87. The COMMON ANTELOPE (Antilope cervicapra, Fig. 12) is a quadruped distinguished by having spiral, round, and expanded horns, each marked with a great number of prominent rings; and the body of a brown colour, clouded with whitish and dusky shades and marks.
It is found in several parts of Africa and India.
One mode of hunting these and some other species of antelope is by the hunting leopard and the ounce, but the most frequent mode of killing them is with guns.
Their skins are sometimes dressed with the hair on, and sometimes as leather; and the flesh constitutes an excellent kind of venison. The horns are convertible to nearly all the same purposes as the horns of the different kinds of deer; and they are also occasionally used as weapons.
88. The COMMON GOAT (Capra ægagrus, Fig. 13) is distinguished by having hollow, compressed, and rough horns, which grow first upright, and then bend backward.
Both the male and female are horned.
These animals are found wild in many of the mountainous countries of the European continent, of Africa, Persia, and India.
In many parts of Europe the goat is an animal essentially serviceable to the necessities and the comforts of mankind; affording even during its life, though fed on the most barren and uncultivated grounds, an abundant supply of milk and cheese.
Goats' milk is not only considered to be thicker, but to have a richer flavour than that of the cow; and, in some situations, especially on ship-board, where the goat thrives better than any other animal, it is peculiarly valuable. This creature eats readily every sort of refuse vegetables, and is kept at little expense. In a medicinal view goat's milk is an useful substitute for that of asses. It is of very peculiar nature, as its oily and coagulate parts do not separate spontaneously; they throw up no cream, and yield scarcely any butter. But this milk affords a very large proportion of cheese. Hence, in Switzerland, and other mountainous countries best adapted to the pasturage of goats, cheese is the chief produce of the dairies.
The flesh of the goat, when full grown, is rank, hard, and indigestible; yet, in some countries, it is eaten both in a fresh and salted state. That of the kid is peculiarly rich, and, by many persons, is considered even preferable to lamb.
When properly tanned, the skin of the goat is manufactured into gloves and other articles of dress. There is a way of preparing these skins by maceration, so as to separate the surface or grain from the coarse under parts, after which they are dyed of various colours for different uses.
Morocco leather is chiefly made from the skins of goats, tanned and dyed in a peculiar manner. The manufacture of this leather was originally invented in the kingdom of Morocco, whence it has its name. The colours that are chiefly communicated to it are red and yellow, the former of which is produced by cochineal, and the latter by a yellow kind of berries. Morocco leather is also dyed black, green, and blue. Until within the last few years, the consumers of this kind of leather in England have depended wholly on a foreign supply: there are now, however, several manufactories of it in the neighbourhood of London, from which the most beautiful moroccos may be had at prices that have superseded the necessity of importing it from abroad. For leather of inferior quality, and particularly for such as is to receive a yellow colour, sheeps' skins are often substituted. The reason why goats' skins have been principally adopted for the manufacture of morocco is, that they take the dye better, and that they are susceptible of richer and more beautiful colours, than those of any other animals.
Goat-skins, as well as the skins of sheep, are sometimes made into parchment. The skins of kids are thin and of beautiful texture; they are consequently well adapted for ladies' gloves and shoes. On the Continent they are made into stockings, bed-ticks, and sometimes into hangings for beds, into sheets, and even into shirts.
Although the fleece of the goat is by no means so valuable as that of the sheep, yet it has been found extremely useful. The long and shaggy coated goat, which is bred in many parts of this country, has, at the roots of the long hair, a fine and beautiful soft wool. The latter, though scarcely known to our manufacturers, has long been used in Russia for gloves, stockings, and other articles of dress, which are highly valuable. About a pound of this wool, in an unsorted state, was, some years ago, sent from Russia to be made into shawls. As the quantity was too small to admit of being manufactured into a web by itself, the chain was formed of silk, and the woof of yarn made from the goat's wool. The fabric, when completed, was compared with the finest Indian shawls; and, notwithstanding the hardness of the silken part, it was decidedly more soft and beautiful than any of these. Of the above-mentioned small quantity of wool three full-sized shawls and one waistcoat were made. Their colour was a dull white, with a delicate and scarcely perceptible glance of red through it; and their texture was so much admired, that Dr. Anderson, to whose care they were consigned, states, that if a hundred of them had been offered for sale, they would have produced at least twenty guineas each.
The long hair of goats, particularly that of the males, is used by peruke-makers, for lawyers and judges' wigs. Previously to its being used, it goes through several processes of preparation. The fine hair of kids is sometimes employed in the manufacture of hats. Goat's hair is occasionally made into a strong and coarse kind of cloth.
