FIRST CENTURY OF DAIRYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



ditions in which it is placed. Another provision for fitting the cattle 

 of warmer countries to the circumstances of their situation is the pos- 

 session of light sinewy and active forms. The heavy ca'tle of the 

 rich lands of Holland or England could not subsist in the arid climate 

 and on the scanty herbage of the African desert. Hence we find the 

 cattle of Africa of less bulk of body and more agile in their motion 

 than those of the temperate countries of abundant herbage/' 



Art, however, has 'modified the defects in the appearance of these 

 '' humped" cattle by even the application ol food alone, and whenever 

 these buffaloes have been domesticated for any length of time they 

 develop into more massive and yet more gainly looking animals. Yet 

 it is very remarkable how tenaciously these animals seem to cling to 

 many of their characteristics, although being crossed by English 

 cattle for thirty years. Yet when we come to think and reflect on the 

 subject, what are thirty years in the history of cattle ? 



Man, deriving his first nourishment from his mother's breast, must 

 have been acquainted .with milk; and his reason would soon guide him 

 to apply the milk of his flocks and herds to his own material use. 

 Hence it is that we find in books dealing with the histories of man- 

 kind the milk of goats, sheep, and kme mentioned as the chief food 

 of the ancient shepherds and their families. The very earliest writers 

 of Greece and Rome were familiar with the manufacture of both 

 outt^r and cheese. The ancients may not have used butter as we 

 use it, but that is a mere matter of detail, and does not affect the 'fact 

 that the> understood the requirements and treatment of cattle, nor 

 does it go to show that they did not improve the breeds ot cattle in 

 their possession. 



The Celts of the wilds of Britain, which the Roman arms never 

 reached, were familiar with milk, butter, and cheese, having carried 

 their knowledge with them frpm the East. They were cognisant of 

 the fact that cattle changed materially, as they approached the hotter 

 and dryer regions, in appearance, and produced smaller quantities of 

 milk. They had learned these lessons from centuries of migration, 

 and, although their knowledge is to a great extent lost to us, y|et we 

 can easily form conclusions >irom what is left of their early history 

 that they possessed many breeds of cattle which they tended and pre- 

 served with jealous care. 



It is unnecessary to explain what is mean:, by breed. According 

 to wur best authorities, " a breed is a classification by which we dis- 

 tinguish a group of animals possessing qualities which are not com- 

 mon ro ali animals of the same species, and which peculiarities have 

 been so firmly established that they are uniformly transmitted by 

 heredity." As heredity is the product of in-breeding and deeding, it 

 will be necessary to treat each subject separately, and under its par 

 ticular heading. But before doing so it may be necessary t<> 

 explain that peculiar colors and markings of a race of cattle must 

 not be supposed to indicate a species, as color, according t:> naturalists, 

 is one of the external characters of animals, and is omy to be re- 

 garded as indicative of specific distinctions. The habits of a wild 

 race, in the same way, must not be supposed to constitute an impass- 

 able distinction between it and the, tame animal. 







. Soil, climate, and environment have done much to modify the dis 

 tinction which formerly existed between the various races of cattle, 

 and besides the effects .t" the acquired condition- just mentioned \\hich 

 helped to form varieties, art and a fitting selection of the br.-e.lin^ 

 purer .s exercise an influence scarcely less important. Experience has 

 taught u> that the character of cattle as of all animals subjected to 

 domestication, is communicated with surpri-in.- constancy to the 

 young, and becomes permanent by reproduction between animals of 

 the same family. Not only are the properties of form so transmitted, 

 but tho-e peculiarities <>f temperament, the secretion of milk, and the 



164. 



