VO I,. XXXVI. 
WHOLE No. 1449 
No. IS.j. 
VC 
NEW YORK CITY. NOV. 1S77 
PRICE SIX CENTS 
*2.30 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by the Ktiral Publishing Company, In tho office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.! 
®|}f ||crirsman. 
THE CENTENNIAL PRIZE JERSEY BULL, 
“LITCHFIELD 674.” 
BY COL. MASON C. WELD. 
Tne group of Jersey bulla to choose among 
which puzzled spectators as woll as Judges at tho 
Centennial Cattle Rhow, was roally a grand sight. 
The ohoiee was Anally reduced to four or ft vo, and 
these tho judges studied ovur for days in tho 
effort to select the best. It is hardly modest to 
say it, but my own mind was made up at once, 
as I happened to soe them for the first time 
just after the Anal decision had been arrived at, 
though not promulgated. In answer to a rpiestion 
from one of the judges as to which one I pre¬ 
ferred, I told him that which one would mark 
highest by tho scale of points I could not tell, 
but that I would send farther and go to twice 
the expense to secure “ Litchfield’s” services 
than those of any other bull in tho ring. The 
award of the prize, which I understand was made 
solely In accordance with the scalo of points— 
each judge marking, and tho average of all tho 
judgments determining tlio award led mo to 
place a higher estimate than I otherwise would 
have done upon the scale of points as indicating 
positive merit. Since that time I have had oc¬ 
casion to use the scale both in judging Jerseys 
at fairs and in making up my mind in regard to 
the comparative merits of individuals, and though 
I do not like it so well as I thought T might, yet 
I must say 1 believe in tho principle. 
** Litchfield 074/' whose superb head is depict¬ 
ed below, is of a rich, dappled fawn, solid color; 
he is an animal of majestic presence and 
of a decidedly masculino type. This is charac¬ 
teristic of Jersey bulls and not against them; 
certainly not against their good looks, for noth¬ 
ing is so lacking in picturesqueness as a femi¬ 
nine-looking bull; ho is like a lady-like man. 
11 Litchfield” is well-fed and groomed, honco his 
good points are obvlons. Ho is a most excellent 
handler, his hide being soft, pliable, spongy, 
elastic, and loose, his coat fine and silky. ITis 
fore-quarters arc both deep from crops to brisk¬ 
et, and thick through tho heart; ids barrel very 
long, straight ou the back, but tho belly line, a 
little too deep for beauty; yet for his ago. which 
is six years, one can hardly say it. shows a too 
capacious barrel. It is his hind-quarters, how¬ 
ever, in which his excellence as a sire of milking 
stock is especially noticeable. Ho is very broad 
between tho hips, long from hips to rump, which 
is both unusually broad and high, giving the 
long thighs, to which tho scale of points attaches 
so much weight. His escutcheon is exception¬ 
ally large and perfect, as indeed aro also the ru¬ 
dimentary tests, which breeders look to nowa¬ 
days with considerable interest. 
The head and eye indicate the gentleness and 
honesty of his disposition, qualities which can 
hardly be too highly valuod, and his descendants 
of tlio second and third generation are certifi¬ 
cates of merit which none can gainsay. 
It is rather strange, after the amount of talk 
wo have heard lately about there being Just as 
good, or better, Jersey cattle n this country as 
can bo found on tho Island, that the two animals 
to which the highest award—a special prize of 
$260 eaoh- was made, should bo the one “Niobe,” 
an imported Jersey cow, (of which you laid be¬ 
fore your readers an excellent portrait in your is¬ 
sue of September 15,) and the othor “ Litchfield ” 
from an imported sire and dam. The Jersey 
breeders of America gain little credit from these 
animals, to say the least. For one, I have long 
hold tho opinion that though wo may breed ex¬ 
cellent animals in this country—and do, in fact, 
produce among our pure Jersey cows those which 
will yield more butter than the best upon the 
