of the Ox and its allied Sjiecies. 313 



■must likewise have been originally placed ; yet its early ab- 

 scence from those countries where mankind, in a state of 

 civilization, first became the dominating power, is a circum- 

 stance in no way unconformable with the natural progress of 

 events, or indeed with the almost " invariable sequence" ob- 

 servable in the history of all wild animals of the larger and 

 more unwieldy kinds, when their native' boundaries become 

 encroached upon, and consequently circumscribed or intersect- 

 ed by the human race. 



The only other animal which has been brought forward as 

 the probable source of our domestic cattle, is the Aurochs of 

 the modern Germans, or European Bison (Bos Bison), before 

 described. It still inhabits the forests of Southern Russia, 

 those of the Carpathian and Caucasian Mountains, and the 

 deserts of Kobi. Thei-e are several considerations which ren- 

 der such a source unlikely, if not impossible. The form of 

 the skull, one of the most invariable characters, is very dif- 

 ferent in these animals. The forehead of domestic oxen is flat, 

 or even slightly concave ; whereas that of the aurochs or bi- 

 son is arched. In the ox, it is nearly square, or equal in 

 height or breadth, taking the base between the orbits; but, in 

 the aurochs, the breadth of that surpasses the height in the 

 proportion of three to two. But the strongest distinctive 

 character consists in this, — that the aurochs has fourteen pair 

 of ribs, while the ox has only thirteen. In the former animal 

 also, the tongue is blue ; in the ox flesh-colour. These, and 

 c-'cher circumstances, which need not be here more minutely 

 detailed, render it unadvisable to regard the European bison 

 as the origin of our domestic cattle. 



I shall conclude this communication with a few miscellane- 

 ous observations of a general nature. 



The size of oxen, in general, seems to bear a more immedi- 

 ate relation to the quality of the pasture, than to the nature of 

 the climate. The Danish cows, though lean, are larger than 

 the French; and, when transported to Holland, they become 

 very fat, and yield great quantities of milk. The cattle of the 

 Ukraine, of which the herbage is abundant, are equal in size to 

 any in Europe ; and those of Switzerland, which find, even on 

 the tops of mountains, a sweet and highly nutritious pasture, 

 are larger than those of the neighbouring countries. In Bar- 

 bary, and most of the African regions, where the land is dry 

 and sandy, and the pasture meagre, the cattle are small, and 

 are observed to lose their milk as soon as the calves are re- 

 moved. So likewise, in many parts of Persia, in Lower Egypt, 

 and Great Tartary, the size of the cattle is proportionate to 

 the scanty supply of herbage; whilst, in Kalmuc Tartarv, in 

 Upper Ethiopia, and in Abyssinia, they attain to a much 

 greater size. In northern countries, in temperate climes, and 



b r 



