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218 



THE AMEEICAJS" BISOIS^S 



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the haltblood or common cow. The hump, brisket, ribs, and tongue of the 

 full and half-blooded are preferable to those of the common beef, but the 

 round and other parts are much inferior. The udder or bag of the buffalo is 

 smaller than that of the common cow, but I have allowed the calves of bo 

 to run with their dams upon the same pasture, and those of the buffalo were 

 always the fattest ; and old hunters have told me that when a young buffalo 

 calf is taken, it requires the milk of two cows to raise it. Of this 1 have no 



having received the same information from hunters of the greatest 

 veracity. The bag or udder of the half-breed is larger than that of full- 

 blooded animals, and they would, I have no doubt, make good milkers. 



" The wool of the wild buffalo grows on their descendants when domesti- 

 cated, but I think they have less of wool than their progenitors. The 

 domesticated buffalo still retains the grmit of the wild animal, and is in- 

 capable of making any other noise, and they will observe the habit of having 

 select places within their feeding-grounds to wallow in. 



"The buffalo has a much deeper shoulder than the tame ox, but is lighter 

 behind. He walks more actively than the latter, and I think has more 

 strength than a common ox of the same weight. I have broken them to 

 the yoke, and found them capable of making excellent oxen • and for draw- 

 ing wagons, carts, or other heavily laden vehicles on long journeys, they 

 would, I think, be greatly preferable to the common ox. I have as yet had 

 no opportunity of testing the longevity of the buffalo, as all mine that have 

 died did so from accident, or were killed because they became aged. I have 

 some cows that are nearly twenty years old, that are healthy and vigorous, 

 and one of them has now a suckin^; calf. 



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The young buffalo calf is of a sandy red or rufous color, and commences 



old, which last color it always 



changing dark brown at about six months 



retains. The mixed breeds are of various colors; I have had them striped 

 with black, on a gray ground, like the zebra, some of them brindled red, 

 some pure red with white faces, and others red without any markings of 

 white. The mixed bloods have not only produced in my stock from the 



tame and the buffalo bull, but I have seen the half-bloods reproducing, viz., 

 those that were the product of the common cow and wild buffalo bull. I 



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was informed that, at the first settlement of the country, cows that were 

 considered best for milking were from the half-blood, down to the quarter, 

 and even eighth, of the buffalo blood. But my experiments have not satis- 



fied me that the half-buffalo bull will produce again. That the half-breed 





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