horned breed, when properly fed, victual the East India ships, as they produce the thickest beef, which, by retaining its juices, is the best adapted for such long voyages. Our royal navy should also be victualled from these; but by the jobs made by contractors, and other abuses, it is feared our honest tars are often fed with beef of an inferior quality; however, the coal ships from Newcastle, Shields, Sunderland, &c. are wholly supplied with the beef of these valuable animals. These oxen commonly weigh from sixty to a hundred stone (fourteen pound to the stone), and they have several times been fed to one hundred and twenty, one hundred and thirty, and some particular ones to upwards of one hundred and fifty stone, the four quarters only. (Culley, p. 48.)

6110. In comparing the breeds of long and short-horned cattle, Culley observes, that the long-horns excel in the thickness and firm texture of the hide, in the length and closeness of the hair, in their beef being finer grained, and more mixed and marbled than that of the short-horns, in weighing more in proportion to their size, and in giving richer milk; but they are inferior to the short-horns, in giving a less quantity of milk, in weighing less upon the whole, in affording less tallow when killed, in being generally slower feeders, and in being coarser made and more leathery or bullish in the under side of the neck. In few words, says he, the long-horns excel in the hide, hair, and quality of the beef; the short-horns in the quantity of beef, tallow, and milk. Each breed has long had, and probably may have, its particular advocates; but if he may hazard a conjecture, is it not probable that both kinds may have their particular advantages in different situations? Why not the thick, firm hides, and long close-set hair of the one kind, be a protection and security against those impetuous winds and heavy rains to which the west coast of this island is so subject; while the more regular seasons and mild climate upon the east coast are more suitable to the constitutions of the short-horns.

6111. The middle-horned breeds comprehend in like manner, several local varieties, of which, the most noted are the Devons, the Sussexes, and the Herefords; the two last, according to Culley, being varieties of the first, though of a greater size, the Herefords being the largest. These cattle are the most esteemed of all our breeds for the draught, on account of their activity and hardiness; they do not milk so well as the short-horns, but are not deficient in the valuable property of feeding at an early age, when not employed in labor. 642

6112. The Devonshire cattle (fig. 642.) are of a high red color (if any white spots, they reckon the breed impure, particularly if those spots run one into another), with a light-dun ring round the eye, and the muzzle of the same color, fine in the bone, clean in the neck, horns of a medium length, bent upwards, thin-faced, and fine in the chops, wide in the hips, a tolerable barrel, but rather flat on the sides, tail small, and set on very high; they are thin skinned, and silky in handling,

feed at an early age, or arrive at maturity sooner than most other breeds. (Culley, p. 51). Another author observes, that they are a model for all persons who breed oxen for the yoke. (Parkinson on Live Stock, vol. i. p. 112). The weight of the cows is usually from thirty to forty stone, and of the oxen from forty to sixty; the North Devon variety, in particular, from the fineness in the grain of the meat, is held in high estimation in Smithfield. (Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 120).

6113. Lawrence says, that the red cattle of North Devon and Somerset are doubtless one of our original breeds, and one of those which has preserved most of its primitive form: the excellence of this form for labor is best proved by the fact, that the fashionable substitution of horses has made no progress in the district of these cattle, by their high repute as feeders, and for the superior excellence of their beef, which has been acknowledged for ages. They are, he says, the speediest working oxen in England, and will trot well in harness; in point of strength, they stand in the fourth or fifth class. They have a greater resemblance to deer than any other breed of neat-cattle. They are rather wide, than middle-horned, as they are sometimes called; some, however, have regular middle horns, that is, neither short nor long, turned upward and backward at the points. As milkers, they are so far inferior to both the long and short-horns, both in quantity and quality of milk, that they are certainly no objects for the regular dairy, however pleasing and convenient they may be in the private family way.

