

CATTLE, SHEEP, ETC. 



OXEN. 



N the large and important group of animals which now occupy our attention, the 

 incisor t--tli are entirely absent in the III>IHT jaw, and are i-iirht in niimtier in the 

 lower. There are six molars on each side of each jaw. The two middle toes of 

 each foot are separate, and are furnished with hoofs instead of claws. From the 

 frontal bones proceed two excrescences, which are generally armed with horns, 

 particularly in the male animal. The structure of the stomach and gullet is very 

 remarkable, and is employed in producing that peculiar action which is called 

 "ruminating," or chewing the cud. Although the horns have in many varieties of domes- 

 ticated Oxen been eradicated by a long course of careful management, they are always present 

 in the wild species, and are permanently retained through life, instead of being annually shed 

 like those of a deer. The peculiar characteristics of the bovine sknll are so well shown in the 

 engraving, that further description is needless. 



The Oxen, or Bovidae, as they are called, from the Latin word Bos, or Ox, are extremely 

 difficult of systematic arranp m. nt. as it is not easy to select any particular characteristic 

 on which to base the distinctions of genus and species. Some writers have founded their 

 arrangement upon the hoofs, others upon the muzzle, others upon the direction of the 

 horns, and others upon the structure of their l-.tiy nucleus. Mr. Oray, in his elaborate 

 elucidation of the IV.vidie, considers that the "form of the horns affords the most natural 

 character for subdividing them into groups," and employs other characteristics, such as the 