Of the horns of these animals the country people make handles for tucks, and knives of different kinds. The fat or suet, which, in general, is very abundant, may be made into candles, which, in whiteness and quality, are greatly superior to those of the best tallow of the sheep and ox.
Goats are active and mischievous animals, of hardy nature, which delight in rocky and mountainous situations. They are sometimes very injurious to young plantations, from their propensity to peel and destroy the trees. The females usually have two, sometimes three, and rarely four young ones at a birth; and, in our climates, the duration of their life is said not often to exceed eleven or twelve years.
89. The hair of the Angora goat is long, soft, and silky, and is one of the most beautiful substances with which we are acquainted, for the manufacture of shawls, and other fine stuffs; and these, which in England have the name of camblets, are sometimes sold at very high prices. It is supposed that, with attention, Angora goats might be successfully and advantageously bred in Great Britain; particularly in those parts where the country is mountainous, and where the climate and food might not be far different from those of their native country of Asia Minor.
90. The COMMON SHEEP (Ovis aries, Fig. 14) has, in general, hollow, compressed, transversely wrinkled, and somewhat crescent-shaped horns; but some of the varieties are entirely destitute of these weapons.
The male is called ram, the female ewe, and the young one has the name of lamb.
Sheep are found in nearly every country of the world.
The bodies of these animals, in temperate and cold climates, are clad with a curled and closely matted kind of hair, which has the peculiar appellation of wool. The distinguishing characteristic of wool is that, when even the coarsest sort is manufactured into cloth, it thickens in the milling, and forms a close texture, owing to the peculiar roughness of its surface, and to its curly form; whereas the finest possible hair, under the same operation, will neither thicken nor form any texture whatever. It is by the manufacture of wool into various kinds of clothing that many thousands of people, in different countries of Europe, are entirely supported and fed. In temperate countries the fleeces of sheep are shorn or cut off once, and in others, where the climate is warmer, twice in the year, the animals being previously well washed to cleanse the wool. The Shetland sheep, and some others, have the fleece pulled, and not cut off.
When wool is intended to be manufactured into cloth of mixed colours, it is dyed in the fleece before it is spun. When intended for tapestry, it is dyed after it is spun; and when to be wrought into cloth of uniform colour, it is not dyed until the cloth is made.
Much wool is used in the manufacture of hats. For this purpose it goes through a process called felting, to unite or mat it into a firm substance. Felt is either made of wool alone, or of a mixture of wool with camel's or other hair.
The skins of sheep, after the processes called tanning and currying, are manufactured into a thin and coarse but useful kind of leather, which is much in request by saddlers, book-binders, and others. These skins, by a different process, are converted into parchment, which is used for writing deeds upon. Lambs' skins are made into gloves.
Every part of the sheep is advantageous to mankind. The flesh, under the denomination of mutton, supplies us with a wholesome and palatable food, which is in greatest estimation when the animals are at least three, and not more than six years old. That of lambs, in the spring of the year, is also in considerable demand. House lamb is so denominated from the animals being fattened within doors; but this kind of food is neither so wholesome nor so nutritive as the meat in a natural state. Suet is a solid kind of fat which is found in various parts of the bodies (particularly about the kidneys and intestines) of sheep, oxen, and other ruminating animals. It differs materially from fat or grease, as the latter remains soft, and this hardens in cooling. Suet is used for culinary and other purposes, and very extensively in the making of candles. The milk of sheep is rich and nourishing, and in great esteem among the peasantry of all countries where these animals are bred. It produces an abundance of butter, but this is so unpalatable as seldom to be eaten. Ewes' milk yields a large proportion of strong and tough cheese. Of the entrails of sheep are made the strings generally called cat-gut, which are used for different kinds of musical instruments, and for the coverings of whips. Handles of knives, and several other useful articles, are made of the bones of sheep; the refuse parts of which are coarsely ground to serve as manure. A very important advantage is in another respect derived from these animals, by folding them upon land on which corn is afterwards to be grown.
There are, in Great Britain, many different breeds of sheep, some of which are very valuable.
91. Those called Leicester sheep are chiefly bred in that and the adjacent counties, and are much esteemed for their property of readily fattening. Their mutton, when in perfection, has a fineness of grain and a superiority of flavour beyond that of almost every other kind of sheep. These animals are capable of being rendered so fat, that, in some instances they have measured more than six inches deep in solid fat on the ribs. But, in this case, the mutton is scarcely eatable.
