BECBEATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 







l;i:CREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 



THE OX FAMILY. 



OUR common ox, the pride of every Smithfield Cattle Show, U 

 known that any notice of such a quadruped may seem 

 HUJM TiliiuuM ; but aa a study of the most familiar forms of life 

 Unclose some peculiarity of structure, or to recall 

 some important historical fact, we may be certain thrt this will 

 bo the n-sult in tho present case. If one were to ask what 

 ftiiiuiul has most aided man in his progress to civilisation, the 

 answer must probably be the ox. In tho first stage of savage 

 hen food is procured by hunting wild beasts, the dog 

 may bo tho most valued servant. But when this rude state 

 has been passed, tho ox becomes man's trusted friend, pro- 

 viding him with food and clothing, drawing tho plough, and 

 moving tho wagon. It was not, therefore, wonderful that the 

 early races of men should exalt this animal to tho rank of a 

 deity. Thus we see tho wisdom of Egypt and the might of 

 Assyria bowing 

 before tho sym- 

 bolic bull ; and 



the chosen 

 jH'oplo of Hea- 

 woro de- 

 Indud into wor- 

 shipping tho 



ncalf, and 



:ied with- 



- i^n of hor- 

 ror to the words, 

 These be thy 



. O Israel." 

 Few readers 

 need to be re- 

 Miindcd that the 

 ox belongs to 

 the order Ru- 

 minantia (ru- 

 minants), and 

 to the family 

 Bovidce* aterm 

 including the 

 ox, bison, buf- 

 falo, and all 

 other species or 

 varieties. The 

 horns of all the 

 family are hol- 

 low and perma- 

 nent, resem- 

 bling in these 

 two particulars 

 those of the 

 sheep, goats, 

 and antelopes. 

 A vehement 



dispute has long raged respecting the origin of our common ox. 

 One naturalist sees the original breed in the wild cattle still 

 kept in Chillingham Park, Northumberland. Another regards 

 the formidable urus, or wild bull of ancient Germany, as the 

 ancestral type. But if we may trust the description given 

 of these by Csesar, they could scarcely have been the fathers 

 of our present cattle. The great Roman says these ancient 

 bulls of the German forests were nearly as large as elephants, 

 and that their horns were capacious enough to form drinking 

 vessels, f We shall have a word to say about these large 

 horns hereafter. At present it may suffice to remark, that 

 the existing breed of oxen cannot well be traced from the 

 fierce and gigantic uri of Caesar. The European bison, which is 

 thought to be still wandering in the wild regions of the lower 

 Danube, has been regarded by a few as the parent stock. The 

 examinations of Cuvier and other anatomists show this to be 

 almost impossible. Ho mentions one structural difference only 

 in proof of this. Our oxen have thirteen pairs of ribs, but the 



This term is derived from botn's, the genitive of bos, the Latin for 

 oar. The real root is the Greek vt (bow). 

 t "De Bello Gallico," lib. vi., cop. 88. 



70 N.E. 



THE AMERICAN BISON OB BUFFALO. 



bison or aurochs ban fourteen. Many other anatomical 

 j.i--uii;iritie completely separata the bUon from oar oxen. 

 Some writers, despairing of finding the parent race in Europe, 

 trace it to the buffalo of Asia, while Cuvier himself inclined to 

 tho belief that the ancestors of our farm-oxen bare become 

 extinct. We must, therefore, look for the primary types of oar 

 Devons and Hen-fords in those fossil bones to often found in 

 tho upper deposits of the tertiary formations. Nor shall we 

 probably go far wrong if we regard the wild cattle of Chillingham 

 Park as very closely allied to some of our existing breeds. These 

 brief remarks may suggest to the reader some notions of the 

 clilliriiltius encountered in tracing the history of oar most 

 common animals. 



We must not pass on without at least indicating some of 

 tho more remarkable species of the bovine family. No reader 

 will wish us to lose time in technical descriptions of the various 

 improved breeds reared for the market topics suited to an 

 agricultural journal, but out of place in these pages. Nor can 



we describe ail 

 the widely-ex- 

 tended species 

 of this family, 

 but only those 

 which are most 

 remarkable for 

 peculiarities of 

 form, habits, 

 or historical 

 associations. 



The Chilling- 

 ham wild cattle, 

 to which refer- 

 ence has been 

 already made, 

 demand a few 

 words more. It 

 is probable that 

 we see in these 

 the descendants 

 of the wild 

 bulls which in 

 the reign of 

 King Henry IL 

 roamed in the 

 wide forests 

 then extending 

 far around Lon- 

 don. They are 

 cream coloured, 

 but have block 

 muzzles, and 

 ears of a red- 

 dish tint. The 

 horns ore short, 

 block on the 

 tips, and hove 



a slight curve upwards. Some of the bulls possess a short mane. 

 Those who have seen them for tho first time in the solitudes of 

 Chillingham, have been struck by their peculiarly wild habits. 

 No sooner does the herd behold a strange visitor than the 

 whole body dash away, as if in fright. After running for about 

 a hundred yards they stop, turn round, and advance, as if to 

 charge the intruder, then suddenly pause at some distance, 

 scrutinising the object before them. Should the man wave bis 

 arms, off they dart again, but to a shorter distance ; then turn- 

 ing, dash forwards as before, coming nearer than at first. 

 Thus, by a succession of retreats and advances, the animals 

 at last come so near that the visitor receives warning to retire, 

 lest the wild herd should finish by a fatal charge. Here is 

 indeed a splendid zoological study for all who can gain aa 

 admission to such a collection. Once or twice the herd ha* 

 been on tho point of perishing from disease ; but the care now 

 taken will, it is hoped, long preserve these few remains of 

 tho wild forms of nature. Readers who have seen Landseer's 

 famous picture of the Chillingham wild bull ore able to form 

 some notion of the force and beauty of the living animal. 



Far different from these wild cattle of Britain is the bison of 

 America, with its huge lion-like mane, humped back, and vindic- 



