598 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



burden and as supplying food. The parent stock of our nu- 

 merous breeds of cattle is not known with absolute certainty ; 

 the nearest approach to British Wild Cattle being a celebrated 

 breed which is still preserved in one or two places. These 

 " Chiliingham Cattle " are a fine wild breed, which at one time 

 doubtless existed over a considerable part of Britain. They 

 are pure white, with a black muzzle, the horns white, tipped 

 with black. Though degenerate in point of size, the Chilling- 

 ham Cattle are doubtless the descendants of the " mountain- 

 bull" or ' ; Urus,' ; which existed in a wild state in Gaul at the 

 time of Caesar's invasion. The smaller breeds of European 

 Cattle appear to be descended from a now extinct species, the 

 " British Short-horn " (Bos longifrons). Another large Ox, which 

 formerly existed in Britain, and abounded over the whole of 

 Europe, is the Aurochs or Lithuanian Bison (JBos bison). The 

 Aurochs is of very large size, considerably exceeding the com- 

 mon Ox in bulk. It still occurs in the forests of the Caucasus 

 in a wild state, but it no longer occurs wild in Europe, if we 

 except a herd maintained by the Czar in one of the forests of 

 Lithuania. Nearly allied to the Aurochs is the American Bison 

 or Buifalo (Bison Americanns). This species formerly occurred 

 in innumerable herds in the prairies of North America, but it 

 has been gradually driven westwards, and has been much 

 reduced in numbers. It has an enormous head, a shaggy 

 mane, and a conical hump between the shoulders. Two other 

 very well known forms are the Cape Buffalo (Bubalus Coffer) 

 and the common Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). The former of 

 these occurs in southern and eastern Africa, and the latter is 

 domesticated in India and in many parts of the south of Asia. 

 The horns in both species are of large size, and their bases are 

 confluent, so that the forehead is protected by a bony plate 

 of considerable thickness. 



Amongst the more remarkable Asiatic Oxen may be men- 

 tioned the Zebu (Bos taurus, var. Indicus), distinguished by the 

 fatty hump over the withers at the back of the neck, and the 

 Yak (Bos grtmniens) of Thibet, remarkable for its long silky tail. 

 The " humped " Cattle of the East are almost certainly de- 

 scended from a stock different to that which has given origin 

 to the humpless races. They are known from Egyptian monu- 

 ments to have been domesticated at an extremely early period ; 

 but their wild form is unknown. 



The last of the Oxen which deserves notice is the curious 

 Musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus). This singular animal is at the 

 present day a native of Arctic America, and is remarkable for 

 the great length of the hair. It is called the Musk-ox, because 



