352 



HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



the improvement that has been effected already 

 in the rank and file of our cattle throughout 

 the country by the use of this Shorthorn blood; 

 we do not wish to detract one iota from its 

 legitimate merits, but simply to point out 

 wherein it becomes sometimes a matter for the 

 ridicule of non-believers. We see prizes awarded 

 systematically to animals which are not calcu- 

 lated directly to improve the production either 

 of meat or milk in their descendants, and we 

 are told that there is some marvelous power or 

 virtue stored up in their veins, and that al- 

 though their bodies the casket are unsightly, 



ROYAL HEAD (4490) 15765 AT 2 YEARS 8 MONTHS. 

 Bred by J. Williams, Herefordshire. Exported to Aus- 

 tralia. 



their blood the jewel is pure, potent, and 

 almost priceless. Well, we simply do not be- 

 lieve it, as they put it. We are perfectly well 

 aware that any 'terribly in-bred' weed, a wretch 

 to look at, but having an unexceptional pedi- 

 gree, will, if matched with mongrel-bred stock, 

 produce a result, which is far, very far, in ad- 

 vance of the mongrel-bred dams; but so would 

 any absolutely pure-bred animals. Therefore, 

 we think that farmers, those who have the pro- 

 duction of beef or milk in view, have a right 

 to expect something which is calculated to effect 

 their object in a direct manner; no breeder of 

 bullocks would give herd room, much less a 

 high price, for the bluest blood bull which did 

 not carry a frame the character of which it was 

 desirable to transmit. When a lot of highly- 

 bred but not correctly fashionable young bulls 

 are to be bought for about 30 pounds sterling 

 ($150) apiece, and here and there one which 

 has been bred correctly to fashion fetches 3,000 

 pounds sterling ($15,000) and would not be 

 worth one shilling more to the food producer, 

 then we think we are justified in saying that 

 rent-paying farmers have already drawn the 

 line between business and fancy by refusing to 

 give more than a business price for a fancy 

 article. We should be glad to see every young 

 Shorthorn bull now in the breeders' hands sold 

 to tenant farmers, who would use them for meat 

 or milk as their requirements might decide, and 



are firm believers in the general usefulness and 

 superior adaptability of the breed to any other ; 

 but we feel it a duty to point out the ridiculous 

 position the Shorthorn breeders seem content to 

 occupy at our great shows by the mixed quality 

 and low status of many of the animals exhib- 

 ited, and which gives opportunity for pointing 

 the finger of scorn, and leads to such questions 

 as, 'When is the bottom of this Shorthorn hum- 

 bug likely to drop out ?' We hear a good deal 

 about the 'alloy,' and if correctly informed, it 

 means an infusion of Scots blood of some kind, 

 and to our mind the very thing these Short- 

 horns are now needing is another infusion a 

 strong one of some alloy which will give them 

 the thickness of flesh, the wealth of hair, and 

 the butcher's form they so seldom possess, and 

 then we should be prepared to expect great 

 things of the renovated blood." 



The same paper, in speaking of the Herefords 

 at this show, says: 



"They are not so numerous as the more 

 fashionable breed, but the quality throughout 

 is excellent. In the aged bull class there are 

 five animals of which the Hereford men need 

 not be ashamed. 



"The heifers in milk or in calf numbered 

 only three, but two of them were such animals 

 as it was worth while coming to Oxford on 

 purpose to see. Mrs. Sarah Edwards' 'Leonora' 

 is one of the most perfect animals that has been 

 shown for years; if she had been a Duchess 

 Shorthorn, a poem would have been composed 

 in her honor, and translated into several lan- 

 guages by this time. But no Shorthorn that we 

 have ever seen was cast in such a mold as this 

 Hereford heifer." 



On the awarding of the champion prizes at 

 this show we quoted for Mr. Matthews' benefit, 

 from the same authority, the following account : 



"The whole conclave of judges came into the 

 ring to decide which was the best male horned 

 animal in the yard, and here the Shorthorn men 

 were in a hopeless minority cornered in a 

 manner that does not often happ'en to them in 

 a show yard. In vain they contrasted the strong 

 points of the Shorthorn with the weak ones of 

 the Hereford. It was all to no purpose, the 

 rest could not get away from the Hereford, 

 whose wonderful rib and forehand were too 

 much for the Shorthorn, and a show of hands 

 showed an overwhelming majority for the Here- 

 ford. There is no doubt that had the Shorthorn 

 judges been of sufficient numerical strength, 

 they would not only have prevented this Here- 

 ford triumph, but also that which followed, 

 when the best female animal was to be decided 

 upon, for it went sadly against the grain to 



