BOS, 



marshy forests of Poland, the Carpathian 

 mountains, and Lithuania. Its chief Asi- 

 atic residence is the neighbourhood of 

 Mount Caucasus ; but it is also found in 

 other parts of the Asiatic world. 



The common ox is, in reality, the bi- 

 son reduced to a domestic state ; in 

 which, in different parts of the world, it 

 runs into as many varieties as the sheep ; 

 differing widely in size, form, and colour, 

 according to climate and other circum- 

 stances. Its importance in this its domes- 

 tic state needs not be mentioned. For- 

 merly the ox constituted the whole rich- 

 es of mankind ; and he is still the basis 

 of the wealth of nations, which subsist 

 and flourish in proportion to the cultiva- 

 tion of their lands and the number of their 

 cattle. 



B. Americanus. Horns round, distant 

 at the base, short, black, and pointing out- 

 wards ; mane long, woolly ; gibbosity of 

 the back large and fleshy; neck thick; 

 hind-parts slender; tail a foot long, tuft- 

 ed at the end ; hair of the head and 

 bunch long, woolly, waving, rusty brown. 

 It grows to a vast size, and has been 

 found to weigh sixteen hundred, and 

 even two thousand four hundred pounds ; 

 the strongest man cannot lift one of the 

 skins from the ground. These were the 

 only animals which bore any affinity to 

 the European cattle, on the first discove- 

 ry of the American continent, and might 

 have been made to answer every purpose 

 of the European cow ; but the natives be- 

 ing in a savage state, and living chiefly 

 by chase, had never attempted the do- 

 mestication of the animal. 



The Urus, or wild bull, is a variety of 

 the ox kind, and is chiefly to be met with 

 in the extensive forests of Lithuania. It 

 grows to a size almost equal to the ele- 

 phant, and is quite black ; the eyes are 

 red and fiery, the horns thick and short, 

 and the forehead covered with a quantity 

 of curled hair; the neck is short and 

 strong, and .the skin has an odour of 

 musk. The female, though not so big as 

 the male, exceeds the largest of our bulls 

 in size : nevertheless her udder is ex- 

 tremely small. Upon the whole, how- 

 ever, this animal, which greatly resem- 

 bles those of the tame kind, probably 

 owes its variety to its natural wildness, 

 and the richness of the pastures where it 

 is produced. Fig. 1. 



The Zebu is another variety of the Bos 

 Taurus. They arc: all equally docile and 

 gentle when tamed, and are in general 

 covered with fine glossy hair, softer and 

 more beautiful than that of the common 

 cow. Their humps are of different sizes, 



in some weighing from forty to fifty 

 pounds, but in others less. That part is 

 in general considered as a great delicacy, 

 and when dressed has much the appear- 

 ance and taste of udder. Fig. 3. 



The Bisons of Madagascar and Malabar 

 are of the great kind ; those of Arabia 

 Petrea, and most parts of Africa, are of 

 the Zebu or small kind. In America, es- 

 pecially towards the north, the American 

 ox is well known. They herd together 

 in droves of from one or two hundred to 

 eight or ten thousand, on the banks of the 

 Mississippi and Missouri, where the in- 

 habitants hunt them, their flesh being 

 esteemed good eating. They all breed 

 with the tame cow. 



The oxen of India are of different sizes, 

 and are made use of in travelling, as sub- 

 stitutes for horses. Their common pace 

 is soft. Instead of a bit, a small cord is 

 passed through the cartilage of the nos- 

 trils, which is tied to a larger cord, and 

 serves as a bridle. They are saddled like 

 horses ; and, when pushed, move very 

 briskly : they are likewise used in draw- 

 ing chariots and carts. For the former 

 purpose white oxen are in great esteem, 

 and much admired. They will perform 

 journiesof sixty days, at the rate of from 

 twelve to fifteen leagues a day, and their 

 travelling pace is generally a trot. In 

 Persiathere are many oxen entirely white, 

 with small blunt horns, and humps on their 

 backs. They are very strong, and carry 

 heavy burthens. When about to be load- 

 ed, they drop down on their knees like 

 the camel, and rise when their burthens 

 are properly fastened. 



Bos babylus, or buffalo, ox with horns 

 lying backwards, turning inwards, and 

 flat on the fore part. In its general ap- 

 pearance, the buffalo is so nearly allied 

 to the common ox, that, without an at- 

 tentive examination, it might pass for a 

 variety of the same animal. It differs, 

 however, in the form of its horns, and in 

 some particulars relative to its internal 

 structure. The buffalo is rather superior 

 in size to the common ox ; the head larger 

 in proportion ; the forehead higher ; 

 the muzzle of a longer form, but at the 

 same time broad and square : but it is 

 principally the form of the horns that 

 distinguishes the buffalo. They are large, 

 and of a compressed or depressed form, 

 with the exterior edge sharp. The buf- 

 falo has an appearance of great strength, 

 and a more ferocious or malignant aspect 

 than the bull, owing to the convexity of 

 his forehead, the smallness of his eyes, 

 the flatness of his muzzle, and the flatter 

 and more inclined position of his horns. 



