Cats have been objects of superstition from the earliest ages. In Egypt
they were held in the highest reverence; temples were erected in their
honor; sacrifices and devotions were offered to them; and it was
customary for the family in whose house a cat died to shave their
eyebrows. The favorite shape of Satan was said to be that of a black
cat, and the animal was an object of dread instead of veneration. Many
people still prophesy rainy weather from a cat washing over its ears or
simply its face; and a cat-call on the housetop was formerly held to
signify death.
=Cattle, or Ox.=--All farm animals were once called cattle, belonging to
the bovine genus; nowadays this term applies only to beef and dairy
animals--meat cattle. Our improved breeds are descended from the wild ox
(_bos_) of Europe and Asia, and have attained their size and usefulness
by care, food, and selection. The uses of cattle are familiar. Their
flesh is part of the daily food of man--butter, cheese, and milk are on
every table; their hides go to make leather; their hair forms part of
plaster; their hoofs are used for glue; their bones for fertilizer,
ornaments and buttons, and many other purposes. Cattle are primarily
used, however, for meat and milk. This being the case, breeders have
quite naturally chosen their animals with one or another of these
purposes in mind. There have been developed consequently two classes of
breeders, those that excel as milk producers or butter cows, and those
that on being slaughtered dress out large quantities of the most
marketable meat.