THE OX AMD THE DAIRY. 17 



small and malformed ; whereas, in the bullock, on the con- 

 trary, the horns, instead of being arrested in their growth, 

 shoot out in length, and very frequently assume a graceful 

 tournure. 



At the base of the horns in cattle, the corneous investment 

 is very thin, especially where it unites with the cutis : here it 

 covers a vast plexus of vessels and nerves, rendering a blow 

 upon the part extremely painful. To one aware of this cir- 

 cumstance, it is revolting to witness the ruthless manner in 

 which the drovers use their ashen sticks, striking at the junc- 

 tion of the horn with the skull, and either almost paralyzing, 

 or, on the other hand, infuriating the animal with the agony 

 produced. Heartily do we wish such a weapon changed 

 for a slight goad, which, used properly, is a far more 

 humane instrument ; and that blows upon the head (and 

 the foot also) were punishable. The cruelties of Smith- 

 field are notorious: there is not room to tie half the 

 beasts sent there to the rails. The packing of the beasts into 

 circles within that once extensive and suburban, but now 

 miserably limited space, is managed during the night; and 

 the barbarities practised to effect this object are unfit to be 

 written. Nor are they much diminished when an animal 

 has been sold, and is to be driven through and extricated 

 from a mass of fifteen hundred cattle. The time, however, 

 is rapidly approaching, hastened by the railway mode of con- 

 veyance for carcases slaughtered at a distance, as well as 

 of the living animals, in which the nuisance of Smithfield 

 is to be abolished, and also the slaughter-houses in the most 

 crowded portions of our metropolis. The danger in driving 

 cattle to these dens of blood, the cruelties inflicted in forcing 

 them to enter (for the scent of the gore produces instinctive 

 horror), the effluvia of putrescent matter exhaled from them, 

 and the disgusting objects exposed to view, combine to 

 render them the disgrace of London. In these points, at 

 least, Paris is far superior. It is to be hoped that, in the new 

 market to be established, all the acknowledged defects of the 

 present system will be remedied. 



With regard to the senses of the ox, namely, sight, hearing, 

 smell, and taste, they are respectively enjoyed in that degree 

 of perfection which is in accordance with the habits and 

 necessities of the animal. 



Sight. From the earliest times the eye of the ox has been 

 celebrated for beauty, and the calm tranquillity of its ex- 



c 



