"I saw two herds on the northern bank of the Plata.... The forehead is very short and broad, with the nasal end of the skull, together with the whole plane of the upper molar-teeth, curved upwards. The lower jaw projects beyond the upper, and has a corresponding upward curvature.... The skull which I presented to the College of Surgeons has been thus described by Professor Owen. 'It is remarkable from the stunted development of the nasals, premaxillaries, and fore part of the lower jaw, which is unusually curved upwards to come into contact with the premaxillaries. The nasal bones are about one-third the ordinary length, but retain almost their normal breadth. The triangular vacuity is left between them and the frontal and lachrymal, which latter bone articulates with the premaxillary, and thus excludes the maxillary from any junction with the nasal.' So that even the connexion of some of the bones is changed. Other differences might be added: thus the plane of the condyles is somewhat modified, and the terminal edge of the premaxillaries forms an arch. In fact, on comparison with the skull of a common ox, scarcely a single bone presents the same exact shape, and the whole skull has a wonderfully different appearance[103]." [103] Darwin, _Variation_, &c., vol. i. pp. 92-4. [Illustration: Fig. 3.--Drawn from nature. R. Coll. Surg. Mus.] As I cannot find that this remarkable skull has been figured before, I have had the accompanying woodcut made in order to compare it with the skull of a Charsley Forest ox; and a glance is sufficient to show what "a wonderfully different appearance" it presents. * * * * * Now the important points in the present connexion with regard to this peculiar race of cattle are the following. Their origin is not known; but it must have been subsequent to the year 1552, when cattle were first introduced to America from Europe, and it is known that such cattle have been in existence for at least a century. The breed is very true, and a niata bull and cow invariably produce niata calves. A niata bull crossed with a common cow, and the reverse cross, yield offspring having an intermediate character, but with the niata peculiarities highly conspicuous[104]. [104] _Ibid._ p. 94.