THE BEEF BREEDS OF CATTLE 227 
imported were not high-class specimens, there were among 
them many of the very best cattle both individually and 
in breeding to be had in England. From individuals of 
these importations have been developed families or strains 
that have become very popular. On the foundation of 
these importations the American breeder has made a very 
great improvement in the conformation of the Hereford. 
260. Description. — The most distinctive feature of 
the Hereford to the ordinary observer is his color markings, 
or the distribution over the body of the red and white 
colors. The head, including jaws and throat, is white, 
with white under the neck, down the breast, under the 
belly and more or less on the legs. The bush of the tail 
is also white, and there is a white strip on the top of the 
neck from about the middle thereof to the top of the shoul- 
ders. The body, sides of the neck, and usually some parts 
of the legs, are red. The red in different animals varies 
from very light or yellow-red, as it is termed, to very dark 
red. An animal is classed in point of color as a light red, 
a medium red ora dark red. The foregoing is the popu- 
lar distribution of the colors of the Hereford, yet there is 
sometimes a considerable variation therefrom in different 
animals. While as a breed of cattle they are very uniform 
in conformation and color markings, yet they do not by 
any means have the same degree of uniformity as the 
self-colored undomesticated animals. 
The head of the Hereford (Plate VIII) is short, with 
broad forehead; the eyes are full and not sunken; the 
horns are usually rather strong and of a whitish yellow 
color, free from black tips, in the best types, and come 
forward with a more or less drooping tendency; the 
neck is short and thick, merging smoothly into the 
shoulders, free from surplus skin in the under parts; 
