70 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



My herd is now, for the most part, kept at the Duffryn, Newport, Monmouthshire, 

 where the soil varies from gravel to old red sandstone. The cattle do well on either. 

 Heifers are generally brought to calve at about thirty-three months; bull calves are 

 generally allowed to suck their dams, whilst heifer calves are taken from the cows and 

 reared with only a little milk, as it is considered that too generous feeding is injuri- 

 ous to the milking qualities. 



Milking qualities. I can give no details as. to the annual yield in milk per cow 

 per annum, having never kept any record, but Sir H. H. Hassey Vivian, Bart., M. P., 

 has two cows of "Stratton" blood that have given overljOOO gallons of milk within the 

 year. 



Size and weight. As to size, two of my biggest cows, in good, fair condition, I find to 

 measure as follows: Chloe, girth, 7 feet 4 inches; length, 7 feet 5 inches ; Heather, 

 girth, 7 feet 5 inches ; length, 7 feet 7 inches. 



I have had a heifer increase as much as 673 pounds in twelve months. 



As to relative live and dead weight, two of my champion Smithfield heifers have 

 been as follows: Icicle, alive, 19 cwt., 9 pounds ; 'dead, 1,674 pounds. Wild Flower, 

 alive, 17 cwt., 2 quarters, 9 pounds ; dead, 1,420 pounds. 



I do not consider the cows fully matured until six years old. 



Shorthorn crosses. Shorthorns are far superior to all other breeds for crossing pui - 

 poses, and it is a notable fact that two or three crosses of good, pure blood upon any 

 inferior nondescript stock will often stamp the progeny as pure-bred Shorthorns, and, 

 for all intents and purposes, they are in no way inferior. 



The champion shorthorns of Smithfield for many years past have none of them been 

 eligible to the Herd-Book, though all by pure-bred bulls ; thus illustrating their 

 efficiency in crossing purposes. 



RESPONSES FROM VARIOUS QUARTERS. 



A note from Sir John B. Lawes, Bart., from Bothamsted, Herts, re- 

 fers to the district as one chiefly devoted to corn growing, amd having 

 no special breed of cattle or sheep. (Inclosure 9.) 



I may here observe that in recent years Sir John has laid down many 

 acres of his estate in grass, and that in the neighborhood a considerable 

 herd of stock, cattle and sheep, of diverse breeds, is kept, maintaining 

 the special characteristics of the districts from which they have been 

 changed. 



Somerset Devons. Mr. T. H. Eisdon, of Somerset (inclosnre 10), for- 

 wards a valuable condensation of information as to Somerset Devon 

 cattle : 



At Washford the mean temperature is 50. It is as high as 66 in the summer and 

 the winter mean is not below 34. 



The girth of Mr. Risdon's Devon cows is 7 feet 6 inches ; of bulls, 7 feet 6 to 8 inches, 

 thus competing with Shorthorns, except that the latter have greater length. 



The average yield of milk is 1,800 quarts including time of suckling. The breed is 

 regarded as native to the soil and pure blood has been recorded for over one hundred 

 years. By interchange of sires in-and-in breeding ia avoided as much as possible. 

 Store- stock are Housed, January to April, inclusive. The cattle are fattened in 

 watered meadows on grass grown after hay-making until the end of October, when 

 they are housed in covered pens. The breed are bred and reared on much higher 

 altitudes, with corresponding lower temperature, than at Mr. Risdon's homestead. 



The average live weight is from 13 cwt. for cow to 17 cwt. for bull. 



Shorthorn Gwynns. The report from Bedford (inclosure 11) from 

 Messrs. J. and F. Howard, quotes Shorthorns (Gwynn tribe) as mature 

 at 3 years. Their live weight averages from 14 to 16 cwt. The live 

 weight of fat stock is, for the cow, 18 cwt. ; bull, 23 to 26 cwt. ; ox, 16 to 

 18 cwt. From the milk, 16 quarts daily ; the week's butter is 8 pounds. 



Norfolk Red Polls. From Stanton, near Harleston, Norfolk, I was 

 favored with a report from Mr. Alfred Taylor (inclosure 12), whose herd of 

 Bed-Polled cattle is typical and of high excellence. The farm in South 

 Norfolk is 114 feet above sea level ? upon a clay and gravel subsoil, and 

 the pasturage is of permanent grass, or of clover and rye grass sown 

 with arable rotation. Accessible shelter is provided in winter adjoining 

 the meadows on which the cows are pastured. Mr. Taylor considers he 



