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LIBRARY OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, —~3

CATTLE.

BREEDS, MANAGEMENT, AND DISEASES;

WITH AN INDEX.

M yi} ty

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PUBLISHED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

LONDON: BALDWIN AND CRADOCK, PATERNOSTER-ROW.

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MDCCCKXXIVe KS a Dig y

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PREFACE.

In preparing this volume on “ Cattle,” the author has often had reason to deplore the want of materials, and which he has been enabled to obtain only by correspondence with competent individuals, and the personal in- spection of the present state of cattle, in the greater part of the British empire. To those noblemen and agriculturists from whom he derived information, the more highly estimated by him, because most readily and courteously granted, he begs to return his warmest thanks, His obliga- tion to Mr. Berry, for the admirable history of the Short-Horns, will not be soon forgotten.

He has endeavoured to lay before the adis an accurate and faithful account of the cattle of Great Britain and Ireland. He does not expect to please every one who reads his work or who has contributed towards it 5 for long experience has taught him that, although there is some excellence peculiar to each breed, there is none exempt from defect; and the honest statement of this defect will not satisfy the partisan of any one breed, or or of any variety of that breed. He has passed lightly over the subject of the general management of cattle, in order to avoid trenching on the work on “ British Husbandry,” now publishing under the superintendence of the Society. ;

The diseases of cattle was a favourite topic with the writer, but here, too, he painfully felt the deficiency of materials for a treatise worthy of such a subject. One branch of veterinary science has rapidly advanced. The dis- eases of the horse are better understood and better treated ; but, owing to the absence of efficient instruction concerning the diseases of cattle in the principal veterinary school, and the incomprehensible supineness of agri- cultural societies, and agriculturists generally, cattle have been too much left to the tender mercies of those who are utterly ignorant of their struc- ture, the true nature of their diseases, the scientific treatment of them, and even the very first principles of medicine.

_ With the few practitioners scattered through the country, who had praise- worthily devoted themselves to the study of the maladies of cattle, the author entered into correspondence; and he derived from them a liberal assistance which does honour to the profession whose character they are establishing.

a2

PREFACE.

To many of the contributors to that valuable periodical, “ The Veterina- rian,” he is under considerable obligation, which has been duly and gratefully acknowledged. He has likewise had recourse to various foreign authorities ; for, although far behind us in the cultivation of the breed of cattle, many continental writers, and continental agriculturists generally, have set us a laudable example of attention to the diseases of these animals.

The author ventures to hope that the information derived from these sources, as well as from his own practice, may have enabled him to lay before his readers a treatise on “ Cattle” not altogether unsatisfactory ; and that, particularly with regard to the maladies of the ox, so often grossly misunderstood and shamefully treated, he may have succeeded in laying down some principles which will guide the farmer and the practitioner through many a case heretofore perplexing and almost uniformly fatal. At all events, he will have laid the foundation for a better work, when com- mon sense, and a regard to the best interests of husbandry, shall have induced agriculturists to encourage, or rather to demand a higher degree of general education in veterinary practitioners, and shall have founded, south of the Tweed, those schools for professional instruction in every branch of the veterinary art which have been successfully established, and are honourably considered on the continent.

W. YOUATT.

Nassau Street, Middlesex Hospital, + London.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE š INTRODUCTION

Cuarrer L—THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE OX. His Zoological character—domesticated before the Flood—fossil bones.

Cuapter I].—THE BRITISH OX. ž = 4

No satisfactory description of cattle by early writers—The Lancashire and the Devon ox—The ox of central Africa —the backley of Southern Africa—the Scotch bull —the Swiss cows—Return to our native cattle—in the feudal times—occasional wild cattle —those of Chillingham Park—-Present cattle classed according to the size of their horns—the middle-horns probably the original breed—they are found where the natives retreated from their invaders—essentially the same wherever found.

Cuarrer III.—THE MIDDLE-HORNS. ° Il

The Nortn Devons—The proper form and shape of cattle—the Devons tried by this test—Lord Western’s cattle—the Devonshire cow—the working properties of the Devon ox—his disposition to fatten—Experiments—value of the cow for the dairy— attempted crosses—the Vale of Exeter—South Devon cattle—clouted cream—Cornisi cattle—principally North Devons-—crosses—-Dorsrrsuire cattle—-mixture of Devon and Dorset—SOoMERSETSHIRE cattle—pure Devons on the borders of Devon—gradual change of character—the old Somersets—the present cattle—Cheddar cheese—The Hrrzrorps —description of them—comparison between them and the Devons—fattening proper- ties—experiments—GLOoucEsTERSHIRE Cattle—the old Gloucesters—the present breed in the hilly district—in the vale of Berkeley—crosses—Gloucester cheese—single and double—SvssEx cattle—description—comparison with Devons and Herefords—Sussex cow—crosses—W est Sussex cattle—Kenrisu cattle—W atus—general character of the Welsh cattle—Pemsrokes—G1amorcans—former character of them—present breed— late improvement—Mr. David's breed—Monmovurusuiex cattle—CarmartHens—Car- DIGANS— Cattle of BRECKNOCKSHIRE and Rapnorsuire—Cattle of Norra Wairs— ANGLESEY cattle—the passage of the Menai—crosses—improvements—Welsh tradi- tions—The Carnarvons —The cattle of Mrrionzru, Monrcomery, Densian, ELINT, Scornanp—the West Hicuiawnp cattle—the Hesrives—Description of the true Kyloe —early anecdotes—Mr. Moorhouse—Hebridean management—The outer Hebrides— the tacksman—Arran—the Duke of Hamilton’s improvements—general management —Burz—ArcyLEesuirr—the cattle—rearing—Cantire — dairy-management —INvER= nEss—the ferry of Kyle-Rhea—the shealings —overstocking— the trysts — Norrn HicuHianp cattle—the Suurnanpers—description— management—the Holmes—the Orxneys—Carruness—Sir John Sinclair’s valuable improvements—present character of the cattle—diseases—strange superstitions—Surnerianp—introduction of sheep husbandry — different breeds — management — superstitions—Ross and Cromarry— peculiarity of the cattle—Mr. Mackenzie’s valuable account of Ross—Natrn, Moray, Banr¥—the Banffshire breed—Lord Findlater’s improvements —ABERDEEN—4descrip« tion of the cattle—the Kintore ox—the polled cattle—the Buchan cows—Kincar- DINESHIRE—the Mearns ox—the cottar of the present and olden time—Aneus—the horned breed—FirrE—description of the cattle — origin — the Durhams in Fife— Prerru—character of the cattle—Srirtine—the Carses—David Dun, the Scot- tish Bakewell—Falkirk tryst—Kunross, CLACKMANNAN, DumBArton—the wintering grounds—the Ayrshires in Dumbarton—their produce—Renrrew—Ayrsuiee—State of the county fifty years ago—present state—cattle—opinions of their origin—their value as dairy-cows—produce—profit—boyening— Dunlop cheese—fattening properties of the Ayrshires—management—calves—Lanark—the Strathaven veal—the Willow-

vi CONTENTS.

bank dairy—Wesr Loruran—the cattle—grazing—Mrp-Loratan—the original and present cattle—the Caledonian dairy—Kasr Loratan—Mr, Rennie’s cattle—Rox- BURGH—Berrwick—the cradle of Scottish agriculture—Mr. Pringle, the first culti- vator of turnips in drills—the progress of improvement—Seixirx—change in its cha-

racter,

Cusrter IV.—POLLED CATTLE. s Page 154

GaLrLoway—Descri Mure’s breed—his —general excellence trs—the Gallowa here—Anaus—the Watson’s val

CHAPTER V.—THE IRISH CATTLE.

The: aboriginal breed middle-horns—the Kerry cow—the prevailing breed were pro- bably the Crayens—Improvement slower in Ireland than in England—Mr. Waller’s improvements in. Meath—Lord Masserene—Lord Farnham—the Earl of Rosse—Sir

- V. Tempest—Mr. Conolly—modern improyers — exportation of Irish cattle— cattle salesmen—lIrish butter.

CHAPTER VI.—THE LONG-HORNS, : 188

— Mr.

the improved Leicesters—stran

WESTMORELAND— LANCASHIRE seen—crosses—introduction of short-horns—Mr. Kirk description of cattle—Cuxsnire breed injured by management of the dairy—Cheshire cheese—Norrinenamsnrre—Lricesrersniap— RUTLAND—HUNTINGDON — CAMBRIDG —N ORTHAMPTON—BeEp. FORD—experiments at Woburn — RKSHIRE—HAMPSHIRE —crosses—Isle of Wight— horns almost extinct— kinds — cheese — SHIrE—the old Staffords—the Staffords of the pres horns—SHROPSHIRE—the old Shropshires—the pr

Cuarrer VII—THE SHORT-HORNS, < 226

j Description of the old breed—Sir W. Quentin—Mr, history of his purchase of Hubback—Favourite—the Durh Galloway—Bolingbroke—Johanna—Lady—prices fetched Mr. C. Colling’s stock—Mr, R. Colling—sale of his stock Mr. Mason of Chilton—Mr. G. Coates’s Short-Horn Her

qualities—quantities of r. Bates first. crossed the Maynard’s experiments alone—succeeded by th Mitton’s proved Lincolns—the Turn- neolnshire ox—Kssex—the calf-feeding— sausages—M1ppLEsEx—Booth’s establishment sold in Smithfield—how supplied—crnelties prac. t in London—the milk-business—Laycock’s dairy

Carrer VIII—THE FOREIGN BREEDS OF CATTLE. 266

The Alderney—quantity and excellence of milk, fattens readily—Najore cattle —buffalo and Indian cattle,

CONTENTS. |

Cuarrern IX.—THE STRUCTURE AND DISEASES OF THE HEAD OF THE OX. š . : Page 271

The skeleton—the head—shortness and breadth of forehead in the bull—fine small head in the female—extent of frontal sinuses—inflammation of them—the horns— history of their growth—treatment of fracture of them—age as indicated by the horns—tricks—manufacture of beautiful horns—the distinguishing character of the different breeds — influence of sex —horned Galloways—comparison between the horned and hornless cattle—uses of horn—The brain, smaller than in the horse— intelligence of cattle—peculiar conformation of the brain and spinal marrow—The ear—difference of in different cattle—diseases of—The eye—fracture of the orbit — wounds — tumours — The eyelids — eruption on them—enlargement of haw—in- flammation of the eye—cataract—gutta serena—cancer— Fracture of the skull— Hyda- tids in the brain—-water in the head — apoplexy—inflammation of the brain— locked jaw—epilepsy—palsy—rheumatism — tail-slip—neurotomy—madness.

Cuarter X.—THE ANATOMY, USES, AND DISEASES, OF THE NOS- TRILS AND MOUTH. ‘ a 308

The nasal bones—sense of smelling more acute than the horse—bleeding from the nose—leeches in it—polypus—coryza—glanders—farcy—The bones of the mouth—the lips—the bars of the mouth—the pad teeth in the upper jaw—the teeth—the age in- dicated by them—the long tongue of the ox—the os hyoides—gloss-anthrax or blain— thrush in the mouth —the glands and blood-vessels of the neck—the parotid gland— barbs or paps—the soft palate—the pharynx.

Cuaprer XI.—ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK AND CHEST. 338

The muscles of the neck and chest—the crest of the bull—form and size of the neck —arteries of the neck—bleeding—the fleam preferred—bleeding places—the milk-vein with reference to bleeding — The heart—inflammation of its bay—the bone of the heart —the pulse—the capillary vessels—inflammation—Fever—inflammatory fever—quar- ter-evil—black quarter—typhus fever—the veins—varicose veins—The structure and form of the chest—the brisket—indications of its different forms—The ribs—proper form and direction of—the spine—reasons of its difference from that of the horse— the Jarynx—the round curled form of the epiglottis—the windpipe—tracheotomy— the sweetbread—the bronchial tubes—catarrh or hoove—epidemic catarrh—the malig- nant epidemic—murrain—long account of the epidemics of different times — sore throat—inflammation of the pharynx—puncturing the pharynx—bronchitis—multi-’ tude of worms often found in the air-passages—bronchitis in Jamaica—inflammation of the lungs—acute pneumonia — epidemic ditto—pleurisy—chronic pleurisy—con- sumption—importance of recognizing the peculiar cough of consumption.

Cuarrer XII.—THE STRUCTURE AND DISEASES OF THE GULLET AND STOMACH. x k 414

The peculiar structure of the gullet of raminants—choking—the œsophagus-probang —stricture of the gullet-—rupture of ditto—the cesophagean canal—the rumen or paunch —the reticulum or honeycomb—the manyplus or manifolds—the abomasum or fourth stomach—the csophagean canal continued—the muscular pillars of its floor—they yield to a solid substance—circumstances under which fluids pass over them into the third and fourth stomachs, or between them into the ramen—the food macerated in the rumen—passes through all the compartments of it—thrown into the reticulum —its honeycomb structure—the pellet formed—forced into the csophagean canal— reascends the gullet—remasticated—returned—passes along the canal into the many- plus—the leaves of the manyplus—the fibrous parts of the food—indigestible substances in the paunch—concretions in ditto—distention of the rumen from food—ditto from gas—hoove—the stomach-pump—the chloride of lime—loss of cud—poisons—yew— corrosive sublimate—diseases of the reticulum—diseases of the manytfolds — clew- bound — fardel-bound—malformation of manyplus—diseases of the fourth stomach— vomiting.

Cuarren XIII.—THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE SPLEEN, LIVER, AND PANCREAS. ; ; 457

Anatomy and function of the spleen—inflammation of it—enlargement—-The liver inflammation of it—haemorrhage—jaundice or yellows—The pancreas.

Cuarrer XV.—THE URINARY ORGANS AND THEIR DISEASES, 503

The kidneys—req water—black water—inflammation of the kidneys—the ureters— the bladder—urinary calculi—stone in the kidney—ureters—bladder—urethra-—-rup- ture of the bladder—inversion of ditto,

Cuarrer XVI,— BREEDIN G—PARTURITI ON.

ess to the s aki

n of the fætu al garget.

Cuarrer XVII.—THE DISEASES AND MANAGEMENT OF CALVES, 557 Navel *onatipation—diarshooe—hoove—oastration-—Frenck method of castration,

CHAPTER XVIUIL—THE DISEASES OF THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM AND THE EXTREMITIES. i š 562

Rheumatism—swellings of the joints—ulcers about the joints—opened joints— sprains—diseases of the feet—foul in the feet—shoeing,

CHAPTER XIX.—THE DISEASES OF THE SKIN, 570

Structure of the skin—sensible and insensible perspiration—hide-bound—mange— ‘eprosy—lice—warbles—angle-berrieg n ;

CHAPTER XX.—A List OF THE MEDICINES USED IN THE TREAT. MENT OF THE DISEASES OF CATTLE, 577

reran sanoio a pow-

s—blisters—calami ne $ oil—eatechu-—causties

—white vitriol.

S work, but the reference to the pages in which the respective subjects are considered is here correct,

** An error exists as to the numbering of some of the Chapters in the body of the 1

INTRODUCTION.

Ir this volume of ‘The Farmer’s Series’ is devoted to the history, general management, and medical treatment of an animal less connected with our commerce and our pleasure, and less endowed with intelligence and courage, and many a noble quality, than ‘ the horse,’ we shall yet find in ‘cattle,’ a subject more identified with our agricultural prosperity, and with the comforts, and the very continuance of life. If an ox is not indi- vidually so valuable as a horse, yet, in the aggregate, cattle constitute a much greater proportion of the wealth of the country ; for although Great Britain contains a million and a half of horses, she has to boast of more than eight millions of cattle, unrivalled in the world,

One hundred and sixty thousand head of cattle are annually sold in Smithfield alone, without including calves, or the dead-market——the car- casses sent up from various parts of the country. If we reckon this to be a tenth part of the cattle slaughtered in the United Kingdom, it follows that - 1,600,000 cattle are sent to the butcher every year ; and, averaging the life of the ox or the cow at five years, the value of British cattle, estimated at 102. per head, will be eighty millions sterling. 1,200,000 sheep, 36,000 pigs, and 18,000 calves, are also sent to Smithfield in the course of a year, and if we reckon these to be a tenth of the whole number, and allow only two years as the average duration of the lives of sheep and pigs, and value the calves at 2/. 10s. each, the pigs at 2l, and the sheep at IZ. 10s., we shall arrive at the additional sum of nearly forty millions ; so that we may safely compute the actual value of eattle, Sheep and swine, to be nearly 120 millions sterling.

Although much-has been done by agricultural societies to improve the breed and the general treatment of these animals, and much valuable in- Struction is to be found scattered in many a volume, no one has yet at- tempted to collect these fragments of ‘ useful knowledge,’ and to: add. to them his own experience ; and in one very important part of our subject, there has been the most unaccountable neglect, for there is scarcely in the English language a work on the preservation of the health, and the prevention and cure of the diseases, of cattle and sheep, on which any dependence can be placed. Although a tenth part of the sheep and lambs die annually of disease (more than four millions perished by the rot alone in the winter of 1829—30), and at least a fifteenth part of the neat cattle are destroyed by inflammatory fever and milk-fever; red water, hoose and diarrhea ; and the country incurs a loss of nearly ten millions of pounds annually, the agriculturist knows not where to go for information on the nature and the cure of the maladies of which

B

2 CATTLE.

they die; and is either driven to confide in the boasted skill of the ignorant pretender, or makes up his mind that it is in vain to struggle against the evils which he cannot arrest, and lets matters take their course.

There are two great sources of the mortality of cattle and sheep, and the loss of agricultural property, and it is difficult to say which is the worst, —the ignorance and obstinacy of the servant and the cowleach, or the ignorance and supineness of the owner.

Veterinary schools, that owed their origin to the ravages of epidemics among cattle, and that were established for the express purpose of teaching ‘amore systematic knowledge of the management of sheep and cows, have shamefully neglected their trust. The horse has gradually absorbed the whole of their attention; he alone has been heard of in the lectures and practice of these schools; and, until within a very few years, the best veterinary practitioner was uneducated and uninformed in matters re- lating to cattle.

A great deal has been written in different books respecting the pecu- liarities of the different breeds, and their adaptation to different purposes, and the points which may be said to be characteristic of each, and on which their excellence mainly depends: but the opinions of the writers are often too much at variance with each other; and the farmer too frequently rises from the perusal of them puzzled rather than instructed, and even led astray from his interest instead of being guided in its pursuit.

The subject of the present work will be the Natural History, the different Breeds, the Structure, (more particularly with reference to their beauties and defects,) the utility for various purposes, and the Diseases, and General Management of Cattle, with their most rational and successful treatment; and if we may be enabled to rouse the farmer to strive, and perhaps successfully strive, to rescue a few of his oxen from that destruction of which he has been an almost passive spectator; and to direct his at- tention,—the attention of the little farmer, and the cottager, as well as the wealthier and more influential individual,—to that which should not have been so long and so utterly neglected, our main and most valuable purpose will be accomplished.

CHAPTER I.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE OX.

Tur Ox belongs to the cass mammalia, animals having mamme, or teats (see ‘ The Horse,’ p. 62) ; the orner ruminantia, ruminating, or chewing their food a second time; the TRIBE bovide, the ox kind; the GENUS bos, the ox, the horns occupying the crest, projecting at first sideways, and - being porous or cellular within ; and the suB-GENUS bos taurus, or the domestic ox.

Distinguished according to their teeth, they have eight incisors, or cutting teeth, in the lower jaw, and none in the upper. They have no tusks, but they have six molars, or grinding teeth, in each jaw, and on each side.

The whole would, therefore, be represented as follows :—(see ‘The Horse,’ p. 63):—

The ox, incisors 2, canines $, molars 6-6, Total, 30 teeth.

The native country of the ox, reckoning from the time of the flood, was

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE OX. €

the plains of Ararat, and he was a domesticated animal when he issued from the ark. He was found wherever the sons of Noah migrated, for he was necessary to the existence of man; and even to the present day. wherever man has trodden, he is found in a domesticated or wild state. The earliest record we have of the ox is in the sacred volume. We are told that, even in the antediluvian age, and soon after the expulsion from Eden, the sheep had become the servant of man; and the inference is not improbable, that the no less useful ox was subjugated at the same time. It is recorded, that Jubal, the son of Lamech, and who was probably born during the life-time of Adam, was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle*.

Being domesticated before the flood, the ox would not be neglected by Noah and his sons afterwards ; and as the families of men spread abroad after the confusion of tongues, the ox would be carried with them, as con- stituting one of the most valuable portions of their wealth. When Abra- ham was in Egypt t, one hundred and eighty years before there is any mention of the horse, Pharoah presented him with sheep and oxen.

