312 On Maris Influence in effecting 



which grow on trees, but never touch mosses that grow on 

 the ground. As to herbaceous plants, they give the preference 

 to those which grow in swampy localities, as several of the 

 Umbellatce, as well as Cnicus oleraceus, Calluna vulgaris, and 

 different Ranunculi. Of grasses they relish Agrostis arundi- 

 nacea, and particularly the dabrowka, {Hierochloe or Holcus 

 borealis). The tomka, (Anthoxanthum odoratum), on which 

 it has been asserted that the zubr chiefly relies for its subsis- 

 tence, and to which some authors have attributed the musky 

 smell of the animal, is not found at all in the forest of Bialo- 

 wicza. The list of these vegetables, as well as the habits of 

 the zubr, prove to a certainty that it has not been destined by 

 nature to live upon mountains. 



The voice of the Bos urus is a short grunt,* and when a 

 person is near a herd, it may be compared to the sound of a 

 distant straggling fire of soldiery ; at a greater distance it re- 

 sembles the sound made by birds in flying. 



When the stomach of the Bos urus is opened, and a light 

 brought near the opening, a high flame is seen flashing up. 

 Mr. Jarocki mentions this as something peculiar to the spe- 

 cies ; but the stomach of all ruminating and other animals, 

 evolves inflammable gases ; and that which causes the well- 

 known disease in cows, sheep, &c. called tympanitis, consists 

 for the greater part of hydrogen. This circumstance, there- 

 fore, appears to possess no particular interest. 



In the stomach, (probably the rumen), of a specimen killed 

 on the 12th of October, 1836, were found intestinal worms, 

 belonging to the Amphistoma contemn, or entozoon, likewise 

 often met with in the rumen, or also the reticulum of the Bos 

 taurus. 



I shall now conclude my description of the Bos urus with 

 adverting to the peculiar circumstances under which that ani- 

 mal is now living in the forest of Bialowicza, (pr. Bealowe- 

 zha), which may be considered as the only primitive forest in 

 Europe. This woodland district is level upon the whole, and 

 swampy. It is intersected by numerous rivulets, and a con- 

 siderable river, the Narew ; "these have their origin in many 

 morasses, some of which have not yet been thoroughly inves- 

 tigated. Its total surface amounts to about 352 English ge- 

 ographical square miles, of which about 60 are rushy swamps; 



* This circumstance has suggested to me the idea that the name of Biauv 

 may still be of Greek origin, and derived from Bycrcrco or Bn&y, to cough, 

 thence B>j£g)v or Biacov, the coughing ox, as the voice of the Bos urus must 

 have struck the Grecians as much as that of the Bos grunniens did the tra- 

 vellers in Thibet, 



