ree Yoke of Oxen, 150
Transverse Section, 152
Room over the Cow-Room, 153
The Preferable Method, 159
Maternal Affection, 168
Frolicksome, 177
Points of Cattle, 185
A Frontispiece, 190
Scotch Mode of Cutting up Beef, 195
English Mode of Cutting up Beef, 197
Diseases and Their Remedies, 205
A Chat on the Road, 218
The Mad Bull, 230
An Aberdeenshire Polled Bull, 244
Taking an Observation, 256
The Twins, 268
A Rural Scene, 285
Taking it Easily, 299
Home Again, 313

[Illustration]

History and Breeds

It is quite certain that the ox has been domesticated and in the service
of man from a very remote period. We are informed in the fourth chapter
of Genesis, that cattle were kept by the early descendants of Adam;
Jubal, the son of Lamech--who was probably born during the lifetime of
Adam--being styled the father of such as have cattle. The ox having been
preserved by Noah from the flood of waters, the original breed of our
present cattle must have been in the neighborhood of Mount Ararat. From
thence, dispersing over the face of the globe--altering by climate, by
food, and by cultivation--originated the various breeds of modern ages.

That the value of the ox tribe has been in all ages and climates highly
appreciated, we have ample evidence. The natives of Egypt, India, and
Hindostan, seem alike to have placed the cow amongst their deities; and,
judging by her usefulness to all classes, no animal could perhaps have
been selected whose value to mankind is greater. The traditions, indeed,
of every Celtic nation enroll the cow among the earliest pr