RUMINANTIA. 



143 



of Guinea, wliicli liave also long tails, are distinguislied by their long legs, very eonvei fo-eliead, pendent ears, 

 want of horns, and short coarse hair instead of wool. The Sheep of Northern Euiope and Asia are mostly of small 

 Bize, witlt a very short tail, [the truth being, that this appendage is merely cut short by the shepherds soon after 

 liirthl. Those of Persia, Tartary, and China, have the tail completely transformed into a double globe of fat. 

 The Syrian and Barbary Sheep retain, long tails, ivliich are loaded with a vast mass of fat. In both the latter 

 varieties, the ears are pendent, the horns large in the Rams and middle-sized in the Ewes and Wethers, and the 

 vool is intermi.xed with hair. 



Sheep are valuable for their flesh, suet, milk, skin, wool, and manure; the flocks, well managed, proving every- 

 where a source of fertility. The Lamb is weaned at two months, and sheds its milk teeth from the tirst to the 

 third year. The Ewe propagates at one year, and is prolific for ten or twelve; its period of gestation is five 

 months, and it often yeans two Lambs. The Ham, adult at eighteen months, suffices for thirty Ewes, and is 

 enfeebled at eight years old. 



The Oxkn {Bos, Linn.) — 

 Have lionis directed laterally, inclining njjwards or forwards in a crescent form ; tliev are large 

 animals, with a broad muzzle, heavy and massive body, and stout limbs. 



The Common Ox (B. tam-iis, Lin.).— Specifically distinguished by its flat forehead, longer than broad, and round 

 horns, placed at the t\^o extremities of a projecting ridge which separates the forehead from the occiput. In 

 fossil skulls, which appear to have belonged to this species in its original condition (the Urus of the ancients), 

 these horns curve forwards and downwards ; but in the numberless domestic varieties they vary exceedingly in 

 size and direction, and are sometimes altogether wanting. The orilinary races of the torriil zone have all a lump 

 of fat upon the shoulders, and there are some of these races not larger than a Hog. Every one is actpiainted with 

 the utility of these animals for labour, and with the value of their flesh, fat, milk, hide, and e^'en horns. The 

 Cow goes with young nine months, and produces at eighteen. The Bull couples at eighteen mouths or two years, 



and is useless at ten. 



The European Bison, or Aurochs, {Has finis, 

 Gm.) — This species, which has been erroneously 

 deemed the original stock of our domestic cattle, 

 is distinguished by its convex forehead, broader 

 than high, by the attachment of its horns below 

 the occipital ridge, by the length of its legs, by an 

 additional pair of ribs, by a sort of curly wool 

 which covers the neck of the male, forming a 

 short beard under the throat, and by its grunting 

 voice. It is a savage animal, which at present 

 finds refuge in the great marshy forests of Lithu- 

 ania, of the Krapacs, and of Caucasus, but which 

 was formerly spread all over temperate Europe. 

 It is the largest of the European quadrupeds. 

 [There is some reason for suspecting that the 

 Caucasian or Mountain Bisons are not identical 

 with those of Lithuania.] 

 The American Bison, termed Buffalo by the 

 .^_ , _ - , i«»L -_ -F^T=»-5E%::;i!!^ ~ Anglo-Americans, (B. bison, Lin.).— The bony 



^i'i^'j^^C"-==— - ^ ^'dXif^^^^^^^^^' >,» headveryhke thatof thepreceding.andsimilarly 



covered, together with the neck and shoulders, 

 with frizzled wool, which becomes very long in 

 winter; hut its limbs and tail are shorter, [and it 

 has yet another pair of ribs]. It inhabits aU the 

 temperate parts of North America, and repro- 

 duces with the domestic Cow. 

 The Indian Buffalo {B. biibalas, Lin.).-Originallyfrom India, and brought into Egypt, Greece and Italy, dming 

 the middle a>.-es. It has a convex forehead, lon-er than broad ; the horns are directed backward, and marked in 

 front by a longitmhnal projection. This animal is difficult to tame, but very powerful, and prefers marshy places 

 and coarse plants on which the Ox could not live. Its milk is good, and the hide very strong, but its flesh is not 

 esteemed There is a race of them in India, the horns of which include a space of ten feet from tip to tip ; it is 

 named Ami in Hindustan, and is the Bos ami of Shaw. [There would appear to be several different wild races, 

 and many tame ones, varying much in size.] , ^ ., , , , 



The Gmll or Jungle Ox (B. rrontalis, Lauibert),-resen)hles .he Domestic Ox in most of its characters, but 

 has horns flattened from before backwards, and no angular ridges. They are directed laterally and more or less 

 upward but not backward. It is a domestic race in the mountain districts of the north-east of India, and 

 is perhaps derived from the intermixture of the Buffalo with the common species. [We suspect it rather to be 

 allied to the original stock, if it be not really the latter, of the various humped breeds of India.] 



The In* or Gruntin^'- Ox, (B. </runiiiens. Pal.)- A sraaU species, with the tail completely covered with long 

 Lairs like that of a Hoi°se, and a long mane on the back : its head appears to resemble that of a Buflalo, but the 



Yig. (.i.- 



