286 



HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



could buy some Herefords and repeat the ex- 

 periment." 



Since the above was in type the following 

 has been received from the same gentleman: 



"I hand you below the weight of Hereford 

 fat cattle shown at the Smithfield shows 1871, 

 1872, 1873 : 



1871. Under 2 yrs. mos 1,631 



1871. Under 3 yrs. 3 mos 1,856 



1871. Over 3 yrs. 3 mos 2,307 



1872. Under 2' yrs. 6 mos 1,634 



1872. Under 3 yrs. 3 mos 1,858 



1872. Over 3 yrs. 3 mos 2,137 



"I have not the weight classified as to ages 

 for 1873, but the average weight of all ages 

 was 1,934 Ibs. I also hand you the average 

 weight of the fat cattle shown at Bingley Hall, 

 Birmingbam, in 1873, and these weights in- 

 clude all ages, as at Smithfield, the same year, 

 1,950 Ibs. 



"The heaviest steer shown at Smithfield in 

 1871 weighed 2,360 Ibs.; in 1872, 2,626 Ibs.; 

 in 1873, 2,538 Ibs. The heaviest steer showed 

 at Birmingham in 1873 weighed 2,536 Ibs." 



And again, from the "National Live Stock 

 Journal" for August, 1876, pp. 349-50 : 



"To the Editor of the 'Journal' : Referring 

 to your remarks on figures given you on Here- 

 fords in the July number, I had been led to 

 suppose that the results at the Smithfield show 

 were the most authoritative of any in existence, 

 and I had supposed that you had been living in 

 hopes of seeing just such a show and list in this 

 country. 



"Now, it is true that in this country the 

 Herefords have not made such a record as will 

 be conclusive as to their merits, at least so far 

 as the number is concerned, but I hand you 

 herewith a memorandum which will, perhaps, 

 show what they could do. But is not the Eng- 

 lish record pertinent and to the point? As 

 to comparing Herefords with Shorthorns and 

 natives, you have established the fact to the 

 satisfaction of the majority of thinking, prac- 

 tical men, that they are better than the na- 

 tives, that the Shorthorn bull on the native 

 cow is an improvement, that the cross produces 

 a better beef steer, which by grazing and 

 feeding will make a better quality and greater 

 quantity at a less cost. I assume this to be true 

 and therefore do not care to travel that ground 

 over again. But taking that point as settled, I 

 now assume and claim that the Herefords make 

 a better cross, in the hands of a practical man 

 for a practical purpose, with the sole object in 

 view of producing the best beef in the largest 

 quantity with the greatest economy. 



"I believe it is admitted by the best informed 

 cattle breeders that the Herefords are more 

 hardy and better grazers than the Shorthorns. 

 In referring to the Shorthorns I have no wish 

 to depreciate their merits. 1 admit them. They 

 are a fine raec of cattle, and the breeders of 

 these cattle ^are entitled to much credit for 

 what they have done. There is perhaps no in- 

 terest in which the farmer has received so large 

 a benefit as has come from the efforts of the 

 Shorthorn breeder; but is not this step one that 

 leads to something higher and better? 



"Now you are aware, perhaps better than 

 anyone else, that in England a very small 

 country compared with this they have sev 

 eral breeds of cattle which are pre-eminentl} 

 the best for the district in which they are bred, 

 and if this be true of England may not the 

 supposition be raised that it may be true of this 

 country? For seventy-five years the Herefords 

 and Shorthorns have been the leading bed' 

 breeds in England. There are several large 

 shows held where the breeding stock has been 

 shown, but at Smithfield the test has been on 

 the fat animal, and the Hereford as a fat ox or 

 steer has occupied a leading position, and I 

 assume that it is between these two breeds in 

 this country that the choice must be made. 



"Rev. J. R. Smythics, a prominent Hereford 

 breeder in England, made the following offer 

 through the 'Mark Lane Express,' in 1849. He 

 offered to show four Hereford steers, whose 

 ages should not exceed two years and three 

 months, and four whose age should not exceed 

 one year and three months, at the next Smith- 

 field show, in December, against eight Short- 

 horns and eight Devons of similar ages, for a 

 sweepstakes of one hundred sovereigns for each 

 lot, with this stipulation, that each lot shall 

 have been bred by one man, and that they shall 

 have lain at grass at least four months that 

 summer, without having had anything but 

 what they got there. He says : 



" 'But this is not all. I am willing to test 

 their hardiness as a breeding stock, as well as 

 their feeding properties. In order .to do this, 

 I propose to turn my two-year-old heifer, which 

 gained the first prize at Norwich, into a pasture 

 with the two-year-old Shorthorn *and two-year- 

 old Devon heifer which obtained the first prize 

 in their* respective classes, and let them remain 

 there until the next meeting of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society, at Exeter, next July, giving 

 them nothing but what they can get, except 

 a little hay from the 5th of November till the 

 5th of May, the heifers being shown for sweep- 

 stakes of 100 sovereigns each.' 



"In February, 1849, Mr. Smythies made, in 



