1 60 Gleanings from the 



that fhe fhould beftow on the Weft a few of the 

 comforts of life which fhe herfelf had received 

 from the Eaft. 



To take thefe in order, we may begin with 

 quadrupeds. In the few touches with which 

 Caefar paints the fauna and flora of Britain, he 

 fays ("De Bell. Gall.," v. 12), "pecorum magnus 

 numerus ;" and further on, "ladle et carne vivunt." 

 Thefe domefticated oxen and fheep were legacies 

 from neolithic man. The oxen in all probability 

 were the anceftors of the few wild cattle at prefent 

 living inChillingham Park and a few other localities, 

 the bos taurus of Linnaeus. Another fpecies, the 

 fhort-horned Celtic ox (b. longifrons), although 

 its remains have been found in Britain afibciated 

 with thofe of the elephant and rhinoceros, was 

 domefticated in England during the Roman period, 

 and fupplied the legionaries with food. It feems 

 likely that our Welm and Highland cattle, and 

 alfo the red Devon breed, are defcended from it ; 

 and that the Romans were either the firft to 

 domefticate it in Britain, or elfe that they intro- 

 duced a better breed than that already in fubjec- 

 tion to the Britons. Owing to the numerous 

 divergent breeds of oxen, at prefent it is difficult 

 to afcertain the original fpecies. 



The afs, the mule, and the goat were alfo in- 

 troduced from Rome. FofTil forms of the afs 

 and goat have been found in Britain, but moft 

 naturalifts now believe that our afs is defcended 



pasne totius orbis fruges adhibito ftudio colonorum ferre 

 didicerit." 



