150 , BREEDS 



well sprung on the rib and, except in the best bred specimens, 

 just a little long on the leg. On the other hand, butchers testified 

 to the abundance of lean meat which they carried. They had, 

 further, the reputation of yielding a very high percentage of 

 carcase to live- weight, and though I have never seen any 

 beeflings of this bree4, the Black Welsh cattle at the Smithfield 

 Shows gave quite good weights for age. 



The Agricultural Commissioner for Wales, writing 1 of the 

 cattle of the Principality, says, " There are breeds that grow 

 and feed more rapidly than the Welsh; there are breeds that 

 are better known for their milk; but there is none which 

 combines general utility with the hardiness necessary to thrive 

 under very unfavourable conditions to a greater extent than 

 this breed." If the South Wales steers such as I tried to winter- 

 feed in my youth are excepted, and if the milking qualities of 

 the dams of the Runts are shown by their records to be good, 

 no one can say that this claim is unfounded. If, on the other 

 hand, national ardour has led to some bad-doing steers and 

 some few doubtful milkers being overlooked, there can still be 

 no doubt that the systematic or scientific breeder has in the 

 Black Welsh cattle very promising material for work in the 

 future. The contour of the land in many of the beautiful 

 districts of Wales is such as to ensure its being used rather for 

 pastoral, than for arable, husbandry. Thus the improvement 

 of an already hardy and useful breed should be full of interest 

 and promises a rich reward. 



1 See The Standard Encyclopedia of Modern Agriculture, vol. 12, page 

 125. The Gresham Publishing Co. Ltd. 



