Compared with water buffaloes, yellow cattle were more aggressive. It could be seen from the horns on the top of the yellow cattle's head that the horns of water buffaloes were bent backward, while the horns of yellow cattle grew upward. When it came to attacking, yellow cattle obviously had the advantage. However, there were still bulls that were more powerful than yellow cattle, and that was the fighting bulls of later generations. The horns of fighting bulls grew forward, and the horns were very big and long. They looked very scary, but there were still people who were willing to take the risk to fight bulls. This was really bold. The people who liked fighting bulls must be a people who advocated the wild nature.
The Yang Family's fields raised yellow cattle, and there was no sign of water buffaloes. As for why, Ang Lee thought it was probably because it was convenient to pull a cart! Yellow cattle pulling carts were more common, while water buffaloes were relatively rare. In addition, water buffaloes preferred ponds, and it was more troublesome to raise them. If they did not enter the ponds to play in the mud for a long time, the water buffaloes' bodies might be greatly affected, and they would not be able to get rid of the parasites. However, yellow cattle did not have this problem. Yellow cattle were afraid of water, completely unlike water buffaloes, which needed the nourishment of ponds, and it was more difficult to raise them.
Generally, yellow cattle existed widely in all areas of the Tang dynasty, and water buffaloes were generally more common in the south. There were basically no water buffaloes in the north. After all, there were fewer ponds in the north. Without ponds, water buffaloes would not be good.
As the most important agricultural animal in the Tang dynasty, yellow cattle and water buffaloes were forbidden to be slaughtered at will. Unless they were old and injured and could not work, it was illegal for anyone to kill cattle. The Tang dynasty did a good job in protecting cattle, and the general people were more cooperative. After all, everyone knew the importance of cattle, and no one would kill cattle for that little meat.
For yellow cattle and water buffaloes, the biggest difference was color. Yellow cattle's hair was yellow, and water buffaloes' hair was grayish-brown. The difference was very big, and it could be clearly distinguished from a long distance. Needless to say, the difference between horns was even more obvious. The water buffaloes' horns were much larger than the yellow cattle's horns, but they were not very practical.
In the mechanized era of later generations, yellow cattle and water buffaloes lost their functions. Therefore, whether it was yellow cattle or water buffaloes, they became delicious dishes on people's tables and human food.
In terms of taste, yellow cattle tasted better and were more popular with the people, while water buffaloes tasted relatively worse. Perhaps the water buffaloes were soaked in water all day, and they were afraid that the meat would not be good!
The whole body of a cow was a treasure. When it was edible, every part of its body was very good food. Milk was also a very nutritious drink. In the Tang dynasty era, when cows could not be killed casually, cow's horns could also be used.
Although cows needed to work, their horns were completely superfluous. Whether a cow had horns or not, it didn't affect its ability to work at all. It was like a person cutting off his fingernails. It didn't affect him at all.
In addition, the horns were too sharp and could hurt people easily. Therefore, it was possible to cut off the horns regularly as long as it wasn't cut too deep. If it was cut too deep, it would hurt the nerves of the bull, which would cause the bull to be in great pain. It might even be unable to grow horns in the future.
It would be a pity if the cut off horns were thrown away. The horns were good things. There were too many functions. For example, the horns could be used as medicine. They had the effect of removing blood stasis, stopping bleeding, and stopping dysentery.
The horns could be made into military bugles. The northern nomads were very fond of using horns to make military bugles. Of course, yellow cattle horns were not good. They were too small and were not good to use.
In addition, the horns could also be used to make women's favorite horn comb. This was a higher-grade comb, much better than wooden combs and bamboo combs.
Li An discovered that many of the horns of the cattle in front of him had been sawed off. As long as the horns were longer, they would have been sawed off. As for the horns that were shorter, they would probably not be able to escape the fate of being sawed off after they grew longer.
"The horns of these yellow cattle have been sawed off. Is it because they are afraid that the cattle will hurt people?"
Ang Lee asked.
