41 



mountain glen to see a lot of three year old heifers he had graz- 

 ing there. It appeared a mystery to me how the cattle could get 

 over and around the rough rocks, and obtain a subsistence even 

 in summer. Having noticed that the man had several stacks of 

 hay down in the valley, where was the rude habitation wliich he 

 called his home, I asked him if he was going to take the Kerry 

 cattle there for winter. He replied, ' No ; the hay is for the 

 low land cattle and ponies ; the Kerries will winter where they 

 are.' I asked him if deep snows did not fall in the mountains. 

 He said they did sometimes, ' but the snow generally softened 

 after a day or two, and the cattle would work through it.'' 



" I could not obtain any definite statements in regard to the 

 yield of milk or butter of these cows ; but a reliable man Avho 

 kept several of this breed, near Killarney, told me he had often 

 had them give ten imperial quarts of milk per day, each, and 

 then had a four-year old cow, which I saw, that had afforded six 

 pounds of butter in a week. 



" The butter I have eaten in this part of Ireland, both this 

 season and the last, is actually the best I ever tasted. I know 

 not Avhether the superior quality is attributable to the cows, the 

 herbage, or the mode of manufacture, or all combined. The 

 butter has a wide reputation, and commands in London an extra 

 price. 



" The Shetland heifer is of a dun color, and covered with a 

 thick, soft coat, like fur. This is a very peculiar breed. The 

 color ranges from black to dun, and mixtures of black and white, 

 and dun and white. They correspond most nearly to the cattle of 

 Norway, and were probably derived from that country when the 

 islands belonged to her, as they did for many years. They are 

 smaller than any of the breeds of the main land of Scotland, or 

 even of those of the Hebrides. Instead of long horns, like them, 

 they have short horns, as short, nearly, as those of the Channel 

 Islands commonly called Alderneys. They are very hardy, and 

 their beef is the best of any known in the British markets. The 

 cows give a moderate quantity of the richest milk. They are 

 are rather larger than the Kerries. The man of whom I pur- 

 chased Mr. Austin's heifer, brings thousands from the Shetland 

 Islands annually, fattening them upon a large farm near Edin- 

 burgh. He told me that the gentry would give more by a penny 

 a pound for the beef of the Shetlands than for any other." 



We have presented this interesting account of these animals 

 with the belief that it is a matter of importance to the breeders of 

 stock in the County, to know what varieties there may be from 

 which to select with most promise of benefit. The peculiar char- 

 acteristics of these breeds may not render them unsuitable to our 

 climate and soil ; and if their butter and meat are of superior 



