210 



The Living Animals of the World 



raised the value of average Irish store cattle 2 per head during the last twenty years. The 

 shorthorns are level-backed, large animals, maturing very quickly. The commonest colours 

 are roan, white, red, and red-and-white. HEREFORD CATTLE are red, with white faces and long, 

 upturned horns ; they fatten quickly on good grass, and are in most demand for summer 

 beef. HIGHLAND CATTLE have long horns, rough, shaggy coats, and bodies of moderate size 

 and great symmetry ; they are grazed on the mountains of the West Highlands mainly, and 

 fattened in the south. The beef is of the finest quality. SUSSEX CATTLE are an " all red " 

 variety, large, and formerly much used for draught and farm work. The DEVONS are another 

 red variety, very like the Sussex, yielding excellent and rich milk, and, when fattened, being 

 little inferior to any breed as beef. The long-horned black WELSH CATTLE grow to a great 

 size, as do the polled ANGUS breed of Scotland. The polled or hornless cattle include the 

 red SUFFOLKS, a most valuable breed, hardy, and wonderful producers of milk. The cows 

 often give milk every day of the year. The LONGHORN breed is almost disappearing, as the 



horns are a disadvan- 

 tage both in the fields 

 and when the animals 

 are carried on board 

 ship or in the train. 

 The HUMPED CATTLE of 

 India and East Africa 

 belong to a race 

 different from European 

 cattle, of which the 

 parent stock is not 

 known. They have a 

 hump upon the withers, 

 drooping ears (a sign 

 of ancient domestica- 

 tion), and a very large 

 dewlap. The coat is 

 always exquisitely fine. 

 They are of all sizes, 

 from the tall Brahminee 

 bull to dwarf breeds 

 not larger than a New- 

 foundland dog. The 



commonest colours are cream, grey, mouse-colour, and white. They do not low, but grunt, 

 and are by no means so fond of shade and water as European cattle. 



WILD OXEN. 



THIS group consists of the GAUR of India; the GAYAL of Assam, which is possibly a 

 domesticated form of the gaur, but rather smaller in size, with skull and horns different in 

 character; and the BANTING, a lighter and more slender wild ox, of which different varieties 

 are found in Burma, in Java (where it is kept in a half-domesticated condition), and in 

 Manipur. 



THE GAUR. 



The GAUR, the so-called INDIAN BISON, is probably the largest of all the wild bovine 

 animals. It is found at the foot of the North-eastern Himalaya, in the Central Provinces 

 of India, the forests of Madras and Mysore, and in parts of Burma and the Malay Peninsula, 

 but not in Ceylon. Its range eastward is not accurately known. In habits the gaur is 

 mainly a forest animal, retiring always at daybreak into the depths of the jungle. It 

 sometimes attains a height of over 6 feet at the shoulder, and a length of 9 feet 6 inches 



[Aberdeen. 



YOUNG GATJB. 

 The largest and handsomest of the wild oxen. 



