DOMESTICATION OF THE BUFFALO. 



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draught-animal, and the ox and cow as tlieir rivals in the produc- 

 tion of beef and milk, buffaloes have not until recent years suffi- 

 ciently risen in value to warrant their domestication and breeding 

 being taken up systematically and on a large scale. It is their 

 rapid approach to extinction that has made the man of business 

 succeed to the curious experimenter of a decade or a century ago. 



Fig. 1.— Full-Blood Buffaloes domesticated. 



and recognize how much of value there is in a strain which, if 

 opportunity be not promptly seized, will soon be no more than 

 a remembrance. Regarding, then, the buffalo as an animal well 

 worthy conserving, what are his good and bad points ? First of 

 all, he is hardy, not liable to disease, and on the plains of the 

 American and Canadian Northwest he can forage in deep snow 

 and live in the open air all winter long. His meat brings nearly 

 as good a price as beef. His robe is worth $25 to $40 ; and his 

 head taxidermized, thanks to the decorative tastes of sportsmen, 

 fetches as much as the robe, or even more. So much for the credit 

 side of the account ; now for the debit. The buffalo is a strong 

 brute, and of a temper at times so fierce that his domestication 

 is a task not seldom accompanied by decided hazard. Ordinary 

 fences are as gossamer to a buffalo bull, especially during the 

 irritable years when he is past his prime and finds himself less 

 attractive than of yore. Still, the example of well-behaved do- 

 mestic cattle, with which buffaloes readily amalgamate, is very 

 effective. It is not, however, in mere domestication, but in cross- 

 breeding that the buffalo's value consists. In pairing a buffalo 

 bull and domestic cow the young are brought forth without any 

 unusual percentage of loss being sustained. The offspring com- 

 bines good points of sire and dam. It has nearly all its sire's 

 hardiness and strength, and so much of its dam's tractability as 

 to be well suited for draught purposes. When killed, the net 



