HUNGARIAN CATTLE. 39 



give indications of having in part retained his blood, 

 Western Europe presents, for reasons I have given, 

 no indications of the objects of my search — the Urus 

 type and character. So we travel eastward, to the 

 countries surrounding the Carpathians and the Danube, 

 and thence on to the steppes of Southern Eussia, native 

 haunts of the wild bull in the days when ancient Scythia 

 and Germany both possessed it, and when, according to 

 Pliny, these countries were " coterminous " with each 

 other. Here ancient forms, habits, and characters are 

 more strongly fixed, and there have been for long ages 

 but small changes in the types of either men or animals. 

 In all these regions we find the domesticated or semi- 

 domesticated ox of the Urus kind retaining much of its 

 ancient form and colour, as we have seen in the picture 

 of the Moldavian ox-team previously given. In some, 

 indeed, a partial mixture with other races has produced 

 what may be called a variety ; but two great parent 

 races, which have largely contributed to preserve the 

 neighbouring ones, yet remain in unsullied purity. 

 These are the Hungarian Race, and the Mace of 

 the Steppes of Russia. I take the Hungarian race 

 first. 



" In Hungary," says M. Grayot, " the forces of 

 nature have not yet been turned out of their course by 

 the action of man. To this circumstance that country 

 owes the preservation of a race of large cattle, highly 

 characteristic, constant in type, and so distinctive 

 \_accentue~\, that they have been habitually considered 

 the prototype of the species, as the head or mother-race 

 of all others." 



This magnificent race inhabits the great plain of 

 Hungary, which, consisting of excellent land, though 



