84 EVOLUTION OF BRITISH CATTLE 



found in Scotland, the north of England, Wales, 

 and Ireland — but, since the establishment of pure 

 breeds, and perhaps before that, they have 

 gradually disappeared : the Highland breed being 

 the last of the Celtic breeds to give them a 

 lodging. There are still a few among the non- 

 pedigreed Irish black cattle, but very few in 

 the territories of the Welsh, the Galloways, or 

 the Aberdeen-Angus. 



Being registered among Highlanders, it is 

 among them we must first look for the link that 

 may connect these cattle with other breeds and 

 perhaps with the race to which they belong ; and 

 an examination of the Highland Herd- Book 

 shows that the Highland brindles have been 

 produced by crossing this blackish-brown race 

 with the other three fundamental colours belong- 

 ing to the breed, viz. black, red, and light dun 

 (sometimes in other breeds described by such 

 words as " grey " and '* silver grey "). 



Is there any other British breed of cattle 

 in which brindles are known, and, if so, what 

 is their origin ? There is one breed, the Long- 

 horns, and the Longhorn brindles also revert 

 back to a similar ancestral race, which is de- 

 scribed, however, not as brown or donn, but as 

 mulberry or plum coloured. Are there any 

 other cattle in which these same phenomena 

 can be traced ? There is one other breed, almost 

 at Britain's doors, in which this same brown, or 



