360 



HISTOEY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



"Question 1. Of calves got by a Shorthorn 

 bull or by a Hereford bull, which fatten the 

 quickest and which are the most valuable if sold 

 fat to butcher? 



"Answer. I consider those got by a Hereford 

 bull. 



"Question 2. Of heifers got by a Shorthorn 

 or Hereford bull, which do you consider the best 

 for milk, having regard both to quantity and 

 quality both as regards cheese and butter ? 



HERO (5964) 4352. 

 Bred by J. Price, Pembridge, 



Eng. 



"Answer. Heifers got by a Hereford bull 

 are, I consider, equal to the pure bred Short- 

 horn for the production of milk, both as regards 

 quantity and quality. 



"Question 3. As to produce got by a Short- 

 horn or Hereford bull, do you find any differ- 

 ence as to their gain of flesh or ability to thrive 

 both at grass and in yards? And if so, state 

 fully your views thereon. 



"Answer. My experience tells me that prod- 

 uce got by a Hereford bull out of a Shorthorn 

 cow feeds quicker both on grass and when put 

 up to feed. 



"Question 4. Do you find any difference of 

 size in the produce ; and, if so, which are the 

 largest animals — the Shorthorns or those the re- 

 sult of the cross with the Hereford bulls ? 



"Answer. Produce obtained by the cross, as 

 mentioned in No. 3 (viz., by a Hereford bull) 

 is the larger of the two. 



"Question 5. Do you think there is any dif- 

 ference as to hardiness, or as to liability to dis- 

 ease between the Shorthorns and the animals 

 resulting from the cross with the Hereford bull ; 

 and if so, to which do you give the preference ? 



"Answer. Undoubtedly the produce obtained 

 by using the Hereford bull is the hardier and 

 has my preference. 



"Question 6. Does the offspring of the 

 cross with a Hereford bull generally follow the 



marking of the sire or of the Shorthorn dam ? 



"Answer. I find that the offspring obtained 

 by the cross with the Hereford bull follows the 

 sire in color in five cases out of seven. 



"Resides which answers the gentleman added 

 as follows : 



" 'Having some three years ago bought some 

 Hereford cattle from you, I thmk you might 

 like to know that they have done remarkably 

 well, though I find it takes a long time to make 

 a name as a Hereford breeder. At the same 

 time I bought the Herefords from you, I pur- 

 chased ten Yorkshire dairy cows — Shorthorns — 

 from Mr. Gothorp, near Bedale, Yorkshire, and 

 after these cows had calved I determined to try 

 a cross of the two breeds, which I did by using 

 the Hereford bull I bought of you on the Short- 

 horn cows. The result was beyond my expecta- 

 tion. I reared the calves on skim-milk, etc. ; 

 they had a little cake till they were six months 

 old, when they took their luck. At eighteen 

 months old I gave them four pounds each per 

 day when grazing (this would be in Septem- 

 ber). On the 12th October I put them up to 

 feed, giving them eight pounds of cotton cake 

 and linseed cake mixed, and six pounds of meal 

 with pulp each per day. The week before 

 Christmas I sold two of them, averaging £21 

 10s ($107) each, and also some Shorthorn bul- 

 locks, which I had also bought from Mr. 

 Gothorp. These latter were three months older, 

 and only realized £19 1,5s (or $99) per head, 

 though similarly fed. In the second week of 

 January, I sold some more of the cross-bred 

 bullocks (they were then twenty- three months 

 old) and they averaged £24 5s 6d (or $121) per 

 head and the remaining Shorthorn bullocks 

 averaged £22 17s (or $114) per head, being, 

 as the others, three months older. I certainly 

 am of opinion that the bullock obtained by this 

 cross is better than the pure-bred Shorthorn for 

 the quick production of beef. I have also some 

 heifers of this cross about to calve, and thev 

 carry plenty of flesh, and promise to make 

 equally as good milkers as their dams. I con- 

 sider the result of the cross satisfactory, es- 

 pecially on this poor, cold clay soil, the grass of 

 which (as you know) will not feed a mouse.'" 



"As to their milking qualities, says a tenant 

 farmer, 'no doubt breeders have neglected them 

 almost entirely, as it is the usual custom to rear 

 the calves on the cows, and beef, not dairy prod- 

 uce, is, as a rule, the end aimed at.' This is, 

 however, true in a great degree of other breeds 

 when the best tribes are kept for breeding pur- 

 poses, and it is a question whether a Hereford 

 does not give as much milk, and perhaps eve'U 

 of a richer quality, than the crack tribes of 



