1839] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



S6T 



provement ofihe breed of cattle. The short-horns, 

 either the Holderness, or with some crosses oC the 

 Durham, are chiefly foiini] in the neighborhood of 

 large towns. More in the country, and where 

 the farms are small,, (a,s they are tiirough a great 

 part of this Riding), there are a variety of crosses 

 with the long-horns, and with nondescripts oflbr- 

 nier days. Tliey go under the characteristic 

 name ol' half-horns ; the countrj' people are fond 

 of them, they are hardy, yield plenty of niilic, 

 and fatten with tolerable cjuickness." One would 

 wonder how they retain one good quality, Ibr Mr, 

 Sorby, of Holylandhall, -very characteristically 

 describes thenij and the little firrmers of almost 

 every district— "Those who have a cow or two, 

 of some favorite kind, send them to the nearest bull, 

 vvhich does well enough, provided he gels'lhem a 

 calf. We must confess, that we never saw so 

 great a collection of mongrels as in the manu- 

 facturinir portion of the West Ridings 



Mr. Newman, the agent of Lord Fitzwilliam, 

 satisliictorily acco-mts for th s. He thus writes to us. 

 "The breed of cattle in the greatest esteem hi 

 the vicinity of'Wentworth, and in fact Ihroushoul 

 all the southern part of the West Riding of York-- 

 shire, is the pure short-horn. A traveller, how- 

 ever, passing through this district, will observe 

 many deviations from that breed, and will meet 

 with crosses that he will have much ditTiculty to" 

 identify. The fiirms, are small, and the farmer has 

 a kind of mixed employment, partly agricultural 

 and partly mercantile : hence his attention is not 

 so much directed to iiis llirm as it should be, and 

 hence arises a certain degree of carelessness as to 

 the selection of his cattle ; added to this, there is 

 an idea, although an erroneous one, that the pure 

 short-horns are not good milkers, and which tends 

 materially to check the breed. 



In the districts near Doncaster, where the popu- 

 hition is more strictly agricultural, the short-horns 

 prevail, and those of a breed and quality highly 

 creditable both to the mere tenant farmer and to 

 the gentleman who farms his own estate. 



It is due to the memory of the late Mr. Mitton, 

 of Badsworfh, to place him at the very head of the 

 improvers of short-horn cattle in this district. His 

 "Old Bull," known in the Herd Book by the name 

 of "Badsworth," is still in the recollection of the 

 farmers of that neighborhood, and no animal con- 

 tributed more to the improvementof the cattle for 

 many miles round. 



About the year 1305 the Worflev Farmer's Club 

 was established, chiefly by Lord Wornclifl'e (then 

 Mr. Stuart Wortley); and by the operations of 

 that society very considerable' improvement was 

 effected in the breed of cattle, sheep, and pigs, 

 round Wortley. In 1818, this society ceased to 

 exist, for one more effective had been formed at 

 Doncaster, under the patror.aere of Earl Fitzwil- 

 liam, Lord Alihrop, Sir A. Cooke, and Mr. Ful- 

 lerton of Thrybeigh Park, and other neiifhboring 

 gentlemen. This society still flourishes, and a 

 very fair number of excellent cattle are annually 

 exhibited, the males of which become dispersed 

 through a wide district of country. The short- 

 horn cattle have born away all the prizes. 



In almost every part of the West Ridinir, many"' 

 Scotch cattle are led for one vear or two, and then 

 sold to the butcher to be slaughtered for home 

 consumption. 



As we advance towards the moorlands of the , 



west'and north-west qf the district, the half-horns 

 ^^revail more ; and in Craven, the native country 

 of the long horns, we find both the large and the 

 smtUl variety of this breed in tolerable perfextion, 

 but perhaps not so much so as in ilie north of 

 Lancashire. Even here, the short-horns have 

 pene'trated and" are increasing. 



J^ast I?'idins;. — The short-horns prevail univer- 

 sally through this riding, except among the cotta- 

 gers and little farmers, who still obstinately cling to 

 some of the different varieties of half-horns. It ia 

 decidedly a breeding country, and a great number 

 of cows are yearly sent from it to Lincolnshire, to 

 be prepared for the London dairies ; yet many ox- 

 en ami cows are brouirht from the Wolds to the 

 fbrtnicrliUy and weekly markets so frequent in 

 Yorkshire, and pastured on the rich ground with 

 which the riding abounds. 



Lincolnshire. — Mr. Berry has disposed of the 

 Lincolnshire cattle in a very summary way, and 

 \-^d apprehend that no appeal can be made against 

 his decision. "There is a large coarse short-horn 

 prevailing, particularly in Lincolnshire, denomi- 

 nation in the quotations of the Smithfleid markets 

 'Lincolns;' but they have no further affinity with 

 the improved shnrt-horns than as the latter have 

 been referred to fov their improvement, which has 

 been accomplished to a considerable degree." As, 

 however, we have to travel through each of the 

 counties of Great Britain, we must enter a little 

 more into the consideration of the character and 

 claims of the Lincoln cattle. 



Many of the present unimproved Lincolns may 

 be regarded as fair specimens ol"the best of the old 

 Dutch cattle. So prevalent is tlie opinion that this 

 was the origin of the breed, that the metropolitan 

 butcher denominates them Dutch cattle, and 

 knows them much better by that name than as 

 Lincolns. There is a coarseness about the head 

 and horn which we have not seen either in the 

 common Holderness or the improved Durham ; 

 the bone is comparatively large, the leg high, and 

 the hips and loins wide, approaching to ragged- 

 ness. Mr. Lawrence has a very appropriate re- 

 mark respecting them, that they demand that 

 Bakewellian improvement which theirsheep liave 

 received. 



There have.been some zealous, and, to a consi- 

 derable degree, successflil improvers of this breed. 

 At the head of them stands Captain Turnhill, of 

 Reesby on the Wolds. With what materials he 

 went to work is not certainly Known ; but it is sup- 

 posed that he confined himself to a selection from 

 the native breed; and 'certainly he produced a 

 valuable animal, thinner in the horn, cleaner in 

 the bone, lighter in the dewlap, shorter in the leg, 

 full in the bosom, and round in the carctiss. The 

 breed was properly called "Turnhill's," and they 

 yet remain in the hands of many farmers. 'I'hey 

 are handsome looking beasts, always full of lean 

 flesh ; with far greater disposition than before to 

 put some fat on that flesh, and become sooner ripe 

 lor the market. 



Others with somewhat more judgment, called 

 in the aid of the Durhams, and more spedily and 

 effectually completed their object. They took 

 away the disposition to make lean beef only, al- 

 though in very great quantities ; and if they could 

 not perfectly give to the Lincolns their own early 

 n)aiurity, they materially (juickened the process of 

 fattening. An improved Lincolnshire beast is 



