THE DIFFERENT BREEDS. 



Passing the history of our breeds of British catt'.e by -for the pre- 

 sent, the slightest observation will convince the average breeder 

 that there are several breeds of cattle that are essentially the same. 

 Every writer of note who has had ample opportunities ol comparing 

 the Devon and Ayrshire with the wild white cattle of ChiLingham 

 Park have been struck with the great resemblance in many points, 

 notwithstanding the difference in color, while all three bear no re- 

 semblance to the breeds found in other parts of England and Scotland. 

 Li" any dependence can be placed in the picture presented to our view 

 of Austrian cattle there is certainly a striking resemblance between 

 some of those foreign breeds and those found to-day in the British 

 Isles. Take, for example, the " Murzthal cow" ; she is exactly like 

 the Jersey in general appearance and color ; then there is the " Podo- 

 lian cow" the appearance and shape of horn, color, and constitution 

 is the same as the Devon. Then, again, there is the " Kuhland cow," 

 with the white face and back, the head and horn, resembling in a 

 marked degree of Here-lord. 



What is still more remarkable, the milk and butter producing quali- 

 ties of each of these Austrian breeds correspond, with the exception 

 of quantities, with their prototypes in Britain. Yet, by all accounts, 

 there has been no alteration in the breeding of Austrian cattle for 

 centuries. We are, therefore, inclined to believe that the points which 

 distinguish, or the properties which constitute, the best varieties of 

 cattle are, to some extent, matters of dispute, and cannot be claimed 

 absolutely by any particular locality, yet -form an important subject 

 of study to every judicious farmer, and ought, with as much exactitude 

 as possible, to be determined and understood. 



Some secondary points affect appearances and beauty, and are mat- 

 ters of mere taste ; other secondary points affect adaptation to pecu- 

 liar climate or methods of feeding, or to the purposes of respectfully 

 the beef cask or the dairy, and in some instances can be determined 

 only by patient investigation and trial ; a, id all the primary points 

 affect constitution, economy, and productiveness, and occur m all 

 possible varieties of good cattle, and may be regarded as the mere 

 indications of established natural laws, so they ought to be distinctly 

 known, not only in full-grown and animals in good condition, but in 

 young, lean beasts, by everyone who buys, keeps, or sells dairy cattle. 



Were a general observer to look upon a dairy cow, either within 

 a few weeks of calving or a few weeks after calving, he might admire 

 her fine outline, the glossy hair, and the tint of the color, well defined, 

 as in the Ayrshire, or mingled .a,s in the Shorthorn, the gentle ex- 

 pression of her countenance, or above all her beautifully formed and 

 distended udder, from the nature ofwhich he might instantly exclaim, 

 " What a lovely animal !" On the other hand, were he to look upon 

 exactly the same type of cow, and in every respect equal in quality, 

 but half-run in her milk, no signs of calving being at hand, lean, 

 and otherwise out of condition, he might think her outline angular and 

 coarse and pronounce her body to be a rugged skeleton covered with 

 a tough skin, and altogether an inferior cow. 



Not so, however, with the good judge. He can pronounce a cow 

 to be of certain quality, whether she be fat or thin, in lull milk or 

 partly dry, and can anticipate in accordance by well-defined rules, 

 formed by practical experience, the degrees of excellence a cow 

 will attain if properly treated. A good judge has only to look at an 

 animal to grasp all the properties of symmetrical form, fine bone, 

 sweet disposition. Such knowledge is begot only of experience. In 

 other words, begotten of practice and study. 



Many o-f our more successful dairymen cTalm that the quickest and 

 surest road to success, or even a small degree of success, in breeding 

 dairy cattle is that of selecting and mating members of the same 

 family, viz., a male and female of the same strain, and whose appear- 

 ance, functions, use, disposition, and quality are as near as possible 



105. 



