VII 



THE FOUNDLINGS 



So far we have dealt with the different races of 

 cattle that have come to Britain according to 

 the order of their arrival. Now we have to deal 

 with a race whose presence in Britain is a 

 puzzle ; for not only must we confess ignorance 

 as to the date of its arrival, but even doubt as 

 to whether it ever arrived at all. At the present 

 day, animals of this race have an unpleasant 

 habit of turning up unasked in several breeds, 

 most notably among Highlanders and Longhorns. 

 Among Highlanders these unwelcome visitors 

 are almost black in colour with a brownish stripe 

 along the back and a ring of similar colour round 

 the muzzle. They are seldom retained for breed- 

 ing purposes, unless they are unusually good 

 heifers : in which cases they are registered as 

 some shade of brown in Gaelic donn sometimes 

 as a brindle. 



In former times there were far more of these 

 blackish-brown cattle in the Highlands than now. 

 Indeed, early in the nineteenth century they were 

 found wherever the old Celtic black cattle were 



83 



