THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 



horns as very heavy, and as acquiring their extraordinary 

 size from disease. His words are, " The extraordinary size of 

 these horns proceeds from a disease that the cattle have in 

 these countries, of which they die, and is derived, probably, 

 from their pasture and climate. When the animal shows 

 symptoms of this disorder he is set apart in the very best and 

 quietest grazing place, and never driven or molested from 

 that moment. His value lies then in his horns, for his body 

 becomes emaciated and lank in proportion as the horns grow 

 large. At the last period of his life, the weight of his head is 

 so great that he is unable to lift it up, or, at least, for any 

 space of time ; the joints of his neck become callous at last, 

 so that it is not any longer in his power to lift up his head. 

 In this situation he dies, with scarcely flesh to cover his 

 bones, and it is then his horns are of the greatest value. I 

 have seen horns that would contain as much as a common- 

 sized water-pail, such as they make use of in the houses in 

 England." (Travels, vol. vi.) 



It is not within our province to enter minutely into the 

 osteology of the ox, nevertheless we annex a view of the 

 skeleton of this animal, viz. of a cow of the middle-homed 

 breed, in order that its general characteristics, which mere 

 description could not convey, may be seized upon by the eye. 



On comparing the skeleton of the ox with that of the horse, 

 we perceive that the height is less, in proportion to the length, 

 than in the latter. In the horse, if we remove the neck and 

 tail, the body and limbs describe the limits of a square ; 

 not so in the ox, which is shorter on the limbs than the horse, 

 and has the trunk comparatively more elongated. The head 

 of the ox is in a line carried from the shoulders, and is braced 

 up to the spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae by a pow- 

 erful ligamentum nuchse. The frontal and occipital bones 

 are cancellous, the two tables of bone being separated ; and 

 these cells are continued up the osseous core of the horns, so 

 that the cranial cavity is really less than from an external 

 view of the skull might be anticipated ; the scapula, or blade 

 bone, has its upper edge straight, the angles being acute ; the 

 ribs are thirteen on each side, eight true and five false ; they 

 are broader in proportion than those of the horse, and the last 

 pair are more remote from the pelvis, or haunch. The num- 

 ber of the vertebrae is as follows : neck, or cervical, 7 ; dorsal, 

 13 ; lumbar, 6 ; sacral, 4 ; caudal, 16. The pelvis differs 

 greatly from that of the horse ; the ischial portion is pro- 



