186 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



tary of the Thames, and, on the other two sides by a large double ox- 

 fence, with large elm trees affording shade to the numerous head of 

 cattle grazing there. I have seen nearly 250 head of horned stock and 

 500 sheep and lambs, with 20 mares and foals, grazing in this one field, 

 and all getting fat. It is jocosely said that 'the cattle are turned into 

 the field in May and by the time they have walked around the in- 

 closure they come out fit for the butcher. The old mansion had for- 

 merly been a monastery, and the estate belongs to the Lord de Clifford, 

 in whose family it has been for some centuries, and it is stated that 

 Rosamond de Clifford, " Fair Kosamond," was born there. Nothing can 

 exceed the rich pastoral beauty of this district. From the upper ground 

 the eye wanders over the far-famed vale of Aylefcbury, the old town, 

 the " JEgelsbireg " of the Saxons, standing in the midst the rich past- 

 ures of Whitechurch ; Quarrendon, with its ruined chapel of the fifteenth 

 century; and Fleet Marston, in which parish is Putlowes, formerly men- 

 tioned as the rival of Creslow as a feeding pasture, and a rare tract of 

 grass land stretching away for more than 15 miles along the valley of 

 the Thames. 



Sir Brandreth Gibbs, in his " History of the Smithfield Club/ 7 men- 

 tions an incident of some interest in 1825. There was a sweepstakes 

 between three Herefords belonging to the Duke of Bedford and three 

 Durhams belonging to the right honorable Charles Arbuthnot, which 

 was won by the Herefords. 



Mr. Duckham says that from the establishment of the Smithfield Club 

 in 1709 to 1851 all the different breeds and cross-breeds were shown 

 together, but since that time they have been exhibited in distinct classes, 

 And, as far as can be learned, during the time they were shown together 

 the Hereford oxen and steers won 185 prizes ; the Shorthorns, 82 ; the 

 Devous, 44; the Scotch, 43; the Sussex, 9; the Longhorns, 4, and the 

 cross-breeds, 8 ; thus showing that the whole of the prizes won by all the 

 other breeds and crosses in the Kingdom were 190, or only 5 in excess 

 of the number registered by the Herefords alone. 



Mr. Discau says that during fifty-three years to 1851 the Shorthorns 

 by their females made up considerably to the total of the Herefords, 

 as they numbered 174 prizes to the Herefords 207. 



It is interesting to know how the Herefords have retained their former 

 renown, by their comparatively youthful prowess at the present day. 

 We find that Mr. Heath showed his gray beast at Birmingham, winning 

 first honors, with a girth of 9 feet 7 inches ; and his Hereford cow at 

 three years and ten months measured 9 feet in girth. Mr. Shirley's 

 gold-medal steer at two years and seven months girthed 8 feet 7 inches. 

 And he averred that up to seventeen months old he had had only an 

 ordinary calf and stock treatment. It will therefore be seen that the 

 breed is not only not deteriorating but is likely to maintain its position 

 against all competitors. 



THE HEIIEFOBDS AS DAIRY CATTLE. 



of the feeding qualities of these animals, I must 

 now allude to their milking properties. Generally they are not con- 

 sidered such good " fill-pails" as their rivals the Shorthorns or Aryshires, 

 nor such butter producers as the Channel Islands breeds, yet their 

 butter-making qualities are of a high order. I quote from Mr. Duck- 

 ham, who says Mr. Head, of Elkstone, finds the Herefords retain their 

 general aptitude to fatten, and that in the team they are excellent and 



