[1948] The epigram of Martial previously referred to bears this title.—B. See N. [1938], p. 324.
[1949] This temple was the Parthenon. This anecdote is mentioned by Arist. Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 24; Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. vi. c. 49.—B.
[1950] In which they probably exposed their samples for sale, as our farmers do in small bags. The phrase is ἀπὸ τῶν τηλιῶν, in Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 24, from whom Pliny takes the story.
[1951] This alleged superiority is mentioned by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. iii. c. 91, by Varro, B. ii. c. 5, and by Columella, B. vi. c. 1; but it is remarked by Dalechamps and Hardouin, that the appellation of Pyrrhic given to these oxen, was more probably derived from their red colour, πυῤῥὸς, than from the name of the king. The materials of this chapter are principally from the above writers, especially Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 21, and B. viii. c. 7.—B.
[1952] This singular notion is mentioned by Varro and Columella, ubi supra; Cuvier says, that it is the origin of the pretended secret of producing the sexes at pleasure, which was published by Millot; Ajasson, vol. vi. p. 461.—B.
[1953] 4th January. See B. xviii. c. 64.
[1954] This is mentioned by Herodotus, B. iv. c. 183; this peculiarity in their mode of taking their food is ascribed to the extraordinary length of the horns; it is also mentioned by Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. xvi. c. 33.—B.
[1955] “Fœdi visu.” This is very similar to the expression used by Virgil, Georg. B. iii., when describing the points of an ox, l. 52,—“oui turpi caput”—“the head of which is unsightly”— probably in allusion to its large size.
[1956] According to Cuvier, there is an ox, in warm climates, which has a mass of fat on the shoulders, and whose horns are only attached to the skin; Buffon has described it under the name of Zebu; Ajasson, vol. vi. p. 461; Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 512.—B.
[1957] “Ad laborer damnantur;” with respect to the colour, Varro, B. ii. c. 5, has the following remarks: “The best colours are black, red, pale red, and white. The latter ones are the most delicate, the first the most hardy. Of the two middle ones, the first is the best, and both are more valuable than the first and last.”