84 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



traveller, "as light-footed as Antelopes," and whilst the reader will 

 agree that a mad Bull rushing across an open field can move at 

 an alarming speed, it is obvious that a changed life has resulted 

 in the Domestic Ox of to-day being far more lethargic than it 

 otherwise would be, for great speed of locomotion is no longer an 

 indispensable condition of the animal's life. It is ably protected 

 by the large size, great strength, and the possession of special 

 organs of defence, namely, the horns. 



The horns are worthy of close study in themselves, and whilst 

 we cannot enlarge on the subject here, attention may be directed 

 to the various examples of these appendages shown in Figs. 65 

 to 68, and to the fact that the presence of these organs largely 

 conditions the great breadth and height of the forehead. "The 

 cranial bones, too, are of unusual thickness and are capable of 

 enduring the hardest blows. The force employed in the use of 

 the horns as thrusting or butting weapons, is supplied in the power- 

 ful musculature of the nape of the neck. Through the presence of 

 these muscles and a loose-hanging cutaneous fold, the dewlap, 

 the neck appears shorter than it really is." In the neck the strength 

 of the Ox chiefly lies, and, this being so, one can realize why 

 it is that w r hen made to draw a cart or a plough, the yoke is attached 

 to the animal's forehead. 



It is as well to remember, too, that Wild Oxen live in herds, 

 and this renders them better able to defend themselves than if they 

 lived in a solitary state. In considering the general characteristics 

 of our Domestic Cattle, a comparison between them and their wild 

 relations is essential, and in this connection it is interesting to 

 observe that Dr. Schmeil states : " The body of every animal must 

 be so constructed that it may be able to obtain the necessary food 

 for its own maintenance and that of its young, and also may be 

 capable of protecting itself against its enemies and the influences 

 of weather and climate ; for unless these conditions are fulfilled, 

 it is doomed soon to disappear from the Earth. Man, however, 

 by taking the Ox under his protection, has relieved this animal 

 from either of the above-named functions, and in order to under- 

 stand its structure in reference to them, we must consider only such 

 animals of the species as still live under natural conditions, or, at 

 least, such surroundings as deviate but slightly from a state of 

 Nature." In our consideration thus far this method has been 

 adopted, and it is important to bear this in mind. 



