THE BUFFALO OR BISON 141 



securing of the true cattalo — the offspring of parents both of which pos- 

 sess mixed blood — and the elimination of shy breeders, Mr. Boyd devel- 

 oped a herd of prolific animals. Abortions were frequent in the early 

 crosses, but this tendency, also, has been overcome in the cattalo, which 

 compares favourably with ordinary cattle in carrying the young to 

 maturity. 



The success of Mr. Boyd's work was, no doubt, assisted by a knowledge 

 of what others had accomplished. Knowing from the experience of others 

 that initial difficulties incident to these crosses could with persistence be 

 overcome, Mr. Boyd pursued his work with confidence and ultimately 

 reached a place that began to show the value of the new breed. After 

 his death, however, it was found that the estate could not further pursue 

 the experiment. From time to time during recent years, requests have 

 been made to the Department of Agriculture to undertake experiments 

 with these crosses, and when it was learned that the herd of the late 

 Mr. Boyd was Ukely to be distributed and the value of his work lost, 

 strong representations were made to the Minister of Agriculture to secure 

 the herd of cattalos and to continue the experiment along truly scientific 

 lines. 



The Honourable Mr. Burrell, therefore, had the herd thoroughly in- 

 vestigated by officials of the Experimental Farms, the Live Stock and the 

 Health of Animals branches, and on the results of their findings a selec- 

 tion from the herd was made. The selection consisted of twenty head 

 of the most promising individuals, made up of sixteen females and four 

 males. The females range in age from one to nine years, possess from 

 twenty-five to seventy-five per cent of buffalo blood, and weigh from five 

 hundred to seventeen hundred pounds. The males range from four to 

 nine years of age, carry from thirty-one to seventy-five per cent of buffalo 

 blood, and weigh from one thousand to two thousand pounds. They are 

 all regular breeders so far as they have been tried, and possess every in- 

 dication of vigour. 



It has long been recognized that the buffalo possesses qualities which 

 would be of value if transmitted to beef-producing animals, more par- 

 ticularly for ranging purposes for cold-ridden districts. From the ex- 

 periments of Mr. Boyd and others it appears that the excellent rustling 

 qualities of the buffalo are retained in the cattalo. During the blizzard 

 conditions the cattalo like the buffalo faces the storm rather than drifts 

 before it as is the tendency of domestic cattle. 



Furthermore, the cattalo shows excellent grazing qualities, maintain- 

 ing a plump body even on scant pastures. They carry a further resem- 

 blance to the buffalo in rising on their fore feet, which enables them to 

 rise when in a weakened condition. 



