Cattle 1853 - Lewis Family Farm

THE BRITISH OX. 13
of the breeders. They Jiave, however, been very conveniently
classed according to the comparative size of the horns; thq long
horfis, originally from Lancashire, much improved by Mr. Bakewell,
of Leicestershire, and established through the greater part of the
midland counties ; the short horns, mostly cultivated in the northern
counties, and in Lincolnshire, and many of them found in every part
of the kingdom where the farmer attends much to his dairy, or a
large supply of milk is wanted ; and the middle horns, not derived
from a mixture of the two preceding, but a distinct and valuable
and beautiful breed, inhabiting principally the north of Devon, the east
of Sussex, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire; and, of diminished bulk,
and with somewhat different character, the cattle of the Scottish and
the Welsh mountains. The Alderney, with her crumpled horn, is
found on the southern cost, and, in smaller numbers, in gentlemen's
parks and pleasure-grounds every where ; while the polled, or hornless
cattle, prevail in Suffolk, and Norfolk, and in Galloway, whence
they were first derived.
These, however, have been intermingled in every possible way.
They are found pure only in their native districts, or on the estates
of some opulent and spirited individuals. Each county has its own
mongrel breed, often difficult to be described, and not always to be
traced—neglected enough, yet suited to the soil and to the climate
and, among little farmers, maintaining their station, in spite of attempts
at improvements by the intermixture
foreign varieties.
or the substitution of
The character of each important variety, and the relative value of
each for breeding, grazing, the dairy, or the plough, will be considered
before we inquire into the structure or general and medical
treatment of cattle. Much dispute has arisen as to the original breed
of British cattle. The battle has been stoutly fought between the
advocates of the middle and the long horns. The short horhs and
the polls can have no claim ; the latter, although it has existed in
certain districts from time immemorial, was probably an accidental
variety.
We are very much disposed to adjudge the honor to the " middle
horns." The long horns are evidently of Irish extraction, as in due
place we shall endeavor to show.
Britain has shared the fate of other nations, and oftener than they,
has been overrun and subjugated by invaders. As the natives re-
treated, they carried with them some portion of their property,
which, in those early times, consisted principally in cattle. They
drove along with them as many as they could, when they retired to .
the fortresses of north Devon and Cornwall, or the mountainous regions
of Wales, or when they took refuge in the wealds of east Sussex
; and there, retaining all their prejudices, customs and manners,
;