WHAT IS A HEREFORD. Part 2.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1435, 13 September 1881, Page 3

WHAT IS A HEREFORD. Part 2.

Tkk sales of Mr Westoar's oxen are worthy of noto. An extraofc from his books give the, following details :—: — 1799. December 16, two oxen . . £200 0 o 1800. December 4, one ox . 147 o o 1800. December i-j, one ox .. .. 100 o o 1801. November 26, si\ oxen . . 630 o o 1802. November 26, one o\ . ... ioo o 0 1802. November 31, one o\ ... 126 o o 1803. December 4, two oven ... 200 o o 1803. December 4, one o\ ... , 100 0 o 1803. Derember 19, one ox . . . 105 o o 1803. December Iq, one ox . . 105 o o 1804. December 5, one ox ... .. 105 o o 1805. December 4, one ox . 100 r o o 1811. November 28, one ox . .. 105 0 o Total for twenty o\cn . £2123 o o Thus the twenty oxen averaged £106 6s. each. Again, the Suiithfield record shows that from the 1799 to 1834 Hereford Bullockn had taken eighty-eight premiums at the London fat stock Bhow, more than double the number any other breed of cattle rook in the dame period. Ihavequotad the above particulars to show the great merit the" Hereford breed of cattle possessed in the last century and the early days of this : and it is hardly worth while stating that since that time they have gone on Bteadily progressing and keeping pace with other improved breeds, and whenever brought into competition with them they hold their own. The early sales which we have recorded show that they were most highly ebteemed ia 1819. Fifty-two head of MrTomkina' cattle made £4673 145. ; there were among those twenty-three Bteers, so taking the breeding stock the average price is £145. Again, in 1876, herdjrf Mr Price*, cattle made £6721 4s. 6d., which brought an average of £57 19s. 4d. This includes twenty-seven yearling heifers and twentyone 2-year-olds. One of the first who set to work to alter somewhat the Hereford type, and in some way reduce the scale and get them to mature earlier was the late Mr Knight of Dowton Castle. From memoranda supi plied hy the late Mr Salway, of the Cliff, Ludlow, to the well-known authority on cattle, Mr William Houseman (to whom I am indebted for some of the facts of early breeding of Mr Knight s stock), Mr Knight was less particular about size (not neglecting it) than about symmetry and quality. The old Herefords had size, for anything ; the difficulty w#s to control the tendency of their vigorous growth to produce coarse and ungaingly animals, with what Mr Knight used to call "lambs knees and sickle hocks." Anyone who has seen Dowton Castle can easily imagine that oattle which were heavy and lumbering could not easily get up and down the hilly ground situated round the castle. Mr Knight drafted all those which had not well set -on legs and " dull calves that could not trot properly." The Dowton herd sprung from three of the best herds of that day — Mr Tully's, Mr Tomkins', and Mr Skryme's, — the light red colour mentionpd before as being usually the colour of Lord Berwick's tribe of cattle, which is descended in a dLstinct line from the Knight herd. The darker colour and signs of the old tick face come from the Tomkins blood, as his cattle were usually mottled-faced, and the Tully cross gave the greys for which Downton -was so celebrated, and were called the Knightgreys. These latter have almost died out, but, as I have stated before, the white occasionally as-serts itself, and when it does there is no disgrace attending it, since its illustrious origion is so well known. Such is an outline of Hereford history from the latter half of the last century up to about 1841. When Lord Berwick's name became to be "Well known among Hereford breedei 8, as I have shown, ho perpetuated the Knight tribe, acd his bulls have been most extensively used, with the greatest benefit, in very many herds in England and abroad. Most of the Hereford breeders of the piessnt day follow the type set by him and Mr Knight, and endeavour to gft their cattle deep bodied, heavy fleshed, on short legs and small bone ; but some have gone to far and got them to small and compact, and not enough lean meat. This was contrary to Mr Knight's iatention, as ho kept u^ the Bize as far as he considered it compa-' tible with symmetry and quality. The Herefords are considered so eminently qualified for crossing purposes for beef making, and the recent admirably conducted experiments at the Agricultural College in Ontario, United Statea America, show that they are eciually adapted for the dairy as a Hereford grade (that is one cross of the Hereford bull, or a common cow) gave the best practical result of all breeds for the production of butter. When crossed with other breeds, the potency of the Hereford blood (pure for centuries) is distinctly proved, aa it is an exception for any calves to oome any other colour than the red with white face. I have seen this come true from Hereford bulls on black Welsh cattle, Ayshires, and Sharthoms ; again, if a shorthorn bull is put to a Hereford cow the produce usually follows the dam in colour, and I have seen cases where the produce of the Hereford bull with the black cattle oome black, still they have had the correct Hereford markings as regards the white face and legs. Their milking properties have been so long neglected in the interest of beef, that they are usually not deep milkers, but give very rich milk. In all cases a cow should be milked regularly and stripped quite clean. No doubt this has much to do in forming good milking tribes of cattle, by encouraging the milk-giving organs as far as possiblev Where calves are allowed* to suck in the open field this cannot be attended to, and' is gne great cause of /the Herefords not giving so much milk as they would under other circumstances. ' As beef -makers they are quite at the

top of the market, as 'market quotation^ record best Scots and Herefords as being usually quoted together. The calves are usually allowed to run with their dams during the summer, this .gives them a godd start; bat it is too often'lost staht of [ that they should be kept growing A on when weaned, instead'of stunted during the winter and following months. The Hereford fairs have long been noted for bringing together the best collection of bullocks iv England, and are attended by dealers and graders from far and wide, as they are highly valued in our great grazing districts. Breeders of Herefords claim' for their favourites that they are among the most hardy of all breeds of cattle, can be fed on lesa meat, and thrive on coarse 'rough food, and thus are particularly adapted for countries where it is impossible to take special care of the^ cattle through bad seasons arid winter months. The latest evidence from a multitude of cattle men and others in the Western States of America show that they stand the rough usage they get there better than any other cattle that have yet been tried, and consequently are now demanding a b'etteir price than other grade cattle. , i These facts are, I think, 'sufficient to show what the Hereford** have done, of later year 3 being almost entirely in the hands of tenant-farmers, and kept as "rent-payers." They "have rather gone out of fashion, as the Shoithorns became the, favourite cattle among the nobility and rich landed proprietoVsV but'tlley are now beginning to quiety reassert themselves, and there is at present a great run upon the best stocks for America and other countries, and for staiting fresh herds in England and Ireland. — J.H. in The Agricultural Gazette.