The records of profane history confirm this account of the early domes- lication and acknowledged value of this animal, for it was worshipped by the Egyptians, and venerated among the Indians. The Indian legends Say that it was ‘the first animal that was created by the three kinds of gods, who were directed by the Supreme Lord to furnish the earth with animated beings.’ ‘The traditions of every Celtic nation enrol the cow among the earliest productions, and represent it as a kind of divinity.

The parent race of the ox is said to have been much larger than any of the present varieties. The Urus, in his wild state at least, was an enor- mous and fierce animal, and ancient legends have thrown around him an air of mystery. In almost every part of the Continent, and in every district of England, skulls, evidently belonging to cattle, have been found, far exceeding in bulk any now known. There is a fine specimen in the British Museum : the peculiarity of the horns will be observed, resembling smaller ones dug up in the mines of Cornwall, preserved in some degree in the wild cattle of Chillingham Park, and not quite lost in our uative breeds of Devon and East Sussex, and those of the Welsh moun- tains and the Highlands. The combat of Guy, Earl of Warwick, with the dun cow, the skull of which is yet preserved in the castle of Warwick, will sufficiently prove the comparatively large size of some of the wild cattle of that day. We have reason, however, to believe that this referred more to individuals than to the character of the breed generally, for there is no doubt that, within the last century, the size of the cattle has progres- sively increased in England, and kept pace with the improvement of agriculture.

We will not endeavour to follow the migrations of the ox from Western Asia, nor the change in size, and form, and value, which it underwent, ac- cording to the difference of climate and of pasture, as it journeyed on towards the west, for there are no records of this on which dependence can be placed; (the historians of early days were poor naturalists ;) but we will proceed to the subject of the present work, the British Ox.

* Gen. iv. 20. + Gen, xii. 16.

CHAPTER II.

THE BRITISH OX.

In the earliest and most authentic account that we possess of the British Isles, the Commentaries of Cæsar, we learn that the Britons possessed great numbers of cattle; that they comparatively neglected the plough, and lived on the flesh and the milk of these animals. The fondness for this kind of food, on account of which foreigners sometimes attempt to ridicule the Englishman, is inherited from ancestors of the remotest date. No satis- factory description of these cattle occurs in any ancient author; but they would seem, with occasional exceptions, to have possessed no great bulk or beauty. The poets have celebrated the intelligence, or fidelity, or some interesting quality of almost every species of agricultural property but the heavy and seemingly stupid ox,—not so uninteresting, however, as many have imagined him to be, when he is closely observed, and his habits and capabilities watched.

Cattle are like most other animals, the creatures of education and cir- cumstances. We educate them to give us milk, and to acquire flesh and fat. There is not much intelligence required for these purposes. It fares with the ox, as with all our other domesticated dependents, that when he has lost the wild freedom of the forest, and become the slave of man, without ac- quiring the privilege of being his friend, or receiving instruction from him, instinct languishes, without being replaced by the semblance of reason. But when we press him into our immediate service,—when he draws our cart and ploughs our land,—he rapidly improves upon us ; he is, in fact, altogether a different animal: when he receives a kind of culture at our hands. he seems to be enlightened with a ray of human reason, and warmed with a degree of human affection. The Lancashire and the Devonshire ox seem not to belong to the same genus, The one has just wit enough to find his way to and from his pasture ; the other rivals the horse in activity and docility, and often fairly beats him out of the field in stoutness and honesty in work. Heis as easily broken in, and he equals him in attachment and gratitude to his feeder.

It is, however, in other countries where the services of the ox are more extensive, and his education more complete, that we are to look for that development of intellect, which his sluggish nature would scarcely promise here. Burchell, in the Ist vol. of his Travels into the Interior of Africa, p. 128, says :—

‘These oxen are generally broken in for riding, when they are not more than a year old. The first ceremony, is that of piercing their nose to re- ceive the bridle ; for which purpose they are thrown on their back, and a slit is made through the septum, or cartilage between the nostrils, large enough to admit a finger. In this hole is thrust a strong stick stripped of its bark, and having at one end a forked bunch to prevent it passing through, To each end of it is fastened a thong of hide, of a length sufficient to reach round the neck and form the reins; and a sheep skin, with the wool on, placed across the back, together with another folded up, and bound on with a rein long enough to pass several times round the body, constitutes the saddle. To this is sometimes added a pair of stirrups, consisting only of a thong with a loop at each end slung across the sad- dle. Frequently the loops are distended by a piece of wood to form an

THE BRITISH OX. 5

easier rest for the foot. While the animal’s nose is still sore, it is mounted and put in training, and in a week or two is generally rendered sufficiently obedient to its rider. The facility and adroitness with which the Hotten- tots manage the ox has often excited my admiration: itis made to walk, trot, or gallop, at the will of its master ; and being longer-legged and rather more lightly made than the ox in England, travels with greater ease and expedition, walking three or four miles in an hour, trotting five, and galloping on an emergency seven or eight.’

Major Denham, in his Travels into Central Africa, gives the following amusing account of some of these excursions :—

‘The beasts of burden used by the inhabitants, are the bullock and the ass. A very fine breed of the latter are found in the Mandara valleys, Strangers and chiefs in the service of the sheikh or sultan alone possess camels. The bullock is the bearer of all the grain and other articles to and from the markets. A small saddle of plaited rushes is laid on him, when sacks made of goat skins, and filled with corn, are lashed on his broad and able back. A leather thong is passed through the cartilage of his nose, and serves as a bridle, while on the top of the load is mounted the owner. his wife, or his slave. Sometimes the daughter or the wife of a rich Shouaa will be mounted on her particular bullock, and precede the loaded animals, extravagantly adorned with amber, silver rings, coral, and all sorts of finery; her hair streaming with fat, a black rim of kohal, at least an inch wide, round each of her eyes, and I may say arrayed for conquest at the crowded market. Carpet or robes are then spread on her clumsy pal- fry,—she sits jambe de ça, jambe de là, —and with considerable grace guides her animal by the nose. Notwithstanding the peaceableness of his nature, her vanity still enables her to torture him into something like caperings and curvetings’

It is, however, in the southern part of Africa that the triumph of the ox is complete. His intelligence seems to exceed anything that we have seen of the horse, and he is but little inferior to that most sagacious of all quadrupeds, the dog. Among the Hottentots, these animals are their do- mestics, and the companions of their pleasures and fatigues ; they are both the protectors and the servants of the Caffre, and assist him in attending his flocks, and guarding them against every invader. While the sheep are grazing, the faithful backely, as this kind of oxen is called, stands and grazes beside them. Still attentive, however, to the looks of its master, the backely flies round the field, obliges the herds of sheep that are straying to keep within proper limits, and shows no mercy to robbers, who attempt to plunder, nor even to strangers: but it is not the plun- derers of the flock alone, but even the enemies of the nation, that these backelies are taught to combat. Every army of Hottentots is furnished with a proper herd of these creatures, which are let loose against the enemy. Being thus sent forward, they overturn all before them; they strike down with their horns, and trample with their feet, every one who attempts to oppose them, and thus often procure their masters an easy victory, before they have begun to strike a blow. z ‘

< An animal so serviceable is, as may be supposed, not without. its re- ward. The backely lives in the same cottage with its master, and by long habit gains an affection for him ; for in proportion as the man approaches to the brute, so the brute seems to attain even to the same share of human Sagacity. The Hottentot and his backely thus mutually assist each other ; and when the latter happens to die, a new one is chosen to succeed him, by a council of the old men of the village. The new backely is then joined with one of the veterans of his own kind, from whom he learns his

6 CATTLE.

art, becomes social and diligent, and is taken for life into human friendship and protection.’—Illustrations xf Natural History, p. 88

There is a well-authenticated story of a Scotch bull, which shows similar, but not equal sagacity. ‘A gentleman in Scotland, near Laggan, had a pull which grazed with the cows in the open meadows. As fences are scarcely known in that part, a boy was kept to watch, lest the cattle should trespass on the neighbouring fields, and destroy the corn. ‘The boy was fat and drowsy, and was often found asleep; he was, of course, chastised whenever the cattle trespassed. Warned by this, he kept a long switch, and with it revenged himself with an unsparing hand, if they exceeded their boundary. The bull seemed to have observed with concern this con- sequence of their transgression, and as he had no horns, he used to strike the cows with his large forehead, and thus punish them severely, if any of them crossed the boundary. In the mean time he set them a good example himself, never once straying beyond the forbidden bounds, and placing himself before the cows in a threatening attitude if they ap- proached them. At length his honesty and vigilance became so obvious, that the boy was employed in weeding, and other business, without fear of their misbehaviour in his absence. —Jnstinct Displayed, Letter 34.

Captain Cochrane, in his Travels in Colombia, vol. ii. p. 251, places them in another, and not uninteresting point of view: ‘ I was suddenly aroused by a most terrific noise, a mixture of loud roarings and deep moans, which had the ost appalling effect at so late an hour. I imme- diately went out, attended by the Indians, when I found close to the rancha, a large herd of bullocks collected from the surrounding country ; they had encompassed the spot where a bullock had been killed in the morning, and they appeared to be in the greatest state of grief and rage: they roared, they moaned, they tore the ground with their feet, and bel- lowed the most hideous chorus that can be imagined, and it was with the greatest difficulty they could be driven away by men and dogs. Since then, I have observed the same scene by daylight, and seen large tears rolling down their cheeks. Is it instinct merely, or does something nearer to reason tell them by the blood, that one of their companions has been butchered? I certainly never again wish to view so painful a sight :—they actually appeared to be reproaching us.’

If cattle exhibit some of the good qualities of superior animals, or even of man himself, they likewise have some of his failings. Vanity forms as distinguishing an attribute of the female of this species, as of some others. The account of the Swiss cows is not a little amusing, although we be- lieve that it is somewhat exaggerated :—

‘In the Swiss Canton of Appensell, pasturage being the chief employ- ment of the inhabitants, the breeding of cattle, and the subsequent manage- ment of the dairy, are carried to the greatest perfection. The mountaineer lives with his cows in a perpetual exchange of reciprocal acts of kindness; the latter affording almost every requisite he needs, and in return they are provided for, and cherished by him, and sometimes more so than his own children. They are never ill-treated nor beaten, for his voice is suffi- cient to guide and govern the whole herd, and there reigns a perfect cor- diality between them. ;

‘In the Alps, the fine cattle are the pride of their keepers, who adorn the best of them with an harmonious set of bells, chiming in accordance with the celebrated ranz des vaches. The finest black cow. is adorned with the largest bell, and the two next in appearance wear smaller ones. Early in the spring, when they are removed to the Alps,or to some change of pasture, he dresses himself in all his finery, and proceeds along,

THE BRITISH OX.

singing the ranz des vaches, followed by three or four fine goats: next comes the finest cow adorned with the great bell, then the other two with the smaller bells, and these are succeeded by the rest of the cattle walking one after another, and having in their rear, the bull with a one-legged milking stool on his horns, while the procession is closed by a sledge bearing the dairy implements.

‘It is surprising to see the pride and pleasure with which the cows stalk - forth, when ornamented with their bells. One would hardly imagine that these animals are sensible of their rank, and affected by vanity and jealousy ; and yet if the leading cow is deprived of her honours, she manifests her disgrace by lowing incessantly, and abstaining from food, and losing con- dition. The happy rival on whom this badge of superiority has devolved, becomes the object of her vengence, and is butted, and wounded, and per- secuted by her in the most furious manner, until she regains her bell, or is entirely removed from the herd.’—Iilustrations of Natural History, p. 72.

Having thus somewhat vindicated the intellectual power and worth of the subject of our work, we return to the agricultural state of the country when the Romans invaded Britain. Cesar tells us, that the Britons neglected tillage, and lived on milk and flesh; and other authors corroborate this account of the early inhabitants of the British Islands. It was that occu- pation and mode of life which suited their state of society. The island was divided into many petty sovereignties ; no fixed property was secure; and that alone was valuable, which might be hurried away at the threatened approach of an invader. Many centuries after this, when, although one sovereign seemed to reign paramount over the whole of the kingdom, there continued to be endless contests among the feudal barons, and still that property alone was valuable which could be secured within the walls of the castle, or driven beyond the invader’s reach, an immense stock of pro- visions was always stored up in the various fortresses, both for the vassals and the cattle ; or it was contrived that the latter should be driven to the demesnes of some friendly baron, or concealed in some inland recess, When the winter had passed over in the castle of one of the Despencers, and the usual stock of provisions was comparatively exhausted, there yet remained in salt in the latter part of the spring, no fewer than eighty oxen, six hundred bacons, and six hundred sheep.

When, however, the government became more powerful and settled, and property of every kind was proportionably secured, as well as more equally divided, the plough came into use ; and those agricultural pro ductions were oftener cultivated, the reaping of which was sure after the labour of sowing had been expended. Cattle were now comparatively neglected, and for some centuries injuriously so. Their numbers dimi- nished, and their size appears to have diminished too; and it is only within the last fifty years that any serious and successful efforts have been made materially to improve them.

In the comparative roving and uncertain life which our earlier and later ancestors led, their cattle would sometimes stray and be lost. The country was then overgrown with forests, and the beasts betook themselves to the recesses of these woods, and became wild, and sometimes ferocious. They by degrees grew so numerous, as to be dangerous to the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts. One of the chronicles informs us, that many of them harboured in the forests in the neighbourhood of the metropolis. Strange stories are told of some of them, and doubtless, when irritated, they were fierce and dangerous enough. As, however, civilization ad- vanced, and the forests became thinned and contracted, these animals were

8 CATTLE.

seldomer seen, and at length almost disappeared. A few of them yet re-

main in Chatelherault Park, belonging to the Duke of Hamilton, in La-

narkshire ; and in the park of Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, the

seat of the Earl of Tankerville. They are thus described in the latter lace by Mr. Culley, in his valuable observations on live stock :—

‘ The wild breed, from being untameable, can only be kept within walls or good fences, consequently very few of them are now to be met with, except in the parks of some gentlemen, who keep them for ornament, and as a curiosity. Those I have seen are at Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland, a seat belonging to the Earl of Tankerville. Their colour is invariably of a creamy white, muzzle black; the whole of the inside of the ear, and about one-third of the outside, from the tips down- wards, red; horns, white, with black tips, very fine, and bent upwards , some of the bulls have a thin upright mane, about an inch and a half or two inches long. The weight of the oxen is from thirty-five to forty-five stone, and the cows from twenty-five to thirty-five stone the four quarters (fourteen pound to the stone). The beef is finely marbled, and of excellent flavour. From the nature of their pasture, and the frequent agitation they are put into by the curiosity of strangers, it is scarcely to be expected they shonld be very fat; yet the six years old oxen are generally very good beef; from whence it may be fairly supposed, that in proper situations they would feed well.

‘At the first appearance of any person they set off in full gallop, and, at the distance of about two hundred yards, make a wheel round, and come boldly up again, tossing their heads in a menacing manner; on a sudden they make a full stop at the distance of forty or fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of their surprise ; but upon the least motion being made, they all again turn round, and fly off with equal speed, but not to the same distance, forming a shorter circle, and again returning with a bolder and more threatening aspect than before; they approach much nearer, probably within thirty yards, when they again make another stand, and then fly off; this they do several times, shortening their dis- tance, and advancing nearer and nearer, till they come within such a short distance, that most people think it prudent to leave them, not choosing to provoke them further.

‘The mode of killing them was perhaps the only remains of the gran- deur of ancient hunting. On notice being given that a wild bull would be killed on a certain day, the inhabitants of the neighbourhood came mounted and armed with guns, &c., sometimes to the amount of an hundred horse, and four or five hundred foot, who stood upon walls, or got into trees, while the horsemen rode off the bull from the rest of the herd until he stood at bay, when a marksmen dismounted and shot. At some of these huntings twenty or thirty shots have been fired before he was subdued. On such occasions the bleeding victim grew desperately furious, from the smartings of his wounds and the shouts of savage joy that were echoing on every side. But, from the number of accidents that happened, this dangerous mode has not been practised of late years; 7 park-keeper alone generally shooting them with a rifle gun at one shot. à

‘ When the cows calve, they hide their calves for a week or ten days in some sequestered situation, and go and suckle them two or three times aday. If any person come near the calves, they clap their heads close to the ground, and lie like a hare in form, to hide themselves: this is a proof of their native wildness, and is corroborated by the following cir-

al ee ee

THE BRITISH OX. I

cumstance that happened to Mr. Bailey, of Chillingham, who found a hidden calf, two days old, very lean, and very weak; on stroking its head it got up, pawed two or three times like an old bull, bellowed very loud, stepped back a few steps, and bolted at his legs with all its force; it then began to paw again, bellowed, stepped back, and bolted as before ; but knowing its intention, and stepping aside, it missed him, fell, and was so very weak, that it could not rise, though it made several efforts; but it had done enough. ‘The whole herd were alarmed, and, coming to its rescue, obliged him to retire; for the dams allow no person to touch their calves without attacking them with impetuous ferocity. When any one happens to be wounded, or is grown weak and feeble through age or sickness, the rest of the herd set on it and gore it to death.’ ~ i

The breeds of cattle, as they are now found in Great Britain, are almost as various as the soil of the different districts, or the fancies of the breeders. They have, however, been very conveniently classed according to the comparative size of the horns :—the long horns, originally, so far as our country is concerned, from Lancashire, much improved by Mr. Bakewell of Leicestershire, and established through the greater part of the midland counties ;—the skort horns, originally from East York, im- proved in Durham, mostly cultivated in the northern counties and in Lin- colnshire, and many of them found in every part of the kingdom where the farmer attends much to his dairy,-or a large supply of milk is wanted ;— and the middle horns, not derived from a mixture of the two preceding, but a distinct and valuable and beautiful breed, inhabiting principally the north of Devon, the East of Sussex, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire ; and, of diminished bulk, and with somewhat different character, the cattle of the Scottish and the Welsh mountains. The Alderney, with her crumpled horn, is found on the southern coast, and, in smaller numbers, in gentlemen’s parks and pleasure-grounds everywhere; while the polled, or hornless cattle, prevail in Suffolk and Norfolk, and in Galloway, whence they were first derived. :

These, however, have been intermingled in every possible way, They are found pure only in their native districts, or on the estates of some opulent and spirited individuals. Each county has its own mongrel breed, often difficult to be described, and not always to be traced—neglected enough, yet suited to the soil and to the climate; and, among little farmers, maintaining their station, and advantageously maintaining it, in spite of attempts at supposed improvements by the intermixture or substitution of foreign varieties.

The character of each, so far as it can be described, and the relative value of each for breeding, grazing, the dairy, or the plough, will be con- sidered before we inquire into the structure or general and medical treat- ment of cattle. Much dispute has arisen as to the original breed of British cattle. The battle has been stoutly fought between the advocates of the middle and the long horns. The short horns and the polls can have no claim; the first is evidently of foreign extraction, and the latter, although it has existed in certain districts from time immemorial, was probably an accidental variety.

We are very much disposed to adjudge the honour to the ‘ middle horns.’ The long horns are evidently of Irish extraction, as in due place we shall endeavour to show.

Britain has shared the fate of other nations, and, oftener than them, although defended by the ocean on every side, she has been overrun and subjugated by ferocious invaders. As the natives retreated be.fore the

10 =r, SARTRE.

foe, they carried with them some portion of the wreck of their property. We have stated that their property, in early times, consisted principally in cattle. They naturally drove along with them as many as they could, when they retired to the fortresses of North Devon and Cornwall, or the more mountainous regions of Wales, or when they took refuge even in the wealds of East Sussex; and there retaining all their prejudices and cus- toms and manners, they were jealous of the strict preservation of that which principally reminded them of their native country before it had yielded to a foreign yoke.

In this manner probably was preserved the ancient breed of British cattle., Difference of climate gradually wrought some change, and par- ticularly in their bulk. The rich pasture of Sussex fattened the ox of that district into his superior size and weight. The plentiful but not so luxu- riant herbage of the north of Devon produced a somewhat smaller and more active animal, while the occasional privations of Wales lessened the bulk and thickened the hide of the Welsh runt. As for Scotland, it, in a manner, set its invaders at defianee; or its inhabitants retreated for a while, and soon turned again on their pursuers. ‘They were proud of their country, and proud of their cattle, their choicest possession; and there, too, the cattle were preserved, unmixed and undegenerated.

Thence it resulted, that in Devon, in Sussex, in Wales, and in Scot- land, the cattle has been the same from time immemorial; while in all the Eastern coast, and through every district of Britain, the breed of cattle degenerated, or at least lost its original character: it consisted of a variety of animals, brought from every neighbouring and some remote districts, mingled in every possible variety, yet generally conforming itself tothe soil and the climate.

