92 Philippine Journal of Science 1919 



of southern China, is given by Bailey. 2 The buffalo is princi- 

 pally used for draft purposes. Old animals are slaughtered for 

 beef. In Canton, Hongkong, and other cities of southern China 

 an increasing number is kept for the rich milk produced. There 

 are no special breeds of dairy buffalo in southern China as there 

 are in India. Buffaloes kept for milk are usually mature cows 

 that have been used as draft animals for some time. During the 

 period a cow is milked she is not required to work in that capac- 

 ity. When milked, and fed grain and good grass, the cows 

 have a long lactation period. It is not uncommon for them to 

 give milk for from eight to twelve or more months. While the 

 amount of milk is very low — usually from 3 to 15 pounds a day 

 (about 1.4 to 6.8 kilograms), with an average of about 4.5 

 pounds (about 2 kilograms) a day for the lactation period — it 

 is very rich in fat, containing from three to four times as much 

 fat as European cows' milk. 



CEstruation in the female buffalo does not occur, as a rule, 

 until the heifer is two years old. It occurs one month after par- 

 turition, and reoccurs regularly every twenty-eight to thirty 

 days until the animal again becomes pregnant. 



I have secured definite records on the exact length of the gesta- 

 tion period with only two cows; in one case it was three hundred 

 ten days, and in the other, three hundred fourteen. 



In order to secure a long lactation period as well as the max- 

 imum amount of milk, buffalo cows kept for milk are usually 

 not bred until three or four months after freshening. The cows 

 are considered profitable for dairy purposes until they are about 

 15 years old. 



The Chinese in South China call the native cow wong ngari, 

 "yellow cow." This bovine is a variety of the humped species 

 of cattle (Bos indicus) common in the Orient. The hump is 

 much less pronounced than it is in most breeds of Indian cattle. 

 In the males the hump is usually 6 to 8 inches high above the 

 shoulders. It is much smaller in the females than in the males. 

 The dewlap is large, but is not developed to the degree common 

 in Indian cattle. In color, these native yellow cattle are similar 

 to the Jerseys. They vary from yellow-red to brown-black. 

 Many are brindle. There are no white, and very few spotted, 

 individuals. The tongue, nostrils, and teats are black. The 

 cream-colored ring above the nostrils in the Jersey is also a 

 characteristic of these cows. Males weigh from 800 to 1,000 

 pounds (about 362 to 454 kilograms). Mature females weigh 



1 Cyclopedia of American Agriculture 3 (1908-09) 292. 



