HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



369 



is kept near Windsor, Berkshire. Tliis breed 

 adapts itself easily to the severe climate of the 

 North, as well as the milder climate of the 

 South. In America, some are to be found in 

 ranches 6,000 feet above the sea level, and no 

 better proof can be given of the hardiness of 

 the Herefords. Of this breed the Earl of 

 Coventry says: 'I have observed Hereford cattle 

 for twenty years, but I only commenced form- 

 ing a herd nine years ago. During that period 

 I have tried them alongside pedigree Shorthorns 

 and other breeds of cattle, and I am so satisfied 

 of the superiority of the Hereford breed for 

 feeding purposes, that I have disposed of other 

 sorts. They are a hardy breed, doing well out 

 of doors all the year around. Their quality of 

 meat is very superior ; they have less rough meat 

 about them than the Shorthorns, hence, first- 

 class butchers prefer them to other sorts.' ( Oct. 

 21, 1883.) They are a perfectly pure race of 

 cattle and have been brought to their present 

 excellence by the judicious selection of both 

 male and female animals, and not by the intro- 

 duction of crosses of other breeds. This strictly 

 pure blood gives them the great value they have 

 for improving other breeds. 



"Color. The distinguishing color is red 

 with a white face, chest and belly, white flank, 

 and white tip to the tail ; white on the legs, 

 white mane and often white line along the back. 

 The red with white face is invariable, and the 

 white predominates, more or less, on different 

 animals. There are also grey Herefords, but 

 these are now confined to one or two herds. 



"Heed Book. The date of the first Herd 

 Book is 1845. 



"Increase. The demand for exportation 

 principally for the United States and Canada 

 has increased the stock of the district, owing to 

 more farmers breeding." Consul Packard had 

 a tabulated form that he copied in his reports, 

 with each British breed, showing the products, 

 average weights and other important statistics 

 very useful, in this form, for comparing the 

 breeds, from which we take the following sta- 

 tistics for Herefords: 



AVERAGE WEIGHT AT MATURITY. 



Cow , 12 to 14 En g. cwt.=Ain. wt. 1344 to 1568 lbs. 



Bull 16 to 20 Eng. cwt.=Am. wt. 1824 to 2240 lbs. 



Ox 20 to 22 Eng. cwt.=Ani. wt. 2240 to 2464 lbs. 



Age at maturity: 3 years. 



How long bred pure: From a very remote 

 period. 



Annual average pounds of milk: Nine thou- 

 sand five hundred pounds. 



Milk to pounds of butter: 30 lbs. to 1 lb. 

 butter. 



A good coir ha,i been shown to yield 14 

 pounds of butter per week at grass. 



One gave 55 pounds of milk, yielding 24 

 pounds of butter per day. 



Meat Product: 1,770 "lbs. 



Labor: Little or none. 



Method of housing: Open yards during 

 winter, with a run out by day; summer, out in 

 rough pasture. 



Feeding: Ha^', straw, and roots in winter; 

 rough pasture in summer. 



Breeding : Heifers have calves at two-and- 

 a half years, and continue to breed until they 

 are old. 



Grasses: Clover, rye grass, meadow, fox-tail, 

 and English natural grasses. 



Live weights of fatted cattle of this breed: 



■^ , CO . ,^ re 



Herefords. o°S'- — aS m"* 



■ - O cfi X 



No. 1* (pounds) 2,394 1,724 1,621 



No. 2 (pounds) 2,135 1,862 1,764 



No. 3 (pounds) 3,024 1,884 1,855 



No. 4 (pounds) 2,500 1,778 1,832 



*No. 1 ox of the above table is the property of Mr. J. 

 Price, and was the winner of the Elkington challenge cup, 

 which has never been done except by this Hereford. 



"Price. At the recent total dispersion by 

 auction of two old established herds the average 

 price was just $375, including cows, bulls and 

 suckling calves. At one sale, the leading bull 



TREGREHAN (6232) 6203. 

 Bred by Maj. Carlyon, 



sold for $4,139 ; at the other sale 12 two-year- 

 old heifers averaged $652 each ; the highest 

 priced cow was $1,329; there were 117 animals 

 in one sale and 91 in the other. 



"The soil of Herefordshire is various, from 

 clay to light sandy soil, much of which is of in- 

 ferior quality. The substratum is principally 

 limestone, clay and gravel. The temperature 



