popular IBtcttonari? of &ntmatrir gtoture. 481 



mongrel breed, often difficult to be described, 

 and not always to be traced, neglected 

 enough, yet suited to the soil and to the 

 climate ; and, among little fanners, main- 

 taining their station, and advantageously 

 maintaining it, in spite of attempts at sup- 

 posed improvements by the intermixture or 

 substitution of foreign varieties." 



" It does not appear," says Mr. Bell, " that 

 any very decided steps were taken towards 

 the improvement of the English breeds of 

 cattle until within the last half century, or 

 rather more. They were, it is true, bred in 

 great numbers to supply the profuse hospi- 

 tality of the ancient nobility ; but there is 

 no reason to believe that any particular care 

 was taken to procure the best breeds, or to 

 increase their size by a particular mode of 

 feeding. The establishment of prizes has 

 led, perhaps, as much as the real advantage 

 of the pursuit, to that great interest which 

 has of late years been taken in the breed- 

 ing and fattening of cattle. The result has 

 been the establishment of numerous distinct 

 breeds, of which some are particularly ad- 

 vantageous for particular districts." That 

 the encouragement given to agricultural 

 pursuits in general by associations expressly 

 devoted to that object has been attended 

 with many beneficial results, cannot be 

 denied ; but as regards the fattening of 

 cattle for public exhibition, we consider that 

 it has been carried to a most ridiculous 

 excess. It is, however, no part of our duty 

 to describe the fat beauties which are exhi- 

 bited at monster cattle-shows ; nor are we 

 disposed to eulogise those patriots who think 

 they are entitled to the gratitude of their 

 country, for spending their time and money 

 in heaping up mountains of fat on the car- 

 cases of animals which, in our humble 

 opinion, are quite as likely to die of repletion 

 as they are to grace the shops of aristocratic 

 butchers. 



Volumes have been written on the different 

 breeds of cattle, but this is not the place for 

 discussing the comparative merits of long- 

 horned and short-horned bulls, or whether 

 the milk of Alderney cows be superior to 

 that supplied in the dairies of Somersetshire, 

 Cheshire, or Ayreshire ; and as for the 

 " vexed question " of the size of the carcase, 

 or the smallness of the bone, of the rival 

 breeds, and the relative qualities of the hide, 

 we must leave our readers to consult the 

 many well-known elaborate works on these 

 subjects. Our purpose in this book being 

 more zoological than economical, let us pass 

 to a short notice of a variety or species of Ox 

 which is believed to be nearly in its pri- 

 mitive state. 



The wild cattle which anciently inhabited 

 the Great Caledonian Forest (the Bos Scoticus 

 of some authors) are now restricted to a few 

 individuals preserved by noblemen at Chil- 

 lingham Park, Cadzowe, near Hamilton 

 &c. A specimen of a bull from the first 

 mentioned of these places is preserved in the 

 British Museum, to which it was presented 

 by the Earl of Tankeryille. This variety is 

 thus described by Leslie : Their colour is 

 invariably of a creamy white, muzzle black: 

 the whole of the inside of the ear, and about 



one-third of the outside, from the tips down- 

 wards, red ; horns white with black tips, 

 very fine and bent upwards ; some of the 

 bulls have a thin upright mane, about an 

 inch and a half or two inches long. At the 

 first appearance of any person they set off in 

 full gallop, and at the distance of two or 

 three hundred yards make a wheel round, 

 and come boldly up again, tossing their heads 

 in a menacing manner : on a sudden they 

 make a full stop, at the distance of forty or 

 fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of 

 their surprise ; but upon the least motion 

 being made, they all again turn round and 

 fly off with equal speed, but not to the same 

 distance ; forming a shorter circle, and again 

 returning with a bolder and more threaten- 

 "ng aspect than before, they approach much 



nearer, probably within thirty yards, when 

 they make another stand, and again fly off ; 

 this they do several times, shortening their 

 distance, and advancing nearer, till they 

 come within ten yards ; when most people 

 think it prudent to leave them, not choosing 

 to provoke them further ; for there is little 

 doubt but, in two or three turns more, they 

 would make an attack." 



WILD OOW. 



We might make elaborate extracts from a 

 paper read before the British Association by 

 Mr. Hindmarsh (in 1838), in which a good 

 account is given of specimens preserved by 

 the Earl of Tankerville, in his park at Chil- 

 lingham ; but it would occupy too much of 

 our space to do so. We therefore refer our 

 readers to the second volume of the Annals 

 of Natural History, in which are some notes 

 from Lord Tankerville himself; and we 

 agree in his conclusion, that the same species 

 of wild cattle prevalent in Scotland had ex- 

 tended to the northern districts of England ; 

 that in proportion as population and culture 

 advanced, they became here, as in Scotland, 

 the subjects of almost universal slaughter ; 

 and that a few of those that escaped had 

 found sanctuary in the great wood at Chil- 



