208 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.

servant to man. The Cow is invaluable for the milk it sup-
plies, upon which mankind is dependent for butter and for
cheese.

The Bull. The Bull is a handsome animal and of great
strength, especially about the head and neck. Its fierceness
has often been turned to account by the farmer, for it is an
excellent animal to dispute a right of way, the force of its
arguments usually bearing down all opposition. It has been
known also to use its strength for the protection of other
animals. “Two robbers,” says the author of “Domestic Animals
and their Treatment,” “took a pig, weighing fourteen stone, out
of its sty, and drove it along a lane leading towards Rother-
ham. On coming to a lonely path across the fields they
thought it would be better to kill the pig at once in this
quiet place, where no one would be likely to hear the cries
of the animal. One of the robbers accordingly took a knife
out of his pocket, and commenced cutting the pig’s throat.
The poor pig struggled violently, and managed to escape
from his hands, running squealing into the next field, with
a fearful gash in his throat. The men ran after the pig, but
found in the field a bull grazing, who seemed at once to
understand the state of the case, and took upon himself the
championship of the wounded animal. The bull ran furiously
at the robbers, who fled for their lives, and only just managed
to escape a toss from his horns. They lingered outside the
fence, however, hoping that an opportunity would still offer
of their catching the pig; but the pig wisely kept close to
his new friend, and the men at last were under the mortify-
ing necessity of going home without their booty. These men
were afterwards convicted of stealing sheep and corn, when
one of them confessed this affair of the pig, and thus ex-
plained what had been a great mystery to the owner, namely,
how it was that his pig came to be in a field at some dis-
tance from the sty, with his throat partly cut, and keeping
close company with the bull.” Mr. Byam’s “ Central America”