82 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



of short-horn beef. Short-horn beeves produce at the same age 

 a greater weight, it is true, but they also consume more food. 

 I can easily conceive why, in the magnilicent pastures of Lin- 

 colnshire and some of the northern counties of England, they 

 may prefer the short-horns, and that is, that they may keep a 

 loss number on a given quantity of land, and only the short- 

 horn could, under these conditions, produce a greater weight of 

 beef per acre ; under all the varying conditions it is very 

 difficult to decide which of the two races in England (the two 

 best in the world) is the most profitable for stock raisers and for 

 the community." There are, even in Lincolnshire, many good 

 feeders who prefer the Herefords to the short-horns. One of 

 these, when visited the past season, had thirty head of cattle 

 feeding for the butcher, and only one short-horn. When asked 

 the reason of this, he replied : " I am a farmer myself, and 

 have to pay high rent, and I must feed the cattle that pay me 

 best. Perhaps you think it would be more in fashion to cover 

 my fields with short-horns ; but I must look to the nett product, 

 and I get much better Avith the Herefords. The short-horns are 

 too full of fat and make too little tallow, and they consequently 

 sell too low in the Smithfield market. Oar Herefords are better 

 and they sell better ; not as well, however, as those black Welsh 

 cattle you see down there ; but those are too difficult to fatten, 

 and if I sell them higher they cost mo more also." 



Exceedingly high prices have sometimes been paid for first 

 quality Herefords for breeding purposes. As early as 1819 a 

 bull was bought by Lord Talbot, at about $3,000, and Mr. 

 Westcar, a large feeder of Herefords, sold several years ago, 

 six Hereford oxen in the Smithfield market for six hundred 

 guineas. 



The Dowley herd, now owned by Mr. Goodell, of Brattlcboro*, 

 Vt., the herd of Mr. Clark, of Boston, kept at Granby, and those 

 of Mr. Sotham and Mr. Corning, of New York, are, perhaps, 

 most widely known of any in this country. 



The Herefords owned by the State and kept at the State farm, 

 at Westborough, are from the Dowley importation. Cronkhill 

 3d was sired by Cronkbill, imported in 18o2 from Lord Berwick's 

 stock. His dam was " Milton," imported at the same time with 

 Cronkliill. The heifer " Cora," also out of Milton by Cronkhill, 



