THE DEXTER 



445 



open, under rather rigorous conditions, and tubercular and other 

 diseases due to close housing are quite uncommon. 



The crossbred Dexter, especially with beef stock, meets with 

 much favor in the British market. The use of Aberdeen-Angus 

 or Shorthorn bulls on Dexter cows has produced some very beau- 

 tiful small carcasses of beef. The author has seen some of these 

 crosses in Ireland that, although small, represented high-class beef 

 animals, indicating very superior killing quality. So highly is this 

 kind of crossbreeding regarded in England that special classes 

 for these small carcasses are 

 provided at the Smithfield Club 

 Fat-Stock Show. 



The Dexter as a milk pro- 

 ducer has considerable merit. 

 There are many records for 

 these little cows, of 4000 to 

 6000 pounds of milk produced 

 within a year and this on just 

 ordinary care. In Ireland, how- 

 ever, official testing of Dexter 

 cows has pnly just begun. 

 During the years 19 16 and 

 19 1 7 twenty- four cows were 

 under test as supervised by 

 the Department of Agricul- 

 ture and Technical Instruction 



for Ireland, covering periods of lactation ranging from thirty-three 

 to forty-five weeks. The smallest annual yield was 4555 pounds 

 during a period of thirty-six weeks, testing an average of 4.1 per 

 cent fat, while the largest yield was 8 1 24 pounds during forty-five 

 weeks, testing 3.7 per cent fat. The Castlegould herd of Howard 

 Gould in New York State produced a number of excellent records, 

 one cow — Slane Clara — having a record of 9046 pounds, testing 

 4.26 per cent fat. Dexter milk averages about 4 per cent fat. 



The prices paid for Dexter cattle are comparatively small. As 



the breed is quite limited in number the demand is also limited. 



These cattle may be bought in Ireland for approximately ^150 a 



head, with a fair selection at this price, although show animals 

 Digitized by Microsofi® 



Fig. 197. A Dexter cow of dual-purpose 

 type on the pasture of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural College, Cirencester, England. 

 From photograph by the author 



