r the shambles. No animal of any other breed can so
rapidly transform the stock of any section around him as the improved
short horn bull.

It does not, however, follow that the high-bred short horns are
unexceptionable, even for beef. The very exaggeration, so to speak, of
the qualities which make them so valuable for the improvement of other
and less perfect races, may become a fault when wanted for the table.
The very rapidity with which they increase in size is thought by some
to prevent their meat from ripening up sufficiently before being hurried
off to the butcher. The disproportion of the fatty to the muscular
flesh, found in this to a greater extent than in races coming more
slowly to maturity, makes the meat of the thorough-bred short horn, in
the estimation of some, less agreeable to the taste, and less profitable
to the consumer; since the nitrogenous compounds, true sources of
nutriment, are found in less quantity than in the meat of animals not so
highly bred.

In sections where the climate is moist, and the food abundant and rich,
some families of the short horns may be valuable for the dairy; but they
are most frequently bred exclusively for beef in this country, and in
sections where they have attained the highest perfection of form and
beauty, so little is thought of their milking qualities that they are
often not milked at all, the calf being allowed to run with the dam.

THE DUTCH.

This short horned race, in the opinion of many--as has been previously
remarked--contributed largely, about a century ago, to build up the
Durham or Teeswater stock. It has been bred with special reference to
dairy qualities, and is eminently adapted to supply the wants of the
dairy farmer. The cows of North Holland not only give a large quantity,
but also a very good quality, so that a yield of sixteen to twenty-five
quarts, wine measure, at every milking, is not rare.

The principles upon which the inhabitants of Holland practise, in
selecting a cow from which to breed, are as follows: She should have,
they say, considerable size--not less than four and a half or five feet
girth, with a length of body corresponding; legs proportionally short; a
finely formed head, with a forehead or face somewhat concave; clear,
large, mild and sparkling eyes, yet with no expression of wildness;
tolerably large and stout ears, standing out from the head; fine, well
curved horns; a rather short, than long, thick, broad neck, well