66 EVOLUTION OF BRITISH CATTLE 



having fully compared them with the cattle of 

 Norway. The cattle of Iceland, which are 

 undoubtedly Norse, were thus described by Uno 

 von Triol in 1780 : "Their beeves are not large, 

 but very fat and good. It has been reported by 

 some, though without foundation, that there are 

 none without horns : it is true, however, that 

 they seldom have any." 1 It might also be 

 remarked that the old Caithness cattle bore 

 some of the characters of the hornless cattle : 

 " The chest was small, and the ribs flat, and 

 the back thin ; there was not room for the back 

 to beat, nor the lungs to play." 2 



Perhaps a still more striking link is the recent 

 discovery in some earthen mounds in North 

 Holland of skulls similar to those found in 

 Ireland. In dealing with these skulls in Cultura 

 for 1908, the magazine of the old students of the 

 Royal Agricultural College, at Wageningen, 

 Professor Broekema points out that some Scandi- 

 navian bracelets and cloak-pins were found in 

 the same mounds. 



There are small bunches of hornless cattle 

 here and there in other parts of Europe ; but, 

 according to Wilckens, 8 " they are found chiefly 

 in Northern Europe, in North Russia, Finnland, 

 Lappland, Sweden, Jemtland, Norway and 



1 " Letters from Iceland," 1780, p. 132. 



2 Youatt's " Cattle," p. 88. 



3 " Grundziige der Naturgeschichte der Haustiere," p. 308. 



