128 THE OX AND THE DAIKY. 



which produced a bull-calf; this, in due time, was the sire 

 of a bull-calf by a pure short-horned cow called Johanna ; this 

 latter bull-calf again became the sire of the cow Lady, by a 

 pure short-horn cow, which was the dam 'also of the noted 

 bull Favourite. Many animals of this breed have fetched 

 extraordinarily high prices. Some of the cows have fetched 

 as much as four hundred pounds, and one bull, Comet, at 

 six years old, was sold for no less* a sum than a thousand 

 guineas. 



There is in the present improved short-horns a union of 

 many qualities, once deemed incompatible : early maturity, 

 quick feeding, and that to a great weight ; an abundance of 

 inside fat, and meat of a fine grain, while the cows are plenti- 

 ful and steady milkers, and fatten rapidly when dried : these 

 are the characteristics of the breed. Many improvers, it is 

 true, look rather to the grazing properties of these cattle, and 

 forget their value for the dairy ; they esteem them in propor- 

 tion to their early arriving at maturity, and their aptitude to 

 fatten; and selecting their breeding stock with such views, 

 the milking properties of the cows become in reality dimin- 

 ished. But this is to develop one excellency at the expense 

 of another, and that without necessity ; for in this breed, as 

 has been abundantly proved, both qualities can exist, not of 

 course at the same time, for the milking cow does not fatten 

 until dried, but in subjection one to the other. If indeed the 

 milk yielded by the improved short-horns be somewhat less 

 in quantity than that given by the old unimproved strain, it is 

 of far richer quality, and returns more butter in proportion. 

 Nearly four gallons of milk have been yielded, morning and 

 evening, even by the highest bred short-horns, and some have 

 even given more ; and these very cattle have proved, after 

 having been dried and fattened, admirable in the carcass. 

 To the dairy-farmer, therefore, the short-horns are as valuable 

 as to the grazier ; and indeed it is with cows of an improved 

 short-horn breed, from Yorkshire or Durham, that the great 

 dairies for the supply of London with milk are stocked. The 

 Yorkshire cow indeed has always been a -favourite with the 

 London dairymen ; but, formerly, when dry, she fattened 

 slowly, consumed much food, and therefore sold to a disad- 

 vantage : but the improved breed fattens with surprising 

 rapidity, and whether the dairyman keep his cows one year or 

 three, and then sells them, or feeds them for the butcher, 

 they return a profit. 



