NIATA CATTLE. 



275 



" These data, which nevertheless should be taken with some 

 reserve, lead one to imagine the existence of a possible primitive 

 European Niata type, the progenitor of that of America ; but 

 perhaps the said instances were in reality only casual mon- 

 strosities, and in nowise to be confounded with permanent 

 variations of races." 



The head of the individual cow alluded to at the beginning of 

 the foregoing article is figured in the accompanying photograph 

 (text-fig. 1), the skull (text-fig. 2) being that of its mother. 



Text-figure 1. 



Head of living example of Niata cow. 



Some time in 1889 I was informed of their existence in the 

 possession of a neighbour (a widow occupying a small piece of 

 land in the township of A jo), and after a little difficulty succeeded 

 in buying them ; but my agent could learn nothing of their 

 origin. The family-group consisted of three generations — a very 

 old cow, her daughter, and the calf of the latter ; the last pre- 

 sented only the usual characteristics of the prevalent Creole 

 breed, and consequently was promptly converted into veal ! Its 

 mother went to the Rural Exhibition in Buenos Ayres the 

 following year, as chronicled by Don Ramon Lista, in company 

 with some fine stock ; and when the Show was closed I trans- 

 ferred it (at Dr. Moreno's request) to the Zoological Park. How 

 long it lived there subsequently I cannot tell ; but I should not 



