34a HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE 



out of the ten prizes for Devons. The Devon Herd-Book 

 was first published in 1851 by Captain T. T. Davy, and 

 a writer in 1858 says that of twenty-nine prize bulls in the 

 first three volumes twenty-seven were descended from the 

 Quartly bull Forester, and of thirty- four prize cows twenty- 

 nine from the cow Curly, also of their stock. 



Among other famous breeders of Devons contemporary 

 with Quartly were Messrs. Merson, Davy^ Michael Thorne, 

 Yapp, Buckingham, the Raises, and George Turner. 



In 1 8^9 Moore says, ' The young heifers of North Devon, 

 with their taper legs, the exact symmetry of their form, and 

 their clear coats of dark red, are pictures of elegance.' Their 

 superiority for grazing and draught was proved by the high 

 prices demanded for them, but they were not equally es- 

 teemed as dairy animals,^ though of late years this reproach 

 has been removed. The ploughing of two acres of fallow 

 land was the common work of four oxen, which, when 

 fattened at five years old, would reach eleven score a quarter. 



Since the publication of the Herd-Book, Devons have 

 spread all over the world, to Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, 

 Australia, France, and United States, and the fact that in 

 their original home they have been largely kept by tenant 

 farmers proves them a good rent-paying breed. Yet it cannot 

 be pretended that away from their native country they are as 

 much valued as the Shorthorn and Hereford. 



The South Hams breed of South Devon is a distinct 

 variety, though it is believed to be descended from the 

 ' Rubies ' ^ and apparently has at some time been crossed 

 with the Guernsey ; they are good milkers and attain a great 

 size, but the quality of the meat is decidedly inferior to that 

 of North Devon. 



From the earliest times the real Devon colour has been 

 red, varying from a dark to a lighter or almost chestnut 



' History of Devon, i. 456. 



"^ R. A.S.E. Journal {yd ser.), i. 527. 



