Shorthorns, Herefords, and Devons attained
a standard of excellence which has made them sought after by the whole
world; and other breeds were perfected, the Sussex and Aberdeen Angus
especially; while in sheep the improvement was perhaps even
greater.[655] The improved Lincolns, Oxford Downs, Hampshire Downs,
and Shropshires took their place as standard breeds at this period. In
1866, after many years of expectation and disappointment,
agriculturists were furnished with statistics which are trustworthy
for practical purpose, but are somewhat vitiated by the fact that the
live stock census was taken on March 5, which obviously omitted a
large number of young stock; so that those for 1867, when the census
was taken on June 25, are better for purposes of comparison with those
of subsequent years, when the census has been taken on June 4 or 5.
Between 1867 and 1878 the cattle in England and Wales had increased
from 4,013,564 to 4,642,641, though sheep had diminished from
22,025,498 to 21,369,810.[656] The total acreage under cultivation had
increased from 25,451,526 acres to 27,164,326 acres in the same
period.

There was, however, one black shadow in this fair picture: in 1865
England was invaded by the rinderpest, which spread with alarming
rapidity, killing 2,000 cows in a month from its first appearance, and
within six months infecting thirty-six counties.[657] The alarm was
general, and town and country meetings were held in the various
districts where the disease appeared to concert measures of defence.
The Privy Council issued an order empowering Justices to appoint
inspectors authorized to seize and slaughter any animal labouring
under such diseases; but, in spite of this, the plague raged with
redoubled fury throughout September. There was gross mismanagement in
combating it, for the inspectors were often ignorant men, and no
compensation was paid for slaughter, so that farmers often sold off
most of their diseased stock before hoisting the black flag. The
ravages of the disease in the London cow-houses was fearful, as might
be expected, and they are said to have been left empty; by no means an
unmixed evil, as the keeping of cow-houses in towns was a glaring
defiance of the most obvious sanitary laws. In October a Commission
was appointed to investigate the origin and nature of the disease, and
the first return showed a total of 17,673 animals attacked. By March
9, 1866, 117,664 animals had died from the plague