THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



9 



Devon Breeding. 



INTERVIEW WITH MR. T. W. .]. HALL. 



By " Ergatbs." 



THERE are but few of the older Colonists 

 who do not know Mr. Tom Hall, of 

 Mount Arrochar, Mooi River, and of 

 those who know him, none, I feel sure, 

 will dispute my assertion that he takes 

 unsurpassed pleasure and interest in 

 farming. Farming with him is not so 

 much a means to a pecuniary end as in- 

 dulgence in what he has found a pleasur- 

 able life-hobb}'. To farm successfully 

 was his chief ambition from the time he 

 landed in the Colony some forty years 

 ago. 



In 1881 Mr. Hall was on a visit to 

 England, and he made it his business to 

 fjelect a couple of bulls most suited, as he 

 considered, to the requirements of the 

 Colony. In the Colony he had seen the 

 progeny of some English breeds, and the 

 evidence offered by this young stock — 

 especially in tell-tale springtime — made 

 him determined to have nothing to do 

 with their breeds. To what stock to 

 select he devoted time and much con- 

 sideration, and finally decided on trying 

 the South Devon breed. 



" How did you arrive at that decision ? 

 Are you a West countryman, and in con- 

 sequence chose the breed with which you 

 are best acquainted " 



"No ; I am a Norfolk man, and although 

 I think well of the Norfolk and Suffolk 

 cattle, yet I did not think as well of the 

 breed for South Africa as of the Devon. 

 I reasoned the matter out in this manner : 

 ' Here in the Devon is a beast that does 

 well in hilly, poor country, and is there- 

 fore hardv ; he is notedly good as a trek 

 ox, and he makes first rate beef.' But if 

 you will look up what Colonel Davy, the 

 first compiler of the Devon Herd Book, 

 says on the breed — it is quoted in Sin- 

 clair's History of ' The Devon Breed of 

 Cattle ' — you will find a better description 

 than I can give off-hand." 



Devon Characteristics. 



I found the description ; here it is : — 

 *' The general form of a Devon is very 



graceful, and exhibits a refined organisa- 

 tion of animal qualities unsurpassed by 

 any breed. The expression of the face is 

 gentle and intelligent ; the head small, with 

 a broad, indented forehead, tapering con- 

 siderably towards the nostrils ; the nose 

 of a creamy white ; the eye bright and 

 prominent, encircled by an orange i-ing ; 

 the jaws clean and free -from flesh ; the 

 ears thin. The horns of the female are 

 long and spreading, gracefully turned up- 

 wards, and tapering off towards the ends. 

 The general aspect of the head should in 

 many points resemble that of the 

 deer. The horns of the bull are 

 thicker set and more highly curved, 

 in some instances standing out nearly 

 square, with only a slight inclination 

 upwards. Red is the true Devon colour, 

 which varies fropi a dark to a lighter, or 

 almost to a chestnut shade. In summer 

 the skin is mottled with beautiful spots 

 of a slightly darker shade than the ground 

 colour of the skin. The outline of a fat 

 Devon very nearly approaches a paralle- 

 logram. The frame is level from the tops 

 of the shoulders to the tail ; the belly is 

 longitudinally straight, and well filled out 

 at the flanks. The breast is wide, coming 

 out prominently between the forelegs, 

 and extending downwards almost to 

 the knee joint. The neck is long and 

 thin, increasing towards the shoulder, 

 which is tapered off to meet it. The ribs 

 project at right angles to the back, with 

 wide flat loins, and long rumps well filled 

 out, thus enabling them to be loaded with 

 more beef in the most valuable parts than 

 almost any other breed." 



" That is a pretty high appreciation." 



" It is ; but I do not think it much, if 

 at all, overstated." 



" And how about the bulls you im- 

 ported, and redwater ?" 



"'Nelson' lived fifteen months, and 

 ' Pondo ' six. Out of fully twenty bulls 

 I have imported, only two have been 

 saved — one I sold and one I still have." 



" Your troop must be getting pure." 