The slightest observation will convince us that the cattle in Devon- shire, Sussex, Wales, and Scotland, are essentially the same. They are middle-horned ; tolerable, but not extraordinary milkers, and remarkable for the quality rather than the quantity of their milk; active at work ; and with an unequalled aptitude to fatten. They have all the cha- racters of the same breed, changed by soil and climate and time, yet little changed by the intermeddling of man. We may almost trace the colour, namely, the red of the Devon, the Sussex, and the Hereford; and even where the black alone are now found, the memory of the red prevails; it has a kind of superstitious reverence attached to it in the legends of the country; and in almost every part of Scotland, and in some of the mountains of Wales, the milk of the red ww is considered to be a remedy for every disease, and a preservative from every evil. Every one who has had opportunities of comparing the Devon cattle with the wild breed of Chatelherault Park, or Chillingham Castle, has been struck with the great resemblance in many points, notwithstand- ing the difference of colour, while they bear no likeness at all to the cattle of the neighbouring country.

For these reasons we consider the middle horns to be the native breed of Great Britain, and they shall first pass in review before us.

1]

CHAPTER III. THE MIDDLE HORNS.

Tur situation of Devonshire, at nearly the western extremity of the kingdom, and the undeniable fact, that one of the varieties of the middle horns is there found ina state of the greatest purity, render it the best as well as the most convenient point whence to start.

DEVONSHIRE.

Tus north of Devon has been long celebrated for a breed of cattle beautiful in the highest degree, and in activity at work and aptitude to fatten un- rivalled. The native country of the North Devons, and where they are found in a state of the greatest purity, extends from the river Taw west- ward, skirting along the Bristol Channel; the breed becoming more mixed, and at length comparatively lost before we arrive at the Parrett. Inland it extends by Barnstaple, South Molton, and Chumleigh, as far as Tiverton, and thence to Wellington, where again the breed becomes unfre- quent, or it is mixed before we reach Taunton. More eastward the Somersets and the Welsh mingle with it, or supersede it. To the south there prevails a larger variety, a cross probably of the North Devon with the Somerset; and on the west the Cornish cattle are found, or conta- minate the breed. The true and somewhat prejudiced Devonshire man confines them within a narrower district, and will scarcely allow them to be found with any degree of purity beyond the boundaries of his native county. From Portlock to Biddeford, and a little to the north and the south, is, in his mind, the peculiar and only residence of the North Devon.

From the earliest records the breed has here remained the same ; or if not quite as perfect as at the present moment, yet altered in no essential point until within the last thirty years*. That is not a little surprising when it is remembered. that a considerable part of this district is not a breeding country, and that even a proportion, and that not a small one, of Devon- shire cattle, are bred out of the county. On the borders of Somerset and Dorset, and partly in both, extending southward from Crewkerne, the country assumes the form of an extensive valley, and principally supplies the Exeter market with calves. Those that are dropped in February and March, are kept until May, and then sold to the drovers, who convey them to Exeter. They are there purchased by the Devonshire farmers, who keep them for two or three years when they are sold to the Somerset- shire graziers, who fatten them for the London market; so that a portion of the North Devon, and of the very finest of the breed, come from Somer- set and Dorset.

The truth of the matter is, that the Devonshire farmers were, until nearly the close of the last century, not at all conscious that they possessed any thing superior to other breeds ; but, like agriculturists everywhere else, they bought and bred without care or selection. It is only within the last fifty or sixty years that any systematic efforts have been made to im- prove the breeds of cattle in any part of the kingdom; and we must acknowledge, that the Devonshire men, with all their advantages, and with such good ground to work upon, were not the first to stir, and,

_ * Lord Somerville, a name justly esteemed among agricultunists, and an excellent judge of cattle, and who, from his residence in the county, may be supposed to be well acquainted with the excellencies and defects of this breed, gives a long and very ac- curate and interesting account of them in the Annals of Agriculture, to which we would refer the reader.

12 } CATTLE.

for some iime, were not the most zealous when they were roused to exertion. ‘They are indebted to the nature of their soil and climate for the beautiful specimens which they possess of the native breed of our island, and they have retained this breed almost in spite of themselves,

A spirit of emulation was at length kindled, and even the North Devons have been materially improved, and brought to such a degree of perfection, that, take them for all in all, they would suffer from inter- mixture with any other breed.

Before, however, we attempt to describe the peculiarities of this, or any other breed, it may be proper to give a short sketch of the proper form ‘and shape of cattle. Whatever be the breed, there are certain conforma- tions which are indispensable to the thriving and valuable ox or cow. When we have a clear idea of these, we shall be able more easily to form an accurate judgment of the breeds of the different counties as they pass before us. If there is one part of the frame, the form of which, more than of any other, renders the animal valuable, it is the chest. There must be room enough for the heart to beat, and the lungs to play, or sufficient blood for the purposes of nutriment and of strength will not be circulated ; nor will it thoroughly undergo that vital change, which is essential to the proper discharge of every function. - We look, therefore, first of all to the wide and deep girth about the heart and lungs. We must have both: the proportion in which the one or the other may pre- ponderate, will depend on the service we require from the animal; we can excuse a slight degree of flatness of the sides, for he will be lighter in the forehand, and more active; but the grazier must have width as well as depth. And not only about the heart and lungs, but over the whole of the ribs, must we have both length and roundness ; the hooped, as well as the deep barrel is essential; there must be room for the capacious paunch, room for the materials from which the blood is to be provided. The beast should also be ribbed home; there should be little space be~ tween the ribs and the hips. This seems to be indispensable in the ox, as it regards a good healthy constitution, and a propensity to fatten; but a largeness and drooping of the belly is excusable in the cow, or rather, notwithstanding it diminishes the beauty of the animal, it leaves room for the udder; and if it is also accompanied by swelling milk veins, it gene- rally indicates her value in the dairy. _

This roundness and depth of the barrel, however, is most advantageous in proportion as it is found behind the point of the elbow, more than be- tween the shoulders and legs ; or low down between the legs, rather than upwards towards the withers: for it diminishes the heaviness before, and the comparative bulk of the coarser parts of the animal, which is always a very great consideration.

The loins should be wide : of this there can be no doubt, for they are the prime parts ; they should seem to extend far along the back: and although the belly should not hang down, the flanks should be round and deep. Of the hips it is superfluous to say that, without being ragged, they should be large; round rather than wide, and presenting, when handled, plenty of muscle and fat. The thighs should be full and long, close toge- ther when viewed from behind, and the farther down they continue to be so the better. The legs short, varying like other parts according to the destination of the animal; but decidedly short, for there is an almost in- separable connexion between length of lee and lightness of carcase, and shortness of leg and propensity to fatten. The bones of the legs, and they only being taken as a sample of the bony structure of the frame generally, should be small, but not too small—small enough for the well.

THE NORTH DEVON CATTLE. 13

known accompaniment a propensity to fatten—small enough to please the consumer; but not so small as to indicate delicacy of constitution, and liability to disease.

Last of all the hide—the most important thing of all—thin, but not so thin as to indicate that the animal can endure no hardship; moveable, mellow, but not too loose, and particularly well covered with fine and soft hair. We shall enter more fully and satisfactorily into this subject in the proper place ; but this'bird’s-eye view may be useful. We return to the Devonshire cattle.

bi Y |

W

A AW

The more perfect specimens of the North Devon breed are thus dis- tinguished. The horn of the bull ought to be neither too low nor too high, tapering at the points, not too thick at the root, and of a yellow or waxy colour. The eye should be clear, bright, and prominent, showing much of

lna "i laas igi

[The Working Devon

14 CATTLE.

the white, and it ought to have around it a circle of a variable colour, but usually a dark orange. The forehead should be flat, indented, and small ; for by the smallness of the forehead, the purity of the breed is very much estimated. 'The cheek should be small, and the muzzle fine: the nose should be of aclear yellow. A black muzzle is disliked, and even a mottled one is objected to by some who pretend to be judges of the true Devon. The nostril should be high and open: the hair curled about the head, and giving, at first appearance, an idea of coarseness which soon wears off. 'The neck should be thick, and that sometimes almost to a fault.

Excepting in the head and neck the form of the bull does not materially differ from that of the ox, but he is considerably smaller. There are some exceptions, however, to this rule, and as an illustration of this, we have inserted (p. 18) the portrait of a pure Devon bull (belonging to Mr. Western), father of the ox and the cow delineated at pages 16 and 17, We may fancy that we trace in this singular and noble animal, the lineaments of the native, and scarcely reclaimed British bull.

The head of the ox is small, very singularly so, relatively to the bulk of the animal, yet it has a striking breadth of forehead. It is clean and free from flesh about the jaws. The eye is very prominent, and the animal has a pleasing vivacity of countenance plainly distinguishing it from the heavy aspect of many other breeds. Its neck is long and thin, admirably adapting it for the collar, and even for the more common and ruder yoke.

The want of the beautifully arched form of the neck, which is seen in the horse, has been considered as a defect in most breeds of cattle. It is accounted one of the characters of good cattle, that the line of the neck from the horns to the withers should scarcely deviate from that of the back. In the Devonshire ox, however, there is a peculiar rising of the forehand, reminding us nota little of the blood-horse, and essen- tially connected with the free and quick action by which this breed has ever been distinguished. It has little or no dewlap depending , from its throat. The horns are longer than those of the bull, smaller and fine even to the base, and of a lighter colour, and sometimes tipped with yellow. The animal is light in the withers; the shoulders | a little oblique; the breast deep, and the bosom open and wide, par- ticularly as contrasted with the fineness of the withers. The fore-legs are wide apart, looking like pillars that have to support a great weight. The point of the shoulder is rarely or never seen. There is no projection of bone as in the horse, but there is a kind of level line running on to the neck. .

These are characteristic and important points. Angular bony pro- jections are never found in a beast that carries much flesh and fat. ‘The fineness of the withers, the slanting direction of the shoulder, and the broad and open breast, imply both strength and speed, and aptitude to fatten, A narrow-chested animal can never be useful either for working or grazing. »

With all the lightness of the Devonshire ox, there is a point about him, disliked in the blood or riding-horse, and not always approved in the horse of light draught,—the legs are far under the chest, or rather the breast projects -far and wide before the legs. We see the advantage of this in the beast of slow draught, who rarely breaks into `a trot, except when he is goaded :on in catching times, and the division ‘of whose foot secures him from stumbling, The lightness of the other parts of his form, bow- ever, counterbalances the appearance of heaviness here. -

The legs are straight, at least in the best breeds. If they are in-kneed, or crooked in the fore-legs, it argues a deficiency in blood, and comparative

THE NORTH DEVON CATTLE. 15

incapacity for work ; and not only for work, but for grazing too, for they will be hollow behind the withers, a point for which nothing can compensate, : because it takes away so much from the place where good flesh and fat should be thickly laid on, and diminishes the capacity of the chest and the power of creating arterial and nutritious blood.

The fore-arm is particularly large and powerful. It swells out suddenly above the knee, but is soon lost in the substance of the shoulder, Below the knee the bone is small to avery extraordinary degree, indicating a seeming of want of strength ; but this impression immediately ceases, for the smallness is only in front—it is only in the bone: the leg is deep, and the sinews are far removed from the bone. It is the leg of the blood-horse, promising both strength and speed*. It may perhaps be objected that the leg is alittle too long. It would be so in an animal that is destined only to graze; but this is a working animal, and some length of leg is ne- cessary to get him pleasantly and actively over the ground.

There is a very trifling fall behind the withers, but no hollowness, and the line of the back is straight from them to the setting on of the tail. If there is any seeming fault in the beast, it is that the sides are a little too flat. It will appear, however, that this does not interfere with feeding, while a deep, although somewhat flat chest is best adapted for speed.

Not only is the breast broad and the chest deep, but the two last ribs are particularly bold and prominent, leaving room for the stomachs and other parts concerned in digestion to be fully developed. The hips, or huckles, are high, and ona level with the back, whether the beast is fat or lean. The hind quarters, or the space from the huckle to the point of the rump, are particularly long, and well flied up—a point likewise of very considerable importance both for grazing and working, It leaves room for flesh in the most valuable part, and, like the extensive and swelling quarters of the blood-horse, indicate much power behind, equally connected with strength and speed. This is an improvement quite of modern date. The fulness here, and the swelling out of the thigh below, are of much more consequence than the prominence of fat which is so much admired on the rump of many prize cattle.

The setting on of the tail is high; it ison a level with the back; rarely much elevated, and never depressed. This is another great point in the blood-horse, as connected with the perfection of the hind quarters. The tail itself is long and small, and taper, with a round bunch of hair at the bottom.

The skin of the Devon, notwithstanding his curly hair, is exceedingly

* Tt is sometimes nota little amusing to observe the seeming contrariety. of opinion between excellent judges of cattle, and that on the very essential points of their conforma- tion ; and yet, when the matter is properly explained, the slight shade of difference there is between them. We have now lying before us letters from two very skilful Devonshire farmers. They have been so obliging asto give us their opinion as to. the points of the Devonshire ox. One insists upon that, on which we confess we should lay very ereat stress, and without which we should reckon any beast almost valueless, namely, small bones under the knee, and a clean neck and throat. This gentleman we have the pleasure of knowing; he has been improving the size and weight of the Devonshire 0x, anxiously preserving these points: nay, we know that he did steal a cross from one of the finest-boned and lightest Herefords he could procure. The other has sound principles of breeding, but he is a man of the old school: he had been educated in the belief that what he calls the true Devons are unrivalled, and he would deem it a kind of sacrilege to debase their blood by a cross with any other breed; yet experience has yet taught him, in spite of-all his prejudices, and. although he will not own it, that the old Devons have their faults, and, among them, too much flatness of chest and general lightness ; he is, beside, a tillage farmer. He tells us that he does not like a fine neck, because it is accompanied by too narrow and light a breast, and that-he does like large bones, because they will carry more meat. Why, these gentlemen were, in a measure, both right, but theix observations referred to cattle, which although Devons, were essentially different.

4

16 CATTLE.

mellow and elastic. Graziers know that there is not a“ more important point than this. When the skin can be easily raised from the hips, it shews that there is room to set on fat below. ae

The skin is thin rather than thick. Its appearance of thickness arises

overed, and curly in proportion to

mal. Good judges of these cattle

ipples of wind on a pond of

water. r smooth, but then it should

be fine and glossy. Those with curled hair are somewhat more hardy, and

fatten more kindly. The favourite colour is a blood red. This is supposed

to indicate purity of breed ; but there are many good cattle approaching

almost to a chestnut hue, or even a bay brown. {f the eye is clear and

good and the skin mellow, the paler colours will bear hard work, and

fatten as well'as others; but a beast with a pale skin, and hard under the

hand, and the eye dark and dead, will be a sluggish worker, and an un-

profitable feeder, Those, however, that are of a yellow colour, are said to be subject to steat (diarrhea). sda,

Some breeders object to the slightest intermixture of white—not even a star upon the forehead is allowed ; yet a few good oxen have large dis- tant patches of white ; but if the colours run into each other, the beasts are condemned as of a mongrel and valueless breed,

These are the principal points of a good Devonshire ox; but he used to be, perhaps he is yet, a little too flat-sided, and the rump narrowed too rapidly behind the hip bones; he was not sufficiently ribbed home, or there was too much space between the hip bones and the last rib; and altogether he was too light for some tenacious and strong soils. The cut of the working ox, in page 13, contains the portrait of one formerly belonging to the Duke of Bedford. It embodies almost every good point of which we have spoken.

Mr. Western has kindly enabled us here to add another portrait from his farm. It is a son of the bull given at page 13, and isa faithful repre- sentation of an ox beginning to fatten, but his characteristic points not yet concealed. Mr. Western has carefully preserved this breed unmixed for the last thirty years, and all; the cattle that he fattens are Devons; he rarely uses them for the plough. :

THE NORTH DEVON CATTLE, 17

A selection from the most perfect animals of the true breed,—the bone

still small and the neck fine, but the brisket deep and wide, and down to —

the knees, and not an atom of flatness all over the side—or one cross, and only one with the Hereford, and that stealthily made,—these have improved the strength and bulk of the North Devon ox, without impairing, in the slightest degree, his activity, his beauty, or his propensity to fatten *.

There are tew things more remarkable about the Devonshire cattle than the comparative smallness of the cow. ‘The bull is a great deal less than the ox, and the cow almost as much smaller than the bull. ‘This, how- ever, is some disadvantage, and the breeders are aware of it ; for, although it may not be necessary to have a large bull, and especially as those of any extraordinary size are seldom handsome in all their points, but some- where or other present coarseness or deformity, it is almost impossible to procure large and serviceable oxen, except from a somewhat roomy cow, ‘These cows, however, although small, possess that roundness and projec- tion of the two or three last ribs, which make them actually more roomy than a careless examination of them would indicate. ‘The cow is particu- larly distinguished for her full, round, clear eye, the gold coloured circle round the eye, and the same colour prevailing on the inside skin of the ear. The countenance cheerful, the muzzle orange or yellow, but the rest of the facé having nothing of black, or even of white about it. The jaws free from thickness, and the throat free from dewlap. The points of the hack and the hind quarters different from those of other breeds, having more of roundness and beauty, and being free’ from most of those angles by which good milkers are sometimes distinguished. brkati

We are here enabled to present our readers with the portrait of. a cow,

* In the‘ Annals of Agriculture,’ vol. xxx., p. 314, we have the opinion, 1n somewhat Provincial terms, of a good west-country grazier, respecting the best form of the Devon cattle. < He buys at all times, from Christmas to May-day, North Devons, that are bred from Portlock to Biddeford, such as are five or six years old. He chooses snch as are small-horned, and of a yellow-coloured horn rather. than white—small bones, as such beasts thrive best—rib bones round, not flat—a thick hide bad—a very thin one objec- tionable—blade bones, chuck—very thick and heavy in the bosom, as much weight lies there—the heavier in the shoulder the better, but not to elbow out—very wide and square from the points down to the thighs—middling in the belly—not cow-bellied—not tucked up? As a grazier he is right ; but this is not the true working Devonshire ox.

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Hi \ ee 4

18 CATTLE.

belonging to that indefatigable agriculturist, Mr. Western. ‘She was rising four years old. With regard to size she is a favourable spécimen of the: Devon cow. It will be seen at once how much more roomy and fit for breeding she is, than even her somewhat superior bulk would at first in-) alicate. She is, perhaps, in a little better condition than cows generally are, or should be in order to yield their full quantity of milk. /

‘Their qualities may be referred to three points ; their working, fattening, and milking.

Whete the ground is not too heavy the Devonshire oxen are unrivalled at the plough. They have a quickness of action which no other breed can equal, and which very few horses exceed. They have- also axdegree of da.ility and goodness of temper, and also stoutness and honesty of work, to which many teams of horses cannot pretend. Vancouver, in his survey.of Devonshire, says, that it is a common day’s work on fallow land for four steers to plough two acres with a double-furrow plough, Four good Devonshire steers will do as much work in the field, or on the road, as any three horses, and in as quick, and often quicker, time, although many farmers calculate two oxen to be equal to one horse. The principal objection to the Devonshire oxen is, that they have not sufficient strength for tenacious clayey soils: they will, however, exert their strength to the utmost, and stand many a dead pull, which few horses could be induced or forced to attempt. They are uniformly worked in yokes, and not in collars. Four oxen, or six growing steers, afe the usual team employed in the plough, ;

There is a peculiarity in driving the ox team, which is very pleasing to the stranger, and the remembrance of which, connected with his early days, the native does not soon lose. A man anda boy attend each team; the boy chants that which can scarcely be regarded as any distinct tune, but which is a very pleasing succession of sounds, resembling the counter- tenor in the service of the cathedral. He sings away with unwearied lungs, as he trudges along almost from morning to night, while every now and then the ploughman, as he directs the movement of the team, puts in his lower notes, but in perfect concord. When the traveller stops in one of the Devonshire valleys, and hears this simple music from the drivers of the ploughs on the slope of the hill on either side, he experiences a pleasure which this operation of husbandry could scarcely be supposed to be capable of affording. This chanting is said to animate the oxen somewhat in the same way as the musical bells that are so prevalent in the same county. Certainly the oxen move along with an agility that would be scarcely expected from cattle ; and the team may be watched a long while without one harsh word being heard, or the goad or the whip applied. The opponents of ox- husbandry should visit the valleys of north or south Devon, to see what this animal is capable of performing, and how he performs it.

