that remain, such as the Chillingham breed, which is
small, white, with the inside of the ear red, and a brownish muzzle.
Some, however, assert they are merely the descendants of a
domesticated breed run wild, which have reverted somewhat to the
ancient type.[735]

According to Thorold Rogers, the cattle of the Middle Ages were small
rough animals like the mountain breeds of to-day, and at the end of
the sixteenth century we have seen they had large horns, were low and
heavy, and for the most part black.[736] The great variety of cattle
in Great Britain may be due to their being the descendants of several
species, or to difference of climate and soil, or to spontaneous
variation, but the chief cause is the diligent selection of breeders.
Marshall is quite positive[737] that the Hereford, Devon, Sussex, and
the black mountain breeds of Scotland and Wales are all descended from
the original native breed of this island, that the Shorthorns came
from the Continent, and the Longhorns probably from Ireland. Bradley's
division of cattle into black, white, and red tells us little.[738]
There was very little attempt at improvement until the middle of the
eighteenth century, for peace was necessary for long continued
effort, and 1746, the date of Culloden, the last battle fought on
British soil, may be taken practically as the commencement of the era
of progress.

The Shorthorn is the most famous and widely-spread breed of this
country, if not in the world; it exceeds in number any other breed in
the United Kingdom, and most cross-breds have Shorthorn blood in them.
It adapts itself to any climate, and is equally noted for beef-making
and milk-yielding.

The origin of the Shorthorns is uncertain; they originated from the
Teeswater and Holderness varieties, but where these came from is a
matter of dispute. Young, in his _Northern Tour_,[739] says, 'In
Yorkshire the common breed was the short-horned kind of cattle called
Holderness, but really the Dutch sort'; and many have said the
Holderness and the Teeswater breeds both came from Holland, and were
practically the same, while others assert the original home of the
Teeswaters was the West Highlands.[740]

John Lawrence speaks of the Dutch breed with short horns in 1726;[741]
but, unless they were smuggled over, it certainly seems strange that
any Dutch cattle should have been imported in the eighteenth century,
for the importation of cattle was strictly forbidden during the w