20 
THE OX. 
THE DEVON BREED. 
his sides are too flat, his limbs are too long in proportion to his body, or, in other words, his body is too small in proportion to his 
height. The Devon Ox is a kindly enough feeder, but he requires good pastures and a somewhat favourable climate, and could 
barely subsist on food which would suffice to fatten some of the hardier mountain breeds of nearly his own size. 
But the defects in the form of the genuine Devons are capable of being removed by the care of the breeder. However 
long the Devon has been in existence as a separate variety, nothing like care had been bestowed on its improvement in the country 
which it inhabits until a recent period. Even until several years after the commencement of the last war the breeders of 
Devonshire seem to have been ignorant that there was any thing remarkable in their native breed; and they appear to have only 
become aware of its importance and the profit of improving it by the demand which arose in other districts. Since the beginning 
of the present century, however, the breed has received its full share of public attention. Many eminent breeders in different parts 
of the country have adopted it, and by selection of the parents, and enlarged supplies of food given to the animals when young, 
have succeeded in imparting to it properties which it had not acquired in its native district. The figure in the Plate exhibits the 
Devon Breed brought to a great degree of perfection. Retaining the general characteristics of the race—its length of neck and 
body—it will be seen that the too great length of the limbs has been corrected; and that almost all the other points are such as 
the breeder would approve of in any race of cattle. 
But, nevertheless, the Devon Breed, however much the defects of its conformation may be corrected, and however desirous 
graziers may be to procure it from the district in which it is reared for the purpose of fattening, is not calculated to supplant 
other breeds to any great extent in this country, when the end is rearing as well as grazing. It does not equal in hardiness some 
others nearly similar in weight, as the Pembroke, the West Highland, and the Galloway. It falls short, in the weight at which 
it usually arrives, of the Short-Horned and Hereford Breeds, and will not generally yield so large a return as they will 
do from the period of birth to maturity, however well it may remunerate the grazier between the periods of buying and selling. 
Neither is the breed well suited to the bringing up of calves, or to the husbandry of the dairy, in which the profit depends on 
obtaining a large quantity of milk for a considerable period of the year. For these reasons the breed of North Devon, however 
greatly it is to be valued, is not now found to extend itself in districts where the richer pastures are found, and where the means 
exist of cultivating artificial provender. In such situations the larger individuals of the Short-Horned and Hereford races are 
preferred by those \yhose purpose is breeding as well as grazing; and we may be well assured that the interests of individuals have 
conducted them, in this respect, to the course which is most profitable. The Devon Breed, however, must always be held in high 
estimation over a large tract of country. It will be sought for by those who purchase cattle to graze for a limited period, and 
sufficient inducement is therefore held out to the Devonshire breeders to preserve the purity of their native race, and to bring it to 
all the perfection to which, by a careful selection of the parents and liberal feeding of the young, it can be brought. There is no 
need of exaggerated statements of the superiority of the Devon Breed over others in order to place it in its proper rank. Like the 
West Highland, the Castle Martin, and the Galloway, it has a high intrinsic value for the grazier; but assuredly it does not sur¬ 
pass, as some of its too eager admirers maintain, other breeds which arrive at greater weight and attain earlier maturity. 
The Devonshire breeders adhere scrupulously to the deep Ted colour of the hair, and reject individuals having a tendency to 
produce white on the face and the body. This is a merely conventional test of purity and goodness, for certainly white is still 
more than red the pristine colour of the race, and its appearance ought not to be regarded as a sign of degeneracy. But although 
the strict adherence to a given colour may limit in some cases the selection of males and females for breeding, it tends in an eminent 
degree to ensure the general purity of the breed. The deep blood-red colour of the pure North Devons is so peculiar that there 
is no other race in this country in which an admixture of foreign blood is so easily traced, or which accordingly has remained so 
free from foreign intermixture. Inasmuch, then, as this limitation of colour ensures uniformity in the typical characters of the 
race, it is beneficial; and it is not therefore expedient that the agriculturists of North Devon should depart from the standard of 
the purity of their beautiful breed which has been so long established. 
The Devon Breed extends from the northern division of the county into South Devon all the way to the British Channel. 
Here the red colour characteristic of the purer race becomes less bright, and white frequently appears on the body and extremi¬ 
ties, and the animals become enlarged in size, corresponding with the increased fertility of the country, and assume a coarser form. 
The South Devons, accordingly, are held in far inferior estimation to the variety proper to the higher country for ready fattening; 
but they are greatly valued in their own district as rising to a good weight, and supplying the larger beef which is in demand at 
the numerous shipping ports of the coast. For this latter purpose, indeed, the Durhams and Herefords would probably be found 
better adapted; but if the breeders of South Devon shall continue to prefer the existing race, then surely the means ought to be 
used to improve it in the degree of which it is susceptible. It is absurd to say, as some have done, that the South Devon breed is 
bad in itself, and incapable of improvement. The South Devon Breed is only bad because sufficient attention has not been paid, 
by selection of the parents, to the improvement of the progeny. 
