. 



nose; this muzzle was simply a head stall, the nose piece of 

 which was a broad band armed with sharp spikes, the object of 

 which was to set the cow kicking whenever it attempted to 

 suck, and therefore defeat its object; at milking times the 

 muzzle was removed, and the milkmaid and calf started on 

 equal terms. When the milk became exhausted before the 

 appetite of the caK was appeased, it became rampageous, and 

 not unfrequently charged and overthrew the milkmaid and her 

 pail. The cows and their calves were never separated, and 

 except in cases where the means of restraint were used which 

 we have related, they had free access to their dams at all seasons. 

 Every practical man well knows the deteriorating effects such 

 treatment would produce on the most prolific milker. 



When regularly milked in the usual way we find them little 

 inferior to many of the other established breeds, and the milk is 

 invariably rich in butter. It has been noticed in highly 

 cultivated cattle that the calf's sucking the dam prevents the 

 latter becoming again in calf ; whereas in animals less improved, 

 it appears to exercise but little effect, as the G-alloways as a rule 

 were regular breeders. 



In former days, cattle of all ages were generally wintered in 

 the fields. They received a foddering of rough hay or straw 

 twice a day. During the winter months they made little 

 progress ; as the season of grass advanced they grew and 

 improved rapidly. Within the last thirty years the entire 

 system has undergone transformation as if by the wand of the 

 magician ; the improvement and reclamation of large tracts of 

 waste lands, the extended growth of root crops and of the 

 cultivated grasses, led to the introduction of the Ayrshire breed 

 of dairy cattle and the feeding of cross-breed sheep in large 

 numbers, which tended for a time to lessen the number of the 

 indigenous race of polls. 



The establishment of a herd book in which is faithfully 

 recorded the ancestral genealogy of the race, has tended greatly 

 to improve the breed and attract public attention to their 

 superior merits. The cattle kings and great ranche owners of 

 the Far West are recognising the value of the male for the 

 purpose of crossing or grading the native races, their fine con- 

 stitutions and hardy nature are well adapted to withstand 



