758 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



cattle, and has attained its superior size and excellent milk-yielding qualities from hav- 

 ing been reared on the richer pastures of the Lowlands. The polled Aberdeenshire 

 breed is another strain of hornless cattle of mixed origin, bred in the lower districts 

 of the county from which it derives its name. 



The Galloway breed is also a hornless one, and is of great antiquity, 

 having been in existence at least since the sixteenth century. They 

 inhabit a district underlaid by Silurian and Cambrian rocks in the southwest of Scot- 

 laud; and are essentially a mountain breed, being inferior in size to the polled An- 

 gus, although superior to the Highland breed. The skin is dark colored, and the 

 hair generally black; while the great depth of the body will always suffice to distin- 

 guish this breed from all other polled strains. Mr. D. Low states that " these cattle 

 are hardy, exceedingly docile, sufficiently good feeders, when carried to suitable pas- 

 tures, and weigh well in proportion to their bulk." 



The polled Suffolk is a less important hornless breed from the east- 

 Polled Suffolk , ^ . , ,. , ...... 



ern counties of England, which was originally of a mouse dun, or some 



nearly similar shade of color, and is of small size, and somewhat defective form. 

 There is also a polled Irish breed, which includes animals of large size, but fre- 

 quently more or less crossed with other races. 



The three nearly-allied strains from the Channel islands, respec- 

 Terse s tively termed Al'derney, Jersey, and Guernsey, are now so well known 



in England, and are so easily distinguished from all others, that they 

 require but scant notice. They are characterized by the bulls being considerably 

 larger than the cows, by their small size, their short, thin, and often crumpled in- 

 turning horns, and their delicate and (from the butcher's point of view) somewhat 

 "ragged" build. The head is delicately formed, with very prominent eyes, and a 

 narrow muzzle, but may be either very short or somewhat elongated; the bones of 

 the pelvis are very prominent; and the limbs are slender and deer like. The color 

 of the short and glossy hair is generally some shade of rufous or fawn, mingled 

 with white; but it may be black, mixed with white or dun, and is more rarely 

 cream; the skin being thin and orange colored. Although of delicate constitution, 

 the Channel island breeds are esteemed for their elegant appearance, and the rich- 

 ness and yellow color of their cream and butter. 



The Ayrshire breed, whose proper home is the county of Ayr, 



although it is now widely spread over Scotland and some parts of 

 Ireland, is another race bred exclusively for the purposes of the dairy. They are of 

 medium size, with short horns curving inward in the Alderney manner; and the 

 fore-quarters are light, the loins broad and deep, the neck and head small, and the 

 limbs slender. The color of the skin is yellowish orange, and the prevailing tint of 

 the hair reddish brown, more or less mixed with white. 



The rich red soil of Devonshire is tenanted by a breed of cattle 



readily distinguished by the deep-red color of their hair. They have 

 orange-yellow skins and fine tapering horns. Mr. Low describes them as "of a 

 light and graceful form, agile, and suited for active labor. They fatten with suffi- 

 cient facility in good pastures, and in a temperate climate; but they are inferior in 

 hardiness and the power of subsisting , on scanty herbage to the mountain cattle of 



