138 WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANIMALS. 



Texas and Australia never from choice stray far 

 from the woods. Out on the Western ranches 

 there are, of course, few trees, and the beasts 

 thrive fairly well ; but, for all that, the conditions 

 of their life are artificial, and are not such as 

 they would select if free to choose their own 

 dwelling-place. All cattle love to stand knee- 

 deep in water and under the shadow of trees. 

 Their heads are carried low, even when they 

 are startled, so that they can see under the 

 spreading branches of the forest. Compare the 

 habitual position of the head of a cow with 

 that of the heads of the horse, pronghorn, or 

 guanaco, which live in the open and have to 

 watch the horizon for the approach of enemies. 



The split hoofs of cattle are wonderfully 

 adapted for progress over soft ground. In 

 galloping through bogs or deep mud an ox or 

 a buffalo will easily distance a swift horse. 

 Their toes spread wide, and so they do not 

 sink in so far as the solid-hoofed animal. What 

 is even more important, the open cleft between 

 the toes allows the air to enter the hole in 

 the mud as the foot is withdrawn ; whereas a 

 horse's hoof sticks like a "sucker," owing to 

 the partial vacuum below it, and can only be 



