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THE WELL-FED BEASTS.

Great Britain has shared the fate of other nations, and oftener than they been overrun and subjugated by invaders. As the natives retreated they carried with them some portion of their property, consisting, in the remote and early times, principally of cattle. They drove along with them as many as they could, when they retired to the fortresses of North Devon and Cornwall, or the mountainous region of Wales, or when they took refuge in the retirement of East Sussex; and there, retaining all their prejudices, manners, and customs, were jealous of the preservation of that which reminded them of their native country before it yielded to a foreign yoke.

In this way was preserved the ancient breed of British cattle. Difference of climate produced some change, particularly in their bulk. The rich pasturage of Sussex fattened the ox into its superior size and weight. The plentiful, but not so luxuriant, herbage of the north of Devon produced a smaller and more active animal; while the privations of Wales lessened the bulk and thickened the hide of the Welsh Stock. As for Scotland, it set its invaders at defiance; or its inhabitants retreated for a while, and soon turned again on their pursuers. They were proud of their country, and of their cattle, their choicest possession; and there, also, the cattle were preserved, unmixed and undegenerated.

Thence it has resulted, that in Devon, in Sussex, in Wales, and in Scotland, the cattle have been the same from time immemorial; while in all the eastern coasts and through every district of England, the breed of cattle degenerated, or lost its original character; it consisted of animals brought from all the neighboring, and some remote districts, mingled in every possible variety, yet conforming to the soil and the climate.

Careful observations will establish the fact, that the cattle in Devonshire, Sussex, Wales, and Scotland are essentially the same. They are middle horned; 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 characters of the same breed, changed by soil, climate, and time, yet little changed by man. The color, even, may be almost traced, namely: the red of the Devon, the Sussex, and the Hereford; and where only the black are now found, the recollection of the red prevails.

As this volume is intended especially for the farmers of our own country, it is deemed unnecessary in this connection to present any thing additional under the present head, except the names of the prominent species of British cattle. These are, commencing with the middle horns, the North Devon, the Hereford, the Sussex, the Welsh (with the varieties of the Pembrokeshire, the Glamorganshire, the Radnor black, the Anglesea and some others); and the Scotch with its chief varieties, the West Highlanders, the North Highlanders, the North Eastern, the Fife, the Ayrshire, and the Galloways.

As to the long horns, which came originally from Craven in Yorkshire, it may be remarked that this breed has been rapidly disappearing of late, and has everywhere given place to better kinds. Of this species there are—or perhaps were—two leading classes, the Lancashire and the Leicestershire improved.

Of the short horns, the leading breeds are the Dutch, the Holderness, the Teeswater, the Yorkshire, the Durham, the Northumberland, and some others.