found no difficulty in transforming themselves into cavalry immediately upon landing on the coast. A great improvement dates from the Norman conquest. The conqueror brought with him horses from Spain; the barons introduced them on their estates; and soon afterwards, the Crusades paved the way for the importation of the noble steeds of Arabia and Syria. From these breeds, introduced from time to time, the hunters and racers of the present day have been obtained, while the animals for draught and war are chiefly of Flemish and Lombard origin. Often in the history of the kingdom has the horse answered to the vivid description of the inspired penman :-" He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting," Job xxxix. 21-25. Soon may the time arrive when the stateliest, most tractable, and one of the most useful of the domestic quadrupeds, shall no more be employed in the dread engagements of armies, or be taxed to show his fleetness for the amusement of profligates at a race; but be seen alone, according to the design of Providence, aiding the traveller, or furthering the pursuits of agriculture and commerce.

The total number of horses in the United Kingdom is probably not far short of two millions. The varieties are numerous; and the differences stongly marked in size, colour, appearance, and capacity. Some are shaggy as the polar bear, while the coats of others are as smooth and sleek as that of the dormouse, The

huge black dray horse, of immense strength but slow action, seen to the greatest advantage in the brewers' teams of the metropolis, is from Lincolnshire, and the midland counties. Another celebrated breed for draught, the Cleveland bays, combine lightness with great power, and furnish most of the carriage-horses. They are reared in the district of Cleveland in Yorkshire, whence the name; also in the vale of Pickering, and in parts of Durham and Northumberland. Suffolk has a valuable race for farm service, short, strong, and active, adapted for heavy as well as light work, of Norman origin, but much improved by crossing with other breeds. The contrast is striking between the elephant-like drays of the capital, and the ponies of Wales, Dartmoor, Exmoor, the Scotch Highlands, and the Shetland isles-miniature steeds of great beauty, spirit, and endurance, representing the aboriginal race of our islands. Many accounts have been given of their remarkable sagacity in passing fords and dangerous morasses. On coming to any boggy piece of ground, they first put their nose to it, and then pat it in a peculiar way with one of their forefeet, judging by the sound and feeling whether it will bear them. They do the same with ice; and instantly determine if it is safe to proceed. These animals, on their native hills, may be almost termed wild, as they roam at large in herds, and are not shod till caught and put into training. Horse-breeding is less distinct as a pursuit than any other branch of grazing industry.

CATTLE.

Our races of domestic cattle have probably sprung from the white-faced forest-stock, formerly wild in the country, and still preserved as curiosities in a few

parks of the nobility. It is certainly a remarkable illustration of the power of man over the lower animals, that the cow of the farm-yard, quietly parting with her milk to a young girl, should be directly descended from the apparently untamable rovers in the woods, with one of which, a ferocious dun cow, Guy, earl of Warwick, had such a terrible encounter, that the skull of the animal is kept to this day in Warwick Castle as a memorial of his victory. There are great diversities among the domesticated stock, mainly referable to differences of situation, pasturage, and general treatment, with cross-breeding. It is common to classify cattle according to the length of the horns. Hence three great groups are distinguished, severally known as long-horned, middlehorned, and short-horned, each comprising varieties. The long-horns are an ancient breed, remarkable for the form as well as the enormous length of the distinctive appendages. Though sometimes projecting horizontally on each side of the head, they generally sweep downward with an inward bend, often reaching below the level of the muzzle, so as to interfere with grazing unless shortened. This stock is referred to the district of Craven, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, as its earliest known seat, from whence it was extended over the adjoining parts of Lancashire, the midland counties, and into Ireland. The animals are large and hardy, of various colours, give extremely rich milk, and thus suit the purposes of the dairy farmer. Though this race has been greatly improved, it has almost everywhere largely given way to other breeds. The middle-horns are represented by the cattle of North Devonshire, Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Sussex, all of various

shades of red, generally inferior as milkers, but succeptible of being rapidly fattened. The short-horns, which sprung from Teesdale in Durham, and are now the most extensively diffused race, are the most valuable, combining the two qualities of being adapted to supply the dairy and the meat-market.

It is very common in Devonshire, Hereford, and Sussex, to employ the oxen at the plough, and in general team-work, instead of horses; and being docile, stout, and active, they have an aptitude for the yoke which does not belong to the breeds of other districts. Four oxen are considered equal to three horses, and will go through as much labour on the road or in the field in as short a time. Mr. Youatt notices a peculiarity in driving the ox-team in Devon which is very agreeable to the stranger, and the remembrance of which, connected with his early days, the native does not soon lose. "A man and a boy 'attend each team. The boy chants that which can scarcely be regarded as any distinct tune; but which is a very pleasing succession of sounds resembling the counter-tenor in the service of the cathedral. He sings away with unwearied lungs as he trudges along, almost from morning to night, while every now and then the ploughman, as he directs the movement of the team, puts in his lower notes, but in perfect concord. When the traveller stops in one of the Devonshire valleys, and hears the simple music from the drivers of the ploughs on the slope of the hill on either side, he experiences a pleasure which the operation of husbandry could scarcely be supposed to be capable of affording. This chanting is said to animate the oxen somewhat in the same way as the musical bells that are so prevalent in the same county. Cer

tainly the oxen move along with an agility that would scarcely be expected from cattle; and the team may be watched a long while without one harsh word being heard, or the goad of the whip applied. The opponents of ox-husbandry should visit the valleys of north or south Devon, to see what this animal is capable of performing, and how he performs it." But it is nevertheless true, that the inferiority of oxen to horses in field operations, and the general purposes of draught, is great and manifest.

The old province of Galloway, in the south of Scotland, possesses a highly valued polled or hornless breed, of a prevailing black colour, remarkable for gentleness and beauty, which are sent to the south to be fattened, or are fattened at home, and despatched by steam to Liverpool. The Suffolk duns, so called from the original colour, are derived from this stock. An aboriginal race of black cattle, belonging to the class of middle-horns, extends over the Highlands and the Hebrides, small, hardy, and well-formed, great numbers of which are annually driven from the coarse fare of the mountains, to be depastured on the rich grazing lands of the south. This service originated the class of Highland drovers, armed in former times. with the skene-dhu, or dirk, as a protection against marauders, sleeping along with the herd on the journey, be the weather what it might; and not once resting under a roof all the way from Lochaber to the Border. Allan Cunningham thus pictures the assembling of the cattle for the pilgrimage:

"The hills and vales of the interior Highlands, which, in rougher times, sent out, under a Graham or a Cameron, bands of armed men, now, in the season, pour forth the herds of cattle which they rear, to the