78 
Shorthorns  in  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
all  the  local  races  and  sorts  of  cattle,  and  have  everywhere  and 
upon  every  sort  effected  marked  improvement.  In  all  that  adds 
value  to  cattle,  improvement  has  followed  in  the  wake  of  the 
Shorthorn — in  size,  form,  quality,  rapidity  of  growth,  and  apti- 
tude to  fatten  at  an  early  age.  Among  the  small,  scraggy, 
old-fashioned  Irish  cows,  Shorthorn  bulls  have  produced  results 
truly  wonderful.  Stock  from  an  ordinary  Irish  cow  and  a good 
Shorthorn  bull  will,  it  is  estimated,  reach  maturity  at  least  a 
year  sooner  than  unimproved  cattle — at  2h  or  3,  instead  of  from 
3i  to  4,  years  old.  Moreover,  the  cross,  besides  being  far 
superior  in  quality,  will  also  show  an  increase  in  weight  of 
from  1 to  1J  cwt.  per  head.  It  is  certainly  within  the  mark  to 
place  the  increase  in  the  value  of  one-year-old  Irish  cattle,  due 
to  the  use  of  Shorthorn  bulls,  at  from  21.  to  3 1.  a head  on  an 
average.  In  many  instances  it  has  risen  as  high  as  5/.,  and  in 
few  cases  has  it  failed  to  reach  21. — that  is,  above  the  value  of 
the  corresponding  class  got  by  native  or  cross-bred  bulls.  In 
Scotland  the  experience  with  the  breed  has  been  equally  satis- 
factory. The  stock  of  native  cows  in  Scotland  are,  as  a rule, 
larger  and  finer  than  those  of  Ireland,  and  therefore  the  contrast 
between  the  native  cattle  and  the  improved  crosses  has  gene- 
rally been  less  marked  in  the  former  country  than  in  the  latter. 
In  some  parts  of  Scotland,  however,  where  the  native  cattle  were 
small  and  slow  in  growth,  the  transformation  effected  by  Short- 
horn bulls  has  been  quite  as  remarkable  as  in  Ireland.  Wit- 
ness, for  instance,  the  case  of  the  cattle  on  the  Carron  estate  on 
Speyside  mentioned  by  Mr.  Robert  Bruce,  and  also  that  of  the 
Glenrinnes  cattle. 
Much,  however,  as  it  has  accomplished,  the  Shorthorn  has 
not  yet  finished  its  work  of  improvement  amongst  the  general 
cattle-stock  of  Ireland  and  Scotland.  In  the  former  country,  in 
particular,  a vast  deal  still  remains  to  be  done.  The  march  of 
improvement  has  been  slower  in  Ireland  than  in  Scotland.  In 
the  nature  of  things  this  might  have  been  expected.  Shorthorn- 
breeding has  of  course  had  a full  share  of  the  dire  effects  of  the 
wide-spread  and  deep-rooted  depression  from  which  British 
Agriculture  is  now  only  emerging.  Prices  have  receded  some- 
what ; and  although  an  appreciable  improvement  took  place  in 
1882,  as  compared  with  1881,  the  whole  of  the  lost  ground  has 
not  been  regained.  But  nevertheless  there  need  be  no  fear  that 
Shorthorn-breeding  will  have  to  be  given  up  as  unprofitable. 
While  the  demand  for  bulls  is  maintained — and  there  are  good 
prospects  of  its  becoming  still  larger — judicious  Shorthorn- 
breeding may  be  expected,  or  at  least  ought,  to  yield  moderate 
other  important  points  there  is  one  to  which,  in  order 
profits. 
Amon 
