616 CTCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



The battle has been stoutly fought between the advocates of the Middle 

 and Long-Horns. The Short-Horns and the polls can have no claim; 

 the latter, although it has existed in certain districts from time immemo- 

 rial, was probably an accidental variety, ^ye are very much disposed to 

 adjudge the honor to the Middle-Horns. Tiie Long-Horns are evidently 

 of Irish extraction. 



* 'Britain has shared the fate of other nations, and oftener than 

 they, has bcoa overrun and subjugated by invaders. As the native? 

 retreated, they carried with them some portion of their property, which 

 in those early times, consisted principally in cactle. They drove along 

 with them as many as they could, when they retired to the fortresses of 

 north Devon and Cornwall, or the mountainous regions of Wales, or 

 when they took refuge in the wealds of east Sussex ; and there, retaining 

 all their prejudices, customs and manners, were jealous of the preserva- 

 tion of that which reminded them of their native country before it yielded 

 to a foreign yoke. 



"In this manner was preserved the ancient breed of British cattle. 

 Difference of climate wrought some change, particularly in their bull.. 

 The rich pasture of Sussex fattened the ox into its superior size and 

 weight. The plentiful, but not so luxuriant, herbage of the north of 

 Devon, produced a smaller and more active animal, while the privations 

 of Wales lessened the bulk and thickened the hide of the Welsh runt. 

 As for Scotland, it set its invaders at defiance; or its inhabitants 

 retreated for a while, and soon turned again on their pursuers. They 

 were proud of their country, their cattle, their choicest possession; and 

 there, toe, the cattle were preserved, unmixed and undegenerated, 



"Thence it resulted that in Devon, in Sussex, in Wales, and in Scot- 

 land, the cattle have been the same from time immemorial; while in aL 

 the eastern coast, and through every district of England, the breed of 

 cattle degenerated, or lost its original character; it consisted of animals 

 brought from every neighboring and some remote districts, mingled in 

 every possible variety, yet conforming itself to the soil and the climate. 



"Observations will convince us that the cattle in Devonshire, Sussex, 

 Wales and Scotland, are essentially the same. They are middle-horned; 

 not extraordinary milkers, and remarkable for the quality rather than the 

 quantity of their milk; active at work, and with an unequaled aptitude 

 to fatten. They have all the characters of the same breed, changed by 

 soil, climate, and time, yet little changed by man. We may almost trace 

 the color, namely, the red of the Devon, the Sussex, and the Hereford; 

 and where the black alone are now found, the memory of the red pre- 

 vails. Every one who has compared the Devon cattle with the wild breed 

 of Chatelherault park, or Chillingham castle, has been struck with the 



