• 
TO IMPROVE THE SOIL AND THE MIND. 
New Series. 
ALBANY. JULY, 1851. 
Yol. VIII.—No. T. 
History of the Short-Horns. 
Cattle, by W. Youatt and W. C. L. Martin, being a Treatise 
on the Breeds. Management, and Diseases, comprising a full his¬ 
tory of the various races; origin, breeding, and merits; their ca¬ 
pacity for beef and milk; the nature and treatment of their disea¬ 
ses; the whole forming a complete gui^e for the Farmer, the 
Amateur, and Veterinary Surgeon* with 100 illustrations. Edited 
by A. Stevens. New-York: C. M. Saxton. 
The increasing attention which is being given to im¬ 
proved breeds of cattle, and other live stock, naturally 
creates a demand for books which contain information 
on this subject. Such books have heretofore been 
chiefly derived from English authors. The most ela¬ 
borate writings on the different kinds of domestic ani¬ 
mals, are those of the late Mr. Youatt, drawn up un¬ 
der the direction of the Society for the diffusion of use¬ 
ful knowledge. His works on The Horse, Cattle, Sheep, 
apd Swine, are considered standards. That on cattle, 
published in 1835, both as regards the history and de¬ 
scription of breeds and the treatment of diseases, may 
be deemed without a, rival. 
The work of Martin, published in 1848, is one of 
character and respectability, and in reference to the 
natural history of the ox, is superior to any which has 
appeared. The author-lias been a prominent officer of 
the London Zoological Society. 
But it strikes us that the plan of the book whose title 
is at the head of this article, is liable to a serious ob¬ 
jection. The inference from the title page is, that it is 
a combination of portions of the works of Youatt and 
Martin, prepared by Mr. Stevens, who has, also, made 
alterations and additions, under the plea (as stated in 
the preface) of ‘‘advancing the matter to the present 
state of knowledge on the subject.” The reader, how¬ 
ever, is left with no guide or key by which the different 
authors may be recognised. The point seems to have 
been entirely overlooked, that the public might regard 
it as of some, importance to know whether statements 
to which th.eir belief is invited, are made on the authori¬ 
ty of Mr. Youatt, Mr. Martin, or Mr. Stevens. 
But there is a portion of the work which Mr. Stevens 
acknowledges as his own. This is given under the head 
of “ Corrections of Mr. Berry, and further Historical 
Notices of the Short-horns.” The chief points to which 
these corrections refer, are 
“ 1. The asserted importation of cattle from Holland 
about one hundred years since, and the union of their 
blood with the then existing Short-horns of the valley 
of Tees. 2. The assertion that about one hundred years 
since, the breeders of Short-liorns, in their pretended 
improvement, ‘ proceeded on a judicious system of cross¬ 
ing with other breeds.’ 3. The claimed exclusive im¬ 
provement effected in the Short-horns by C. Colling. 4. 
The assertion that Mr. C. Colling adopted as the rule 
of his breeding, the reduction of the size of the Short- 
horns. 5. The account gi^en of Hubback, in which it 
is impliedly said he was not a pure Short-horn. 6. The 
whole account of the Galloway cross, and the value of 
that cross in consequence of the Gallow r ay blood.” 
These comprise the principal objections which Mr. 
Stevens makes to Mr. Berry’s history of the Short¬ 
horns. We will notice them briefly in their order. 1. 
Mr. Stevens denies the importation of cattle into Eng¬ 
land from Holland “about one hundred years since,” 
but says—“ There can be no doubt that originally the 
Short-horns came from the Continent.” In this Mr. 
Stevens concedes an important point. It has been held 
by some persons that these cattle were indigenous to 
Britain. Thus Mr. A. B. Allen, in his History and 
Traditions of Short-horn Cattle, says, 
“ We traversed Durham and Yorkshire with unspeak¬ 
able interest, for these counties are emphatically the 
home of the Short-horns. Here they originated, here 
they have flourished from time almost immemorial, and 
here they received those improvements which have car¬ 
ried them to such a pitch of excellence as to insure them 
a precedence throughout the most fertile regions of the 
world.”— Am. Agriculturist, vol. 1, p. 161. 
It is proper to say, that the ground taken by Youatt, 
Martin, and most other authorities, is, that this tribe of 
cattle was introduced into Britain from the north-western 
portion of the European continent. 
The chief argument adduced by Mr. Stevens to prove 
that there was no importation of cattle from the conti¬ 
nent at the period above alluded to, is, that there was, 
as he asserts, a statute of Parliament prohibiting their 
introduction. This act, it is stated, was passed in the 
year 1666, and continued unrepealed until 1841, “ and 
was always enforced, except from 1801 to 1814.” Of the 
existence and operation of such a statute, we have no 
other information than that given by Mr. Stevens, and 
at present can only say, that an actual prohibition of the 
nature here claimed, is irreconcilable with the statements 
of many writers of the highest respectability. Is it rea¬ 
sonable to believe that the enforcement of such a law 
would have escaped the knowledge and mention of men 
of such intelligence as Youatt, Berry, Martin, Culley, 
Bailey and Low ? Yet so far irom this, most of these 
writers and others, positively state, and all of them ad¬ 
mit, that cattle were imported during the period referred 
to, and that some of those importations contributed to 
the imrovement of the Short-horns. 
We cannot here devote the space necessary to show 
