60S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOJK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



this much is certain, that great improvement \vt\!& soon manifested, and ? 

 valuable variety established." 



An illustration of tliis valuable breed, as it was known fifty years ago, 

 is given on page 539. It is to be regretted that the fine milking quali- 

 ties of their descendants should have been almost entirely bred out, and 

 are now only found occasionally, through heredity, and this in but a very 

 few families. 



IX. Irisli Cattle. 



The cattle of Ireland are of two distinctive breeds, theLong-Homs and 

 the Middle-Horns. Whence the Long-Horns came seems not to be 

 known, since ancient records are silent upon the subject. Both in 

 England and Ireland they can be traced far back. By some excellent 

 authorities it is maintained that the Long-Horns originated in Ireland ; 

 but in Lancashire, England, also, long-horned cattle have existed since a 

 remote antiquity. 



The Irish Middle-Horns seem to have been an original breed, since 

 they were found in all the hill and mountain regions, in almost every 

 district. Mr. Youatt says of them that they are small, light, active and 

 wild. The head is small, although there are exceptions to this in various 

 parts; and so numerous, indeed, are those exceptions, that some descrioe 

 the native Irish cattle as having thick heads and necks ; the horns are 

 short compared with the other breed, all of them fine, some of them rather 

 upright, and frequently, after projecting forward, then turning back- 

 ward. Although somewhat deficient in the hind-quarters, they are high- 

 boned, and wide over the hips, yet the bone generally is not heavy. The 

 hair is coarse and long ; they are black, brindled and black, or brindled 

 with white faces. Some are finer in the bone, and finer in the neck, wita 

 a good eye, a sharp muzzle, and great activity. They are exceedingly 

 Lardy ; they live through the winter, and sometimes fatten, on their 

 native mountains and moors ; and when removed to a better climate and 

 soil, they fatten with all the rapidity of the aboriginal cattle of the High- 

 lands and Wales. They are generally very good milkers, and many of 

 them are excellent. The cow of Kerry is said to be a favorable sped* 

 men of them. 



X. Scotch and Highland Cattle. 



Scotland has always been celebrated for its cattle, and for none more 

 than its polled or hornless cattle. The Highland breeds are of great 

 antiquity. The most celebrated of the polled breeds are the Galloways, 

 originally said to have been middle-horned cattle. They are widely dis- 

 seminated in England and the United States, and in their improved 

 forms are regarded with much favor. Many sub-families are now known. 



