Forrcsf : Bri/is/i ' //VA/' (\if//c 



tanian Ox ' — a foreign animal. It is inijx^ssiblc to imagine llial 

 any of the ancient breeds resembled the Alderney in cc^lonr, 

 so it is safe to assume that they were — as stated above — 

 either red and white, or black and white ; whilst in both these 

 breeds occasional calves would be dropjuxl which were entirely 

 red, or black, or white. 



The sources whence our Park and domestic breeds of oxen 

 were possibly derived may now be considered. 



Three species of Ox are recognised as having inhabited 

 Britain in Pleistocene and recent geological times : — 



Bos prisciis, the European Bison, a humped animal with 

 bony dome between the horns, the latter being of moderate 

 length and slightly curved. Extinct now, except in Poland. 

 (As none of our cattle have a hump on the withers, or a bony 

 dome between the horns, the Bison may be dismissed as an 

 impossible ancestor). 



Bos primigenius, the Urus of Caesar, a gigantic ox with long 

 curved and slightly twisted horns, the bases almost in a straight 

 line with the top of the skull, which in outline is not curved. 

 Extinct in Britain before the Christian era, but survived in 

 Europe till 1627. This is the probable ancestor of all European 

 long-horned oxen, including the Chartley and Lyme herds of 

 Park Cattle. 



Bos longifrons, the Celtic Short-horn, a much smaller ox,, 

 wdth short curved horns, and curved ridge between their bases. 

 This curve is in the shape of a Cupid's Bow — ), and is more 

 prominent in bulls than in cows. It was domesticated as long 

 ago as Neolithic times ; semi-fossil remains are plentiful in 

 Britain and most European countries. The probable ancestor 

 of the older short-horned oxen, including the Kerry Cattle 

 and Scotch Kyloes ; also to a great extent of the black Welsh 

 race, and the Chillingham and Cadzow herds, though all these 

 last show an admixture of Long-horn blood — they have the 

 curved frontal ridge of Bos iongifrons, but the shape of the horns 

 resembles somewhat B. primigenius. Polled oxen are also 

 derived from the Iongifrons type as they have the curved 

 frontal ridge strongly developed. 



The connection betw^een the shape of the skull and the horns 

 appears to be constant, so that it is most valuable as a clue in 

 tracing the ancestry of the various breeds of cattle ; certainly 

 it is more reliable than colour.. 



In addition to the characters described above, there is a 



Naturalist, 



