CATTLE. 



CATTLE. 



No. cwts. qrs. Ibs 



1. flereford 11 3 



2 10 a o 



3. 10 3 



No. cwtj. qrs. Ibs. 



1. Short-horn 12 3 14 



2. 1-220 



3. 14 3 



From this lime till the 25th March, 1829, they 

 consumed 



The Herefords - 

 The Short-horns 



y then weighed 



cwts. qrs. Ibs. 

 13 14 

 ]-2 

 12 



- 46,655 5,065 



- 59,430 6,779 



No. cwts. qrs. Ibs. 



1. Short-horn 14 2 



2. 14 1 14 



3. 14 2 14 





making a difference in favour of the short- 

 horns of 3 cwts. 3 qrs. 14 Ibs.; but then they 

 consumed more turnips by 12,775 Ibs., and 

 more hay l>v 1,714 Ibs. When they were sold 

 at Smithfield on the 30th of March, the short- 

 realized 97/., and the Herefords 96f." 

 (On Cattle, p. 34.) 



The SuKfc.r. One of the best descriptions, 

 says Mr. Youatt, that we have of the Si|w ( ..\ 

 ven by that excellent agricultural, Mr. 

 Eilm in. He speaks of the Sussex ox as hav- 

 ing a small and well-turned head; and so it 

 has, compared with many other breeds, and 

 even with the Hereford, but evidently coarser 

 than that of the Devon, the horns pushing for- 

 war- Is a little, and then turning upwards, thin, 

 tapering, and long, not so as to confound the 

 breed with the Itmx-horn*, and yet in some 

 cases a little approaching to them. The eye 

 is full, large, and mild in the ox, but with 

 some degree of unquietness in the cow. The 

 throat clean; and the neck, compared with 

 either the long or short-hums, long and thin, 

 yet evidently coarser than that of the Devon. 

 The shoulder is the principal defect. There 

 is more wideness and roundness on the with- 

 ers ; it is a straighter line from the summit of 

 the withers towards the back ; there is no pro- 

 jecting point of the shoulder when the animal 

 is looked at from behind, but the whole of the 

 fore-quarter is thickly covered with flesh, giving 

 too much weight to the coarser and less profit- 

 able parts ; but then the fore-legs are wider 

 apart, straighter, and more perpendicular than 

 in the Devon, and are placed more under the 

 body than seeming to be attached to the sides. 

 The fore-arm is large and muscular; the legs, 

 though coarser than those of the Devon, are 

 small and fine downwards, particularly below 

 the fetlock. The barrel is round and deep. 

 In the back, no rising spinal processes are to 

 be seen, but rather a central depression ; and 

 the line of the back, if broken, is only done so 

 by a lump of fat rising between the hips ; the 

 belly and flank are capacious ; there is room 

 before for the heart and lungs, and there is 

 room behind in the capacious belly for the full 

 exercise of its functions ; yet the beast is well 

 ribbed home ; the space between the last rib 

 .and the hip-bone is often very small, and there 

 is no hanging heaviness of the belly or flank. 

 The loins of the Sussex ox are wide ; the hip- 

 bone does not rise high, nor is it ragged ex- 

 ternally ; but it is large and spread out, and 

 the space between the hips is well filled up. 

 The tail fine, and thin, is set on lower than in 

 the Devon, yet the rump is nearly as straight. 

 The hind-quarters are cleanly made, and if the 



thighs appear to be straight without, there is 

 plenty of fulnes^ within. The Sussex ox li; 3 

 all the activity of the Devon, and the strength 

 of the Hereford, the propensity to fatten, and 

 the beautiful fine-grained flesh of both. It pos- 

 sesses as many of the good qualities of both as 

 can be combined in one frame. By crossing 

 them with the Herefords, a heavier animal, 

 but not fattening so profitably, or working so 

 kindly, is produced. When the Sussex has 

 been crossed with the Devon, a lighter breed 

 has resulted, but not gaining in activity, while 

 it is materially deteriorated in its grazing pro- 

 perties. The colour of the Sussex ox is a deep 

 chestnut-red, or blood bay. The black, or 

 black and white, generally indicate some 

 strain in the breed, as a cross from the WelsSi. 

 The hide of the true Sussex ox is soft and mel- 

 low, the coat short and sleek. The Sussex o^; 

 does much of the farming labour of the Weald 

 of Sussex. From ten to twelve of these are 

 usually kept on a farm of 150 to 200 acres. 

 These are fed with grass and. straw till they 

 begin to work, and then they have cut hay 

 mixed with straw. There are, however, two 

 breeds: the coarser Sussex is always slow; 

 the lighter, or true Sussex is as light and fast 

 as most cart-horses ; of their speed proof was 

 given by a Sussex ox which ran four miles 

 against time, over the Lewes race-course, in 

 sixteen minutes. Many farmers, if they have 

 ten oxen at work, sell five or six every year, 

 and break in an equal number to succeed 

 them ; the beasts will thus be broken in at 

 three years old, and fatted at five or six. 

 They are commonly taken from work when 

 spring seed-time is over, and turned into the 

 meadows, and thus prepared for winter stall- 

 feeding. These are gradually accustomed to 

 being constantly tied up. Some farmers, Mr. 

 Ellman amongst the rest, are of opinion that 

 there is a saving of one-fourth the food by 

 stall-feeding, but many other farmers maintain 

 that the cattle fatten faster when only confined 

 to the yard. They average at Smithfield 

 about one hundred and twenty stones ; but 

 they occasionally attain to much greater 

 weights; one. of Mr. Ellman's weighed two 

 hundred and fourteen stones. 



The Sussex cow is not a favourite with the 

 generality of farmers. She does not answer 

 for the dairy, for her milk, although of very 

 good quality, is far inferior in quantity to 

 either the. Holderness or the Suffolk cow. 

 They are, moreover, what their countenance 

 indicates, of an unquiet temper, and are com- 

 monly restless and dissatisfied, especially if 

 not bred on the farm on which they are kept. 

 They are, therefore, chiefly kept as breeders ; 

 | are generally in fair condition, even while 

 I milking ; and no cows, except the Devon or 

 j Hereford, will thrive so fast after being dried ; 

 1 they fatten even faster than the ox. Nearly 

 j all the calves are reared, adds Mr. Youatt the 

 ' males for work, and the females for breeding 

 or early fattening. By the best breeders, the 

 bull is changed every two years. (On Cattle, 

 p. 40.) The Hereford and Sussex cattle have 

 | so many points in common that in Loudon's 

 Knnjdo-pcp.dia o/ Agriculture, both breeds are 

 illustrated by one figure. 



^ 287 



