174 



THE OX TRIBE. 



1st. That the Cape Buffalo is nine feet from nose to 

 ROOT of tail. 



2d. That the Gaur is twelve feet long to the END of 

 tail. 



3d. That the Aurochs is ten feet three inches from nose 

 to tail. 



4th. That the Domestic Buffalo is eight feet six inches 

 long, without mentioning either nose or tail. 



In none of these cases can we be even proximately 

 certain of the length of the animal. 



In the first instance we may err to the amount of the 

 length of the head ; as it is not stated whether the measure 

 was taken when the head was extended in a line with the 

 back, or in a position at right angles with the back, or in 

 any intermediate position. 



The following outline will illustrate this : 



It is obvious that the length of a line from the nose to 

 the tail will vary according to the different positions of 

 the head of the animal. 



In the second instance (taking it for granted that the 

 measure was taken from the nose), the same difficulty 

 exists with respect to the head, and another difficulty 

 presents itself in our being left to guess the length of the 

 tail, which might be eighteen inches, or it might be four 

 feet. 



