NATURAL HISTORY OF THE OX. 21^ 



provided for and cherished by him as if they were his children. 

 They are never ill-treated nor beaten, for his voice suffices to 

 guide and govern the whole herd, and a perfect cordiality reigns 

 between them. In the Alps the fine cattle are the pride of their 

 keepers, who adorn the best of them with a harmonious set of 

 bells, which chime in accordance with the Ram des vaches. The 

 finest black cow is adorned with the largest bell, and the two 

 which come next in appearance wear smaller ones. Early in the 

 spring, when they are removed to the Alps, or to some different 

 pasturage, the owner dresses himself in all his finery, and pro- 

 ceeds along singing the Rariz des vaches. Next come three or 

 four fine goats, next the finest cow adorned with the great bell, 

 then the other two with the smaller bells, and these are followed 

 by the rest of the cattle walking one after another, and behind 

 them comes the bull having a one-legged milking stool on his 

 horns, while the procession is closed by a sledge bearing the 

 dairy implements. It is indeed surprising to observe the pride 

 and pleasure with which the cows stalk forth, when ornamented 

 with their bells. If the leading cow is deprived of her honours, 

 she manifests her sense of the indignity put upon her by inces- 

 sant lowing, and even, it is said, by loss of appetite, whereby her 

 condition is impaired. The rival becomes the object of her wrath. 

 She is butted and wounded in the most furious manner, until the 

 aggressor either regains her bell, or is removed from the herd. 



Oxen are spoken of by Csesar as constituting a chief part of the 

 wealth of the Britons at the time of the Koman invasion, and the 

 same writer also mentions that the inhabitants lived in great part on 

 the flesh and the milk of these animals, somewhat to the neglect 

 of the use of the plough. It seems that these oxen were neither 

 large nor beautiful animals. At that time Great Britain com- 

 prised many petty sovereignties, and only that kind of property 

 which could be quickly taken away to a place of comparative 

 safety was really secure. Even many centuries afterwards there 

 were continual contests among the feudal barons, and it was 

 therefore still the case that those goods which could be secured 

 within the walls of a castle, or driven quite away to some place 

 out of the reach of an enemy, were alone to be considered as 

 being of any great value. Consequently it was a customary pre- 

 caution to store up in the fortresses immense stocks of provisions 

 suited for the use both of the vassals and of the cattle, or perhaps 



