FARMERS' REGISTER— COMPARATIVE VIEW OF DIFFERENT BREEDS. 205 



Btock at the time of copulation, the heahh of the 

 cow durhig the period of gestation, and the man- 

 agement of the calf during its growth, must all 

 have an influence upon the future condition of the 

 animal; and there are, doubtless, other hidden 

 causes which have either escaped the observation, 

 or are beyond the control of man. Experience 

 has indeed proved, that although comparative ex- 

 periments to ascertain the relative value of cattle 

 are not to be slighted, yet that they are often con- 

 tradictory; and, therefore, that the result is not 

 always entitled to implicit faith. 



In drawnig a comparison between the Galloway 

 and other most approved breeds, the surveyor of 

 tliat district, ahhough acknowledging their inferi- 

 ority in respect of weight, yet maintains, that in 

 many other of the most valuable (jualities they do 

 not come far short of any; and in the essential pro- 

 perty of a tendency to thrive and fatten, the cor- 

 rectness of that opinion must be admitted; but it 

 cannoi; be so readily conceded, as he asserts, "that 

 when the merits of cattle come to be appreciated 

 on just grounds, and tlie influence of quackish arts 

 is at an end, many breeds which are now the most 

 fashionable, will cease to attract attention; and the 

 Devons and Xyloes will then, in cdl probabiUty, be 

 the only ones with which the Galloways will have 

 to contend for pre-eminence."* 



In support of this opinion, the surveyor has pro- 

 duced a table of the relative proportions between 

 a Galloway cow and two acknowledged, as he 

 6a}'s, to be the very best of the long and short- 

 horned breeds, in all those points which are con- 

 sidered to be of the greatest importance: from an 

 examination of which the preponderance would 

 appear to be in lavor of the former. Perhaps he 

 attaches too much weight to these comparisons, tor 

 it is not in form alone that value entirely consists: 

 manj' beautiful cattle are deficient in constitution; 

 and others, though very plain, possess great apti- 

 tude to fatten, and are superior milkers. But the 

 table merits attention, apart ii-om any comparison, 

 as it displays, at one view, the proportions ol chosen 

 animals of three dilTerent breeds, and therelbre, it 

 is presumed, cannot fail to interest the reader. 



The late Mr. Bakewell made many comparisons 

 between ditferent breeds of cattle, and it is much 

 to be regretted that the observations of so acute 

 and intelligent a man, and one so deeply versed in 

 the subject, should be lost to the public; but he was 

 singularly incommunicative; and there is little fur- 

 ther known of his experiments, than that he put 

 up three new milched cows, in separate stalls — a 

 short-horned, a Scotch, and one of his own breed — 

 and the result was, that the short-horned ate most 

 food, and gave n\uch the greatest quantity of milk; 

 the Scotch ate less food, and gave less milk, but 

 produced most butter; and the Dishley ate least 

 food, gave the least milk, and made the least but- 

 ter, but laid on the most flesh; whence it would 

 appear, that the Kjioe cows are superior to the 

 other two for the dairy-man, and the long-horned 

 cows for the grazier; but this is by no means deci- 

 sive of the relaiive value ot" the oxen. 



The relative estimation of the flesh of the prin- 

 cipal breeds at Smithfield market, and the average 

 difference in price for the best qualities of each, 

 in January 1833, are as follows: — 



• Agricultural Survey of Galloway, p. 245. 



Scotch oxen, . . , 



Leicester, Hereford, ( . n .„ ,1, aa j:..« 



and fine short-horns 1 4 to 4s. 4d. ditto 



Lincoln short-honis, 3 10 ditto 



s. d. 



4 8 per stone of 8 lbs. to sink the offal, 

 ditto 

 ditto 



Coarse inferior beasts, 3 6 



ditto 



ditto 



That consideration, which this iinportant sub- 

 ject requires, has of late years been amply be- 

 stowed upon the improvement of British cattle; 

 and beside the respectable breeder already men- 

 tioned, the labors of the late and present Dukes of 

 Bedlbrd, the Marquess of Exeter, the Earl of 

 Egremont and Viscount Althorpe, of the late Mr. 

 Fowler, Lord Somcrville, and Mr. Westcar, of the 

 Messieurs Colling, Culley, and Kitelee, Mr. Prin- 

 cep, Mr. Moson, 'of Chilton, Mr. Ashle.y, and Mr. 

 Coke, of Norfolk', as well as of many other noble- 

 men and gentlemen who have recently applied 

 themselves to agriculture, and whose exertions, . 

 both as amateurs and professionally, claim the 

 gratitude and good wishes of every real friend to 

 his country — the various excellent societies estab- 

 lished in many parts of Great Britain for the pro- 

 motion of this public spirited purpose, have mainly 

 contributed to the high stote of perfection which 

 this important branch of rural science has attained. 



It has been hinted, when discussing the subject 

 of buying cattle, that it will be advisable to select 

 them, either from stock feeding in the neighbor- 

 hood, or from those sorts which are best calcu- 

 lated for the nature and situation of the soil. Thiti 

 remark should be constantly kept in view, with re- 

 gard to the breeding of cattle; let, therefore, that 

 breed which is most profitable and best suited to 

 the situation of the farm, first be ascerttiined; and, 

 having succeeded in this desirable object, let it be 

 the breeder's study to improve that sort to the ut- 

 most, by selecting and breeding from those which 

 to beauty of form unite the more essential quali- 

 ties of possessing kindly skins, and of weighing 

 most in the valuable parts, together with a dispo- 

 sition to lay fat on the best points, as well as to 

 fatten in a short period of time. 



Before we conclude this subject, it may not be 

 amiss to notice the neat cattle reared in the sister 

 island. Few countries are, perhaps, so well adapt- 

 ed for the breeding of cattle of every description; 

 and it is in consequence of this peculiar felicity of 

 soil and situation, that our fleets are supplied with 

 the immense quantities of prime beef necessary 

 for the support of their crews. 



The breed of Irish cattle, of which many thou- 

 sand carcasses are annually exported, is distin- 

 guished by little variety, exce^jting that which ne- 

 cessarily arises from "the difierence of situation. 

 They are remarkable for strength of constitution; 

 and appear to be a mixed race, between the long- 

 horned breed and the Scotch or Welch cattle. 

 The counties of IMeath, Roscommon, Clare, Li- 

 merick, Cork, andTipperary, are chiefly celebrated 

 for the vast herds which are there annually bred 

 and slaughtered for exportation; and many of the 

 most public-spirited breeders have, of late years, 

 incurred very considerable expense by purchasing 

 prime stock from England for the purpose of im- 

 proving their breeds; a measure that has already 

 been attended with the most beneficial effects, and 

 which will doubtless, in the course of a (aw years, 

 prove a source of great wealth to that island. It, 

 however, cannot be denied that these exertions 

 have not hitherto been sufficiently general to ef- 

 fect any very manifest improvement in the com- 



