38 THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 



Beginning with the breeds of the first section, we may 

 observe, that the cattle of Limosin are of moderate stature, 

 somewhat elongated in form, and robustly made : the head is 

 large ; the horns are massive, long, and pointed, sometimes 

 sweeping upwards, sometimes downwards. The shoulders 

 are thick, the withers low, the region of the loins somewhat 

 hollow, the dewlap lax, the general colour white or straw- 

 yellow. Weight, from 600 to 850 Ibs. 



The breeds of Angoumois and Saintonge present very 

 similar characters, but are of inferior size. 



These cattle are used for work in their respective provinces, 

 and also in Perigord and Haut-Poitou ; afterwards they are 

 fattened, some in Normandy, and others in Limosin ; and 

 numbers are sent to the slaughterhouses around Paris. 



The cattle of La Marche, and Berri, and Touraine, closely 

 approximate to those of Limosin ; but are lower in stature, 

 with long, heavy horns, turned up at the tips, and of a 

 greenish colour. Numbers are fed in the pasture-grounds of 

 Normandy. 



The Gascon breed are of considerable size, from 700 to 

 800 Ibs. in weight : they are long, low beasts, with a huge head 

 and horns ; the skin is very thick ; the colour generally of a 

 dull white, sometimes with a tinge of sooty-brown, which 

 appears mostly on the head. Oxen of this breed are con- 

 sumed at Bordeaux, and are slaughtered for the provision of 

 shipping ; some few are fattened in Limosin, and sent to 

 Paris. 



The Auvergne cattle are of small size, weighing from 750 to 

 850 Ibs. ; they are short in stature, but broad and thick, with 

 large bones, and a heavy contour ; the head is short and 

 broad, the muzzle thick, the horns short, turned up, and 

 somewhat twisted and crumpled ; the belly hangs low ; the 

 usual colour is red, with marks of white, more or less large, 

 on the sides and back. 



The cattle of this breed are reared in the mountains of 

 Auvergne, whence they are brought down, at the age of three 

 years, to work in the plains of Haut-Poitou ; they are after- 

 wards sent to fatten in the pastures of Normandy. Some, 

 however, are retained at Poitou, and are fattened on hay, in 

 the neighbourhood of Hera'ie-Saint-Maixent, and of La Motte- 

 Sainte-Heraie, and turn out good beasts : they are known by 

 the name of " Mottois." 



There is a breed of small cattle in Bourbon, with a slender 



