EVOLUTION OF THE BEEF CATTLE INDUSTRY 259 



Sussex. The Sussex breed of cattle is not of special 

 significance in beef production in this country. The native 

 home of the breed is in the county of Sussex, England. In 

 this country interests were centered in this breed largely in 

 Tennessee. The breed was first imported in 1884 by Mr. 

 Overton Lea who maintained quite a large herd. Later other 

 importations were made; however, the breed has not become 

 important. The size is comparable to the largest breeds of 

 beef cattle, the bulls attaining a weight equal to that of the 

 recognized breeds. The color of the Sussex is deep red and 

 it is characterized by horns of rather prominent develop- 

 ment. The body is capacious and low set, and while ranking 

 very favorably, the breed is not widely disseminated. The 

 form of the Sussex is reasonably blocky, thus meeting the 

 requirements of the typical beef animal to quite a marked 

 degree. The quality is somewhat deficient, the head, neck 

 and shoulder development especially showing an inclination 

 to coarseness. The breed is fair in milk-producing qualities. 

 Specimens of the breed graze well and mature early. The 

 chief criticisms of the breed are its coarseness and lack of 

 general refinement. 



Dual Purpose Breeds. The dual purpose breeds are 

 characterized by a two-purpose function the production 

 of both meat and milk. Much has been said and written 

 about the merits of these breeds, at times favorable and again 

 unfavorable. While it is recognized that perfection of both 

 meat and milk-giving attributes cannot be reached in the 

 same animal, there is undoubtedly a place for the dual 

 purpose breeds on the small farms especially. Under such 

 conditions neither strict dairying nor beef production can 

 be made a specialty. A combination of the two, although 

 each showing comparatively lessened proficiency, seems to 

 more fully meet the needs of the smaller and more isolated 

 class of farmers. The three breeds of importance in helping 

 to meet these requirements are characterized as follows: 



Shorthorn (Dual Purpose Type). The Shorthorn breed 

 of cattle, formerly described under the beef type, is significant 

 in having a strain or family in the breed having well-developed 

 dual purpose characteristics. Animals partaking of these 



