THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 241 



the qualities which evidently commend themselves to our 

 use. The flesh of this species is quite as good as that of 

 the wild bulls of the genus Bos, and the hides have a peculiar 

 value on account of their somewhat woolly character. There 

 is reason to believe that, bred in the region of the hish 

 north, about Lake Saskatchewan for instance, with proper 

 selection this hairy covering could be developed much as 

 has the wool on the sheep. This is indicated by the con- 

 siderable variations in the quality of the coat which go to 

 show that the feature is still in a very plastic state, a state 

 that may be said to invite the assistance of man in order 

 to bring it to the full measure of its possibilities. If this 

 covering could be developed, the result would be to give 

 us a domesticated beast of large size with a hairy covering 

 having the character of a fur ; such would be a great addition 

 to our resources. 



As there is a large extent of country in the high latitudes 

 of North America, Asia, and South America, where the 

 climate is too severe and the herbage too scanty to serve 

 the needs of our ordinary cattle, in which a hardy feeder 

 with a well-clad body such as the buffalo might do well, it 

 seems most desirable to essay the experiment of domesticat- 

 ing the bison before it is too late, before the brutal instincts 

 of our kind have quite made an end of the noblest animal 

 which is native in the Americas. 



There is another inhabitant of the higrh north of this 

 continent which deserves the notice of those who are dis- 

 posed to attend to the questions concerning the extension 

 of man's control over nature ; this is the ovibos or musk-ox. 

 Like the buffalo, only in much higher measure, this singular 



creature is fit for very cold countries ; his fitness being in 



16 



