20 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



thin; movable, but not too loose, mellow, and, moreover, well 

 covered with soft, fine, and glossy hair. 



At about two and a half years of age, the ox has reached 

 its full development; it is aged when ten years old, and very 

 rarely is its life prolonged for more than fourteen years. For 

 ages past the cow has been considered as a valuable possession, 

 on account of the milk which she yields. The period of 

 gestation is 270 days, or nine months, and but seldom is it the 

 case that more than one calf is produced at a birth. After 

 cows have reached the age of about seven and a half years they 

 are very rarely used for dairy purposes, since they then yield a 

 less quantity of milk, and even that is of an inferior description. 

 Not only are cows a source of profit by reason of their power 

 of giving milk — from which, of course, butter and cheese are 

 made — but also in so far as they can give origin to offspring 

 well adapted for grazing, and capable of being readily fattened 

 for the meat-market. As a rule, the calf is carefully tended 

 and fed from the time of its birth until the time of disposal to 

 the butcher, and oil-cake is now generally considered to be the 

 best auxiliary food for both old and young stock. In the 

 pastoral districts of England, the rearing of the cattle to be 

 afterwards sent to the arable districts is carried out. A great 

 many oxen are fattened on turnips and mangolds in the winter- 

 time in Norfolk and other eastern counties, plentiful allowances 

 of corn and cake being supplied in addition to the roots, 

 Now-a-days it is the custom to fatten cattle for the market at an 

 earlier age than was formerly the case. 



The ox is, as our readers well know, a sociable or gregarious 

 animal, and where it is practicable so to do — as, for instance, in 

 the South American plains — the cattle associate together in such 

 numbers as to form very large herds. These herds defend 

 themselves with great vigour against the large feline animals 

 and other assailants, whenever they are attacked. In order to 

 meet their fierce adversaries effectively, these creatures draw 

 themselves up in battle array, placing all the younger and the 

 weaker in the centre, whilst the bulls in the outer ranks con- 

 front the enemy, with their formidable horns presented all ready 

 for the furious onset. 



In seeking what is known about the history of the ox, we 

 find that that animal has been present in almost every place 



