CnAr. L] BUFFALOES. 155 



labour of the rice lands, the villagers are much annoyed 

 by the wild ones, that mingle with the tame when 

 sent out to the woods to pasture; and it constantly 

 happens that a savage stranger, placing himself at the 

 head of the tame herd, resists the attempts of the 

 owners to drive them homewards at sunset. In the 

 districts of Putlam and the Seven Corles, buffaloes 

 are generally used for draught; and in carrying heavy 

 loads of salrtrom the coast towards the interior, they 

 drag a cart over roads which would defy the weaker 

 strength of bullocks. 



In one place between Batticaloa and Trincomalie 

 I found the natives making an ingenious use of 

 them when engaged in shooting water-fowl in the 

 vast salt marshes and muddy lakes. Being an object 

 to which the birds are accustomed, the Singhalese 

 train the buffalo to the sport, and, concealed behind, 

 the animal browsing listlessly along, they guide it by 

 ropes attached to its horns, and thus creep undiscovered 

 within shot of the flock. The same practice prevails, I 

 believe, in some of the northern parts of India, where 

 they are similarly trained to assist the sportsman in ap- 

 proaching deer. One of these " sporting buffaloes " sells 

 for a considerable sum. 



The buffalo, like the elk, is sometimes found in Ceylon 

 as an albino, with purely white hair and a pink iris. 

 There is a peculiarity in the formation of its foot, 

 which, though it must have attracted attention, I have 

 never seen mentioned by naturalists. It is equiva- 

 lent to the arrangement which distinguishes the foot of 

 the reindeer from that of the stag and the antelope. 

 In the latter, the hoofs, being constructed for lightness 

 and flight, are compact and vertical; but, in the rein- 

 deer, the joints of the tarsal bones admit of lateral 

 expansion, and the front hoofs curve upwards, while 

 the two secondary ones behind (which are but slightly 

 developed in the fallow deer and others of the 

 same family) are prolonged till, in certain positions, 



