THE UNITED KINGDOM. 157 



prominent breeders. In many cases the breeders excused themselves 

 answering the questions on. account of their voluminous nature. For 

 much of the information I have been able to obtain I am greatly in- 

 debted to Mr, George de la Perrelle, of Litherland, near Liverpool, a well- 

 known shipper of select stock for breeding purposes to Canada and the 

 United States. 



There are in this country numerous breeds of cattle, but as a number 

 of these are considered of inferior sorts, I have thought it best to report 

 only of such breeds as excel in merit for the dairy or beef-making pur- 

 poses, and at the same "time suitable to our climate and soil, such 

 breeds as are usually selected by the buyers who come over here to se- 

 cure those best adapted for exportation to the United States. They are 

 as follows : Shorthorns, Devous, Sussex, Herefords, lied Polled, Polled 

 Angus or Aberdeen, Welsh, Jerseys, and Ayrshires, 



THE SHORT-HORN CATTLE. 



Some of the best herds of this celebrated breed are to be found in 



orkshire and the north and northwest counties of England, but more 

 or less all over Great Britain. 



The following descriptions of the Short-horn and other breeds herein- 

 after treated are more or less borrowed from eminent English writers 

 on cattle, and suggest strongly the points of excellence which should 

 be considered by the buyer of thoroughbred neat stock. 



This breed possesses, in an eminent degree, a combination of qualities, 

 and are rendered attractive to the eye by their splendid frames and 

 beautifully varied colors; they have become objects of public curiosity, 

 and have realized for their breeders enormous sums of money. 



The following may be taken as a fair specimen of a Yorkshire cow : 



A milch cow, good for the pail as long as wanted, and then quickly got into mar- 

 ketable condition, should have a long and rather small head ; a large-headed cow will 

 seldom fatten or yield milk. The eye should be bright, yet with a peculiar placiduess 

 and quietness of expression ; the chaps thin and the horns small. The neck should 

 not bo so thin as that which common opinion gives to this milch cow. The dewlap 

 should be small ; the breast, if not so wide as in some that have an unusual dispo- 

 sition to fatten, yet far from being narrow, and it should project before the legs ; the 

 chine to a certain degree fleshy; the girth behind the shoulder should bo deeper than 

 is usually found in the Short-horn ; the ribs should spread out wide so as to give as 

 globular a form as possible to the carcass, and each should project farther than the 

 preceding one, to the very loins. She should be well formed across the hips and on 

 to the rump, and with greater length there than the milker generally possesses, or, if 

 a little too short, not heavy. If she stands a little long on the legs it rnuat not be too 

 long. The thighs somewhat thin, with a slight tendency to crookedness ; the tail thick 

 in the upper part but tapering below, and should have a mellow hide and li ttle, coarse 

 hair. The quantity of milk given by some of these cows is very great, and no un- 

 common thing to yield thirty quarts per day in early summer, but the average may be 

 estimated at twenty-two to twenty -four quarts. Ifc is said that this milk does not 

 yield a proportionate quantity of butter, and that although these cows may be valu- 

 able wheu the sale of milk is the prime object, they will not answer for the dairy. 

 That their milk does not contain the same proportionate quantity of butter as that of 

 the Long-horns, the Scotch cattle or the Devons is probably true, but more than com- 

 pensated by the additional quantity of milk. 



It also appears that they accumulate flesh and mature more rapidly 

 than any other breed, and, in consequence, take the foremost rank of 

 all neat cattle. 



The colors are roan, white, red ? and white and red. 



