It is on this necessary and physical relation, then, much more than on the varieties of taste, that is founded the diversity which we see in the appetites of animals, for if necessity did not determine them oftener than taste how could they devour corrupted flesh with as much avidity as that which is fresh and juicy? Why do they eat equally of all kinds of flesh? We see that domestic dogs, which have it in their power to chuse, constantly reject certain meats, such as the woodcock, thrush, pork, &c. whilst wild dogs, wolves, foxes, &c. eat equally the flesh of the hog, woodcock, birds of all species, and even frogs, of which I once found two in the stomach of a wolf. When they can neither get flesh nor fish, they will eat fruit, corn, grapes, &c. but they always prefer that food, which, in a small portion, contains a large quantity of nutritive or organic particles, proper for the nourishment and subsistence of the body.
If these are not sufficient proofs let us consider the method made use of to fatten cattle. They begin by castration, thus stopping the passage through which the organic molecules escape in most abundance; then, instead of leaving the ox to his usual pasture, of herbage alone, they give him bran, corn, and turnips; in a word, more substantial aliments than grass. In a little time the flesh, juices, and fat of the animal augments, the fat abounds, and, from a flesh hard and dry, forms a viand so succulent and good, that it is the chief of our best repasts.
It also results from what has been said, that man, whose stomach and intestines are not so capacious with respect to the size of his body, could not live on herbage alone; yet it is proved by facts, that he can live on vegetables, corn, and seeds of plants, since there are whole nations, and particular orders of men, who are forbid by their religion to eat of any thing that has had life; but these examples, though supported by the authority of Pythagoras, and recommended by some physicians, do not appear sufficient to convince us, that it would benefit the health of mankind, or that the human species would multiply in a greater proportion, if they lived on vegetables and bread; the rather as peasants, whom the luxuries, and the sumptuousness of the great, reduce to this mode of living, languish and die much sooner than persons in a middle station of life, to whom wants and excesses are equally unknown.
Next to man, animals which live on flesh only are the greatest destroyers: they are both the enemies of nature, and the rivals of man. It is only by a careful attention that our flocks and fowls can be sheltered from birds of prey, the wolf, fox, weazle, &c. and it is only by a continual war that we can preserve our grain, fruits, and even clothing from the voracity of rats, moths, mites, &c. for insects are among those creatures which do more harm than good.
The ox, sheep, and those other animals which feed on grass, are not only the best, most useful, and most precious to man, but consume and cost him least. The ox, above all the rest, is the most excellent in this respect, for he gives as much to the earth as he takes from it, and even enriches the ground on which he lives; while the horse and the greatest part of other animals, in a few years impoverish the best pasture-lands.
But these are not the only advantages that this animal procures to man; without the ox, the poor and the rich would have much difficulty to live; the earth would remain uncultivated, the fields, and even the gardens would be dry and sterile; it is on him that all the work of the country falls, he is the most useful domestic of the farmer, and does all the labour of agriculture[D]. Formerly he formed the only riches of mankind, and still he is the basis of the riches of states, which only flourish, and are supported by the cultivation of the lands, and the number of their cattle; since these are the only real wealth we possess, all others, even gold and silver, being only arbitrary representations, and are of no worth but what the produce of the earth can give them.
[D] Modern practice, at least in England, proves that with all the superior qualities of the ox, he is not entitled to this particular encomium, since in many parts it is found the horse can be much more advantageously employed in the culture of lands, and even in some countries the service of the ox in that respect is quite exploded.
That the ox is not so proper as the horse, ass, camel, &c. for carrying burthens, the form of his back and loins clearly demonstrate; but the thickness of his neck, and the broadness of his shoulders, sufficiently indicate his qualification for the yoke. Although it is in this manner that he draws with the most advantage, yet in some provinces of France they oblige him to draw with his horns; for which they give as a reason, that when harnessed in this manner he is managed with more ease. His head is very strong, and he may draw very well when so yoked, but certainly with much less advantage than when he draws by the shoulders. He seems to be made on purpose for the plough; the size of his body, the slowness of his motions, the shortness of his legs, and even his tranquillity and patience when he labours, concur in making him proper for the cultivation of the ground, and more capable than any other animal of overcoming the constant resistance that the earth opposes to his efforts. The horse, although perhaps as strong as the ox, is, however, less proper for this work, his legs are too long, his motions too great and sudden, and he is also more impatient, and more easily fatigued; we take from him his lightness, all the suppleness of his motion, and all the grace of his attitude, when he is put to this laborious work, which requires more constancy than ardour, and more strength and weight than swiftness.
In those species of animals which man has formed into flocks, and whose multiplication is his principal object, the females are more useful than the males. The produce of the cow, is a benefit almost perpetually renewed; the flesh of the calf is healthy and delicate, the milk; is excellent food at least for children; butter relishes the greatest part of our victuals, and cheese is the common food of the country people. How many poor families are reduced to live entirely on their cow! These same men who toil from morning to night, groan with anguish, exhausted with continual labour of cultivating the ground, obtain nothing from the earth but black bread, and are obliged to give to others the flour and substance of their grain. It is through them that the harvests are abundant, though they partake not thereof. These men who breed and multiply our cattle, who take care of, and are constantly occupied with them, dare not enjoy the fruits of their labour; they are debarred from the use of flesh, and reduced by the necessity of their condition, or rather by the brutality of the great, to live like horses, on barley and oats, common herbs, &c.
Engraved for Barr’s Buffon