CATTLE. # 



it is the animals for slaughter which make the best return 

 for what they consume ; and that the working of horned 

 cattle, whether necessary or not, instead of being profit- 

 able, entails a loss. 



It was, again, the celebrated farmer of Dishley Grange, 

 Eobert Bakewell, who gave the spur in England to the 

 improvement of cattle, considered specially with reference 

 to beef. His mode of proceeding was similar to that 

 practised with sheep, only individually he was not so 

 fortunate. The sheep, as produced by Bakewell, continues 

 to be the most perfect type of the animal for the butcher. 

 The race of cattle which he bred was not so successful. 

 The long-horned cattle of the midland counties, which 

 he selected as the subject for his operations, is a race in 

 many respects defective. In spite of his ability and 

 perseverance, he was not able to modify it sufficiently to 

 eradicate its primitive defects. This race is now pretty 

 generally abandoned ; but if this great breeder did not 

 altogether succeed in his undertaking, he has at least 

 given examples and models which have everywhere been 

 followed, and have caused an improvement in all the Eng- 

 lish races. There probably does not exist at this day in 

 Great Britain a single head of cattle which has not been 

 considerably modified according to Bakewell's method ; 

 and if none bears his name, as among the woolly tribe, 

 all have equally received his stamp. 



Among the improved breeds of long standing, the short- 

 horn of Durham ranks first. It took its rise in the rich 

 valley of the Tees, and appears to have been formed 

 originally by a cross between the Dutch cow and the 

 native bull. When Bakewell's ideas spread in England, 

 this race was already remarkable for predisposition to 

 fatten, and for its lactiferous qualities. The brothers 

 Collins, farmers at Darlington, first thought of applying 



