ORDEU Vlir. THE RUMINAXTIA. olo 



in lengtli. Tlie forclieail is convex, and the horns are short and pointed. 

 "A remnant of these animals," says Professor Yon Jaroclii, "is still pre- 

 served in a wild state in the forest of Biolowiza in Poland. They live in 

 herds, each family keeping constantly in the same district of forest, near 

 some stream or river. They continue to grow for six years, and may live 

 till forty. At times they are extremely sporti\c, thrusting their horns into 

 the ground near young trees, and ploughing round till they root them up." 



Jjos iS>/l/ief(ti/us. Bison I'^ijlhetanus of F. Cuvier. — Tiie Sylhct Ox. 

 M. Alfred Duvancel discovered this animal in the mountains of Sylhct. 

 The hump on the shoulders is a slight fatty eminence, extending to the mid- 

 dle of the back. All tliis part is covered with a grayish woolly lu'.ir, cov- 

 ering the buck of the neck and front. These animals never descend to the 

 j^lains, and delight to range in the thick forests, feeding on the tender shoots, 

 and rarely eating grass. Xeither do they affect the water. They soon 

 become domesticated, and their milk is said to be abundant and rich. The 

 Hindoos regard them with great veneration, and employ them in their reli- 

 gious ceremonies. 



Bos GnDuiiens. — The Yak. This animal is found in " the range of 

 mountains which separates Thibet from Pootan, living in the wooded val- 

 leys, and often making excursions to the limits of the snow line." The' 

 yaks are of various size ; some of them have the hum[), while others are 

 without it. They are nearly black ; but the hair on the tail and hump, 

 and the mane, is quite white. The tails are of extraordinary length, and are 

 composed of a mass of long, fine, and silky hair. They are used by the 

 aristocracy of the east as fly-whippers. The Chinese dye them of a beauti- 

 ful red, and wear them as tufts to their sunmier bonnets. 



The yak is domesticated, and, being extremely docile an<l sure-footed, is 

 usefully employed in carrying burdens. It is never used for tillage or 

 draught. Like the bulfalo, it is fond of water, especially when it is icy 

 cold, but sometimes continues his ablutions too long, and is caught fast by 

 the frost. jM. Hue, in his travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China, while 

 traversing a mountain region in the Isaiden ilongol country, witnessed the 

 strange spectacle of a herd of yaks frozen in the stream which they had 

 attempted to cross. The ice was so transparent that they looked as if still 

 swimming; but the eagles and ravens had picked out their eyes. 



Bos Indicus. — The Indian Ox, or Zebu. The Zelni varies in size from 

 a common mastiff to a large bull. The horns are irregular, some having 

 them, others arc hornless, while some have horns without any central core, 

 attaclicd only to the skin, and hanging loose. Some varieties have a fotty 

 hump on the shoulders, often weighing fifty pounds, while another variety 

 is furnished with two. They have all the docility and mildness of temper 



VOL. VIII. 40 



