PART III . 



CATTLE REFLECTIONS OF A LIFETIME. 



CHAPTER I. 

 CHANGES IN OLD TIME CATTLE. 



That the semi-aboriginal cattle of Great Britain and Ireland are in- 

 termixed with most of the breeds o-f domesticated cattle found there 

 to-day almost goes without saying ; and that the wild white cattle of 

 England, Scotland, and Wales are identical with those found in many 

 parts of Europe ; and, also, that they are of Eastern origin. 



Bruce, on entering Abyssinia by the Mountain of Taranto, describes 

 the bulls and cows as of exquisite beauty, as being completely white. 

 with large dewlaps, with horns and hoofs completely well turned, 

 with the horns wide, and the hair like silk, and all of one species. 



Now, according to Wallace, the term species " is a collection of all 

 the individuals which resemble each other more than thev resemble 

 anything else, which can by mutual fecundation produce fertile indi- 

 viduals, and which reproduce themselves by generation in such a man- 

 ner that we may from analogy suppose them all to have sprung from 

 one single individual ; or a species, in the usual acceptance of th? 

 term, is an animal which, in a state of Nature, is distinguished by cer- 

 tain peculiarities of form, size, color, or other circumstances from 

 another animal. It propagates ' a-iter its kind' individuals perfectly 

 resembling the parent ; its peculiarities, therefore, are permanent." 



But what seems most peculiar is the fact that in a wild or aboriginal 

 state the ox has a "hump" on his shoulders ; yet in a semi-aborigina 1 

 state, such as the wild white cattle of England, Scotland, and Wales 

 the "hump" has disappeared, leaving but a prominent shoulder to 

 which is attached a slight mane, which may noi: unreasonably lead the 

 unscientific mind to the conclusion that there 'was a marked distin :- 

 tion between these two species instead of one being merely a varia- 

 tion from the other. We have evidence of the white cattle of 

 England, and also of the semi-wild black cattle of the Highland.- of 

 Scotland, occasionally throwing black, and white calves. But with 

 the exception of Professor David Low, we have no authentic accoun 

 of the buffalo casting its " hump" when under domestication. 



Professor David Low, writing of the " hump" peculiar to buffaloes, 

 says : "The accumulation of fatty matter on the shoulder of the ox 

 may not unreasonably be regarded as a natural provision for fitting 

 him for countries of intense heat. The cultivated ox 01 England ac- 

 cumulates fat largely within the body ; but this miiiht not consist with 

 the exercise of the animal functions in a climate of high temperature, 

 and, therefore, the fatty secretion may be placed externally on ;: par- 

 ticular part of the body. In certain races oi sheep in Africa the same 

 tendency is observed, lumps of fatty matter appearing beneath the 

 skin on the shoulders and head ; and in other races it appears 0:1 the 

 tail, which becomes of an enormous magnitude. The hump of the 

 camel seems to be a similar provision for the accumu ation of nutri- 

 ment matter, and may be supposed to be connected with the extra 

 ordinary patience under abstinence from food which distinguishes 

 this child oi the desert. The fatty hump of the ox of warmer coun- 

 tries may thus be regarded as an adaptation of the aninvil to the con- 



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