92. A coarse wool, but so long as to measure from ten to more than eighteen inches, is obtained from the breed called Lincolnshire sheep.
93. For united excellence of wool and mutton the South Down sheep are in great demand. This breed, which particularly abounds on the dry and chalky downs of Sussex and other southern parts of England, has of late been dispersed over nearly the whole kingdom. The animals are distinguishable by their grey or speckled face and legs, and being destitute of horns.
94. From the Ryeland and or Herefordshire sheep is obtained a peculiarly short, soft, and fine wool, which, if the filaments were of equal thickness and quality throughout, would be as valuable as the best wool that we import from Spain. The mutton of these sheep is also fine-grained and of excellent flavour.
95. A breed of sheep, which is well known in Northumberland by the name of Cheviot sheep, produces very admirable mutton and wool of fine texture. Of the milk of these sheep great quantities of cheese are made, which is sold at a low price. This, when three or four days old, becomes very pungent, and is in considerable esteem for the table.
96. The Shetland islands produce a kind of sheep so small as seldom to exceed the weight of thirty or forty pounds. Their wool is sufficiently soft to be adapted even to clothing of the most delicate texture. A pair of stockings that were made of it were so fine as to be sold for six guineas. The skins of these sheep with the fleece on are capable of being converted into a fur of great value; and, when the wool is stripped from them, they are, as leather, peculiarly estimable for aprons, and are purchased by mechanics for this purpose at double the price of other skins of the same size.
97. It is to the breed called Dorsetshire sheep that the London markets are principally indebted for the house-lamb, which, at an early part of the season, bears so high a price. After the lambs are produced they are confined in small dark places, and never see the light, except when brought out to be fed by the ewes; and, at the times when thus brought out, their cabins are cleansed, and littered with fresh straw, as a great part of their value depends upon the cleanliness in which they are kept.
98. The mutton of the Heath sheep, a breed which is found in most of the north-western parts of England, and even as far as the western Highlands of Scotland, is accounted peculiarly excellent; and immense numbers of these sheep are annually sold at the north country fairs. The animals themselves are hardy and active, and well adapted to subsist in healthy and mountainous districts.
99. MERINO SHEEP are a celebrated Spanish breed of sheep, with small horns, white face and legs, small bones, a loose skin hanging from the neck, the wool fine, the external part of the fleece dark brown in consequence of the dust adhering to it, the interior delicate white, and the skin of rosy hue.
The celebrity of this breed, for the production of a remarkably fine wool, has been such, that all the highest priced cloths manufactured in this country, until of late years, were made of Spanish wool. In the year 1787 some of these sheep were first introduced into England. And, although it was formerly a prevailing opinion that the excellence of their fleece depended, in a great degree, upon the temperature of the Spanish climate, it has been satisfactorily ascertained that the fineness of Spanish wool is not in the slightest degree impaired by breeding the sheep in this country. Even in Hungary sheep of this kind have, for many years, been so successfully reared, that much of the fine wool used in our clothing countries has been imported from thence. The average weight of the Merino fleece is about three pounds and half. It has lately been a great object of attention in England to improve our own breeds, particularly the Ryeland, by a mixture with merinos, and this cross breed is stated to retain all the principal characteristics of the Spanish race. The mutton of these sheep, for size and flavour, is much in demand, and sells in the market at a higher price than that of most other kinds of sheep.
100. The BROAD-TAILED SHEEP are a very remarkable kind of sheep, distinguished by their tails being extremely large, and so long as sometimes to drag upon the ground.
They are found in several parts of Persia, Syria, Egypt, and other eastern countries.
The tails of these animals are almost wholly composed of a substance resembling marrow, and sometimes they are equal in weight to one-third of the whole carcase. To prevent them from chafing against the ground, the shepherds not unfrequently put boards, with small wheels, under them, attached to the hinder parts of the animal. The substance of these tails is in great demand, instead of butter, for culinary purposes; and it forms an ingredient in several kinds of dishes. The fleece of the broad-tailed sheep is peculiarly long and fine, and, in Thibet, is manufactured into shawls and other articles of peculiarly delicate texture, which form a considerable source of wealth to the inhabitants.
Of these, and of another kind of sheep called Tartarian or fat-rumped sheep, the hinder parts of which are so excessively fat as entirely to enclose the tail, there are great numbers bred in Tartary. It is even stated that, on an average, 150,000 of them are annually sold at the fairs of Orenburgh, and a much greater number in some other places.
101. The COMMON OX (Bos taurus domesticus, Fig. 29) is characterised by having rounded horns which curve outward, and a loose skin or dewlap beneath the throat.
