MODERN CONTINENTAL CATTLE 123 
however, a theory that the breed was brought to the 
Vosges by Swiss during the Thirty Years War. The 
white dorsal streak and the general black colour are 
clearly indicative of aurochs-descent. 
Switzerland is the home of two well-known and 
nearly allied breeds of cattle, one of which, the brown 
Schwyzer, or brown Swiss, is uniformly dark-coloured, 
while the second, known either as the Simmenthal or 
the Friburg breed, is parti-coloured, the latter form- 
ing about three-fifths and the former two-fifths of 
Swiss cattle as a whole. Both are of great antiquity, 
skulls closely resembling those of the modern breeds 
having been obtained from the prehistoric lake- 
villages of Switzerland ; and they are regarded as 
the parent stock from which other breeds or sub- 
breeds have been derived. 
The brown breed, which has been introduced into 
the United States, has its head-quarters in the cantons 
of Schwyz, Uri, and Zug, but also ranges over most 
of eastern and northern Switzerland. The cattle of 
Algau, in Bavaria, are of essentially the same type ; 
and the breed is also found in other parts of the 
Continent. The brown Swiss is essentially a moun- 
tain breed, grazing in summer on the high Alpine 
pasture, but in winter being kept in sheds in the 
valleys. These cattle are suitable either for the 
butcher or for the dairy. In make, the bulls are 
distinctly heavy, with a very deep neck and fore- 
quarters, and a long back. The horns are very short, 
whitish for the greater part of their length, but 
gradually darkening towards the tip. The colour 
may be either dark or light brown, a favourite tint 
being a dark mouse-colour, shading into grey along 
