36 



150 species at least are known, and of these, 8 or perhaps g 

 are domestic, about 6 per cent. 



They are all gregarious, attached to locality but not much 

 to persons, eminently useful, mostly of gentle dispositions, 

 and all perfectly fertile in captivity. 



The well-known Ox has been derived from more than 

 one ancestor, I believe, probably from Bos longifrons and 

 Bos primigenius, both now extinct. But the two species 

 have been intercrossed, so that in some breeds it is 

 difficult to determine on which side the blood of either pre- 

 ponderates. 



The Indian Ox or Zebu, holds in many Eastern 

 countries the same position as the Ox with us, both have 

 been domestic from remote antiquity, certainly not less 

 than 4,000 years. 



The Yak of the Himalayas, with its long shaggy coat, 

 takes in those high inclement regions the place of the ox, and 

 is indeed almost essential to the inhabitants. 



The Gayal, Bibos sondaicus, in some parts of India, 

 and the Banteng, Bibos Javanicus, are used in the countries 

 they inhabit for precisely the same purposes as the Ox, 

 whether the former has been derived from the Gaur is un- 

 certain, in fact, it is quite characteristic of a domestic 

 animal that its origin is obscure. 



As a proof of the fertility of hybrid Bovines, I may 

 mention that a hybrid bred in the Zoological Gardens, 

 between Bibos sondaicus and Bos Indices produced a treble 

 hybrid with Bison Americanus, and this hybrid in turn 

 produced a quadruple hybrid with the American Bison again, 

 indeed Mr. Bartlett is of opinion that the hybrid offspring 

 of any of the oxen would prove fertile. 



The Buffalo is used in India and other countries for 

 the same purposes as the ox, and has been domestic for 

 ages, its origin is not quite certain, but the Arnee is a 

 closely allied wild species, if not its progenitor. 



The Sheep is too well-known to need much being said 

 regarding it, and the same is true of the Goat, the former is 



