The Management of a Shorthorn Herd. 
399 
coaster, suddenly appeared on the fell and commenced devouring 
the sheep : the farmers of the fell dales and their servants 
turned out in pursuit with guns, but for days the chase was in 
vain, and before the marauder could be destroyed he had killed 
about 200 sheep. Far up such heights, the Shorthorns roam for 
their living. Now here is a very noteworthy circumstance. — The 
late Mr. Caddy, who delighted in a good cow, but thought 
nothing of one that could not fill the pail, reared his young stock 
on very short allowance, and kept his breeding cows on low diet 
through the winter ; this was according to the tradition of the 
district concerning the capabilities of his land, and he main- 
tained that he was obliged to follow that system as the only 
profitable one. His son, on coming into possession of the 
property, and inheriting his father's taste for Shorthorns, was 
induced to try the effect of more liberal keep in winter and 
more generous rearing of his calves. The experiment was fairly 
tried out, and is now abandoned as a complete failure. The 
sour land cannot keep up the impetus to growth and thriving 
imparted by the artificial feeding indoors, and there was no 
choice but between a ruinous artificial system throughout the 
year, and the old system of low keep. To the latter Mr. Caddy 
returned, with satisfactory results. The land, unable to support 
artificially fattened cattle, has nevertheless a remarkable virtue 
in bringing out lean cattle during the summer months, and it 
is wonderful to see the progress made by the poorly kept cows 
and cheaply reared heifers between the first flush of grass in 
spring and lying-in time in autumn. The farm stock consists, 
on the average, of about 130 or 140 cattle, 17 horses, 1000 
Herdwick sheep and 100 half-bred sheep, by Leicester or 
Shropshire rams from culled Herdwick ewes, the main flock of 
Herdwicks, of course, being kept always perfectly pure. Of 
the 900 acres, about 25 are out of ley, 100 altogether under the 
plough in the following course : — first year, oats ; second, 
turnips, rape, mangolds ; third, wheat or barley ; fourth, seed 
grass, mown or pastured. 
The herd, a highly-bred one, and comprising representa- 
tives of high-priced families, is essentially a dairy herd. Milk, 
indeed, here is the first object ; and it is worth notice that, in 
seeking it, Mr. Caddy has not selected cows of the wedgy, dairy 
type, nor of the families most highly reputed for milk as opposed 
to the families primarily famous as beef-makers ; on the contrary, 
a glance at his pedigrees will show that he has actually taken 
the reputed beef-makers for his purpose, and used bulls of 
notoriously heavy-fleshed families. Upon his land, and under 
his system of keeping the heifers in poorish condition and the 
