AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
151 
1882 .] 
Hereford Cattle. 
The Hereford cattle are a well-marked 
British breed. We are in the habit of regard¬ 
ing the Devons as a typically ancient breed, 
but it may be doubted if they can boast a 
greater antiquity than the cattle of Hereford, 
of Gloucester, Shropshire, and part of Wales 
adjacent to Here¬ 
ford. ‘ ‘ The historic 
period” with refer¬ 
ence to cattle goes 
back over only one 
or two hundred 
years. Though 
within this period 
the Herefords have 
changed in no es¬ 
sential character ex¬ 
cept as good breed¬ 
ing confirms good 
points and weakens 
poor ones. Yet in 
appearance a very 
great change has 
taken place in these 
cattle. Ask any 
tyro who has at¬ 
tended the fairs or 
read an agricultural 
book, or even look¬ 
ed at pictures, 
‘ What are the char¬ 
acteristics of the 
Hereford breed of cattle?” and he will first 
of all say, “White Faces.” Yet the white 
faces which are now so marked a feature, 
are a modem invention, and in our opinion 
no great credit to the inventor. It is not 
much over a century since they became com¬ 
mon, and only quite recently that they have 
been regarded as characteristic of the breed. 
Lewis F. Allen, in his “American Cattle,” 
thus describes the Hereford of to-day, or, 
more accurately, of 
15 years ago:— 
“Give a Devon a 
quarter more size, 
somewhat more pro¬ 
portionate bone and 
horn, a trifle shorter 
leg and longer body, 
a little coarser in 
every part, and you 
have a good Here¬ 
ford, in all except¬ 
ing color.” The an¬ 
cient race were of a 
dark-red or brown 
color,with occasion¬ 
al variations—mot¬ 
tled faces, and the 
like. No doubt, also, 
when white cattle 
with red ears, like 
the wild cattle of 
Chillingham, were 
so fashionable (some 
600 years ago), the 
cows were crossed 
with these bulls, 
but the strong 
blood of the ancient breed prevailed, so that 
the strange cross was completely absorbed 
and lost. From some of the out-crosses, how¬ 
ever, came a famous bull with a white face, 
and this quality he perpetuated in his off- 
spring, and by selection it has become fixed. 
The Herefords, as we know them, are a white¬ 
faced breed, the white often running back 
along the back bone, and showing itself freely 
upon the brisket, belly, and switch of tail. 
Mr. Allen’s description is excellent as 
to form. The shortness of the legs gives, 
however, an impression of coarseness not 
really correct, and the same peculiarity ex¬ 
aggerates the impression of length of the 
THE HEKEFORD BULL “ COMUS.” 
body. Any one familiar with cattle is at 
once impressed on seeing animals of this 
breed with the remarkable development of 
beef points. In fact, they possess every ad¬ 
mirable point of the Devons, as beef makers, 
with quicker maturity, which makes them 
formidable rivals of the Shorthorns. The 
cows are occasionally above mediocrity as 
milkers—an indication that this quality might 
be cultivated to advantage. As working 
THE HEREFORD COW “ KATY.” 
cattle the oxen are superior—exceeding the 
Devons in weight, and the Shorthorns in 
docility and activity ; they .take strong hold 
of the affections of that large class of Am¬ 
erican farmers who love a good yoke of cat¬ 
tle. So easy keepers are they, that when 
taken out of the yoke after years of hard 
work, they will fatten so readily and quickly 
that they make excellent beef. Hereford 
steers make beef which is esteemed as second 
only to that of the little Devons, which is 
a favorite in our Eastern markets. 
There were several straggling importations 
of this blood made into the United States 
prior to 1840, but none that amounted to any¬ 
thing, as it was al¬ 
lowed to run out. 
In that year an Eng¬ 
lish farmer, Wil¬ 
liam Henry Sotham, 
brought out to this 
country a bull and 
eleven cows and 
heifers of this breed. 
In this importation 
he was assisted or 
was in partnership 
with Hon. Erastus 
Corning, of Albany, 
father of the gentle¬ 
man who now bears 
the name as senior, 
and who is the 
owner of the fine 
animals of which 
• we give portraits, 
engraved for the 
- American Agricul¬ 
turist from recent 
photographs. Mr. 
Sotham divided the 
herd with Mr. Coming, taking his to Perch 
Lake Farm, Jefferson Co., N. Y. He made 
subsequent importations, and has been for 
years an almost constant writer on the su¬ 
periority of Herefords to Shorthorns. In 
fact he has written so much and in such a 
sp'irit that he has certainly injured the cause 
he advocated. Through him, however, more 
than through any one else, has this noble 
breed become known to American farmers, 
and it is steadily in¬ 
creasing in popular¬ 
ity. During the 
past year several 
importations have 
been made and the 
breed is growing in 
favor greatly at the 
West. Mr. Coming’s 
fine herd, which has 
been kept up by 
later importations, 
lias gone on improv¬ 
ing ; it was pro¬ 
nounced in 1840 by 
so good a judge as 
A. B. Allen as com¬ 
paring “favorably 
with the best we 
met of this breed in 
England ” — it has 
never deteriorated. 
The bull “ Comus” 
(4,457 Eng. Hereford 
Herd Book), was 
imported by Mr. 
Corning in 1873, 
and in July next 
will be ten years old. He won first prizes at 
the New York State Shows of 1876-’79-’80 
and ’81. His present weight is 2,100 pounds. 
The cow “ Katy,” by “ Comus,” was 
dropped in 1877, and is of Mr. Coming’s 
“Princess” family. She won 1st at the El¬ 
mira Show of 1881, and was a member of the 
