744 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



the tail set on a level with the back, small and tapering ; the 

 thigh full and heavily fleshed ; the twist wide ; the flank low 

 and full ; the hock or gambrel-joint standing straight as with 

 the horse or nearly so ; the hind-leg like the fore one, clean 

 and sinewy, and the foot small." 



From this description it will be seen that a marked charac- 

 teristic of the " Short-horn " is rotundity of carcass, and a small 

 percentage of waste, the bone and offal being but a small per 

 cent of the entire weight of the animal. 



In color they range from pure white to deep red, and be- 

 tween these colors all the variations of roan, red and white, 

 flecked, and spotted. For many years past, the fashionable 

 color in the United States has been red, and this preference has, 

 we think, been carried to a foolish extreme, which has led 

 breeders to castrate animals that possessed every valuable point 

 except the one of color. It is believed, however, that this ficti- 

 tious value of mere color will not have as much influence in 

 the future as in the past, as some breeders are using roan bulls 

 for the very purpose of breaking down the prejudice. In Eng- 

 land there has not been this prejudice against white, and in 

 favor of red color. The heifer already referred to as exhibited 

 by Mr. Colling, was a pure white; and as late as 1883, the first 

 prize at a prominent English cattle show was awarded to a white 

 animal, while in the United States the color would have ruled 

 it out. 



Short-horns must have abundant feed and good pasturage, 

 and therefore are best adapted to rich, level, or gently undulat- 

 ing lands. On rolling broken land that produces short grasses 

 or scanty herbage, some of the smaller, more active breeds of 

 cattle will give better results. 



The great points of value in the Short-horn, are early ma- 

 turity whereby it is claimed that an entire year of care and 

 keeping can be saved over most other breeds weight of meat, 

 ripeness of points, and giving the most flesh in the best places, 

 so that the butcher can get more high-priced cuts from the car- 

 cass than from an ordinary bullock. It is also a fact of great 

 importance to the farmer, that the Short-horn bull, when used on 



