Shorthorns  in  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
65 
realise  from  40  to  50  guineas  each.  The  more  successful 
breeders  generally  obtain  from  35  to  40  guineas.  The  average 
all  over  would  probably  run  from  25  to  28  guineas. 
What  Shorthorns  hate  done  in  Ireland. 
In  Ireland  as  well  as  in  Scotland  Shorthorns  have  had  an 
active  and  most  useful  career.  In  the  Green  Isle  the  work  of 
improvement  amongst  farm  stock  has  had  to  contend  with 
obstacles  not  experienced  to  the  same  extent  in  Scotland.  Of 
the  499,109  agricultural  holdings  in  Ireland,  nearly  one-half,  or 
226,453,  do  not  exceed  15  acres  in  extent,  while  the  number 
not  exceeding  30  acres  reaches  the  enormous  total  of  348,970. 
These  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tiny  farms  are  as  a rule  occupied 
by  men  who  are  proverbial  for  their  unwillingness  to  adopt  new 
systems  or  changes  of  any  kind,  and  who  have  either  no  capital, 
or  no  will,  to  lay  out  what  they  do  possess,  preferring  to  store 
up  their  savings  for  dowries  to  their  marrying  daughters.  It 
will  thus  be  easily  understood  that  the  improving  of  native 
varieties  of  cattle  by  the  use  of  costly  sires  cannot  make 
rapid  progress  in  many  parts  of  Ireland.  Among  the  larger 
farmers  pure-bred  Shorthorn  bulls  have  been  freely  used  for  a 
long  period  ; but  the  tenants  of  small,  and  what  in  Ireland 
might  be  called  medium-sized,  holdings  have  been  very  slow 
to  take  advantage  of  the  vast  number  of  high  class  Shorthorn 
sires  reared  in  that  country  every  year.  A great  proportion 
of  these  small  farmers  still  pursue  the  old  system  of  either 
rearing  a mongrel  bull  for  their  own  use,  or  of  paying  Is.  per 
cow  for  the  service  of  their  neighbour’s  bull,  an  animal  quite  as 
bad  as  they  could  possibly  rear  themselves  ; and  this  too,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  for  the  modest  fee  of  5s.,  or  perhaps 
even  less,  they  might  have  the  use  of  a really  good  pure-bred 
bull.  An  enterprising  farmer  in  the  west  of  Ireland  was  in  the 
habit  for  some  years  of  rearing  and  keeping  good  half-bred  or 
“ grade  ” Shorthorn  bulls,  which  he  let  to  his  neighbours  at  a 
fee  of  2s.  6d.  or  3s.  6 d.  per  cow.  A friend  having  heard  that 
the  farmer  had  given  up  the  practice  of  keeping  these  bulls, 
inquired  the  reason,  and  was  told  that  it  was  because  the  neigh- 
bours would  not  pay  the  fees.  The  friend  said  he  believed  that 
these  small  farmers,  if  they  got  the  best  bull  in  Ireland  for  5s., 
and  the  worst  for  2s.  6c?.,  would  choose  the  worst.  “No,  sir,” 
replied  the  farmer,  “ but  if  they  got  the  best  at  Is.,  and  the 
worst  for  11c?.,  they  would  choose  the  worst.”  No  wonder,  then, 
that  even  yet  there  are  reared  throughout  Ireland  a very  large 
number  of  mediocre  cattle — very  unsatisfactory  alike  in  size, 
form,  quality,  and  rate  of  growth. 
VOL.  XIX. — S.  S. 
F 
