74 
Miscellaneous. 
“ Their heads are lighter and more deer-like than any of the Ox 
tribe I have before seen, with the eye remarkably full and lively, but 
still gentle. The callosity on the muzzle is narrower than that of 
ordinary cattle, and extends farther upwards towards the forehead. 
The horns are of moderate size and prettily curved, and furrowed 
longitudinally as well as transversely at the base, giving almost the 
appearance of the butt of those of the stag. These oxen are of 
middling size, but have an amazing depth of chest, and considerable 
width between the fore-legs : very little dew-lap ; no hump ; but the 
spinous processes on the side of the hump so elongated as to give 
the idea of a hump having l)een dissected off. Legs remarkably clean 
and of moderate length, and so formed as to indicate great strength 
and activity. Buttocks full and square behind. Tail remarkably 
fine and tapering to a sharp point, with a moderate tuft of hair. An 
oval mark of a yellowish white colour begins at the root of the tail 
and descends nearly to the hocks, including both buttocks ; the length 
of this mark is to its breadth as 5 to 3. The skin extremely fine and 
soft, with a coat like that of a race-horse. Colour varying, but very 
few pied and none quite black ; a light bay predominating, in some 
individuals beautifully marked with small white spots. These cha- 
racters belong to the whole cargo, about ninety in number, and are 
not therefore to be considered as individual peculiarities. 
“ The animals were all very gentle, and their appearance, from the 
form and lightness of the head and the lively mildness of the eye, was 
superior in beauty to that of any lot of cattle I ever saw. 
“ The captain who brought them informs me that the natives 
would not part with their cows, and every one of these of which I 
speak was castrated. Having been put in a cold shed after landing, 
many of them got ill, and some died ; and as we have suffered terri- 
bly from a murrain which visited our cattle two or three years ago*, 
these oxen were almost all bought for slaughter, as the planters 
fancied the disorder which attacked them to be something belonging 
to the breed. I only know one pair surviving, and they work ad- 
mirably well, being as active as Devonshire oxen. I send you a 
pair of the horns, but unluckily forgot to send a skull till it was too 
late to obtain one. The beef was very fine-grained, but of a darker 
colour than usual. 
“ I have lately seen it remarked that cross-bred animals, though 
possessing some advantages, are generally inferior in stamina to those 
of unmixed breed, and more liable to disease ; such observations as I 
have been able to make fully bear out the truth of this position. 
We have here many Timor ponies, as well as from Java •, and their 
powers of endurance and exemption from disease are far superior to 
those of Cape or European horses. The Timor are very light but 
wiry, seldom reaching 1 3 hands high ; the}'- are spirited and active, 
rather low before, and are very sure. The Java are larger and 
stouter, many reaching 13 and some 13^ hands ; these generally carry 
the head and tail very high, and are safe and fast. The most valued 
* See Annals, vol. xv. p. 141. 