The profit derived from the use of oxen in this district arises from the activity to which they are trained, and which is unknown in any other part of the kingdom. During harvest time, and in catching weather, they are sometimes trotted along with the empty waggons, at the rate of six miles an hour, a degree of speed which no other ox but the Devon has been able to stand. -ER

It may appear singular to the traveller, that in some of the districts that are supposed to be the very head-quarters of the Devon cattle, they are seldom used for the plough. The explanation, however, is plain enough. The demand for them among graziers is so great, that the breeders obtain a remunerating price for them at an earlier age than that at which they are generally broken in for tke plough.

i THE NORTH DEVON CATTLE. 19. ` They are usually taken into work at about two years, or twenty-six months old; and they are worked until they are four, or five, or six : they are then grazed, or kept on hay, and in ten or twelve months, and without any fur- ther trouble, they are fit for the market. If the grass land is good, no corn, or cake, or turnips, are required for the first winter; but, of course, for a second winter these must be added. The grazier likes this breed best at five years-old, and they will usually, when taken from the plough, fetch as much money as at six. At eight, or nine years, or older they are rapidly declining in value,

Lord Somerville states, that after having been worked lightly on the hills for two years, they are bought at four years old by the tillage-farmer of the vales, and taken into hard work from four to six; and, what deserves consideration, an ox must be thus worked, in order for him to attain his fullest size. If he is kept idle until he is five or six, he will invariably be stinted in his growth. At six he reaches his full stature, unless he is naturally disposed to be of more than ordinary size, and then he continues to grow for another half-year.

Their next quality is their disposition to fatten, and very few rival them here. They do not, indeed, attain thé great weight of some breeds ; but, in a given time, they acquire more flesh, and with less consumption of food, and their flesh is beautiful in its kind. It is of that mottled, marbled character so pleasing to the eye, and to the taste. Some very satis- factory experiments have been made on this point.

Mr. Carpenter, a very intelligent farmer, informs us, that the Duke of Bedford, who has considerable property in the ‘county of Devon, had some prime Hereford oxen sent to his Tavistock estate in the month of April, and he ordered some Devons to be bought in Crediton market at the latter end of the same month. The Devons were not in so good con- dition as the Herefords when they were put to grass, and cost about dl. per head less than the Herefords ; but at the latter end of December, when they were all sold to the butcher, the Devons were superior in fat- ness and in weight. ;

A more satisfactory experiment was made by the same nobleman. Six oxen were selected in November 16,1797, and fed until December 10 1798, and the following was the result.

First weight. Second weight. ained, Zoor oil cake, Turnips. Ibs. cwt. grs. lbs. t . Ibs. or stone, S. Ibs.

. S 1 Hereford . 0 13 9- D 1 94.3 2700 2 Do. > 21 ; 41.5 423o 2712 3 Devon . bts 17 45.4 488 2668 4 Do. í > 19 64.6 442 2056 5 Sussex s 19 Aged 432- ~ 2655 6 Leicester 4 1 18 : 40.2 484 2652

An experiment of the same nature was made, in order to compare the fat- tening properties of the Glamorgan withthe Devon. They were fed from January 6, to December 1, 1804, and the following was the result.

First weight. Second weight. Gain. cwt. gre. lbs, —ecwt. qrs. Ibs, wt. qrs. Ibs. oF 63.

1 Devon . ram te aes Uae Se 4 2 2 Do. . wath. 0 44) 20 3 14 gog e 3 Glamorgan . 13 3 0 16014 Ta

We are aware that other experiments have been instituted, and with differ- ent results, One was made about the same time at Petworth, by the Earl of Egremont. Eight oxen, consisting of three Herefords, three of the Sussex

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20 CATTLE.

breed, and three Devons, were put up to fat. ‘They were allowed only six- teen weeks, they had not the trial nearly of a twelvemonth, as in the Duke of Bedford’s experiment, and the Devons were found to be lowest on the list, and that to a very considerable extent. These Devons, althouch selected fairly enough, were probably exceptions to their general character for rapid thriving. We are, however, compelled to add, that the Duke of Bedford has, to a considerable extent, changed his breed at Woburn, and the Devons have, in a great degree, given way to the Herefords*.

The North Devon oxen are rarely shod, and very rarely lamef. 3

For the dairy, the North Devons must be acknowledged to be inferior to several other breeds. The milk is good, and yields more than an aver- age proportion of cream and butter; but it is deficient in quantity. There are those, however, and no mean judges, who deny this, and select the North Devons even for the dairy.

Mr. Conyers, of Copt Hall, near Epping, a district almost exclusively devoted to the purposes of the dairy, preferred the North Devons on account of their large produce, whether in milk, butter, or by suckling. He thought that they held their milk longer than any other sort that he had tried; that they were liable to fewer disorders in their udders; and that being of small size, they did not eat more than half what larger cows consumed. He thus sums up his account of them: ‘Upon an average, ten cows give me five dozen pounds of butter per week in the summer, and two dozen in the winter. A good North Devon cow fats two calves a year. My thirty North Devon cows have this year (about 1788) upon an average produced a profit of 137. 14s. per cow.’

Mr. Rogers, veterinary surgeon at Exeter, and to whom we are in- debted for some valuable hints, says that the quality of the milk is good, and the quantity remunerating to the dairyman. Such is not, however, the common opinion. ‘They are kept principally for their other good qualities, in order to preserve the breed ; and because, as nurses, they are indeed excellent, and the calves thrive from their small quantity of milk, more rapidly than could possibly be expected.

This aboriginal breed of British cattle is a very valuable one, and seems to have arrived at the highest point of perfection of which it is capable. It is heavier than it was thirty years ago, yet fully as active. Its aptitude

* Of the extent to which prejudice will mislead the best judges, we have a remarkable instance in one of the most zealous patrons of the short horns in Worcestershire, who thus speaks of the Devonshire cattle in the Farmer’s Magazine, February, 1827. ‘Of the late maturity of the Devons I had an opportunity to form a tolerably correct opinion a tBridgewater fair, where the best possible muster of Devonshire oxen'is made. I saw one, and only one good ox among them. With the exception of this animal, I did not see one level carcase, but a want of beef in the roasting parts, low and poor loins, coarse shoulders, bad twist, and a general want of the indications of inside proof.’

He saw one of these oxen after it was killed, and he says, * I never beheld a worse animal under similar circumstances. The meat was actually running about the stall, being nothing more than a mixture of flabby masses, deficient of firmness of texture and

uality.’ á + A writer in the ‘ Farmers Magazine,’ Mr. Herbert, thus describes the Devonshire ox: ‘ Nimble and free, outwalking many horses, healthy and hardy, and fattening even in a straw-yard, good tempered, will stand many a dead pull, fat in half the time of a Sussex, earlier to the yoke than steers of any other breed, lighter than the Sussex ; but not so well horned, thin fleshed, light along the tops of his ribs, a sparkling cutter, and lean well in- termixed with fat.’

Of the cow, he says, ‘Red, starred, or white faced, better horned than the ox, very quiet, the playmate of the children, a sure breeder, a good milker, a quick fattener, fair grass-fed heef in three months. The ox from 110 to 130 stone, and has been fed to 170; and the cow, to 70 or 80;

THE NORTH DEVON CATTLE 21

to fatten is increased, rather than diminished ; and its property as a milker could not be improved, without probable or certain detriment to its grazing qualities.

Mr. Rogers tells us, that two breeders with whom he is acquainted, have lately attempted to cross the North Devons with the Herefords, but that the result was not satisfactory. We can account for that. ‘Those points in which the Devons were deficient thirty years ago, are now fully supplied, and we cordially agree with him, that all that is now want- ing, is a judicious selection of the most perfect of the present breed, in order to preserve it in its state of greatest purity. Many of the breeders are as careless as they ever were; but the spirit of emulation is excited in others. Mr. Davy, of North Molton, lately sold a four-year old bull, for which the purchaser had determined to give one hundred guineas had it been asked; and Mr. Henwood of Crediton has now twenty-one cows, which, within a month from the period of losing their milk, would average at least ten score per quarter. The Duke of Somerset is a zealous patron and improver of the breed, and has some beautiful cattle; and, whatever may be the case at Woburn, the Duke of Bedford here gives almost exclusive preference to the Devons. When offering it as his opinion, that the Devonshire cattle are more than usually free from disease, Mr. Rogers gives a hint that may be useful in every district of the kingdom. He attributes, and very truly, the greater part of the maladies of cattle, and all those of the respiratory system, to injudicious exposure to cold and wet; and he asks whether the height and thickness of the Devon- shire fences, as affording a comfortable shelter to the cattle, may not have much to do with this exemption from disease ?

Mr. Roberts, veterinary surgeon at South Molton, informs us that the North Devons have been crossed with the Guernsey breed, and that the consequence has been, that they have been rendered more valuable for the dairy ; but they have been so much injured for the plough, and for the grazier, that the breeders are jealous to preserve the old stock in their native purity. Mr. Roberts speaks of a gentleman of South Molton, who was very tenacious in preserving unsullied a breed of first-rate North Devons, and who refused fifty guineas for a cow in ċalf. He sold her, afterwards, for 32l., when she was thirteen years old. When this gentle- man sold off his stock, twelve cows fetched on an average 30/. each. Mr. Carpenter, to whom we have already alluded, says, that ‘ one cross of the North Devon with the Hereford is of advantage, as we have additional size and aptitude to fatten without losing activity? We apprehend that he refers to the state of these cattle some years ago, and when they were lighter, rather than to the present improved breed; but he very judiciously adds, ‘it must be one cross alone,—you must not exceed the first dash,—or you destroy the activity in labour, which is the principal source of profit to a Devonshire farmer. He adds, ‘never introduce heifers ; but get a bull of the very best blood, and after the first cross, return to the best Devon bull again, and continue until the white face is nearly extinct before you attempt to cross a second time. The Durhams have been tried, but they will not work, and are too much loaded with coarse plain meat in the fore- quarter.’

The treatment of the calf is nearly the same in every district of North Devon. The calves that are dropped at Michaelmas, and some time after- wards, are preferred to those that come in February, notwithstanding the additional trouble and expense during the winter. The calf is permitted to suck three times every day for a week. It is then used to the finger, and warm new milk is given it for three weeks longer. For two months

22 CATTLE.

afterwards it has plenty of warm scalded milk, mixed with a little finely- powdered linseed-cake. Its morning and evening meals are then gra- dually lessened ; and, when it is four months old, it is quite weaned *.

Of the other districts of Devonshire little need be said. Towards the south, extending from Hartland towards Tiverton, the North Devons pre- vail, and in their greatest state of purity. There are more dairies than in the north, and supplied principally by the North Devon cows, and a few of the South Devons. Such are the differences of opinion even in neigh- bouring districts, that the later calves are here uniformly preferred, which are longer suckled, and afterwards fed with milk and linseed-meal.

Advancing more to the south, and towards the borders of Cornwall, a different breed presents itself, heavier and coarser. We have arrived now in the neighbourhood of Devonport, where larger cattle are required for the service of the navy; but we must go a little more to the south, and enter on the tract of country which extends from Tavistock to Newton Abbott before we have the South Devons in full perfection. They are a mixture of the North Devons with the native breed of the country ; and so adapted do they seem to be to the soil, that all attempts to improve them, so far as grazing and fattening go, have utterly failed. ‘They are often 14 cwt. to the four quarters ; and steers of 24 cwt. are got with fair hay and grass to weigh from six to nine cwt. ‘They bear considerable resemblance to the Herefords, and sometimes the colour and the horn and the white face are so much alike in both, that it is difficult to distinguish between them, except that they are usually smaller than the Herefords.

There are few parts of the country in which there is such bad manage- ment, and utter neglect of the preservation of the breed as in this and the most eastern part of Devon. It is not properly a grazing district except in the neighbourhood of Tavistock; but young cattle are rather brought forward for after-grass or turnips elsewhere than finished here for the market, and the method in which this is conducted is not to be commended, If a calf looks likely to fatten, it is suffered to run with the cow ten or twelve months, and then slaughtered. If others that had not before shown a dis- position to thrive now start, they are forwarded as quickly as may be, and disposed of; and therefore it is, that all those that are retained, and by which the stock is to be kept up, are the very refuse of the farm. Yet the breed is not materially deteriorated. It has found a congenial climate, and it will flourish there in spite of neglect and injury. The grand secret of breeding is to suit the breed to the soil and climate. It is because this has not been studied, that those breeds which have been invaluable in certain districts, have proved altogether profitless, and unworthy of culture in others. The South Devons are equally profitable for the grazier, the breeder, and the butcher; but their flesh is not so delicate as that of the North Devons. They do for the consumption of the navy; but they will not suit the fasti- dious appetites of the inhabitants of Bath, and the metropolis.

* The following account of the principal cattle fairs in Devonshire, and principally for the sale of the North Devon breed, is extracted from the Annals of Agriculture :—

‘Those who would seek this breed at fairs, will find them first at Ashbrittle, a bordering parish between the two counties (Devonshire and Somerset), held for oxen on the 25th of February; but this does not terminate as to prices. Bishops Lydiard, five miles to the west of Taunton, on the 25th of March, for oxen also. At this and Wellington, which are greater fairs than Ashbrittle, prices of stock are fully ascertained. Barnstaple, the Friday before the 21st of April. The great monthly markets of Taunton, Wiveliscomb, Tiverton, and Moulton, carry on the business till the fairs of Crediton, the llth of May. West Bagborough, the 12th, and Wiveliscomb the 13th. North Moulton, first Wednes- day after the 12th of May. Bampton, Whit-Tuesday; and South Moulton, Wednesday before the 22d of June.’

THE NORTH DEVON CATTLE, 23

The farmers in the neighbourhood of Dartmoor breed very few cattle. Their calves are usually procured from East Devon, or even from Somer- set or Dorset. They are reared at the foot of the moors for the use of the miners. All, however, are not consumed ; but the steers are sold to the farmers of the South Hams, who work them as long as they are serviceable 5 they are then transferred to the graziers from Somersetshire, or East Devon, or Dorset, by whom they are probably driven back to their native country, and prepared for the market of Bristol or London. A very curious pere- erination this, which great numbers of the west-country cattle experience.

As we now travel eastward, we begin to lose all distinctness of breed. The vale of ‘Exeter is a dairy district, and, as such, contains call kinds of cattle, according to the fancy of the farmer. There are a few pure North Devons, more South Devons, and some Alderneys; but the majority are mongrels of every description: many of them, however, are excellent cows, and such as are found scattered over Cornwall, West Devonshire, Somerset, and part of Dorset. l í

As we advance along the south and the east, to Teignmouth, Exmouth, Sidmouth, and over the hill to the fruitful vale of Honiton, we do not find ozeù so much used in husbandry. The soil is either a cold hard clay, or its flints would speedily destroy the feet of the oxen. The same variety of pure North and South Devons, and natives of that particular district, with intermixtures of every breed prevail, but the South Devons are principally seen. Some of these cows seem to unite the opposite qualities of fattening and milking. A south Devon has been known, soon after calving, to yield more than two pounds of butter a day; and many of the old southern native breed are equal to any short horns in the quantity of their milk, and far superior to them in its quality.

I must not quit this part of the country without describing the clouted cream, which is peculiar to the west of England. The milk is suffered to stand in a bell-metal vessel four and twenty hours; it is then placed over a small wood fire, so that the heat shall be very gradually com- ‘municated to it. After it has been over the fire about an hour and a half, and is approaching to the state of simmering, the vessel is struck every now and then with the knuckle, or is very carefully watched. As soon as it ceases to ring, or the first bubble appears, a slight agitation or ‘simmering, previous to boiling, has commenced ; and the secret of the preparation is that this simmering shall not proceed to boiling. The milk js immediately removed from the fire, and set by for twenty-four hours more. At the end of this time all the cream. will have arisen, and be thick enough to cut witha knife.. It is then carefully skimmed off. This is a great luxury with coffee or with tarts, and the Devonshire straw- berries and cream need no praise. l

The dairy people in these districts say, that it isthe most profitable way of treating the milk; that five pounds of butter can be obtained from a given quantity, where only four would be yielded by the ordinary method ; and that the butter is more saleable, on account of the pleasant taste it has acquired, and which even its occasional slight smoky flavour scarcely impairs. ‘The milk is proportionably impoverished ; but it also has gained a taste which renders it more grateful. to the pigs; while it never scours them, but removes the diarrh@a produced by other food. The skim-milk cheese must, however, be abandoned, or if a little is made, it is exceedingly poor and tasteless. »

t5- “CATTLE.

CORNWALL.

For much valuable information with regard to the breed and management of the cattle of Cornwall, we are indebted to Mr. Karkeek, veterinary surgeon at Truro. This gentleman observes, that fish, tin, and. cop- per have long been considered the staple commodities of the county of Cornwall, while agriculture has been viewed asa secondary object of pursuit. There is no doubt that the pasturing of cattle, and the culti- vation of the soil, constituted the principal employment of the early inha- bitants; but their attention was not long confined to the vegetable pro- ductions of the earth after they had discovered that greater riches might be torn from its bowels than reaped on its surface; for although, when Cesar invaded the island, the Damnonians (the inhabitants of Devon and Cornwall) possessed great numbers of cattle, yet in a few centuries their pastures were neglected, and all their skill and industry were exerted in digging up ‘ the ores that speak the county’s sterling praise.’

Carew, the historian of Cornwall, says, that ‘the people devoting them- selves entirely to tin, their neighbours in Devonshire and Somersetshire hired their pastures at a rent, and stored them with the cattle which they brought from their own homes, and made their profits of the Cornish by cattle fed at their own doors. The same persons also supplied them at their markets with many hundred quarters of corn and horse-loads of bread.’

The state of agriculture has, however, within the last century or two, materially improved in this extreme western portion of the kingdom.

The native breed of Cornwall is still to be found on some of the moors of the western parts of the county, and in the possession of many of the little farmers. They are small, black, with horns rather short, very coarsely boned, with large offals, and rarely weighing more than three or four hundred weight. They bear an evident resemblance to the native breeds of Wales and Scotland. ‘They are very hardy, and calculated to endure the changeable temperature of this peninsular and unevenly-surfaced county.

Although uncultivated and unimproved, this is far from being a bad breed of cattle. They are fair milkers; their thick hides keep out the cold ‘and wet, and protect them from many diseases; they range on the moors, and coarse grounds, and commons in the summer, at little or no expense, and in the winter are satisfied with heath and furze, and a small quantity of straw ; and when put upon better keep, they get fat with a rapidity scarcely credible,

A more prevailing and a better breed is an evident cross between the North Devon and the indigenous one of the county. It is somewhat larger, with well-formed head, and more upright horns, resembling, in the manner in which they are turned, those of the wild cattle of Chillingham Park. Their necks, like those of the Devons, are thin, rapidly narrowing from the breast towards the head. Their chests are deep, but. rather narrow, and the legs a little longer than in some other favourite breeds. Their hind quarters are deep and full. They get fat in their points, but fall away much in their sides, and are thin in their belly-pieces; they therefore weigh light, and their hides are thin and unprofitable. They mostly bear some striking character of the North Devon,—they have the same reddish-brown coat, bright dun muzzle, and ring about the eye,

In most parts of Cornwall, however, the extreme Western districts excepted, the true North Devons are found equal to any their native country will produce. Many spirited farmers go to Barnstaple, or South

THE CORNWALL CATTLE. 25

Molton, and buy up great numbers of one and two-year-old steers, and work them until they are eight or ten years old; and, as often as they have opportunity, they purchase elsewhere the finest bulls and heifers that can be selected, from among the best Devonshire breeders. Some had objected to the apparently delicate frame and constitution of the North Devon, but he has always been found sufficiently hardy to endure even the changeable clime of Cornwall, where “ the smiles of summer, and the rage of storms,” often succeed each other in a few hours. The Rev. H. H. Tremayne, and J. P. Peter, Esq., were diligent breeders of the North Devon cattle ; and this beautiful animal did not degenerate under their management.

The cows are chiefly of the Cornish and North Devon breeds; but in the principal towns, and on the sea coast, a few Alderneys are kept. A breed between the Cornish and the Alderney has been attempted, and with considerable success, and uniting the rare qualities of abundance of milk with aptitude to fatten.

The Durham breed has lately been introduced by Mr. Peter, and appears to have succeeded well in a few grazing districts. A cross between the Devon cow andthe Durham bull is an evident improve- ment, for the animal thus produced is profitable both for the dairy and the butcher. It must, however, be confessed, that the majority of the Cornish farmers are partial to the North Devons, and they apyear to be better adapted to the soil of this county than any other breed.

There is no particular management of the dairy cow in Cornwall. About November, the cows are turned for the winter into crofts, or little fields that have been kept up for them. In the spring and summer, they go into larger or uninclosed ground. The fattening beasts are generally fed on turnips in the winter ; and many of them are turned out from Fe- bruary to June for the home consumption of Devonport and Plymouth markets. ;

The Cornish land is not usually very rich, but the farmer is industrious, and manages well. In many places the sod is pared and burned for wheat ; aud after wheat come turnips, which produce much winter food, and a great deal of dung, yet not in sufficient quantity for the stock. The farmers are generally compelled to give their young stock, and even their older beasts, a great deal of straw. Sea-sand and sea-weed are often called into requisition for manure, and are found to be exceedingly useful.

