THE UNITED -KINGDOM. 87 



Color. Color was, ill the opinion of the old fanciers of Suffolk Polls, a 

 distinctive characteristic. Mr. M. Biddell, speaking in 1862, could 

 " recollect the time when no other color than red would be looked at in 

 a Suffolk cow," and in the same discussion on the fyreed it was admitted 

 that " the red cow had established the breed." Previous to that meet- 

 ing of the Suffolk Agricultural Society there was a tendency being de- 

 veloped to get rid of the color distinction. This may have arisen from 

 the remembrance of the fact that "red and white, brindle, and a yellow- 

 ish cream color" had been an accepted color, as representing good milk- 

 ers. In Norfolk, as has been said, red was the favorite color, but in 

 a few districts sheeted Polls were preferred. The fashion has during 

 the last forty years set steadily in one direction. The red which is now 

 recognized as the mark of excellence is a deep, rich blood-red, and the 

 spot of white, which Mr. George used to say was a sign of good breeding, 

 has been well nigh crossed out. The predominance of deep red shows 

 plainly the degree in which the old Norfolk breed has affected the Polls, 

 and, on the contrary, the freedom from horns and from white on the 

 udder and face is evidence of the persistence of the Suffolk Polled char- 

 acter. The amalgamation of the two varieties Norfolk Polled and Suf- 

 folk Polled may with certainty be traced from the year 1846. Both 

 counties henceforth met in an honorable competition in the show-yard. 

 Purchase of the handsomest and truest bred red stock became the desire 

 of all the breeders. The result of the zeal was soon made evident not 

 only at county shows but also at Eoyal meetings. 



Characteristics. The standard description of Bed-Polled cattle was 

 agreed upon by the breeders in the autumn of 1873, after my proposal 

 to establish a herd-book of the breed had met with ready acceptance. 

 This standard description read as follows: 



Color. Red; the tip of the tail and the udder may be white. The extension of the 

 white of the udder a few inches along the inside of the flank, or a small white spot or 

 mark on the under part of the belly by the milk veins, shall not be held to disqualify 

 an animal whose sire and dam form part of an established herd of the breed and which 

 upholds in all other essentials this " standard description." 



Form. There should be no horns, slugs, or abortive horns. 



The points of a superior animal are as follows: 



Color. A deep red, with udder of the same color, but the tip of the tail may be 

 white. Nose not dark or cloudy. 



Form. A neat head and throat. A full eye. A tuft or crest of hair should hang 

 over the forehead. The frontal bones should begin to contract a little above the 

 eye, and should terminate in a comparatively narrow prominence at the summit of 

 the head. 



In all other particulars the commonly accepted points of a superior 

 animal are taken as applying to Bed-Polled cattle. 



Weight. At the close of the last century the animals when fattened 

 seldom exceeded fifty stone (720 pounds). This is the report both of 

 Marshall and Young. The former says : 



The superior quality of their flesh, and their fattening freely at an early age, do away 

 with every solid objection to their size and form. 



There has been great improvement in this matter of weight for age, 

 while there has been no deterioration in the quality of the flesh, butchers 

 now, as then, purchasing the Bed Polls readily, because they die well, 

 and the meat is equal to the best Polled Scot or Highlander. A few of 

 the recorded weights of fat beasts will show this: 



The live weight of a three-year-old steer, of the Biddell strain, shown 

 in 1876, was 25 cwt., 2 qrs. ; its girth nearly 9 feet. The return of this 

 animal's dead weight has not been recorded ; in fact, it has been found 



