82 My Little Farm 



since then have set me thinking of him still more, 

 but we will come to that. Having assured my- 

 self of that calf's progeny, male and female, and 

 of their fertility, I sold her for twenty pounds, at 

 a time when a cow of her kind was worth three 

 to four pounds less than at present. That was 

 " Polly I." 



Her first calf, by a pure shorthorn, was all red, 

 and a beauty, but again without horns. I sold 

 him at a handsome price for breeding to Mr. Byrne, 

 of Bakan, who had Togo, and his people have been 

 wanting another of them ever since. They say 

 that the produce of the " little red bull " was the 

 best they ever had. They called him " little " 

 because he had short legs, and was not built for 

 racing before cur dogs like the cur bulls that are 

 ruining the cattle of Connaught while the Depart- 

 ment tries to improve them. Why can the 

 Department not adopt a simple bylaw, that every 

 bull kept in the whole country, with or without 

 a premium, shall pass an inspection ? Without 

 costing a penny but for inspection, it might do 

 more for the cattle than all the other schemes 

 together, and that is much. The bulls could be 

 bought subject to the inspection, and if some 

 were prevented from keeping bulls, that alone 

 would be an advantage. I know five of these cur 

 bulls within a mile, all leggy things, bought at .8 to 

 jio each without any knowledge as to how they 

 are bred. Judging from their calves, their breed 

 must be even worse than their appearance. The 

 people generally prefer them to the pure short- 



