Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 2 (1878).djvu/305

Rh the colour extending over the hair beyond the naked patch for about one-third of an inch. The heifer-calf's nose red, but only the naked part; ears pale red (more like the wild type), with some long rough hairs inside. The next morning 1 again went with Mickie and a party, and entering the park at the lower end, as I had done the previous morning, we very soon saw about forty-seven of the herd, up, on the pasture at the lower part of the hill. They were feeding, and about half of the animals would have their heads down at the same time. The bulls, as before at Chartley, put me in mind of pictures of the European bison, being very "humpy" at the withers and deep in the dewlap, which Mickie said reaches below the knee, and all the neck is pinkish brown,— or pinkish drab more nearly expresses it,— giving quite the appearance at a distance of a short mane. I believe this is mainly due, as at Chartley, to the colour of the skin. Rain coming on, we took refuge in the old "peel" at Hebburn. Afterwards we ascended the hill, leaving the road, and keeping more to the right than we had done yesterday, up to the Roman (? British) camp, which is circular, somewhere about fifty yards in diameter, and surrounded by a single bank about two feet high at the lower side, and about four feet at the upper or south side. It appears to have had only two entrances, one to the north, the other south-west. From here we again obtained distant views of the cattle as they passed slowly between two woods, feeding as they went. The noses of this herd are black, but the black does not— in general, at any rate— extend beyond the naked part. The insides of the ears, with a small portion of the outsides, are pale red.* The whole herd, with the exception of a few of the youngest calves, were suffering from the "rush" from the new grass. Mickie gave me the following particulars :— The herd at the time of my visit (July) numbered fifty-nine, made up of sixteen bulls, sixteen steers,f twenty-seven cows, heifers, &c,

Bewick says, "About twenty years since (1792) there were a few at Chillingham with black ears, but they were purposely destroyed, since which period there has not been one with black ears." The ears and noses of those at Wollaton were black. Those at Gisburne had the inside of the ears brown. The animals in the latter herd were without horns, very strong-boned, but not high (Bewick). They are said to have been originally brought from Whalley Abbey, upon its dissolution in Henry VIII.'s reign. —

+ I adopt the words in use at each place. They all mean animals operated upon at two years old or so, when they are big enough to show what sort of animals they would turn out.