THE UNITED KINGDOM. 175 



years old; and their flesh developed "that beautiful marbled appear- 

 ance caused by the admixture of fat and lean which is so much prized 

 by epicures." Such finely ripened beef is no longer procurable, as the 

 Hereford is now considered ready for the market at from 20 to 30 months 

 old. Grass with a little oil-cake is all they need, and their agility in 

 grazing and facility for fattening makes the steers much sought after 

 to graze in the midland counties for the London market. They are in 

 their prime at three, but will grow up to four, and their live weight at 

 maturity is from 1,800 to 2,500 pounds. The calves are dropped gener- 

 ally from April to July. Yearling heifers are seldom put to the bull. 

 The calves run on their dams for 6 or 7 months, and are rarely weaned 

 on oil-cake. The young steers are fed upon grass, and get turnips and 

 cut straw and sometimes a little oil-cake in winter. 



I subjoin to this report a table showing the live weights of all the 

 cattle of all breeds exhibited at the eighty-six>th annual show of the 

 Smithfield Club in December, 1883, prepared by me from the official 

 catalogue. It is presented more as a matter of interest than for any 

 deductions that might be drawn from it. " The youngest and oldest 

 Hereford classes as a general thing at these shows," Mr. Duckham writes 

 me, "are the heaviest of any exhibited." The superiority in weight of 

 the younger classes proves, of course, their earlier development ; the 

 superiority of the oldest, indicates that eventually they attain a greater 

 size than other breeds. But I have already said that Herefords are not 

 commonly allowed, for various reasons, to obtain the age which in the 

 past made them so remarkable for their size and weight. 



Another reason for the lack of "tall figures" in these days for cattle 

 weights is the partial abandonment of the time-honored practice of feed- 

 ing up stock until it becomes so fat as to be literally useless for any 

 other purpose than to take a prize. 



Mr. McDonald, in his report to the Koyal Agricultural Society upon 

 the stock exhibited at the society's meeting at York in July, 1883, says 

 on this point: 



Overfeeding has been disappearing somewhat in recent years. There is still too 

 much of it, however. 



He says elsewhere : 



Preparation for modern show yards is a severe ordeal and only good constituted 

 animals can endure it. It leads to many breeding mishaps and failures; but when one 

 finds the sires and dams of so many of the prize-winners themselves in prize-lists, as was 

 the case at York, one is forced to the" conclusion that successful showing and breeding 

 go hand in hand to a considerable extent and to a larger degree than is commonly 

 imagined; and one is led to believe that high feeding is not so detrimental in skillful 

 hands to successful breeding as is generally imagined. 



Herefords, and only Herefords, are found in Herefordshire, Shrop- 

 shire-, Monmouthshire, Eadnorshire, Breconshire, and also in Worces- 

 tershire and Montgomeryshire. Large numbers are also found in Corn- 

 wall and Ireland, and there are herds of them in many other counties. 

 They are seldom crossed with the Short-horn, though they are said to 

 blend well when it is done ; the same statement holds good with the 

 Ayrshires. Hereford on Devon has been tried, resulting in a progeny 

 inferior in some respects. Hereford on Alderney is said to produce 

 satisfactory results, improving the cow of the first cross as a feeder and 

 not injuring her milk in quantity or quality. A cross with the West 

 Highland Kyloe was a failure, but with Galloway Polls was a great suc- 

 cess. These statements of the results of Hereford crosses are taken 

 from a prize essay for the Boyal Agricultural Society made by the late 

 H. H. Dixon, a notable authority on such matters when alive. 



