80 



Ti^E FARMERS' REGISTER. 



give the mo»t and best beel" on an equal quantity 

 ollbod. 



Tlie quality oC ihe llcrelbitl meat is claimed 

 to be superior — ihio 1 doubt, compared to llie 

 best eiiori-horns. Tliey are not dairy stock — 

 in whai tlieu consists ilieir merits I k is answer- 

 ed the yoke, ihey mal\e povverlul working oxen. 

 But do we wani workers alone ? and li we did, 

 are we deticieni in ihcrn ^ Let the clean-limbed, 

 powerful, muscular, (juit-k-stepiJing cattle on liie 

 liills ol the north, ibe east, and west, answer 

 these qucsiiont!. xind as to their color, 1 oiten 

 see those ol a beauiilul red, with Inic backs and 

 white (aces ana t»cily, m my various perambula- 

 tions thiough the slates, and have no doubt imi 

 ihey are the direct descendants of as good Here- 

 lords as ever graced old England, and long since 

 imported into iliis coun;ry. 



But all llerelbrds abtoad are not red, with 

 white faces, &c. Some of the choicest and best 

 that I saw exhibited at the Royal Agricukural 

 JShovv, and elsewliere, weie pure white ; otheis 

 again light roan, with red-iipped ears. 1 eager- 

 ly asked horn whence iliese cjlors came, as the 

 Herelbids are a cugnate lamily of llie Devons, 

 which are a deep mahogany red. No salislactury 

 reply was ever given me. Can i be wrung then 

 in inlerring that it was hom a short-liurn croos, 

 especially as I lound the lorm ol these lighter 

 colored animals more nearly approaching that 

 breed than Herelords usually do / If 1 am cor- 

 rect then in these surmises, where is the necessi- 

 ty of further importations ? We can take short- 

 liorn crosses on the beauiilul brockle lace ani- 

 mals that we already possess in our country. 



Devons. — The red catile ot the eastern stales 

 doubtless originated from tlie Norih Devons ; and 

 if as much pains had been laken in breeding them 

 in America as in England, they would probably 

 be now as beauiilul and perlect, A lew very 

 fine late importations have been made of these 

 animals, probably quite enough to satisly lije de- 

 mand at present. 1 think them better adapted to 

 Ihe light dry soils of our country than any other 

 breed, the Scotch highland cattle alone excepted. 

 The South Devons ol the same deep mahogany 

 color, 1 Ibund much larger than those of the 

 north, almost equal in size to the Herelbrds, and 

 some of them with nearly the fine handling, the 

 loin and quarter of the short horn. The cows 

 of this breed are not unfrequently very good 

 milkers, giving not only a large quantity, but also 

 that of a rich quality. The oxen are admirable 

 in the yoke, and make excellent beef. To those 

 who have good pastures, and like this style of ani- 

 mal, and cannot rest satisfied with a cross of the 

 short-horns or the Devons already in the country, 

 I would recommend a small importation. I subjoin 

 the size ol' a bull 3 years and 4 months old, that 

 I inspected among others. Height over the 

 shoulders, 4 feet 10 inches ; girth round the heart, 

 7 feet 9 inches ; length from base of horn to end 

 of rump? leel, 5 inches. I think he might have 

 been fatied to weigh 13 or MOO lbs. dead weight. 

 A cow 7 years old, of the same breed, was but a 

 trifle interior in size. 



Sussex.~h is contended by many, that it was 

 from the Sussex cattle that the Devons and Here- 

 lbrds sprung, the former therefore and not the 

 latter, as has been generally asserted, were the 

 pure originals. Be ihie as it mayj their color 



and general characteristics are much like the 

 Devons, and their weight but a trifle inierior 

 10 Herefords, with rather a greater proportionable 

 length of body. The finest specimens are very 

 fiymmelrical m shape, with limbs clean and si- 

 newy as liiose ot a race horse. 1 am confident . 

 that this siyle of cattle would rather suit the 

 taste of the south. They are only moderate 

 milkers, but their beef is pronounced unexcep- 

 tionable, as indeed will that of all well shaped 

 animals be Ibuiid, when properly latted, and 

 that are worked in the yoke somewhat, and do 

 not mature till about 7 years old. 



It was against this tieauiiful race, the herd of 

 Mr. Selmes, that E-irl Spencer showed his splen- 

 did drove of short- horns lor a mere nominal wa- 

 ger. Of course ihe Earl won, but not quite so 

 easily as was anticipated. These animals are 

 attracting considerable notice just at present in 

 Enuland among the graziers. 



Jerseys. — The cows of this breed have been 

 much celebrated lor the quantity and quality of 

 their milk. No doubt much improvement has 

 been made in them by carelul selections, with re- 

 lerence to these particular properties, still a great 

 deal is owing to their high leed on parsnips, a 

 root cultivated in great quantities and perfection 

 in the Isle of Jersey, but after considerable in- 

 quiry, I could not find that ihey excelled the ave- 

 rage ol our own good native stock in these par- 

 ticulars, when equally well fed. They are 

 of medium size, with short, fine, clear, waxy 

 turned up horns, long clean head, beautilul mild 

 eyes, thin neck, fine limbs and shoulders ; but their 

 backs are sharp, and they carry a very light 

 quarter, and bred in so mild and equable a cli- 

 mate, their constitution is delicate, and with so 

 thin a skin, as to make them totally inappropriate 

 o our climate, when the flies of summer would 

 so torment them on the one hand; and the cold of 

 winter pinch them on the other. 



jjyrshires. — This is an inferior short-horn in 

 miniature, and 1 candidly think has been greatly 

 overrated. That it is an excellent cow both for 

 the dairyman and butcher, in the particular dis- 

 trict of Scotland that it inhabits, and fed upon 

 their peculiar Ibod, I do not doubt, but when they 

 come to be transported to England, and especially 

 to America, they have not fulfilled expectation in 

 these points. They derived their principal good 

 qualities liom a cross of the short-horn bull, these 

 animals we have now among us at a moderate 

 price, and in great perfection, to those therefore, 

 who wish lor something like an Ayrshire, already 

 acclimated to our hands, I recommend to save 

 their money at home, and purchase snug short- 

 horn bulls of a medium size, bred here Irom milk- 

 ing families, and then cross them upon the best 

 native milkers at their hand, from these make the 

 most approved selections, and so continue on, and 

 in this way with a small comparative outlay, a 

 superior race of animals may be grown up through- 

 out our country, better adapted to our use, than 

 any thing we can possibly import. Grade short- 

 horns are abundant now, especially in the west, 

 superior in form for the butcher and milking 

 (jualities, to any Ayrshires that it was my good 

 Ibrtune to meet with while abroad. 



Red Galloway.— By the above I mean a deep 

 formed, square, bright red cow, without horns, 

 and of these 1 have seen aii fiae specimens on the 



