iss lake-dwellings along with the stone implements
and other relics of Neolithic man. In infant communities a man's wealth
was measured by the number and size of his herds--Abraham, it is said,
was rich in cattle--and oxen for a long period formed, as they still do
among many savage or semi-savage tribes, the favourite medium of
exchange between individuals and communities. After the introduction of
a metal coinage into ancient Greece, this method of exchange was
commemorated by stamping the image of an ox on the new money; while the
connexion between cattle and coin as symbols of wealth has left its mark
on the languages of Europe, as is seen in the Latin word _pecunia_ and
the English "pecuniary," derived from _pecus_, cattle. The value
attached to cattle in ancient times is further shown by the Bull
figuring among the signs of the zodiac; in its worship by the ancient
Egyptians under the title of Apis; in the veneration which has always
been paid to it by the Hindus, according to whose sacred legends it was
the first animal created by the three divinities directed by the supreme
Deity to furnish the earth with animated beings; and in the important
part it played in Greek and Roman mythology. The Hindus were not allowed
to shed the blood of the ox, and the Egyptians could only do so in
sacrificing to their gods. Both Hindus and Jews were forbidden to muzzle
it when treading out the corn; to destroy it wantonly was a crime among
the Romans, punishable with exile.

_Breeds_.--There exist in Britain four interesting remnants of what were
at one time numerous enclosed herds of ancient forest cattle,[1] with
black or red points, in parks at Chillingham, Cadzow, Vaynol (near
Bangor, North Wales) and Chartley. A few of the last have been removed
to Woburn. Other representatives of old stock are a resuscitated white
Welsh breed with black points, derived from white specimens born of
black Welsh cows; several herds of a white polled breed with black
points; a herd of the ancient Polled Suffolk Dun, an excellent milking
breed; a White Belted Galloway and a White Belted Welsh breed; the old
Gloucester breed at Badminton, with a white rump, tail and underline,
related to the now extinct Glamorgan breed; the Shetland breed; and a
few herds of Dutch cattle preserved for their superior milking powers.

The prominent breeds of cattle in the British Isles[2] comprise the
Shorthorn, Lincolnshire Red Shorthorn, Hereford, Devon, South De