Page:The Victoria History of the County of Lincoln Volume 2.pdf/448

Rh too, has become a most valuable customer, and it was the opinion of one colonial of fifty-five years' experience, who toured through England and Scotland with a view of purchasing cattle for the government, that no breed was so well suited for the requirements of the country as the Lincolnshire Red Shorthorn, and he bought no other. There is now a membership of the Lincolnshire Red Shorthorn Association numbering 277, and no fewer than 260 herds are registered in the Herd Book. Built on Shorthorn lines—with great length and scale, and with typical heads—the chief characteristics of the Lincoln Reds are their early maturity, hardiness and thriftiness, great wealth of lean flesh, and splendid milking qualities. Wintered in crew yards, for the most part with little shelter from the elements, and fed on barley straw and a few turnips, they have been utilized as manure-makers for generations. Calving in the early spring, towards the end of April they are turned out to get their own living on the pastures, exposed to the biting winds from the North Sea (for there is practically no shelter in the marshes), and in most cases compelled to drink from stagnant ponds. This severe treatment has had a most sure effect in weeding out the weakest, the outcome of which is a true instance of the survival of the fittest; nor do they lose condition or suffer perceptibly, as nearly any other breed would under similar conditions. Grass-fed Lincoln Reds will weigh from 8 to 10 cwt., while stall-fed beasts reach as much as 24 cwt. The triumph of the Lincoln Red as a milker may best be shown by reference to the wonderful successes at milking trials of the exhibits of Mr. John Evens, of Burton, near Lincoln. Dairying is not a prominent feature in Lincolnshire agriculture, and the practice of allowing cows to suckle their own calves is not conducive to the development of milking capacity; but Mr. Evens has amply demonstrated that with judicious management the Lincoln Reds are the best of milkers. On the two occasions on which pure-bred milking trials have been held by the Royal Society, in 1898 and 1899, Mr. Evens won first and second prizes in competition with other breeds; and on the two occasions on which there has been a group class (three cows or heifers in milk, of any pure breed, eligible for entry in their respective Herd Books, and bred by and the property of the exhibitor), at the London Dairy Show, in 1900 and 1901, Mr. Evens secured the premier award. In 1904, and for the third year in succession, he won the first prize and the challenge cup at the milking trials at the Dublin Show, and the first prize and the challenge cup, also for the third year in succession, at the Royal Ulster Show. He was also first in the open class and first in the tenant farmers' class at the Oxfordshire Show milking trials; and first, for the third year in succession, at the joint milking and dairy inspection at the Royal Counties Show, besides winning both first and second prizes at the Shorthorn butter test against nineteen picked cows at the London Dairy Show. In 1905 Mr. Evens won the first prize and the challenge cup at Dublin; first and second at the Oxfordshire milking trials first and second at the Lincoln Red milking tests at the Royal Show; and first at Tring in a class of thirty, open to all breeds. At the London Dairy Show Mr. Evens was second with cows, both in the class for inspection and in the milking test; and first and second for heifers both for inspection and in the milking trials. Mr. Evens has been equally successful at these and many other shows in previous years, notably in the Shorthorn Dairy class (C.H.B. or L.R.S.H.B.) at the Lin-