Arthur Young describes the method of rearing their calves which is still pursued in a great part of the county. ‘They are taken from the cow between the fourth and sixth day. Raw milk is then given to them for ten days or a fortnight, and afterwards scalded milk and gruel, in the quantity of three or four quarts in the morning and at night. A mixture of gruel and milk is found to be better than scalded milk alone. Some give their own family-broth, which is thought to be as good as, or better than, the gruel. The calves are fond of it, and thrive upon it; and the flavour of the salted provisions increases the appetite, and promotes digestion. One quart of broth or gruel is added to two quarts of milk. A little fine hay is now placed before them, which they soon begin to eat. For a little while after they are turned to grass, this food is continued, according to the quantity of milk in hand, or the goodness and quality of the pasture. When they are ten or fourteen weeks old, they need no more milk, and, a considerable time before this, the quantity is reduced to less than half. In some parts, the calves are, during the winter and after the two first months, reared solely on hay and turnips, the turnips being sliced for that purpese. Many of the best breeders place two calves to one cows

26 : CATTLE.

In the summer, many. farmers feed the calves from the pail with scalded milk, for a couple of months, and then turn them to grass. z

Very little cheese is made in Cornwall, and that little is exceedingly bad. The butter, however, is excellent; and the Cornish housewives are as expert in making the delicious clouted cream as any of the Devonshire ones,

The system of letting cows out to labourers or poor people is not uncommon in Cornwall. It is a great accommodation to the hirer, and affords a good remuneration to the owner. The price varies with the situation and keep; but it is usually from six to eight pounds, the calf being the property of the owner of the beast,

ew years ago, oxen were employed in husbandry as frequently in Cornwall as in any part of Devonshire. Not only the North Devons, but the improved Cornish breed, were used for the purpose. Although small and light, they were active, docile, and bardy. The Cornish plough is almost as proverbial as the Devon; and it was formerly worked by four oxen, with a horse or two before them. This practice is now considerably on the decline, for experience has proved, that both oxen and horses are best worked by themselves. Oxen are also employed in butts and wains, substitutes for a kind of rude cart or waggon, and well adapted for the beasts that are to draw them, and the roads they are to travel.

They are brought to the yoke at three years old, and worked until they are seven or eight. They are as active as any horses; and, like the Devons, they are stimulated much more by the pleasing chaunt of the ploughboy than by the goad. They are shod, and brakes are generally used for this_ purpose.

Of late years, however, the use of oxen in husbandry is getting out of practice. ‘The propriety and economy of this will be discussed in the proper place; but oxen are not now generally seen even in the plough, and on the road they are very rarely employed.

Except for home consumption, few cattle are fattened in Cornwall, and the store beasts are usually sent to Somersetshire, or other grazing counties, i

DORSETSHIRE,

The ‘ old Dorset ox’—but whether it is the indigenous breed of the county, is a matter of doubt,—has long horns. Some assert, and with an appearance of probability, that the true Dorset was a middle horn, some- what resembling the South Devon, but not so large, and that the long horn is an importation from the northern or midland counties, or a mix- ture of the Hampshire, the Wiltshire, and perhaps the Oxfordshire However, a long-horned breed, a rough sort of cattle, and far from handsome, has been so many years established in various parts of the county, that itis regarded by some as the original one. These have been crossed with the Devon bull, and evidently with advantage: they ‘are hardy, good milkers, and fatten quickly. They are principally found in the eastern and northern divisions of the county. ‘Towards the west, a mixture of the Devon and the Dorset prevails, and many farmers culti- vate the pure Devons. The climate, however, does not appear to suit the true Devons, for they do not here grow to any great size; and some have said that they are even worse milkers than in their native district, and subject to various diseases, and particularly to diarrhoea. Mr. Nobbs, of Catstoke, is decidedly of this opinion. ;

The mixture of the Devon and the Dorset is an improvement on both. Some have obtained a still better kind of cattle by crossing again with the Durham ; and others are, with every probability of success, engrafting

THE SOMERSETSHIRE CATTLE. 27

the Hereford on the Dorset stock. ‘Three points of superiority are said to be gained over the Devon cross :—larger size, more hardiness, and a disposition to yield a greater quantity of better milk.

The use of oxen for husbandry-work, had been for many years declining in this country, but it has of late, and to a somewhat extraordinary degree, revived in some districts. 'The oxen are oftener worked in collars than in yokes. The cattle used for the plough or the team are principally the pure North Devons, which are purchased at two years’ old in the North Devon markets, worked two or three years, and then fatted,— some for the London but mostly for the home markets; sometimes, how- ever, a mixture of the Devon and Dorset is used for draught. In the northern part of the county we find crosses of almost every kind; including not only those from the neighbouring counties of Hants and Wilts, but from Oxford, Gloucester, Shropshire, and Leicestershire.

In the Dorset dairies, there can scarcely be said to be a decidedly pre- vailing breed. If the heifer is likely to make a good milker, that is all that is regarded, and little or no attention is paid to the shape, or colour, or size. About a fifth part of Dorsetshire is occupied by the vale of Blackmoor, a very rich pastoral country, and well adapted for the pur- poses of the dairy. A considerable quantity of butter and cheese is made here. On those farms where most butter is made, the Double Dorset cheese is manufactured from the skimmed milk alone, and which, when kept until it becomes ‘“ blue-vinney’d,” is very much approved ; it is, however, more celebrated in than out of the country. A great quantity of butter, both in its fresh and salted state, is sent to London.

A great many calves are sent from the Vale of Biackmoor in the spring of the year to Poole, and there shipped for Portsmouth; and the supply being greater than the Jemand, the butchers find it answer their pur- pose to forward much of it to the London market.

Much of this concise account of Dorsetshire we owe to Mr. W. C. Spooner, veterinary surgeon at Blandford.

SOMERSETSHIRE.

The North Devon cattle prevail along that part of the county which borders on Devon until we arrive in the neighbourhood of Wincaunton and Ilchester, where the pure breed is almost lost sight of. In the north of Somerset few of the Devons are to be seen; but along the coast, and even extending as far as Bristol and Bath, the purest breed of the Devons are preferred. They are valued for their aptitude to fatten, their quickness and honesty at work; and they are said to be better milkers than in their native county. They are of a larger size, for the soil is better, and the pasturage more luxuriant. It is on this ac- count that the oxen bred in some parts, and particularly in the Vale of Taunton, although essentially Devons, are preferred to those from the greater part of Devonshire, and even from the neighbourhood of Barnstaple and South Molton. They are better for the grazier and for the dairy ; and, if they are not quite so active as their progenitors, they have not lost their docility and freeness at work, and they have gained materially in strength. i l

Mr. Carpenter, to whom we have already referred, and who 1S now resident. in the Vale of Taunton, informs us that the farmers in the south and south-west of Somerset ate endeavouring to breed that sort of cattle that will answer for the pail, and the plough, and grazing,—a very difficult point, as he acknowledges, to hit; for those that are of the highest proof (exhibiting those points or conformations of particular parts

aaa N pi à P Sa ee SSS eee eS eS ee

r

28 i CATTLE.

which usually indicate a propensity to fatten) are generally the worst milkers, both as to quantity and quality. This being, however, a dairy county as well as a grazing one, or more so, the principal point with them is a good shew for milk. They are, for the most part, of the Devon red, and, as he thinks, the best suited for all purposes of any in the West of England. All that is necessary to keep them up in size and proof and of a good growth, is to change the bull every two years. ‘This

is a very Important, although an overlooked and unappreciated principle of breeding, even where the stock is most select. No bull should be longer — used by the same grazier, or some degree of deterioration will ensue

It must, nevertheless, be confessed, that in the greater part of the county, and where the Devons are liked best for husbandry and for grazing, experi- ence has taught many farmers to select another breed for the dairy. Some prefer the pure short horns, others the North Wilts, and a few a mixture between the two. The short horns, however, are very different from those that are seen anywhere else. They resemble neither the old nor the im- proved Durham or East York, but were originally made up of a mixture of the Devon with the old Somersetshire cow. _

The Somersetshire cattle are thus described by Mr. Herbert, as they existed sixty or seventy years ago; but we can scarcely believe the account to be faithful, ‘ Somersetshire formerly had a breed of cattle which, from the crescent-form of its turned-up horn, seemed to be between the Sussex and the original short-horn (he must mean the middle horn, for the short horn is of foreign extraction); useful and heavy; high on its legs, particularly behind. It was used for the supply of the ship- ping, and sent to Salisbury market, and thence forwarded to Portsmouth. The cows were good milkers, and fattened kindly.’

Ifwe may judge of them from what the West Somersets are now, they were a valuable breed. They betray their Devonshire origin ; but in the opinion of the Somersetshire farmers, they are far preferable to the native breed, and they have increased in size without losing any of their useful proper- ties. There are few better judgcs than these Somersetshire men ; for being the party concerned between-the breeder on the one side, and the grazier on the other, and having opportunity daily to observe the failures or the feel of each, they acquire a kind of intuitive knowledge of the points of cattle.

A few of the present West Somerset cattle are characterised by a peculiarity of colour. They are called sheeted oxen. The head, the neck, the shoulders, and the hind parts appear as if they were uncovered, while there is a sheet fairly and perfectly thrown over the barrel. They do not, however, exhibit the true Devon colour in these uncovered parts, for the hair is yellow, instead of a deep blood red, or almost brown colour.

In North Somerset few of the Devons are to be seen, but they are the same party-coloured kind of which T have just spoken. e

Mr. Billingsley, in his Survey of Somerset, says, that in this district, extending from Bath and Frome on the east, to Uphill and Kingsroad on the west, the cows are mostly short horns, with some fine long horns from North Wilts. A heifer of three years old that discovers any disposition to fatten, is turned out of the dairy, because experience has convinced the owner that she will seldom or never prove a good milker ; and the breeders in that part are often obliged to have recourse to Welsh nurses, because there is a deficiency of milk in the parent animal.

In the middle of Somersetshire, from the Mendip hills on the north, to Bridgewater on the West, and Chard on the south (principally a grazing country), he says that the business is divided into a summer and winter

THE SOMERSETSHIRE CATTLE. 29

feed. For summer fattening, the -Devons are principally bought in- February, either in the northern part of Devon, or the lower part of Somerset. They are purchased in tolerable condition, andconsume, between February and their turning out, ten or twelve hundred weight of inferior hay, the skimming of the summer leas. When at grass, they are allowed from an acre to an acre and a half per ox, and perhaps one sheep to each ox, and not more than one horse to twenty acres. About Michaelmas they are fat, and pay from three shillings and sixpence to four shillings per week for their keep. The farmers in that district think that frequent bleedings in small quantities accelerate the process of fattening.

The home-breds are usually preferred for fattening. The Rev. Mr. King, of Budgworth Rectory, informs us that an ox is purchased, or, if bred, turned off to graze in February. He has one and a half acre or more of the best pasture for summer feed; then comes the same range of after- math from the beginning of September to the end of November ; hay being added by degrees, until it is required entirely. ‘These oxen are sold for the Salisbury or Loudon markets, either before Christmas, or from that to Lady-day. A dairy farmer seldom grazes, except an old cow for the benefit of his neighbours ; and these seldom get more than four or six months grazing after they are dried up. Beef of this description is as plen- tiful in the autumn as veal in the summer, and about the same price (1832), from fourpence to fivepence per pound.

Some farmers graze heifers in preference to oxen, buying in March and April, and selling in October or November; and which are stocked at the rate of a heifer to each aere, with one or two sheep. ‘The sheep thus fatted are usually the two year old Dorsets or Somersets.

Some give their prime oxen a second summer grass; and the second year pays better than the first, for an animal nearly fat will consume much less food than a lean one.

The time of calving is from the beginning of February to Lady-day. The _ farmers take great care to keep their cows in good condition for three weeks or a month before they calve, thinking that the milk will flow in proportion to the goodness of the keep at that time; and the consequence of this is frequent attacks of puerperal fever and garget. The number of calves reared in this district is very great. Four hundred fat calves have been sold in Shepton-Mallet market in one day, but now the village butchers buy and slaughter them at home, and take the carcasses to Bristol for the Tuesday and Saturday markets.

The calves that are reared are principally fed on cheese-whey, and are turned out to grass in May to shift for themselves. In the south-east part of this district, where the dairy-lands are chiefly applied to the making of butter and skim-milk cheese, the calves are taken from their mothers at about three days old. Those that are to be fatted are suckled by hand out of the pail as soon as it is brought home from the field morning and evening. These calves are technically said to be on the stage. It will take the milk of three cows to fatten two calves up to from thirty-five to fifty pounds per quarter. The old practice of giving the calves mead or some other home- made wine is now discontinued. Soon after Lady-day, when the great business of cheese-making begins in good earnest, the milk is wanted for the cheese-vat instead of the suckling-pail. To fatten the calf, the farmer’s wife then places the whey over the fire in a large copper, and the warmth forces a further portion of poorer curd (skim curds,) and these, with a little milk, and with the occasional addition of lintseed-meal, make a good calf. The calves to be reared are thought to be well off, if, like the pigs, they get whey.

30 CATTLE.

` The celebrated Bridgewater cheese is made on the marshes between that town and Cross. Huntspill, South Brent, and East Brent, are the three prime cheese-parishes. The mail-road from Bridgewater to Cross passes through each of them. The land is rich and cool, and the pasturage not only old, but principally consisting of blade grasses, with few flowers or odoriferous herbs to raise or produce that essential oil which is so detri- mental in the manufacture of cheese. Mr. King further informs us, that the present dairy cow of this district is either entirely red, which shows her Devon origin, or red with a white face which marks the Here- ford cross, or spotted red and white, and that the latter are generally preferred as the best milkers. They spring from Durham blood on one side, and the farmers of this district are much indebted to the late Mr. Stone, of South Brent, who, at a considerable expense, introduced several bulls of the Durham breed.

The usual proportion in a dairy of forty cows is about twenty- five red ones, ten spotted, and five with a white face; and yet, as the Hereford bull has been rarely if at all tried in this district, the white face is not owned by the farmer as of Herefordshire origin. A Durham ox, of Mr. King’s breed from Warwickshire, was lately slaughtered here, weighing 21 score and 13 lbs. per quarter. It was fed by Mr. Burman, of Henley-in-Arden.

Very little of the prime Cheddar cheese is made at that village. It is chiefly manufactured in the parishes just mentioned, and in the marshes round Glastonbury. A somewhat inferior Cheddar is often sold as double Gloucester. As in the Vale of Berkeley, the cows are pastured and milked near to the farm-house, and the milk set with the rennet as soon as possible, aid left undisturbed for two hours. The curd is then broken; a por- tion of the whey first warmed and put to it, and then the whole of the whey made scalding hot, and poured upon it, and left for half an hour. 'The curd is afterwards put into the vat, and the other processes conducted much in the usual way. ‘This scalding is supposed to favour an intimate union of the particles of the whey, and likewise to dispose the oleaginous matter to exude, and thus give the cheese that soft, rich, fatty appearance and flavour by which it is distinguished,

Mr. King recommends the addition of one Guernsey to every dozen country-cows. He thinks that this quantity of rich milk being added might make the whole throw a greater weight of curd. It certainly is so when butter is the object, and that small quantity would not injure the keeping. Guernsey butter unmixed is too rich and will not keep, and so it might be with cheese.

The Somersetshire dairymen usually keep their cows until they are ten or twelve years old, and then turn them off for failing, not in the quantity but the quality of the milk, At this time they are reduced to half the value of a long-horned cow of the same age ; but if it should appear, as it generally will, that the short-horn will make a half-hundred of cheese more every season than the long-horned Wilts, and at the same time cost less for the keep, the balance will be found to be in favour of the short or middle-horned Somerset. In the upper part of the country, and where heifers are preferred, the graziers go into North Wilts and Hampshire to buy them. Some of the best of them are nearly equal to the Devons, but in general they are not so high in proof. Occasionally they are brought from Gloucestershire, and even from Yorkshire, and are now and then sold in October at thirty-eight or forty score pounds each. ~ Many Irish cattle are fattened in Somersetshire, on account ofthe cheap rate at which they are purchased when lean

THE HEREFORDSHIRE CATTLE.

HEREFORDSHIRE.

The ‘Herefordshire white-faced breed, with the exception of a very few Alderney and Durham cows, have almost exclusive possession of this county. The Hereford oxen are considerably larger than the North Devons. They are usually of a darker red; some of them are brown, and even yellow, and a few are brindled; but they are principally distinguished by their white faces, throats, and bellies, Ina few the white extends to the } shoulders, The old Herefords were brown or red-brown, with not a spot. of white about them, It is only within the last fifty or sixty years that it has \ been the fashion to breed for white faces. Whatever may be thought of the | change of colour, the present breed is certainly far superior to the old. one, The hide is considerably thicker than that of the Devon, and the beasts are more hardy. Compared with the Devons, they are shorter in the leg, and also in the carcase; higher, and broader, and heavier in the chine; rounder and wider across the hips, and better covered with fat; the thigh fuller and more muscular, and the shoulders larger and coarser. The cut in the following page, is the portrait of an ox belonging. to the Duke of Bedford.

Mr. Marshall gives the following account of them: it is tolerably correct, but does not sufficiently distinguish them from their kindred breed. ‘ The countenance pleasant, cheerful, open; the forehead broad; eye full and lively ; horns bright, taper, and spreading ; head small; chap lean; neck long and tapering; chest deep; bosom broad, and projecting forward ; shoulder-bone thin, flat, no way protuberant in bone (?), but full and mellow in flesh; chest full; loin broad; hips standing wide, and level with the chine ; quarters long, and wide at the neck ; rump even with the level of the back, and not drooping, nor standing high and sharp above the quarters; tail slender and neatly haired; barrel round and roomy; the carcase throughout deep and well spread; ribs broad, standing flat» and close on the outer surface, forming a smooth, eyen barrel, the hindmost. large and full of length ; round bone small, snug, and not prominent ;

thigh clean, and regularly tapering ; legs upright and short; bone below the knee and hock small ; feet of middle size; flank large; flesh every- where mellow, soft, and yielding pleasantly to the touch, especially on the chine, the shoulder, and the ribs ; hide mellow, supple, of a middle thick- ness, and loose on the neck and huckle ; coat neatly haired, bright and silky ; colour, a middle red, with a bald face characteristic of the true Herefordshire breed’? __ 3 ;

They fatten to a much greater weight than the Devons, and run from fifty to seyenty score, A tolerable cow will average from thirty-five to fifty score. A cow belonging to the Duke of Bedford weighed more than seventy score; and an ox belonging to Mr. Westcar exceeded one hundred and ten score. They are not now much used for husbandry, although their form adapts them for the heavier work; and they have all the honesty and docility of the Devon ox, and greater strength, if not his acti- vity, The Herefordshire ox fattens speedily at a yery early age, and it is. therefore more advantageous to the farmer, and perhaps to the country, that he should go to market at three years old, than be kept longer to be employed as a beast of draught. We are indebted to Mr. A. Knight, of Downton Castle, for some valuable observations on this and other subjects connected with the Herefordshire cattle, and breeding in general, of which we shall avail ourselves in the proper place.

hey are far worse milkers than.the Devons. This is so generally acknowledged, that while there are many dairies of Devon cows in various

32 : pe CATTLE,’ «

parts of the country, (none of which, however, are very profitable to their owners,) a dairy of Herefords is rarely to be found.

To compensate for this, they are even more kindly feeders than the Devons, and will live and grow fat where a Devon would scarcely live. Their beef may be objected to by some as being occasionally a little too large in the bone, and the fore-quarters being coarse and heavy; but the meat of the best pieces is often very fine-grained and beautifully marbled. There are few cattle more prized in the market than the genuine Herefords.

The Devons and the Herefords are both excellent breeds, and the pre- judices of the Devonshire and Herefordshire farmers for their peculiar breed being set aside, a cross of the one will often materially improve the other. The Devon will acquire bulk and hardihood, and the Hereford a finer form and activity. The Hereford bull, and the West Island or Kyloe cows, have been tried, but they did not feed so rapidly, nor weigh so well as the Hereford, and they had the defect of being extremely pug- nacious. Serer

Mr. Culley, although an excellent judge of cattle, formed a very erro- neous opinion of the Herefords when he pronounced them to be nothing but a mixture of the Welsh with a bastard race of long-horns. They are evidently an aboriginal breed, and descended from the same stock as the Devons. If it were not for the white face, and somewhat larger head and thicker neck, it would not at all times be easy to distinguish between

_a heavy Devon and a light Hereford. Their white faces may probably be | traced to a cross with their not distant relations, the Montgomeries.

