31i DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIJIALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



of our domestic cattle, and are employed in agricultural lal)ors. They 

 are trained also for the saddle and harness, and often travel thirty miles 

 a day. 



One of these varieties is the Brahuiiny, or sacred bull of the Hindoos. 

 Hamilton relates that in maiiv parts of Bengal an absurd custom prevails, 

 which frequently occasions much damage to the farmer. When a rich young 

 man dies, a young bull is consecrated with much solemnity to Siva, and 

 married to four wives, when he is marked and turned loose. As it is 

 Tinlawful to molest him, he may go where he pleases, destroying with impu- 

 nity fields of grain, or whatever he may desire. 



Having thus noticed the principal wild species of the bovine tribe, we 

 pass to a consideration of our domestic species. Tlie great importance of 

 this class of animals in the economy of civilized people has led to the care- 

 i'ul cultivation of a considerable number of cariefies, each of which is valu- 

 able in some special and particular point. In France, according to Des- 

 morcst, there arc twenty favorite breeds, French and Dutch, ditfcring not 

 materially but in form. Among them are the following : — 



lios Lcmovicensis. — AA'hilc young, these animals are kept in the dis- 

 trict of Perigord, and driven to Xormandy, to be fattened and prepared for 

 the Parisian market. They are of a pale color, generally white or tawny, 

 strongly formed, with large, bending horns, weighing from six hundred 

 pounds to eight hundred and fifty pounds. The JJos Aquitniucas, or Gas- 

 con race, feeds to nearly a similar weight, and supplies the French navy with 

 beef. B. Avcrnus, raised on the mountains of Auvcrgne, is employed at 

 the age of three years for tillage, and afterwards fattened. It is of strong 

 proportions, but docs not reach a heavy weight. JJ. vklnaisseucis reaches 

 a large size, with large white, I(ut short horns, blotched with red and white, 

 black and white, or lilack and red. This breed is considered the finest in 

 France, introduced from Holland, and used for tillage. Another large 

 breed, B. iindiensiis, when crossed with the last, reaches a weight of 

 thirteen hundred or fourteen hundred pounds, and is the largest in the 

 empire. B. ITrlvcticus is one of the Swiss races, celebrated for the quan- 

 tity of their milk, and B. Baiuulus is the ordinary Dutch breed, famous for 

 a similar good quality. 



In Britain more attention has probabl}' been given to cattle-raising than 

 in any other country, and the Fnglish stock, therefore, is of a very superior 

 character. There are numerous breeds, the most valued of which are the 

 following: Tlie Short-horned variety, originally from a Dutch stock, is 

 highly esteemed. They feed easily, and reach a heavy weight at a \cvy 

 early age. Their abundant milk furnishes the Yorkshire firkin butter of 



