70 THE GOSPEL AND THE PLOW 



The cow is the most sacred of all the gods of India. 

 It is worshipped by the Hindu. Hence the remedy for 

 the excess of cattle in the western world can not be ap- 

 plied in India. In the west this excess of cattle would 

 be sent to the packing houses, but in India, except for 

 the small number of cattle eaten by the Mohammedans 

 and Europeans most of the cattle die of old age or 

 disease. The solution of the cattle problem of India 

 by the Hindu himself is one 1 of the most important and 

 necessary reforms of India. It is evident that being a 

 Hindu religious question it is not for a non-Hindu to 

 decide it, but as a student of economics it is left to one 

 to point out that the enormous number of cattle which 

 do not pay their way are a very serious economic drain 

 to a country as poor as India. It is not more cattle but 

 better cattle that India needs. 



It is obvious how the cow and the sacred bull rose to 

 their place of preeminence in India. The ox is the 

 source of India's power whether it be pulling the plow, 

 drawing the water from the well, treading out the grain 

 or taking the produce to market. He is well nigh in- 

 dispensable, and has no substitute. The ox can work in 

 an average mean temperature of eight to ten degrees 

 hotter than the horse can stand. With the very small 

 holdings which obtain in the densely populated parts of 

 India, power machinery is beyond the reach of the 

 farmer and if he could afford it, his holding is too small 

 to make its use profitable. Therefore the ox seems des- 

 tined to remain the source of India's power. There are 

 many more breeds of cattle in India than there are in 

 Europe or America. Some of these breeds are unsur- 

 passed for draft and speed. Some are of excellent beef 

 type. There is no real first class dairy breed. The best 



