THE OX. 
XXI 
HISTORY. 
These characters, the broad chest and expanded trank, the fineness of the bones of the extremities, and the soft expansive 
integuments,—may be said to be universal as indications of the property of secreting the fatty tissue. They extend to all animals 
which we are in use to domesticate, to the Horse, the Sheep, the Goat, the Hog, the Rabbit, the Dog, nay, it is believed, to the 
human species. Keeping in view those general principles, established by the experience of all breeders, the particular points of 
conformation which adapt the animal to our uses may be considered. 
The head should be somewhat small, and rather elongated than short and thick. But, in the bull, the forehead is naturally 
more broad than in the female. When the head of the bull approaches to the narrow and elongated form of that of the female, 
he may be docile, and apt to fatten readily, but he will have lost too much of his masculine character, and may give birth to too 
delicate a progeny. Even in the refinement of breeding, therefore, we should desire to see the bull possess so much of the mas¬ 
culine characters as to communicate a sufficient degree of strength and hardihood to his descendants. On the other hand, should 
the head of the female approach too much to the masculine character of the bull, we have reason to infer from experience, that 
she will be deficient in the faculty of yielding milk. 
The bony ridge on the summit of the head from which the horns proceed should be somewhat raised, so that the horns shall 
appear to be slightly attached to the head. The length and size of the horns vary with temperament and race, and in certain 
breeds they do not exist. But, c ceteris paribus, it is to be desired that the horns shall be delicate, rather than coarse, and thick; 
great thickness and coarseness of born being connected with coarseness of the cuticular system. 
The neck, in the natural state, must be of such length that the animal can reach the ground and collect his food; but if the 
limbs be short, so will the neck be in proportion to the size of the trunk; and hence shortness of neck, with relation to the size of 
the body, is indicative of the property of fattening. But an undue shortness of neck, like all deviations from the natural form, 
may indicate likewise diminution of strength and hardiness. By refinement in breeding, and by giving the animal his food from 
raised stalls, his neck may become so short as to render him unable to reach the ground and collect his natural sustenance. 
A capacious trunk being connected with the property of fattening, the ribs should be widely arched, rising almost horizontally 
from the spine, and then bending downwards with a sweep, producing a wide and flat back and round sides. This is an important 
character in the Ox, in which a narrowness of back and flatness of sides scarce ever consist with the property of easy fattening. 
In the Horse this conformation indicates weakness, and in no less degree it indicates in the Ox the want of that vigour which is 
connected with the power to fatten. 
Hie shoulders should be broad at the top, and well covered with muscle. The spines of the back and loins should be so en¬ 
veloped m muscle, as to cause the back to appear nearly straight from the neck backwards. The back and loins should be some¬ 
what long; for although a short and compact body indicates greater robustness and tendency to fatten, yet length of carcase in¬ 
creases the space for muscles, and consequently the weight of the animal. Breeders generally look to length of trunk as an indi¬ 
cation of economical value; yet if this character be not combined with others which are good, as depth and roundness of trunk, 
and strength and breadth of back and loins, there will be more of loss by the diminished tendency to fatten, than of gain by the 
larger extent of muscular surface. 
The size of the haunch of the Ox is not connected with the property of fattening, but it is connected in an important degree 
with the weight and economical value of the animal. The haunch commences with the iliac portion of the pelvis, commonly 
called the hook or huckle bones protuberances. These should appear as if nearly on a level with the back, and they should be 
distant from one another, indicating breadth over the loins. The upper line of the haunch should be long and straight to the tail 
The femur, or bone of the thigh, should be long, so that the size of the haunch shall be increased, and a larger space afforded for 
muscular surface. By enlarging the haunch in all directions, the weight of the animal is increased, and that in a manner which 
does not, as in the case of extending the back and loins, tend to produce weakness. Further, the flesh of this part of the animal 
including the rump, sells at a high comparative price in this country. For these reasons, a long, deep, and broad hind-quarter 
is looked to as one of the good points of the Ox by all breeders. 
Fiom the bioadness of the chest before, and breadth of the trunk, it follows that the fore and hinder legs respectively shall 
stand far asunder. This is another point of the Ox always to be looked to, as indicative of that lateral expansion of the trunk 
which is to be sought for in an animal to be fattened. 
The limbs, it has been said, should be relatively short, but the fore-arm to the knee should be long in proportion to the part 
from the knee to the hoof; and, in like manner, in the hinder limbs, the leg to the hock should be long in proportion to the part 
below the hock. This character is desired in the Ox, first, because the parts above the knee and hock respectively contain muscle 
while those below consist almost entirely of tendon; secondly, because the character indicates that delicacy of the extremities 
which experience shows to consist with the property of fattening. 
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