HEREFORDSHIRE PASTURES AND PIONEERS 27 



In Herefordshire one sees very few cattle of any 

 other breed, and they are also the prevailing type 

 in Shropshire, Worcestershire and in several coun- 

 ties of central and south Wales. There are also 

 good herds in Ireland, the Hereford cross being 

 highly esteemed in the Irish markets. 



The area of Hereford breeding in England has 

 probably not extended during the last twenty-five 

 years. In fact it may have contracted. There used 

 to be a colony of Hereford breeders in Cornwall, 

 but now there are scarcely any there, the demand 

 for fresh milk and dairy products having tended to 

 replace the Herefords with dairy cattle in that part 

 of the country. These remarks apply to Hereford 

 cattle-breeding generally and not especially to the 

 pedigree business, as from the number of cattle re- 

 corded in the recent volumes of the herd book the 

 latter appears to be steadily increasing. 



Herefordshire Farming. — This district is chiefly 

 pastoral, but on the best breeding farms a mixed 

 system of husbandry is practiced. A large quantity 

 of straw is chopped up and used for stock feeding, 

 mixed with pulped swedes or mangolds. Many cat- 

 tle are wintered upon this diet with a small allow- 

 ance of hay. The system enables the breeders td 

 keep about the same number of cattle in fair condi- 

 tion during the winter months as they can maintain 

 in the summer. Practically, they get six months in- 

 door feeding and six months out at grass, the graz- 

 ing period varying slightly with the seasons. 