The male is called bull, the female cow, and the young one calf.
This animal, in a wild state, is the bison (Fig. 15) which is found in the marshy forests of Poland and Lithuania.
It is almost impossible to enumerate all the benefits that mankind derive from these admirable animals. In many countries nearly the whole labour of agriculture is performed by oxen, and, after this service is over, they are fatted and slaughtered for food. It is well known in what estimation they were formerly held in Egypt; they furnished even deities to the superstitious inhabitants of that country. From their supplying the Gentoos with milk, butter, and cheese, their favourite food, those people bear for them a veneration so great that nothing on earth would induce them to slay one of them.
In nearly all eastern countries oxen are employed in treading out corn. By the Caffres of the Cape of Good Hope they are used as beasts of draught and burden. When Mr. Barrow and his suite went into the country of the Caffres, the king, who was at a distance from his usual residence, was sent to; and he is stated to have arrived riding upon an ox full gallop, attended by five or six of his people.
To the milk of the cow we are indebted for several important articles of human subsistence. It is adapted to every state and age of the body, but particularly to the feeding of infants after they have been weaned. Skimmed milk, or that which remains after the cream has been taken off, is employed, in considerable quantity, by wine and spirit merchants, for clarifying or fining down turbid white wine, arrack, and weak spirits.
Nearly all the cheese that is consumed in the British islands is made of cow's milk. For this purpose the milk is curdled by mixture with a substance called rennet, which is prepared from the inner membrane of a calf's stomach; and the curd, thus formed, after being cleared of the whey or watery part contained in the milk, is collected together, pressed, and dried for use.
The richest of all the English kinds of cheese is that called Stilton cheese. This, however, is not, as its name would import, made in the town of Stilton, but in various parts of Huntingdonshire, and in Leicestershire, Rutland, and Northamptonshire. Stilton cheese is indebted, for its excellence, both to the rich pastures on which the cows are fed, and to the peculiar process by which it is made. It is not sufficiently mellowed for use until two years old, and is not in a state to be eaten till it is decayed, blue, and moist. To hasten the ripening of Stilton cheeses, it is not unusual to place them in buckets, and to cover these with horse-dung. Cheshire is famous for its cheese, which is generally much salter and more smart upon the palate than any other English kind. In Wiltshire and Gloucestershire much cheese of rich and excellent quality is made.
The neighbourhood of Chedder, in the county of Somerset, produces a very admirable kind, which is little inferior in taste to Parmesan, and is supposed to owe its peculiar quality to the cows feeding in rich pastures, and particularly on the flote fescue grass (Festuca fluitans), with which many of those pastures abound. Cottenham cheese is a soft white cheese, for which we are chiefly indebted to a small village of that name situated a few miles from Cambridge. In the neighbourhood of Bath and York, and also in Lincolnshire, a rich and excellent kind of cream cheese is made. In Scotland a species of cheese is produced which has long been known and celebrated under the name of Dunlop cheese, from a parish of that name in Ayrshire, in the neighbourhood of which it is principally made.
Of foreign kinds of cheese the most celebrated is Parmesan. This is made of ewes' milk, or of a mixture of ewes' or goats' milk with that of the cow. We receive it from various parts of Italy, and also from other countries, although the name would import it to be made exclusively in the neighbourhood of Parma. In the district of Gruyere, a small town in the canton of Friburg in Switzerland, a well-known kind of cheese of large size is made, which goes by that name. Gouda cheese is famous in Holland. The common Dutch cheeses are of globular shape, and each three or four pounds in weight. They are prepared in the same manner as Cheshire cheese, with the exception that, instead of rennet, the Dutch use spirit of vitriol (sulphuric acid). Hence this kind of cheese has a sharp and saline taste, which is said to exempt it from the depredations of mites. Green Swiss cheese has a strong and peculiar flavour derived from the fragrant powder of melliot (Trifolium melilotus officinalis). This cheese is, however, to many persons, very disagreeable.
When milk has been suffered to stand a few hours, a substance called cream rises to the surface. This is skimmed off for several uses, but principally for the purpose of being made into butter, which is done by beating it in a vessel called a churn. In Cheshire it is customary to churn the butter from the whole milk, without its being skimmed, but this is contrary to the practice in most other parts of England. The consumption of butter is so great that not less than 50,000 tons' weight of it are stated to be annually used in London only. That, which is principally in esteem there is produced in Essex, and known by the name of Epping butter.
