240 COMMON BUITIISII ANlMAi>S 



ill the case of sheep, goats, and some antelopes. These 

 weapons are hollow, horny structures situated on a 

 bony core, and are not shed as the antlers of the 

 Cervida3 are, but are of persistent growth. 



We find no difficulty in distinguishing the domesti- 

 cated members of this family — the oxen, sheep, and 

 goats — but in the wild state sheep are not covered 

 with thick wool, which is a development of domestica- 

 tion ; they are hairy as goats are, and in many cases 

 are very difficult to distinguish from goats. Ante- 

 lopes, though deer-like in form, have the bovine 

 hollow horns and persistent horn-cores. They are 

 the oldest members of their race, dating back to 

 the Miocene. 



Oxen. 



The oldest historical records speak of domestic 

 herds of oxen. The Egyptians had their domestic 

 cattle, and so had the Babylonians two thousand years 

 before them. To the Egyptians the cow was sacred, 

 and the beauty of their representations of this animal 

 has never been surpassed, expressing, as they do to 

 an eminent degree, grace of form, gentleness, and 

 nobility of mien, coupled with protecting strength. 



The bull seems always to have retained his wild 

 instincts, and has never really been tamed. 



Oxen are widely distributed, but were never 

 native in the Australian region. South America, or 

 Madagascar. 



Oxen, sheep, and goats provide man with flesh and 

 milk as food, and their coats and skins provide him 

 with raiment. The great strength of the ox has from 



