102 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[May, 1902. 



Coutinent uud lamed ; and from these, with perhaps an 

 occasional blending of wild l)lood, are doubtless descended 

 most of our European cattle. 



Much misconception has, however, prevailed as to which 

 breeds are the nearest to the ancestral wild stock. For 

 instance, in IStJt!, Professor Dawkius wiote as follows: — 

 " The half-wild oxen of Chillini,'ham Park in Northumber- 

 land, and other places in northei-n and central Britain, 

 are probablv the last surviving representatives of the 

 gigantic urus of the Pleistocene period, reduced in size 

 and modified in everv respect by their small range and 

 their contact with men." 



AVhen this was penned, it is only fair to state, the 

 fact that the colour of the aurochs was black does not 

 appear to have been known to the writer ; neither was it 

 then generally recognized that the park-cattle (wliich are 

 always white) are semi-albinoes. Such semi-albinism is 

 always the result of domestication, as is mentioned in 

 Bell's " British Quadrupeds," and could not have arisen in 

 the wild state. Moreover, the park-cattle display evidence 

 of their descent from dark-coloured breeds by the retention 

 of red or black ears and brown or black muzzles. In the 

 Chillingham cattle the ears are generally red, although 

 sometimes (probably as the result of crossing) black, and 

 the muzzle brown ; while in the breed at Cadzow Park, 

 Lanarkshire, both ears and muzzle are deep black, and 

 there are usually flecks of black on the head and fore- 

 quarters. It is further significant that, in the Chillingham 

 herd, at any rate, dark-coloured calves, which are weeded 

 out by the keepers, make their appearance from time to 

 time. 



Now it is a remarkable fact that when the black Pem- 

 broke breed of domesticated cattle tends to albinism, the 

 ears and muzzle, and more rarely the fetlocks, remain 

 completely black or very dark grey, although the colour 

 elsewhere is whitish, more or less" profusely flecked and 

 blotched with pale grey. In the shape and" curvature of 

 the horns, which at first incline outwards aud forwards, 

 and then bend somewhat upwards and inwards, this breed 

 of cattle, which is known to be of great antiquity, re- 

 sembles both the gigantic aurochs aud the (by comparison) 

 dwarfed park breeds. Moreover, in both the Pembroke 

 and the park breeds the horns are light-coloured with 

 black tips. 



Important evidence as to the close affinity between these 

 two breeds is furnished by Low in his " Domesticated 

 Animals of the British Islands." It is there stated that a 

 breed of cattle very similar to that at Chillingham was 

 found in Wales in the tenth century ; these cattle being 

 white with red ears. " The individuals of this race yet 

 e.xistiug in Wales are found chiefly in the county 'of 

 Pembroke, where they have l)een kept" by some individuals 

 perfectly pure as a part of their regular"farm-stock. Until 

 a period comparatively recent, they were relatively 

 numerous, aud persons are yet living who remember wheii 

 they were driven in droves to the pasturages of the Severn 

 and the neighbouring markets. Their whole essential 

 characters are the same as those (of the cattle) at 

 Chillingham and Charth-y Park and elsewhere. Their 

 horns are white, tipped with black, and extended aud 

 turned upwards in the manner distinctive of the wild 

 breed. The inside of the ears and the muzzle are black, 

 and their feet are black to the fetlock joint. Their skiu 

 is unctuous and of a deep-toned yellow colour. Individuals 

 of the race are sometimes Urii entirely black, aud then 

 they are not to be distinguished from the common cattle 

 of the mountains." 



It is thus evident that the white park-cattle are a 

 specialized offshoot from the ancient Pembroke black 

 breed, which, as Low mentions in a later passage, from 



their soft and well-baired skins, are evidently natives of a 

 humid climate, such as that of the forests in which dwelt 

 the wild aurochs. This disposes, once and for all, of a 

 theory recently broached that the park-cattle are 

 descendants of a white sacrificial breed introduced by the 

 Romans. 



A further inference is that the Pembroke cattle are 

 themselves the most immediate descendants of the wild 

 aurochs (which, as we have already seen, was black) now 

 living in the Hritish Islands, or perhajis indeed anywhere 

 else. That the park-cattle have in some cases reverted to 

 a semi-wild state, whereas the Pembrokes are thoroughly 

 domesticated, has nothing to do with the argument, and 

 is merely the result of the force of circumstances. 



To some persons the red ears of the Chillingham and 

 some of the old Welsh white cattle may give rise to a 

 doubt as to the relationship with the aurochs and Pem- 

 broke breed ; but it should be borne in mind that red is 

 the primitive coloration' of all wild cattle, and that, for 

 ought we know to the contrary, the calves, or even the 

 cows, of the aurochs ma\' have been of this colour, as are 

 those of the bauting or wild ox of Java, of which the old 

 bulls are black. The red ears of the Chillingham breed 

 are therefore, at most, a reversion to the colour of the 

 ancestors of the aurochs. 



From the foregoing statements it is evident that the 

 aurochs and the Pembroke and park-cattle belong to one 

 and the same species, aud since the latter do not appear 

 specifically separable from the domesticated cattle of Scan- 

 dinavia, which probably formed the type of the Bos taurus 

 of Linnasus, it is clear that the aurochs has no right to a 

 distinct species name. Instead of Bos primigenitis, it 

 should be called Bos taurus irriinitienms. 



In conclusion, it uiay Ije mentioned that the article 

 on Four-horned Sheep which appeared some time ago 

 in Knowledge resulted in the presentation to the British 

 Museiuu of some interesting specimens, and the acquisition 

 of some valuable information with regard to different 

 breeds in which that abnormality occurs. I may now 

 take the opportunity of stating that skulls of the various 

 breeds of domesticated cattle — especially of the Pembroke 

 and park breeds (other than Chillingham) -are much 

 wanted for the National Natural Historv collection. 



ASTRONOMY WITHOUT A TELESCOPE. 



By E. Walter Maunder, f.r.a.s. 



XIII.- A MODERN TYCHO. 

 In the Chapter on the "March of the Planets," I remarked, 

 " This field of work has been so completely occupied in 

 modern times by the transit circle and allied instruments 

 that it is now hojieless for the astronomer without a tele- 

 scope to dream of olitaining results of any value." Yet 

 though this is the case, it has happened even in our own day 

 that circumstances have precluded an astronomer, not 

 merely from using optical means and modern instruments 

 of precision, but even from availing himself of the results 

 which others have secured by their means. This condition 

 prevails in India where religious sentiment places an 

 embargo upon the results of western science. The very 

 essence of Hindu life is the faithful carrying out of a 

 routine of religious observances, inseparably connected 

 with the knowledge of the positions of the planets and 

 stars. For this purpose a full and correct calendar is 

 needed for the right ordering of every Hindu family. To 

 Europeans astronomy is the pursuit of the very few, and 

 the multitude know nothing and care less about the 

 planetary movements. Such ignorance to the Hindu 



