CATTLE. Cattle comes from the old French word catel, which is derived from the Mediaeval Latin captale or capitate, meaning goods or property. The use of the English word cattle ordinarily refers to a group of animals related to the ox or cow, although on occasion it has been applied to all the larger animals of economic value. The present Latin designation for cattle, bos taurus, was given by Linnaeus the Swedish naturalist, but as taurus means bull, this word is unsatisfactory if it is desired to refer to the female, the cow, or to the unsexed male, the steer. The English word ox is traced through several languages to the words urox, aurochs or auerochs, names given the prehistoric ox. This word ox (plural oxen) .has been very widely used in reference to cattle, though not entirely satisfactory in its application.
Cattle existed in prehistoric times, and their remains have been extensively found in the more recent geological periods. Wild oxen were hunted in Great Britain and on the con tinent of Europe, and parts of skeletons have been found in which were embedded flint spear heads. The prehistoric ox, known as Bos tourus primigeneus, varied in size in a marked degree, but as commonly found was much larger than the ox of the present day. A com plete skeleton of what has been termed Bos taurus gigonteus has been recovered from the English fen lands, and many parts of large skeletons may be seen in British museums. There are to-day in England and Scotland a few scattered herds of what are known as wild cattle. These are on large estates where they are preserved and allowed to reproduce in a state of nature. These wild cattle are as sumed to be lineal descendants of the prehis toric ox. They are white in color, but with dark red or black hairs upon the ears and about the muzzle; have long, shaggy hair; heavy, upstanding horns, and are comparable in size with many of our domestic cattle. In a few instances wild females have been mated to domestic bulls, from which through several generations very excellent results have been obtained.
In a zoological way, cattle present certain features of special interest. They belong to the order of Ungulata or hoofed animals, which includes elephants, giraffes and camels. How ever, cattle belong to a sub-order of this group, having cloven feet, the horse belonging to another sub-order with a solid foot. The skeleton of the ox does not stand as high as that of the horse, and the bony processes of the spine form a line along most of the back that is nearly straight. The horns are essen tially extensions of the corners of the skull, al though there are breeds of cattle that normally have no horns. Cattle have no teeth at the end of the upper jaw; this part being covered with a tough membraneous pad, against which the incisor teeth at the point of the lower jaw press. In grazing the vegetation is caught be tween the teeth and pad, and is pulled rather than cut off. The ox has a compound stomach of four apartments, which occupies nearly three-fourths of the abdominal cavity, and in large animals has a capacity of as much as 60 gallons. When food is first swallowed, it goes into the large first stomach, the paunch, where it is softened and macerated, and over flows through a slit into the 'much smalitri sec ond stomach or honeycomb. From one or the other of these stomachs, by muscular ,contrac tion, the food is forced back to the month in small balls or gcuds,(' when rumination or the cud", takes place, which explains why cattle are generally known as ruminants. Rumination only takes place under conditions of quiet and rest, and not during grazing. After chewing the cud less than a minute, the food is swallowed, passing into the third stomach the manyplies, from which it moves on into the small abomasum or true stomach. In comparison with the stomach, the intestines in cattle are relatively small while with horses and swine the reverse is true. • Cattle are world wide in their distribution, and either exist wild in a state of nature, or are of the domesticated, improved races or breeds. Among the wild cattle are the bison
of America and Europe, the buffalo of Asia and Africa, the yak of highlands of central Asia, the gaur of India, the bantin of Java, Siam, Burma and adjacent countries, etc. There are various forms of buffaloes ranging from animals of small size to those of large proportions, and these are especially abundant on the continent of Asia and contiguous islands. South America and Australia possess no native wild cattle. Domesticated cattle are best represented in the various breeds used for food or labor that are found in large numbers in all countries where herbage is easily grown. In Asia and Africa is found a class of humped domesticated cattle, commonly known as the zebu, of which there are many breeds. These Indian or Brahman cattle, as they are often called, differ from our common domestic cattle in general bodily form, in a more or less large hump over the shoulders, in shape of ears, depth of throat, curve and size of horns and form of especially in its 'upper part. What are known as the common domesticated cattle of Enrope and America differ in a marked degree in size, color and certain features of form, However, they are all es sentially the same from an anatomical point of view, and belong to, the same species. The variations referred to have been due to vari ous factors, among which emphasis may be said on environment, selection and the artificial breeding operations of man. In general our domestic cattle may now be divided into three classes or what are commonly known as types, viz., beef, dairy and dual purpose. Beef type cattle have sllort, thick necks; smooth shoulders; wide, prominent breasts; large heart girth• broad backs and loins; deep bodies; wide, rumps; thick, meaty thighs and i comparatively short legs. When in good con dition, the body is smoothly covered with a thick layer of flesh indicative of great meat producing capacity. 'Good examples of beef cattle have bodies resembling a parallelogram from side view, or square from-the ing what is known as a (blocky form) Dairy type cattle are relatively thin of neck; some what prominent of shoulder; narrow of breast; deep yet lacking in thickness of chest; narrow at the withers and gradually widening along the back to the hips; long of rib and deep of middle; long and wide of rump; and compara tively narrow behind in the thighs. The females are notable for large udders capable of great milk production. This type is lean and muscular, and good examples show what is termed the (triple wedge) form. (1) As 'viewed from one side, the gradually widens in depth from front to rear. (2) Viewed from the body gradually widens back to the hips. (3) Seen from in front the body widens in wedge form from the withers (just over the shoulder) downward. The beef type is notably broad and flat, just above the shoulder tops, while the dairy type is narrow and sharp. Superior beef cattle tie a rule are small milk producers, while to the contrary high class dairy cows are very inferior meat producers. Dual purpose, oftentimes termed general purpose, cattle, are fair producers of both meat and milk. They lack the thick, blocky form most desirable in the model beef animal, with less fullness over the shoulders and at the thighs. Dual purpose type cows should have good sized udders and show dis tinct evidence of milk-producing capacity. Our domestic cattle, are not only divided into types into many breeds that have origi nated under widely different surroundings. The influences of climate and food, as well as the breeding operations of man, have resulted in many breeds within these types, each of which is quite distinctive in character and use fulness. The measure of merit in our herds of cattle is absolutely dependent upon the meritorious character in the breeds themselves. The common herds cannot be improved without the use of sires from pure bred herds.
The following breeds, grouped according to type, are the more important ones to be found in North America.