rusty black, on the body it was white. To this description it may be added, that the horns of the male mostly rise almost perpendicularly from the skull, making a series of spiral turns in their ascent, the first turn being the largest, while in the female they diverge, taking a lateral direction. In the specimen, however, to which we have alluded, and which was a male, they extended laterally from the skull, and after the first turn took a downward sweep. It is probable, therefore, that as far as this point is concerned, there is a certain degree of individual variation among the breed, as indeed might be expected, seeing as we do how unfixed are all the external characters of our well-known domestic races, and how soon they are capable of being modified."

IN the Oxen the horns are concave, smooth, and turned outward, and forward, in a semilunar form. In the lower jaw there are eight front teeth; there are none in the upper, and no tusks in either jaw.

The animals of this tribe are seldom found except in low and rich pastures and plains, or in swamps and morassy grounds. In size and bulk they exceed all the British quadrupeds except the horse. Their services to mankind are more considerable than those even of the Sheep; for, in addition to the qualifications of the latter, they are employed as beasts of draught and burden. Their voice is called lowing and bellowing. They fight by pushing with their horns, and kicking with their feet.

There are about nine species; but many of these are so nearly connected, as to render it difficult for the naturalist to assign a proper distinction between them.

The color of this animal is invariably white; the muzzle is black; and the whole inside of the ear, and about one-third part of the outside, from the tip

downwards, red. The horns are white, with black tips, very fine, and bent downwards. The weight of the Bulls is from. thirty-five to forty-five stone, and of the cows, from twenty-five to thirty-five, 14lb. to the stone.

From this animal are derived the numerous varieties of cattle in various parts both of the old

and the new con- www tinent. In its

wild state it is

distinguished by

THE COMMON OX.

its great size, and the shagginess of its hair, which, about the head, neck, and shoulders, is sometimes so long as to reach almost to the ground. The horns of the wild Ox are short, sharp-pointed, strong, and stand distant from their bases. The general color of its body is either a dark or a yellowish brown. The limbs are strong, and the whole aspect savage and gloomy. Wild Oxen are found in the marshy forests of Poland, among the Carpathian Mountains, in Lithuania, and also in several parts of Asia. In Lord Tankerville's park, at Chillingham, near Berwick-uponTweed, there is a breed of wild cattle, probably the only remains of the true and genuine breed of that species at present found in this kingdom.

At the first appearance of any person near them, these animals set off in full gallop, and, at the distance of two or three hundred yards, wheel round and come boldly up again, tossing their heads in a menacing manner. On a sudden they make a full stop at the distance of forty or fifty yards, and look wildly at the object of their surprise; but, on the least motion they all turn round, and gallop off again with equal speed, but not to the same distance, forming a smaller circle; and again returning with a bolder and more threatening aspect than before,

they approach much nearer, probably within thirty yards, when they make another stand, and again gallop off. This they do several times, shortening their distance, and advancing nearer till they come within a few yards, when most persons consider it prudent to leave them, not choosing to provoke them further, as it is probable that, in a few turns more, they would make an attack.

The mode of killing these animals, as it was practised a few years ago, was the only remains of the grandeur of ancient hunting that existed in England. On notice being given that a wild Bull would be killed on a certain day, the inhabitants of the neighborhood assembled, sometimes to the number of a hundred horsemen, and four or five hundred foot, all armed with guns or other weapons. Those on foot stood upon the walls, or got into trees, while the horsemen rode off a Bull from the rest of the herd, until he stood at bay, when they dismounted and fired. At some of these huntings twenty or thirty shots have been fired before the animal was subdued. On such occasions the bleeding victim grew desperately furious, from the smarting of his wounds, and the shouts of savage joy echoing from every side. But from the number of accidents which happened, this dangerous

mode has not of late been practised; the park-keeper now generally kills them with a rifle-gun.

When the Cows calve, they hide their young-ones for a week or ten days in some sequestered retreat, and go to suckle them two or three times in a day. If any person comes near one of the Calves, it crouches close upon the ground, and endeavors to hide itself. This seems a proof of the native wildness of these animals, and it is corroborated by the following circumstance that happened to Dr. Fuller, the author of the History of Berwick, who found a hidden Calf two days old, very lean and weak. On his stroking its head it got up, pawed two or three times like an old Bull, bellowed very loud, went back a few steps, and bolted at his legs with all its force: it then began to paw again, bellowed, stepped back, and bolted as before. But being aware of its intentions, he moved aside, and it missed its aim, fell, and was so weak, that though it made several efforts it was not able to rise. It, however, had done enough; the whole herd was alarmed, and, coming to its rescue, obliged him to retire.

When any one of these animals happens to be wounded, or is grown. weak and feeble through age or sickness, the rest of the herd set upon and gore it to death.

There is scarcely any part of the Ox that is not of some use to mankind. Boxes, combs, knife-handles, and drinking vessels, are made of the horns. The horns, when softened with boiling water, become so pliable as to be rendered capable of being formed into transparent plates for lanterns; an invention ascribed to King Alfred, who is said to have first used lanterns of this description, to preserve his candle time-measurers from the wind. Glue is made of the cartilages, gristles, and the finer pieces of cuttings and pairings of the hides, boiled in water till they become gelatinous and then dried. The bones of Oxen constitute a cheap substitute for ivory. The thinnest part of the calves-skins are manafactured into vellum. The blood is used as the basis of Prussian-blue. The hair is valuable in various manufactures, and

the suet, fat, and tallow, are made into candles. The utility of the milk and cream is well known.

From the circumstance of these animals furnishing the Gentoos

with milk, butter, and cheese, their favorite food, that people entertain for them a superstitious veneration. There is scarcely a Gentoo to be found who would not, were he under a forced option, prefer sacrificing his parents or children to the slaying of a Bull or a Cow. Believing in the doctrine of transmigration, they are also alarmed at the idea of injuring the souls of those of their fellow-creatures that have taken their abode in these animal cases. This also tends to re

strain them from destroying, designedly, any of the brute creation, and to prevent them from dispossessing any being of that life which God alone can give; and they respect it in the flea equally with the ele phant.