ZAF ITIUHTOL UZ ZN 07:
78 On the Breed of Cattle.[Feb.
given Some years ago by a gentleman in the county of Durham, (who was far from the oldest breeder in this district)"td Show the produce of five of his Short horned cows, against those of any other five cows in any persons hand in the kingdom, for five hundred guineas, was not accepted, though it was pub- Iisked in the newspapers, and attracted the attention of his grace and many other eminent breeders.
It was propozed, by the challenger, that a few breedersshould be chosen on each Side, to fix what Should be considered 25 the criterion of Superiority, and likewise the manner of proceeding in order to discover them with precision 3; and, if 1'am rightly informed, Size was not to be deemed the most material proof of merit, though the cattle. were to be of an equal age, form, beauty, smallness of bone, fineness of skin, quantity of fat, and the quality of the beef, were to be viewed as proofs of excel- Jence 3; but the greatest weight in proportion to the Size, and the most flesh in proportion to the bone, were points which, I understood, the Durham breeder contended Should be const» dered of*leading importance. And, as it is pretty well ascer- tained, that cattle of precisely equal outward dimensions, and alike in dutside fat, produced very different quantities of beef, probably he was right. It is this difference, which, I presume, Has led to the toast 50 frequently given at the meetings of our most distinguished breeders and graziers, Viz,“* Great in weight and s5mall in Size."
Many eminent graziers and butchers have asserted, that the Famous ox which was bred and fed by Mr. Colling, of Ketton, in the county of Durham, and which has been Shown within the last two years in most parts of the kingdom, 1s the fattest, and heaviest in proportion to its Size, ever produced in the world. He is certainly a well formed, mall boned, thin Skinned ani mal 3 and, if his beef reaches the enormous weight of one hundred and eighty stones,(of fourteen pounds each) which many good judges have declared it will weigh, he will probably exceed all others in the quantity of butchers meat in preportion to vuperfices. This fine animal is of the large improved breed of this district.
"The facts which have been adduced relative to the differ- ence in the weight of cattle, 2 equal outward fatness and ize, clearly Shew that that rule is not correct, which teaches the grazier to estimate the quantity of beef his cattle will produce, from the girt and length z; and even if he could ascertain the exact Size of that part of the animal which contains the lungs, Sto- mach,&c. I think the mathematician would dispute the method of calculation which is often practised; for though I have long ceased to Study Euctid's Elements, aud the doctrine of fluxions, yet I will venture to Say, that it will not Stand the test of ma- thematical principles. I mention these particulars, because 4