6114. The Sussex and Hereford

shire cattle (fig. 643.) are of a deep red color, with fine hair and very thin hides; neck and head clean, the face usually white, horns neither long nor short, rather turning up at the points; in general, they are well made in the hind quarters, wide across the hips, rump, and sirloin, but narrow in the chine, tolerably straight along the back, ribs too flat, thin in the

thigh, and bone not large. An ox, six years old, when fat, will weigh from sixty to one hundred stone, the fore-quarters generally the heaviest; the oxen are mostly

worked from three to six years old, sometimes till seven,when they are turned off for feeding. The Hereford cattle are next in size to the Yorkshire short-horns: both this and the Gloucester variety are highly eligible as dairy stock, and the females of the Herefords have been found to fatten better at three years old than any other kind of cattle except the spayed heifers of Norfolk. (Marshal's Economy of Gloucestershire.)

6115. The polled or hornless breeds. The most numerous and esteemed variety is the Galloway breed (fig. 644.), so called from the pro644 vince of that name, in the south-west of Scotland, where they most abound. The true Galloway bullock" is straight and broad on the back, and nearly level from the head to the rump, broad at the loins, not, however, with hooked bones, or projecting knobs, so that when viewed from above, the whole body appears beautifully rounded; he is long in the quarters, but not broad in the twist; he is deep in the chest, short in the leg, and moderately fine in the bone, clean in the chop and in the neck; his

head is of a moderate size, with large rough ears, and full, but not prominent eyes, or heavy eyebrows, so that he has a calm though determined look; his well-proportioned form is clothed with a loose and mellow skin, adorned with long soft glossy hair." (Galloway Report, p. 236.) The prevailing color is black or dark-brindled, and, though they are occasionally found of every color, the dark colors are uniformly preferred, from a belief that they are connected with superior hardiness of constitution. The Galloways are rather undersized, not very different from the size of the Devons, but as much less than the long horns, as the long horns are less than the short horns. On the best farms, the average weight of bullocks three years and a half old, when the greater part of them are driven to the south, has been stated at about forty stone, avoirdupois; some of them, fattened in England, have been brought to nearly one hundred stone.

6116. The general properties of this breed are well known in almost every part of England, as well as in Scotland. They are sometimes sent from their native pastures directly to Smithfield, a distance of four hundred miles, and sold at once to the butcher; and in spring, they are often shown in Norfolk, immediately after their arrival, in as good condition as, or even better than, when they began their journey; with full feeding, there is perhaps no breed that sooner attains maturity, and their flesh is of the finest quality. Culley was misinformed about the quantity of milk they yield, which, though rich, is by no means abun dant; it is alleged not to be more than seventy or eighty years since the Galloways were all horned, and very much the same in external appearance and character, with the breed of black cattle which prevailed over the west of Scotland at that period, and which still abound in perfection, the largest sized ones in Argyleshire, and the smaller in the Isle of Skye; the Galloway cattle, at the time alluded to, were coupled with some hornless bulls, of a sort which do not seem now to be accurately known, but which were then brought from Cumberland, the effects of which crossing were thought to be the general loss of horns in the former, and the enlargement of their size: the continuance of a hornless sort being kept up by selecting only such for breeding, or, perhaps, by other means, as by the practice of eradicating with the knife, the horns in their very young state. (Coventry on Live Stock, p. 28.)

6117. The Suffolk duns, according to Culley, are nothing more than a variety of the Galloway breed: he supposes them to have originated in the intercourse that has long subsisted between the Scotch drovers of Galloway cattle, and the Suffolk and Norfolk graziers who feed them. The Suffolks are almost all light duns, thus differing from the Galloways, and are considered a very useful kind of little cattle, particularly for the dairy. (Culley, p. 66. Parkinson, vol. i. p. 116.)

