of the Vienna Exhibition, 1873. 31 



Hungarian Race. — The Hungarians are justly proud of tlicir 

 oxen. They are used as working cattle over the whole Empire, 

 and at present there is little indication of their Ijeing superseded 

 either by horses or steam power. It is no uncommon sight to 

 see a team of oxen yoked to a plough, and driven by the plough- 

 man entirely by the voice and without any assistance either from 

 reins or driver. Judges did not consider the Hungarian ox to 

 be well represented at Vienna, and I certainly saw much finer 

 examples while travelling through the country. 



Naturalists agree in considering the Hungarian ox as the best 

 living representative of one at least of the original progenitors of 

 our domestic cattle. These it is believed owe their origin to three 

 distinct types, viz.. Bos j)rimigcnius, B. longifrons, and B.fron- 

 tosus. The two last are extinct as wild races, and are solely repre- 

 sented by certain types of domesticated cattle. Bos primigcnius 

 still exists in a semi-wild state in Chillingham Park, and is 

 closely allied to both the Pembroke cattle of South Wales, and 

 the beautiful little Devons. The Hungarian and Podolian oxen 

 also are considered to be more or less pure representatives of 

 the Primigenius type. I had the opportunity of seeing large 

 numbers of these handsome cattle. They are white with a 

 shading of grey on the neck, flanks, and buttocks. The ear is 

 dark-shaded inside, the horns are very long and wide-spreading 

 and tipped with black ; the muzzle, skin around the eye, the 

 eye itself, and the feet, are all black. An eight years old ox, exhi- 

 bited by Neumann, of Arad(Cat. No. 941), measured 6 ft. 11 in. 

 between the tips of his horns, and one horn measured 3 ft. 7 in. 

 in length ! The stature of these cattle will be best illustrated 

 by two or three measurements actually taken on the ground. 

 JNIessrs. Kuffner and Gutman, large and enterprising sugar 

 manufacturers, at Dioszegh, Pressburg, showed some fine 

 examples of fat Hungarian oxen. These were scarcely " thick 

 fat," according to English ideas of fatness, but were "good," 

 albeit a little hard to the touch. No. 885, an eight years 

 old bullock, measured in girth behind the shoulder 7 ft. 10 in. 

 No. 886, which with the last made up the customary " pair of 

 oxen," measured in 



ft. in, , 

 Girtli 7 9 



From shoulder poiut to hook bone 4 6 



Height at shoulder 4 63 



Girth above knee 13 



Girth below knee 82 



Another example, six years old, exhibited by the same firm, 

 gave the following measurements : — 



