1873.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
213 
Longhorned and Polled Cattle, 
A hundred and fifty years ago, in the western 
part of Yorkshire and the eastern part of Lan¬ 
cashire—two adjoining northern counties in 
England — there existed a breed of very large¬ 
bodied, coarse-boned cattle with a very striking 
peculiarity in their 
horns, but which, 
having some favor¬ 
able points, were 
about that time 
taken hold of by 
breeders and sub¬ 
jected to a course 
of improvement. 
Specimens of the 
breed were removed 
to the county of 
Leicestershire, and 
in a short time the 
well-known breed¬ 
er, the first Bake- 
well, whose skill¬ 
ful efforts resulted 
so favorably for 
English stock, took 
hold of them, and 
in a few years suc¬ 
ceeded in producing 
a great change for 
the better. The 
large, bony frame 
was covered with 
flesh, and the form became more rotund and 
shapely. The natural aptitude of these cattle 
for feeding assisted largely in making the 
efforts of the breeders successful, and very soon 
they became favorably known, and much prized 
for feeding, as the improved Leicesters. At 
this period they were characterized by their fine 
head, thin neck, deep chest, low brisket, loin 
narrow at the chine but wide at the hips, fleshy 
thighs, and in general a round carcase, with ribs 
well covered, and a thick mellow hide. The 
horns, however, 
were still their 
most striking pe-. 
culiarity, being 
about two feet 
long on the bulls, 
and often three and 
a half on tne oxen 
and cows, fine and 
tapering, and hang¬ 
ing downwards by 
the sides of the 
cheeks. They be¬ 
came a favorite 
stock amongst the 
graziers, and at 
public sales so 
long ago as 1790 
brought prices 
which would bo 
thought large even 
at this time —viz., 
$400 on an aver¬ 
age of fifty head. 
When it is con¬ 
sidered that this 
stock possessed, 
along with their 
other good qualities, that of early maturity, 
it is strange that they should so soon have 
disappeared from view behind the then ris¬ 
ing Shorthorn. But the Durhams or Short¬ 
horns coming then into fashion soon displaced 
the more ungainly Longhorns, and for some 
years past the native county of the improved 
Leicesters has not contained a single herd of 
this breed. In their ancestral home, too, in 
Lancashire and Yorkshire, they have also given 
way to the more fashionable breed, but whether 
anything has really been gained in the change 
is doubtful, when it is remembered that this old 
race has furnished specimens which, fed on grass 
and hay alone, and kept without shelter from 
weaning time onwards—as was then the custom, 
sheds even being unknown—have reached the 
net weight of 360 pounds per quarter. At the 
present time there are in England a few fine 
herds still in existence, which have descended 
from some of the choicest of the old stock; the 
late Mr. Bakewell, a sou of the original im¬ 
prover of the breed, having left at his death a 
fine herd, and another fine herd of 100 head 
NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK RED POLLED CATTLE. 
being owned by the Duke of Buckingham. It 
is not probable, however, that in the race for 
superiority, at least so far as fashion is con¬ 
cerned, the Longhorns will ever supersede the 
more favored Shorthorns, which seem to have 
taken a firm hold on breeders, especially those 
of America, As a curiosity, and as -one of 
the ancient races which has done good service 
in its time, it is worthy of note. And yet it 
would not be at all surprising to see this stock 
come again into prominence, if in no other way 
than as a means of procuring a cross on the 
Shorthorn, hints being occasionally given by 
breeders that such 
a cross might be 
desirable. In strik¬ 
ing contrast to the 
Longhorns stand 
the no-horns or 
polled cattle, both 
in the matter of 
horns and general 
figure. We lately 
described the Scotch 
or Galloway polled 
cattle, and now 
present an illustra¬ 
tion of the English 
or Norfolk and Suf¬ 
folk breed of polled 
cattle. This race of 
cattle owes its ori¬ 
gin to the introduc¬ 
tion of the polled 
Galloways into the 
counties of Suffolk 
and Norfolk, where 
they have been for 
long periods, and 
are now, brought in 
large droves for the purposes of feeding for the 
market. Having excellent qualities as beef 
cattle, the bulls were crossed upon the native 
stock of those counties, which although excel¬ 
lent milkers, were deficient in form, having, ac¬ 
cording to the eminent breeder Bakewell, “ a 
back like a roof of a house, with a belly of an 
exactly opposite character,” giving them just 
the points which would be undesirable in a beef 
stock but desirable as milkers. The cross re¬ 
sulted in improving their form without injuring 
their milking qual¬ 
ities, and building 
up a race of brown¬ 
ish red and brin¬ 
dled cattle which 
have gained a re¬ 
putation in Eng¬ 
land as producing 
the best butter 
which goes iuto 
the London market 
—and this in spite 
of the imperfect 
modes of dairying 
prevalent amongst 
the Suffolk farm¬ 
ers—and also of 
being fair beef 
stock. Still, dairy¬ 
ing being the main 
object for which 
this stock is bred, 
and the absence of 
horns being equal¬ 
ly desirable to the 
Suffolk dairymen, 
care has been taken 
for many years to 
breed their stock so as to perpetuate these desir¬ 
able qualities. This care has led to success, and 
the race has long enjoyed the reputation of pro¬ 
ducing the best milking cows in England. Not 
infrequently cows of this breed give in their 
prime eight gallons of milk daily, and six gal- 
LONGHORNED CATTLE. 
