84 THE DISEASES AND DISOEDEES OF THE OX. 



owing to a relationship betwixt them and the Indian ox or zebu» 

 which animal is probably one of a species distinct from the 

 common ox. 



THE MIDDLE-HORNED CATTLE. 



We now come to a brief consideration of the middlehorns, 

 under which designation we include the cattle of North Devon, 

 Cornwall, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Herefordshire, Gloucester- 

 shire, East Sussex, Kent, and most of the cattle of Wales. 

 These oxen, known as the middlehorns, constitute a distinct, 

 valuable, and very fine group. The cattle found on the Scottish 

 and the Welsh mountains are small, and exhibit diflPerent 

 characteristics. 



The cattle of North Devon have for a long period of time 

 been remarkable for their beauty, activity in work, and capa- 

 bility of being readily fattened. They are rather large, very 

 muscular and powerful, very gentle and docile, and so well 

 adapted for draught that much agricultural labour is even 

 still carried out by teams of these animals in Devonshire. 

 From the earliest times the breed has remained the same, 

 or, at any rate, has not altered in any essential point until 

 within the last thirty years or thereabouts. Indeed, the farmers 

 of the county did not know until about the close of the last 

 century that they possessed a breed of cattle superior to other 

 varieties. In fact, it is only within the last fifty years that any 

 efiPorts have been systematically made to improve the cattle in 

 any part of the kingdom. The splendid specimens of the native 

 English ox found in Devonshire are no doubt partly due to the 

 influence of the soil and climate. These oxen of North Devon 

 have been greatly improved, and, in all probability, if they were 

 now crossed with any other breed disadvantage would result 

 from such crossing. The following characteristics of the more 

 perfect North Devon oxen may be mentioned. The horns should 

 not be very thick at the root, and they should taper towards the 

 tips. Their colour, too, should be yellow or wax-like, especially 

 at the tips. The horns of the bulls are a little shorter, larger, 

 and thicker, and of a darker colour. The eyes should be clear, 

 bright, and very prominent, and the countenance should be ani- 

 mated. The eye ought to show a great deal of its white part, and 

 it should have a circle of a dark orange or other colour sur- 



