306 THE OX. 



Anglesea is a low insular tract of North Wales, about 

 twenty-four miles by seventeen, separated from Caernarvon 

 by a narrow strait of the sea. It produces the grasses, but 

 yet is of only moderate fertility. It rears a considerable 

 number of cattle, which used to be forced to swim across 

 the Straits of Menai, until the noble iron-bridge which now 

 connects the island with the main was formed. During this 

 transit, the younger cattle were often carried several miles 

 by the current, or drifted seaward ; and yet the Roman 

 cavalry swam across this strait, when, under Paulinus Sue- 

 tonius, they attacked this last stronghold of British liberty 

 and Druidical worship. The native cattle of this island are 

 allied, in their essential characters, to the Pembroke breed, 

 and manifest a common origin ; but they are of larger size 

 and coarser form, having acquired the characters suited to a 

 lower country. The genuine Angleseas are distinguishable 

 by the upright position of the horns, and the orange-yellow 

 colour of the skin. This breed has been much mixed with 

 Long-horns, chiefly from Ireland ; and various attempts have 

 been made by individuals to improve the breed by crosses of 

 different kinds. These attempts seem to have been made 

 without system, perseverance, or knowledge of the charac- 

 ters of the native race. They may be said to have produced 

 no beneficial effect upon the cattle of the country, the best 

 of which are manifestly those which approach the nearest to 

 the ancient type. The main end to be aimed at in the im- 

 provement of the breed of Anglesea, is to remove that coarse- 

 ness of form which is characteristic of the race ; and this 

 could be effected by a fitting selection of individuals for 

 breeding, from the best and purest of the native stock. 



Another and important breed of Wales is the Glamorgan ; 

 but the improved Glamorgans are to be ranked with the 

 larger oxen of the plains, rather than with those of the 

 mountains. They will be treated of in the sequel, along 

 with the Herefords, and other breeds of the lower country. 



The parent stock of the Mountain Breeds of Wales, it has 



