24 
THE OX. 
THE GLAMORGAN BREED. 
The Cows are exceedingly good milkers, giving a rich yellow cream. The domestic dairy has always been an important object of 
attention in this and other parts of Wales, and hence the property of yielding abundant milk has been sought for and obtained in 
the races of the country. In this respect the Cows of Glamorgan differ essentially from those of Hereford and North Devon, in 
which the attention of breeders has been directed to grazing, and not to the dairy. 
It is an opinion frequently expressed by Glamorgan breeders, that the native breed had been injured by an intermixture of 
other races. This deterioration is supposed to have taken place after the commencement of the last war; and one of the proofs 
of it cited is, that the Glamorgan cattle, which had formerly been in great request for grazing, began to lose favour in the districts 
to which they had before been carried, as in Leicestershire, and other grazing counties. This effect, however, is sufficiently 
accounted for by the increased attention which had begun to be paid throughout the country to the improvement of live stock, 
and to the extension of superior breeds. It is less likely that the Glamorgan cattle had been deteriorated, than that the breeders 
had failed to keep pace with those of other parts of the country. With respect to the presumed mixture of other blood, this 
has probably been as little in Glamorganshire as in most parts of the kingdom. The native farmers appear to have long taken a 
peculiar pride in their ancient breed, and are at this hour very generally as tenacious of its purity as any breeders can be supposed 
to be. Individuals, indeed, chiefly in the Vale, have made experiments in crossing, just as has happened in other parts of the 
country; and insensible mixtures may have taken place with the Herefords and cattle of the neighbouring districts; but that 
the Glamorgan breed has remained wonderfully pure, especially in the higher country, may be inferred from the uniformity of 
characters which it has preserved. Various modern breeders, instead of a system of crossing, have, with better judgment, directed 
their attention to the improving of the breed which their country has for so many ages produced. These improvements have 
been chiefly carried on in the Vale, where the means are favourable to the rearing of a superior breed of cattle. The result of 
these experiments has shown that the native Glamorgan affords the basis of a valuable breed, requiring only that the same care 
and time shall be given to breeding and rearing which must be bestowed in order to bring any race of animals to a perfect state. 
Many of these improved Glamorgans have been able to contend successfully, with respect to early maturity, symmetry, and even 
weight, with the Durhams and Herefords ; and they are certainly superior to either of these breeds in their adaptation to the dairy. 
No question, then, can exist, that the breeders of Glamorgan are able to bring the breed of the country to the degree of size, apti¬ 
tude to fatten, and economical value, which consists with the nature of the district, and the state of its agriculture. The improved 
Short-horns have, indeed, been largely introduced into the Vale of Glamorgan, as into most other parts of the country where the 
means exist of supplying them with sufficient food; and there has been a great inducement to cultivate them, seeing that this breed 
has been already perfected, and that it is found in numbers sufficient to allow any one to obtain and rear it, whereas the finest class of 
Glamorgans are only as yet in the hands of a few breeders who have made them the subject of especial attention. But, excellent as 
the imported breed is, this advantage would have resulted from adhering to the older race, that the whole county would have then 
been occupied by a uniform race; and that from the lower country to the higher superior males might have been carried, so that 
the cattle of the mountains would have been gradually improved to the degree which was suitable to the nature of the pastures. As 
it is, this advantage will not be obtained by the introduction of the Short-horns, for these are unsuited to the higher country, and 
the degree of cultivation which must necessarily exist in it. The cultivators of the superior Glamorgans will find it difficult, in a 
district so limited, to pursue their improvements in opposition to the extension of another breed, and Glamorganshire will probably 
present the singular example of having the general improvement of the live stock of the country retarded by the importation of a 
breed in itself good, and calculated to benefit the individuals who adopt it. But it is the interests of the breeders themselves that 
must determine the question as to the breeds to be adopted, and it cannot be supposed that considerations founded on general 
benefit will prevail against private interests. But this the landed gentlemen of the country may do : they may and ought to 
give all encouragement to the preservation and improvement of that race which is naturalized, which occupies so great a part 
of the county, and which experience shows to be susceptible of so much improvement. The native and imported breeds should 
be kept distinct and pure. Besides the Short-horned, the Dairy breed of Ayrshire has been introduced into this district, 
though it is difficult to see with what aim. The native cattle already possess the qualities of milch cows in a very high degree, 
and they have this advantage over the Ayrshire, that they are the natives of the country. Individuals may, indeed, if they think 
fit, possess themselves of an Ayrshire or any other stock, but no benefit could result from mixing these strangers with the native 
race. 
