144 FRIENDS WORTH KNOWING. 



third of North America, all are familiar. The male meas- 

 ures about nine feet from the muzzle to the insertion of 

 the tail ; the female about six and a half feet. The height 

 to the top of the hump of the male is five and a half to six 

 feet, and of the female about five feet, sloping in each case 

 to a height at the hips of four and a half to four feet. The 

 weight of the old males is nearly two thousand pounds, 

 while the cows weigh one thousand to twelve hundred 

 pounds. The horns are short, thick at the base, curved, 

 and sharply pointed ; the hoofs are short and broad ; the 

 short tail ends in a tuft of long hairs. In winter the head 

 and whole under parts are blackish brown ; the upper sur- 

 face lighter, fading as spring advances. Young animals 

 are of a darker, richer brown than the old ones, age bleach- 

 f ing the thick masses of long, woolly hair, which falls so 

 abundantly over the shoulders and face, to a light yellow- 

 ish-brown. In the spring the hinder parts are almost naked 

 through the moulting of the hair, while that upon the shag- 

 gy fore parts remains permanently. Pied coats are occa- 

 sionally met, and examination and measurements of skulls 

 and skeletons show much individual variation in form and 

 proportions. 



As is well known, the buffalo is pre-eminently gregarious 

 herds numbering millions of individuals, and blackening 



