148 CATALOGUE OF THE MAMMALIA OF 
think, injudicious, the black tips being no proof of impurity, but 
distinctive marks of the ancient cattle of the Caledonian forest 
which formerly covered nearly all Northumberland. 
In Cornwall, and the south-west of England, the wild cattle 
were called black cattle* from their dark colour, these, therefore, 
would appear to have been of a different race. 
We must now turn to the more immediate subject of the 
Chillingham race. 
The park of Chillingham is very ancient, old documents men- 
tion it in the reign of King John, about 1226; but still there is 
little documentary evidence of any antiquity specially relating to 
the cattle. The park is no doubt on the site of the ancient 
Caledonian forest. The Chillingham cattle have many of the 
characteristics of a wild race: they hide their young, feed at 
night, basking or sleeping during the day, are fierce when pressed, 
but generally speaking very timorous, and have a peculiar 
faculty, like the red deer, of taking advantage of the irregu- 
larities of the ground, so that when disturbed they will traverse 
the park without coming in sight. They have a peculiar wild 
ery, are beautifully shaped, their horns are of very fine texture, 
and their skin thin. They differ from the domestic breed in the 
form and direction of the horns, and in the bulls having a short 
rudimentary mane and some hair on the breast.f t{ 
2. CAPRA, Zinn. (Hircvus, Wagner.) 
1. C. urrcus, Linn. Goat. 
Hlircus AAgagrus, Gmelin. 
This animal is probably not indigenous in these islands, the 
Aigagrus of the Caucasus and Persia being generally supposed 
to be the parent stock. In the mountains of Wales, however, it 
has recovered its original freedom, and even in the hilly districts 
of Coquetdale, and especially near Rothbury, considerable flocks 
may be seen in a state of semi-wildness. Formerly many 
invalids resorted thither to drink the nutritious milk which they 
* Couch, Fauna of Cornwall. 
+ Earl of Tankerville’s letters to Mr, J. Hindmarsh and Mr, Children. Eighth Report 
of the Brit. Assoc., 1838. 
£ Bell Brit, Quad , 423. 
