Cattle are the chief source of wealth in many regions. Just as the horse
is pre-eminent as a labor animal, the ox stands first as the food
producing animal in modern civilization. The aggregate value of cattle
products,--beef, milk, butter, cheese, hides, etc., far exceeds that of
any other animal.
The relative economy of milk and beef production is now more and more
commanding attention. The experiment stations have demonstrated that
good dairy cows produce human food in the form of milk much more
economically than food products can be obtained in the form of beef,
pork or mutton.