The Sussex Breed of Cattle.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 860, 24 August 1888, Page 18

The Sussex Breed of Cattle.

At the Chicago Fat Stock Show, in November, 1885, an unexpected competitor appeared, of a breed hitherto almost wholly unknown in this country. It was a yearling Sussex steer, and the honours won by it in competition with representatives of the well-known beef breeds naturally caused a sensation among breeders and feeders. The Sussex breed, although so recently introduced here, is one of the oldest in England. Youatt and Martin say that when the Romans invaded Britain, nearly two thousand years ago, many ®f the native red cattle were driven by their owners into the dense forests of the ‘ Wealden ’ which forms a part of the present county of Sussex. There these cattle have been bred ever since, with little change save such improvements as come from care and skill in management. They are described as follows by the above cited authorities : '1 he barrel is round and deep, the back straight —no rising spinal processes as to be seen, but rather a central depression ; and the line of the back, if broken, is only done so by a lump of fat rising between tbe hip 3. The belly snd flank are capacious ; there is room before for the heart and lungs to prepare and circulate the blood, and there is room behind in the capacious belly for the full development of all the organs of digestion, yet the heart is well ribbed home ; the space between the "last rib and the hip bone is often very small, and there is no hanging heaviness of the b.elly or flank. _ The loins of the Sussex ox are wide ; the hip bone does not rise high, nor is it ragged externally, but it is large and well spread out, and the space between the hips is well filled up. The tail, which is fine and thin, is set on lower than in the Devon, yet the rump is nearly as straight, for the deficiency is supplied by » mass of flesh and fat swelling above. The hind quarters are cleanly made, and if the thighs appear to be straight without, them iB plenty pf fwUue@s within. The Snßsex ox

holds an immediate place between the Devon and the Hereford, with all the activity of the first and the strength of the second, tho propensity to fatten and the beautiful finegrained fiesh of both. Experience has shown that it possesses as many of the good qualities of both as can be combined in one frame. The defects of,the Sussex are large shoulders, giving undue weight to the fore-quarters in comparison with the more valuable parts, andiheavier hone and horns than are considered desirable by modern breeders. thrive and fatten on poor pastures where some of the more delicate breeds could barely find subsistence. I Thev were brought to this country a tew years' ago by Mr Overton Lea, of Lealand, Tennessee, and Messrs Burleigh hnd Bodwell, of Maine. A yearling steer exhibited by the former, at Chicago, in ISSS, won the class prize, and when brought to the final test cf the block, the committee wore equally divided on the question of awarding it the first prize snd sweepstakes as _ best dressed carcase, but the umpire’s decision was adverse. At the Kansas City Fat Stock show, in ISS6, a Sussex steer two years old was awarded both the. class and sweepstakes prizes. Such triumphs as these naturally bring this hitherto unknown breed mto prominent notice. It is mainly a beef breed. The milk, though neb in butter fats, is limited in quantity. This arises largely from the fact that in the counties where they are bred dairying has never been largely followed. Yet there are milking strains m the breed, at is evident from the fact tnac one of the great "dairy companies in the vicinity of London has recently added one hundred pure-bred Sussex cows to its herd. It is said of the Sussex that ‘they die well.’ Despite their solid bones and conspicnous horns, they yield a large percentage of edible meat when brought to the final test of the block. They , are hardy, prepo. tent and thirfty. Of the prize cattle at the Smithfield show of IS7S, tho average daily growth from birth averaged as follows : Devons 1.35 pounds; Herefords 160 pounds; Shorthorns 1.85 pounds ; Sussex l. /d pounds ; general average, .1.63 pounds. Ibe averages above were of four specimens of each breed, of ages from one hundred and sixteen weeks to two hundred and twentyone weeks. : Similar analyses of weights of cattle shown at Smithfield in 1884, ISSo, and ISS6, are fully as favourable lo Sussex cattle, two years aud over, ivl i!e the yearlings showed less average daily growth than those of the three competing - breeds. fie learn from Mr l ea that in his own herd the gains of some steers for the twelve mouths ending Alay 3, ISSS. were as follows: One year and uuder two years, 522 pounds each ; two and under three years, 337 to 502 pounds ; grades from Sussex bulls and ordinarily good native cows, 45S to 626 pounds.—American Agriculturist.