42 JOURNAL, BOMB A Y NA TUBAL LIFSTORY SOCIETY, Vol. X. 



tively smooth. They are rather thicker iu reality than they are 

 drawn on the plate. 



No. 1 in plate C was a herd bull, and the only old bull I ever shot 

 with horns so nearly approaching a circle. 



No. 2 in plate C is a very common type of a solitary bull's head. 

 This one when first seen by me was with a herd. When disturbed, 

 but not fired at, he left the herd and went off by himself. 



No. 3 in plate is a common shape for a young bull's head. This 

 one was an old bull and the horns are very thick ones — the width of 

 the horn at the base is 8 inches and 23 inches in circumference. The 

 horns grow very close to each other at the base, the distance between 

 the horns at the top of the skull being only 4 inches, the normal dis- 

 tance at that spot being 7 to 8 inches. He was in a herd. 



The plates B and C do not sufficiently bring out the deep and rug- 

 ged indentations on the horns which are characteristic of an old head . 

 They are well shown on plate A. 



The horns of the cow-buffalo do not vary so much in shape as those 

 of bulls. The majority even of old cows resemble in shape No. 1 on 

 plate C, though they are very much thinner. Occasionally one sees a 

 cow with a fine length of horn when the shape is not unlike that of 

 No. 2 on plate B, the horns however curving in more, I never fired at 

 cows when I could help it after I had got two good cows' hesidsj but I 

 am certain that, as a rule, in the Central Provinces the cow's horns are 

 not so long as the bull's. The longest cow's horns I have measure in 

 length 4 feet 2 inches. The longest cow's horns I ever saw are a pair 

 in the museum at Marseilles, which measure 5 feet 3 inches. I think 

 (if there are two varieties of wild buffalo) that the opinion of Forsyth 

 that only the spiral variety is found in the Central Provinces is erro- 

 neous. The horns there vary much in shape ; the animals bearing them 

 are found in the' same herds ; and beyond the shape of the horns there 

 is no difference observable 1 am inclined to think that there are not 

 two varieties of wild buffalo if such variation is based, as appears to be 

 the case, on difference in shape of horn. Jerdon says that the horns 

 of the spiral variety are rarely much more than three feet in length. 



In the Central Provinces horns of four feet, or an inch or two over, 

 are quite common. I have shot several just under or just over four feet. 

 Old rugged heads, like that of No. 2 on plate C, are about 3| feot. 



