Dairy stock : its selection, diseases, and produce, with a description of the Brittany breed / by John Gamgee.

  • Gamgee, John, 1831-1894.
Date:
1861
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dairy stock : its selection, diseases, and produce, with a description of the Brittany breed / by John Gamgee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    332/352 (page 308)
    very highly prized. Earely are the bulls sold in fairs. The bull of the improved breed, according to Pro- fessor Bellamy's descriptions, is distinguished from the ancient by characters similar to those given for the cow. They usually have not the same roundness of form. At the age of three years they average from 40 to 50 inches in height. The head is rather elongated, and sometimes may be mistaken for that of a young ox. The forelock is long and curled; the head is sometimes not well set on the neck, especially when the breed of Quimper has been crossed mth that of Leon. Amongst other occa- sional defects are small Avithers, flattened ribs, long loins, and narrow croup. In the hands of good breeders, however, the most perfect animals are to be met with. The Breton ox, which we have next to consider, is much larger than the cow, and, indeed, the difference is so great that there are many j)ersons who would doubt that they were of the same breed. The same characteristic points are observed in the ox as in the cow and bull. There are some red and white oxen, but, like the cows, these are usually not pure. There are exceiDtions, and the farmers admire a black and white and a red and white one in a pair. The oxen are of two sizes. They are provided with long slender horns sharp- pointed, and, consequently, most dangerous, if used as