CHAP. I. 



DEVON CATTLE. 85 



and less used. Although the North Devon cattle do not attain the 

 weight of several other breeds, they fatten early and rapidly, and their 

 flesh is of excellent quality. Many will, with proper care, weigh 

 from forty-five to fifty stones when about two and a half or three 

 years old ; and the quality of the meat is unrivalled by that of any 

 other breed. 



In South Devon there is a mixture of the pure North Devon stock 

 with a larger breed, of the same kind, called the Old Marlborough Red. 

 The latter are said to have descended from the South Molton stock, 

 although at present they differ materially from them in size, and in 

 having a dingy brown or blackish colour at the ears, nose, and round 

 the eyes, or wherever the orange tint is observable in the genuine race. 



Fig. 6. Devon Cow, "Flower 2nd" (9355). 



Winner of the Champion Prize given by the Devon Cattle- Breeders' Society for the best 

 female in the Devon classes, and of the Gold Medal presented by Her Majesty the Queen for 

 the best animal in the Devon classes, at the Jubilee Show of the Royal Agricultural Society 

 of England, Windsor, 1889. Bred and exhibited by Sir William Williams, Baronet, of 

 Heanton, Barnstaple. 



A cross with this variety is found to fatten more readily than the pure 

 South Devon, and is therefore generally preferred. 



The Devons, according to Mr. Smith, are eminently fitted for every 

 hardship, the frame being compact, and the offal light; they have 

 power and great endurance; being "cast in a peculiar mould " they 

 have a degree of elegance in their movement which is not to be 

 excelled. As animal food-producers they are unsurpassed, and in 

 consequence they receive the first attention of the London West-end 

 butchers. A first-rate Devon has a prominent eye, with a placid face, 

 small nose, and elegantly turned horns which have an upward 

 tendency (and curl outwards at the end), as if to put the last finish 

 upon his symmetrical form and carriage. These animals are beauti- 

 fully covered with silky coats of a medium red colour. The shoulder- 

 points, sides, and fore-flanks are well laden with rich meat, which, 



D 2 



