THE DEVON BREED. 
PLATE X. 
BULL, aged Two Years and Nine Months, bred by James Denny, Esq., Egmoor, County of Norfolk. 
On the southern side of the Bristol Channel extends the country of the ancient Damnonii, comprehending the present coun¬ 
ties of Devon and Cornwall. Much of this tract resembles Wales in its aspect and geological characters; and like Wales it 
afforded in a former age a refuge amongst its mountains, rocks, and fastnesses, for the Celtic Britons. In this country we find the 
remains of the same older breeds of cattle which yet exist in the Welsh mountains, modified by the effects of a lower altitude and 
more temperate climate. In the county of Cornwall to the westward, the old breeds of cattle resembled those yet existing in the 
mountains of Wales, although they have been long so mixed with other races and with one another, that it is difficult to assign to 
them any distinctive characters. But farther to the eastward, and occupying the high lands of Devonshire on the Bristol Chan¬ 
nel, is a peculiar variety of cattle, distinguished by such a common resemblance of properties and form as to render it one of the 
best-defined breeds of the British islands. It is usually termed the Devon breed, and sometimes the North Devon, from its being 
found in the greatest purity in the northern division of the county. These cattle have been extended very widely, but their pecu¬ 
liar district is the northern slope of Devonshire, extending from Barnstaple eastward beyond the river Exe. 
The true North Devons are to be classed with the breeds of the higher country. They exceed a little in weight the hardier 
and more muscular Pembroke and West Highland cattle; but they fall short of the Long-horned, Hereford, and other varieties of 
the lower plains. Their general form is light and graceful; their skin is of an orange-yellow colour; and they are distinguished 
by having the hair of a bright red, and by their eyes being surrounded by a ring of the colour of the skin. The nose is likewise 
of the same colour, and the inside of the ears is orange-red. Their horns are of medium length, very fine, and bending upwards in 
the manner of the Wild cattle of the parks. Their skin is unctuous and soft to the touch, and the hair is fine and tending to curl, 
like that of other cattle inhabiting a humid climate. The neck is long and the chest with little dewlap. The shoulders are 
oblique, the hoofs and bones of the extremities are small, the limbs are slender and long, the chest is only of moderate width, the 
back is long, and the distance large between the last asternal rib and the pelvis. These are the most marked characteristics of 
the true Devons, taking as the type of the breed the variety proper to the elevated district of North Devon. As we recede from 
this centre the size and form of the animals deviate more or less from the pure type. In the countries of richer herbage they 
become enlarged in size, and lose somewhat of the delicacy of shape which they exhibit in their native pastures. They appear to 
be of that variety of the ancient cattle which were valued for their white colour and the peculiarity of their red ears. 
The females of this race are small as compared with the bulls and oxen, deficient in the power of yielding milk, and tending 
to run soon dry. Nevertheless the milk is very rich in cream, and of a fine yellow colour, on which accounts many prefer the 
Devons for the domestic dairy to other races whose milk is more abundant. The flesh of the cattle is juicy and tender, and 
tolerably well mixed with the muscular parts. The fat has a peculiarly yellow tinge corresponding with the colour of the integu¬ 
ments ; but this is not regarded as an imperfection in those markets where the principal beef is the Devon, and where the eye is 
reconciled to this peculiarity in the colour of the fatty tissue. 
The Devon cattle are gentle, agile, and above all our races adapted to active labour. Their shoulders have that obliquitv 
which enables them to lift freely their fore extremities; and their quarters behind are relatively long, which is a character con¬ 
nected in the Ox as in the horse with the power of active motion. Their bodies too are light, and their limbs long, muscular to 
the hock and knee, and below these joints sinewy. These cattle, then, although wanting in the power of heavy draught which the 
larger Oxen can exert, have the faculty of muscular exertion in a higher degree. They trot well in harness, and will keep pace 
with a horse in the ordinary labours of the farm. They are largely employed throughout the county of Devon for the purposes 
of labour, usually four together, and mostly attached by the yoke and not by the collar. The team of the labouring Oxen in this 
beautiful county is one of the charms of the rural landscape. A boy accompanies the ploughman and his team to drive the Oxen. 
He chants continually a simple melody in low notes rising to the higher. From morn to night this simple song is heard, the 
ploughman putting in from time to time his lower notes in happy keeping. The beasts seem cheered by the music, and from hour 
to hour the team may be observed in motion without a harsh word being uttered by the ploughman or his youthful companion A 
Although the Devon Ox presents a symmetry of parts which pleases the eye, yet his form is not precisely that which the 
breeder seeks for in an animal destined to fatten quickly and arrive at great weight. His neck is too long, his chest is too narrow, 
* M. Youatt, Library of Useful Knowledge. 
