THE ZOOLOGIST
THIRD SERIES.
Vol. II.] AUGUST, 1878. [No. 20. |
A VISIT TO THE EXISTING HERDS OF BRITISH
WHITE WILD CATTLE.
By Alfred Heneage Cocks, F.Z.S.
[Preliminary Remarks. — A considerable degree of interest attaches to the few remaining herds of wild while cattle which are still preserved in Great Britain, since these animals, according to the high authority of Professor Rütemeyer, are less altered from the true Bos primigenius type than any other existing breed of cattle, although they do not equal in size their wild progenitors. Fossil remains of Bos primigenius, the Urus of Cæsar, and also of Bos longifrons, a very distinct species of smaller size, both of which were domesticated in Britain, are found in the more recent tertiary deposits over the greater part of Europe, including the British Islands.
Bos longifrons, a small fine-legged, short-horned animal, is called by Prof. Boyd Dawkins the Celtic Short-horn, because it was the only domestic ox of the Celts. It was certainly domesti- cated, however, before the Celtic invasion, and the term "long-faced ox" is perhaps preferable. It was the only ox in Britain in the time of the Romans, and afforded sustenance to their legions. From it the small dark breeds of Wales and Scotland are descended ; and it survived, until recently in Cornwall, Cumberland and West- moreland.* The remains of Bos longifrons are plentiful in the English fens, and seem to have afforded a staple article of food in the neolithic period. Mr. Sydney Skertchly has found immense
Skertchly, ' Fenland, Past and Present,' p. 343.
