the Devon Breed of Call.le. 
109 
but also of tlie best males and fomalos for breed inof purposes, 
and, as is well known, lie soon estahlislied a valuable herd. In 
this oxainple he was followed about the same time by Mr. 
Talbot, of Temple Guiting, Gloucestershire, and by Mr. Childe, 
of K inlet Hall, in k?hropshire, all of whom exercised sound 
judgement in their selections in Devonshire and in their after- 
manaj^ement of the cattle at home. Some years after this (about 
1830), Mr. Childe (whom the late Mr. William Davy, of 
Flitton, considered, as a pw'c/iaser, the best judge of Dcvons he 
ever met with) bought Prize (108), one of the best stock-getters 
the Quartlys ever bred, whose offspring gave as much satis- 
faction in Shropshire as it had previously given .at home. A 
grandson of his, bred by Mr. Talbot, of Temple Guiting, won 
the gold medal at the Smithfield Show in 1838, having been 
purchas(>d in Northampton fair by the late Mr. Clerk Hillyard, 
who offered, sometime in the summer previous, to show him 
against any ox in England. Unhappily, Mr. Childe's splendid 
herd were sold and dispersed at his death, which occurred a few 
years afterwards. 
Vancouver, treating of Devon cattle in his ' Report of the 
Farming of Devonshire,' published in 1808, says, " They are an 
important breed of animals, active at work, and their aptitude 
to fatten is urn i vailed ;" but further states " they were then 
declining in their general standard of excellence and numbers," 
Avhich he traces to " the great demand made for them from 
other parts of England, where the purchasers (Mr. Coke, after- 
wards Earl of Leicester, and others) spare neither pains nor 
price to obtain those of the highest proof and beauty." Towards 
the close of the last century some of the country gentlemen who 
farmed and the majority of the most influential yeomen bred, 
superior, hardy, handsome Devons, possessing great aptitude to 
fatten, consequently such animals were plentiful, and could be fre- 
quently purchased at ordinary rates (say from 15/. to 20/.) in the 
local fairs and markets ; while the highest price for the service of 
the best bulls did not exceed 55. However, we must not quite 
forget that at that time the demand being chiefly local, nearly, 
if not all, farm stock found its way into the public market or 
lair for sale; whereas now there is a great private demand for 
good animals of all descriptions, and numbers of the most valu- 
able are sold by private contract to customers who come to the 
homestead, and thus are rarely seen by the general public except 
at sales or in a show-yard. A little later many were tempted 
by the excessively high prices offered (during our wars with 
America and France) to sell even their best cows or heifers at 
great prices for slaughter, their fattening propensity being so 
great that then, as at present, even milch cows were in the 
