CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 9. RUMINANTIA. 



481 



coecum is likewise long, and tolerably smooth. Their fat hardens more by cooling than that of 

 other quadrupeds, and even becomes brittle, and is commonly termed tallow. The udder is placed 

 between the hinder limbs. In their forms, many of these animals are light and elegant, and are 

 endowed with great speed. The skin is covered with hair or wool, the eyes are large and full, 

 and in many species exceedingly beautiful. 



The Ruminantia are divided into five families, as follows : the Bovidce, the Giraffidce, the Cer- 

 widce, the Moschidce, and the Camelidce. 



THE BOYIDJ2. 



This family includes the following tribes : the Bovina or Ox kind, the Caprina or Goat 

 kind, the Ovina or Sheep kind, and the Antilopina or Antelope kind. 



DOMESTIC CATTLE. 



THE BOVINA. 



This tribe embraces the various animals of the Ox kind, a genus to which the " Lord of Cre- 

 ation" is most extensively indebted. It has been observed that if the qualities of the dog arc of a 

 higher and more intellectual character, and bring it into closer communication with man as a 

 social being ; and if the horse, as a beast of burden and of draught, contributes more to his immediate 

 personal gratification, the Ox surpasses these and all others in the devotion of its powers while liv- 

 ing, and the appropriation of every part of the body when dead, to the wants, the comforts, and 

 the luxuries of its owner. It is a small but very natural genus, all the species of which resemble 

 each other in essential points, and manifest little approximation to other genera. Some of them 

 have been, in different countries, subdued to the service of man, and their great strength made 



i available for the purposes of husbandry, and in some instances, of riding and draught. They are 

 mostly large, thickset animals, with stout limbs, a broad muzzle, and a pe'ndulous dewlap ; the 

 horns, found in each sex, are round, pointed, and curved, supported on a bony center, which is 

 very porous. Their flesh, on the whole, is the most nutritious, the most digestible, and the most 



. agreeable of all animal food, and is the most extensively consumed. 

 Vol. I.— 61 



