BREEDS OF CATTLE 133 



pounds, in the value of one stock bull. 'In Shorthorns, I per- 

 sonally have noticed that the widespread belief that a " yellow- 

 red" is a better colour, as an indicator of milk, than a "blood- 

 red" has a considerable foundation in truth. 



As a breed, Shorthorns generally may be classed as large 

 animals. In the beef classes size on the whole is in request. 

 That is to say, of two animals having much the same type and 

 showing approximately the same good beef qualities the larger 

 would win, and it may be said that the market in this respect 

 emphatically follows the show-ring. A medium-sized animal 

 of great merit would, however, always be graded above a very 

 much larger specimen showing bad points by anyone fit to be 

 a judge of Shorthorns. 



No impartial critic can claim perfection for the Shorthorn 

 as a beef-breed. His greatest fault in conformation (especially 

 in the class often misnamed "Scotch") is at the quarters that 

 part of the carcase from which the butcher cuts the "rump- 

 steak." Here the Shorthorn is apt to fail, relatively to his other 

 good points ; either the meat is not thick enough or there is too 

 large a proportion of fat to lean, or the animal is apt to be coarse. 

 More especially is the excess of bone liable to be shown at the 

 tail-head. Probably his worst feature as a beef-beast is his 

 propensity to carry too large a proportion of soft fat, his flesh 

 being often the reverse of firm under hand all over the body, 

 and, further, he often carries a lot of superfluous or "patchy" 

 fat more suited to the tallow- tub than the carving-dish. The 

 foreigner demands that the stock he buys should be "well up " ; 

 in other words he likes stock suffering from an excess of obesity 

 which is positively pathological. The show- world has responded 

 so faithfully and so long to this demand that every possible 

 encouragement has been given to the breeding of animals that 

 have a tendency to grow too much fat. It is common to hear, 

 or even to read, the remark that a certain animal has "stood 

 training well " ; this means, in plain English, that it has stood 

 over-feeding for a long time without becoming "patchy" or 

 actually falling away through ill-health. 



Both types of Shorthorns are very good as economic con- 

 sumers of feeding-stuffs. For their size (and it will be remem- 