LP as RE ant

The Hereford cow is apparently a very inferior animal. Not only is she no milker, but even her form has been sacrificed by the breeder. Here- fordshire is more a rearing than a feeding county, and therefore the farmer looks mostly to the shape and value of his young stock ; and in the choice of his cow, he does not value het or select her, or breed from her according to her milking qualities, or the price which the grazier would give for her, but in proportion as she possesses that general form which experience has taught him will render her likely to produce a good ox. Hence the Hereford cow is comparatively small and delicate, and some would call her ill-made. She jis very light-fleshed when in common condition, and beyond that, while she is breeding, she is not suffered to proceed ; but

a

pes

THE HEREFORDSHIRE CATTLE. 33

when she is actually put up for fattening, she spreads out, and accumu-

lates fat at a most extraordinary rate. Our cut gives us the portrait of a beautiful cow, once belonging to the Earl of Egremont.

he breeder has been taught by experience, that when the cow, although

she should he somewhat roomy, is too large and masculine, the ox will be

a little sluggish at work, and even some-

cess of fattening, and these are objections

e unwilling to have justly made. The

omewhat undersized; and it not unfre-

oduces a bull-calf that grows to three times

[ The Herefordshire Cow.)

Kindly as the Hereford ox fattens, very few are grazed in their native country: even the beasts which the home consumption requires are, prin- cipally heifers and old cows. The oxen are sold at five and six years old in tolerable condition, at the Michaelmas fair in Hereford, to the graziers of Buckinghamshire and the neighbouring counties, by whom they are Principally preferred for the London market. no”

The fertility of the soil in Herefordshire has been very much Overrated. The traveller, and the superficial observer, have been misled by the luxuriant woods and rich alluvial soil upon the banks of its rivers, ` The Pasture-grounds are generally poor, and the herbage is not nutritious, and therefore the farmer naturally confines his chief attention to his rear- ing-stock. The Dairy has been comparatively neglected ; for experience

as proved that the breeding qualities of a cow are materially lessened, and even her form is deteriorated, by her being inclined to give a large

quantity of milk. very interesting trial was made in the winter of 1828-29, between the erefords and the improved short-horned breeds of catile, in the ordinary mode of feeding, without forcing by artificial food of any description, and the result seemed to be much to the advantage of the Herefords, consi- dering their Original weight, and the quantity of food consumed, It must,

i D

34 - CATTLE.

however, be confessed that it is not sufficient to enable us to decide upon the relative merits of the two rival breeds of large cattle, nor are we yet quite prepared for the inquiry; but we insert it as an experiment that was fairly conducted, to which the advocates of the Herefordshire cattle often refer, and which they will naturally expect to be placed upon record, Three Herefords and three short-horns were selected: they were put together in a straw-yard on the 20th of December, 1827, and were fed in the open yard, at the rate of one bushel of turnips per beast per day, with straw only, until May 2nd, 1828, when their weights were taken, and they were sent to grass. Cwts, qis. Ibs, Cwts. qrs. Ibs. No. 1. Hereford $3.0 No. 1. Short-horn 9 2 0 we 7 3 0 ee pe 8 2 0 Teia 7 0 0 “eye 9 0 0

On the 3d of November they were taken from grass, and put into the stall when their weight was as follows :— ; Cwt. qrs. Ibs Cwt, grs. Ibs. No, 1. Hereford 11 3 0 No. 1. Short-horn 12 3 14 2, 10 2 0 oe 12 2 0

39

ee 10 3 0 a e 12 3 0

From that time to the 25th of March, 1829, they consumed the following quantities of Swedish turnips andhay:— -> Turnips Ibe, Ibs.

The Herefords 46,655 5065 The short-horns 59,430 6779

They then weighed—

No. 1. Hereford 13 0 14 No. 1. Short-horn 2. P 12 0 0 2. 35 3. 5 12 0 0 3. F being an increase of weight in favour of the Herefords of and in favour of the Short-horns 3 ; :

and making a difference in favour of the Short-horns of 3

but then the Short-horns had consumed 12,775lbs. more of turnips, and 1714lbs. more of hay.

When they were all sold together at Smithfield on the 30th of March, the heavier short-horns fetched 97/., and the lighter Herefords 96/., being an overplus of only 1d. to pay for the enormous difference in the food con- sumed, and the greater price given on account of the heavier weight of the short-horns at the commencement of the experiment*. Another Hereford and a short-horn were also tried together at the same time; but they did not undergo the same process, nor was so regular an account kept of their progress. The Hereford increased in weight 3 cwt. 3 qrs., and the short- horn 4 ewt. 1 qr.

* The Michaelmas cattle fair at Hereford is not~exeeeded by any show of beasts in good condition in the kingdom. They are usually sold to the graziers In the neighbour- hood of the metropolis, by whom they are prepared for the Smithfield market,

There is an entry in an account book kept by William Town, m the neighbourhood of Hereford, in the year 1694, of the price of fat oxen at that period.

“25th August, 1694,—sold the nine oxen at 52d.; the money to be paid into the Exchequer within a month.” The price of oxen is, at least, six times as great now,

THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE BREED.

GLOUCESTER.

Turs county is taken next, because, bordering on Hereford, many of the cattle of that county are found here. Throughout the whole of Gloucester- Shire the Herefords are preferred for working and for fattening. They are less active than the Devons, but far more so than the Gloucesters. They consume less food when at work, and very far less when fattening ; but the Gloucesters are superior to the Herefords for the pail. Cattle of every kind, however, prevail in the dairy farms in this county, as in every other district.

Of the old breed of the Gloucesters it is now difficult to speak, for they are nearly extinct. ‘They were evidently of Welsh origin, mingled with the Hereford, and sometimes with the cattle farther inland, They were the Glamorgan chiefly, but upon a larger scale, and of a different colour. The Glamorgans are black, or inclining to brown; the old Gloucesters were either red or brown. The horns were of a middle length, white, and tipped with black; the bones small, and the carcase light, scarcely averaging more than twelve score per quarter. The bag was thin yet large, and the milk’ abundant and long continued. The characteristic mark was said to be a streak of white generally along the back, and always at the root of the tail.

Many years ago the farmers began to cross them with the long-horns, and principally those from North Wilts. Thence arose considerable increase of size, with more tendency to fatten, and richer and not much less abundant milk. This breed is principally found in the hilly dis- trict of Gloucester, about the Cotswolds. Some farmers, indeed, have crossed so frequently with the long-horn, that little of the old Gloucester remains, and not a few use the long-horns alone. The prevailing breed, however, about the hills, and particularly among the small farmers, is the Gloucester and the Wiltshire combined. Some Suffolk duns are scattered in a few places ; some pure Devons, Durhams, and Leicesters are found, but chiefly a mixture from among them all, the Gloucesters and the North Wilts preponderating, while each farmer breeds and chooses according’ to his pleasure or caprice.

In the hilly part of the county cattle are an inferior object of considera- tion; there is little peculiar in the management of them; and even that little does not deserve commendation. The principal purpose for which they are here kept is to pasture on those spots which are unsound for sheep. A great proportion of many of the farms in this poor district can only be made profitable by turning young stock upon them; which, however, are never thoroughly fattened there, but the young stock, and the cows, and even the sheep, are sold to graziers from the neighbouring districts, barely in tolerable store condition. The early-dropped calves are chosen for rear- ing; the others might not have sufficient strength to endure the winter, and are speedily got rid of. :

The calves that are to be reared continue two or three days with the mother, sucking as they like, and taking the milk that is good for nothing else. They are then fed with skim-milk a little warmed, being first taught With the finger; but they soon drink eagerly out of the pail. Linseed tea is after a little while mixed with the milk; afterwards the milk is laid aside, and oat or barley meal is stirred in with the tea; and so they are gradually brought to solid food, and weaned.

hen the grass begins to fail in November, they are fed in the field, where there is some tolerable shelter for them; and the yearlings are

D2

36 CATTLE,

also in the field, and fed with straw instead of hay. The pasture allotted to them is generally old and good, but such as had been previously eaten bare by the cows. Worse than all, during the early part of the winter the milch cows have nothing but straw allowed them. It is the custom in this part of the country not to take much care of the two-year-olds until Christmas is past. The heifers usually calve in April or May, and are taken into the dairy, and the steers then go to work after Christmas, when hay, but not of the best quality, is allowed them.

This system of starvation, partly induced by the nature of the soil, (sufficient fodder not being produced for the proper nutriment of the stock,) and partly attributable to an absurd mode of treatment derived from their forefathers, has a tendency to cripple the improvement of live stock. The calves will not attain their full growth, and the cows will not yield sufficient milk for suckling or for the pail while this system is pursued. There is room for much improvement here, as well as in many other districts of the kingdom in the management of live stock.

In the lower or vale part of the county, where cattle are kept principally for the dairy, and not to feed on the unsound and rotting ground, a more liberal and a more profitable system of management is adopted.

In the Vale of Berkeley, as the long and rich tract of land is called that reaches from the Cotswolds to the Severn, the cows are, as in the hilly district, of various sorts and kinds. In-all of them, however, traces of the old Gloucester are visible, and carefully preserved. The cross

depends upon the fancy of the dairyman. Some have mingled the Alder- /ney with the Gloucester, and they have both increased the quantity and

| the richness of the milk ; others have mixed the Wilts and the Gloucester,

' and they have a fair supply of excellent milk ; while some have introduced

| the Yorkshire, whereby they have certainly added to the quantity, although

perhaps a little deteriorated the quality of the milk : but the majority, and still more judiciously, have mingled all these together, and they have materially improved both the quantity and the quality. There are no Herefords for the pail; a few Devons, some Suffolks, some North Wilts, and the rest Gloucesters, with various crosses. ;

A cross between the Gloucester and the Hereford has been attempted with considerable success. They yield from four to six gallons of good milk every day. It is difficult to account for the fact that, while in grazing counties the large and small farmers agree in selecting a certain breed, and adhere to that selection, almost every dairy district is charac- terized by a motley assemblage of all sorts and kinds of cattle. We shall often have occasion to allude to this.

This is a celebrated dairy country. From the Vale of Berkeley is pro- duced a great part of the cheese, which is known in every part of the kingdom under the names of the single and double Gloucester.

A slight sketch of the peculiar management of this district must now be given to render our work perfect; but for a more detailed account, the reader is referred to the Twenty-first Number of the Farmer’s Series, in which the usual management both of the Gloucestershire hill and vale farms is fully described. ;

The calves remain with the mothers about a week. They are then fed with skim-milk ; first, by means of the feeder’s fingers introduced into the mouth, and which being supplied with milk, are sucked by the calves ; but they soon drink of themselves. Linseed tea is, after a little while, mixed with the milk ; and soon after that the milk is quite withdrawn, and oat or barley meal stirred with the linseed, until the calf is able to eat hay or oats. About the middle of May they are turned out to good grass, and

THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE BREED. 37

so they are kept until the grass is read y for them, on the earliest and best of which they are turned. From among the early ones, or those dropped , before March, a selection is made to keep up the dairy, and those from the | best milkers are uniformly chosen. The farmer is right here; for every | quality, both good and bad, is more decidedly hereditary than many | have supposed, or are willing to allow. Some of the heifers that are weaned before March drop their calves when two years and a quarter old, and all of them are taken into the dairy at three years’ old.

The land here is rich and productive, and fodder of every kind is abundant. The cattle are much better kept, than in the hill country, and they pay their proprietors well for the additional trouble and expense. The richest even of these fertile pastures are set apart for the milch cows ; and in order that their appetite may not pall, they are frequently moved from pasture to pasture. This isa method of rendering them productive of which the majority of farmers are not aware. At the same time the farm is as much understocked as a hill-farm is too frequently overstocked; at least there is plenty of good keep for every cow.

It has been found that land, which has been lately and much manured, is not so good for the cows. The milk may be more abundant, but not. so rich. Dr. Rudge, in his Survey of Gloucestershire, says, that there were two grounds adjoining each other alternately used for the pasture of cows. While they were on one, excellent cheese was made ; but when they were on the other, the cheese was rank, heaving, and hollow, and unfit for the market. The latter had been lately well-dressed with manure; and the dairywoman remarked that, {f the farmer continued to enrich his land with dung, she must give up making cheese.

The cows are early moved from the pasture-ground into the after-grass. Experience has taught the farmer that few things are more conducive to the general health of the animal, as well as the abundant supply of milk, than the first flush of grass in the spring, or after mowing.

As the winter comes on, they are moved into the driest and best-sheltered situations. It would be advantageous if there was some shed for them to retreat to as a protection from the extreme cold; and they should have plenty of good hay allowed them once or twice in the day, before they have calved, and several times in the day afterwards. In some cases, however, although not by the generality of farmers, the system of false economy prevalent in the hilly district is adopted here, and the cows in calf, and the young and store beasts, are half-starved during the winter. There is no part of dairy and cattle management which more demands reformation than this. .

The principal product of the Vale of Berkeley is its cheese. It has a peculiar flavour, and is deservedly esteemed. It is not quite clear to what peculiar circumstance the excellence of the Gloucester cheese is to be attributed; for several things, probably, combine to produce the effect.

The breed of the cow has little or nothing to do with it. We have stated that almost every variety of breed is found here, and the milk of all is mingled together. The cows are taken better care of. The pasture js good, and it is old, and is composed of the natural grasses of the country, which are grown here with little admixture of foreign or artificial ones. The fields, another circumstance not sufficiently appreciated, are near to, and surround as much as possible the farm-houses, so that the milk is but little agitated, or the component parts of it separated before it is curdled by the rennet. By this means, too, the milk may he set, hefore it is cooled below the proper temperature, - a

38 CATTLE.

Every dairymaid knows well that the milk should be warm when it is set. She has rarely any thermometer to guide her. She needs it not, for she can tell with the accuracy of the best thermometer whether the tem- perature is above or below 85°. When it is received from the cow, and before it is cooled in the pail, it is more than 90°. It should be set when it has cooled to 85°, and that, if possible, without the addition of any milk artificially heated to bring it to the proper standard. The colouring matter and the rennet are then added, and particular care is taken that the rennet is old, yet free from unpleasant smell*. The tub is now covered until the curd is formed.

The process of cutting and breaking the curd follows next; and when it is sufficiently broken it is put into the vats, and pressed well down. The vats are filled as closely as possible—the cheese-cloth placed over all, and a little hot water is poured over the cloth, to harden the outside of the cheese; the curd is then turned out into the cloth, and this being carefully folded round it, the cheese is returned once more into the vat. All the vats which are to be filled are placed one upon another, and all subjected to the action of the press. Here they remain four-and-twenty hours ; the vats of the next meal being placed underneath, and those of the preceding meal raised a tier, and dry cloths occasionally applied.

In many dairies there is a second breaking of the curd, which, after having been reduced as small as possible, is scalded with a mixture of water and whey. This second and more perfect breaking down of the curd has been imagined to be the grand cause of the soft uniform sub- stance of the cheese when it is fully made. The practice, however, is getting somewhat into disuse; for it is very reasonably urged that this scalding and washing must extract a portion of the oleaginous part of the cheese; therefore a great deal more care is taken in sufficiently reducing it with the knife rapidly worked about the tub before the curd is put into the vat. The old farmers, however, yet maintain that the whole art of making Gloucester cheese depends on this scalding process; that the fatty matter of the milk and curd is thus disposed to develope itself, and to be brought so far out, as to form afterwards the uniform rich substance for which the Gloucester cheese is celebrated.

At the expiration of twenty-four hours the cheeses are well rubbed with salt. This is repeated daily, for three days, for the single, and four days for the double Gloucestert ; the cloths being now taken away, and the cheeses regularly returned to the press for four, or five, or six days, ac- cording to the state of the weather. ‘They are then put upon the shelf, or “tack,” and turned twice in the day, for two or three days; and then placed in the cheese-room, where: they are turned once in the day

* Dr. Rudge says, that the rennet is sometimes made two months before it is wanted. To twelve gallons of water are usually added twelve pounds of common salt, and one pound of bay-salt. This is boiled until it will bear an egg. It is strained when cool, and twenty- four Irish “ vells”? or stomachs, and twelve lemons with the rinds on, but incisions made into them, and two ounces of cloves and cinnamon, are then put into the liquor.

+ The “Single Gloucester” is the skim-milk cheese; the ‘ Double Gloucester,” or “ best making ” cheese, is manufactured from the pure or unskimmed milk ; although it is not unusual in a large dairy to set aside sufficient milk to afford cream and butter enough for the family, and afterwards to add it to the next day’s milking. These are sometimes called “Coward” cheeses; they are either thin, weighing about 16 lbs, per cheese, or thick, averaging from 30 Ibs. to 40 Ibs.

The best “Single Gloucester” is either the “ two-meal cheese,” made of equal por- tions of unskimmed and skimmed milk, or sometimes two portions of skimmed milk, and one part of pure or “coward”? milk. The inferior cheese, acknowledged to be the skim- cheese, is what its name imports it to be; and the dairymaid usually skims it often enough before she converts it into curd.

THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE BREED. 39

fora month. They are then scraped clean, and painted red or brown, or a mixture of both. After a few days the paint is rubbed off from the edges, and the cheese is continued to be turned once or twice every week.

In some dairies the floor of the cheese-room is well rubbed with a variety of herbs, among which are elder-leaves, potato-stalks, mint, &c. This is Supposed to answer the double purpose of giving the cheese a coat, and also preventing the “‘mints” or mites from getting into it, Others not only avoid this unclean practice, but wash the new-made cheeses with hot whey once a fortnight. This is said to give a firmer coat; at least, it gives a cleaner one

There is nothing very peculiar in all this process, except the more than usually slight agitation of the milk before it is set with the rennet, and the great care with regard to the degree of temperature. Something, perhaps, may be attributed to a less degree of squeezing with the hand in bruizing the curd, when a great deal of the fatty matter of the cheese may be pressed out, the knife being more used than the hand jn dividing it.

The principal characteristics of the Gloucester cheese are its richness, and its smooth and oily texture instead of breaking when cut, and its retaining fatty matter so perfectly in the operation of toasting. ~-

We have already related the manner in which Cheddar cheese is made to resemble the double Gloucester.

A little before Michaelmas the cheese is submitted to the factor, who often adopts a very summary way of examining it. He treads upon each cheese, and those which yield to the tread he condemnsas “heaved” or “ hoved,” and are kept for home, or, at least, for country consumption. Many causes have been assigned for this ‘ heaving.” Some attri- bute it to the pasture. It is said to have been too luxuriant, or to have had too many early plants in it. The dairymaid always stoutly maintains this, Others, with more justice, say that it is the fault of the maker :— the curd was produced too quickly, either by making the milk too hot, or adding too much rennet, or by removing the cheese too soon toa close and hot room. The cheese-rooms are generally far too hot, and probably encourage thts fermentation in the new-made cheese. They should be as cool and airy as possible. Some farmers prefer a stone floor for it, and with reason, The chief cause, however, is to be sought for in vhe first making.

As may be supposed, the grazing of cattle is comparatively neglected in this dairy district. Some of the farmers, however, buy in small Welsh beasts, principally heifers, “burries,” and turn them on the rouen in August, They remain there until the following spring, being occasionally supplied with hay, as the season may demand, and are then in good con- dition, and yield a fair remunerating price.

In the neighbourhood of Gloucester, however, a considerable number of oxen, principally of the Hereford breed, are fattened. If in poor con- dition they are bought in the spring, and, after running on the summer pastures until winter, are finished off in the stall. A more unprofitable way is to buy them in forward condition in the autumn, and feed them on hay with oil-cakes. Some from the lower part of the country are sent to Bristol or Bath ; but the greater part of them are destined for the Smith- field market.

[The Sussex Ox] ; SUSSEX.

Some of the ancient Britons sought refuge from the attacks of their in- vaders, amid the fastnesses of the Weald of East Sussex. Thither they drove, or there they found, some of the native cattle of the country; and, as in the north of Devon, and, as will be presently seen, in the mountains of Wales, and the Highlands of Scotland, they anxiously preserved them free from all admixture, as relics of happier times, and records of what Britain once possessed.

The resemblance between the Sussex and the Devon oxen is very great, They unquestionably betray the same origin. Lord Sheffield thought that there were two breeds of Sussex cattle ; one the larger and coarser, scarcely different from the Hereford, except that they had no white about them, and which were a mixture of the old Sussex with other breeds from the east and the west, and which having been fed on richer pasture, had acquired a larger growth: the lighter breed bore about it unequivocal marks of its being of the same common stock as the Devon.

