480 



)t Crragttrp of Natural pi 



three years, and the term of its natural life 

 is about fourteen. 



The climate as well as the pasture of Great 

 Britain is excellently adapted to the mode- 

 rate nature of these animals ; and the ver- 

 dure and fertility of our plains are perfectly 

 suited to their manner of feeding ; for, being 

 destitute of the superior fore-teeth, they 

 love to graze in high and rich pastures ; nor 

 do they seem to be very choice as to the 

 quality of their food, provided they have 



always an abundant supply of herbage. For 

 this reason, in our English pastures, where 

 the grass is rather high and flourishing, than 



succulent and nutritious, the Cow thrives 

 admirably ; and there is no part of Europe 

 in which this animal grows larger, yields 

 more milk, or fattens sooner. 



In the Islands and Highlands of Scotland 

 the breed of Oxen is very small, and the 

 majority of them black. They are very light, 



KTLOB ox. 



and traverse with great ease the 

 ground which abounds in these parts, 

 are said to derive their name of Kyloe oxen 

 from the Islanders having to cross the kyles 

 or ferries on their way to the market. Thou- 

 sands of these are annually driven to market, 

 and the ferries have frequently very strong 

 currents through which the animals are 

 made to swim. 



The varieties produced by domestication 

 and climate are almost innumerable : but 

 the principal kinds in this country are thus 

 described by Mr. Youatt. "The breeds of 

 cattle, as they are now found in Great Britain, 

 are almost as various as the soil of the dif- 

 ferent districts, or the fancies of the breeders. 

 They have, however, been very conveniently 

 classed according to the comparative size of 



proved in Durham, mostly cultivated in the 

 northern counties and in Lincolnshire, and 

 many of them found in every part of the 

 kingdom, where the farmer attends much 



LONO-HORNBD BULL. 



the horns : the long horns originally, so far 

 as our country is concerned, from Lanca- 

 shire, much improved by Mr. Bakewell of 

 Leicestershire, and established through the 

 greater part of the midland counties ; the 

 short horns, originally from East York, im- 



to his dairy, or a large suj 

 nted ; and the middle 



of milk is 

 rns, not de- 



rived from a mixture of the two preceding, 

 but a distinct and valuable and beautiful 

 breed, inhabiting principally the north of 



Devon, the east of Sussex, Herefordshire, 

 Gloucestershire ; and of diminished bulk, 

 and with somewhat different character, the 

 cattle of the Scottish and Welsh mountains. 

 The Alderney, with her crumpled horn, is 



fraud on the southern coast, and, in smaller 

 numbers, in gentlemen's parks and pleasure- 

 grounds every where ; while the polled or 

 hornless cattle prevail in Suffolk and Nor- 

 folk, and in Galloway, whence they were 

 first derived. These, however, have been 

 intermingled in every possible way. They 

 are found pure only in their native districts, 

 or on the estates of some opulent and spi- 

 rited individuals. Each county has its own 



