DOMESTICATED BRITISH CATTLE loi 
rasen), which is white or greyish white, often with 
dark spots, it is inferred that the British polled and 
Shetland breeds are likewise of Scandinavian origin, 
and were brought over by the Norsemen. 
" The other places," continues the same writer, 
" in which Norsemen settled, and in which cattle 
bearing a resemblance to the hornless cattle of the 
British coasts live or lived till recently, are Normandy 
and the Channel Islands, Orkney, Shetland, and 
Iceland. The Norman and Channel Islands cattle 
are identified by their shape and by the presence 
of the two colours, silver-grey and yellow ; those 
of Orkney and Shetland by shape and the dun 
colour; while those in Iceland were identified by 
shape and the absence of horns." 
As to the date of this presumed importation of 
dun and hornless Scandinavian cattle into the 
British Islands, Professor Wilson is inclined to place 
this before the Norman Conquest, that is to say, 
previous to the year 1066. 
Reverting to horned breeds, attention may be 
directed to the well-known red Devons, of which 
there are two distinct strains, the North and the 
South Devons, or South hams, the former being 
characterised by their meat-producing qualities, while 
the latter are more suited to the dairy. In earlier 
days North Devon oxen were largely used for 
ploughing; and it is stated that the first plough 
employed in North America was drawn by a pair 
of these fine cattle. The Devon breed is a very 
ancient one ; and a line may be drawn across the 
county on one side of which are the North Devons, or 
" rubies," as they are locally called, and on the other 
the South Devon strain. Their uniformity in size and 
