76 THE OX AND THE DATKY. 



in spring; but to the others, milk, whey, and occasionally 

 linseed-meal, are given. 



Herefordshire possesses a peculiar breed of middle-horned 

 cattle, allied to the Devons, but heavier and coarser, of a red 

 colour, with white faces,* and with white along the back and 

 under parts. The true Herefords are shorter in the leg, 

 heavier in the chine, and wider and rounder in the hips than 

 the Devons ; the head is also larger in proportion, and less 

 fine, and the hide thicker, but mellow and supple. As milkers 

 they are inferior to the Devons, but acquire an earlier ma 

 turity, and fatten both more rapidly and to a greater weight ; 

 consequently, the oxen are commonly sold off at the age of 

 two or three years, in a state fit for the feeder. The graziers 

 of Buckinghamshire, and other counties, purchase, for fatten- 

 ing, great numbers of these oxen at the various fairs, espe- 

 cially the Michaelmas fair at Hereford ; they are brought to 

 the London markets, when ready, and meet an excellent sale 

 Few oxen are, in fact, fattened in Herefordshire ; but only 

 heifers and cows for home consumption. Herefordshire is 

 essentially a breeding county (not a dairy nor yet a feeding 

 county); and the great object is to supply the graziers with a 

 valuable stock. The cows preferred are worthless as milkers; 

 but such as experience has taught the breeder will produce 

 the best offspring : they are rather small and light, but roomy ; 

 insomuch that they often bear bull-calves, which soon attain 

 to thrice their own weight. These cows, however, when dried, 

 fatten rapidly, and become full-fleshed and rounded. 



Formerly it was the custom to work the oxen for two or 

 three years before sending them to market ; but it is now 

 found far more profitable to take advantage of their early ma- 

 turity, and sell them without unnecessary delay, thereby sav 

 ing fodder, and also obviating the slow return of capital which 

 the long keeping of oxen necessarily entails. 



As dairy-farming is not practised (at least as a general rule) 

 in Herefordshire, the milk of the breeding cows is given 

 almost all to the calves ; nor is this plan to be condemned : 

 the breeder's great aim is to ripen his beasts for the grazier, 

 or at least for early fattening. A mingled system of breeding 

 and dairy-farming would defeat its object and lead to loss, for 

 neither department would be properly conducted. 



Gloucestershire, closely as it approximates to Hereford- 

 shire, is a dairy county, celebrated for its butter and cheese, 

 but especially the latter, of which large quantities are sent to 

 the London market. 



