Beasts Of The Field

A few more friends met on my travels.....

Large Black - that's not just a description, that's the name of the breed. They are certainly large and can become very large indeed. And they are the only breed to be completely black. The fine beast above is to be found at the Museum of East Anglian Life, at Stowmarket. It may sound strange to find a pig in a museum, but it's quite appropriate as they are an old breed which was at one time very much part of East Anglian life. Nowadays numbers have dwindled and they are considered a rare breed.

Red Poll - These neat little cattle can often be seen on nature reserves around Cambridgeshire. They happily graze rough ground and because of their smallish size don't make such a mess of the ground as more commercial breeds do. All walkers love them as they are placid little darlings and don't make a nuisance of themselves by hanging around gates and stiles.  

Hebridean - These dainty little sheep are a lot tougher than they appear, being adapted to life on the wind-swept, rain-lashed islands off the north-west coast of Scotland. They are said to be descended from Viking sheep which were brought to Britain in the ninth century.

Rabbits (!) - Oh, yes, rabbits were once farm animals too. When I was at school we were told they were brought to England by the Normans. More recently archaeologists have discovered that they were more probably imported by the Romans. Not only that but they've even discovered bunny bones dating from before the last Ice Age, so the Romans were actually re-importing them to a land where they'd died out understandably enough, when everything was covered in ice and snow. It's amazing what archaeologists worry their heads about! There was a boom in rabbit farming during Victorian times when their fur was used for making top hats.

Shire - Shire horses have a long history dating back at least to the English Great Horse which was the breed used by knights in armour, even though Hollywood insists on rather more regal animals! They weren't much used for ploughing though till the nineteenth century, before that oxen were the traditional draught animals used on farms. There are less than 1,500 of them in the country today so they are considered "at risk".

Oxford Down - There always seems to be something of the teddy-bear about Downland sheep. They are big, heavy animals compared to some sheep and have a lot of wool on top of their heads and even on their faces giving them a rather cuddly look. That's not what makes them attractive to sheep-farmers, of course - they like the fact that they can be crossed with commercial ewes to produce big lambs for meat. 

Highland Cattle - What other animal could survive winter on land like that without shelter? Not only survive but thrive. They were bred to live on the treeless, wet and windy highlands of Scotland, so the treeless, wet and windy fenlands of Cambridgeshire present no problem for them. They seem to be a docile, peaceful breed despite their wild appearance - perhaps because they can't see much through their long, thick fringes!

Take care.