ARTIODACTYLES 



99 



B. Structure of Body. 



The body of every animal must be so constructed that it may be able 

 to obtain the necessary food for its own maintenance and that of its 

 young, and also may be capable of protecting itself against its enemies 

 and the influences of weather and climate ; for unless these conditions 

 are fulfilled it is doomed soon to disappear from the earth. Man, 

 however, by taking the ox under his protection, has relieved this animal 

 from either of the above-named functions, and in order to understand its 

 structure in reference to them we must consider only such animals of 

 the species as still live under natural condi- 

 tions, or, at least, such surroundings as deviate 

 but slightly from a state of nature. As examples 

 of such we may cite the wild oxen of . South 

 America and the semi- savage cattle of the 

 Hungarian Pussta. These animals are left to 

 seek their own food, and to engage in a constant 

 struggle for life with the larger beasts of prey. 



i. The Ox and his Enemies. 



1. A traveller who came across a number of 

 wild cattle in the valley of the Hoangho (China) 

 reports that they were hunted with great dif- 

 ficulty, being very " cautious and of keen senses." 

 They observed the sportsman before he even got 

 within range. The keenness of their smell is 

 indicated sufficiently by their widely-open, con- 

 stantly-moistened nostrils (compare with dog). 

 The conical ears are very movable, and their 

 openings are pointed in the direction whence a 

 sound proceeds (compare with hare). 



The eyes of our domestic cattle are large and 

 dull, indicating feeble sight. Wild cattle, on the 

 other hand, have, as a rule, bright, brilliant eyes, evidently endowed 

 with such visual powers as are required for a life in a state of nature. 



2. The same traveller further tells us of the wild cattle of the 

 Hoangho that they are " as light-footed as antelopes " (which see). 



(a) That the ox is fleet of foot would appear from the fact that it is a 

 digitigrade animal (see wolf), walking, moreover, only on the tips of two 

 toes, the third and fourth. The metacarpal and metatarsal bones of 

 these digits are united to form strong tubular bones, which act as firm 

 pillars for the heavy body, and give the necessary length for a running 



72 



FORE-LEG OF THE Ox. 



O., Humerus ; Sp., radius; 

 E., ulna ; H\v., carpal 

 bones ; M., metacarpal 

 boiies ; 1, 2, 3, phalangeal 

 joints (joints 3 being sur- 

 rounded by hoofs, marked 

 in black). 



