7Q JOURNAL, BOMBA Y NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1890. 



famine ; secondly the devotion of the best bulls to service as sires ; in 

 this way the welfare of the race of cattle in perpetuity was secured 

 by the powerful influences of custom and superstition. The sacred 

 books of Hindoo and Buddhist, the noble pillars of Asoka, and 

 even the statutes of various conquerors and peaceful invaders of 

 India whose fierce or rude habits have been tamed from time to time 

 by the gentle influences of Hinduism, are full of instruction as to the 

 care to be taken of cattle, and of aphorisms in honour of the bovine 

 race. From time to time Hinduism has been stirred to its depths at 

 wanton or careless affront by slaughter of cattle, and thus the wel- 

 fare of horned beasts has at times had an influence on history. 



But the bullock, though less reverenced than the bull and cow, is 

 even more entitled to honour. He has done good service in every 

 war which has been carried out in India, drawing heavy guns, siege 

 trains, baggage, and supplies, and to European armies he has often 

 been no inconsiderable food supply. In trade he is a most important 

 factor ; the strings of bullock carts, which pass along our Bombay 

 streets, the long lines and large herds of Brinjari cattle we meet 

 in some parts of the country, the kind of conveyance which we 

 have to adopt, in the majority of cases, directly we leave the line 

 of rail in out-of-the-way places up-country, are all evidences of this. 

 In agriculture the plough bullock, the ox treading out the corn, 

 and the unfortunate animals engaged at the useful but wearisome 

 work of the well are familiar objects. In food supply the bullock 

 of India has little concern except when he is bought up by the 

 Commissariat at cantonments, or shipped for use by troops on active 

 service. The cow, however, supplies in the form of ghi, curds, and 

 other products from milk the staple item of animal food consumed by 

 many millions in this country. 



Loss of stock by disease or other catastrophe, accordingly, it will 

 be seen, dislocates existence in India. The traveller loses his means 

 of conveyance ; the beneficent, but noisy, operation of drawing water 

 for irrigation can no longer be efficiently performed, the ground 

 cannot be tilled, nor the corn threshed ; as the plough lies idle so 

 also does the cart, which should be cheerily conveying produce to the 

 line of rail or neighbouring market. Fairs cannot be held ; even 

 religion and pleasure are suspended, and military operations are 



