THE BUFFALO AND HIS FATE. 157 



yield a fleece of wool equal in quality to that of the sheep ; 

 but no persistent attempts have yet been made to utilize it 

 by domestication. That the buffalo-calf may be easily rear- 

 ed and thoroughly tamed has been conclusively proved, 

 but little attention has been paid to their reproduction in 

 confinement, or to training them to labor. During the last 

 century they were domesticated in various parts of the 

 colonies, and interbred with domestic cows, producing a 

 half-breed race which is fertile, and which readily amalga- 

 mates with the domestic cattle. The half-breeds are large, 

 fine animals, possessing most of the characteristics of their 

 wild parentage. They can be broken to the yoke, but are 

 not so sober and manageable in their work as the tame 

 breed sometimes, for instance, making a dash for the near- 

 est water, with disastrous results to the load they are draw- 

 ing. It is somewhat difficult, also, to build a fence which 

 shall resist the destructive strength of their head and horns. 

 But the efforts at taming buffaloes have not been many, or 

 seriously carried on, and no attempt appears to have been 

 made to perpetuate an unmixed domestic race. Probably 

 after a few generations they would lose their natural un- 

 tractableness, arid when castrated would doubtless form su- 

 perior working-cattle, from their greater size, strength, and 

 natural agility. 



