376 THE OX. 



Mr Princep of Croxall, and numerous other individuals, ac- 

 quired and bred from the Dishley stock ; and the rearing of 

 bulls for hiring and sale became a distinct branch of the 

 profession, by which means the influence of the new breed 

 was extended in a surprising degree. The midland counties 

 became the great centre, from which it extended beyond the 

 limits which the older Long-horns had occupied in the country. 

 The effects were beneficial in a high degree. The Dishley 

 Breed itself, indeed, has now lost the favour which it once 

 possessed ; but the traces of its influence remain in the 

 parts of the country in which the Long-horned breed is still 

 cultivated. 



The Dishley Breed is of good size, but generally inferior 

 in weight to the old Lancashire Long-horns, the Short-horns, 

 and Herefords, The horns, for the most part, bend down- 

 wards by the side of the head, having more the appearance 

 of bent hops than arms of defence. The shoulder is well 

 formed, the neck remarkably thin, the head fine, and the 

 limbs are moderately short and small boned, in which respect 

 the artificial differs from the natural breed. The skin, though 

 thick, is soft, and the hair is usually reddish-brown, with more 

 or less of white on different parts. The ribs are remarkably 

 well arched, forming a fine cylindrical trunk ; the loin is mo- 

 derately broad, and the hind quarters are long. The animals 

 are docile, easily maintained on ordinary food, and readily 

 fattened. The flesh has never entirely lost that darkness of 

 colour distinctive of the unimproved race, and the fat is less 

 mixed with the muscular parts than in any other kind of 

 British cattle. The tendency of the fat to accumulate on the 

 rump is so great, as to produce a kind of deformity in the 

 fattened animal ; yet this character might not of itself be 

 regarded as an imperfection, were it not indicative of the 

 general tendency of the fatty tissue to remain separate from 

 the muscular. The fat, too, retains the tinge distinctive of 

 the older race ; so that it became a familiar remark of the 

 opponents of Bakewell, that breed as he might, he would not 



