As milkers, they do not excel, perhaps they may be said not to equal, the other breeds, and they have a reputation of being decidedly below the average. In their native country the general average of a dairy is one pound of butter per day during the summer. They are bred for beef and for work, and not for the dairy; and their yield of milk is small, though of a rich quality. I have, however, had occasion to examine several animals from the celebrated Patterson herd, which would have been remarkable as milkers even among good milking stock. They had not, to be sure, the beautiful symmetry of form and fineness of bone which characterize most of the modern and highly improved pure-bred North Devons, and had evidently been bred for many years with special reference to the development of the milking qualities, great care having been taken to use bulls and cows as breeders from the best milking stock, rather than of the finest forms. The use of bulls distinguished only for symmetry of form, and of a race deficient in milk-secreting qualities, will be sure to deteriorate, instead of improving, the stock for the dairy. [Illustration: Fig. 12. Devon Bull.] On the whole, whatever may be our judgment of this breed, the faults of the North Devon cow can hardly be overlooked from our present point of view. The rotundity of form and compactness of frame, though they contribute to her remarkable beauty, constitute an objection to her as a dairy cow, since it is generally thought that the peculiarity of form which disposes an animal to take on fat is somewhat incompatible with good milking qualities, and hence Youatt says: “For the dairy the North Devons must be acknowledged to be inferior to several other breeds. The milk is good, and yields more than the average proportion of cream and butter; but it is deficient in quantity.” He also maintains that its property as a milker could not be improved without probable or certain detriment to its grazing qualities.