THE ORIGIN OF CATTLE. 



common centre in the company of man ; or whether they have been 

 called into existence, either contemporaneously, or at different epochs, 

 according as the different parts of the earth became fitted for their 

 reception, and independent of human influence. So -far all writers of 

 note are agreed the majority at least of our domesticated cattle are 

 of Eastern origin, living under magi's subjection ever since. 



If by species we understand animals possessing certain character- 

 istics in common, which we term specific, and having the power, 

 which we see them possess, of reproducing animals having the same 

 characters, there can be no difficulty in admitting that all the bovine 

 races, in so far as they have yet been examined, are of one species. 



Li, however, we adopt the hypothesis of one centre of dispersion 

 for all the bovine races, we must suppose that change of place ac- 

 counts for the possession of white hair by the wild cattle of Chilling- 

 ham Park, England, and black hair by the wild cattle of Scotland ; 

 and the hump and humpies g breeds of Asia and Africa. Naturalists 

 however, seem to stumble over more difficult obstacles in their rambles 

 through scientific research, than we who without science's aid have 

 been using the various breeds of domesticated cattle all our lives 

 in their endeavour to connect all bovine races with one common centre 

 than those just mentioned. From the days of Laban and Jacob we 

 have had handed down to us not only by tradition from sire to son, 

 but by history, the cause of the varieties which took place in the 

 colors of the flocks that were not only eating the same food, and 

 under the same climatic conditions, but drinking the same water. 



We have also a strange example in what is termed the "* dollar 

 spot" in the skin of the Ayrshire breed of cattle. It is undoubtedly 

 peculiar to the Ayrshire, and gives considerable proof to the evidence 

 already given oi the strong admixture of aboriginal blood from the 

 wild white and black cattle of the British Isles being in the veins of 

 the Ayrshire more than aoy other breed. 



We have also seen the descendants of the buffaloes that were im- 

 ported to New South Wales during the early settlement a few of 

 those animals have been preserved in the colony. We have seen the 

 lumps disappear after a few generations of crossing with the hump- 

 less breeds of Great Britain. But we have never seen nor 

 read of a man (with the exception of Professor Low), \\ho 

 by the means af domestication alone, was able to breed 

 humpless buffaloes ; a cross with a humpless breed must be resorted 

 to before any improvement can be effected in that direction. These 

 observations have no doubt raised doubts in the minds of unscientific 

 breeders as to the correctness of any theory which may have for its 

 object the tracing of all our breeds of dairy cattle from a common 

 ancestry. But doubts seldom, if ever, disprove any theory. 



We have ample proof of the affinity that exists between certain 

 breeds of cattle which are dissimilar in every respect as regards gene- 

 ral appearance so far as the human eye and hand can detect. Take 

 the Ayrshire cow, for example; she is outwardly iMilike all other breeds 

 oi cows in general outline, yet no other cow possesses the same range 

 of affinity. You can cross an Ayrshire with either a Jersey, Short- 

 horn, Guernsey, or Friesian bull, %|d get a superior dairy animal. 

 Not so with a Jersey cow. She muS* be mated with bulls of her own 

 breed, otherwise the progeny will not be so good. 



Within our own memories we have seen a great variety of breeds 

 of dairy cattle in New South Wales, and innumerable crosses -from 

 these breeds. One is safe in stating that during the decade 1840-1850 

 there were in the county of Camden, Argyle, Murray, Auckland, and 

 St. Vincent the very best representatives of all the breeds of cattle 

 then existing in Great Britain a<nd Ireland. There were Durhams, 

 Longhorns, Holderness, Pembroke, Friesian, Suffolk polled, Norfolk 

 polled, Lincoln red, Normandy, Devon, Hereford, Alderney, Jersey, 



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