CHAPTER VI. 

 ON WHITE CATTLE IN GENERAL. 



There is an old adage, "WHEN DOCTORS DISAGREE, WHO IS 

 TO DECIDE ? Now, we are in nearly the same position with re- 

 gard to the origin of the wild white cattle of the old world. If we 

 refer to the exhaustive works of Buffon, Low, Owen, and Darwin ^we 

 will soon find ourselves away back in the mists of ages without being 

 then in a definite position to decide for ourselves how this or that 

 breed of domesticated cattle carry with them all along the line of 

 march such marked and distinct characteristics. Professor Seyfferth, 

 however, comes to our assistance. He seems to fall in with tne id a 

 that all our breeds of cattle came originally from on -2 race, which is 

 named " Bos Primigenius," and that this race, probably divided under 

 primitive systems of domestication into two other races, named " Bos 

 Frontosus" and "Bos Longifrons." He then goes on to show that the 

 modern classification of the races is derived from various aspects, as 

 he says : " While formerly there were three principal groups (a) 

 mountain breeds, (b) lowland breeds, (c) middle or highland breeds, 

 which displayed various bodily shapes, according to their mode of life, 

 dwelling, and work ; others have decided the classification by color. 

 In this manner are distinguished (a) the grey races oi Eastern 

 Europe, (b) the parti-colored ox of Central and Western Europe, (c) 

 the black, brown, yellow, to white non-spotted races of Central 

 Europe. Nowadays in some parts of the world, solitary breeds, tribes, 

 and families are named after geographical or political divisions ; 

 often enough they are called after quite small breeding places, after 

 districts, valleys, ranges even after hamlets. In Europe semi-wild 

 cattle are still found in parks ; in England, Scotland, and Spain, and 

 other parts of the old worlds. In his treatise on the wild white cattle 

 of Great Britain, the Rev. John Storer, M.A., says : " The origin of 

 the British white cattle is obscure. On the other hand, local tradition, 

 in many parts of the country far separated from each other, declares 

 some of them at least to be of the aboriginal wild breed of the British 

 forests an opinion supported by some historical statements and some 

 osteological examinations. On the other hand, the recent inquiries 

 of certain eminent men have led them to doubt the truth of this, and 

 to believe that these cattle were more recently, though anciently, im- 

 ported from abroad." 



He says : " The universal color of these herds were white ; in 

 general pure, approximating, however, in a few instances, to cream 

 color, but with certain points otherwise colored, and these points gene- 

 rally black. The tips of the horns, the muzzle, the circle round the 

 eyes, the hoofs, were in all the herds black ; in some the extremity of 

 the tail was of the same color, while the ears of all were either black 

 or brownish-red inside and wholly or partially of the same color out- 

 side the ear also. In most of them the front part of the fetlock, par- 

 ticularly of the forelegs, was marked with black, and in all there were 

 a iew black hairs on the leg, a little above the hoof. In all o r them, 

 too, there was, I believe, a tendency, more or less slight, to produce 

 small black or bluish-black spots on the neck, and even sometimes on 

 the body. A.\\ were subject to occasional variations." 



I would not have quoted so fully from the Rev. Mr. Storer's work 

 on the exact color of these semi-wild cattle of Great Britain were it 

 not thit his description of those animals corresponds with thousands 

 of animals to be found to-day on some of the large cattle stations in 

 Queensland, and on some of the smaller stations in New South Wales, 

 where some of the purest and best types of Shorthorns are bred. To 

 such a great extent has this " crying- back" to color exerted itself 



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