THE BAXTING .— Bibos banting. 
CATTLE, SHEEP, ETC. 
OXEN. 
N the large and important group of animals which now occupy onr attention, the 
incisor teeth are entirely absent in the upper jaw, and are eight in number in the 
lower. There are six molars on each side of each jaw. The two middle toes of 
each foot are separate, and are furnished with hoofs instead of claws. From the 
frontal bones proceed two excrescences, which are generally armed with horns, 
particularly in the male animal. The structure of the stomach and gullet is very 
remarkable, and is employed in producing that peculiar action which is called 
“ ruminating,” or chewing the cud. Although the horns have in many varieties of domes- 
ticated Oxen been eradicated by a long course of careful management, they are always present 
in the wild species, and are permanently retained through life, instead of being annually shed 
like those of a deer. The peculiar characteristics of the bovine skull are so well shown in the 
engraving, that further description is needless. 
The Oxen, or Bovidse, as they are called, from the Latin word Bos, or Ox, are extremely 
difficult of systematic arrangement, as it is not easy to select any particular characteristic 
on which to base the distinctions of genus and species. Some writers have founded their 
arrangement upon the hoofs, others upon the muzzle, others upon the direction of the 
horns, and others upon the structure of their bony nucleus. Mr. Gray, in his elaborate 
elucidation of the Bovidse, considers that the “form of the horns affords the most natural 
character for subdividing them into groups,” and employs othei characteristics, such as the 
