NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Description. 



THE COMMON OX. 



FROM this well-known and useful animal arc 

 derived the numerous varieties of common cattle 

 found in various parts both of the old and new 

 continent. In its wild and native state it is disr 

 tinguishcd by the depth and shagginess of its 

 hair, which about the head, neck, and shoulders, 

 is frequently of such a length as almost to touch 

 the ground; and it grows to such an enormous 

 size, as sometimes to weigh sixteen hundred or 

 t\vo thousand pounds. The horns are rather 

 short, strong, and sharp-pointed, and stand dis*- 

 tant from each other at their bases. The colour 

 is generally either a dark or a yellowish brown. 

 The limbs are very strong and muscular, and the> 

 whole aspect gloomy and ferocious. 



Wild oxen are principally found in the marshy 

 forests of Poland, among the Carpathian Moun- 

 tains, in Lithuania, and also in several parts of 

 Asia. It is also said that a breed of wild cattle 

 (probably the only remains of that species in 

 England,) is yet left in Lord Tankerville's park, 

 at Chillingham, near Berwick-upon-Tweed. 

 Their colour is invariably white, with the muzzle 

 black, and the whole inside of the ear, and 

 about one-third of the outside, from the hip 

 downwards, red. Their horns are white, with 

 black tips, remarkably fine, and bent downward. 

 The weight of the oxen is from thirty-five 4o 