To make butter keep for a greater length of time than it would otherwise do, it is salted and packed in small tubs or barrels; and, in this state, it is a very considerable article of commerce. In the salting and packing of butter many abuses are practised, to increase its bulk and weight, against which there is an express act of parliament. Lumps of good butter are sometimes laid, for a little depth, at the top of a barrel, with butter of inferior quality beneath it. Sometimes the butter is packed hollow; and sometimes the exterior part of the butter is good whilst the whole interior is bad.
After the butter has been separated there remains in the churn a kind of whey which is called butter-milk, and the quality of which greatly depends on the manner of churning. Before it turns sour, butter-milk is a favourite beverage in the families of some farmers. It is also occasionally used as a wash for the face, being considered a remedy against freckles; but it is principally applied for the feeding of pigs.
The flesh of oxen constitutes the kind of food which we call beef. This is usually eaten in a recent state, but is sometimes, particularly in the northern parts of England, in Ireland, and Holland, salted in the manner of bacon, and in this state, it is a considerable article of trade. It affords a strong and invigorating nutriment, superior to any that we are acquainted with. Beef-tea is a preparation commonly made for invalids and convalescents, and consists of an infusion of the lean parts of beef in boiling water. Veal, or the flesh of calves, is an highly esteemed and delicate food.
The skins of cattle, after they have undergone the processes of tanning and currying, are employed for making harness, saddles, bridles, the soles of shoes, and for various other purposes. Calves' skins are used for the upper leathers of shoes, and by saddlers, book-binders, &c. The skins of sucking calves are manufactured into vellum, a thin substance which is employed by book-binders; also for writing and drawing upon, and for other uses. From the parings and other offals of the hides of oxen, and the parings and scraps of the legs, by boiling them in water to the consistence of a jelly, straining them through a wicket basket, suffering the impurities to subside, and then boiling them a second time, is made glue. This, in a state of jelly, is poured into flat frames or moulds; when congealed, it is cut into square pieces, and afterwards dried, by being suspended in a coarse kind of netting.
The leg-bones of oxen, after having been whitened by boiling them with quick-lime, are used in the manufacture of the handles of knives and forks, and for innumerable other purposes. This substance, when good, is nearly allied to ivory: but is easily distinguished by its porous nature, its coarse grain, and its wanting the beautiful white veins which are so conspicuous in ivory. Bones, after having been burnt or calcined, are used by the refiners of gold and silver.
The horns of oxen are used for many of the same purposes as bone. After having been softened by heat they are capable of being moulded into almost any shape. They are sometimes stained in such manner as to imitate tortoise-shell, and they are then used for the making of combs. By a peculiar process they are rendered semi-transparent, and, when formed into thin plates, are employed instead of glass for lanthorns. Horn was the first transparent substance that was ever used for lanthorns and windows.
Tallow is the fat of sheep and oxen, cleared of its fibrous parts by straining and other management. It is further improved and clarified by the addition of alum, and, in this state, is used for the making of candles. Tallow is also a chief ingredient in soap. From the feet of oxen is procured a kind of oil, called Neats'-foot oil, which is of great use in the preparing and softening of leather. The blood is employed in the clarifying of sugar, and great quantities of it, during the late war, were exported from London to Sweden for this purpose. The skins of the intestines are used for beating gold leaf betwixt; and these, under the name of gold-beaters' skin, are afterwards considered efficacious as an adhesive plaster for healing small wounds. Of gold-beaters' skin the French manufacturers of toys sometimes construct little balloons for the amusement of children. A few years ago there was, in London, an exhibition of animals formed of this substance and inflated with air.
102. British cattle are considered preferable to the cattle of any other country in the world. Those called Devonshire cattle, which are distinguished by their mahogany colour and light yellow horns, are adjudged to be the best of any. They are much used in agricultural labours, being peculiarly fitted for draught both by their hardiness and activity. The beef of this breed is peculiarly excellent. Their skins are thin, but improve much in tanning; and the tallow is of peculiarly good quality.
103. In the northern parts of England there is a very useful kind, called Holderness or Dutch cattle. These, in size and weight exceed all the British cattle. The cows have great celebrity for yielding a very extraordinary quantity of milk; instances have been mentioned of their yielding thirty-six quarts in a day. This stock is well known in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, being that which is generally kept by the London cow-keepers. The animal exhibited in London in the beginning of 1802, under the name of the "wonderful ox," was a variety produced from this breed, and weighed more than 200 stone.
