WHITE WILD CATTLE.] CATTLE, AND Til HI If VAKIETIES. [white wild cattle. 



coloured breed which now exists, and whicli is 

 general throughout tho Principality." As a 

 further point, in favour of the probability of 

 the white wild cattle being specilically the 

 same as our domestic races, wo select tlio 

 following quotation from the work before re- 

 ferred to: — "Tho colours of tho improved 

 short-horns are red or white, or a niixturo of 

 the two, combining in endless variety, and pro- 

 ducing, very frequently, a most brilliant ellect. 

 Tho white, it is very probable, they obtained I 

 from an early cross with the wild breed ; and 

 whenever this colour shows itself, it is ac- 

 companied, more or less, with a red tinge on 

 the extremit}' of the car — a distinctive charac- 

 ter also of the wild cattle." 



Are, then, tlie wild cattle of Chatclhcranlt 

 Park, Lanarkshire, or Chilliugham Park, Lime- 

 hall, Clieshire, and other places, the de- 

 scendants, as Mr. Touatfc seems to infer, of 

 tliese white cattle of ancient race, so valued in 

 early times? or are they descendants of the 

 wild breed which, at an early period, tenanted 

 the great forests of our island ; and which, as 

 the forests became cleared, and the land culti- 

 vated, were gradually thinned, till, at length, 

 their remnant found, in the chase or park of 

 the nobleman, that safety which, as old deni- 

 zens of the soil, they might well claim ; and 

 but for which, the breed would long since have 

 been utterly extirpated ? Again, was the 

 wild breed which roamed the Caledonian forest, 

 and the gveat forest north of London, so late 

 as the latter part of the twelfth century, and 

 mentioned by Pitzstephen, identical with the 

 white Cambrian breed ? These arc questions 

 more easily abked than solved. One thing is 

 certain — the wild cattle of Chillingham will 

 breed with the domestic race ; but the progeny 

 has never been preserved, the calves having 

 been always killed at an early age, from a 

 pardonable desire to keep this ancient race iu 

 all its purity. We firmly believe, however, 

 that the cross breed would be as fertile as any 

 of our domestic varieties. 



The author of the article "Bos," in the BrUish 

 CyclopceJia, is of opinion that the white cattle 

 in question are domesticated oxen which have 

 run wild ; and, moreover, that they are not 

 descended from an aboriginal stock, but that 

 the race was originally imported by the eccle- 

 siastics from Italy, where herds of wild cattle, 



much res(>mbling them, still exist. In Ihip, aa 

 in all other theories, autheiiticated facts, as our 

 basis, are wanting. Tho Chillingham wild 

 cattle are invariably of a creamy-whito colour, 

 with a black muzzle; tho whole of the in.sido 

 of tho ears, and the tip externally, are red ; 

 the horns aro white, with black tips; very Hue, 

 and bent upwards. Some of tho bulla havo 

 a thin upright mane, an inch and a-half, or 

 two inches long. Tho weight of tho oxl-u h 

 from thirty-five to forty-fivo stone the four 

 quarters (fourteen pounds to the stone) ; that 

 of the cows, from twenty-five to thirty- five 

 stone. Tho beef is finely marbled, and of 

 excellent llavour. These cattle are fleet and 

 active. " At the first appearance of any per- 

 son they set off at full gallop ; and, at the 

 distance of about two hundred yards, make a 

 wheel round, and come boldly up again, tossing 

 their heads in a menacing manner ; on a sud- 

 den 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 threat- 

 ening aspect than before, they approach much 

 nearer — probably within thirty yards — when 

 they again make another stand, and then fly 

 off. This they do several times, shortening 

 their distance, and advancing nearer and nearer, 

 till they come within such a short distance, 

 that most people think it proper to leave 

 them, not choosing to provoke them furllier." 

 The females hide their calves for a week or 

 ten days, after birth, in some sequestered situa- 

 tion, and visit them two or three times a day. 

 If any person approach the calves, they crouch 

 close, like a hare iu form, and endeavour to 

 hide themselves; but, when roused, exhibit 

 great fury, pawing, bellowing, and butting at 

 the intruder. The females arc resolute in the 

 defence of their young, and attack persons 

 discovered near their lair with impetuous 

 ferocity. I^ormerly the bunting of these ani- 

 mals was conducted with great parade, many 

 scores assembling on horseback, and hundreds 

 on foot, to witness tho sport ; but, from the 

 number of accidents that happened, and, 

 perhaps, from the disturbance created among 

 the game, this practice has been long discon- 



g;37 



