DIFFERENT BREEDS OF OXEN. 93- 



hardy, and they supply some of our best beef. They are fairly 

 good in so far as milking is concerned, and make very good" 

 crosses with the shorthorns, in some cases having given birth to 

 steers which have taken prizes in the show-yards, in virtue of being 

 endowed with splendid flesh, and in being hardy and easily 

 fattened. Shorthorns are, however, preferable, since they prove 

 more valuable in the long run. For about the first eighteen^ 

 months the Welsh oxen will hold their own ; but in the course 

 of the next year or two a great difference is to be seen. More- 

 over, after the first cross, the offspring cannot be so greatly 

 depended upon. 



South Wales, Pembrokeshire. — The Pembroke and other 

 Welsh breeds are not unlike the West Highland breed ; but the 

 cows yield a greater quantity of milk. The Pembroke cow or 

 ox is a very useful animal, and the colour of most of them is- 

 entirely black. A few have white faces, or show a little white 

 about the tail or the udder, and the horns also are white. The 

 horns turn up in a manner which is characteristic of the breed. 

 These oxen have shorter legs than most of the Welsh breeds ; but 

 the legs are longer than those of the Montgomery cattle. Their 

 carcasses are round and deep, the hair is rough but short, and 

 their hides are not thick. Their bones, although they are not 

 so small as those of .the improved longhorns are far from 

 being large. In fact, the cattle of Pembrokeshire, to a great 

 extent, combine the two qualities of being at once fair milkers 

 and of possessing a propensity to become fat. In this connec- 

 tion it has been suggested, we may observe, that to fatten an 

 animal, one should bleed it a little now and then. As a rule 

 the meat of a Pembroke ox is of a fine quality, being beautifully 

 marbled. It is, in fact, equal to that of the Scotch cattle, and 

 some persons even prefer it. These cattle thrive in every 

 situation, they will live where other oxen starve, and will rapidly 

 outstrip most other cattle when provided with a sufficiency of 

 good pasturage. In fact, the Pembroke cow is one of the best 

 cottager's cows, and it is equally profitable to the larger farmer. 



The Pembroke oxen are found in Caermarthenshire, Cardigan,. 

 and Brecon, and indeed in every bordering county, mixed with 

 the different breeds of each, and imparting to each its best, 

 qualities. They are also very similar to the Kyloes. 



The Pembroke ox is, like the Devon, a speedy and honest 



