CATTLB. 373 



and in the Kaglish colonies of Australia and Canada, where the soil and 

 climate are peculiarly adapted to their support. They are the heaviest 

 beef cattle that are received into the London markets and they mature 

 at an early age. It is claimed that they excel when bred for milkers, 

 but we believe this is not supported by any authority other than the 

 statements of the short-horn breeders and speculators. 



The introduction of the short-horns into America seems to be shad- 

 owed in mystery. Either those who brought this class of cattle into the 

 country before the Revolution did not deem the fact of sufficient impor- 

 tance for record, or there were none introduced for the first authentic 

 record dates back only to their introduction by a Mr. Miller into Vir- 

 ginia just after the close of the war. In 1797 a few of the descendants 

 were taken into Kentucky. Various importations were made through 

 the first half of the eighteenth century, until in 1856 America had as 

 fine a bred stock of short-horns as could be found in England itself. 



The English Herd Book commenced in the year 1822, while the 

 American Herd Book commenced in 1846. These books contain the 

 records of over ninety thousand bulls and cows. This breed of cattle 

 extends over a greater territory in the United States than any other 

 foreign breed. 



Characteristics. There are two classes of short-horns, one classed 

 as flesh-producing, the other as dairy. 



The class of short-horns that are noted for their flesh-producing qual- 

 ities are those that have yielded to their natural tendency of taking on 

 flesh. Because of this predisposition the English breeders began to 

 breed for the production of flesh. They gave abundant food from early 

 calf-hood till fully matured. Thus these animals grew rapidly, ma- 

 tured early, and had great rotundity of body. The English breeders 

 were encouraged in their production of this class of animals on account 

 of the demand of the markets for beef, and the great desire of the breed- 

 ers for cattle of this class for importation. 



The modern short-horn breeders in America appear to care but little 

 for the production of milk, so that the flesh-producing class has been 

 brought to greater perfection in this country than the dairy class. 



The early importations of short-horns into the United States were 

 those chiefly for milking purposes, and agricultural publications of fifty 

 years ago record remarkable yields of milk and butter. But the short- 

 horns are naturally beef -producers and will succeed best as such. Nature 

 leads toward beef-production and the efforts of the breeders have been 



