WILD WHITE CATTLE. 409 



example of park cattle. The cows produce their first calf when 

 from two to two and a half years old. The bulls run with the 

 herd throughout the year, but, in order in some degree to regulate 

 the birth of calves, individual cows are temporarily shut up. One 

 of the handsomest of the cows is almost entirely white, and is the 

 daughter of a cow that died this year at the extraordinary age of 

 twenty-three (at Chillinghani they rarely reach ten) years. She 

 was very dark, although of the old strain, and had withstood 

 infection during the cattle plague epidemic. The old bull, aged 

 eleven, was consigned to the butcher this spring, as he had become 

 dangerous, having nearly killed the cattle-keeper.* In winter all 

 the cattle, especially the bulls, develop long hair on the poll and 

 neck, which divides along the centi-al line and covers them like a 

 mane. The hairs decrease*in length backwards to the withers, 

 where they cease somewhat abruptly. The bull calf and three of 

 the heifer calves have very little black about them beyond their 

 ears and muzzles, while the fourth is the blackest individual in 

 this herd, having probably more black than white about it, in spots 

 and patches with ill-defined boundaries. One of the cows and the 

 younger bull have some black in their tail tassels, in all the rest 

 it is quite white. The udders of the cows here are as large as 

 those of ordinary domestic cows, which is not the case in the 

 herds which are not milked. About 180 acres of the park are 

 allotted to the cattle, consisting of excellent upland turf sloping 

 down to the river Dane. It is said that the whole herd will some- 

 times gallop to a pond in their enclosure, and go in so deep that 

 little but their heads remains visible. In dry seasons, when the 

 river Dane has become unusually low, instances have occurred of 

 cattle of both sexes crossing the river both ways ; but calves 

 produced b)'^ the park cows are kept if correctly marked, even 

 when the sire was probably a common bull. The cattle are 

 housed at night during winter, and supplied with hay. 



Chartley. — This herd in July last was made up as follows : — 

 Bulls: 1, nine years old; 1, six; 1, four; 1, three; 1, one; 

 4 calves; in all, 9. Females: 6 cows, aged; 2 cows, four years 

 old ; 2, three ; 2, two ; 6 yearlings ; 2 calves ; in all, 20. Bullocks : 

 1, four years old; 1, three; 3, two; in all, 5. Total, 34. This 



* This was no doubt the " big calf, eight or nine months old," seen by 

 Mr. Storer on August 6th, 1875 (' Wild White Cattle,' pp. 258 and 259). 



