238 WILD WHITE CATTLE. 
“Gisburne Park is chiefly remarkable for a herd of 
wild cattle, descendants of that indigenous race 
which once peopled the great forests of Lancashire. 
After their extinction in a wild state—which we 
know did not take place till a short time before the 
age of Leland—it is highly probable that the breed 
was kept up by the Abbots of Whalley in the ‘ Lords 
Park,’ and fell into the hands of the Asshetons, who 
acquired possession of that rich domain after the 
Dissolution. This species differs from those of Lyme 
in Cheshire, and Chillingham Castle in Northumber- 
land—where alone in South Britain they are now 
preserved—in being without horns. 
“They are white, save the tips of their noses, which 
are black ;* rather mischievous, especially when guard- 
ing their young, and approach the object of their 
resentment in a very insidious manner. They breed 
with tame cattle ;+ but it is to be hoped that respect 
for so ancient and singular a family will induce the 
noble owner to preserve them from any foreign 
admixtures. ” 
They became extinct in 1859, having become so 
delicate from breeding in-and-in, that their owners 
could no longer keep them. They had become quite 
tame, and were housed in winter. The last cow and 
calf were sold to Mr. Legh, of Lyme Park, in October, 
* A copy of the “ History of Craven” in the library at Gisburne Park 
has the following note opposite the statement that the noses were 
black, in the handwriting of the first Lord Ribblesdale : “the ears 
and noses of this species of cattle are never black, but most usually 
red or brown.” 
+ This attempt to cross the breed failed, as did a similar attempt 
which was made by bringing a heifer from Lyme to Gisburne. 
