1923- ScHARFF— 0« the Ofigin of the Irish Cattle 69 



One of the latest writers to study the Kerr}^ cattle is 

 Dr. Lundwall, who came to Ireland from the Agricultural 

 College of Vienna for this special purpose. As the result 

 of careful comparisons and measurements he arrived at 

 the conclusion that the Kerry cattle are practically identical 

 with the old breed of cattle living in Brittany. This leads 

 him to the suggestion that the same race of Celtic tribes 

 had invaded Brittany as well as Ireland, and brought their 

 cattle with them.^ 



There is not much more to be gathered from recent 

 authorities as to the nature and breeds of Irish cattle in 

 the eighteenth century, or earlier centuries. We must, 

 therefore, test other methods in tracing the development 

 and history of the breeds. Long ago when the early tribes 

 of Ireland still retained their wandering habits and moved 

 about wherever the herbage afforded sustenance to their 

 cattle, they surrounded their temporary homes with breast- 

 works of earth and stones, and surmounted the whole with 

 a stake fence. When further security against wild animals 

 and hostile tribes was desired, many of the tribes moved 

 their dwelhngs to the lakes. vShallow ground or an islet 

 was generally chosen, and stakes were driven into the 

 ground. The latter were probably interlaced with saphngs, 

 forming a stockade which rose above the water. On this 

 platform were erected wooden cabins in which the people 

 hved. Similar lake-dwelhngs are known from Switzerland 

 and other parts of Europe. The remains of several hundreds 

 of such " crannogs " as th'ey are called, derived from the 

 Irish word crann, a tree, have been discovered in this 

 country. Many of the lakes in which these crannogs origi- 

 nal y stood have since been drained so that the structure 

 of these lake-dwellings can be closely investigated. More- 

 over, the weapons, tools and ornaments and all the house- 

 hold rubbish including the remains of the food consumed, 

 are found beneath the site of the dwelUngs. The collection 

 of the Royal Irish Academy in the National Museum con- 

 tains hundreds of interesting objects obtained by a careful 



* Lundwall, E. : Studien iiber das irlandische Kerry-Rind. Mitt. d. 

 landwirt Hochschule f. Bodenkultur, Wien, vol. ii., 1913- 



