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XII. — On Short-horn Cattle. By John Wright. 
The breed of short-horn cattle is fast spreading into all parts of 
the kintjdom — into Scotland as well as into the milder climate of 
the midland and southern counties of England, where it has to 
compete in an especial manner with its rival, the Herefords. 
To institute a comparison of the respective merits of the various 
breeds of cattle in the kingdom would require much time, and 
end in useless controversy; but if we examine closely the cows 
around London and other large towns, we find them to consist 
principally of short-horns, which is very strong evidence that they 
excel all other breeds in the property of giving milk. 
It has been attempted to point out a difference between the 
Durhams, short-horns, and improved short-horns : these minute 
distinctions I will not attempt to define, nor will I stop to inquire 
how long the counties of Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, 
and Lincolnshire have had a breed of short-horned cattle ; but 
certain it is that great pains were taken by Mr. Charles Colling, 
of Ketton, in the county of Durham, to select animals possessing 
feeding properties in a high degree, and under his auspices a race 
of animals was presented to us which may justly be entitled to the 
appellation of " improved short-horns ;" and it is of this breed of 
cattle I wish more particularly to speak. They have been called 
the Durham breed and the Ketton breed : this appears to have 
arisen from the circumstance that ihere were two prints ])ublished 
of Mr. Charles Colling's ox that travelled for show, in one of 
which he is called the Durham ox, and in the other the Ketton ox. 
It should be remembered that some of the most important selec- 
tions to improve this breed were made from herds on the York- 
shire side of the river Tees. 
Sceptical persons there are who lay great emphasis on the want 
of improvement in the short-horns of the present day : this may 
with some degree of truth be admitted, if taken in comparison 
with the Ketton herd ; but surely there is a manifest improvement 
in the general breed of short-horns throughout the kingdom, and 
a vast increase in numbers. At Mr. C. Colling's sale in 1810 
few persons bought both male and female, so as to enable them to 
continue the same precise blood : consequently the purchasers of 
one animal only had to put him or her to such stock as he pre- 
viously possessed, thereby improving the progeny of his own, but 
deteriorating that of the purchase ; so that the produce was infe- 
rior to the original Ketton beast, and might require several 
judicious crosses with good animals to raise them to the original 
standard. It is a rare occurrence to find a healthy herd of pure 
and close descent from the Ketton breed. Assuming, then, that 
the short-horns have never equalled the perfection in which they 
