CATTLE. 



were jealous of the preservation of that wliich reminded them of 

 their native country before it yielded to a foreign yoke. 



In this manner was preserved the ancient breed of British cattle. 

 Difference of climate wrought some change, particularly in their 

 bulk. Th^ rich pasture of Sussex fattened the ox into its superior 

 size and m Aght. The plentiful, but not so luxuriant herbage of the 

 north of Devon, produced a smaller and more active animal, while 

 the privations of Wales lessened the bulk and thickened the hide of 

 the Welsh runt. As for Scotland, it set its invaders at defiance ; or 

 its inhabitants retreated for a while, and soon turned again on their 

 pursuers. They were proud of their country, of their cattle, their 

 choicest possession ; and there, too, the cattle were preserved, un- 

 mixed and undegenerated. 



Thence it resulted, that in Devon, in Sussex, in Wales, and in 

 Scotland, the cattle have been the same from time immemorial; 

 while in all the eastern coast, and through every district of England, 

 the breed of cattle degenerated, or lost its original character ; it 

 consisted of animals brought from every neighboring and some re- 

 mote districts, mingled in every possible variety, yet conforming 

 itself to the soil and the climate. 



Observations w^ill convince us that the cattle in Devonshire, Sus- 

 sex, Wale?, and Scotland, are essentially the same, lliey are middle 

 horned ; not extraordinary milkers, and remarkably f"^>- the quality 

 rather than the quantity of their milk ; active at work and with an 

 unequalled aptitude to fatten. They have all the characters of the 

 same breed, changed by soil, climate, and time, yet little changed by 

 man. We may almost trace the color, namely, the red of the Devon, 

 the Sussex, and the Hereford ; and where the black alone are now 

 found, the memory of the red prevails. Every one who has com- 

 pared the Devon cattle with the wild breed of Chatelherault park, or 

 Chillingham cas1<le, has been struck with the great resemblance ia 

 many points, notwithstanding the difference of color, while they bear 

 no likeness at all to the cattle of the neighboring country. 



For these reasons we consider the middle horns to be the native 

 breed of Great Britain, and they shall first pass in review before us. 



