THE DEXTER 



443 



Kentucky, Howard Gould of New York, and James J. Hill of Min- 

 nesota, none of whom are now maintaining herds of these cattle. 



The characteristics of the Dexter. In Great Britain the Dexter 

 is regarded as a diminutive dual-purpose breed, although in the 

 United States the beef side is given scant consideration. The 

 essential characteristics are found in the head, short legs, small 

 size, and color. The head is old-fashioned in a degree, tending 



Fig. 195. Harley Coy (1655), a remarkably fine example of a Dexter cow at full 



maturity. Champion cow at the Royal Agricultural Society Show. Owned by 



R. Tait Robertson, Malahide, Ireland. From photograph by the author 



toward plainness and crowned with more or less black-tipped, 

 upright horns. The head of the bull is burly and short and the 

 horns often extend directly out to each side and then make a 

 wide curve forward and upward, with considerable space between- 

 the tips. The neck is moderately short and muscular, the withers 

 show a dual-purpose thickness, the back is usually strongly sup- 

 ported, the depth of body and digestive capacity is comparatively 

 great, the tail head is often prominent, the hind quarters suggest 

 the dual-purpose type (more especially with the bull), the legs are 

 very short, and the udder on mature cows frequently indicates 

 great capacity for animals of such small size. 

 Digitized by Microsoft® 



