XXII 
THE OX. 
HISTORY. 
The Ox, when viewed in profile, should exhibit a square and massy form, and should present the same aspect when viewed 
from behind; the muscles in the inside of the leg, forming what is technically called the twist, should swell well out. The large 
flat muscles which surround the abdomen, should he of sufficient strength to keep the belly from hanging. Generally, the mus¬ 
cular parts should appear to pass without abruptness from the one to the other. Thus, the muscles of the neck should gradually 
expand into those of the breast, and these again into the shoulder, while the muscles of the shoulder should pass into those behind, 
so as to leave little hollow. The flanks behind the elbow, and in front of the stifle bone, should present little appearance of 
hollowness. 
The following are the popular characters usually given as indicative of the property of fattening, and the suitable form of 
the Ox; from which it will be seen, that the results of observation and experience accord with those which may be derived from 
an examination of the functions and structure of the parts. 
1. The head shall be fine, somewhat long, and tapering to the muscle, which shall be thin. 
2. The horns shall be fine and pointed, and placed on the summit of the head ; the ears shall be thin; the eyes prominent 
and clear. 
3. The neck shall be free from coarseness, large where it joins the shoulder and breast, and tapering to the head. 
4. The breast shall be wide, and project well in front of the fore-limbs. 
5. The shoulder shall be broad, but join without abruptness to the neck before and to the chine behind. 
6. The back and loins shall be straight, wide, and flat. 
7. The girth behind the shoulders shall be large, and the ribs well arched. 
8. The hook-bones shall be far apart, and nearly on a level with the back-bone; from the hook-bones to the rump the quarter 
shall be long, broad, and straight. 
9. The tail shall begin on a level with the back, be broad at the top and small towards the extremity. 
10. The legs shall be short, fleshy to the knee and hock, and below the joints flat and thin, and the hoofs shall be small. 
11. The skin shall be soft to the touch, the belly shall not hang down, and the flanks shall be well filled up. 
These are the principal characters which indicate the property of secreting the fatty tissue; those which indicate in the female 
the faculty of yielding milk, differ in several respects. The extreme broadness of chest, so important in the case of the fattening 
animal, is not absolutely required in the case of the milch cow, although there is nothing inconsistent between this conformation 
and the property of yielding much milk. But the points essential to the milch cow are rather connected with the hinder than 
with the anterior extremities. The loins should be wide, and the trunk deep from the loins to the mammae. This form existing, 
the more the cow possesses of the other characters the better is she fitted to combine the property of milking with that of fattening. 
In a cow designed for breeding animals to be fattened, the milking property is only secondary, yet a cow will produce the better 
calves that she is wide and deep in the lumbar region. A purely dairy cow should have a soft skin, clear eyes, and a narrow and 
elongated head; the udder should be of good size, but with sufficient muscular power to prevent its being flaccid or pendent. The 
superficial veins near the udder should be well marked, but especially the large vein which runs along the lower side of the belly 
on each side, termed the subcutaneous abdominal vein. This last is commonly called the milk-vem, though it is not directly con¬ 
nected with the mammary organs. 
The skin of the Ox, it has been said, should be soft to the touch, but not thin; it should likewise be unctuous, and well 
covered with soft hair. By refinement in breeding, and especially by breeding from animals near of blood, the hair becomes 
short and scanty; but when this is so, we are reminded that we are deviating from the natural characters in a point connected with 
hardiness of constitution. The colour of the hair depends upon causes which we have not yet been able to trace. In this country, 
certain races tend to the black colour, while others are never found but of the lighter. The Shorb-horned and Hereford breeds 
are never found but red or white, while the Long-horned, like the cattle of the mountains, are often black. It does not appear 
that the colour of the hair is of very great moment with regard to the hardiness of the animal, though, in cases of high bi eeding, 
as in the Short-horned variety, the white colour seems to be a consequence of constitutional deviation from the natural state. 
The muzzle, in certain breeds, is light or flesh-coloured; in others it is dark. 
