140 . BREEDS 



and its covering, is called, projects well beyond the line of his 

 well-muscled, or "meated," forearm. All this gives the beast 

 the massive and weighty appearance when viewed obliquely 

 from the front which is summed up in saying that he "meets 

 you well." The rest of his body in front of his hip-bones is 

 good, but behind these (called "hooks" in the trade) he is apt 

 to be less perfect than in his middle or at his fore-end. 



The fault at the hind-quarters, often found in Hereford cattle, 

 is two-fold. The part of the body, between the ilium and ischium 

 bones, that carries the meaty mass from which the butcher 

 carves the rumpsteak, is sometimes cut away owing to the 

 anterior portion of the spinal column dropping between the 

 line of the hocks and the tail-end. This conformation must 

 undoubtedly reduce to some extent the proportion that the 

 rumpsteak piece bears to the whole carcase, and so rob the meat- 

 salesman of some of this super-quality meat. Below the part 

 from which this is cut and anterior to it is found the first quality 

 joint known as the " round " ; this, again, is not as well developed 

 as is desirable owing to the meat not being carried down as, 

 close to the hock as it might be. Among show Herefords, 

 especially the prize- winning bulls, these faults have largely dis- 

 appeared of late years, but to a certain extent they are still 

 common among those sold for feeding. Perhaps the word 

 "fault" is too strong; "imperfection" is probably a better 

 word to be applied to these well-shaped cattle, as compared 

 with average cattle of other beef-breeds. 



For grazing, in the restricted sense of grass-feeding, the 

 Hereford has a very high reputation; some authorities claim 

 that on an ordinary first-class pasture it will give better returns 

 than any other breed. Here, again, there is no direct evidence 

 either to support or to refute the claim. My own observation 

 leads me to believe that Herefords will fatten rather more 

 quickly on ordinary good grass than other breeds, but I should 

 be surprised to find that the advantage was very appreciable; 

 certainly I would not expect the superiority to be anything 

 like as high as is claimed by some enthusiasts. The question 

 of whether on the very best finishing land the Hereford would 

 do any better than other good beef-breeds, is more difficult to 



