HISTORICAL NOTICES 149 



Low held a different opinion, which is perferable in 

 view of the historical connection of the islands with Norway, 

 and the fact that the people, and, till recently, their language, 

 were Norse. He wrote : 



" The cattle are distinctly Norwegian in their character, 

 and a similar race extends to Iceland. They are small, but 

 of very good form when pure, and fatten with great quickness 

 when carried to superior pastures. Their horns are short 

 (irregular in form and insignificant), their skin is soft, and 

 their flesh is equal to that of any cattle produced in the 

 British Isles. They are of various colours, generally parti- 

 coloured, and tending more to the lighter shades than the 

 cattle of the Highlands. The females receive the male at an 

 earlier age than is known in the case of any other breed in 

 this country (at five or six months, or even at four months). 

 The cows are tolerably good milkers, in which respect (although 

 smaller) they agree with the cattle of Norway, and differ 

 from those of the Highlands ; and in this respect, too, they 

 agree with the cattle of Jersey and the islands of the Channel, 

 which are likewise believed to be of Norwegian origin." 



Whatever be the origin, the case of Mrs Blackburn's cow, 

 p. 19, indicates a connecting link with the ancient white cattle 

 with black points. Low shows how the introduction of 

 foreign blood was carried out : 



" The cattle of Zetland have necessarily been much mixed 

 with those of Orkney, and the latter again with those of 

 Caithness and the Northern Highlands. These mixed races 

 are rarely equal to those of pure descent." He had in con- 

 sideration the fact that "the cattle of the Zetland Islands 

 are left almost in a state of nature, without sufficient 

 sustenance in winter, and with scarce any other shelter than 

 the desolate rocks of the country supply." 



He advocated greater care in management, and "the 

 introduction of suitable males for breeding " from the parent 

 stock in Norway. He also said, prophetically, the " first 

 crosses with superior breeds, as the Shorthorn, are admirable," 

 but " this system of crossing, though it may be more profitable 

 to individual breeders, can do nothing for the general im- 

 provement of the stock of the country itself." 



