HISTORY OF LONG HORNS 103 



land and Westmorland (where many herds existed in the 

 hilly country), and southward through Cheshire, Shropshire, 

 to the districts on the Severn, and even into Somersetshire, 

 where traces of them still exist in the higher country. From 

 the mouth of the Severn they extended inland through the 

 Midland Counties (the stronghold of the breed) even to 

 Leicestershire (and one herd to Hampshire in 1780). They 

 were also found in Derbyshire, but not, within the period of 

 any records, in the South-eastern counties of the chalk. . . . 

 Thus the breed appears to have been derived from the 

 Western and more humid counties, and to have disappeared 

 or lost its distinctive characters in the Eastern and drier." 



History does not state definitely whether the. Longhorn 

 came from Ireland, where it has been " for a period of unknown 

 antiquity," or was taken there from the West of England. 

 The fertile pastures of Ireland produced " a great development 

 of form and size in the animals." The herd on the Earl of 

 Westmeath's estate at Pallas, County Galway, is said to 

 have been bred pure for over 200 years fresh blood being 

 imported from England from time to time. 



The rich district of Craven in Yorkshire has been specially 

 referred to as the centre from which superior bulls were dis- 

 tributed to other parts of the country, although Lancashire 

 got the credit of being "the nursery of the breed" in 

 England. 



William Gilpin, in his Observations, made in 1776, on 

 several parts of Great Britain and the Highlands of Scotland^ 

 says, page 1810 : 



"In Lancashire we frequently observed a breed of large 

 cattle, which in the county is called the ' Wag-horn ' breed, 

 from the manner in which the horn bends under the eye. 

 In other counties I have heard them called 'lough-horned' 1 ; 

 but throughout England they are commonly known by the 

 name of the ' Lancashire ' breed of cattle (also ' Leicestershire,' 

 ' Warwickshire,' or the ' Dishley ' breed). They are said to be 

 fleshy, and more proper for the shambles than the dairy ; 

 though in Lancashire, we were told, they are esteemed the 



1 Probably a misprint for "bough," /.<?., "bent "-horned. 



