1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
59 
into Europe, and we have known of one importation 
having been made to America. The late Gorham 
Parsons, Esq., of Brighton, Mass., had several indi¬ 
viduals of this race, which we recollect having seen on 
different occasions, at his farm, and also at the cattle 
shows formerly held at Brighton. The bull resembled 
the cut here given. The cows were smaller than the 
bull, and had a less prominent hump. Mr. P. reared a 
pair of steers of this race; and we believe he made 
some crosses between the bull and cows of different 
breeds. It is many years since we saw any of these 
cattle. We think it probable that none of their de¬ 
scendants are in existence. Perhaps some one can tell 
us their history. 
The large zebu is much more active than any of our 
common cattle. It is used in India for various agricul- 
27—LARGE ZEBU OR BRAHMIN BULL. 
tural purposes, as well as for carrying burdens, and for 
the saddle. The bulls are used for carrying military 
dispatches. It is said “ they will travel with a soldier 
on their back, fifteen or sixteen hours in a day, at the 
rate of six miles an hour. Their action is fine, and 
they bring their hind legs under them in as straight a 
line as the horse. Such is their activity that they can 
clear a five-barred gate with ease.” 
The Domestic Ox-Bos taurus . —From the prece¬ 
ding notices which have been given of the different spe¬ 
cies of the bovine tribe, it will be perceived that none 
of them, except, perhaps, the Asiatic gayal, can be re¬ 
garded as identical with the domestic ox, and the most 
reasonable conclusion is, that the latter had an origin 
distinct from any before described. Though almost every 
country of the globe appears to have possessed one or 
more indigenous species of the ox, yet it is difficult, or 
we might say impossible, to name the natural locality 
of the domestic race, or to say where its domestication 
was first effected. But, as observed by Martin, what¬ 
ever may have been its native country, “ this most va¬ 
luable animal has spread with the spreading of nations: 
it is universal over Europe and Asia, except within 
those icy regions where the rein-deer supplies its place; 
its range extends over the whole of Africa and the great 
island of Madagascar; and within modern days it has 
been introduced from Europe into the vast continent of 
America, and the islands of the southern ocean. In 
these new regions it has multiplied excessively, and 
herds roam the plains in a state of semi-wildness. 
South America owes the ox to the Spaniards; the ear¬ 
liest imported, according to Azara, wei’e Andalusian. 
Captain John de Salazar, born in the city of Pomar, in 
Arragon, carried over seven cows and a bull to the 
coast of Brazil, whence they were transported by the 
rivers Paranay and Paraguay to the city of Assumption, 
in 1546, several months being occupied in their trans¬ 
port. From this stock sprung the feral cattle of the 
extensive Fampas, of which so many travellers have 
given most interesting descriptions.” 
Naturalists are agreed, however, that notwithstand¬ 
ing the great diversity presented by the domestic ox, 
and the various breeds into which it has ramified, from, 
the effects of treatment, food and climate, it is every 
where specifically identical. Still the peculiar charac¬ 
ters of the different breeds, are in many instances quite 
striking, and show that a long period of time has elapsed 
since they were subjected to the influences of domestica¬ 
tion. 
In noticing, as we propose to do, the various breeds 
of cattle, it is proper to begin with those which seem 
to have made the least departure from the primitive 
type. 
In Italy a fine race of semi-wild cattle exists in the 
Campagna of Rome, (fig. 28.) Martin observes that 
many of the bulls are “ models of beauty; such, in¬ 
deed as the sculptured, figures of antiquity portray with 
28—BULL OF THE CAMPAGNA OF ROME. 
spirit and fidelity.” They are described as mostly 
white, or grey tinged with brown; the horns large, well 
turned and pointed. The bulls, which are very fierce, 
are employed in the bull-fights of the amphitheatre of 
Rome—the noble animals keing kept, says Martin, “in 
the vaults which once held the ashes of the Imperial 
Caesars !” 
It is this breed to which Mr. D. G. Mitchell, un 
der the signature of “ Caius,” alludes, in The Cultiva¬ 
tor for 1847, p. 46. He says: “The oxen are large, deep- 
chested, well-formed, light-grey beasts, with enormous 
horns, spreading from 3 to 4 feet; and are said to have 
sprung from that famous breed of white cattle, which 
history and romance alike assign to the beautiful valley 
of Clitumnus. They have not the square, butcher make 
of the Herefords and Durhams; but taking into view 
their soft, fine haired skins, their large, intelligent eyes 
and their branching horns, I have never seen handsomer 
cattle in any part of Eui’ope.” 
It has been conjectured, and the idea is not improba¬ 
ble, that some of the present breeds of Great Britain, 
including the semi-wild stocks of Chillingham and Cha- 
telherault parks, were derived from this ancient Italian 
race, which in remote times is believed to have extend¬ 
ed over a large portion of Europe and parts of Asia, and 
may have been carried to the British islands by some 
of the early inhabitants, of whose history we have no 
knowledge. 
The cattle of Tuscany appear to have considerable 
affinity with this Roman breed. They are spoken of 
by travelers as of fine shape and appearance. And in 
Hungary there is a breed of white or whitish cattle, ot 
large size and with long horns, which may be identical 
with that of the Campagna. It appears to be a breed 
of superior character. Mr. Fleischmann, in his re¬ 
marks on the agriculture of several European countries, 
(Report of the Commissioner of Patents, 1847, p. 
344,) observes: “ Among all the horned races of Eu- 
rope^ there is none which, with an equally collossal 
frame approach so nearly the speed of the horse, as do 
the Hungarian oxen. It is a race, which by their high 
