James Wilson

“ So far we have dealt with the different races of cattle that have come to Britain according to the order of their arrival. Now we have to deal with a race whose presence in Britain is a puzzle; for not only must we confess ignorance as to the date of its arrival, but even doubt as to whether it ever arrived at all. At the present day, animals of this race have an unpleasant habit of turning up unasked in several breeds, most notably among Highlanders and Longhorns. ”

“ But the authorities we have quoted are all so emphatic that the cattle imported from the Low Countries were red and white, pied, not brindled, that the Dutch must also be absolved. There is but one weak spot in their defence, and that is a small one. The Low Countries, and some parts of France—say Normandy—were neither so far apart nor so definitely separated in an Englishman's mind, but that some of the cattle imported as from the Low Countries may have come from France. ”

“ In former times there were far more of these blackish-brown cattle in the Highlands than now. Indeed, early in the nineteenth century they were found wherever the old Celtic black cattle were found in Scotland, the north of England, Wales, and Ireland—but, since the establishment of pure breeds, and perhaps before that, they have gradually disappeared: the Highland breed being the last of the Celtic breeds to give them a lodging. There are still a few among the non-pedigreed Irish black cattle, but very few in the territories of the Welsh, the Galloways, or the Aberdeen-Angus. ”