1086 Hornless Ruminants. [Dec. 
Kerry, or even the old crook-horned Irish, but were com 
tively few in numbers. In color they were either dun, black, or 
white, but very rarely mottled. They were not bad milkers, 
were remarkably docile, and were consequently much used for 
draught and ploughing.” 
Describing each set of skulls corresponding to the above, of 
the polled Sir W. R. Wilde says,— 
“The last is the Maol, or hornless, which differs so little from 
its living representative of the present day that it is unnecessary 
to describe it. From the five specimens placed before the acad- 
emy, it is evident that it was much smaller than the modern breed. 
One head differs from another only in the amount of the occipital 
` projection. The average length of the face is about seventeen 
inches, and eight inches across the orbits.” 
In a paper in the same volume, “ Upon the Unmanufactured 
Animal Remains belonging to the Academy,” Sir W. R. Wilde 
gives “a list of fifty-two ox-crania now in the museum.” 
“Nos. 48 to 55 are eight hornless, or maohl, varieties, anda . 
xcept the two first present a very remarie 
Fic. 19. able protuberance, a frontal crest, but this 
nication upon the ‘Ancient and Modem 
Races of Oxen‘in Ireland?” (Fig. 19.) 
I am tempted to add the following, from 
Sir W. R. Wilde’s first paper, referring a = 
the state of the best breed in Ireland 1 
olden times: 
mS I “The relics of our ancient meen net 
interesting to nat ural 
Proceedings of Royal only abundant and in agi cnt age 
Irish Academy. Fig. 14, ‘sts, but are exceedingly ford un- 
PrE historical point of view, as they x 
deniable evidence that, so far back 
eighth or tenth century at the latest, we had in Ireland eer 
of cattle which, for beauty of head and shortness of hon Ta 
