CHAP. 70. (45.)—OXEN; THEIR GENERATION.
We find it stated, that the oxen of India are of the height
of camels, and that the extremity of their horns are four feet
asunder. In our part of the world the most valuable oxen are
those of Epirus, owing, it is said, to the attention paid to
their breed by King Pyrrhus.[1] This perfection was acquired
by not permitting them to breed until after their fourth year.
By these means he brought them to a very large size, and descendants of this breed are still to be seen at the present day.
But in our times, we set heifers to breed in their first year, or,
at the latest, in their second. Bulls are fit for breeding in their
fourth year; one being sufficient, it is said, for ten cows during
the whole year. If the bull, after covering, goes to the right
side, the produce will be a male; if to the left, a female.[2]
Conception takes place after a single union; but if, by any
accident, it should not have taken place, the cow seeks the
male again, at the end of twenty days. She brings forth in
the tenth month; whatever may be produced before that time
cannot be reared. Some writers say, that the birth takes place
the very day on which the tenth month is completed. This
animal but rarely produces twins. The time of covering begins
at the rising of the Dolphin, the day before the nones of
January,[3] and continues for the space of thirty days. Sometimes it takes place in the autumn; and among those nations
which live upon milk, they manage so as to have a supply of
it at all times of the year. Bulls never cover more than twice
in the same day. The ox is the only animal that walks backwards while it is feeding; among the Garamantes, they feed
in no other manner.[4] The females live fifteen years at the
longest, and the males twenty; they arrive at their full vigour
in their fifth year. It is said that they are made fat by being
washed in warm water, or by having the entrails inflated with
air by means of a reed, introduced through an incision in the
skin. We must not look upon those kinds as having degenerated, the appearance of which is not so favourable. Those
that are bred in the Alps, although very small of body, give a
great quantity of milk, and are capable of enduring much
labour; they are yoked by the horns, and not by the neck.
The oxen of Syria have no dewlap, but they have a hump on
the back. Those of Caria also, which is in Asia, are unsightly[5] in appearance, having a hump hanging over the
shoulders from the neck; and their horns are moveable;[6]
they are said, however, to be excellent workers, though those
which are either black or white are condemned as worthless for
labour.[7] The horns of the bull are shorter and thinner than
those of the ox. Oxen must be broken in when they are three
years old; after that time it is too late, and before that time
too early. The ox is most easily broken in by yoking it with
one that has already been trained.[8] This animal is our especial companion, both in labour generally, and in the operations
of agriculture. Our ancestors considered it of so much value,
that there is an instance cited of a man being brought before
the Roman people, on a day appointed, and condemned, for
having killed an ox, in order to humour an impudent concubine of his, who said that she had never tasted tripe; and he
was driven into exile, just as though he had killed one of his
own peasants.[9]
The bull has a proud air, a stern forehead, shaggy ears, and
horns which appear always ready, and challenging to the combat; but it is by his fore feet that he manifests his threatening
anger. As his rage increases, he stands, lashing back his
tail[10] every now and then, and throwing up the sand against
his belly; being the only animal that excites himself by these
means. We have seen them fight at the word of command, and
shown as a public spectacle; these bulls whirled about and
then fell upon their horns, and at once were up again; then,
at other times, they would lie upon the ground and let themselves be lifted up; they would even stand in a two-horsed
chariot, while moving at a rapid rate, like so many charioteers.[11] The people of Thessaly invented a method of killing
bulls, by means of a man on horseback, who would ride up
to them, and seize one of the horns, and so twist their neck.
Cæsar the Dictator was the first person who exhibited this
spectacle at Rome.
Bulls are selected as the very choicest of victims, and are
offered up as the most approved sacrifice for appeasing the
gods.[12] Of all the animals that have long tails, this is the
only one whose tail is not of proportionate length at the moment of birth; and in this animal alone it continues to grow
until it reaches its heels. It is on this account, that in making
choice of a calf for a victim, due care is taken that its tail
reaches to the pastern joint; if it is shorter than this, the
sacrifice is not deemed acceptable to the gods. This fact has
also been remarked, that calves, which have been carried to
the altar on men's shoulders, are not generally acceptable to
the gods; and also, if they are lame, or of a species which is
not appropriate,[13] or if they struggle to get away from the
altar. It was a not uncommon prodigy among the ancients,
for an ox to speak;[14] upon such a fact being announced to
the senate, they were in the habit of holding a meeting in
the open air.
1. This alleged superiority is mentioned by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. iii.
c. 91, by Varro, B. ii. c. 5, and by Columella, B. vi. c. 1; but it is remarked by Dalechamps and Hardouin, that the appellation of Pyrrhic given
to these oxen, was more probably derived from their red colour,pur)r(o\s,
than from the name of the king. The materials of this chapter are principally from the above writers, especially Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c.
21, and B. viii. c. 7.—B.
2. This singular notion is mentioned by Varro and Columella, ubi supra;
Cuvier says, that it is the origin of the pretended secret of producing the
sexes at pleasure, which was published by Millot; Ajasson, vol. vi. p.
461.—B.
3. 4th January. See B. xviii. c. 64.
4. This is mentioned by Herodotus, B. iv. c. 183; this peculiarity in
their mode of taking their food is ascribed to the extraordinary length of
the horns; it is also mentioned by Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. xvi. c. 33.—B.
5. "Fœdi visu." This is very similar to the expression used by Virgil,
Georg. B. iii., when describing the points of an ox, 1. 52,—"oui turpi
caput "—"the head of which is unsightly"—probably in allusion to its
large size.
6. According to Cuvier, there is an ox, in warm climates, which has a
mass of fat on the shoulders, and whose horns are only attached to the
skin; Buffon has described it under the name of Zebu; Ajasson, vol. vi.
p. 461; Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 512.—B.
7. "Ad laborem damnantur;" with respect to the colour, Varro, B. ii.
c. 5, has the following remarks: "The best colours are black, red, pale red,
and white. The latter ones are the most delicate, the first the most hardy.
Of the two middle ones, the first is the best, and both are more valuable
than the first and last."
8. We have an account of this process in Columella, B. ii. c. 6.—B.
9. This anecdote is related by Valerius Maximus, B. viii. c. 1. Virgil,
Georg. B. ii. 1. 537, speaks of the use of oxen in food, as a proof of the de-
generacy of later times, and as not existing during the Golden Age; "Ante
Ympia quam cœsis gens est epulata juvencis." This feeling is alluded to by. Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. xii. c. 34, and by Suetonius, Life of Domitian,
c. ix.—B.
10. It is doubtful whether this is the meaning of "alternos replicans
orbes," or what indeed is the meaning. Most editions omit "orbes," thus
making the matter still worse.
11. Hardouin supposes that this alludes to the exhibition of oxen hunted
at the exhibition of shows and in the Circus, for the gratification of the
Roman people.—B.
12. Referred to by Virgil, Georg. B. ii. 11. 145, 146, "et maxima taurus
Victima," "and the bull the largest victim of all."—B.
13. In reference to this remark, we may mention the passage in Virgil,
Æn. B. iii. c. 119, "Taurum Neptuno, taurum tibi, pulcher Apollo." "A
bull to thee, Neptune, a bull to thee, beauteous Apollo."
14. Instances are mentioned by Livy, B. xxxv. c. 21, and by Val. Maximus, B. i. c. 65.—B.