12 DAIRY CATTLE AND MILK PRODUCTION 



with the blood of the Bos primigenius type through crossing 

 with Holland cattle. 



The Bos primigenius was an immense, powerful animal with 

 tremendous horns. Historical records show this form existed 

 in a wild state in Europe until the twelfth or thirteenth, and 

 possibly the fourteenth century. This animal was appar- 

 ently domesticated in Europe within historic times. From 

 it are descended the cattle of Holland and other parts of North 

 Europe, the large, long-horned cattle of Hungary and adjacent 

 regions, the Fleckvieh or Spotted Cattle of Switzerland, and 

 the Longhorns and Scotch Highland breeds in England. 



The chief basis of classification is the skull, which is quite 

 different in the two types. In the Holland or Holstein breed, 

 for example, we have the long, narrow head, indicating descent 

 from the Bos primigenius, while in the Channel Islands breeds 

 we find the head broad and short, which is characteristic of 

 those breeds descended from the Bos sondaicus. 



Origin of Breeds. Varieties or breeds of cattle came into 

 existence first of all as a result of environment, such as climate, 

 food, and the nature of the surroundings. In the early times, 

 with no organized means of transportation, there naturally 

 was little exchange of animals from one locality to another, and 

 probably little, if any, attempt at improvement. The effects 

 of natural conditions were allowed to work out almost un- 

 disturbed by the agency of man. Breeds formed by such 

 means may be called natural breeds. 



On the continent of Europe the breeds and sub-breeds are 

 almost innumerable, and they are mostly breeds originated in 

 the manner mentioned. In Great Britain alone ten or twelve 

 distinct breeds have been originated. Up to about the middle 

 of the eighteenth century these natural influences were the 



