The Descent of Man

fixed character in the females than in the males;
and this leads us to look at the horns as properly
of masculine origin.
With the adult musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus)
the horns of the male are larger than those of
the female, and in the latter the bases do not
touch. (14. Richardson, 'Fauna Bor. Americana,'
p. 278.) In regard to ordinary cattle Mr. Blyth
remarks: "In most of the wild bovine animals
the horns are both longer and thicker in the bull
than in the cow, and in the cow-banteng (Bos
sondaicus) the horns are remarkably small, and
inclined much backwards. In the domestic races
of cattle, both of the humped and humpless
types, the horns are short and thick in the bull,
longer and more slender in the cow and ox; and
in the Indian buffalo, they are shorter and thicker
in the bull, longer and more slender in the
cow. In the wild gaour (B. gaurus) the horns are
mostly both longer and thicker in the bull than
in the cow." (15. 'Land and Water,' 1867, p. 346.)