fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of
their surprise; but upon the least motion they all again turn round and
fly off with equal speed, but not to the same distance, forming a
shorter circle; and, again returning with a more threatening aspect than
before, they approach probably within thirty yards, when they again make
another stand, and then fly off; this they do several times, shortening
their distance and advancing nearer and nearer, till they come within
such short distance that most persons think it prudent to leave them.

When the cows calve, they hide their calves for a week or ten days in
some retired situation, and go and suckle them two or three times a day.
If any persons come near the calves they clap their heads close to the
ground to hide themselves--a proof of their native wildness. The dams
allow no one to touch their young without attacking with impetuous
ferocity. When one of the herd happens to be wounded, or has grown weak
and feeble through age or sickness, the rest set on it and gore it to
death.

The breeds of cattle which are now found in Great Britain, are almost as
various as the soil of the different districts or the fancies of the
breeders. They have, however, been very conveniently classed according
to the comparative size of the horns; the _long-horns_, originally from
Lancashire, and established through most of the midland counties; the
_short-horns_, generally cultivated in the northern counties and in
Lincolnshire, and many of them found in every part of the kingdom where
the farmer pays much attention to his dairy, or where a large supply of
milk is desired; and the _middle-horns_, a distinct and valuable 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 Welsh
mountains. The Alderney, with its _crumpled horn_, is found on the
southern coast; while the polled, or _hornless_, cattle prevail in
Suffolk, Norfolk, and Galloway, whence they were first derived.

These leading breeds, however, have been intermingled in every possible
way. They are found pure only in their native districts, or on the
estate of some wealthy 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 the climate; and
among small farmers, maintain