HO CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



kept in the dairy, though they fail as milkers, simply on account of their value as 

 "breeders, but this is not the case with mongrels, for if they fail as milkers they are at 

 once fattened. On this account mongrels are often stated to be better for the dairy 

 than they really arc. The Devon breed occupies, with but little exception, the whole 

 of the district north of the forest of Dartmoor to the Bristol Channel, including the 

 forest of Exmoor, and from West Somersetshire through Devonshire and Cornwall it 

 holds the principal sway. I consider the fact of the Devon cattle again taking pos- 

 session of the strongholds of the other breeds to be a broader and much more trust- 

 worthy fact as to merit than any test made (as I have before hinted) on a small scale. 

 The Devons \vero lirst bred on the Government prison farm at Dartmoor, then the 

 Ayrshires, then the Polled Scots, and now the Devona have again taken up the posi- 

 tion they at first held. 



Mr. Bichard Bickle, of Bradstone, says: 



My uncle has been a breeder of Devons for upwards of forty years and I still retain 

 the same herd. I have always found them more profitable than any other breed, both 

 for milk and aptitude to fatten. I can keep three Devons to two Shorthorns, and I 

 find they will stand the winter and our wet climate far better than any cross or other 

 pure-bred animals, and that without any housing or extra care. I have 125 bullocks, 

 chiefly Devons, but I find the best bred ones are preferable to be kept, as they are always 

 fit for anyone to look at. During the summer months I graze upwards of 100 besides 

 my regular stock, and consequently I sometimes get a Shorthorn, Hereford, or cross- 

 bred animal, but I invariably find it does me no good. 



I have never tested the milking properties of the Devons, but they are not heavy 

 milters as a rule, although the cream is of the richest quality and will make more but- 

 ter than that from almost any other breed. We never make cheese in our county, as it is 

 not one for cheese making. The average weight of my cows with ordinary feeding 

 would be about 7 cwt. of marketable beef, steers being about the same at 3 years of 

 age. I have had some of the latter which weighed as much as 13 cwt. at 4 years old. 

 Bulls in proportion weigh just the same. 



The chief part of my farm is a light soil, with grey freestone, and the temperature 

 is very changeable both in summer and winter. We have plenty of rain. As the dis- 

 trict I live in is a grazing district the grasses used are of an ordinary character just 

 for three years ley. The Devons in my immediate neighborhood are not used for draught 

 purposes, but in the neighboring county of Cornwall I have heard of several being so 

 used. My uncle had oxen in constant work many years ago, and they were consid- 

 ered better workers than any other breed. My young stock as a rule are housed about 

 the beginning of November, but it depends partly on the mildness of the season. Store 

 ones have anVpen shed all the winter. 



Mr. Surridge, another breeder of the Devons, observes : 



In speaking of the Devons it must be remembered that there are the Somerset De- 

 von and North Devon breed. I have been breeding principally Somerset Devons. 

 I have never kept an account of the average yield of milk, but some of the Devon cows 

 give from 16 to 18 quarts per day and make from 1 pound to 1| pounds of butter daily, 

 and others give not more than half that quantity. The live weight of a Somerset 

 Devon at four years of age reaches from 18 cwt. to 22 cwt., and my own bred bull Robin 

 at 4 years old weighed 1 ton 56 pounds, and the 'dead weight was considered 80 score. 

 The cows weigh from 12 cwt. to 17 cwt., live weight ; oxen, from 15 cwt. to 20 cwt.; 

 steers under two years old, 8 cwt. to 10 cwt. ; steer under three years old, from 12 to 15 

 cwt., and steer under four years, from 13 to 17 cwt. 



The grasses cultivated are Dutch, Alsyke, Trefoil, Italian, rye and clover. I my- 

 self cut some for hay ; others cut some green for feeding in summer. If the animals 

 are intended for exhibiting the system of housing pursued is to keep them in in sum- 

 mer a:id winter, giving them every day moderate exercise, and feeding them on dif- 

 ferent kinds of meal-cake root and green food. I commence handling and leading when 

 my beasts are about three months old, but sometimes before. The dead weight of one 

 of my animals (Norah 3d) was 144 stone 5 pounds, or 57 score 17 pounds, and her live 

 weight 14 cwt. 1 quarter. The temperature on my farm is about 60 to 65 in sum- 

 mer and 45 to 50 in winter, and the soil in my neighborhood is chiefly ray and sand, 

 some of which is very good and some very inferior. 



(5) THE HEREFORD CATTLE. 



Characteristics. The chief points to be looked for in a good Hereford 

 are, first, that the color should be a distinct red, not too dark or too 

 light, white face, inane, breast, and belly, white end to tail, and white 

 legs as far as the knee and hock, sometimes running up the flank. 



