HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



389 



wishes to show against the Horefords in his dis- 

 trict, and his country may be (and probably is) 

 very superior to the country the Herefords are 

 pastured on. I have no desire to write against 

 Shorthorn cattle or their breeders, as they are 

 a breed of cattle I hold in high estimation, when 

 in their proper place, and that, I take to be, 

 is where English grasses abound in summer, and 

 where plenty of fodder is available in winter, 

 and the few favored parts of this great colony of 

 Queensland where there are no frosts, and the 

 best descriptions of natural grasses and fattening 

 shrubs and herbage ; and, as the despised Here- 

 ford has not had a fair trial under the latter 

 conditions, I claim that no one can say that the 

 breed is not quite equal, or superior, to the 

 Shorthorns for any part of Queensland. I will 

 now assert what I can prove to be the fact 

 that we lost far less cattle on this run during 

 the late drought than any of our neighbors 

 within a radius of 100 miles, who have herds of, 

 say, 5,000 head or over on one run, and I may 

 state that we have the largest herd in this dis- 

 trict (on one run) namely, about 20,000 head 

 in fact, the usual 5 per cent allowed annually 

 for losses for the past twelve months. 



"I am, sir, etc., JOHN FULFORD. 



"Lyndhurst, 21st April." 



(Mr. Fulford begged hard to be allowed to 

 say one word more on this subject, and our reso- 

 lution gave way. It must not be supposed, how- 

 ever, that we have reopened our columns for a 

 continuance of the controversy. Ed. Q.) 



We also give the "Queenslander's" report of 

 a Charters Towers Show. It will be noticed that 

 this Hereford question has become fully as in- 

 teresting in Australia as in America, and the 

 discussion is likely in the end to bring that 

 breed which has the greater merit to the front. 



"Unlike the National Shows, the cattle are 

 here displayed in all their native simplicity, all 

 purely grass fed, and exhibited in yards. Al- 

 though few beyond Mr. Parr's laid claim to 

 purity of blood, they were, with very few excep- 

 tions, when looked at from a general standpoint, 

 a magnificent collection. The bulls were few 

 in number, and far from first-class, a passable 

 animal, originally from the Mount Noorat herd, 

 Victoria, being awarded principal honors; and 

 Mr. Hann showed a promising Sir Roderick 

 calf. Owners, no doubt, were unwilling to risk 

 bringing valuable bulls from a distance. The 

 bullocks, cows and heifers, however, more than 

 made up for the deficiency in the bull classes. 



"The principal exhibitors were Messrs. Mur- 

 ray-Prior, of Bulli Creek; Fulford (Messrs. 

 Barnes and Smith), Lyndhurst; Hann, Van- 



neck; J. and W. D. Clark (Monahan), Lol- 

 worth; Glissan, Dottswood; B. C. Parr, New- 

 stead ; and Allingham, Hill Grove. It was well 

 known throughout the North, thanks to the ex- 

 tensive circulation of the 'Queenslander,' that 

 this show was to be the scene of a grand tilt 

 between the 'Ballys' (Herefords), and the red, 

 white, and roans (Shorthorns), and the interest 

 of this great contest never flagged from the 

 time the cattle entered the show grounds until 

 their carcasses were displayed in the butcher's 

 shop. It may be safely asserted, that as much 

 money was depending on the butcher's scales, 

 in this contest, as is usually risked upon an or- 

 dinary cup race. 



"In the Shorthorn division, Mr. Parr's blood 

 told in the heifer class 13 entries Mr. Van- 

 neck securing second. Mr, Parr also carried off 

 the 100-guinea prize with a pen of three highly 

 bred heifers, which were, however, in very low 

 condition in consequence of the drought. 

 Messrs. Clark, of Lolworth, secured the prize 

 for the best cow bred north of Rockhampton, 

 and the championship of the yard, with a grand 

 roan cow of beautiful shape, and showing lots 

 of quality. 



"In Herefords, Messrs. Barnes and Smith 

 (Mr. Fulford) had matters entirely their own 

 way. Their pen of three fat bullocks, entered 



to do battle with the 



Shorthorns, and a 

 pen of six bullocks, 

 were as near perfec- 

 tion as can well be 

 imagined of purely 

 grass-fed cattle. 



"Up to this point 

 all had been plain 

 sailing with the 

 judges, each particu- 

 1 a r breed having 

 been judged within 

 itself. On entering 

 on the miscellane- 

 ous division, how- 

 ever, cattle of 'any 

 breed' came into 

 competition, and the work of the judges, 

 therefore, became much more difficult. For the 

 best pen of three heifers in this division, there 

 was an exceedingly good class, the judges com- 

 mending the whole class. Three Herefords 

 here secured a victory, Mr. Fulford's pen hav- 

 ing been placed first, Mr. Parr's second, 

 and Mr. Monahan's (Lolworth) third. Then 

 came the great contest of the meeting, the best 

 pen of three bullocks, number brand that is, 

 four-year-olds and although Messrs. Clark, 



A. C. REED, 

 Evanston, 111. 



