288 
Rise and Prorjress of Hereford Cattle. 
— Hereford heifer, and since tlien, with the new Scottish element 
of heavy " Short-horn crosses," and magnified West Highlanders 
to meet, they have twice taken the gold medal for bullocks, and 
thrice for females. At Bingley Hall dming 1851-67, the gold 
medal for the best bullock in the yard has nine times fallen to 
their lot, and that for the best female seven times ; while the 
''Ardington steer," the last that the late Mr. Philips ever 
"trained," took the "best beast" honours of the yard in 1864. 
The Berwick grey of Mr. Heath, who showed the best (Hereford) 
bullock in the yard, three years running in Birmingham, will 
long be remembered for its 9 feet 7 in. girth. It furnished one 
of the eleven first prizes which this eminent Norfolk feeder 
has taken at the Smithfield Club with steers of the Hereford 
Ijreed, among which were the gold medallist of 1850, and the 
cup taker of 1863. One of his four seconds girthed 9 feet 
li inches, or 2 inches less than the cup steer ; and his Here- 
ford cow filled a 9 foot tape at 3 years 10 months. It has been 
said that " nothing but a baked apple ripens in England," but as 
regards early maturity, and ripeness of all the points, the cynic 
(if he had any eye for cattle) would have to make an exception in 
lavour of Mr. Shirley's gold medal steer, the champion of the 
two leading Christmas shows of 1859. He was a fusion of 
white-face with mottle, so that both parties were fain to divide 
the crown. Although he girthed 8 feet 7 inches, he had not 
been "fed from the post." In fact, for seventeen out of his 
thirty-one months he had met with ordinary calf and stirk treat- 
ment, but never did steer answer more gallantly when his 
owner descried his promise, and " called upon him " with the 
oilcake. 
The Hereford is very seldom crossed with the Short-horn, 
although we have seen the blood blend nicely enough when it 
has been pure on both sides. In Scotland, Mr. Lumsden, of 
Auchry (who once owned '* Sir David " 349) is one of the few 
who has found it pay to put a Hereford bull on a cross-bred or 
pure Short-horn cow. One or two bulls have reached the Orkney 
Isles, but the sort has made no head in the great beef-producing 
counties of Banffshire, Morayshire, and Aberdeenshire, and it 
has no share in those "heavy Scotch crosses" which are poured 
into the metropolis Ijy the steamers, as well as by the dead-meat 
and cattle-trains. Four score of Herefords were telegraphed for 
by an Aberdeenshire cattle-dealer nearly two years since, when 
the Ellon fortnightly market was likely to be short of supplies. 
Their arrival proved the truth of Mr. Aitchlson's prophecy, 
" Steam will be your Highland drover." At Woburn the Hereford 
bull has been tried upon Suffolk-polls, but the cross, which came 
with slugs instead of horns, somewhat lacked flesh and cba- 
