60 A FARMER'S YEAR 



Melton Constable Herd 



Davy 87th. . . . 8, 7 14^ Ibs. weight of milk. 

 May Queen . . . 



Necton Hall Herd 



Rosina 3rd . 7,472 Ibs. weight of milk. 



Sheba 3rd . . . . 7,177 ,, ,, ,, 



Rendlesham Herd 



Fresh Fuss . . . 9, 296 \ Ibs. weight of milk. 

 Sweet Pear 2nd . . . 8,339 > 



Tring Park Herd > 



Elmham Rosebud Qth . 10,159 Ibs. weight of milk. 

 Moth .... 10,210 ,, 



I might quote from other herds, especially the noted one of 

 Mr. Colman, but the above are sufficient for my purpose. 



I cannot find in Stephens' * Book of the Farm,' or elsewhere, a 

 comparative table of the milk-producing powers of different breeds 

 of cows, but I doubt whether any breed, except perhaps the Short- 

 horn, will show very much better returns than those quoted above. 

 It must be remembered, however, that these are the picked cows 

 of picked herds, and that the majority even of pedigree red-polls 

 give a much inferior yield. 



The points of the first-class red-poll as defined in the ' Herd- 

 Book ' are : That it must be of a deep red hue, white being allowed 

 only on the tip of the tail. The nose must not be dark-coloured. 

 The throat and head must be finely modelled, the eye full, and 

 a tuft of hair should hang over the forehead. There must be no 

 trace of horns, developed or undeveloped, but the frontal bones 

 should contract into a narrow peak at the summit of the head. 



January 12. The weather for the last three days has been 

 damp, mild, and misty. On the farm we have been ploughing and 



1 In this herd thirty-seven cows gave an average of 6,939 Ibs. and 

 a fraction per cow. But then they are owned by a Rothschild, so doubtless 

 much is expected of them. 



