OF THE OX. 9 



himself, with less danger to his life than any 

 other animal, to those pernicious causes which 

 produce and develop contagious diseases. 

 Next to him, with respect to this power of 

 vital resistance, come the omnivorous animals, 

 then the carnivorous, and last of all, the 

 herbivorous, in which this faculty is very 

 feeble indeed. 



This prime consideration, to be fully under- 

 stood and appreciated by unscientific readers, 

 would require explanations beyond the scope 

 of this work. Let us, however, for the present 

 establish the fact, that herbivorous animals, 

 such as sheep and horned cattle, offer but a 

 very weak resistance to the causes which gene- 

 rate infectious and epizootic diseases, and let 

 us do our best to prove it by demonstration ; 

 for if this truth be once admitted, we shall 

 therefrom deduce that it is the duty of man 

 constantly to surround these frail and delicate 

 creatures with special care and attention, if he 

 wishes to prevent their being decimated from 

 time to time, and if he would likewise avoid 

 the consequent injuries to himself the loss 

 of health and money accruing from this de- 

 terioration. 



