CATTLE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF BREEDS. 743 



Fayette, and other counties of Kentucky, and importations made 

 from the best English herds, so that by the latter date, the 

 United States undoubtedly possessed though in less numbers 

 as valuable a selection of Short-horns as could be found in England 

 itself. The English Herd Book was begun in 1822, and at this 

 date contains in its sixteen volumes a record of over twenty- 

 three thousand bulls, and thirty thousand cows. The American 

 Herd Book consists of eight volumes, and has recorded over 

 seven thousand bulls and twelve thousand cows. 



Characteristics of the Short-horns. While there are 

 some families noted for their milking qualities, especially among 

 the earlier importations, it is chiefly as beef cattle that they excel. 

 They are of rapid growth and early maturity, with great apti- 

 tude to fatten, which gives great rotundity of carcass and early 

 ripeness. A general description of the breed which I find in 

 " Allen's American Cattle Book," is as follows : " Head the 

 muzzle fine ; the face slightly dishing or concave ; the cheeks 

 lean of flesh ; the eye full and bright ; the forehead full and 

 broad ; the horns showing no black except at the tips, and 

 standing wide, short and oval shaped, at the base spreading 

 gracefully out, and then curving in with a downward inclina- 

 tion, or upward with a still further spread as either form is 

 taken without prejudice to purity of blood in the animal of a 

 waxy or neutral color, and sometimes darker at the tips; the 

 throat clean, without dewlap ; the ear sizable, thin, and quickly 

 moving ; the neck full, setting well into the shoulders and 

 breast, with a slight pendulous hanging of the skin not a dew- 

 lap -just at the brisket ; the shoulders full and nearly straight, 

 full and wide at the tops ; the shoulder points, or neck-vein, 

 wide and full ; the brisket broad, low, and projecting well for- 

 ward, sometimes so much as to almost appear a deformity ; the 

 arm gracefully tapering to the knee, and below that a leg of 

 fine bone ending with a well-rounded foot ; the ribs round and 

 full giving free play to vigorous lungs and running back well 

 towards the hips ; the crops full ; the chine and back straight 

 from the shoulders to the tail ; the hips wide, cind level with the 

 back and loin ; the loins full and level ; the rump long and wide ; 