One of the best descriptions that we have of the Sussex ox is given by that excellent agriculturist Mr. Ellman, of Glynde, to whom the eastern part of that county is much indebted for the preservation of its Native breed of cattle, and the great improvement of the South-Down sheep. He speaks of the Sussex ox as ‘having a small and well-formed head; and so it has, compared with many other breeds, and even with the Hereford, but evidently coarser than that of the Devon; the horns pushing forwards a little, and then turning upwards, thin, tapering and long—not so as to confound this breed with the long horns, and yet in some cases a little approaching to them. The eye is full, large, and mild in the ox; but with some degree of unquietness in the cow. The throat clean; and the neck, compared with either the long horns or the short ones, long and thin, yet evidently coarser than that of the Devon.

At the shoulder is the main point of difference, and the principal defect in the Sussex cattle. There is more wideness and roundness on the withers,—it is a straighter line from the summit of the withers towards the back,—there is no projecting point of the shoulder when the animal is

THE SUSSEX BREED. ål

looked at from behind, but the whole of the fore-quarter is thickly covered with flesh, giving too much weight to the coarser and less profit- able parts*. This is certainly a defect, but it is counterbalanced by many admirable points. If there is more weight in front, the fore legs are neces- sarily wider apart, straighter, and more perpendicular than in the Devon ; they are placed more under the body rather than seeming to be attached to the sides. The fore-arm is large and muscular, but the legs, although coarser than those of the Devon, are small and fine downwards, and par- ticularly below the fetlock. The barrel is round and deep—the back straight—no rising spinal processes are to be seen, but rather a central depression ; and the line of the back, if broken, is only done.so by a lump of fat rising between the hips. The belly and flank are capacious,—there is room before for the heart and lungs to prepare and circulate the blood, and there is room behind, in the capacious belly, for the full development of all the organs of digestion ; yet the beast is well ribbed home, the space between the last rib and the hip-bone is often very smal], and there is no hanging heaviness of the belly or flank. The loins of the Sussex ox are wide: the hip-bone does not rise high, nor is it ragged externally ; but it is large and spread out, and the space between the hips is well filled up.

The tail, which is fine and thin, is set on lower than in the Devon, yet the rump is nearly as straight, for the deficiency is supplied by a mass of flesh and fat swelling above. The hind quarters are cleanly made, and if the thighs appear to be straight without, there is plenty of fulness within.

The Sussex ox holds an intermediate place between the Devon and the Hereford, with all the activity of the first, and the strength of the second, and the propensity to fatten, and the beautiful, fine-grained flesh of both. Experience has shown that it possesses as many of the good qualities of both as can be combined in one frame. The Devons and the Herefords are said by some to have been improved by one judicious cross with the other; but a cross with the Hereford often produces, in the Sussex, a heavier animal, it is true, yet not fattening so profitably, or working so kindly. Some graziers, however, have very ingeniously explained this, by the dif- ferent parts on which the Hereford and Sussex cattle usually carry their fat. The Hereford bears it upon the ribs and the sirloin; the Sussex more on the flank and the inside. There may be some truth in this: yet it cannot be denied that the Herefords carry theirs in the best places ; and it is on this account that the prize is so often adjudged to them at the cattle-shows, and particularly at Smithfield. When the Sussex has been crossed with the Devon a lighter breed has resulted, but not gaining in activity, while it is materially deteriorated in its grazing properties.

The Sussex ox is of a deep chestnut-red—some, however, prefer a blood-bay: much deviation from these colours generally indicates some stain in the breed. The black, or black and white, which is sometimes met with, generally indicates a cross from the Welsh. The white may

* Mr. W. Pitt, the author of some of the Agricultural Surveys, pronounces this breed to be comparatively much inferior to a good selection from the Lancashire, Hereford, or Shropshire breeds; and he says, “I cannot help thinking them, on comparison with some other breeds, though a weighty, yet an uncouth and coarse animal.” On this the Rev, A. Young very properly remarks, “There is no knowing what is meant by such expres- sions as that Sussex oxen are uncouth and coarse animals. If it implies a coarse and thick and rough hide, or a hard and coarse-grained flesh, nothing was ever further re- moved from fact than such an assertion, Sussex oxen are as remarkable for the fineness of their hides as they are for the closeness and delicacy of their flesh, In his own Staf- fordshire long-horns, there does not exist any shadow of comparison for feeding, grazing, or working. In quality of flesh, thriving disposition, &c., both the Sussex and evons ex. ceed you, and Hereford leaves you far behind,’’— Survey of Sussex,

CS

werk

42 CATTLE,

possibly remind us more of the original wild breed; a few of which, as we have remarked, remain at Chillingham, and which we shall also trace in other parts. It would be satisfactory if we could discover the origin of these red breeds, for we suspect they were not always so. Mr. Davis, of Glynde, once had a black ox, with a white face, from a red cow, by ared bull, A few approach to a yellow colour, but they are weakly and apt to scour,

The hide of the true Sussex is soft and mellow ; a coarse, harsh, thick hide is supposed to denote here, as in every other district, an ill-bred, or an unthrifty beast The coat is short and sleek. There is seldom found on the Sussex ox that profusion of soft and wavy, and, occasionally, lone hair, which, alvaough it may have an appearance of roughness, is consistent with a mellow and yielding hide, and one of the truest indications of more than usual propensity to fatten.

In order fairly to estimate the working properties of the Sussex ox, the two breeds of which Lord Sheffield has spoken must not be forgotten ; and the confounding of them has given rise to much of the confusion and contradiction which exist in the accounts of several writers,

The propartion of the labour performed by oxen is different in different parts of the county. About the South Downs, oxen are much employed, but not, perhaps, in an equal degree to horses. In the weald of Sussex, they have the greater share of the labour; and on a farm of about 100 acres, there is usually a horse and an ox team—on a larger farm there are more oxen. Many farms of 150 or 200 acres have from ten to twelve working oxen. These have grass and straw until they begin to work, and then cut hay is mixed with their straw.

The coarser breed is always slow, and soon after six years old, it can scarcely be worked at all with advantage. The lighter breed, the true Sussex of many a century, will step out as light and as fast, and will do almost as much work as any horse, and stand as many or more dead pulls, Some teams have been known to travel fifteen miles a day, with heavy loads for several successive weeks, and without the slightest distress.

Of the speed which some of them possess proof was given when a Sussex ox ran four miles against time over the Lewes race-course, and accomplished the distance in sixteen minutes. Formerly, as many as four pairs of oxen were not unfrequently seen attached to a single plough or waggon, and they certainly used to pull well together ; but they who un- derstand the power and the honesty of these animals rarely attach more than two pairs. Some of them have been worked, and particularly by Lord Sheffield, harngssed in every respect like horses, and they answered as truly aud as easily to the rein.

Some have used spayed heifers both for the plough and for draught, with manifest advantage. Many farmers keep their oxen as Jong as they continue to do their work well, and sometimes until they are twelve years old, and they maintain that the beasts will then fatten quite as well as at an earlier age. Lord Sheffield fattened two of more than twelve years, to the great weight of 210 stones. Experience, however, does not confirm this as a general rule. An old ox takes longer to fatten than a younger one ; and after all there is generally a patchiness and unevenness about him, which do not please the eye, or answer in the market. Other farmers work them during a much shorter period; and they believe that if they have ten oxen or heifers at work on their farm, the most profitable plan is to sell off five or six every year, and break in an equal number to succeed them. The beasts will thus be broken in at three years old,—worked until five or six, and then fattened, and if they do not always grow to so large a size, they improve more rapidly and profitably.

TT aT ET rs Sl

THE SUSSEX BREED. 43

Although it is yet an undecided point at what age an ox that has been worked will fatten most speedily and kindly, it cannot be denied, that he never is in so good condition for work, and never so healthy, or so little troublesome as at six years’ old. So far as their work is concerned, we should prefer a nine or ten-year-old ox, to any four or five-year-old one. The youngsters are often a great plague to their owners, not only in the breaking in, and especially if, as upon this plan, five or six are to be added. to the team every year; but, like the young horse, they. are too fre- quently ailing—they are injured by their work, or the diseases to which they would otherwise be subject are increased by their work,

The general practice of the county, undoubtedly, is to turn the oxen off at six, and slaughter them at seven; but we are inclined to doubt the pro- priety of it. The system of recruiting the team so frequently has many inconveniencies. Mr. Young tells us that Lord Egremont had a pair of Sussex oxen in the eleventh year of their age, which for seven years had done as much ploughing and carting as any two horses in the county ; and then, with half a summer’s grass after having been taken from the collar, and an autumn’s rouen, they were, without other food, sent to Smithfield, and sold for eighty guineas.

The oxen are usually drafted from the team when the spring-sowing is over ; they are then turned into the lower or marsh land, in the proportion of one ox to an acre, if the land is tolerably good, and are there pre- pared for the winter stall-feeding. Sheep are generally mingled with the oxen. In the level of Pevensey, where there is plenty of water, and the grass is abundant, there are many cattle, although sheep are even there increasing ; but at Winchelsea and Rye, there are most sheep, and only one bullock to every four acres, in order to keep the pasture even. After the hay is cut and carried, the pastures are usually occupied by cattle and sheep; but the reservation of rouen for the pinching part of the spring when all artificial provender fails, or before the young clover and other grasses have begun to shoot, is comparatively unknown.

Stall-feeding is very much practised in Sussex, and Lord Egremont used to have his milch cows tied up during the greater part of the year, He maintained, that one-third of the food was saved,—that the cows were fed with a fourth part of the usual trouble,—that more dung was made,—and that there was no poaching the ground.

The oxen are gradually accustomed to their stalls; they are at first brought in only at night; but,as the winter approaches, they are con- stantly tied up. Comparing even the system of yard-feeding with the fattening in stalls, Mr. Ellman, of Glynde (a skilful as well as zealous agri turist, and whose opinion is of weight in cases like these), found that nine _ oxen, fed loose in the yard, consumed, in destroying as well as eating, as much as twelve oxen that were tied up. Many graziers, however, and particularly in the midland districts, maintain that an ox loose in the yard will fatten quicker than one that is tied up.

The average weight of the Sussex cattle when brought to Smithfield is about 120 stones; but they have been slaughtered as high as 216 stones. One belonging to Mr. Ellman, weighing 214 stones, measured from the crown of the head to the rump, 9 feet 6 inches. The girth before the shoulder was 9 feet 5 inches; behind the shoulder, 9 feet; round the middle, 10 feet ; round the flank, 9 feet; and from the nostril to the tip of the tail, was a distance of 14 feet 8 inches.

Mr. Edsaw, of Fettleworth, who was partial to large cattle, has had them 6 feet high behind, and 5} feet before, and 10% feet girth over the heart. Two of them weighed 216 stones each.

d4 CATTLE.

The Sussex cow, like the Hereford one, is very inferior to the ox; she seems to be almost another kind of animal. The breeder has endeavoured ; : 3 5 sot 5)

but with comparatively little success, to give to the heifer the same p

oints that the ox possesses,

[The Sussex Cow. ]

The Rev. A. Young thus describes what the Sussex cow ought to be, and some may be found to resemble the portrait :—" The true cow has a deep red colour, the hair fine, and the skin mellow, thin and soft ; a small head ; a fine horn, thin, clean, and transparent, which should run out hori- zontally, and afterwards turn up at the tips; the neck very thin and clean made; asmall leg; a straight top and bottom, with round and springing ribs; thick chine; loin, hips, and rump wide; shoulder flat—but the pro- jection of the point of the shoulder is not liked, as the cattle subject to this defect are usually coarse; the legs should be rather short; carcase large ; the tail should be level with the rump: a ridged back-bone, thin and hollow chines, are great defects in this breed.” ~The Sussex cow does not answer for the dairy. Although her milk js of very good quality, it is so inferior in quantity to that of the Holderness or the Suffolk, that she is little regarded for the making of butter or cheese. Almost every mongrel breed finds its way into the Dairy in pre- ference to her. A cross, however, has been attempted, and with some success, between the Sussex and the Suffolk, retaining to a very fair de- gree the fattening properties of the one, and the disposition of the other to give a considerable quantity of good milk. ;

Old Herbert says, that ‘ while the Sussex oxen carry too much weight on their coarser parts, the heifers and cows are better made, and carry much of their weight on their backs ;” and he affirms that “= they are sure breeders, good at the pail, and handsome.” The cow is lighter hefore, but she is deficient in other points ; and as to her being good at the pail, the fact that so few of them are kept as dairy cows, even in Sussex, is a sufficient proof that they are not so.

: There are some exceptions, however, to this. Lord Hampden, of Glynde, had a cow which, in the height of the season, yielded ten pounds of butter and twelve pounds of cheese every week, and yet her quantity of

THE SUSSEX BREED. 45

milk rarely exceeded five gallons per day. The next year the same cow gave 94 lbs, of butter per week for several weeks, and then for the rest of the summer 8 lbs., or 84 lbs., per week; and until the hard frost set in, 7 lbs., —and 4 lbs. per week during the frost. Yet as a proof of the quality of the milk, she at no time gave more than five gallons in the day. Mr. Young adds to this, that “four or five years before, the same person had a fine black Sussex cow from Lord Gage, which also gave, in the height of the season, five gallons per day, but no more than 5lbs. of butter were ever made from it.’ This is accounted for in a singular way; for there is a com- mon opinion (a prejudice, we should be disposed to call it) in the east of Sussex, that “the milk of a black cow never gives so much butter as that of a red one.” .

It must be confessed that there is one great fault about the Sussex cows, seemingly inconsistent with their propensity to fatten, and which cannot be remedied. Their very countenance indicates an unquiet temper ; and they are often restless and dissatisfied, prowling about the hedge-rows, and en- deavouring to break pasture, and especially if they are taken from the farm on which they were bred.

They are principally kept as breeders, all the use being made of them at the same time as dairy cows of which circumstances will admit. And it cannot be denied that they are generally in fair condition, even while they are milking; and that no beasts, except their kindred, the Devons and the Herefords, will thrive so speedily after they are dried. The secretion of milk being stopped, the Sussex cow will fatten even quicker than the ox. It must, however, be acknowledged that the Sussex cows are not perfect, even as breeders; and that, unless a great deal of care is taken that the cow shall not be in too good condition at the time of calving, she is subject to puerperal fever, or ‘dropping ;’ while many a calf is lost from the too stimulating quality of her milk.

Next to the cross with the Suffolk for the improvement of the milk is that with the Jersey, or French cow ; but there can scarcely be said to be a decided breed for the dairy in any part of Sussex.

Nearly all the calves are reared,—-the males for work, and the females for breeding or early fattening. The following is a fair specimen of the breed- ing and grazing department of an ordinary East Sussex farm. A farm is selected, on which eight cows, on the average, are kept ;—then it is sup- posed that there will generally be six calves, six yearlings, six two-year- olds, four three-year-olds beginning to work, four four-year-olds, four five year, and four six-year-olds. On some farms the calves are calculated as being, occasional losses excepted, equal to the number of cows, and the females are quite sufficient to keep up the stock. ‘The calves are generally cut at seven weeks old ; they are permitted to suck for ten or thirteen weeks, and are weaned by being shut up, and having a little grass given to them until they have forgotten the dam, when they are turned out. During the first winter they are fed with the best hay, and after that they have grass, and occasionally some straw, until the second Christmas is passed, when they are broken in for working. A good cow, after her own calf has been weaned, will suckle another, and sometimes even two others, for the butcher.

Mr. Young gives the following, as Lord Egremont’s cattle system for work :—“ The calves are dropped from December to the end of February. They are weaned immediately, never letting them suck at all; but the milk is given for three days as it comes from the cow. For weaning on skim- milk they ought to fall about December, and then they should be kept warm by housing, and thus they will be equally forward with calves dropped late in the spring that run with the cow. With the skim-milk some oatmeal is

Ca Spanner eee — Ne SS gh E a N RR

lat My a ey

46

given, but not till two months old, and then only because the number of calves is too great for the quantity of milk. Water and oatmeal are afterwards mixed with it. A heifer, however, with her first calf is supposed to suckle it the whole season, in order to make her a good milker; but with the second calf she is treated like the rest. In May they are turned to grass. During the first winter they are fed upon rouen. The follow- ing summer they are at grass; the second winter out at straw, of which they eat very little, as they run out on short rough grass. They have been tried on hay alone, but straw and grass do better. The following summer they are fed on grass, and are broken in at Christmas, being three years old. They are at first lightly worked ; for the only object is to break them in, in order that their regular work may begin in the spring. From that time their winter food is straw, with the addition of a ton and a half of clover hay, given between the finishing of straw and going to grass, and in order to prepare them for the spring-sowing. They are worked about four years and a half, and then fattened.” When at straw in the winter they work three days in the week, and ry day. Mr. Young adds a remark which may deserve consideration ; that when an ox will not bear hard work and hard food,

| he should be put to fatten, and, probably, he will thrive as well as one

that would stand work and hardship better, for the qualities of fattening well, and bearing hard work, are distinct, The bull is changed every two years by the best breeders, from the

| supposition that the breeding in and in will cause the stock to de-

generate.

The system of working in collars instead of yokes was once very pre- valent in Sussex; but experience has not shown that it is decidedly supe- rior to the old method of yoking them to the ploughs.

In some parts of Sussex there is a breed of black cattle, said to have been introduced by Mr. Marten of Tirle. They are probably a cross of the Sussex cow with a South Wales bull, and they retain a great deal of the shape and form of the best blood of Sussex. They are as heavy, and work well; but they are exceedingly troublesome to break in.

Of the west of Sussex, little can be said with regard to any prevailing breed. Mr. James Hack, who resides in the neighbourhood of Chichester, and to whom we are indebted for some excellent remarks, fattens some Devons; but he prefers the Pembrokeshire black oxen, for they are heavier in flesh, more hardy, and can better endure every variation of tem- perature. Mr. Postlethwaite, of the same neighbourhood, describes the dairy cows as consisting of a strange mixture of short-horns, Devons, Sus- sex, and French, Mr. Henry Freeland, of Appledram, near Chichester, prefers a cross of the Sussex with the Suffolk polls for the pail.

KENT.

In the western part, or the weald of Kent, the Sussex oxen are much used for the plough and for the road ; but there, as in Sussex, the dairy cattle are drawn from other counties. They are principally Welsh, or a stratige and varying mixture of the Sussex, the Staffordshire, and the Welsh. Even in the Weaid, the Sussex cattle are, with very few excep- tions, kept only for the purpose of grazing. Their young cattle, of whatever kind, are usually sent to Romney Marsh in the summer. The farmer in the Weald would not know what to do with his bullocks at that time of the year, because most of his pasture must be reserved for hay, or food for his dairy They are sent about the middle of May, and return at

THE KENTISH BREED. 47

the end of September, when they are put on the inferior grass lands; and in winter they are sent to the straw-yard, or served with hay in the field. On the other hand, the Romney Marsh graziers send the greater part of their lambs to the Weald for the winter. They go in September, and are brought back in April. This interchange of stock is convenient and pro- fitable for both parties. The Weald farmer keeps the lambs about thirty weeks, and the Marsh farmer grazes the cattle during twenty weeks.

At three years old the heifer, and the steer at four years old, is ready to fatten. Better food is then allowed them. They are kept on the best grass and hay that the farm can afford. The hay of the old meadows is generally reserved for the fattening of cattle. Of those that are kept at home, the pastures are first stocked with milch cows, to take off the head- grass, and the leaner cattle and the working oxen follow them; and thus “several fields are fed down in succession during the summer.

The practice of fattening cattle with distillers’ wash commenced at Bromley: it was afterwards adopted in the distilleries of Middlesex, of which we shall give a particular account in the proper place.

So far as cattle, however, are concerned, Kent can scarcely be said to be either a breeding or a dairy county. In the east of Kent especially, few cattle are bred. The polled Scots are bought for summer-grazing or the Welsh are purchased at Canterbury, or other markets. The prin- cipal dairy cows are selected from them; the rest are kept in the farm-yard for the winter, and in the Spring are placed among the sheep, where they fatten rapidly, and reach from twenty to twenty-two scores.

Some graziers buy Welsh calves in the autumn, and put them out to keepin the farm-yards for the winter: in the spring they place them among their sheep, where they get fat in a few months; and weigh from 18 to 22 scores.

In some parts of Kent oxen are stall-fed on oil-cake and hay, for the purpose of supplying manure for the hop-grounds, ‘This purpose may probably be answered, in regard to the manure, but the fattening of the ox in this way must be far from profitable.

There are very few dairy-farms in any part of Kent; sufficient pasture- land; to keep a few cows to supply the family with milk and butter, and per- haps a little fresh butter for sale, is all that the best upland farms will yield.

The native cattle of Kent deserve more attention than has been hitherto paid to them. Mr. Boys says, that ‘they are of a deep-red colour, with small bone, and a kindly-soft skin. They have a great breadth of loin and length of sirloin and rump, and a small head and neck; the horns short and standing upwards, and they have a ready disposition to fatten.”

