CLASS-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY. 51 



some straight-horned goats of Thibet and Cashmere have 

 under their long and coarse coats of hair, are manufac- 

 tured the costly shawls of those lands. 



5 178. The Rocky Mountain Goat (Capra montana) is of 

 the size of a sheep, and covered with long, soft, and white 

 hair, which, it is said, is as fine as the fleece of the An- 

 gora Goat. It is an inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains. 



\ 179. The Ox (Bos Taurus) has round horns, and a 

 tail terminating in a brush. The Ox is more useful than 

 the horse, for he not only works for us, but also furnishes 

 food, leather, and manure. Oxen are more profitable 

 for draught than horses, because their food and harness 

 are cheaper ; and should they be lamed or grow old, they 

 can be fattened and. delivered to the butcher. The thick- 

 ness of his neck, and broadness of his shoulders, point 

 him out as destined for the yoke ; he is, therefore, har- 

 nessed with a collar and worked like a horse. Cows and 

 Oxen are in their greatest vigor from three to nine years 

 of age, when they may be fattened. 



\ 180. The age of oxen or cows may easily be known 

 by the number of rings on the horns. At the age of 

 three years the horns are smooth and even : in the course 

 of the fourth year a circle forms around the base of the 

 horn, near the head. This is every year succeeded by 

 another. If, therefore, the first circle is considered as 

 three years, a cow or ox with five circles will be eight 

 years old. The essential point of economy in the keep- 

 ing of cows, is to make them give the greatest quantity 

 of milk, which can be effected by housing and feeding 

 them well during the six winter months, and by stall- 

 feeding during the summer. 



\ 181. The Bison or American Buffalo (Bos ameri- 

 canus) is distinguished by a beard beneath the lower 

 jaw, a long mane, and a hump on the back ; it is the 

 largest land-animal of the New World. The flesh of the 

 Bison is good food, his hide produces excellent leather, 

 and the wool may be used in the hat manufacture. 



§ 182. The Mask Ox (Bos moschatus) is much smaller 

 than the common ox, and covered with long blackish-brown 

 hair. It is found in the greatest numbers within the Arc- 



