PREFACE 
OMESTICATED cattle are of such paramount 
JLy importance to mankind that a popular, and 
at the same time trustworthy, account of what is 
known with regard to their origin and of the chief 
breeds by which they are represented can scarcely 
fail to interest a large series of readers. And I 
venture to hope that this volume will appeal alike 
to naturalists, to the owners of pedigree cattle, to 
cattle-breeders generally, and to archaeologists. 
Special attention is devoted to the history of the 
extermination of the great wild ox, or aurochs, of 
Europe and western Asia, of which, so far as I 
know, no complete account is to be found in any 
other English book. The so-called wild white cattle 
of British parks, whose origin and relationships have 
been much misunderstood, likewise claim a large 
share of attention. The same may be said with 
regard to the humped cattle of Asia and Africa, and 
their influence on certain European breeds. In this 
connection I may take the opportunity of mentioning 
that since the text was written it has come to my 
notice that, in regarding humped cattle as domesti- 
cated derivatives from the wild bantin of south- 
V 
