The Management of a Shorthorn Herd. 
421 
grown the accommodation of the land and buildings. The aim 
has been to produce bulls, and cows lor breeding bulls, of a high 
class ; and in the management, therefore, the beef-making and 
dairy properties of the Shorthorn have been kept in view, not 
for immediate profit from the sale of fat cattle, or of milk and 
butter, but in order to make the living produce of the herd 
valuable to stockowners, who seek profit from those sources. 
The herd has been successfully represented in the showyard ; 
and although Mr. Crosbie has ceased to exhibit, cattle bred 
by him, the offspring of bulls from Aldfert are still constantly 
winners at some of the principal shows. The averages of 
his sales of bulls have risen considerably within the last few 
years, and at each of the three last sales, during the great periotl 
of agricultural depression, averages of from bQl. to over 53?. 
have been realised. The readiness to make beef is the first 
object. Milk, although secondary, is considered of great im- 
portance. Some of the cows are capital milkers, the majority 
fairly good milkers, considering their wealth of flesh ; and 
Mr. Crosbie never had a cow that could not rear her own calf, 
except in one or two cases, when all the quarters of the udder 
have been lost from inflammation, commonly called " garget." 
Alost of the cows, besides rearing their calves, have a good 
surplus for the house : but of this more by-and-by. 
The Ardfert estate lies chiefly on the Limestone and Carbon- 
iferous Limestone ; not much above the sea, the country being 
nearly level from Tralee (Tra-Lee, by interpretation, Strand-of- 
the-Lee), about six miles distant. The land is a good alluvial soil, 
and the temperature equal, snow seldom lying twenty-four hours 
on the ground, and ice strong enough to bear being seldom seen. 
I am unable to give the statistics of the rainfall at Ardfert ; but 
it is not so great as at Tralee. Wheat grows splendidly. Alto- 
gether about 300 acres of pasture are in hand : but a sheep-walk 
of 40 acres must be deducted, leaving about 2 GO acres of excel- 
lent grass-land and 136 of arable, for the general stock of the 
farm. The buildings, including hay- and corn-barns, the latter 
built of concrete, with a special feature in the concrete roofs, 
are most conveniently arranged, so that the men distributing 
the food and bedding to the cattle work from a centre, where 
the turnips, and the straw-, hay- and sheaf-lofts are placed. A 
travelling truck on rails expedites the men's labour, and all is 
under cover, an important matter in a wet climate. In the 
main building are the young bulls for the yearly auction (after 
they are taken from their dams), and any other young stock 
that may need extra keep, and in the wings are the breeding 
stock. Old and young are kept almost entirely in boxes. There 
is tying-up room for only 14 head ; but box-accommodation for 