104. The Lancashire or Long-horned Cattle, are much esteemed for the dairy. The cows yield from sixteen to twenty-four quarts of milk per day; and, on an average, about 300 weight of cheese per annum. They are hardy animals, readily become fat, and produce remarkably well-flavoured beef. But they are chiefly celebrated for the thickness and substance of their hides, which are very valuable, and sell at high prices. In many instances the hides have been known to produce a greater price per pound than the beef.
105. Alderney Cattle are a favourite breed, that have long been known and esteemed, in the southern counties of England, for their milk, which is richer than that of any other breed. These animals are of small size, the cows seldom exceeding the height of four feet; yet they are known to produce so much milk as to yield from 200 to more than 300 pounds' weight of butter per annum. In the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, and Alderney, where these cattle are chiefly bred, they are sometimes employed in ploughing; but their greatest use is in carting, and, in this respect, they are found to answer peculiarly well in bad roads and hilly countries. Their beef is generally yellow or very high coloured; but it is peculiarly fine in the grain, and of excellent flavour.
106. Scotland is famous for a small kind of black cattle, with fine white upright horns tipped with black, called Highland Stots, or Kyloe Cattle. Having great celebrity for the fineness and sweetness of their beef, as well as the facility with which they are fattened, these cattle are in such esteem as to be driven into the southern counties of England, and occasionally to supply even the London markets. The cows, in proportion to their size, yield a great quantity of rich milk.
107. The YAK, or GRUNTING OX (Bos grunniens), is an animal of large size, with round, upright, and slender horns, a lump on the shoulders, long and pendant hair, white on the back and tail; and the tail somewhat resembling that of a horse.
In a wild state this animal is an inhabitant of the mountains of Thibet.
With the oriental princes the white tails of the yak are of great value for military standards; and the use of them is very ancient. These tails are also employed, in many parts of the East, to ornament the trappings both of elephants and horses; and, when mounted on a silver handle, they are used by the principal men of India as a brush to chase away flies. The Chinese dye the hair of a red colour, and form tufts for their caps of it. Many beautiful kinds of stuffs are woven of a fine wool which these animals have next to their skin.
108. The MUSK OX (Bos moschatus) is a North American animal of small size, with horns broad, and approaching each other at the base, bent downward, and the tips upward and pointed; a protuberance on the shoulder, and the body covered with long silky hair of a dusky red tinge.
To the North American Indians the musk ox is an animal of considerable importance. Its flesh furnishes them with an useful food, which, though it has a musky flavour, is not on that account the less esteemed. This flesh, in a frozen state, is also an article of traffic, with the British and American forts, during winter.
At the roots of the long hair of the musk ox there is a peculiarly beautiful ash-coloured fleece, which is finer and softer than silk, and may be wrought into very elegant articles of dress. It is of the long hair of these animals that the Esquimaux Indians make those caps which give them their very extraordinary appearance, by the ends being contrived so to fall down over their face, as to protect them from the bites of musquetoes. The skins are convertible into leather, and are also frequently used, by Indians, with the hair on, as coverings of various kinds.
109. The AMERICAN BISON (Bos Americanus) is a large species of ox, with round and distant horns which point outward, a long and woolly mane, and a large fleshy protuberance on the shoulders.
These animals inhabit, in immense herds, the savannahs and marshes of the interior of North America.
As they are capable of being domesticated, and, in this state, are sufficiently tractable for the purpose, they are sometimes rendered useful for agricultural labours. The hunting of the wild bison is a common and very arduous employment of the natives of the interior of America, particularly those living adjacent to the rivers Mississippi and Ohio. The flesh of these animals is used as food, and the fatty protuberance on the shoulders is esteemed a great delicacy. The tongues, which are reckoned superior to those of oxen, are frequently transported to New Orleans, where they always have a ready sale. When the animals are quite fat they are said to yield sometimes as much as 150 pounds weight of tallow each. The latter is so important an article of commerce, that, in many instances, the hunters cut out only the tongue and tallow, leaving the remainder of the carcase to be devoured by wild beasts. Powder-flasks are made of the horns. The skins are capable of being converted into an excellent buff leather; and, when dressed with the hair on, the lighter skins serve the Indians as beds, and for clothes, gloves, and shoes. Some persons use them as blankets, and find them a very warm and pleasant covering. The hair is spun and woven into various articles of clothing, which are both durable and useful, and are peculiarly soft and pleasant to the wearer.
110. The BUFFALO (Bos bubalus) is a species of ox, which has large horns of compressed form, with the outer edge sharp, growing straight for a considerable length from their base, and then bent slightly upward: on the shoulders there is a bony protuberance; and the general colour of the hair is black or dusky.
