THE POLLED SUFFOLK BREED. 325 



which gives its real value to the breed, which otherwise could 

 not have maintained itself in a fertile district, amidst all the 

 improvement which the cattle of the country have undergone. 

 Suffolk is still distinguished as a dairy district. The prin- 

 cipal manufacture is butter, which finds a sale in London, 

 and other markets. It also produces great quantities of 

 skimmilk cheese ; which has given rise to the saying, that 

 Suffolk produces the best butter and the worst cheese in 

 England. From this kind of cheese being well suited to 

 withstand the heat of warm countries, it was formerly largely 

 employed in victualling the Navy. In consequence of the 

 early attention paid to the produce of the dairy, it is easy to 

 see that cows the best suited for that purpose would be 

 sought for, in preference to those possessing the property of 

 early fattening. The dairy farmers hold it sufficient to ob- 

 tain a good Milch-Cow, and, accordingly, the only principle 

 of choosing bulls is that of selecting those which possess the 

 reputation of breeding a good dairy stock. This system 

 being pursued for a long period, the result has been what 

 our knowledge of the principles of breeding would lead us to 

 expect. The characters which indicate a disposition to arrive 

 at early maturity, and secrete fat, have been disregarded ; 

 while those that indicate a disposition in the female to pro- 

 duce abundant milk, have been alone valued. It is remarked 

 by Arthur Young, that the Suffolk breed has been preserved 

 by a kind of accident. This observation cannot be admitted 

 to be just. The Suffolk breeders, indeed, may not have been 

 guided by very fixed principles in the choice of animals, but 

 they have followed a certain rude experience, which has led 

 them to select such as were suited to their uses, and they 

 acquired, accordingly, a race of animals admirably adapted 

 to a particular end, however defective they may be in those 

 other properties, which have long been desired by the breed- 

 ers of the country. The Cows of Suffolk, though subjected 

 to careless treatment, and supported on the most common 

 kinds of food, are scarcely surpassed by any other in their 

 power of yielding abundant milk. 



