THE GENESEE FARMER. 



188 



the late Mr. Francis Quartly at length to fully es- 

 tablisli the breed with the desired properties. This 

 result is substantially contirnied by the statistics 

 contaiued in Davy's 'Devon Herd-Book.' We 

 have been curious enough to examine these pedi- 

 grees, and find that nine-tenths of the present herds 

 of these truly beautit'ul animals are directly de- 

 scended (especially in their early parentage) from 

 the old C^uurtly stock. Later improvements have 

 been engrafted on tiiese by the Messrs. Quartly of 

 the present day. The example of various opulent 

 breeders and farmers in all parts of the county has 

 tondfd to spre;id this improvement, by which the 

 North Devuu cattle have become more general and 

 fasliionable. The leading characteristics of the 

 North Devon breed are such as qualify them for 

 every Itardship. They are cast in a peculiar mold, 

 ^"ith a degree of elegance in their movement which 

 is not to be excelled. Their hardihood, resulting 

 from compactness ol frame and lightness of offal, 

 enables them (v^fhen wanted) to perform the ope- 

 rations of the farm with a lively step and great 

 •endurance. For the production of animal food 

 they ai'e not to be surpassed, and in conjunction 

 with the Highland Scot of similar pretension, they 

 are the first to receive tlie attention of the London 

 West-end butcher. In the show-yard, again, the 

 form of the Devon and its rich quality of flesh 

 €erve as the leading guide to all decisions. He has 

 a prominent eye, with a placid face, small nose, 

 and elegantly turned horns, which have an upward 

 tendeucy (and cast outward at the end), as if to 

 put the last finish upon his symmetrical form and 

 carriage. These animals are beautifully covered 

 wit.li silky coats of a medium red color. The 

 shoulder points, sides, and fore-flanks are well cov- 

 ered with vidi meat, whicli, when blended with 

 their peculiar property of producing meat of first- 

 i-aie quality along tlieir tops, makes them what 

 they are — ' models of perfection.' Of course, we 

 are here only sjjeaking of the best-bred animals. 

 Some object to the North Devon, and class him as 

 a small animal, with the remark, 'He is too small 

 for tlie grazier.' In saying this it should ever be 

 remembered that the Devon has its particular mis- 

 sion to perform, viz., that of converting the pro- 

 <duce of cold and hilly pastures into meat, which 

 eould not be done to advantage by large-framed 

 animals, however good their parentat'e. The Devon 

 may thus be designated the ' pony ' of the ox tribe." 



We make a f«w extracts from the remark on the 

 different breeds of sheep : 



"Leicesters. — The leading qualities of the Lei- 

 cesters are early maturity, lightness of oflriil, apti- 

 tude to fatten, and small consumption of food ; 

 producing consequently a larger amount of mutton 

 per acre than any other breed. As improvers of 

 other breeds they are invaluable; indeed, there are 

 but few (if any) long-woolled sheep that do not 

 owe something to the I^icester. 



"The Leicester of the present day is much al- 

 tered. The late Mr. Bakewell confined himself to 

 •flymmetry and mutton-producing qualities, conse- 

 quently thin necks and light wool were produced 

 as a rule, while they are now the exception." 



"The Southdown. — This sheep is now fully re- 

 cognized as a first-class animal, combining beauty 



of form, quality of wool and flesh, with elegance 

 of movement. As such, they are much sought 

 after for grazing our English parks, and adorning 

 the seats of our aristocracy and country gentlemen. 

 Again, for the ' home farm' they are just the thing, 

 combining, as they do, park-like beauty of apjiear- 

 ance and delicious flesh for the squire or connoisour. 

 No breeders are so tenacious on points of color, 

 bone, elegance of shape, beauty of featiii-es, and 

 quality of wool, as the Southdown breeders. Tlie 

 color of his tace must be a peculiar brown, neither 

 too light nor too dark, either being objectionable; 

 the wool must be close and fine, but in tolerable 

 quantity, and, to use a provincial expression in the 

 county of Sussex, it should be ' as hard as a board ;' 

 the head must be well covered with wool, particu- 

 larly between the ears, and carry a nice 'fore-top' 

 on the forehead. The most striking iault in many 

 Southdown flocks is a very ill-formed shoulder, 

 light fore-quarter, light in the brisket, and narrow 

 between the fore-legs. No man lins done so much 

 toward remedying this defect as Mr. Jonas Webb, 

 his flock being particularly good in this respect. 

 The brown leg and foot is anotlier peculiarity of the 

 breed, as also the deeply let down 'haunch of nmt- 

 ton,' not forgetting the dark rick gravy that 'cures 

 the gout,' The setting on of the neck, when nicely 

 blended with the shoulder, gives these sheep a re- 

 markable elegance of carriage. Thus it is that 

 these animals are so prepossessing in appearance." 



" LoNG-wooLLED Sheep. — Tliis is an. open class 

 for all the long-woolled breeds, such as the Cot^- 

 wolds, Lincolns, Kents, etc., but it was represented 

 by the Cotswolds alone, not a Lincoln or Kentish 

 sheep being upon the ground." 



( To be conUtmed ) 

 APPLES FOE, FEELING. 



Foe Cattle, sweet apples are foimd to be an ex- 

 cellent substitute for roots — pnimoting botli growth, 

 and health. 



For Swine, nothing equals an apple-pie, either 

 for relish or for fottening power. Tlie pig is not 

 very dainty about his pie, however. If you merely 

 cook the apples and stir in a little hnin, he won't 

 refuse the di&h; substitute shorts, or ct)rn-aiKl-cob- 

 meal, or ground oats or buckwheat, and it will suit 

 his palate and pile on the fat amazingly. And, for 

 finishing up a piece of poi'k, an apple-pudding, 

 thickened with good corn-meal, is as tar ahead of 

 hard corn as the corn is of raw pumpkins. 



Pork made with apples is sweeter, and quite as 

 free from shriiiJcinf/, as the "corn-fed." 



But to the question— "Would it be profitable to 

 raise sweet api)les for feeding to cattle or swine?" 



Altogether so — unless the apples wi-11 bring in 

 market 7)iuch more than they cost to feed the humans 

 on! True, it takes time to start an orcliard and 

 bring it into bearing; but then the outlay is small, 

 and the ground may be profitably used for other 

 crops while the trees are growing. When once in 

 bearing condition, what other crop will pay as well 

 as apples? For swine, they may be made to save 

 half the corn used in fattening pork. For cattle, 

 they are worth nearly or quite as much as ro(>ts. 

 Plant out the apple trees ; they must prove profit- 

 able. XX L. &.XX 



Attics, y. Y 



