J 0 U R N A L 
OF THE 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 
OF EXGLAXD. 
I. — A Review of Irish Agriculture^ chiefly with Reference to 
the Production of Live StocA. By R. O. Pp.i>-gle, Editor of 
' The Irish Farmer s Gazette." 
Before entering into details descriptive of the different svstems 
of farm management pursued in Ireland, more especially with 
reference to the breeding and rearing of live stock, it will be 
necessarv to give some account of the material there is to work 
upon, namelv, the different breeds of live stock existing in 
Ireland, and the progress which has been made towards their 
improvement. 
Cattul 
The Kerry is. properly speaking, the only existing native 
breed of cattle. There are two varieties of it, first, the true 
Kerry, and next, the Dexter." The former is a light, neat, 
active animal, with fine and rather long limbs, narrow rump, 
fine small head, livelv projecting eve, full of fire and anima- 
tion, with a fine white cocked horn tipped with black, and in 
colour either black or red. Cattle of this description weigh, 
when fat, about 4 cwt., some even less ; thev fatten readilv, and 
their beef is fine in the grain, and very rich in flavour. In 
quality of flesh, thev resemble the finer classes of West Highlands. 
The cows vield rich milk, and the quantitv which thev give, 
combined with the ease with which thev are kept, renders them 
great tavourites as " fancv " cows in the case of families residing 
in suburban villas, and the like. The following are the dimen- 
sions of a fat Kerry cow, which was awarded a prize at a show 
of the Royal Dublin Society : 38 inches in height at the 
shoulder, 7<) inches in girth, and 42 inches in length from the 
VOL. VIII. — S. S. B 