WALES.

To the Principality we naturally look for some trace of the native breed of cattle, for the Welsh were never entirely subdued by any of the early invaders. The Romans possessed merely a portion of that country; the Saxons scarcely penetrated at all into Wales, or not beyond the county of Monmouth; the Welsh long resisted the superior power of the English under the Norman kings; and it was not until late in the thirteenth cen- tury that the Principality was annexed to the crown of England. We therefore expect to find more decided specimens of the native productions of our island: nor are we altogether disappointed. Howell Dha, or Howell the Good, describes some of the Welsh cattle in the tenth century,

48 ; deny feo CATTLE,

as being “ white with red ears,” resembling the wild cattle of Chillingham Castle. An early record speaks of a hundred white cows with red ears being demanded as a compensation for certain offences against- the Princes both of North and South Wales. If the cattle were of a dark or black colour, 150 were to be presented. When the Cambrian princes did homage to the King of England, the same number of cattle, and of the same description, were rendered in acknowledgment of sovereignty, Speed tells us that Maud de Breos, in order to appease King John, whom \her husband had offended, sent to his Queen a present from Brecknock- shire of 400 cows and a bull, all white and with red ears. Whether this

was the usual colour of the ancient breed of Welsh and British cattle, or a rare variety, esteemed on account of its beauty, and chiefly preserved in the parks of the nobles, we are unable to determine. The latter is the most probable supposition ; and the same records that describe the “ white cattle with red ears,” speak also of the “ dark or black-coloured breed,” which now exists, and which is general throughout the principality.

The principal and the most valuable portion of the cattle of Wales are middle horns. They are indeed stunted in their growth, from the scanty food which their mountains yield, but they bear about them, in miniature, many of the points of the Devon, Sussex, and Hereford cattle. We will first consider the cattle of South Wales.

[ The Pembroke Ox.]

SOUTH WALES. PEMBROKESHIRE. Grear Barratn does not afford a more useful animal than the Pembroke Cow orox. It is black ; the great majority of them are entirely so; a few have white faces, or a little white about the tail, or the udders; and the horns are white. The latter turn up in a way characteristic of the breed, and indeed the general form of the cattle undeniably betrays their early origin. ‘They are shorter legged than most of the Welsh breeds, but longer than the Montgomeries, and have round and deep carcases. They have a peculiarly lively look and good eye. The hair is rough, but short, and the hide is not thick, The bones, although not so smal] as in the

.THE GLAMORGANSHIRE BREED, 49

improved long horns, are far from large; and the Pembrokeshire cattle mingle, to a considerable degree, and as far perhaps as they can be combined, the two opposite qualities, of being very fair milkers, with a propensity to fatten. The meat is generally beautifully marbled. It is equal to that of the Scotch cattle, and some epicures prefer it. They thrive in every situation. They will live where others starve, and they will rapidly outstrip most others when they have plenty of good pasture. The Glamorgans would probably get the start of the Pembrokes on good pasture ; but on the rough and barren tracts, which are to be found in both counties, the Pembrokes would decidedly obtain the advantage, and are, therefore, purchased by many of the Glamorganshire farmers. The Pembroke cow has been called the poor man’s cow : it is perhaps one of the best cottager’s cows, while it is equally profitable to the larger farmer We shall see, when we come to describe the Anglesey breed, that the ori. ginal cattle of North and South Wales are essentially the same; they are, however, finer in the head, neck, and breast, than the Anglesey beasts, but not so fine as the Glamorganshire cattle. i ;

The Pembrokes are found in Carmarthenshire, Cardigan, and Brecon, and, indeed, in every bordering county, mixed with the different breeds of each, and imparting to each its very best qualities. They bear no slight resemblance to the Kyloes.

The Pembroke ox is, like the Devon, a speedy and an honest worker,— fit for the road as well as the plough,—and when taken from work fatten- ing as speedily as he does. Heis not quite so tractable as the Glamor- gan, but easily managed if no foolish violence is resorted to... Great num- bers of them are brought to the London market—they stand their journey well and find a ready sale, for they rarely disappoint the butcher; but, on the contrary, prove better than appearance and touch indicated... The Pembroke oxen get rid of their steer-like appearance sooner than most other cattle. At three years old they have. generally the true character of the ox about them; and, in their fourth year, they are usually ready for the market. The Pembrokeshire cow is usually, black, with occa- sionally a dark brown, or, less frequently, a white ‘face, or a white line along the back. Mr. Davies describes her as being “ fine-boned, with a clean light neck and head, small yellow horns inclining upwards, good chine and loin, round long barrel, thin thigh and short legs: she is always in good condition if tolerably ‘kept, and has a rich wave in her hair, and an oiliness of skin, which ever denote thriftiness.” This is true with re- gard to some of the best cows, but there are many exceptions. . With all these good points, proving her value asa grazing animal, the Pembroke cow is, as we have deseribed her, a very fair milker, and will yield 5lbs. of butter per week during the dairy season.

GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Tur Glamorgans were once in high repute, and deservedly so. George III., who was a good judge of cattle, was very partial to them, and one of his agents yearly visited Glamorganshire, to keep up his Majesty’s stock by a selection of the best cattle that county could produce; and the farm at Windsor is still frequently recruited from this district. For the most valuable portion of the following account of their early history and present State we are chiefly indebted to Mr. Moggridge, of Newport, and Mr. David, of Radyr. To the latter gentleman, whose tact and skill as a breeder need no eulogy of ours, and whose side-board is loaded with the testimonies of the superiority of his cattle, we acknowledge peculiar obli- gation. We have also extracted some useful matter from Davis’s excel- E

60 CATTLE.

lent “ Survey of South Wales,” a very rare book, and completely out of print.

D. 'T., the Welsh topographer, who wrote in the Cambrian language in 1720, speaks of the cows as being large, some red, and some pied, ona sleek coat-and a fine head. Although we have traced the white ox with red ears to Glamorgan, and the neighbouring county, Brecon, yet the old legends agree that the domesticated breed was of a reddish colour, and that they had some of the Norman and Devon blood in them. This is ac- counted for by-some of the chroniclers. A great part of Glamorgan was, in the twelfth century, seized by Robert Fitzhamon and other Norman Knights. Their connexion with their native country did not im- mediately cease, and they introduced some of the Norman cattle into South Wales. The swelling crest of the Glamorgan ox at once reminds us of the Norman bull. Did they spread from Glamorganshire to Angle- sey, the cattle of which island are also recognized by the peculiar swelling ‘of the breast, and lofty bearing of the head; or may we consider this state- liness of appearance as indicative, in both districts, of the native breed ?

We are also told that Sir Richard de Grenaville, one of the Knights who divided among them the Lordship of Neath, also possessed the castle of Bideford, on the northern coast of Devonshire, and introduced many of the Devon cattle. This we can easily imagine, for in the old red-cow, which we can recollect nearly fifty years ago, an admixture of Devon blood could not be for a moment mistaken, and it is even yet evident in the horns, the lively countenance, and the deer-like head and neck. The red, however, -was then degenerating into brown, and the brown has been gradually darkening from crosses with the Pembroke black. Some of the original reds are to be met with occasionally in the hilly districts, and particularly in the neighbourhood of Aberdare ; but the poverty of the soil has much reduced their size. Not a great many years ago there was in ihe valleys of the Neath and the Towy, a breed of cattle of a light red colour, and with white faces, which were said to have been the ancient stock of the vale of Glamorgan. Although not so large as the brown breed of the vale, they were good milkers, and fattened kindly. The were not, however, always bare, but occasionally crossed with the stunted blacks of the neighbouring parts of Carmarthenshire.

The Glamorganshire farmers, of half a century ago, took great pride in their eattle, and evinced much judgment in their breeding and selection. ‘There was one principle from which they never deviated ;—they admitted no admixture of foreign blood, and they produced the Glamorgan ox, so much admired for activity and strength, and aptitude to fatten; and the cow, if it did not vie with the best milkers, yielded a good remunerating profit to the dairyman.,

They were of a dark-brown colour with white bellies, and a streak of white along the back from the shoulder to the tail. They had clean heads, tapering from the neck and shoulders; long white horns, turning upwards; and a lively countenance. Their dewlaps were small, the hair short, and the coat silky. If there was any fault, it was that the rump, or setting on of the tail, was too high above the level of the back to accord with the modern notions of symmetry.

Forty years, ago the breed was eagerly sought after by the most skilful breeders in Leicester, Northampton, Warwick, and Wilts. Their aptitude to fatten rendered them exceedingly profitable when taken from the plough at six or seven years old, and they were brought to great perfection on the rich English pastures,—frequently weighing more than twenty scores per quarter. The beef was beautifully veined and marbled, the inside of the

THE GLAMORGANSHIRE BREED.

animal was well lined with tallow, and the Glamorgans commanded the highest price both in the metropolitan and provincial market. Mr. Davies, who wrote in the year 1814, says that-“ among the Glamorgan-vale browns good cow-beef weighs from eight to ten score pounds per quarter, although some weigh as much as twelve or thirteen scores. Ox-beef is from twelve to fourteen scores per quarter ; some, however, have reached eighteen, and even twenty scores.

The steers were seldom yoked until three years old; they were then. moderately worked for three or four years and well kept; and, after a few weeks’ rest, they were usually disposed of at the large spring fairs in this county, which then displayed a collection of fine oxen, not often surpassed in any of the English districts,

During the French revolutionary war the excessive price of corn attracted the attention of the Glamorganshire farmers to the increased cultivation of it, and a great proportion of the best pastures were turned over by the plough, Turnip-husbandry necessarily followed; and then the improve- ment of their sheep-stock became an object of importance, and the cattle were almost entirely neglected. A proper selection for breeding was un- attended to; the calves were generally weaned at two or three weeks old, and nursed on milk and water, hay-tea, and boiled linseed ; the produce of the cow being entirely reserved for the dairy, The steers were taken to labour when they were two years old, and seldom exceeded four years when they were disposed of; they were depastured in summer, either on land too wet to carry sheep, or too bare for corn, and in Winter they barely existed in the straw-yard.

The natural consequence of inattention and starvation was, that the breed greatly degenerated in its disposition to fatten, and, certainly, with many exceptions, but yet, as their general character, the Glamorganshire caltle became and are flat-sided, sharp in the hip-joints and shoulders, high in the rump, too long in the legs, with thick skins, and a delicate Constitution.

The Glamorganshire farmer was startled at the necessary result of this alteration of system. His cattle, instead of being eagerly sought after, and sold at an extravagant price, could scarcely be sold at all, or only at a Serious loss. He was unwilling at first to acknowledge the real cause of this deterioration and diminution of value, and many of the breeders, even at the present day, take little or no pains to redeem their error.

A few spirited individuals, however, set the example; and others have been incited by their zeal and partial success to assist in endeavouring to restore the breed to its former pre-eminence, or, at least, to adapt it to the Coarser fare which, under the altered state of husbandry, must now be to a great degree its lot.

Among these, and one of the most skilful and successful of them, was Mr. David, of Radyr, whose sketch of the deterioration and regeneration’ of the breed we are giving our readers in a somewhat condensed form. The result of these attempts has been, that, in the recent exhibitions of . stock atTredegar, the revived and pure Glamorgans haye often success- fully competed with the short-horns and the Herefords ; and Mr. David has received, at Sir Charles Morgan’s cattle shows, no less than twelve Silver cups for his Glamorgans.

The work of improvement, however, as yet has been, and could only be, in few hands, It is comparatively easy to keep up a good breed ; but to regenerate a bad one, or, at least, a deteriorated one, requires skill, capital, and Perseverance ; and these called into active requisition in the face of hard times, and with little or no prospect of obtaining remunerating

Es

52 ‘CATTLE.

prices. Therefore it must be acknowledged at present, and perhaps it must long continue to be the fact, that the Glamorgans, generally, are far from being what they once were. They continue, however, to maintain their character for stoutness and activity, and are still profitably employed in husbandry-work, Only a little while ago four Glamorgan oxen ploughed with ease half an acre of clover hay in two hours and three-quarters. The beef is still good, marbled, and good-tasted; and in proportion as the value of the ox to the grazier has decreased, the value of the cow has þe- come enhanced for the dairy. He who is accustomed to cattle will under- stand the meaning of this; and the kind of incompatibility between an aptitude to fatten in little time, and on spare keep, and the property of yielding a more than average quantity of milk. $

Even Mr. David acknowledges that he had not succeeded to his perfect satisfaction in reproducing the old breed, which combined so much of both these excellencies ; and therefore he, and the most scientific breeders of the county, began to be weary of this strict adherence to the Glamor- ganshire breed, and to consider whether it might not be possible, by judi- cious crossing with the cattle of other districts, to obtain an animal better suited to the present state of the country.

[The Glamorganshire Ox.]

The interest of the grazier were first considered, and the comparative slowness in feeding in the present Glamorgans was attempted to be ob- viated by crossing with the Hereford bull. This to a considerable extent succeeded. An animal was produced well adapted for the grazier; dis- posed to accumulate flesh, and of a hardier constitution: but the ox was a little injured for the yoke; the beef, as is the case with every animal that arrives at an early maturity, was not so fine ; and the value of the cow was very much diminished ; she was neither so good a milker, nor nurse. Besides this, the fattening of an animal that grew to so great a bulk as the mingled Hereford and Glamorgan, interfered too much with the present economy of Glamorganshire husbandry; and the produce of this cross did not always thrive on the scanty fare on which it was compelled to subsist.

That important and not duly appreciated fact, to which we shall often have occasion to allude, was also here very apparent. ‘The advantage of

THE GLAMORGANSHIRE BREED. 53

mingling the Hereford with the Glamorgan was evident enough in the first cross, and the farmer began to congratulate himself on the result; but after the second and third generation, the influence of the foreign blood rapidly disappeared, and the Glamorgan, with all his characteristic points and defects, again stood before us. The heavy Leicester was likewise tried, but the progeny became sluggish and unfit for labour, and slow in feeding and coarse in beef, and unfit for stocking such a district. The | influence of soil and climate on the production, and the perpetuation of certain breeds, is a circumstance that does not enter half so much into the consideration of the farmer as it ought to do, and will account for a great many of his disappointments and erroneous opinions. We shall seriously consider this subject when we come to treat of the principles of breeding.

Breeders then began to take another view of the matter. They consi- dered their cattle as mere machines for converting the raw produce of the earth into human food; and they inquired whether their soil and climate, and situation for markets, and their mode of agriculture, were best adapted for a machine to produce beef, or milk. The character and habits and employment of the inhabitants of Glamorgan had essentially changed. Mines had been sunk, and manufactures had been established in almost every part of the county. It was become a very populous district, in Which dairy produce would always command a ready sale. In addition to this, the good old custom still prevailed in this county, of farm-servants being kept under their employer’s roof; and their diet, in order to be both wholesome and economical, was chiefly derived from the dairy. As, therefore, the old Glamorgan could with so much difficulty, or scarcely at all, be reproduced, the attention of the farmer was gradually directed to the dairy.

BP ant z

[The Glamorganshire Cow.]

A first he was unwilling quite to sacrifice the old pride and boast of < mative county; and he endeavoured once more to accomplish both

objects, and he had recourse to the short-horns. A very little experience, however, convinced him that his labour would here be lost. He retained indeed the milk, but he somewhat deteriorated its quality; and the beast was slow and sluggish, and not calculated for labour, and would not thrive

54 . CATTLE.

, on the pasture and on the nourishment which this county“usually affords. ` In a happy hour he thought of the Ayrshire cow; and he brought her from her native district. Some farmers used her pure; others crossed | her with the best Glamorgan cattle; and others with still more judgment | procured the Ayrshire bull, and bred with him from the best of their own ‘heifers. The result was, an animal that yielded more milk than the old Glamorgan,—that was hardier, and could be kept, and especially in the winter, at much less expense, and that from its smaller size was more easily fattened, and better suited to the coarse fare now generally afforded her by the Glamorganshire farmer. This, then, is the breed which is becoming, and profitably so, established in the populous districts of Glamorgan. Among the improvers of the Glamorgan cattle Messrs. Bradley of Treguff must not be forgotten. Their beasts beara close resemblance to the Herefords in figure, although inferior to them in size; they feed kindly—the flesh and fat are laid equally over them—the beef is beautifully marbled, and they yield a more than.average quantity of milk. They are fattened to perfection at five years old, but not often at an earlier age ; and will become sufficiently bulky on the good pastures of the vale without any artificial food. In the hilly districts many of the old Glamorgans remain, and attempts are made to restore the character of the pure Glamorgan cattle of fifty years ago, but without that degree of success which will fairly remunerate the farmer.

‘The cut in the preceding page is the portrait of a valuable cow, belong- ing to the royal dairy at Windsor, and gives a faithful representation of the present improved breed of Glamorgan dairy-cattle.

The average quantity of milk given by a Glamorganshire cow is about sixteen quarts per day. The principal object of the dairyman is butter, of which the average produce of each cow is at least 1 cwt. during the season. The butter is esteemed ; and that which is not consumed in the home-manufactories is usually sent to the Bristol market. The Glamorgan cheese is often of an inferior kind. There used to be, and in some mea- sure there still is, an unpleasant dryness and brittleness about it, depend- ing, according to some persons, on the clover in the natural pastures, but more attributable to some mismanagement in the manufacture, or the quantity of ewe’s milk which was mingled with that of the cow.

With the establishment of a dairy breed, it has been thought by some that a little too much of the old false economy in the rearing of the calf has been re-introduced. He is early weaned; frequently in less than a week; always in little more than a fortnight, and after that he is badly sheltered and worse fed—skim milk, and not too much of that, is his only provender. This is not perhaps to be strictly defended, for it is practised on an animal that may be brought to grow to a large size, and whose constitu- tion, although improved, is none of the hardiest: yet, on the other hand, although the calf of the Hereford, or even of the short-horn, isa very supe- rior animal at a year old, it should not be forgotten that he has probably consumed the whole year’s produce of the cow, and that at weaning time he must be supported by the most nourishing food ; so that, when the balance is struck, the profits of the respective breeders may not be very different, especially if two or three cwt. of cheese and butter are added to the value of the Glamorgan yearling.

There is still another serious defect in the system of Glamorganshire ‘breeding: if the calf appears to fatten more than usually kindly, it is forth- : with sold to the butcher, and not reserved, as it should be, for the purpose : of breeding, In selecting their cattle, the first and almost only considera- : tion has reference to their milking qualities ; and a full udder will outweigh

every objection which might be made to their flat sides, large offal, long

THE MONMOUTHSHIRE BREED. 55

legs, coarse shoulders, and thin skin. In some parts of Glamorganshire the pure Herefords are cultivated in preference to any mixture with the native breed. Mr. Bradley, who resides near Cardiff, is partial to the Herefords, and his stock does not yield to many in the neighbourhood, or in the county generally

The hilly, or rather the mountainous district, forms the greater, although not the most populous, part of this county. Mr. Jenkins, of St. y Nill, informs us that, from the retired and attentive habits of the farmers, and especially from the comparatively small part of the county that could be submitted to the plough, the cattle of the hills have, in a great measure, escaped the deterioration of those in the vale. They are browner than those in the vale, well bodied, and with short legs. Few crosses have been attempted among them. They are hardier than those in the vale, and advantage is often’ taken of this to expose them to too much privation. While the vale-cattle are wintered, and often badly enough in the straw- yard, the hill-cattle have nothing but hay from poor peaty meadows, whose produce is not more than seven or eight cwt. to the acre, and which are rarely or never manured. Notwithstanding this they thrive; their meat is ofa superior quality, and they are much sought after in the London market. ‘

The Glamorganshire cattle continue to prevail in Monmouthshire, of which, although not strictly a Welsh county, and far more a mining than a breeding district, it will be convenient next to speak.

MONMOUTHSHIRE,

Here likewise Mr. Moggridge is our chief authority.

Monmouthshire may be divided into the kill and vale districts. The cattle of the HILI, COUNTRY were probably derived from crosses of the Brecon blacks with the Glamorgans. The latter predominated, and con- tinued so to do, to the visible improvement of the breed.

Within the last few years, however, a great number of Irish cattle have found their way to every part of the Bristol channel by means of steam-boats, and they were offered at prices so inferior to that of the natives that they were greedily purchased. Not only, therefore, was all improvement in the Monmouthshire cattle arrested, but the hill-farmers were threatened with ruin, for they could scarcely sell their beasts at any price. If this system is longer pursued, the breeding of the native cattle will be in a manner abandoned.

Some Durhams have. been lately introduced in the neighbourhood of Pontypool, but with doubtful success. The Ayrshire cow has found her way into some of the hill-dairies, and is much valued ; while great num- bers of Scotch cattle are brought into the districts immediately connected with the iron works, and even