FIRST CENTURY OF DAIRYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



Christian era. These mounds may have been contemporary with the 

 celebrated historic round towers for aught our best historians seem 

 to know to the contrary. All we know is that the early Celtic Kings 

 could rightly be termed Cattle Kings, as they possessed large herds 

 of cattle, besides horses, sheep, pigs, and dogs, which were very much 

 prized, and, therefore improved according to requirements. 



It is generally conceded that the Longhorns or Craven breed in 

 Lancashire in England came originally trom Irelnnd. Mr. John 

 Macarthur, of Camden, introduced them into New South Wa.es, and 

 bred them as pure as possible for a number of years, and many of the 

 purebreds found their way into the coastal districts, and were always 

 recognised as good dairy cattle. There was also a yellow and white 

 breed of cattle which, owing to the fact that it was to be found in 

 almost every county, never received any name to distinguish it as a 

 breed or variety of breed. But once Ireland lost the "Stone of Destiny" 

 her people had to part with most of what they cherished in the form 

 of cattle and stock of all descriptions. 



According to Professor Low: "The native breeds of Irish cattle 

 :nay 1 c divided into those of the mountains, moors, and bogs, and 

 those of the richer plains, with intermixed breeds, resulting from the 

 union c-i different races, foreign or native. The mountain breeds ap- 

 proach to the character of the ancient ' White Forest breed' in a 

 sufficiently near degree to indicate a common descent with the cattle 

 of the mountains of Scotland and Wales and the high lands of Devon. 

 Of the native breeds of Ireland one very peculiar and well-defined type 

 is derived from the mountainous country of Kerry, the most westerly 

 land in Europe, and remarkable for the humidity of its climate. The 

 Kerry cattle of the mountains are generally black, with a white ridge 

 along the spine, a character agreeing with the account which older 

 writers have given of the ' Uri' of the woods of Poland. They have 

 often also a white streak upon the belly, but they are or various colors, 

 as black, brown, and mixed black and white, or black and brown. 

 Their horns are fine, long, and turned upwards at the points. 



" Their skins are soft and unctuous, and of a line orange tone, which 

 is visible about the eyes, the ears, and muzzle. Their eyes are lively 

 and bright, and although their size is diminutive, their shape is good. 

 These cattle are hardy, and capable of subsisting on scanty fare. Al- 

 though stunted in size when brought from the bogs and barren pas- 

 ture-, on which they are reared, they make a wonderful advance in 

 size, even though seven years old, when supplied with suitable food. 

 The fat of their beef is well mixed with the muscular parts, or, in 

 technical language, marbled ; and they fatten well in the inside, a 

 character which renders them valuable to the butcher, and dis- 

 tinguishes them in a remarkable degree from the Longhorned breeds 

 of the lower country and richer pastures. 



" The peculiar value of the Kerry breed is the adaptation of |he 

 females to the purpose of the domestic dairy. In milking properties 

 the Kerry cow, taking size into account, is equal, as a rule, to any 

 in the British Islands. It is the large quantity of milk yielded by an 

 animal so small which renders the Kerry cow so generally valued by 

 the cottagers and smaller tenants of Ireland. She is frequently termed 

 the poor man's cow, and she merits the appellation by her capacity of 

 subsisting on such fare as he has the means to supply. 



" This fine little breed has been greatly neglected. Scarcely any 

 means have been used to produce a progressive development o-i form 

 by supplying proper nourishment to the breeding parents and the 

 young, and no general care has been bestowed on preserving the purity 



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