H I S T E Y OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



117 



least one 3'ear in advance of all others ; beyond 

 this would look too much like fiction, for it 

 must be deemed unprofitable to keep steers over 

 three years, unless for use of the yoke. Here- 

 fords decidedly hold the first place in England 

 for early maturity and a tendency to the secre- 

 tion of fat. They often go to market at two 

 years old. 



"In my opinion, good hips and rumps with 

 expanded chest in cow or bull are very promi- 

 nent points. A kind chop, a straight chine 

 well lined with good quality of flesh, backed up 

 by good round sides, straight with the shoulder, 

 are valuable- acquisitions when you cannot get 

 perfection. There are more cattle fail behind 

 the shoulders than any other point, and when 

 this is the case they are apt to show much 

 paunch, which, to me, is a very great objection; 

 reason seems to say : exorbitant belly, consumes 

 much food, very unprofitable, and are not so 

 apt to fatten ; this I have frequently noticed 

 minutely, and invariably found it so. Flesh 

 hides a multiplicity of faults, but will never 

 hide this, which I consider a very important 

 one. 



"There is also much to be learnt in feeding 

 cattle, and it is very essential to discover the 



daily consumption of each beast so as to give 

 them just as much as they will eat, leaving a 

 clear manger to sleep over ; if they have hay 

 before them to blow on it weakens the appe- 

 tite almost to satiety. If a beast is cloyed with 

 any kind of food he does not relish it again for 

 many days. Cattle, when feeding, require much 

 water, and it is very essential. A person who 

 has a thorough knowledge of feeding, sees, im- 

 mediately he enters the stable, whether his 

 cattle have been regularly and sufficiently fed 

 and watered ; if they are at all restless, they 

 are not satisfied, and it is a certain omen of 

 something wrong. They should not be dis- 

 turbed more than absolutely necessary ; the 

 more quiet they are kept, the better they thrive. 

 Much has been said on feeding raw potatoes 

 to cattle. I think them valuable, given in a 

 limited degree. The generality of farmers give 

 too man}-, which loosens the bowels, without 

 aiding the body. They can be well supplied 

 with meal once a day, so as not to affect the 

 quietness of the stomach. The Swede (bettei- 

 known in America as rutabaga) may be fed 

 more extensively. They suit both the palate 

 and constitution, and are a very profitable root 

 to the farmer. England would be lost without 



■■THE WOODLETS," WOOTON, OXFORDSHIRE. ENG. 

 , (Estate of the Sotham family; birthplace of Wm. H. Sotham. 



