194 



FARMERS' REGISTER— DEVONSHIRE BREED, 



third of the outside, from the tip downwards, red; 

 horns while, with black tips, very fine, and bent 

 upwards.* Some of the bulls liave a tliin upright 

 mane, about an inch and a half or two inches 

 long: the weight of the oxen is from thirty-five to 

 forty-five stone, of fourteen pounds; and that of 

 the cows, from twenty-five to tiurt}'-five stone the 

 four quarters. The beef is finely marbled, and of 

 excellent flavor. 



"From the nature of their pasture, and the fre- 

 quent agitation they are put into, by the curiosity 

 of strangers, it cannot be expected they should get 

 ver}' fat; yet the six years' old oxen are generally 

 very good beef; from whence it may be fairly sup- 

 posed that, in proper situations, they would feed 

 well. 



"At the first appearance of any person they set 

 off at full speed, and gallop to a considerable dis- 

 tance; when they wheel round, and come boldly 

 up again, tossing their heads in a menacing man- 

 ner: on a sudden they make a full stop, at the dis- 

 tance of forty or fiify yards, looking wildly at the 

 object of their surprise, but upon the least motion 

 belnfi- made, they again turn round, and gallop off 

 with equal speed; forming, however, a sliorter cir- 

 cle, and returning with a bolder and more threat 

 ening aspect, they approach much nearer, when 

 they make another stand, and again gallop off. 

 This they do several times, shortening their dis- 

 tance, and advancing nearer till they come within 

 a few yards, when most people thirds it prudent to 

 leave them. 



"The mode of killing them was, perhaps, tlie 

 only modern remains oi the grandeur of ancient 

 hunting. On notice being given that a wild bull 

 tvould be killed upon a certain day, the inhabitants 

 of the neighborhood came in great numbers, both. 



horse and foot; the horsemen rode off the bull from 

 the rest of the herd vmtil he stood at bay, when a 

 marksman dismounted and shot. At some of 

 tliese huntings, twenty or thirty shots have been 

 fired before he was subdued: on such occasions, 

 the bleeding victim grew desperately furious from 

 tlie smarting of his wounds and the shouts of sa- 

 vage joy that were echoing on every side. From 

 tlie number of accidents tfiat happened, this dan- 

 gerous mode has been seldom practised of late 

 years; the park-keeper alone generally shooting 

 them with a rifled gun at one shot. 



"When the cows calve, they hide tfieir calves 

 for a week or ten days in some sequestered situa- 

 tion, and go and suclde them two or three times a 

 day. If any person come near the calves, they 

 clap their heads close to the ground, and lie like a. 

 hare in a form, to hide themselves. This is a proof" 

 of their native wddness, and is corroborated by the 

 following circumstance, that happened to the wri- 

 ter of the narrative, wlio found a hidden calf, two 

 days old, very lean, and very weak; on stroking its 

 head, it got up, pawed two or three times like an 

 old bull, bellowed very loud, retired a few steps, 

 and boltefl at his legs Avith all its force; it then be- 

 gan to paw again, bellowed, stepped back, and 

 bolted as before; but knowing its intention, and 

 stepping aside, it missed him, 1(311, and was so very 

 'veak that it could not rise, though it made several 

 efforts; but it had done enough; the Avhole herd 

 were alarmed, and, coming to its rescue, obliged 

 him to n^tire; for the dams will allow no person to 

 toucfi their calves without attacking them with 

 impetuous ferocity. 



"When any one happens to be wounded, or 

 grown weak or feeble througli age or sickness, the 

 rest of the herd set upon it, and gore it to death." 



II. 77ie Devonshire breed, delineated above, is 

 supposed to have descended directly from the wild 

 race. It is found in its purest state in North Devon; 

 in the agricultural report of which district its pe- 

 culiar qualities are tlius described by the late Mr. 

 Vancouver: — 



"Its head is small, clean, and free from flesh 



* Tfiere is, liowever, a breed of the same cattle, in 

 Yorkshire, which is said to be hornless. See the In- 

 troduction to the work entitled "British Husbandry," 

 in the Farmer's Series of the Library of Useful Knowl- 

 edge . ' 



about the jaws; deer like, light and airy in its 

 countenance; neck long and tliin; throat free from 

 jowl or dewlap; nose and round its eyes of a dark 

 orange color; ears thin and ])ointed, tinged on their 

 inside with the same color that is always found to 

 encircle its eyes; horns thin, and fine to their roots, 

 of a cream color, tipped with black,* gi'owingwith 



* The late Arthur Young, formerly secretary to the 

 Board of Agriculture, describes thorough bred Devons 

 as of a bright red, neck and head small, eye prominent 

 and round it a ring of bright yellow; the nose round, 

 the nostril having the same color; the horn clear and 



