194 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



for some five or six hundred dollars more than they had cost 

 the State, and for breeding purposes were really worth that 

 much more. 



Two only of the first prizes went to the county of Hereford. 

 One was taken by a splendid bull from the Flemish Farm, one 

 of the Royal Farms at Windsor. 



The cows in this class were called the best lot of Herefords 

 ever exhibited, together, and it is no wonder that this breed is 

 fast gaining favor even in competition with the lordly 

 Shorthorns. 



The Devons are confined more particularly to the western 

 counties of England. They differ in their properties. Those 

 in the north of Devonshire are the most beautiful, those in the 

 south are said to be better for the dairy, while the varieties of 

 Devons kept in Somerset are claimed to be better than either 

 for the grazier. We have so many specimens of the breed that 

 it is not necessary to particularize. Their symmetrical propor- 

 tions, their compactness, their color, the fine texture of their 

 flesh and their hardihood of constitution are points well known 

 with us. The same wonderful uniformity that distinguished 

 the beautiful line of Herefords, marked also these elegant, 

 silky-coated Devons. As a class they demonstrate what can be 

 done by careful breeding to remove those parts of the animal 

 frame which are of least value and replace them with othe'rs 

 which furnish the most valuable food. 



The three prize bulls in class I. were from the Quartly stock, 

 sons of Quartly's " Nfjpolcon." And a yearling, also first 

 prize, was sired by the same animal. He was sent from tlie 

 royal herd at the Norfolk Farm, at Windsor Park, as was, also, 

 the first prize bull calf. The South Devon farmers rarely 

 exhibit their stock, confining their attention more strictly to 

 the dairy, and tiie specimens of the breed so well known with 

 us are from North Devon. 



It has been significantly remarked that the Herefords and 

 Devons furnish the " cuts" for the moneyed men, the Shorthorns, 

 for the millioii. If that is so, I am confident my lot fell among 

 the latter, as 1 cannot recollect that I had a really fine and 

 tender beefsteak in all England, while I am sure that quite the 

 opposite was the general character of the " cuts." 



