54 
THE OX. 
The Breeds of British cattle which have been described may be thus enumerated :— 
1. The Wild or White Forest Breed, derived from a race which formerly inhabited, in a state of liberty, the woods of the 
country. Bemains of this remarkable race have been preserved for ages in the parks of opulent individuals, where the animals, 
herding and breeding exclusively with one another, retain the habits of their wild condition. In other cases, they have been 
reared in a state of domestication, when they assume the habits and essential characters of the common varieties. 
2. The Breeds of the Highlands of Scotland, spread over the primary mountainous tracts of North Britain. These cattle are of 
small size, covered thickly with hair, hardy, and suited to a country of heaths and mountains. The finest, usually termed the 
West Highland Breed, are produced in the countries on the western coasts and certain islands of the Hebrides, the smallest 
in the central Highlands, and the largest towards the eastern coasts, in the countries mixing with, or bordering on, the plains. 
These hardy cattle are reared in vast numbers on the natural herbage of the mountainous country where they have been indigenous 
from time immemorial, and whence they are transferred, at the suitable age, to be fattened in the lower country. 
3. The Zetland Breed, inhabiting the remote islands of that name and spreading over the Orkneys. These cattle appear to 
be of Scandinavian origin, and are of diminutive size, but fatten readily, and are valued by the consumers. The females excel 
the cattle of the Highlands in the faculty of yielding milk. 
4. The Polled Angus Breed, allied in its essential characters to the cattle of the mountains, but increased in size by being 
naturalized in a country of richer herbage, where artificial food can be supplied. This breed has dark skins, and is destitute of 
horns. It has been greatly improved by the care of the breeders, and is reared over a considerable tract of country. 
5. The Galloway Breed, inhabiting a tract of greywacke hills in the south-west of Scotland. These cattle are greatly valued 
for their hardiness, their adaptation to the purposes of the grazier, and the quality of their beef. They are carried in great 
numbers to the pastures of England, chiefly of Norfolk, whence they are transferred to the London and other markets. They 
have deep bodies, dark skins, and are destitute of horns. 
6 . The Welsh Breeds, somewhat exceeding in size the West Highland Breed, and, like it, suited to a country of hills and na¬ 
tural herbage. They have dark or orange-yellow skins, and are mostly of a black colour. The finest are reared in the county of 
Pembroke, in the district of Castle Martin. 
7. The Kerry Breed, naturalized in the mountains of Kerry, but spread over all parts of Ireland. The cattle of this breed 
are of small size, and of various colours, with tapering horns. They subsist on scanty food, and the females, yielding milk abun¬ 
dantly, are valued by the poorer inhabitants for the dairy. 
8 . The North Devon Breed, naturalized on the higher parts of Devonshire on the Bristol Channel, but spreading through 
the lower country. These cattle have orange-yellow skins, fine tapering horns, and are of a deep red colour. They are of a light 
and graceful form, agile, and suited for active labour. They fatten with sufficient facility on good pastures and in a temperate 
climate, but they are inferior in hardiness, and the power of subsisting on scanty herbage, to the mountain cattle of Scotland and 
Wales. They increase in bulk when naturalized in a lower country, so that the breed of South Devon differs in size and aspect 
from that of the higher lands. The females are small, and deficient in the power of yielding milk, though the milk which they 
afford is well-coloured and rich in cream. 
9. The Sussex Breed, a variety of the Devon, and inheriting its properties, but of larger size and less delicate form. This 
breed is now undergoing great improvement, but is little sought for, for the purposes of grazing, beyond the district in which it is 
reared. 
10. The Glamorganshire Breed, proper to the county of that name, common to the high and low grounds, but only brought 
to perfection in the vale of Glamorgan. This breed possesses valuable qualities, and combines well the properties of milching 
and fattening, but the numbers of the improved variety are limited, and circumscribed in their diffusion by other breeds more ge¬ 
nerally cultivated. 
11. The Herefordshire Breed, greatly valued for its fattening properties, and extensively diffused, for the purposes of graz¬ 
ing, in the west of England. It has a remote affinity with the Devon Breed, and the cows inherit the defect of the latter, in 
being small and imperfectly suited to the dairy. 
12. The Alderney Breed, reared in the Norman Islands of the Channel, of small size and ungainly form, with short crumpled 
horns, of delicate constitution, and requiring a temperate climate, but yielding a rich and finely-coloured milk. This breed is 
regularly imported into England, where it is kept for the luxury of the opulent, or partially employed in the regular dairies of the 
countries of the Chalk. 
13. The Ayrshire Breed, derived from the county of Ayr, but widely spread over the dairy districts of Scotland, and ex- 