In a wild state these animals are natives of Asia and Africa; and they are domesticated in India, and in some of the warmer parts of Europe.
Although the buffalo is naturally a savage and ferocious beast, yet, when properly trained, it is very serviceable to mankind. These animals are used both for draught and burthen, and are sometimes even trained for the saddle. They are guided by a cord attached to a ring, which is made to pass through the cartilage of their nose. Two buffaloes, harnessed to a carriage, are considered able to draw as much as four horses.
The milk of the buffalo, though not so good as that of the cow, is in greater quantity, and in much esteem. Ghee is a kind of butter made from the milk of these animals, and clarified. This is an article of commerce in various parts of India, and is generally conveyed in bags or bottles made of the hide, each of which holds from ten to forty gallons. The flesh is said somewhat to resemble beef, but to be of a darker colour: that of the calves is considered peculiarly delicate. Of the skin is made a strong and durable leather, which, under the name of buff leather, is applicable to a great variety of uses. The horns have a fine grain, are strong, and bear a good polish; and are, therefore, much used by cutlers and other artificers. They are occasionally imported into this country from Bengal.
These animals usually associate in large herds, in marshy and woody plains. So great is their ferocity that the hunters are at all times fearful of attempting to kill them, unless they are perfectly sure of their aim. They swim over even the widest rivers with a facility which can be equalled by few quadrupeds.
111. The CAPE BUFFALO (Bos cafer) is an excessively strong and ferocious beast of the ox tribe, which has thick horns that are rugged at the base, and lie so flat as to cover almost all the top of the head.
These animals are found in herds of a hundred and fifty or two hundred together, in the plains of Caffraria, and other parts of the south of Africa.
There are no animals of the ox tribe so savage, so much dreaded, nor so wantonly mischievous as these: they attack and destroy mankind without being themselves previously assailed, and commit devastations of the most alarming kind in the neighbourhood of the places where they are found. They are killed on account of their flesh, which is lean, but juicy and of high flavour; and also on account of their hides, which are so thick and tough that even musket-proof targets are formed of them. Of these hides also the strongest and best thongs for harness are made. The Hottentots, who are never inclined to take much trouble in dressing their victuals, cut the flesh off into slices, and then smoke, and at the same time half broil, it over a few coals. They also frequently eat it in a state of absolute putrefaction.
ORDER VI.—BELLUÆ.
112. The HORSE (Equus caballus, Fig. 30) is distinguished from every other quadruped by having his hoofs single, and his tail covered with long hair.
The male has the name of horse, the female of mare, and the young one of foal.
Wild horses are found, in large herds, in Siberia, and several other parts of Asia, as well as in some parts of Africa.
Endowed with the most useful qualifications, the horse is an animal of the greatest importance to the inhabitants of all temperate climates. Though naturally spirited, active, and intrepid, he submits with patience to carry burthens, and to toil, for days together, along roads and in agricultural labours. And, if treated with care and attention, he perseveringly adapts himself to our wants and conveniences. In some parts of Tartary these animals have even been made objects of divine worship, originating, no doubt, in a principle of gratitude for the services they perform. By the Arabians they are nearly as much attended to and beloved as human beings: they live in the same tents with their owners, and participate in all the kindnesses which this people bestow upon their own families. In Arabia, indeed, they may be deemed the chief support of the families which possess them; and (surrounded with foes) the very existence of the owner not unfrequently depends upon the powers of his horse.
In no country of Europe is so much attention paid to the breeding and training of horses as in England. The consequence has been that the British horses are superior, both in swiftness of foot, and in strength and perseverance in the course, to any others in this quarter of the world.
The fleetest of all the British horses is, of course, the race-horse: and, for short distances, none of the Arabians, which have been tried in England, have proved in any degree equal to him. The celebrated horse called Childers, in the year 1721, ran four miles in six minutes and forty-eight seconds, carrying a weight of nine stone two pounds. Had the different racing meetings at Newmarket, York, and other places, no other view than to call together great concourses of people for amusement, their tendency would be injurious rather than beneficial to society; but when it is considered that such meetings are the cause of great emulation in the breeding of a race of animals so valuable as the horse, their utility will be sufficiently apparent.
The English hunters are allowed to be among the noblest, most elegant, and most useful animals that are known; and the value of our hackneys, or road horses, may be imagined when it is stated that many of them are able to trot at the rate of more than fifteen miles per hour.
