402 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October 
The Red Polled Cattle. 
In domesticating animals, and in breeding them 
for particular uses, they have been wonderfully 
modified. This is strikingly illustrated in the va- 
breeds, and has given illustrations of noted ani¬ 
mals. An importation of animals, the selection 
and departure of which excited much interest 
among the cattle men of England, has recently 
, reached this country. The lot, consisting of a bull 
red-polled bdll “ RUFUS.” —Drawn by E. Forbes for the American Agriculturist. 
rious breeds of cattle. In these, not only have 
the milking, fattening, and other useful qualities 
been increased, but the useless characters reduced. 
In wild cattle, horns, and large ones, are of great 
use to the animal, but in domestication, the bull is 
not obliged to establish his right to lead the herd 
by battle ; hence he no longer needs large horns, 
while their presence is a constant source of danger 
to his owner. In the improvement of cattle, the 
horns have diminished in size, notably in the fa¬ 
mous Shorthorn breed, and in a few breeds these 
appendages have disappeared altogether. That the 
hornless or polled cattle were derived from those 
having horns is shown by the occasional appear¬ 
ance of a calf with small horns, which are only 
loosely attached to the skin. The Galloway, re¬ 
garded as the original polled breed, has been 
known for nearly 200 years, and still remains dis¬ 
tinct, showing that the tendency to reversion is not 
strong. The Galloway cattle are generally black, 
and are highly prized in the part 
of Scotland from which they 
get their name. The Angus is 
another Scotch Weed of polled 
cattle. The Galloways were long 
ago taken to the English coun¬ 
ties of Norfolk and Suffolk, 
where, by crossing with the 
native stock of those counties, 
animals were produced that were 
a marked improvement upon the 
originals. The polled character 
was retained and the beef points 
greatly improved, without in¬ 
jury to their excellent milking 
qualities. These animals are 
now known as Red Polled cattle, 
the distinction between Norfolk 
and Suffolk being dropped. 
They have a deep red color, 
even upon the udder; the tip v 
of the tail is sometimes white. 7 ->«■: 
The head is neat, and a tuft of 
hair hangs over the forehead. . - % - 
A good quality claimed for the 
Red Polled cattle is hardiness of 
constitution, enabling them to 
thrive on scanty pasturage, and 
to withstand severe winters and 
the piercing winds of spring and autumn. They 
are noted for good milking qualities. There are 
several noted families of these animals, and a 
herd-book records their pedigrees. 
Polled cattle, that is, cattle without horns, have 
been gradually growing in favor in this country as 
well as in Great Britain. The American Agricul¬ 
turist has in former vears called attention to these 
and ten heifers of various ages, was imported by 
Robert J. Kimball, Esq., a banker of this city, 
for the improvement of his private herd at “ Suffolk 
Farm,” Randolph, Orange Co.,Vt. Though the ani¬ 
mals are not for sale, the importation is of interest 
to every cattle breeder in the country, as it is not 
possible to bring here a high grade animal of any 
breed without ultimately affecting the general cat¬ 
tle interests of the country. The selection was 
made by Mr. Kimball with great care, and the 
leading breeders of these animals took pride in 
making it a representative one. The cattle ar¬ 
rived in this country in good condition. Sketches 
of them were immediately made by our artist. 
We give below that of “ Bridesmaid,” a two-year-old 
heifer, purchased by Mr. Kimball from the herd of 
Mr. Lofft, M. P., which received the first prize at 
the Suffolk County Show, the second at the Nor¬ 
folk, and also the second at the Royal (all England) 
last June. The bull “ Rufus,” of which our artist 
animals are much less liable to injure one another 
than those wjth large horns, while the greater 
safety and convenience of the attendants is an im¬ 
portant point. The venerable A. B. Allen, long an 
authority in all cattle matters, many years ago, in 
the American Agriculturist, advocated as a most 
desirable improvement in American beef cattle the 
importation of polled bulls, to be crossed upon 
long-horned Texan stock. What he saw of polled 
cattle in Europe induced him to make this sugges¬ 
tion, and the fact that bulls of polled breed 
strongly impress their characters upon their off¬ 
spring, renders the suggestion as important to-day 
a6 when it was first made. The leader of this private 
herd, the bull “ Romeo,” comes of a strain which 
has already a high reputation in England and is 
regarded as occupying the same position among 
polled cattle that is held by the “ Princess ” blood 
among Shorthorns. A large share of the cows and 
heifers have taken prizes at the leading cattle 
shows, have excellent pedigrees, and contain 
the blood of the most noted milkers. While the 
polled cows generally give milk rich in butter, 
there is a great difference in their yield at the pail. 
As in the Shorthorns, so celebrated as beef auimals, 
there are among polled cattle certain families noted 
as being famous milkers. The editor of the Red 
Polled Herd-Book regards the present herd as “ the 
best selection ever made,” giving Americans “ an 
opportunity of seeing good typical animals.” 
We shall watch with a considerable degree of in¬ 
terest Mr. Kimball’s experiments with these cattle, 
for his personal satisfaction, and may give our 
readers the benefit of them. 
The lowest valuation of the Indian Corn crop of 
this country, for several years past, exceeds Six 
Hundred Million Hollars. The corn is chiefly 
“ made ” during 100 days, counting from the last 
week in May, in the largest corn producing States. 
We may, however, reckon this crop as yielding to 
the producers nearly Seven Hundred Million Dol¬ 
lars, whether sold in the kernel, or condensed into 
pork, bacon, and lard, and allow 117 days for the 
entire growth. In either case, it is an interesting 
thought that, on the average, there are six million 
dollars worth of corn silently gathered from the 
6oil and air each day of the growing season. The 
thought is intensified when we remember that 
during many cold days hardly any progress is 
red polled heifer “bridesmaid.” —Drawn by E. Forbes for the American Agriculturist. 
likewise presents a picture, is five years old, be¬ 
longs to J. J. Colman, Member of Parliament, and 
sired “Romeo” and several others of the Kimball 
importation. We give the picture of “ Rufus,” as 
a fair illustration of the polled breed at maturity. 
These polled cattle have excellent beef points, take 
on flesh rapidly,while the absence of horns is a point 
of great importance to snippers. The hornless 
made, while on some hot days, succeeding a mod¬ 
erate raiu fall, the growth is three or four times as 
great as on average days. So those people were 
not very wide of the mark, who, when sweltering 
in a hot July or August day, consoled themselves 
and others with the remark, “well, this day is 
worth Twenty Million Dollars to ournational crop,” 
to say nothing of the benefit to other growing crops. 
