THE OX AND ITS KINDRED 
CHAPTER I 
THE NAMES OF THE OX AND ITS ANCESTOR 
ALTHOUGH it may appear strange to the 
reader that there should be the slightest 
hesitation or difficulty in deciding as to what is the 
proper vernacular name of the well-known animal 
forming the main subject of the present volume, yet 
as a matter of fact the difficulty is a very real one. 
Indeed, the same difficulty is experienced in regard 
to the English names of many other species of 
animals ; and it accordingly seems extremely doubt- 
ful whether our ancestors ever had species-names at 
all for many of the better-known and larger mam- 
mals and birds, contenting themselves apparently 
with a name for each sex of such species. The 
human species itself affords a case in point. It is 
true, indeed, that, in the first chapter of the Book of 
Genesis, the term " man " is used to denote both 
sexes, although the expression " in the image of God 
created he Jiini ; male and female created he them'' 
seems to indicate some hesitation on the part of the 
translator as to whether this usage was justifiable. 
But even if it be so, we cannot speak of a " female 
man," and are thus driven to use some such peri- 
