THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE OX. 
185 
powerful muscles which extend the haunches after they have been 
flexed and advanced underneath the body, and in this act of exten- 
sion propel the machine forward : no wonder, therefore, that they 
should have been constructed, in respect to magnitude and posi- 
tion, in a manner to offer the greatest possible leverage. When we 
see the quarters straight and lengthy, and the stifles prominent 
and jutting well forwards, we may take it for granted that the 
trochanters partake of the increased length of the femoral bones : 
the reverse of this — short quarters and drooping or rounded stifles 
— shewing that the femoral bones are short, and their trochanters 
likewise. 
THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE OX, 
By Mr. W. F. Karkeek, F.S., Truro. 
[ Continued from p. 42. ] 
In our last paper we endeavoured to prove that the common 
received opinions respecting the original breed of our island be™ 
in°; similar to the white wild cattle — the Bos Scoticus of some 
authors — was an erroneous one. It is our intention to pursue this 
argument in the present paper. 
If we might be allowed to draw any conclusions respecting 
the colour of the aboriginal breed from the prevailing colour by 
which our cattle are characterized at the present time, we should 
say that black was more likely to have been the distinguishing 
character of the breed. 
The black breed prevailed in Cornwall about a century since, 
and was gradually superseded by the introduction of the red 
Devon kind. The cross of the black cow with the red bull some- 
times produced a brindled progeny, and animals of this descrip- 
tion are now frequently found in the west of the county ; but, 
generally speaking, the N. Devons, with the exception of a few 
short-horns, prevails everywhere here, although the black muz- 
zle will sometimes peep forth in spite of the blood of the sire. 
Throughout Wales, again, the black breed generally prevail ; 
and in the west and north islands of Scotland, where they seemed 
to have retained their aboriginal characters, black is also the 
distinguishing colour. 
In Ireland, also, the aboriginal breed are either black or brin- 
dled, with moderate length of horn ; and it is only where they 
have been crossed with other breeds that white faces and long 
horns make their appearance. 
