BOS. 



553 



word BISON, of one of the groups, or subgcnera, into 

 which the genus is divided. That group, however, 

 in its two existing species, as there described, has 

 always belonged to wild nature ; and though the flesh 

 is esteemed, and the skin i< valuable, as is the case 

 with all the riuninantia, and with this genus of them 

 in an especial and pre-eminent manner, the bisons 

 have always been creatures of free nature, the 

 strength of whose necks has not been subjected to 

 the yoke, nor have they been trained, except in a 

 very partial manner, to obey the voice of man as 

 their master. But the two groups which remain to 

 be noticed, and to a brief account of which we shall 

 devote the present article, have been domesticated. 



The characters of the genus have their average or 

 typical representation in the common ox, with which 

 every one is familiar. The skull in all the species 

 of this genus is strong in the anterior and upper part, 

 with the front convex, flat, or concave ; the horns 

 are circular in their section, but variously formed and 

 of different sizes in the different species. They are 

 produced upon cores of bone, which are always more 

 or less porous, and said in some of the races to 

 communicate with the nostrils, through duplicates of 

 the frontal bones. The true horn consists of a 

 sheath produced upon this core, which receives a new 

 layer on the inside every year. It is naturally 

 smooth, but as the animals advance in size, the 

 markings of the different layers toward the root of 

 the horn give it a slightly annulated appearance. 

 The horn is produced from the epidermis of the 

 forehead, and not from the bony cone ; only the last 

 produced layer is attached to the epidermis ; and if 

 the horn is accidentally broken off it is not produced. 

 The muzzle is broad and square, or appears trun- 

 cated, and it is usually of a black colour ; but the 

 colour of the tongue and inside of the mouth varies. 

 The ears are of considerable length, and project from 

 the head. The body is rather long, but at the same 

 time stout; the legs are stout; and the hoofs broader 

 in proportion than those of the other two-hoofed 

 ruminantia. Most of the species are gregarious, and 

 some of them naturally congregate in large herds. 

 The males, especially in the more gregarious species, 

 fight desperate battles of gallantry ; arid in the pairing 

 season, they are very pugnacious. They show their 

 hostile disposition by tearing up the earth with their 

 horns, and scraping and pawing it with their feet ; at 

 these times they bellow with a deep and hollow 

 sound ; but when the males attempt to low, their 

 voices generally fail, as if they were hoarse. The 

 voices of the females are more shrill ; but they are 

 not heard at so great distances as the deep bellowing 

 of the males. When the passions of the males are 

 excited, their eves have a glaring and fiery lustre ; 

 and their passions are apt to be excited by circum- 

 stances which do not affect other animals. Blood 

 spilt on the ground excites them very much ; and so 

 does any tiling which is of a red and glaring colour. 

 The young of all the species may be, to a certain 

 extent, tamed ; and some of them will even follow 

 the hunters by whom the mothers have been killed, 

 but the males of none of them can be said to be 

 reduced to a state of great obedience, especially at 

 that, season when they are under sexual influence. 



Generally speaking, they are inhabitants of the 

 plains, and of plains where vegetation is moderately 

 rich ; and as they are heavier in the body, they are 

 less fleet and discursive than the other ruminantia. 



They subsist chiefly upon green vegetable matter ; 

 the grasses, some leguminous plants, and the leaves of 

 various deciduous trees, but they are not so fond of 

 the latter as some of the other genera of the order. 

 Their mode of eating differs from that of all other 

 grazing animals. They do not nibble, but bite rather 

 slowly ; and as their upper lip is not prehensile, they 

 use a peculiar licking motion with the tongue to 

 gather in the grass which is divided by the bite. 

 None of the genus are carnivorous ; but they gnaw 

 bones and other hard substances, and it is said that 

 in some places the domesticated ones can be made to 

 eat fish. Though there are considerable differences 

 of appearance, habit, and geographical locality, in 

 the various groups and species of which the genus is 

 composed, it is understood that all, or nearly all, may 

 be made to intermix in breeding. 



The domesticated ones are remarkably yielding to 

 circumstances, and readily take a very distinctly 

 marked character, from differences of climate, pasture, 

 and treatment. This plastic nature is of great advan- 

 tage to those by whom they are reared, as it enables 

 them, by crossing the breed of one place with that 

 of another, to improve any particular quality that 

 they may desire, such as size and strength, if they 

 are intended for labour ; superior quantity or quality 

 of milk, if for the dairy ; and facility of i'attening and 

 flavour of flesh, if intended for food. 



With the exception of the single species of bison 

 mentioned in a former article, there is no evidence of 

 any of the genus having at any period inhabited the 

 American continent ; and there are no vestiges even 

 of that species in South America. This, however, is 

 not owing to any want of adaptation in the climate, 

 or the spontaneous productions of that country, to the 

 habits of the animals ; for those which were intro- 

 duced by the European colonists have multiplied 

 to an extent unknown in any other part of the world, 

 so much so, indeed, that they are often captured for 

 the skins only, and the flesh left to feed the vultures. 



On the eastern continent, the native races in the 

 wild state, have in all probability very much declined, 

 though from the confusion which long prevailed of 

 one group with another, their progressive history is 

 not the most satisfactory. Fossil bones of all the 

 groups are, however, met with ; and some of them in 

 deposits which we must suppose to have been formed 

 long before the existence of any historic records of 

 the places where they are found. Besides the bison, 

 as already noticed, the groups are the common ox 

 and the buffalo. 



THE Ox GROUP. Of all the genus these have been 

 the most celebrated ; and they are, in all probability, 

 the first animals which man brought into a state of 

 domestication. They are understood to have been 

 originally natives of the middle latitudes, the plains 

 by those rivers of central Asia, the banks of which 

 are now, in many places, encroached upon by the 

 deserts. This original locality of the group is interred 

 from its favourite pastures, rather than from any 

 peculiar climatal adaptation ; for, in consequence 

 of that obedience to climate to which allusion has 

 been made, the ox can bear a greater range of lati- 

 tude than most animals ; and it thrives as well in 

 those which are rather high, and also in places, such 

 as Australia, where there is not a vestige of any of the 

 genus ever being native, as in the places where the 

 bones are found in fossil state. It would be vain 

 however, to attempt tracing the history of this 



