DUAL PURPOSE CATTLE 17 



his fellow members of the East Norfolk Agricultural Society at Swaff- 

 ham, and showed them a bull of his own breeding. In the advertised 

 official report of the awards we read: 



The stock shown was not numerous, but excellent of its kind. The premiums 

 adjudged were . . . for the bull (one only being shown) to Mr. J. Reeve, of 

 Wighton. This breed is a new kind, partaking of the best qualities of the Suffolk 

 and Devon and the old Norfolk. It has no horns, is of a true Devon or Norfolk 

 red, and will get stock that will fatten to about 50 or 60 stone, with as little coarse 

 meats as can be expected. 



A further development was evidenced at the Holkham Sheep 

 Shearing in June, 1810, when the choicest stock of landlord and ten- 

 ants were shown. The county newspapers reported as follows: 



Mr. Reeve showed his Norfolk bull and two-year-old heifers, which convinced 

 every person who saw them to what a height of perfection breeding may be carried 

 on by care in selection. Mr. Reeve's Norfolk bull was greatly admired as an ani- 

 mal of very superior bone and points, and his heifers are such as few men can 

 exhibit. 



Mr. Reeve, of Wighton, showed a real Norfolk bull, four years old, "a noble 

 beast," of his own breeding, being a short, compact anima), small in bone and 

 great in bulk, of the Devonshire color. 



It may be supposed that subsequently Mr. Coke and Mr. Reeve 

 had a talk as to the worth of "the new breed," and especially of the 

 heifers as producers of prime "homebred" beef. The end of it was 

 a challenge to Reeve to show one of his heifers against a Holkham- 

 bred Devon heifer; the premium, a money wager. Accordingly, after 

 the Thurtell incident, above noted, the company went to inspect Mr. 

 Coke's five-year-old Devon and Mr. Reeve's three-year-old Norfolk 

 homebred. A large number put down their money to support their 

 estimate of the carcase weight of the Devon. On Wednesday the first 

 business was to see the carcases of the two heifers. The reporters 

 give the names of two persons who estimated the exact weight of 

 the Devon carcase, but never a word of the more interesting detail: 

 "Who won the wager?" The American Minister, Mr. Russell, who 

 was one of the guests, may have written home this detail of his Nor- 

 folk holiday, but he could not have anticipated that the "Norfolk 

 red polled homebred" was, just a century later to have thousands of 

 representatives in the United States. Our present day interest is in 

 the record of those carcase weights which may be compared with the 

 weight of similarly bred animals of today. The newspapers give these 

 figures: 



DEVON 5-year-old. NORFOLK 3-year-old. 



st. Ibs. st. Ibs. 



Forequarter 14 3 Forequarter 13 5 



Forequarter 14 8 Forequarter 12 11 



Hindquarter 13 10 Hindquarter 11 12 



Hindquarter 13 12 Hindquarter 11 12 



56 5 49 12 



Tallow 8 st. 11 Ibs. Tallow 8 st. 



14 Ibs. to the stone. 



Dr. Rigby, a Norwich physician, in a pamphlet on farm eco- 

 nomics, states that he, as one of a large party of guests, was taken 

 by Mr. Coke, in July, 1818, to see at Wighton, a herd of Devons and 

 on the adjoining farm Mr. Reeve's cattle, "bred from Norfolk stock 

 with probably a cross from the Suffolk: they are very fine." 



Though the first trial at hybridising gave .to all appearance the 

 results that had been sought, there came with the following genera- 

 tions abundant occasion for judgment in selection. Reeve's skill was 

 made plain in September, 1828, when his farming days were ending. 

 There was issued the general invitation in these terms: 



