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CHAPTER V. 



DOMESTIC CATTLE. 



The study of the peculiar traits of domestic cattle 

 should be of especial interest to us, because the 

 genus Bos has undoubtedly occupied a more 

 important place in our own ancestral history 

 than any other species of animal. Our Aryan 

 forefathers, who lived on the plains of Central 

 and Eastern Europe, were cowboys almost to a 

 man. As is the case with the Caffres and 

 Damaras of South Africa to-day, their thoughts 

 and conversation were chiefly about their herds. 

 This is shown in a curious way by the study 

 of the early development of our language. The 

 Sanskrit word for a king meant originally a 

 chief herdsman ; the word for a parliament or 

 assembly was derived from that for a cow-yard, 

 and a soldier was " one who fights about cows." 



