72 Milk and Its Products 



so long a time that their dairy capacity has almost 



completely disappeared. On the other hand, a few 



breeders have maintained 



the milking qualities of their 



herds, and there are perhaps 



a dozen to twenty herds, 



scattered in various parts 



of the country, that are 



notable for dairy qualities, 



and are known as milking 



Shorthorns. In England, 



also, there has been a recent Fig - 10 - Dairy Shortho cow 



renewal of interest in milking Shorthorns, and there 



are several notable herds in that country. Most of 



the Shorthorns that show good milking qualities trace 



their descent to families that originated in the herd 



of Thomas Bates, one of the earliest and most famous 



of Shorthorn breeders. 



The Shorthorn originated in the valley of the 

 river Tees, in the counties of Durham, Northumber- 

 land and Yorkshire, in northeastern England. They 

 rank as the largest of the breeds of cattle. They have 

 massive rectangular forms, short legs, short necks, 

 and short, usually incurving horns. In color, they 

 are usually spoken of as the red, white and roan. 

 Their normal colors are red or white, or any combina- 

 tion of these colors, either in the intimate mixture 

 known as roan, or spotted red and white. The red 

 should be a clear red-brown, not shading to yellow on 

 the one hand, nor to black on the other. At one 

 time the clear red animals were much more sought 



