Old  Gloucestershire  Cattle. 
417 
attention  to  it,  and  this  one  man  (Mr.  Long,  of  Boddington)  by  some  election 
strife  (a  curse  in  every  county)  was  driven  out  of  the  vale  about  seven  years 
ago,  so  that  at  present  it  may  be  said  to  lie  in  a state  of  neglect.  Nevertheless 
it  still  contains  individuals  which  are  unobjectionable,  particularly  the  remains 
of  the  Boddington  breed,  and  with  a little  attention  might,  in  my  opinion,  be 
rendered  a very  valuable  breed  of  cattle. 
“ For  dairy  cows,  I have  not,  in  my  own  judgment,  seen  a better  form.  It 
is  argued,  however  that  the  north  country  cows,  being  hardier,  stand  the  winter 
better  in  the  strawyard,  and  fat  more  kindly  when  they  are  dried  off.  It 
should  be  recollected,  however,  that  Gloucestershire  is  a dairy  county,  and 
remembered  that  it  was  the  Gloucestershire  breed  which  raised  the  Gloucester- 
shire dairy  to  its  greatest  height. 
“The  three  classes,  enumerated  at  the  head  of  this  article,  now  require  to 
be  separately  considered. 
“ 1.  Cows.  This  being  a dairy  country  the  procuring  of  cows  and  the  size 
of  dairies,  as  well  as  the  treatment,  the  application,  and  the  disposal  of  cows, 
will  require  to  be  shown  separately. 
“ (1.)  Procuring.  Dairymen  iir  general  rear  their  own  cows;  some,  however, 
purchase  the  whole,  and  others  part  of  their  dairies. 
“ The  point  of  a milch  cow  which  is  here  principally  attended  to — and 
which,  no  doubt,  is  the  main  object  of  attention — is  a large  thin-skinned  bag. 
I have,  however,  heard  a large  tail  spoken  of,  in  the  true  tone  of  superstition. 
“ The  following  are  the  dimensions  of  a cow  of  the  Boddington  breed.  A 
genuine,  and  a fair  specimen,  as  to  form,  but  not  as  to  size  : the  cows  of  that 
celebrated  breed  were,  in  general,  considerably  larger.  As  a milker  she  has 
had  few  equals  ; and,  in  my  eyes,  she  is,  or  rather  was,  one  of  the  handsomest 
and  most  desirable  dairy  cows  I have  yet  seen.  These  dimensions  were  taken 
when  she  was  live  years  old,  off ; she  being  then  several  months  gone  with  her 
fourth  calf. 
“ Height  at  the  withers  four  feet  three  inches. 
“ Height  of  the  fore  dug  twenty  one  inches. 
“ Smallest  girt  six  feet  and  half  an  inch. 
“Greatest  girt  seven  feet  eleven  inches. 
“ Length  from  shoulder-knob  to  buckle  four  feet  one  inch. 
“ Length  from  the  buckle  to  the  out  of  the  nache  twenty  inches. 
“ Width  at  the  buckle  twenty  two  inches. 
“ Width  at  the  nache  fourteen  inches. 
“ Length  of  horn  twelve  inches. 
“ The  eye  full  and  bright. 
“ The  ears  remarkably  large. 
“ The  head  fine  and  chap  clean. 
“ The  bosom  deep  ; and  the  brisket  broad,  and  projecting  forward. 
“ The  shoulders  thin  with  the  points  snug. 
“ The  thigh  likewise  thin,  notwithstanding  the  great  width  at  the  nache. 
“The  bag  large  and  hanging  backward;  being  leathery  and  loose  to  the 
bearing. 
“ The  teats  of  the  middle  size  ; gives  much  milk  and  holds  it  long. 
“The  tail  large,  the  hide  thin,  and  the  bone  remarkable  fine. 
“ The  colour  a “ dark  brown  ” ; marked  with  white  along  the  back  and  about 
the  udder  ; with  the  legs,  chap,  and  head,  of  a fuU,  glossy,  dark,  chocolate  colour. 
“ The  horns  a polished  whit.e,  tipped  with  black. 
“ The  reasons  given,  by  the  diirymen  of  this  district,  for  rearing  their  own 
cows  are,  “ that  they  should  soon  be  beggared  if  they  had  their  cows  to  buy  ” ; 
and  “that  they  know  what  they  breed,  but  do  not  know  what  they  buy.’’  The 
latter  has  much  the  most  reason  in  it ; for,  as  they  observe,  if  a heifer  is  not 
likely  to  turn  out  well,  they  sell  her;  on  the  contrary,  if  they  went  to  market 
for  their  cows,  they  must  buy  the  outcasts  of  other  breeders.  Besides,  they 
endeavour  to  breed  from  known  good  milkers  ; such  as  milk  well,  not  only 
VOL.  70.  E E 