6118. The cattle of the Highlands of Scotland are divided into a number of local varieties, some of which differ materially from others, probably owing to a difference in the climate and the quality of the herbage, rather than to their being sprung from races originally distinct, or to any great change effected either by selection or by crossing with other breeds. It is only of late that much attention has been paid to their improvement, in any part of this extensive country; and in the northern and central Highlands the cattle are yet, for the most part, in as rude a state, and under management as defective, as they were some centuries ago. These cattle have almost exclusive possession of all that division of Scotland, including the Hebrides, marked off by a line from the Frith of Clyde on the west, to the Murray Frith on the north, and bending towards the east till it approaches in some places very near to the German ocean. Along the eastern coast, north of the Frith of Forth, the Highland cattle are intermixed with various local breeds, of which they have probably been the basis. There are more or less marked distinctions among the cattle of the different Highland counties; and, in common language, we speak of the Inverness-shire, the Banffshire, &c. cattle, as if they were so many separate breeds; but it is only necessary in this place to notice the two more general varieties, now clearly distinguishable by their form, size, and general properties.

6119. The most valuable of these are the cattle of the Western Highlands and Isles,

commonly called the Argyleshire breed (fig. 645.), or the breed of the Isle of Skye, one of the islands attached to the county of Argyle. The cattle of the Hebrides are called kyloes, a name which is often applied in the south to all the varieties of the Highland cattle, not as a late writer (Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 1124.) has imagined, from the district in Ayrshire called Kyle, where very few of them are kept, but from their crossing, in their progress to the south, the kyloes or ferries in the mainland and Western Islands, where these cattle are found in the greatest perfection. (General Report of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 26.)

6120. A bull of the Kyloe breed should be of a middle size, capable of being fattened to fifty stone avoirdupois. His color should be black or dark brown, or reddish brown, without any white or yellow spots. His head should be rather small, his muzzle fine, his horns equable, not very thick, of a clear green and waxy tinge; his general appearance should combine agility, vivacity, and strength; and his hair should be glossy, thick, and vigorous, indicating a sound constitution and perfect health. For a bull of this description, Macneil, of Colonsay, in 1812, refused 200 guineas; and for one of an inferior sort he actually received 170l. sterling. Macdonald, of Staffa, bought one, nine years old, at 100 guineas. (Report of the Hebrides, p. 425.)

6121. The lean weight of the best stock, from three to four years old, when they are commonly sold to the south, is from twenty-six to thirty stone the four quarters; but when brought to good pastures, they can be easily raised to fifty stone and upwards. There is, perhaps, no other breed whose weight depends so much on feeding; nor any that fattens and grows so much at the same time. They are exceedingly hardy, easily maintained, speedily fattened on pastures where large animals could scarcely subsist; their beef is fine in the grain, and well marbled or intermixed with fat; and their milk is rich, but small in quantity.

6122. The other variety of Highland cattle is the Norlands, or North Highlanders, including the stocks of the counties of Ross, Cromarty, Sutherland, Caithness, and parts adjacent. Their hides are generally coarse; backs high and narrow; ribs flat; bones large; and legs long and feeble for the weight of the chest; and they are considered very slow feeders. But though this description be but too applicable to the cattle of the greater part of that remote district, considerable improvement has been effected in many parts of it, by crossing with the Skye or Argyle breeds, within the last twenty years.

6123. The cattle of Orkney and Zetland, are of a most diminutive size; an ox weighing about sixty pounds a quarter, and a cow forty-five pounds. They are of all colors, and their shapes are generally bad; yet they give a quantity of excellent milk; fatten rapidly when put on good pastures; and, in their own district, are considered strong, hardy, and excellent workers, when well trained to the yoke, and so plentifully fed as to enable them to support labor.

