204 THE STOCKFEEDER'S COMPANION 



Legs. The bones of legs should be free from 

 coarseness. 



Breed and Quality. It is further important that 

 animals for fattening purposes should be of a breed 

 or cross which is noted for its capacity to fatten, as 

 experience shows that a well-bred animal will generally 

 pay to feed, while inferior bred ones often prove 

 disappointing. The skin should be fairly thick but 

 flexible, and the whole body in fat animals covered as 

 uniformly as possible with flesh. When fat, patchiness 

 is very undesirable. 



Early maturity is very important, and beasts should 

 as a rule be selected which will grow and thrive at 

 the same time. 



Available Breeds. 1 The most generally known 

 breeds in this country are : 



Polled Breeds. Aberdeen-Angus, Red Polls, Gal- 

 loways, etc. 



Horned Breeds. Herefords, Shorthorns, North 

 Devons, West Highland, W 7 elsh cattle, etc. 



The outstanding features of these breeds are as 

 follows : 



Aberdeen- Angus. Found chiefly in the east of 

 Scotland ; large black cattle mature early ; 

 short legs, carrying an enormous shapely body 

 which is generally evenly covered with flesh ; 

 meat of excellent quality. Require heavy hand- 

 feeding, hence only suited to the better classes 

 of land in this country. 



1 For full description of the various breeds of cattle, see Prof. 

 Wallace's Farm Live Stock of Great Britain. 