So great is the strength of these animals, that instances have been mentioned of a single horse drawing, for a short space, the weight of three tons; and of others carrying a load which weighed more than 900 pounds. The immense dray-horses that are employed by brewers, and are so frequently seen in the streets of London, though in some measure they are useful as being able better to sustain the shock of loading and unloading than slighter animals, are chiefly kept from a principle of ostentation. The British draught-horses are extremely valuable animals, but particularly a chesnut-coloured race called Suffolk-horses.
In Scotland there is a breed of small horses, or ponies, which are known by the name of galloways. The best of these seldom exceed the height of fourteen hands and a half,[2] and are uncommonly active, hardy, and spirited animals. The Shetland Islands produce a race called shelties, which, though exceedingly diminutive in size, are, in other respects, highly excellent.
In Ireland the cart-horses, though of sufficient size, are ill-shaped and bad. The saddle-horses appear naturally as good as ours; but, in general, they are ill kept, worse groomed, and still worse shod.
The French horses are extremely various in their kind; but few of them can be called fine. The best saddle-horses of France are produced in the vicinity of Limosin, and in Normandy. The latter, though not so valuable as hunters, are preferable to all the rest for war. Lower Normandy is famous for fine carriage horses. A prevailing fault in the horses of France is too great a width across the shoulders.
The Dutch horses are said to be very good for carriages; and great numbers of them are annually sent into France. The Flemish horses are far inferior to those of Holland. They have generally large heads and broad feet; and their legs are subject to dropsical swellings.
Germany affords some fine horses, but the generality of them are heavy and thick-winded. Those of Hungary and Transylvania, however, are very light and fleet. The Hussars and Hungarians, it is said, adopt the cruel practice of slitting the nostrils of their horses, with a view to improve their wind, and prevent them from neighing in the field.
The Danish horses are so large in size, and so well set, that they were formerly preferred, as carriage-horses, to all others. They are extremely various in colour; and many of them are pyed and spotted, which is not the case with the horses of other countries.
In Spain the horses are very beautiful and excellent. They have a long thick neck, with a flowing mane. The head is large; the ears are long, but well placed; the eyes full of fire; the air noble and spirited; the shoulders thick, and the chest broad. They have great agility and stateliness. Their prevailing colours are black and light chesnut.
The Italian horses were formerly much finer than they are at present, the breeding of them having long been neglected. The kingdom of Naples, however, still affords fine horses, especially for carriages; but they have, in general, large heads and thick necks. They are also untractable, and consequently are difficult to be trained; but these defects are, in some degree, compensated by the largeness of their size, their spirit, and the beauty of their motions.
There is a prevalent and erroneous notion that the flesh of the horse is bitter and unpalatable. In several parts of Asia wild horses are killed almost exclusively for food; and the Calmuc Tartars, in particular, are so partial to this kind of flesh, that they seldom eat any other. Horses' flesh is constantly exposed for sale in the markets of Tonquin. A celebrated British writer (Dr. Anderson) has strongly recommended the fattening of horses as food in this country, and urges his recommendation by declaring that horse-flesh is superior in delicacy of flavour to beef!
The Tartars drink the milk of the mare, and also convert it into butter and cheese. One of their most favourite kinds of beverage is called koumiss: it is a sort of wine made of fermented mares' milk; and is carried, by them, from place to place, in bags made of horses' hides. When in perfection, the taste of koumiss is said to be a pleasant mixture of sweet and sour; but it is necessary to agitate it before it is drunk. This preparation is also considered of great utility in a medicinal view.
The skin of the horse, after it is tanned, is made into collars, traces, and other parts of harness; and, under the name of cordovan, is also used for shoes. The hair forms a considerable branch of trade. That of the tail is employed for weaving the covers or seats of chairs and sofas; for making sieves, fishing-lines, and the bows of musical instruments. The inferior hair of the tail and mane is employed for the stuffing of bolsters and mattresses. For this purpose it is baked, by which it is rendered one of the most elastic substances, for couches, that are known. The short hair of the horse is used for stuffing saddles and horse-collars.
If horses be well treated, and properly attended to, they will sometimes live to the age of fifty years; but, during great part of this time, they are generally so decrepid as to be unable to perform any services whatever for their owners. To ascertain the age of a horse, reference is generally had to the teeth. Deeply sunk eye-pits are usually considered a criterion, though not an infallible one, of an old horse; and, for colts or young horses, attention must be paid to the appearance of their coat, and of the hairs of the mane and tail, as it is not until they have changed their first teeth that any correct judgment of their age can be formed from the mouth. The deceptions of horse-dealers in changing the appearance of the teeth, and in various other particulars relative to the horse, render great caution necessary in the purchase of these animals.