53 i The Influence of Dexter Cattle on other Breeds. 
The heifer is well ribbed, and thick through the heart ; the 
falling away behind the shoulders so common even in otherwise 
well-bred animals is not present, for as the deficiencies of the 
Zebu’s hind-quarters are made good by the Dexter, so the deep 
shoulders of the Zebu seem to have to some extent been repro- 
duced in the cross, although the hump has gone. The head is 
rather remarkable ; the coarse, double- turned horns of the Zebu 
have disappeared, and in their place are the slightly curved, 
upright horns of the Dexter, whose chief fault in this case is 
that they are somewhat close together at the base. The head is 
well shaped, and gives one an impression that the animal is a 
cross between a Dexter and a Jersey. This is due to the fact 
that the muzzle is almost identical in colour and marking with 
that of a Jersey. However, the muzzle of the Zebu bull has 
this mark also, and this is the only point in the whole 
cross in which the Zebu has strongly identified itself. This 
heifer is one of three animals of the Zebu-Dexter cross 
which were bred in the Gardens, one of the others having 
died, whilst the third was sold when young, all trace of it 
being lost. 
The Zebu itself is not devoid of good points, for the 
offal is not abnormally heavy, and the tail is beautifully 
fine. The coarseness of the horn is one of its chief features 
of ill-breeding, though its throatiness is not a good point ; 
but altogether the animal does not possess the frame of a 
milk-producing or beef-making beast. It has some points 
similar to the Jersey beyond that of the muzzle, for the face is 
fine, and the limbs are deer-like. The bull is about the same 
height at the withers, except for the hump, as the heifer cross — 
42 inches. The Zebu in its native state, however, varies con- 
siderably in height, being much bigger in the northern pro- 
vinces of India than in the southern. The Dexter, too, varies, 
for, whereas a highly-bred Dexter heifer is prized greatly if it 
does not exceed 40 inches, it is found that under more generous 
treatment this height is considerably increased. The Zebu is 
one of the oldest breeds of cattle, for the most ancient drawings 
depict the animal as now found. 
The origin of the Dexter, moreover, is a matter of conjecture, 
though it is probable that it cannot be classed among the really 
ancient breeds. It is locally supposed that it established itself 
in Kerry through being part of a cargo of animals shipwrecked 
on the coast ; but whether they came from Spain, from the 
Highlands of Scotland, or from one of the several other countries 
suggested, has never been proved. The breed has existed along- 
side of the Kerry breed, and has in many cases become merged 
