RUMINANTIA. 115 



Bos, Lin. 



The horns of the Ox are directed laterally, inclining upwards or forwards, 

 in the form of a crescent; it is a large animal, with a broad muzzle; short 

 and thick body, and stout legs. 



.B. taurus, L. (The Common Ox. ) Its specific characters are a flat fore- 

 head, longer than broad, and round horns, placed at the extremities of the 

 salient line or ridge which separates the forehead from the occiput. 



B. urus, Gm. (The Aurochs.) Generally, but erroneously, considered 

 as the wild stock of our horned cattle. It is distinguished from them by 

 its convex forehead, which is wider than it is high, by the insertion of its 

 horns below the occipital crest, by the length of its legs, by an additional 

 pair of ribs, by a sort of curly wool, which covers the head and neck of the 

 bull, forming 1 a short beard under the throat, and by its grunting voice. It 

 is a savage animal that has now taken refuge in the great marshy forests of 

 Lithuania, of the Krapacs and of Caucasus, but which formerly inhabited 

 all the temperate parts of Europe. It is the largest quadruped proper to 

 Europe. 



B. bison, L. (The Buffaloe or Bison of America. ) The bony head very 

 similar to that of the Aurochs, and covered like it, the neck and shoulders 

 also, with frizzled wool, which becomes very long in winter; its legs and 

 tail are shorter. Inhabits all the temperate parts of North America. 



B. bubalus, L. (The Buffalo.) Originally from India, and brought into 

 Egypt, Greece and Italy during the middle century; has a convex forehead 

 higher than wide, the horns directed sideways, and marked in front by a 

 longitudinal ridge. This animal is subdued with difficulty, but is extremely 

 powerful, and prefers the marshy grounds, and coarse plants on which the 

 Ox could not live. Its milk is good, and the hide veiy strong, but the flesh 

 is not esteemed. 



There is a race of them hi India, whose horns include a space often feet 

 from tip to tip : it is called Ami in Hindostan. 



B. grunniens, Pall. (The Yack.) A small species, with the tail com- 

 pletely covered with long hairs like that of the Horse, and a long mane on 

 the back. This animal, of which JElian has spoken, is originally from the 

 mountains of Thibet. Its tail constitutes the standards still used by the 

 Turks to distinguish the superior officers. 



B. moschatus, Gm. (The Musk Ox of America.) The horns approxi- 

 mated and similarly directed, but meeting on the forehead in a straight line; 

 those of the female are smaller and more widely separated; the forehead is- 

 convex, and the end of the muzzle furnished with hairs. 



