THE OX AND THE DAIKY. 51 



the milk is extremely rich, the cow yields but little, and con- 

 sequently does not repay its keep. 



The cattle of Great Britian, as the breeds are at present 

 established, may be divided, according to the foregoing re- 

 marks, into the following primary sections: First, Long 

 Horns ; secondly, Middle Horns ; thirdly, Polled Cattle ; 

 and fourthly, Short Horns, exclusive of the Alderney. Of 

 these the three first are of untraceable antiquity in our 

 islands, so that we may call them original, without entering 

 into the question relative to their primaeval source ; as we 

 call the Red Men of America, or the natives of the South Sea 

 Islands, aborigines, though it is evident that at some remote 

 period their invading ancestors colonized the lands, and per- 

 haps extirpated prior possessors. 



The above sections do not, we are ready to admit, derive 

 their nomenclature from points of zoological importance ; 

 indeed the horns alone, taken as a standard, would be inad- 

 missible ; but it so happens, that in conjunction with certain 

 forms of horn other characters are associated, and various 

 important qualities, of no ordinary interest to the farmer or 

 breeder ; consequently, in the terms " long horn," or " short 

 horn," other points are included, these appellations being 

 used for convenience, the farmer knowing well the whole that 

 they imply. 



Each of these sections is subdivided into various families 

 or breeds, distinguished by minor but not unimportant pecu- 

 liarities ; and these breeds are not only numerous, but are 

 continually interblending, improving or deteriorating, accord- 

 ing to the skill of the breeder, and the object at which he 

 aims. Some breeds, by no means destitute of value, especially 

 in dairy counties, are of such mingled origin, that, like 

 mongrels among dogs, it is difficult to assign them veiy defi- 

 nitely to any section : but these are undergoing perpetual 

 modification. 



Looking at the cattle of Great Britain as a whole, we may 

 justly regard them as unequalled by any country in the world, 

 whether we take into consideration quantity or quality of milk, 

 quality of flesh, its fineness of grain, a tendency to the acquisi- 

 tion of fat, or points of symmetry, all, in fact, that the dairy 

 farmer, be his produce butter or cheese, all that the grazier for 

 the market, can wish for ; the cattle of our islands are pre-emi- 

 nent. Nor is this to be wondered at climate, production, 

 enterprise, skill, and money combine their agencies. There 

 is, besides, a spirit of emulation, and agricultural societies, 