The family head hurriedly replied, "They won't hurt people. These cattle are quite docile and won't hurt people easily. The sawed off horns are to be sold in Yizhou City. There are peddlers there who buy them. The price is not low, especially the intact horns. It's just that the horns grow too slowly. They can't be sawed off even once a year."
The growth rate of the horns was indeed very slow. It took a long time to grow to a certain length. The frequency of sawing once a year was a bit too high. Usually, it would take many years to grow to a sufficient length.
"Oh, there are peddlers in Yizhou City who specialize in buying horns. Do you know what they are doing?"
Ang Lee asked.
The family head replied, "They are also selling them to others. They are going to sell them to the capital city. The big intact horns are used to make combs. The small and broken horns are used to make medicinal herbs. The price in the capital city is higher. They can make a lot of money by selling them to the capital city."
This was really not a waste at all. It was completely making the best use of everything. Later on, when making horn combs, a lot of horn powder would be cleaned off, and these horn powder could be used as medicinal herbs.
"Horn comb, that's a good thing!"
Ang Lee said.
Ang Lee was very familiar with the horn comb. This kind of comb was very common and very popular in the future. It was as gentle as jade, thick, round, good to the touch, and not easy to get static. In addition, it was said that using the horn comb to comb the hair several times a day could massage the brain, scalp, and nerves of the head, promote blood circulation, relax tension and fatigue, and it had a certain effect on treating insomnia.
As for why the horn comb could treat insomnia, it was naturally because it was a medicinal herb in itself. The horn had cooling and detoxifying effects, and it could make people relax tension and fatigue of the day. Regular use of the horn comb could effectively reduce hair loss, hair breakage, and eliminate dandruff. Long-term use of the horn comb could eliminate headaches and other head diseases, and make people clear-headed, energetic, and quick-thinking.
There was a scientific basis for combing hair to make people healthy, because there were many blood vessels, nerves, sebaceous glands, sweat glands, and so on on the scalp. When combing hair, it could not only remove dandruff and oil stains, but also stimulate nerve endings when the teeth of the comb gently stroked back and forth on the head. It could regulate the nerves of the head through the cerebral cortex, relax the tense state of the head, promote blood circulation, and make hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and sweat glands fully nourished.
Since ancient times, the people of Hua Xia had begun to use the horn comb, but because the horn comb was not something important, there was almost no record of it in the history books. It was the archaeologists of later generations who found it in the tomb of the Song Dynasty, which proved that the horn comb had a very long history in Hua Xia. Since there were horn combs in the Song Dynasty, there were also horn combs in the previous era. It was just that the archaeologists didn't find them.
Of course, because horn combs were more difficult to make than wood and bamboo combs, and horn was also a scarce resource, at least much rarer than wood and bamboo, the price of horn combs was naturally relatively expensive, much more expensive than a wooden comb. Therefore, whether in ancient times or later, the price of horn combs was generally not too low, much more expensive than ordinary wooden combs. In ancient times, the combs were exclusive to aristocrats, and the poor generally couldn't afford to use them.
Many rich people in later generations also liked to use horn combs. This could not only show their identity, but it was also a very good health product.
Horn combs were divided into water buffalo horns, yellow ox horns, and yak horns. Among them, water buffalo horn combs were divided into natural white water buffalo horn combs and natural black water buffalo horn combs. Among them, black water buffalo horn combs were more common. Most of them were black, and a few had blue-black lines. Natural white water buffalo horn was more rare. White-water buffalo horn combs were blue-white, and a few had lines. Because they were more scarce, the price was naturally more expensive. In addition, white water buffalo horn could be used as medicine with cooling properties.
Yellow ox horn combs were not necessarily yellow in color. Most of the colors were gradual. Among them, yellow ox horn combs grew slowly. Generally, it took more than five years of horn to make a comb. Therefore, compared to other materials, its texture was more delicate and durable. It was just that the production was too low, so the price was naturally more expensive.
Yaks were divided into many kinds, including white yaks, spotted yaks, and black yaks. These yaks mainly lived in the Tubo region. Because Tubo had been conquered by the Tang dynasty, now yaks should be said to live in the southwest of the Tang dynasty. They were an important herd of yaks in the Tang dynasty. Because they came from a relatively distant place, the price of yak combs was more expensive, much more expensive than that of ordinary water buffalo and yellow ox combs.
