Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-02-23
THE GAZETTE.
TUESDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 81, 1858
RREEp, OF DOMESTIC CATTLE.

BREEDS OF Do NE>TlC CATTLE.
o. the Middie-borns, by far the most eel
ebrated family are the Devoush're'; "hicn
being interior to many others iof uaiy
purposes. are superior to all az "ofKing
oxen. not arriving at their highest excel
lepce "a beef cattle until they have been
worked up to their sixth year. when they
fatten with great ease aod raridlty; and, if
th.v do not reach the vast weight OF some
other races, give beef the mest beautifully
marbled Of al, apd equal in flavor and rich
ness to any. The Devonshires are very beau
tiful, doc,ie, active, the working oxen being
able sometimes to trot six miles in the hour,
aud remarkably free from disease. The
Herefordshire cattle, which are neac akin to
the Devonsaires, are, perhaps, even superior
to them az beef cattle; some good judges
giving to their flesh the palm over all others,
and are good workers in the field; but the
cows are exceedingly inferior animals, bad
mixers and of no account. The Hereford
OK is a heavier animal than the Devonsblre,
and has q greater propensity u form lat.
The Sussex is another kindred race, Inter
mediate between the two, with many OF the
good qualities of both, with less activity
and a greater tendency to form ia: than
the Devonshire. while the cows, though bet
ter mixers than the Rereiords, are not suT-
~ticiently good for dairy purposes, and are of
too restless aud uneasy u temper to form lat
quickly. Tue Glanorean cattle OF Wales
bic the Herefords 10 all respects, with
inferor size. The Pembrokes closely reSeu-
BILE the western Highland kyloes, and, with
their rugged hardness AID adaptability to
to all climates aud hardships, possess their
quality of furnishing delicious beef. For
mountainous regions, they aud the little Irish
COWS uf Kerry, which have been termed en-
phsticslly the poor mans COW, from their ex-
oellent milking qualities. in which they Tar
excel the Scottish aud Welsh cows, are the
ne plus ultra. The Ayrshire is. 10 all re-
spects, An admirable animal, but especially
in the qualifications of the breed tor dairy
purposes, in which it is, perhaps, unequa!led.
Both in quality and quantity OF milk they are
not to be surpassed; the average annual yield
Of an Ayrshire COW being computed at from
600 to 800 gallons of milk, giving an average
of 2S7 pounds of butter, or 5l4 pounds cheese.
Their fst,ening qualities are highly rsspeeta-
BILE, but not equal to those Of the DeSonshires,
Herefords or Durhams.
The principal polled cattle are the Gal
loways, Norfolks and Sufolks; they are but
moderate mixers, With the exception Ut the
last banned, which are inferior to no other
breed 10 the quantity of their yield, though
some may give richer milk. Their beef Is
of high quality. 1t is useless to dwell On
this breed, as they are scarcely known IN
the United States.
The long-horns. formerly in immense re-
pute, have fallen of 10 public estimation
10 late years aud 10 appears to be the gen.
eral opinion that they have deteriorated.-
They were never famous a. milk cattle. and
their beef is estimated az clearly inferior
TO that of the Devonshires, Herefords or
Durhams, while the peculiar formation OF
their long, decurved widespread horns
sdapts them but i'll for draft.
OF the short-horns, there are four fami-
lies, two of them superlatively excellent,
the Durhams. Yorkshires, Lincolushires anu
Attorneys. The boast of the short-horns is
that they unite in the greatest degree the
qualities Of milking and forming iat-and
the boast is a just one; but the drawback IL
that the over tendency to form fat, In the
pure Teeswater Durhsms, operates against
the milk-giving qualities vf the COW, aud o.
ten renders the bull barren at an early
age.
In the Yorkshire cow, which is a pure
unuixed short-horn, produced merely by
careful breeding from parents on both sides
famous for milking rather than fattening ten.
denotes, this defect is completely conquered,
and she may be pronounced the ne Plus ut-
ira of ell animals for the combined proper
ties Of yielding milk and eventually max
ing beef. She 10 the ~fasorite dairy COW OF
London, averaging 20 to "a quarts per diem
giving a larger yield of butter from the
same quantity of milk the older she grows
and. when her service to the pail il over, fat
tening rapidly and with great ease, and
Welding beef of the first quality. The Lin
colnshire, generally, is an inferior Durham
The Attorney is an inferior, fancy race ia,
nous only for the great richness OF her small
weld of milk. We shall. hereafter, review
these families at length, beginning IN our
next with the Devonshire.-N 7. Tr'onne
.r,Y n, 49, II 70 call