34 
THE OX. 
THE DAIRY. 
Of all the ruminating animals, the Cow is that which yields her milk the most freely, and in the largest quantity. This ani¬ 
mal possesses two pairs of mammas united together, forming a large udder, whereas the Sheep, the Goat, and the Deer possess 
only one pair. She gives her milk beyond the period of maternal solicitude, and in quantity far more than suffices to nourish her 
own offspring. Her milk holds a middle place between that of the Ovine family and the Equine, with respect to the production of 
cheese, butter, and sugar, and it is more agreeable to the taste than any other. The milk of the Buffalo is more watery than that 
of the Cow, and the cream and butter are colourless. The milk of the Yak is rich, but, like that of other Bisons, has the odour 
of musk. 
The Camel, inhabiting the vast deserts of Asia, and extending over a part of Africa, yields milk which may be used as food. 
There are two species, the Bactrian Camel, having two large protuberances on the back, being adapted for the colder deserts, and 
extending from the Caspian Sea eastward through Central Asia to the Indian Ocean; and the Arabian Camel, having one pro¬ 
tuberance only, and being fitted for warmer climates and more steril deserts. The female of the former species is little used for 
yielding milk, because in the countries which she inhabits other animals better suited to that end are found. Nevertheless her milk 
is sometimes used by the Eastern nations to produce, by fermentation, an inebriating liquor. The other species of Camel is the 
treasure of the wandering Arabs, and has so long been subjected to domestication, that not a trace of it has been found in the wild 
state. The conformation and habits of this animal are suited to its condition. Its broad cleft hoof, covered with a callous 
skin, does not sink in the sand, and suits itself readily to the sharp stones and pebbles with which the surface may be covered. It 
bears thirst and hunger better than any known creature : it feeds on the withered herbage, the thorny shrubs, and bitter plants of 
the desert, and can take into its stomach a supply of food for the wants of a long journey. In its stomach is developed a series of 
deep cells for containing water ; and when the Arabs, on their distant journeys, and in danger of perishing from thirst, are com¬ 
pelled to kill their faithful Camel, its store of water is procured as pure and wholesome as from a fountain. The milk of the female 
of this creature is made use of by the people as food; it is serous, and nauseous in taste to the stranger, but to the Arab it proves 
a resource beyond all price in the burning wilds he inhabits. 
The Goat of the common species is spread over all the old continent, and many of its islands. The female yields milk in 
considerable abundance, and nearly as freely as the Cow herself; and she readily submits to be the foster nurse of other animals, 
and treats her adopted offspring with affection. Her milk is thick, more abounding in cheese than that of the Cow, and plentiful 
in cream. It has a peculiar taste and odour, to which use reconciles those who feed on it, and it is eminently nourishing and 
salubrious. The butter which it yields is of a firm consistence, and as white as snow. The cheese has a strong and peculiar 
flavour, not ungrateful to those who are accustomed to it. It is produced in all the parts of Europe where the Goat is reared, and 
largely in the Levant, Italy, Spain, and other countries of the Mediterranean. 
The Ewe yields milk, but not so abundantly, freely, or for so long a period as the Goat. It is the most productive of cream 
of any kind of milk; but the butter which it yields is of a soft consistence, leaving a fatty impression, like tallow, in the mouth. 
The cheese has a strong stimulating flavour, which increases with age. It is largely produced in some of the more mountainous 
parts of Europe, furnishing a food grateful to the people of the countries that produce it, but far inferior in general estimation to 
the cheese of the Cow. 
At the limits, and beyond them, of the region of the Goat and the Sheep, exists a creature fitted by a bounteous Providence 
to subsist on the herbs of the arctic zone, and yield its milk for human support in lands of ice and snow. The Reindeer inhabits 
the glacial regions of Europe and Asia, migrating along the snowy mountains of the interior almost to the line of the Caucasus. 
In America, too, it is found, but apparently of species proper to that continent; and there it is the subject of persecution by 
savage hunters who seem incapable of rising even to the pastoral state. But in Europe the Reindeer has been reduced to servi¬ 
tude by a race of men seemingly placed beyond the limits of humanized society, but possessed of arts which tribes of barbarous 
hunters do not acquire. The Laplanders in scanty numbers are spread over the extreme north of Europe, occupying a country of 
300 miles by 500 on the Arctic Ocean. Distinct in aspect, character, and speech, from the Scandinavian people in contact with 
them,—their swarthy colour, their dark eyes, and black hair, indicate a southern origin ; and their simple and expressive language 
exhibits a striking affinity with those of the countries of the East. They are a remnant, it may be believed, of pristine settlers 
in Europe, driven by stronger enemies into regions of almost perpetual winter. They have tamed the Wild Deer of their country, 
and rendered it a substitute for the Sheep, the Ox, nay, for the Horse of happier climes. They derive from it milk, and know 
how to fabricate butter and cheese. They separate the butter by agitating the milk with their hands, and employ herbs to coagu¬ 
late the curd. They prepare likewise from the milk many simple delicacies, which they use with the wild-fruits of their brief 
summer. In the season of their dreary winter the milk of the Doe freezes as soon as it is drawn from the teats, and in this state 
it is preserved to be thawed when required for use. The Doe yields about the same quantity ol milk as the Goat, and it is rich 