6124. Of the Fifeshire cattle, Culley observes, "you would at first imagine them distinct breed, from their upright white horns, being exceedingly light lyered and thin thighed, but I am pretty clear it is only from their being more nearly allied to the kyloes, and consequently less of the coarse kind of short horns in them." (Culley, p. 69.) Notwithstanding this opinion, the cattle of the North-eastern counties of Scotland require, for every useful purpose, to be mentioned separately from the Highland herds; and as all of them have a general resemblance, it will only be necessary in this place to notice the Fife cattle in particular. There are various traditions about the origin of this variety. It is said to have been much improved by English cows sent by Henry VII. to his daughter, the consort of James IV. who usually resided at the palace of Falkland, in that county; and as there is some resemblance between the cattle of Fife and Cambridgeshire, they are supposed to have been brought originally from the latter county. Others ascribe the origin of the present breed to bulls and cows sent by James VI. (James I. of England), in payment of the money which his obliging neighbors in Fife are said to have advanced for his equipment, when he went to take possession of the English throne. (Report of Nairn and Moray, p. 305.)

6125. The prevailing color of the Fife cattle is black, though sometimes spotted or streaked with white, and some of them are altogether grey. The horns are small, white, generally pretty erect, or at least turned up at the points, bending rather forward, and not wide spread like the Lancashire long-horned breed. The bone is small in proportion to the carcase; the limbs clean, but short; and the skin soft. They are wide between the hook-bones; the ribs narrow, wide set, and having a great curvature. They fatten quickly, and fill up well at all the choice points; are hardy, fleet, and travel well, and are excellent for labor, both at plough and cart. A good cow of this breed gives from eighteen to twenty-four quarts of milk per day, yielding from seven to nine pounds of butter, and from ten to twelve pounds of cheese per week (twenty-four ounces to the pound) for some months after calving. (Fife Report, p. 251. and 253.)

6126. The cattle of Aberdeenshire, the largest of which are said to have been produced by crossing with Fife bulls, have been long highly esteemed in the southern markets. It is observed, that every succeeding generation of them has encreased in size, for the last thirty years; and that the native breed has doubled its former weight since

the introduction of turnips. (Aberdeenshire Report, p. 468.) The color is commonly black, but there are many of a red and brindled color. They are thinner in the buttock, in proportion to their weight; and deeper in the belly, in proportion to their circumference, than the west Highlanders, and they yield a much larger quantity of milk. Many of them are brought to the south of Scotland, and kept during winter in the straw yards, for which they suit better than smaller cattle, as they are not so impatient of confinement. The ordinary weight of middle-sized oxen, at from three to five years old, is from forty to fifty stone; but after being worked for some time, and thoroughly fattened, they have been known to reach double this weight.

6127. Of the Welsh cattle, (fig. 646.) "there seem to be two distinct kinds. The large sort are of a brown color, with some white on the rump and shoulders, denoting a cross from the long-horns, though in shape not the least resembling them. They are long in the legs, stand high according to their weight, are thin in the thigh, and rather narrow in the chine; their horns are white and turned upwards; they are light in flesh, and next to the Devons, well formed for the yoke; have very good hoofs, and walk light and nimble. The

646

other sort are much more valuable; color black, with very little white; of a good useful form, short in the leg, with round deep bodies; the hide is rather thin, with short hair; they have a likely look and a good eye; and the bones, though not very small, are neither large nor clumsy; and the cows are considered good milkers." (Parkinson on Live Stock, vol. i. p. 135.)

6128. The Alderney cattle are to be met with only about the seats of a few great landholders, where they are kept chiefly for the sake of their milk, which is very rich, though small in quantity. This race is considered, by very competent judges, as too delicate and tender, to be propagated to any extent in Britain, at least in its northern parts. Their color is mostly yellow or light red, with white or mottled faces; they have short crumpled horns, are small in size, and very ill shaped; yet they are fine boned in general; and their beef, though high colored, is very well flavored. I have seen, says Culley, some very useful cattle bred from a cross between an Alderney cow and a short horned bull.

6129. The Irish cattle, Culley thinks, are a mixed breed between the long-horns and the Welsh or Scotch, but more inclined to the long-horns, though of less weight than those in England.

