74 THE BEAUTY OF CATTLE 



since he was a baby,' treated this young giant as if he 

 were a Newfoundland dog. * Come, kiss me, then,' he 

 said, pulling the halter, as his pet was busy munching 

 bran and turnips, and the animal actually raised its 

 bran-covered muzzle from the tray to give the required 

 salute. The c cross-breds ' cattle produced from parents 

 of first-class merit, but of different stocks are always 

 the most interesting class in the show. There is no 

 saying what new beauties may be produced from the 

 mating of the finest specimens of different pure- bred 

 cattle. The champion of the show was the son of a 

 shorthorn bull and a Galloway cow ; in others of 

 almost equal merit the strain of Suffolk, or Devon, or 

 Welsh blood was to be traced. Great variety of colour 

 results from this mixture of strains ; black, blue-roan, 

 iron-gray, and deep chestnut-red being the favourite 

 tints. These long-haired, richly-tinted hides should 

 make admirable rugs for halls. The Herefords are, 

 perhaps, the most distinct in appearance of any breed, 

 except the Highlanders. Their coats are crisp and 

 curly, their bodies a rich, deep red, and the face pure 

 white, with a white line up the nape of the neck. Very 

 different to these easy-going English cattle are the wild 

 Highlanders tethered opposite. Purity of blood only 

 brings out their Celtic constitution in the greatest per- 

 fection. Their shaggy coats hang in mops and eif- 

 locks over their eyes, and their eyes are restless and 



