CATTLE-HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF BREEDS. 757 



One thing remarkable about the Devons is the comparative 

 smallness of the cow. A well-grown steer will weigh from one 

 thousand four hundred to one thousand six hundred pounds ; 

 the bull from one thousand to twelve hundred, and the cow 

 from eight hundred to one thousand. Thc.se are given as aver- 

 age weights, and are often exceeded by careful handling and 

 high feeding. At a Vermont county fair in the autumn of 

 1883, fifty-three yokes of cattle of this breed were exhibited. 

 Of these cattle there were seventy-five that weighed fifteen 

 hundred pounds or more, each ; the heaviest pair weighing three 

 thousand seven hundred and eighty pounds, and the next heav- 

 iest three thousand seven hundred and thirty. Considering 

 that the Devons are a fine breed and have been classed as 

 small cattle, these weights are remarkable. 



The Devons are probably found in greater excellence and 

 abundance in New England than anywhere else in the United 

 States. Their size has been increased considerably in the hands 

 of careful breeders in England during the last century. 



As a dairy cow, the Devon occupies a medium rank, as to 

 quantity of milk, but the quality is superior, and perhaps no 

 other breed except the Jersey will yield as much butter from a 

 given quantity of milk. If careful selections are made, and 

 these cattle bred with a view to developing their dairy quali- 

 ties, few breeds will equal them for this purpose. The cow is 

 docile in temper, easy to keep, and readily managed. Her ud- 

 der is soft, of good size and shape, with thin, silky hair, taper 

 teats, easily milked, and every way satisfactory to her owner. 



"Allen," in his book on " American Cattle," says : ' We have 

 kept thorough-bred Devons for thirty-four years, sometimes as 

 high as twenty-five or thirty in number. Many of them have 

 been excellent milkers; some of them extraordinary for their 

 size. We had once, two three-year-old heifers which gave, for 

 some three months after calving, on pasture only, an average of 

 eighteen quarts each per day." All things considered, the De- 

 vons may be classed as good dairy cows, and, taking into ac- 

 count their size, consumption of food, disposition, appearance, 

 and quantity and quality of milk, they will give good satisfaction. 



