CATTLE. 



CATTLE. 



cattle, which is thus described by Mr. Aiton, in 

 his excellent treatise (p. 26) on the dairy.breed 

 of cows: "The most approved shapes in the 

 dairy breed are, small head, rather long, and 

 narrow at the muzzle ; eye small, but smart 

 and lively ; the horns small, clear, crooked, and 

 their roots at considerable distance from each 

 other; neck long and slender, tapering towards 

 the head, with no loose skin below ; shoulders 

 thin ; fore-quarters light ; hind-quarters large ; 

 back straight, broad behind ; the joints rather 

 loose and open ; carcass deep, and pelvis ca- 

 pacious and wide over the hips, with round 

 fleshy buttocks ; tail long and small ; legs 

 small and short, with firm joints ; udder capa- 

 cious, broad, and square, stretching forward, 

 and neither fleshy, low hung, nor loose ; the 

 milk-veins are large and prominent; teats short, 

 all pointing outwards, and at considerable dis- 

 tance from each other, skin thin and loose ; 

 hair soft and woolly ; the head, bones, horns, 

 and all parts of least value, small ; and the 

 general figure compact and well proportioned. 

 See PI. 12, fig. 2. (Youatt, On Cattle,?. 127.) 



" The qualities of a cow," adds Mr. Aiton in 

 another place, " are of great importance. 

 Tameness and docility of temper greatly en- 

 hance the value of a milch cow. Some degree 

 of hardiness, a sound constitution, health, and 

 a moderate degree of spirits, are qualities to be 

 wished for in a dairy cow, and what those of 

 Ayrshire generally possess. The most valua- 

 ble qualities which a dairy cow can possess 

 are that she yields much milk, and that of an 

 oily, butyraceous and caseous nature ; and that 

 after she has yielded very large quantities of 

 milk for several years, she shall be as valuable 

 for beef as any other breed of cows known ; 

 her fat shall be much more mixed through the 

 whole flesh, and she shall fatten faster than 

 any other." And again, " the best Scotch dairy 

 cows yield 1000 gallons of milk in one year; 

 and in general, from 3| to 4 gallons of their 

 milk will yield 1$ Ibs. of butter, and about 27^ 

 gallons will produce 1 stone imperial of full 

 milk cheese." 



Lanarkshire is noted for its calves, whose 

 veal is highly esteemed in the markets of Glas- 

 gow and Edinburgh. These, according to Mr. 

 Aiton (Swvcy of .Ayrshire, p. 441), are fed on 

 milk from a dish, not suckled. This is often 

 given to them sparingly at first, to improve 

 their appetite and relish for their food ; but it 

 is gradually increased till the calf has a full 

 supply. Other farmers allow them as much 

 as- they please from the first. For the first 

 week or two a calf consumes about half a 

 good cow's milk ; at a month old the whole of 

 a cow's milk; and at two months old the 

 greater part of that of two cows. Those which 

 are reared for stock have commonly the first 

 drawn milk; those which are fattening, the last 

 drawn from two or three cows. When the 

 calves are costive, they have a little bacon or 

 mutton broth given them ; if they purge, a little 

 rennet in their milk cures the complaint. They 

 are used to have, also, a lump of chalk in their 



fibs. 

 The Galloway polled cattle are a peculiarly 

 ic and valuable breed. They are described 

 by Mr. Youatt, on the authority of the author 

 290 



; of the Survey of Gulloiruy, as straight and broad 

 in the back, and nearly level from the head to 

 the tail round in the ribs, and also boiv.ccn 

 the shoulders and the ribs, and the ribs and the 

 loins broad in the loins, without any lar^r i 'in- 

 jecting hook-boneslong in the quarters and 

 deepin~ihe chest, but not broad in the ribs, and 

 twist. There is much less space between the 

 hook or hip-bones and the ribs than in most 

 other breeds. ' They are short in the leg and 

 moderately fine in the shank-bone. The happy 

 medium seems to be preserved in the leg, se- 

 curing hardihood and a disposition to fatten. 

 With the same cleanness and shortness of 

 shank, there is no breed so large and muscular 

 above the knee, while there is more room for 

 the deep, broad, and capacious chest. They are 

 clean, not fine and slender, but well propor- 

 tioned in the neck and chaps ; a thin and deli- 

 cate neck would not correspond with the broad 

 shoulders, deep chest, and close, compact form 

 of the breed. The neck of the Galloway bull 

 is thick even to a fault. The Galloway has a 

 loose, mellow skin, of medium thickness, with 

 long, soft, silky hair. The skin, which is thin- 

 ner than the Leicester, is not so fine as the 

 improved Durham: it handles soft and kindly. 

 Their colour is commonly black, but there are 

 several varieties; the dark-coloured are pre- 

 ferred, from their being considered to indicate 

 hardness of constitution. 30,000 of these are 

 estimated to be sent yearly out of Gallowa} to 

 the south. (Youatt, On Cattle, p. 158.) The 

 Galloway breeders prefer allowing the calves 

 to suck the cow;.they consider they thrive ma- 

 terially better than those fed from the pail, and 

 that fewer die of stomach complaints. An- 

 other valuable breed of polled cows is bred in 

 Angus, which much resemble in appearance 

 those of Galloway ; they are, however, rather 

 larger and longer in the leg, flatter sided, and 

 with thinner shoulders. 



In Norfolk and Suffolk a polled breed of 

 cows prevails, which are almost all descended 

 from the Galloway cattle, " whose general 

 form," says Mr. Youatt (p. 172), "they retain, 

 with some of, but not all their excellences; 

 they have been enlarged, but not improved, by 

 a better climate and soil. They are commonly 

 of a red or black colour, with a peculiar golden 

 circle around the eye. They are taller than 

 the Galloways, but thinner in the chine, flatter 

 in the ribs, and longer in the legs ; rather better 

 milkers ; of greater weight when fattened ; 

 though not fattening so kindly, and the meat is 

 not quite equal in quality." 



The Suffolk dun cow, which is also of Gal- 

 loway descent, is celebrated as a milker, and, 

 there is little doubt, is not inferior to any other 

 breed in the quantity of milk which she yields ; 

 this is from six to eight gallons per day. The 

 butter produced, however, is not in proportion 

 to the milk. It is calculated that a Suffolk cow 

 produces annually about 1 cwt. of butter. 



The Suffolk duns derive the last part of their 

 name from their usual pale yellow colour. 

 Many, however, are red, or red and white. 

 j They are invariably without horns, and small in 

 size, seldom weighing over 700 Ibs. when fat- 

 tened. The male and female are nearly of the 

 same height, and seldom exceed 4 to 4^ feet. 



