RED  POLL  CATTLE. 
The  visit  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  to 
Norwich  will  be  welcomed  by  all  East  Anglians,  and  the 
breeders  of  Red  Polls  will  be  wise  to  make  a good  display 
of  their  native  cattle.  There  is  no  other  polled  breed  in 
England,  and  its  merits  have  hitherto  been  not  fully 
recognised. 
The  Red  Poll  seems  above  all  others  the  animal  for  utility, 
safety,  and  ornament.  Nothing  can  look  prettier  than  the 
various  shades  of  red  in  a meadow  or  park.  The  cattle  are 
deep  milkers,  and  their  period  of  lactation  lasts  right  up  to 
the  birth  of  another  calf — a great  advantage  where  a regular 
but  small  supply  of  milk  is  required  for  a household.  The 
milk  is  rich  without  being  over  rich  ; it  makes  excellent 
butter  and  good  cheese. 
The  cows  and  bulls  are  generally  docile,  and  the  absence 
of  horns  is  no  mean  safeguard  against  danger.  Valuable 
horses  and  colts  can  be  turned  out  with  these  cows  without 
fear  of  their  being  accidentally'  or  intentionally  gored. 
These  advantages  are  appreciated  by  members  of  the  Red 
Poll  Society,  very  many  of  whom  are  gentry  keeping  cows  for 
the  purpose  of  supplying  their  own  wants  ; but  it  cannot  be 
too  strongly  asserted  that  the  Red  Poll  is  by  no  means  only  a 
gentleman’s  cow,  but  is  a real  utility  animal  for  a farmer  who 
wants  to  pay  his  rent,  either  by  selling  milk  or  by  rearing  his 
own  calves  ; and  that  it  has  points  of  superiority  over  other 
breeds. 
To  give  one  instance  of  the  advantage  of  the  absence  of 
horns.  At  the  last  London  Dairy  Show,  October,  1910,  the 
Red  Polls  were  so  crowded  together  that  the  attendants  had 
hardly  room  to  milk  their  animals,  nor  the  cows  to  lie  down  ; 
but  when  protest  was  made  to  the  Steward  that  they  had  not 
their  fair  share  of  room,  he  explained  that  the  adjoining  breed 
of  cattle  on  first  arrival  began  horning  each  other  so  viciously 
that  they  had  to  be  separated  by  a greater  distance  at  the 
expense  of  the  space  allotted  to  the  Red  Polls. 
It  will  be  found  that  about  twelve  Red  Polls  can  be  kept 
in  the  same  space  as  about  nine  Shorthorns — no  mean  con- 
sideration in  yard  room. 
The  characteristics  of  the  breed  as  revised  in  Herd  Book, 
Vol.  XXVII.  (1910),  are  as  follows 
COLOUR. — Blood  red  ; deep  red  for  preference  ; tip  of  tail 
and  udder  may  be  white. 
