362 THE IRISH CATTLE INDUSTRY. 



" Nevertheless, the cultivation of the pure dairy breed of the Kerry 

 mountains ought not to be neglected by individuals or public associations. 

 The breed is yet the best that is reared over a large extent of country, from 

 its adaptation to the existing state of agriculture and to the humid mountains 

 and bogs in which it is naturalized. Were it to be reared with care in a good 

 district, the form would be gradually more developed, and the Kerry breed 

 might then bear the same relation to the mountain breeds of Ireland that the 

 Castle Martin does to those of Wales, or the West Highland to those of the 

 North of Scotland."* 



Kerry cows bear a strong resemblance to the Channel Island cattle in 



general formation, having a hard, clean-cut head, thm 



The Kerry Breed of muscular neck, oblique shoulders, narrow crops, and 



the Present Day. long, thin thighs. Wherever care has been bestowed 



in a selection and breeding, the udder of the Kerry 



cow is nicely shaped and the teats well set, indicating great milking capacity, 



and giving her a right to be termed a typical dairy animal. As a dairy 



breed Kerries have, no doubt, suffered to some extent from the stringent 



colour rules as drawn up by breeders and observed by inspectors while 



admitting foundation stock for the Herd Book. Under these rules white 



markings on any part of the body other than a small amount on the udders 



are sufficient to destroy an animal's chance of being accepted as bemg 



eligible for registration. 



It may justly be questioned if such stringent rules regarding the colour 

 of a breed of cattle, justly valuable as dairy animals, can have any real 

 practical value, while their observance must, in many cases, debar what m 

 other respects may be typical animals, simply because a few white hairs may 

 appear, as they often do, on some other part of the underline beyond the 

 udder. For her size and the quantity of food she consumes, the Kerry cow 

 holds a high position as a dairy animal. In full profit she gives from three 

 and a half to four gallons of rich milk per day, while she will thrive and milk 

 well upon a poor pasture which would be utterly unfit to maintain animals 

 of the so-called improved breeds. Although the Kerry cannot be termed 

 a beef breed the quality of meat of a well-fed animal is exceptionally good, 

 being fine in the grain, the fat and the flesh well mixed, and without that 

 > objectionable yellow colour of fat peculiar to Channel Island cattle. 



No one interested in cattle could fail to appreciate the many good and 

 striking points of an average specimen of the Dexter 

 The breed. There have been many theories regarding the 



Dexter Breed. origin of this breed, but nothing definite can be said 

 on the subject. That these cattle owe their diminu- 

 tive size and great " prepotency" to in-breeding cannot be questioned, and 

 it may be that the great neglect and extreme carelessness of the small 

 farmers in the wilds of Kerry in the matter of fresh blood have led to the 

 production of a type of animal now known as the Dexter. 



Crossed with any one of the larger breeds, the "prepotency" of the Dexter 

 is such as to regulate the size and transmit other peculiarities belonging to 

 the Dexter in a remarkable degree. In shape the Dexter differs much 

 from the Kerry, resembling in many points a diminutive Shorthorn. \VTth 



* "The Breeds of Domestic Animals of the British Islands." By David Low. London, 

 1842. Vol. i. 



