HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



47 



him with a piece of plate, as an expression of the 

 highest estimation in which his services are 

 held as a breeder of Herefords." (fl 38a) A 

 very handsome response was made, and Mr. Jef- 

 fries at a dinner at which he was entertained 

 at Kington, presided over by Sir Robert Price, 

 was presented with a magnificent service of 

 plate. The service, along with a large number 

 of cups, are in the possession of Mr. Henry 

 Jeffries, of Guilford, who treasures them not 

 only as evidence of the skill of his father and 

 other members of the family in breeding Here- 

 fords, but also as a testimony of the esteem in 

 which Mr. Jeffries was held by a wide circle of 

 friends. 



The most eminent of the early improvers who 

 come in chronological order next to those al- 

 ready mentioned, may be appropriately intro- 

 duced by continuing the account drawn up by 

 the late Mr. T. C. Yeld of The Broome,.from 

 which a quotation was made in a preceding 

 chapter: 



"No one," Mr. Yeld says, "ever bred better 

 cattle than the late Mr. T. A. Knight. There 



THE RIGHT HONORABLE EARL OF COVENTRY. 

 (From a photograph taken in 1902.) 



was no one who knew the principles of breeding 

 cattle better, and he took great pains to try the 

 various crosses, the only success being with 

 Scotch heifers. His white bull, entered in the 

 Herd Book as Snowball, or Knight's White 

 Bull (246) 328, was used after Mr. Turley, by 

 Mr. Rea of The Rock, and, I believe, by his 



son, Mr. Rea of Monaughty, by his son-in-law, 

 Mr. Taylor of Eye, by Messrs. Hill and Trump- 

 er of Orleton, and afterwards by Mr. Yeld of 

 The Broome." 



Mr. Yeld tells us: "There were very few stocks 

 at this time fit to breed bulls from besides those 

 of Tomkins, Price, Galliers, Skyrme, Tully, 

 Hewers, Jeffries, Knight, Mr. Proctor, Black- 

 hall, Mr. Martin, Wistaston, Mr. Sheward, Lit- 

 tle Dilwyn, Mr. Yarworth, Brinsop, in what 

 may be termed the Pyon district; and in Pern- 

 bridge district, Mr. Parry, Birley; Mr. Farrier, 

 Luntly; Mr. J. Jones, Charbrook; Mr. Jones, 

 The Lowe, Pembridge; Mr. Powel, Marston, 

 and Mr. Turner, Aymestry. On the Hereford 

 side was also, first, Mr. Weyman, Moreton, suc- 

 ceeded by Mr. Chute Hayton, Mr. Clarke, Lyde, 

 Mr. Walwin, Sir John Cotterell, Col. Matthews, 

 Belmont." Mr. Yeld adds: "I am speaking 

 now of the first twenty years of the present 

 century." 



"All the above named herds," says Mr. Yeld, 

 "possessed form and quality. There was an- 

 other class of Herefords to appear to have been 

 bred solely for working purposes, being large 



in size, with very heavy bone There was 



a third class of what were termed Welsh Here- 

 fords, red and white-faced, but that carried no 

 flesh and when grazed on the best land would 

 never stretch. 



"During the French revolutionary war, and 

 up to 1821, the return to cash payments, every- 

 thing sold high, and farmers could pay high 

 rents, but with the winter and spring of 1820- 

 21 Peel's Monetary Bill came into full force. 

 Down went the manufacturers, down went the 

 bank and down went the farmers. At this time 

 scores were ruined by force of circumstances, 

 and those farmers who had not real property to 

 fall back upon were bound to go to the wall. 

 I have seen whole streets filled with cattle in 

 the years 1821-22-23, and no one asked what 

 they were bought for. 



"I well remember the stock of Mr. John Jones 

 of Charbrook, sold in 1822. They were as 

 good as anything I ever saw; the cows and 

 heifers magnificent. Cows sold from 7 to 12 

 (or $35 to $60) each; most beautiful two-year- 

 old heifers from 6 to 8 ($30 to $40) each. 

 There was as good a cart team as it was possible 

 to find; the highest price 11 ($55). At Here- 

 ford Fair in 1822 some very splendid barren 

 cows, bred by Col. Matthews of Belmont, were 

 bought by a neighbor of mine at 6, 7s, 6d 

 ($34) each. 



"At this time graziers found they could make 

 no profit by feeding, rarely making more than 

 1 ($5) for summer profit over price, and farm- 



