HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



407 



Breeders assumed form and they received appli- 

 cations for entry. They, however, found that 

 their breeders had not kept records in all cases, 

 and in some of them, where the records have 

 been kept, owing to the death of parties, the rec- 

 ords were lost. There is one fact clear, that 

 many of the best of the breed have been taken 

 from England to that country, and that each 

 herd can show, not the detailed data that would 

 be desirable, but, as a rule, they can show the 

 line of sires. It will be seen that the first im- 

 portation was in 1825, some twenty years before 

 the Herd Book was established in England. 



There is no doubt that herds referred to here 

 are pure bred and the editing committee prob- 

 ably found not much difficulty in determining 

 what were pure bred, and they should give the 

 facts as fully as possible upon which they admit 

 animals to entry, and unless the breeders 

 showed that they raised only thoroughbred sires 

 and dams of the Hereford breed their animals 

 would not find places in the public record. 



The admitting of animals of doubtful pedi- 

 gree is not raising their value, but is lowering 

 the value of all better-bred stock, and a loose 

 policy at the beginning will be felt for all time. 



Commenting upon the proposed herd book at 

 the time, we said in the "Breeders' Journal" : 

 "There will probably be clear evidence, as it 

 permits of breeding in the majority of the 

 Hereford herds of Australia, although special 

 dates may be wanting, and this evidence should 

 be spread upon the record as .fully as possible. 

 We have a right to an interest in the action that 

 the Australians shall adopt at this time, and 

 we urge upon their attention the fact that the 

 policy they now adopt will be felt for all time. 

 It will be felt in the general reputation of their 

 herds, and, what is of greater importance, it 

 will be felt in the character of the herds them- 

 selves, or, we might say, in the character of the 

 individuals in their herds. There is now a uni- 

 formity in the individual character of the Here- 

 fords that does not exist in any other breed. 

 This should be kept in mind, and cross-bred 

 animals will damage this individual merit. 



"If, then, the Australian breeders shall have 

 in mind the ultimate good and value of the 

 breed, rather than the supposed value of in- 

 dividuals, in securing a place in their record 

 for animals of doubtful merit and of doubtful 

 breeding, then they will be laying the founda- 

 tion that will result in great good to the stock- 

 men of their country. 



"The Herefords are to occupy the lead in 

 beef production the world over; and we would 

 that we could impress this truth upon the Aus- 

 tralian breeders at this time, so that they might 



fully realize the necessity of building upon 

 such foundation as will stand the test of time, 

 and of the closest scrutiny. With these thoughts 

 we give the article from the 'Queenslander' 

 referred to: 



T 1 1 K FOUNTAIN HEAD OF AUSTRALIAN HERE- 

 FORDS. 



"There are very few, if any, Australian Here- 

 ford herds that do not trace back either di- 

 rectly or indirectly to the Cressy Hereford herd 

 of*Tasmania. As this breed of cattle is coming 

 so rapidly to the front, particularly in our coast 

 districts, a brief history of that herd will be of 

 interest to many. Unfortunately the work of 

 compiling a public Herd Book had not been 

 undertaken until the Cressy Herd Book, which 

 was so carefully kept by the late Mr. James 

 Denton Toosey, had been lost, a circumstance 

 which has rendered the work of tracing the 

 pedigree of the herd one of considerable diffi- 

 culty. Fortunately, however, Mr. A. J. Mc- 

 Connel, of Durundur, a gentleman who is well 

 posted up in Hereford lore, is in possession of 

 a number of letters written by the late Mr. 

 Toosey a short time before his death, and these, 

 which have been kindly placed at our disposal, 

 throw considerable light on the origin and 

 history of the herd. The Cressy Company's 

 herd was founded by the late Mr. Toosey, who 



"THE LEEN," PEMBRIDGE, HEREFORDSHIRE. 

 Home of the Turners. 



brought with him from England a bull and 

 three cows. They left England in November, 



1825, and were landed in Hobart Town in May, 



1826, and were thus the first Herefords that 

 arrived in the Australian colonies. Mr. Toosey 

 had a number of other cattle and horses in his 

 charge by the same ship. The bull's name was 

 Billy, entered in the English Herd Book 

 (4353). The cows were Matchless, Beauty, and 



