200 SPOUTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



of the cow is rich and sweet, and yields more cream than 

 almost any of the farm -yard species. The hide of the 

 buffalo is also four times as valuable as that of the domes- 

 tic race, and, by careful feeding, the fur is made longer 

 and finer than it is when the animal runs wild. There is 

 no doubt that the buffalo can be made a most valuable 

 addition to our domestic animals, and it is rather a pity 

 that some persons do not try it, and keep it from totally 

 disappearing. 



I have heard that buffalo bulls associate freely with do- 

 mestic cows, and that their offspring is large and hardy, 

 that their flesh is excellent, that the females are good milk- 

 ers, and that they can be kept easily, as they are indiscrim- 

 inate feeders, and anything but dainty in palate. Whether 

 the cross would prove prolific is another question, but the 

 probability is that it would, by paying careful attention to 

 the laws of breeding. The cross is said to be very stub- 

 born, however; but this fault could, no doubt, be eradi- 

 cated without much trouble. 



If the buffalo of India can be made useful to man, there 

 is little doubt that its American congener also can ; hence 

 its domestication should be attempted by wealthy private 

 gentlemen, stock-raisers, and even small farmers, and they 

 would undoubtedly find their efforts crowned with suc- 

 cess. Any pasture will answer its purpose, for it will 

 thrive where any of the bovine species more dainty in 

 appetite than a Texas steer would starve; and as it asso- 

 ciates readily with the domestic species, it requires no un- 

 usual care. 



The favorite habitat of the animal in its wild state is a 

 rolling plain, where a short but very nutritious species of 

 the Gramince, known locally as the buffalo grass, grows in 

 profusion. This is the most pugnacious grass known, for 

 it will allow no rivals to intrude on its ground; but if 

 they do, they are soon crowded out of existence. Like 

 the bunch grass {Festucca scabrella), of which the buffalo 

 is also fond, it cures on the stalk, and so affords pabulum 

 to large numbers of quadrupeds throughout the year, for it 