Horn combs not only had a round color, but also felt good and did not produce static electricity. The most important thing was that they had the function of health care. Horn combs had to be used often. The moisturizing of hair would nourish the horn combs. On the contrary, if they were not used, they would revert to normal. This situation was normal. As long as you took a hot hairdryer and put it on a flat plate and pressed it, it would recover.
Of course, because horn combs were more expensive, many people, in order to make more money, would make fake horn combs and use other materials to replace horns, so as to maximize their own benefits. Most of the later generations used plastic to replace horns, but there was no plastic in the Tang dynasty, so there were not many fakes. Even if there were fakes, they would make a fuss about the variety of horns. For example, ordinary water buffalo horn combs were of inferior quality, but they were said to be precious white buffalo horns and even passed off as rhino horns. This was too much. Some stones could also be disguised as horns.
There were many ways to identify a real horn comb. For example, a real horn comb had a natural curvature. A real horn comb would not generate static electricity. When it was burnt, it would emit the stench of horns. The stench was similar to the smell of burnt feathers or hair. It would feel good to the touch, and it would generally have a slight bloody color and lines. A fake horn comb, on the other hand, did not have any of these characteristics.
As for the quality of a natural horn comb, it was mainly based on the difference in raw materials, workmanship, thickness, gloss, and processing precision. Generally speaking, a low-quality horn comb would have a bad feel, lack luster, dim color, cracks, and easy to break teeth. A horn comb was a natural thing, so it would have distinctive flaws. Moreover, a natural horn comb was mostly hand-polished. Therefore, every natural horn comb must be unique in the world. If a batch of horn combs were found to be exactly the same, even the lines were the same, it must be fake. It was like finding many identical leaves, which must be man-made, because there were no two identical leaves in the world.
The simplest identification was to smell it first. You could smell a fishy smell. If you could not smell it, you could soak it in hot water. If it was a real horn comb, it would have a smell. Or you could use a knife to scrape some crumbs off the comb. Then, you could put them on the knife and roast them over the fire. When they were roasted, you could smell the stench of burnt feathers or burnt hair, which meant that it was a real horn comb.
If you bought a horn comb, you must use it often and take good care of it. If you did not use it often, or even put it in a damp place, the horn comb would be easily bent and deformed. If it was seriously deformed, it would not be able to be used normally.
In addition, when you took a hot bath, you must not use the horn comb, because the horn comb could not be in contact with hot water and warm water, which would easily cause the horn comb to be deformed and cracked. You should not even put it in a bathroom with heavy steam. It was best to put it in a dry and cool place, so that it would not be damaged by the steam.
After using it for a period of time, it was inevitable that there would be dandruff in the gap of the horn comb, which needed to be cleaned. However, you must not wash it in water, which would damage the horn comb. The correct way was to use a cotton thread, put it between the teeth of the comb and pull it back and forth, so that all the dirt between the teeth of the comb can be cleaned, just like using dental floss. If you were really worried, you could only briefly rinse it with cold water, and then quickly wipe it with a dry cloth to get rid of most of the water, and then put it in a dry and cool place to dry.
"The horn comb is a good thing. In the capital, every family with a little status has a horn comb. Not only do the women in the harem like to use it, but men also like to use it. It's really inseparable from every family!"
Ang Lee said.
"Assistant Minister Li is right. There are a lot of horn combs in Yizhou City, but they are usually used by women. Men are not so delicate, so they are all made of bamboo. Sometimes, if you use too much force, it will really hurt your scalp. Should you change to a horn comb? Haha!"
The Family Head said with a smile, and the people beside him also laughed.
No matter how well the bamboo comb was polished, it was not as smooth and round as the horn comb. Naturally, there was a big difference when combing hair. No matter how the horn comb was used, it would not hurt the scalp. However, if the bamboo comb was used too quickly and with too much force, it was easier to scratch the scalp. Therefore, it was better to use the horn comb, especially for delicate women.
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