DISQUALIFICATION OF POLLED CATTLE. 623 
examine the bull. This being done, he forwarded, a few days 
afterwards, the following report: 
Royal Veterinary College; 
fome Wth, 1864. 
In accordance with instructions received from the Right 
Hon. Lord Sondes, Elmham Hall, Norfolk, I have examined 
a red, home-bred, polled bull, aged three years and eight 
months, which was shown at the meeting of the Norfolk 
Agricultural Society, held at Lynn, on the 15th inst., and 
awarded the first prize, as being the best animal in his class. 
My examination was made in consequence of an objection 
being raised against the bull being also awarded a silver cup, 
in addition to the prize w 7 hich was given for the best animal, 
but with the proviso, that “horns or slugs ,” should disqualify; 
the objector alleging that the bull had “ slugs,” and, as such, 
he was not a pure-bred polled animal. 
The term “ slugs or slug-horns” is one which denotes the 
development of horny matter from the skin covering the 
frontal bone of the ox, w 7 hich is usually short and pendulous, 
and unlike a true, or even a rudimentary horn, unconnected 
with the frontal bone bv a continuous base. This term is 
%> 
also used without reference to the size or shape of the horny 
production. 
I find in the bull, in question, that there are no such horny 
growths, but merely two oval-shaped, hairless spots, occu¬ 
pying the usual site of “slugs,” and about an inch and a 
quarter in their long, and three quarters of an inch in their 
short diameter. These spots scarcely project from the plane 
of the forehead, and are covered with ordinary cuticle—the 
normal outer skin—which is so thin that it can be easily 
detached from the cutis—true skin—by friction or picking. 
At the very utmost, these hairless spots can only be regarded 
as rudimentary “slugs.” In my opinion they are slight natural 
variations, and therefore no proofs of the animal being cross¬ 
bred, nor does he show by the form of his head, general 
development, or colour, that he is other than a pure-bred, 
polled bull. For breeding purposes, this deviation from 
the ordinary course of nature would appear to be a mat¬ 
ter of no practical importance, as I find, on a close exa¬ 
mination of his stock, consisting of four young bulls, and 
seven heifers in particular, there is not the slightest indica¬ 
tion of the spots being hereditary. 
It may be necessary to add, that a system has of late years 
been adopted of removing the horns of young cattle, so as to 
give them the appearance of being naturally polled animals, 
