658 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[November 



•which must be jealously guarded against. 

 Dysentery, consumption, scrofula, and rheu- 

 matic affections have been clearly proved to be 

 perpetuated in this manner. It is therefore of 

 the deepest importance to avoid anything of 

 the kind in the parents selected fur a herd of 

 breeding cattle. The three former frequently 

 result from relationship being too close, in 

 other cases arising from different causes, but 

 the effect is the same, so far as regards the ex- 

 tension of the evil. That boldness of figure 

 which we prize as indicating a well-developed 

 animal is also valuable as a sign of health and 

 vigour. Thus, those points which are so pleasing 

 to the grazier are equally valuable to the breeder. 



The breeder of first-class stock cannot be too 

 particular in his selection of bulls. He must 

 always be prepared to detect the weak points 

 of his stock, and remedy them by using a bull 

 well developed in these respects. Notwith- 

 standing the great importance of having good 

 cows to breed from, the influence exerted by 

 the bull renders his quality and character of 

 even greater importance. Not only are his 

 good or bad qualities spread through the large 

 number of cows he serves, but there are cer- 

 tain hereditary qualities more fully transmitted 

 from the bull than the cow. The bull, there- 

 fore, should be as perfect as can be obtained, 

 and possess the greatest purity of descent. 



The following points may be said to indicate 

 xi well-developed bull : 



The Head should be rather small in propor- 

 tion to the animal, and well set on the neck, 

 with a fine tapering muzzle, a broad forehead, 

 bright full yet placid eyes, furnished with a 

 ■graceful horn of fine quality, and ears small 

 and fine. 



The Neck should be thick but not too short, 

 but having a graceful appearance by tapering 

 steadily towards the head, and yet nut getting 

 thin behind the ears. 



The Shoulder should be snugly in the car- 

 cass; it should be covered with a well-devel- 

 oped muscle down to the knee, below which it 

 should possess a fine and flat bony structure. 



The Chest should be bold and prominent, 

 wide and deep, furnished with a deep but not 

 a, coarse dewlap. 



The Carcass should be barrel-shaped, hav- 

 ing a top level and broad, especially across the 

 hips, the ribs should be well rounded, the space 

 between the last rib and the pin should not be 

 too short, yet at the same time we must guard 

 against too much length ; there will, however, 

 be little cause for objection if the rib is well 

 rounded and the bone flat, for it will add 

 weight to the animal in a good part. The 

 flank should be full and pendant. 



The Hind Legs should be full and fleshy 

 down to the hock, with a well-developed but- 

 tock, showing great substance, but below the 

 hock we require a fine and cleanly-formed bone. 



The Tail should be finely formed, without 

 much hair. 



The Hide mellow to the touch, covered with 

 a fine yet plentiful coat of hair. 



Animals thus developed in all these points 

 will be alike gratifying to the eye of the con- 

 noisseur and profitable to the grazier. 



Bulls have a natural tendency to show 

 points of failure which are not observable in 

 bullocks ; and, taking all breeds into consider- 

 ation, this is most frequently noticed by a de- 

 ficiency in the hind quarters of the animal. 

 Whilst, however, we should endeavour to ob- 

 tain a bull as perfectly formed as possible, it 

 is especially desirable to secure a full, I might 

 almost say an excessive, development of any 

 part which may be deficient in the cows or 

 heifers he has to be used with. If they are 

 weak, either in the fore or hind quarter, or if 

 deficient in size, this may be remedied by 

 selecting a bull distinguished for possessing 

 these properties in an unusual degree. 



It is in this respect that the extensive breed- 

 ers have such advantage over those keeping 

 smaller herds. It is necessary for them to 

 keep three or four bulls, and very often they 

 have more. The consequence is, that a selec- 

 tion can be made in such cases according to 

 the deficiency of the heifer or cow; whereas, 

 where only one bull is kept, this cannot be 

 without involving the expense and trouble of 

 sending to a distance, and often this is not 

 available. It is a matter of doubt with some 

 how far an increase of size obtained by using 

 a large bull can be done with safety to the fe- 

 males producing the calves. No fear need be 

 entertained on this ground. The female alone 

 determines the size of the calf at birth, but 

 subsequently a larger growth shows the in- 

 crease of size derived from the sire, f 



The possession of a good form and desirable 

 qualties is not all that is necessary to be no- 

 ticed in selecting a bull for producing breed- 

 ing stock. We have also to observe how far 

 this character has been held by his parents. 

 Cases are frequent in which inferior cows have 

 been put to first-class bulls, and the produce 

 has rivalled the sire for beauty and perfection; 

 but such an animal, although possesssing in an 

 eminent degree the formation of body which is 

 desired, is totally unfit for being used as a 

 bull. Here we have the explanation of the 

 fact that many bulls which are most pleasing 

 to the eye are noted for throwing inferior 

 stock. 



The explanation is clearly this, that the 

 maxim of "like producing like" is modified by 

 another law — viz, that animals have varying 



* A large male has a great deal of influence 

 on the size of the call, as well as of the young 

 in other animals. Well-known instances occur 

 in the dog and the sheep. The mothers are of- 

 ten lost if the disproportion between the male 

 and female is too great. When small heifers 

 are served with too large a bull, it is always at- 

 tended with difficulty and danger. — J. D. 



