

WANDERINGS OF THE WATER BUFFALO. (581 



lation of eastern Asia could scarcely be cultivated without its aid, and 

 it is so valuable as a dairy animal that the percentage of butter in its 

 milk equals that of the best breeds of English dairy cattle. The result 

 is that it has become an equal favorite with the Hindoo, the Arab, and 

 the Chinaman, and plays a most important part in the agriculture of 

 the Lower Nile Valley. 



The great distance from its original home in India at which we now 

 find the buffalo established is evidence that the animal has a history of 

 an exceedingly adventurous kind, were it possible to trace the story of 

 its travels. Starting from the Indian jungles, and then domesticated 

 on the Indian plains, this erstwhile wild beast has reached and been 

 domesticated and plays a most important part in Egypt, Palestine, 

 southern Italy and the Campagna, the south and east of Spain, Hun- 

 gary, Turkey, and western Asia as far as the borders of Afghanistan. 

 By some unknown route it has reached the west coast of Africa, and is 

 established as a beast of draught and cultivation on the Niger. It has 

 traveled far up the Nile, and will go farther, for it would be invalu- 

 able on the great swamps Fashoda way. In the Far East the Chinaman 

 has made it his own peculiar pet, having, it is believed, first learnt its 

 value in the rice grounds of the south. It has been taken to Japan, 

 where it now works in the rice grounds; to the Philippines and the 

 islands of the Malay Archipelago; and there is no doubt that it would 

 be useful in British Guiana. Possibly the Italians who are crowding 

 over into America will introduce it in the Lower Mississippi Valley; 

 but it is by nature a brown and yellow man's beast, and only appre- 

 ciated in Europe b} T the South Latin races. 



How did the buffalo get from India to Africa? Who first took it to 

 Egypt? How did it get from Egypt round to the West Niger? And 

 who brought it to Italy, and from whence '. All those are most inter- 

 esting questions, and as the distance of time which has elapsed since 

 the animals were introduced into Europe does not fall beyond the 

 historic period, may possibly be answered. In Egypt, for instance, 

 there exists a pictorial record on the tombs and elsewhere, covering 

 many thousands of years, in which pictures of animals play an 

 important part. If the first appearance of the water buffalo in these 

 paintings were noted, the date of its importation from India to Egypt 

 would be known. From inquiries kindly made by Af. Maspero at the 

 suggestion of Lord Cromer, it appears that nowhere in the long "pic- 

 ture history " of ancient Egypt does the water buffalo appear. The 

 African buffalo is seen there ; not so the domesticated Asiatic one. 

 This is very interesting negative evidence that this domesticated animal 

 was not known in ancient Egypt. It is surmised, probably rightly, 

 that it was imported after some great epidemic of cattle plague, or it 

 may have been taken from the west coast of India up the Euphrates 

 Valley, and thence down the Jordan Valley to Egypt. Arab dhows 



