easily fattened and has an abundant yield 

 of milk." 



The Durham or short-horned breed of 

 England is an animal with little sym- 

 metry of proportion, with a small head, a 

 straight back and short legs. It is not a 

 good milker, but surpasses all in the pro- 

 duction of beef. 



The beautiful Jersey cow is a great fa- 

 vorite in America and Great Britain on 

 account of the rich cream and butter ob- 

 tained from the milk. The Alderneys 

 and Guernseys are classed with the Jer- 

 seys and are also of ''elegant appearance." 

 Other breeds are the hornless Galloways, 

 the Devons, the Herefords, the Holsteins 

 and many others. 



Like the sheep, the cat and other do- 

 mestic animals, the origin of domestic cat- 

 tle seems surrounded with mystery and 

 uncertainty. We know that in earliest 

 times domestic cattle were common, as 

 the earliest writings mention them and 

 the ancient monuments picture them. It 

 is, however, probable that all the straight 

 backed varieties, directly or indirectly, 

 may be traced back to the aurochs, or 

 urus, a most interesting wild ox of Eu- 

 rope. This is extinct now, as well as 

 some other species which may form the 

 connecting link. 



The aurochs was an animial of great 

 size, nearly as large as an elephant, but 

 with the form and color of a bull. Skulls 

 and bones, both in England and on the 

 Continent, show their characteristics, and 

 skulls pierced by flint hatchets show that 

 they were hunted by prehistoric hunters. 

 We do not know when they finally disap- 



peared, but in Julius Caesar's time they 

 seem to have been common in the Black 

 Forest of Germany. Old chronicles prove 

 that they were found in the middle of 

 the sixth century, and in the ninth cen- 

 tury Charlemagne hunted the aurochs in 

 the forests near Aix-la-Chapelle. The 

 Nibelungen-Lied mentions the slaughter 

 of four in the twelfth century. In classic 

 literature there are accounts of contests 

 with gigantic wild oxen, indicating that 

 the animal's range extended as far south 

 as Greece. Bones have been found in a 

 number of European countries, and it is 

 certain that it roamed over Russia, but 

 how far to the eastward and northward 

 it wandered we cannot tell. 



There still exist in England wild cattle 

 known as the "park oxen." Though much 

 smaller in size, they seem to be more 

 like a direct descendant of the aurochs 

 than any other species, although probably 

 they descended from domesticated early 

 breeds. These herds are confined in pri- 

 vate parks, and the best known at the 

 present time is the Chillingham herd. 

 This park was probably inclosed about 

 the thirteenth century. The cattle are 

 small, with moderately rough, curly hair. 

 The insides of the ears and muzzles are 

 red, while the animals are white. They 

 have the characteristics of animals in a 

 wild state. "They hide their young, feed 

 in the night, basking or sleepinig during 

 the day. They are fierce when pressed, 

 but generally speaking are very timorous, 

 moving ofif on the appearance of anyone, 

 even at a great distance." 



John Ainslie. 



Mightiest of all the beasts of chase 



That roam in woody Caledon, 

 Crashing the forest in his race, 



The mountain bull comes thundering on. 



Sir Walter Scott. 



