132 THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 



10 st. 2 Ibs. His age was eleven years. Many high-fed oxen, 

 at three or four years of age, weigh from 100 to ISO stone the 

 four quarters, and some much more. 



One of the most extraordinary oxen of the pure short-horn 

 breed, was an animal fed in Lincolnshire by Lord Yar- 

 borough, and exhibited under the erroneous appellation 

 of the " Lincolnshire Ox ;" he measured 5 feet 6 inches 

 in height at the shoulders, 11 feet 10 inches to the root 

 of the tail, 11 feet 1 inch in girth, and 3 feet 3 inches across 

 the hips, shoulders, and middle of the back. His breast was 

 only 14 inches from the ground. The depth of the fore 

 quarters, and the comparative shortness of the limbs, are 

 characteristics of this high-bred strain. 



The short horns are in the present day everywhere spread- 

 ing, and their value is generally appreciated ; it may reason- 

 ably be expected that in a few years they will either super- 

 sede or greatly modify the old breeds of most of the English 

 grazing and breeding districts. Crosses between the Durham 

 bull and Devonshire cow have proved in all respects admir- 

 able ; their quality of flesh, aptitude to fatten, and milking 

 properties being first-rate, while, at the same time, they 

 exceed the pure Devons in size. 



There is in Lincolnshire a breed of short-horns, well 

 known in the London markets as " Dutch cattle," or " Lin- 

 coins," which present us with none, or but few, of the cha- 

 racteristics of the high-bred Durham or Holderness breeds ; 

 they are large -boned, coarse, and heavy in the head ; with 

 the limbs high, and the loins and hips wide : the meat is 

 coarse-grained, and the fat not well laid on. The cows, as 

 milkers, are moderate : they are mostly white and red ; but 

 a dun variety is also to be seen, which was introduced by Sir 

 C. Buck, of Hanby Grange, about the middle of the last 

 century. This dun stock appears to be of mixed origin. 



We must not suppose that no improvements have been 

 effected in the coarse Lincolnshire breed ; on the contrary, 

 several successful attempts have been made, and particularly 

 by crosses with the Durham, by means of which the size of 

 the bone, and the ungainly form, were materially altered for 

 the better; while a disposition to fatten more rapidly also 

 resulted. These crossed Lincolns are, therefore, far more 

 valuable than those of the old strain, but still are deficient in 

 the fineness of the grain of the meat. 



Besides these, there is an improved breed called the 