6130. The last variety of cattle we shall mention is one entirely of luxury, it is the wild breed, (fig. 647.) which is found only in the parks of a few great proprietors, who

preserve the animals as curious and ornamental, or for the sake of their high-flavored beef. Those kept at Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland, a seat belonging to the Earl of Tankerville, have been very accurately described in the Northumberland Report, and in Culley's book on live stock, so often quoted. Their color 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 downward, 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 pounds to the stone). The beef is finely marbled, and of excellent flavor. 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 should get 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.

6131. The habits of these animals are entirely rude; 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 again fly off: this they do several times, shortening their distance, 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 farther. 6132, 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 a day. 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 circumstance that happened to the writer of this narrative (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 will allow no person to touch their calves without attacking them with impetuous ferocity.

6133. When a calf is intended to be castrated, the park-keeper marks the place where it is hid, and when the herd are at a distance, takes an assistant with him on horseback; they tie a handkerchief round the calf's mouth to prevent its bellowing, and then perform the operation in the usual way, with as much expedition as possible. When any one happens to be wounded, or is grown weak and feeble through age or sickness, the rest of the herd set upon it and gore it to death. (Culley, p. 73.)

6134. The mode of killing them was, perhaps, the only modern remains of the grandeur of ancient hunting. On notice being given that a wild bull would be killed on a certain day, the inhabitants of the neighborhood 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 marksman 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 smarting of his wounds, and the shouts of savage joy that were echoing from every side. But, from the number of accidents that happened, this dangerous mode has been little practised of late years, the park-keeper alone generally shooting them with a rifled gun at one shot.

SUBSECT. 2.

Criteria of Cattle for various objects and purposes.

6135. The criteria of a well-made bull, to whatever breed he belongs, are according to Culley as follows: the head should be rather long, and the muzzle fine; his eyes lively and prominent, his ears long and thin, his horns wide, his neck rising with a gentle curve from the shoulders, and small and fine where it joins the head; the shoulders moderately broad at the top, joining full to his chine or crops and chest backwards, and to the neck-vein forwards; his bosom open, breast broad, and projecting well before his legs; his arms or fore-thighs muscular, and tapering to his knee; his legs strait, clean, and very fine-boned; his chine and chest so full as to leave no hollows behind the shoulders; the plates strong, to keep his belly from sinking below the level of his breast; his back or loin broad, straight, and flat; his ribs rising one above another in such a manner that the last rib shall be rather the highest, leaving only a small space to the hips or hooks, the whole forming a round or barrel-like carcase; his hips should be wide placed, round, or globular, and a little higher than the back; the quarters from the hip to the rump long, and instead of being square, as recommended by some, they should taper gradually from the hips backward, and the turls or pott-bones not in the least protuberant; rumps close to the tail, the tail broad, well haired, and set on so high as to be in the same horizontal line with his back. Bulls should be constantly well fed, and kept in proper enclosures, never being suffered to ride before they are three years old, as when the contrary is the practice, they never attain so perfect a growth. It is observed by Lawrence, that the above description delineates that barrel-shape, which Bakewell supposed most advantageous for all kinds of animals intended to be fed for slaughter, or even used for labor.

6136. The criteria of excellence in neat cattle in general are thus given by John Wilkinson of Linton, near Nottingham, an eminent breeder. (Remarks on Cattle, &c. 1820.) "The head ought to be rather long, and muzzle fine; the countenance calm and placid, which indicates a disposition to get fat; the horns fine; the neck light, particularly where it joins the head; the breast wide and projecting well before the legs; the shoulders moderately broad at the top, and the joints well in, and when the animal is in good condition, the chine so full as to leave no hollow behind them; the fore flank well filled up, and the girth behind the shoulders deep; the back straight, wide and flat; the ribs broad, and the space between them and the hips small; the flank full and heavy; the belly well kept in, and not sinking low in the middle, or so formed that a cross section of it would resemble an oval, whose two ends are of the same width, and whose