BUFFALO 



981 



BUFFALO 



thoroughly-adequate system of street railways 

 within its own boundaries. In its schools and 

 other educational institutions it is most pro- 

 gressive, and many Northern cities might take 

 lessons from its careful supervision of the city 

 hygiene. But it is in its commerce that the 

 city shows most clearly its up-to-date charac- 

 ter, for it is the second port in America, only 

 New York carrying on a larger foreign trade. 

 Its imports, consisting largely of manufactured 

 goods, amount in normal times to almost 

 $1,000,000 daily, and its exports of grain, wool, 

 live stock and cattle products slightly exceed 

 that sum. Most of the trade has always been 

 with Europe, but of late years that with the 

 United States has been increasing steadily. 



History. Attempts were made in 1535 and 

 in 1542 to found a Spanish colony on the site 

 of Buenos Aires, but without success ; the pres- 

 ent city dates from 1580. Its growth, though 



buffalo is of an ashy-black color, frequently 

 with white feet. The horns are triangular and 

 covered with wrinkles that run around them; 

 they curve outward and backward. This buf- 

 falo is smaller than the African buffalo, but 

 larger than the domestic ox, the carabao or 

 water buffalo of the Philippines; the latter is 

 a smaller variety of the same species. The 

 Indian buffalo has long been used in the rice 

 fields of Asia, and is now found in Egypt and 

 several countries of Southern Europe. The 

 hide is tough and thick and makes excellent 

 leather. The milk of the cow is excellent for 

 food, and is used in India for making a sort 

 of fluid butter. 



The African, or Cape, buffalo is found 

 throughout the southern part of Africa, and is 

 the largest and fiercest buffalo known. The 

 color is black; the horns are short, and they 

 unite on the forehead, forming a sort of hel- 



AMERICAN BISON 



slow, was steady, and its importance as a port 

 was such as to lead to its choice in 1776 as the 

 capital of the province of Rio de la Plata. 

 Having discovered their strength by defeating 

 in 1806 and 1807 attempts of the English to 

 seize the colony, the people in 1810 declared 

 their independence from Spain. From 1851 to 

 1859 Buenos Aires, with the province of the 

 same name, was a separate state, but the dif- 

 ficulties which had led to its secession were 

 finally adjusted, and in 1880 the city was made 

 the capital of the republic. Since that time 

 its history has been one of steady growth, for 

 it has suffered but little from the revolutions 

 which have prevented progress in most South 

 American states. H.M.S. 



For books relating to the city see list at end 

 of the article ARGENTINA. 



BUFFALO, buf'alo, the name given to sev- 

 eral species of wild ox, the best known of 

 which is the common black buffalo of India, 

 now found domesticated in nearly all the 

 warmer countries of Asia and Africa. This 



WATER BUFFALO 



met. A smaller species having a brown color 

 is found in the Congo region. 



American Buffalo, or Bison. The bison, or 

 American buffalo, is not a buffalo at all from 

 the viewpoint of the zoologist, because the 

 structure of this animal does not correspond 

 to that of the buffalo. For instance, the buf- 

 falo has thirteen ribs and the bison fourteen; 

 the shoulders, head and neck of the bison are 

 much heavier, and the withers are much lighter 

 in proportion than the corresponding parts in 

 the buffalo. Nevertheless, the bison has been 

 called a buffalo for so many years that it is now 

 commonly known by this name. 



The American buffalo is of a dark, reddish- 

 brown color, and the head, neck and shoulders 

 of the male are covered with a thick growth 

 of coarse hair which in some instances is al- 

 most black. This hair forms a great beard on 

 the throat and chin. The head is very large 

 and is carried low. A full-grown bull is about 

 six feet high at the shoulders and when in good 

 flesh will weigh about 2,000 pounds. 



