1838. HOUSE— No. 72. 9 



lallfrons or broad-headed ox. The horns of the latter meas- 

 ured twenty-eight inches in circumference at the base. Skulls, and 

 other bones of cattle are abundant at the Big-bone licks in Kentucky, 

 in common and associated with, those of the mastodon. It appears, 

 therefore, that these cattle were contemporary with this latter won- 

 derful animal, and also perished with it, in the same general catastro- 

 phe. Without doubt these records of ancient days have a date 

 more distant than the historical era. Such are some of the facts 

 connected with the history of the genus to which the domestic ox 

 belongs. 



The effect of domestication in reducing the size of animals is not 

 a necessary one, but is probably the result of severe and cruel treat- 

 ment, and neglect in furnishing the confined animal with a sufliciency 

 of food : for it is found that, since agriculturists have turned their at- 

 tention to the improvement of certain varieties, they have increased 

 in stature. But all changes which operate on races, whether they 

 are for the better or worse, must take place slowly. There is, here 

 and there, an' individual, which exceeds the ordinary size, but this 

 is usually to be ascribed to more than ordinary attention, and its pro- 

 geny would not have, without good attention also, the qualities of its 

 parent. This may not be true however, except in cases where the 

 race had deteriorated generally, and the low standard was fixed by 

 lime. The size of an animal, therefore, diminishes to a certain stan- 

 dard, when it is neglected or only partly provided for, which in time 

 becomes an established standard of growth. In raising the standard 

 of size or of value, we are obliged to contend with a law of nature, 

 which operates on the progeny even of improved individuals, in or- 

 der to pieserve them of about the same measure and weight as pre- 

 ceding generations. As they come down to a certain point, so they 

 must go up, though, if any thing, more slowly, for a retrograde course 

 is always the most rapid. 



These remarks are intended to show the necessity of sustaining the 

 efforts at improvement in cattle, till they attain their ancient stature, 

 or the original cast of the parent stock. Beyond this, it is in vain 

 to attempt to carry improvement ; for we are met again by a law 

 which limits the size and dimensions of all the families of animals. 

 What is gained in size, beyond the limits of the species, is lost in 



2 



