THE COMMON OX. 535 



was domesticated before the horse, the difficulty of tracing 

 it, with positive certainty, to its first parents, may be easily 

 imagined. Caesar and others speak of an enormous wild species 

 of ox under the name of Urus, as inhabiting Europe during 

 their time ; and it would seem that they regarded this wild 

 ox as of the same species as their domestic breed of oxen, 

 although the latter was even then probably smaller than the 

 Urus, but perhaps larger than our modern domestic cattle. 

 However this may have been, the remains of a gigantic species 

 of ox, possessing a huge head, and large spreading horns, which 

 have the form and the downward and forward curve of those 

 of certain existing races, especially such as are most wild, are 

 found only in the recent superficial deposits, or strata, of our 

 own island, and in those of the adjacent continent. In England 

 these remains are frequently discovered in caverns along with 

 those of various other animals j as in the celebrated Kirkdale 

 Cave, Yorkshire, and in different parts of Cornwall and Devon- 

 shire. All naturalists of first-rate ability regard these remains as 

 belonging to the Urns of classical writers ; and Cuvier moreover 

 considered that this animal is probably the type of our common 

 oxen, hence he gave the name of Bos primogenius to the 

 former animal. Dr. Weissenborn, who thinks that Cuvier has 

 "proved" the latter to be the type of the common ox, remarks 

 that it is probable that the Urus (that is the ox in its earliest 

 state) was not originally a native of Europe, but was intro- 

 duced into this quarter from India, through Egypt, and that 

 the species became extinct in its wild state at a very remote 

 period. He adopts this view from the contrast which the 

 short and straight hair of the domestic ox, under every climate, 

 presents with that of its congeners, the zubr, American bison, 

 and musk-ox. 



But India is a large place, and therefore it is not likely that 

 an animal, described as being powerful and ferocious, should 

 have become extinct there, and especially at a very remote 

 period, when we may reasonably suppose that the chances it 

 had of escape from destruction and of continuing its species, 



