^0 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



Hereford of this present day is a much better animal than was 

 its progenitor of some thirty years ago. Moreover, these animals 

 are not capable even now of readily adapting themselves to the 

 diverse characteristics of different climates as the shorthorns are. 

 The Hereford oxen have white faces. With the exception of a few 

 Alderney and Durham cows, they alone are found in the county. 

 They are much larger than the oxen of North Devon. As a 

 rule, too, they are of a darker red colour. Some of them are^ 

 brown, some even yellow, and a few are brindled. Their faces, 

 throats, bellies, the lower part of the legs, and the tip of the tail 

 are white, and in a few the white colouring extends as far as the 

 shoulders. The body, however, as we have implied, is of a rich 

 red hue. On the other hand, the old Herefords were brown or 

 reddish-brown, and not white in any part of the body. The modern 

 breed is certainly greatly superior to the old one. The hide of a 

 Hereford ox is much thicker than that of the Devon oxen, and the 

 beasts themselves are more hardy. They are shorter in the leg 

 and also in the carcass than the Devonshire oxen are, also higher 

 and broader and heavier in the chine, rounder and wider across the 

 hips, and more thickly covered with fat. The thigh is fuller and 

 more muscular, and the shoulders are larger and coarser. The 

 forehead is broad. The hide is thick, but mellow. The hair is soft, 

 and at times curly. The males are very heavy, and much larger 

 in proportion than the cows. The flesh is excellent. The ani- 

 mals are easily fattened, and when fattened they become much 

 heavier than the Devons, and may be from fifty to seventy stone in 

 weight. They are not much used for husbandry, although their 

 form adapts them for rather heavy work, and they exhibit the 

 docility of the Devon ox, and possess greater strength, if not the 

 same activity. The Herefordshire oxen readily fatten, even when 

 young, and hence it is of greater advantage that they should go 

 to market at three years of age than that they should be kept for 

 a longer time for the purpose of being employed as beasts of 

 burden. The Herefords feed even more satisfactorily than the 

 Devons do, and they will even grow fat in places where a Devon 

 ox would scarcely live. The meat is finely grained and beautifully 

 marbled, and these cattle are very highly prized in the meat 

 market. But for the white face, slightly larger head, and thicker 

 neck, it would not always be easy to decide positively if a given 

 animal were a heavy Devon or a light Hereford. The white face- 



