THE POLLED IRISH BREED. 327 



confining himself, however, to a particular colour, which, in 

 compliance with the popular opinion, was red, in place of the 

 dun, more characteristic of the race. The stock acquired the 

 conformation which he aimed at, and the property of arriving 

 at more early maturity. His son-in-law, Mr England, pre- 

 served, until a recent period, the same stock, and carefully 

 cultivated the properties which it had acquired ; but, not- 

 withstanding of the perfection to which Mr Reeve's stock 

 had been brought, during a lifetime of attention, Mr England 

 found it for his interest to abandon it, and adopt the Short- 

 horned breed, as being more profitable. This, and other ex- 

 periments, lead to the conclusion, that, though the Polled 

 Suffolk is admirably adapted to the dairy, it does not form a 

 good basis for a breed suited to the mixed purposes of the 

 dairyman and the grazier. 



X. THE POLLED HUSH BREED. 



The Polled Irish Breed is a variety scarcely known to the 

 breeders of England, but which, from its properties, deserved 

 far more attention than it has received in the parts of the 

 country where it had been naturalized. It has existed in 

 Ireland for an unknown period, and appears to have been 

 once widely diffused. It is now scattered throughout the 

 country, but is only found in some numbers in the vale of 

 Shannon. The cattle are of a light brownish colour, and 

 destitute of horns, on which account they have been sup- 

 posed to resemble the Suffolk Duns. But they are superior 

 in size to the Suffolk Duns, equalling, in this respect, the 

 larger class of Short-horns. The breed has been probably 

 formed by an early mixture of Dutch cattle with some of the 

 native races. It has been long diminishing in numbers, in 

 consequence of the immediate profit derived by a first cross 

 with the improved Short-horns. From this cause, and from 

 long neglect, the Polled Irish Breed will probably, in a few 



