CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 9. RUMINANTIA. 481 
coecnm is likewise long, and tolerably smooth. Their fat hardens more by cooling than that of 
other quadrupeds, and even becomes brittle, and is commonly termed tallow. The udder is placed 
between the hinder limbs. In their forms, many of these animals are light and elegant, and are 
endowed with great speed. The skin is covered with hair or wool, the eyes are large and full, 
and in many species exceedingly beautiful. 
The Runiinantia are divided into five families, as follows : the Bovidoe, the Giraffidce, the Oer- 
'ddce, the Moschidce, and the Camelidce. 
THE BOYID^. 
This family includes the following tribes : the Bovina or Ox kind, the Caprina or Goat 
kind, the Ovina or Sheep kind, and the Antilopina or Antelope kind. 
DOMESTIC CATTLE. 
THE BOYINA. 
This tribe embraces the various animals of the Ox kind, a genus to which the " Lord of Cre- 
ation" is most extensively indebted. It has been observed that if the qualities of the dog are of a 
higher and more intellectual character, and bring it into closer communication with man as a 
social being ; and if the horse, as a beast of burden and of draught, contributes more to his immediate 
personal gratification, the Ox surpasses these and all others in the devotion of its powers while liv- 
ing, and the appropriation of every part of the body when dead, to the wants, the comforts, and 
the luxuries of its owner. It is a small but very natural genus, all the species of which resemble 
each other in essential points, and manifest little approximation to other genera. Some of them 
have been, in different countries, subdued to the service of man, and their great strength made 
available for the purposes of husbandry, and in some instances, of riding and draught. They are 
mostly large, thickset animals, with stout limbs, a broad muzzle, and a pendulous dewlap; the 
horns, found in each sex, are round, pointed, and curved, supported on a bony center, which is- 
verj'- porous. Their flesh, on the whole, is the most nutritious, the most digestible, and the most, 
agreeable of all animal food, and is the most extensively consumed. 
Vol. I.— 61 
