THE BISONS OF THE CAUCASUS. 353 



of 150 watermelons, which were sliced and fed him six times per day- 

 He stood the journey well and arrived safe and sound at his 

 destination. 



He soon became accustomed to the usual winter provender of the 

 bisons at Bielowitza, viz, clover hay, oats, and especially different 

 kinds of roots, which he seemed to like very much. The following 

 spring he was set at liberty in the midst of a herd of 15 bisons that 

 adopted him as one of their own; he soon became as wild as the 

 others, but never equaled them in size and always had a sickly 

 appearance; his mane was scanty, his movements slow. He died 

 the next year without leaving any progeny. So failed the first 

 attempt at vivifying the strain of the bisons at Bielowitza by crossing 

 them with animals originating in the Caucasus. 



This capture of the young Caucasian bison proves, however, how 

 readily the animal, in spite of its natural wildness, can be subdued 

 and tamed. Experience has also often confirmed this fact and 

 recently attempts have been made in Russia to cross the Lithuanian 

 bisons with domestic cattle. We have good reason to count on the 

 success of this experiment, as crossings between the American bison 

 and domestic cattle have been attended with good results. Exjieri- 

 ments of this kind have a very great interest."^ 



a In a paper published iu 1906 (see footnote on p. 351) M. Mertens, director 

 of the museum at Magdeburg, has collected all the known data concerning the 

 wild cattle of Europe, citing the bibliography, giving a summary of the papers, 

 and commenting on the results. He concludes that the name auroclis has 

 been erroneously applied to the bison. In the middle of the sixteenth century 

 the two species of animals were seen living together in the forests of Poland ; 

 in 1564 there was known to be in the forests of Jaktorowka a herd of 30 

 aurochs, which was reduced to 24 in 1599, to 4 in 1602, and to a single female 

 in 1620. Some individuals lived in captivity up to 1627. The aurochs must 

 have been black, or very dark, with a gray variety in Poland and a red one in 

 Germany. 



M. Mahoudeau (loc. cit.) adds that it is not always easy to differentiate 

 the bones of the two species, but that no confusion is possble with the living 

 animals. 



SM 1906 23 



