72 Milk and Its Products 
so long a time that their dairy capacity has almost 
completely disappeared. On the other hand, a few 
breeders have maintained 
the milking qualities of their 
herds, and there are perhaps 
a dozen to twenty herds, 
scattered in various parts 
of the country, that are 
notable for dairy qualities, 
and are known as milking 
Shorthorns. In England, 
also, there has been a recent Fig, 10. Dairy Shorthorn cow 
renewal of interest in milking Shorthorns, and there 
are several notable herds in that country. Most of 
the Shorthorns that show good milking qualities trace 
their descent to families that originated in the herd 
of Thomas Bates, one of the earliest and most famous 
of Shorthorn breeders. 
The Shorthorn originated in the valley of the 
river Tees, in the counties of Durham, Northumber- 
land and Yorkshire, in northeastern England. They 
rank as the largest of the breeds of cattle. They have 
massive rectangular forms, short legs, short necks, 
and short, usually incurving horns. In color, they 
are usually spoken of as the red, white and roan. 
Their normal colors are red or white, or any combina- 
tion of these colors, either in the intimate mixture 
known as roan, or spotted red and white. The red 
should be a clear red-brown, not shading to yellow on 
the one hand, nor to black on the other. At one 
time the clear red animals were much more sought 
