WILD SPECIES 



LIVE STOCK 



Cattle-breeding 



They are powerful draught animals, and tho milk is exceptionally rich in 



hull. : 



B. grunnlens, Linn. , IMuntOnl, I.e. 490; Turner, Ace. Emb. to Tibet, 1800, 



t. x. (from a, picture I..-I. .11-111- ! Warren Hastings) ; Vigne, Travels, etc., 



u.. 277; Hotli.ieisier. 7V</ /v/,< in ('<>,,t. //<,/., Isis, IJtii'. ;{7 |. Th.- Yak or 



( iriuitiiiL; <>\, iU>n</, bruni/ ilong, ban-chowr (tho wild): yak, pi-ifu, chour-gau, 



koUUM (tho domestic aniiiiul). 



In its wild slat.' it inliuliits tho coldest mid most de,,.Utn tracts of thn 

 Himalaya being found at a greater elevation thun tiny other mammal. Jt id 

 durk hrowii. almost black, with the exception of the muzzle, head and neck, 

 uhi'h are often grey. In domestication it becomes smaller and variable in 

 colour, lieiim ,.11. u puro white or piebald. Mention is made of tho qat<u or 

 ' litx'tan \ak " iu the Ain-i-Akbari (151)0, Jarrett, tranal., iii., 121). It is kept 

 liy tho Tibetans and various other tribes that inhabit the higher regions, on ac- 

 count of its being a sure-footed pack animal. The flesh is said to be rich, juicy 

 mid delicately flavoured. The milk is exceptionally rich (considerably richer 



Jat of the cow), and much of the food of the people consists of curd either 

 r dried and powdered into a kind of meal. The white tails constitute the 

 (My-llaps) sold all over India. Tho hair is woven into cloth and ropes, 

 the wealth of tho people of Eastern Tibet consists in their flocks of yaks. 

 Tho horns are made into cups and other objects of domestic use and ornament. 

 Hut the yak l>reods freely with domestic cattle. One was sent to England by 

 U'.irron Hastings, which lived for some years and became the sire of many cross- 

 calves, only one of which lived and was successfully crossed by an Indian 

 A cross is common on the North- West Himalaya and is known as the dhzo, 

 etc. ; it is fertile and in some localities preferred to the pure yak. 

 Other Species. Three other animals belonging to this genus may be here men- 

 led, but, as scarcely of economic value, need only be exhibited very briefly : 

 (a) B. frontalis, Lamb. / Blanford, I.e. 487-9 ; the Mithan or Gayal of Assam, 

 u'pur, Naga hills, Chittagong and Burma. Said to be partly domesticated 

 the Kukis. 



(6) B. gaurus, Ham ; Blanford, I.e. 484-7 ; the Qaur or Indian Bison of the hilly 

 sts of the Indian Peninsula, Assam, Burma and the Malay Peninsula, as- 

 cending to altitudes of about 6,000 feet. It has occasionally been tamed by the 

 people on the hill tracts between Assam and Burma, but has never, strictly 

 speaking, been domesticated. The horns are in great demand for ornamental 

 work. (See Horn, p. <J4(>.) 



(c) B. sondaicus, Muller & Schley. ; Blanford, I.e. 489-90. The Banting, 

 id in Burma and the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Java and Bali. It has 



more or less domesticated in Java and perhaps elsewhere. 

 CATTLE AND CATTLE-BREEDING. 1\\ Europe cattle may be 

 id to be reared for milk and meat, but in India their chief value 

 as beasts of burden. Horses are all but unknown in Indian 

 riculture, the bullock being very nearly exclusively used for tillage 

 id transport. Occasionally camels are so employed and buffaloes are 

 jjhly valued for their milk, though they are too slow to be much in 

 land for agricultural operations. 



There are many breeds of indigenous cattle. Nearly all the pure 

 -ks are of one colour white or grey. In areas where little attention 

 is paid to the subject, mixed colours or piebald cattle are not infrequent. 

 ;>t in the north-east of Madras, all Indian cattle are horned. The 

 hump is prominent, and more highly developed in some breeds. 

 Bullocks which are suited for slow and heavy work have usually 

 ive heads, long pendulous ears, thick short necks, coarse leg-bones, 

 big feet, much loose skin on the neck, dewlap and sheath, and no particular 

 In Kip in the hind quarters. Those best suited for quick work have 

 clean ho;uls. fiery tempers, short erect ears, thin necks, compact rounded 

 bodies, small hard feet, a very decided droop in the hind quarters, and 

 little or no loose skin on the neck, dewlap and sheath. Indian oxen, it 

 may thus be observed, are distinguished collectively from the breeds of 



733 



Yak. 



Wild Alpine 



Milk. 



Chowrit. 

 Hybrids. 



Mithan. 

 Bison. 



Banting. 



Cattle- 

 breeding. 



Pure 

 Breeds. 



Heavy Workers. 



Quick Workers. 



