BUB 



according to Sonnini it yields plenty of excellent milk, from 

 v/\vch biuter is made as well as feveral kinds of cheefe. 

 •• The biitfalo (fays that writer) is an acquilhion of the 

 modern Egyptians, with which their ancellors were unac- 

 quainted. ° It was brought over from Perlia into their 

 country, where the fpceies is at prefenl univerfally fpread, 

 and is very much propai;at<.d. It is even more numerous 

 than that of the common ox, and is there equally domcftic, 

 t'iou!;h but recently domcllicated, as is cafily dillinguifliable 

 by the conllantly uniform colour of the hair, and ftill more 

 by a remnant of ferocity and intraftability of difpofilion, 

 and a wild and lowering afpeC\, the characters of all halt- 

 tamed animals. The bnflaloes of Egypt, however, are not 

 near fo wild nor fo much to be feared as thofe of other 

 countries. Tlicy there partake of the very remarkable gcn- 

 tler.cfs of other domcftic animals, and only retain a few 

 fuddtn and occafional caprices. The fight of any thing 

 red, which is faid to make them flv into lits of ungovcrn- 

 ablt fury elfewheie, makes no impreiTion on thofe of Egypt. 

 The inhabitants of tlie country, btlides their red turban, 

 wear aUo in general another fhawl of the fame colour, which 

 envelopes the neck and chcll, and I never obfcrved that the 

 fight of either at all aifeaed tlie buffaloes. They are fo 

 fond of the water, that I have feen them continue in it the 

 whole day. It often happens tliat the water which is 

 fetched frJim the Nile near its banks has contrafted their 

 mulky fmell." 



Thefe animals multiply more readily than the common 

 ox: they are alfo more robull, better capable of bearing 

 fatigue, and, generally fpeaking, lefs hable to diileinpeis. 

 Thev are therefore employed to advantage in different kinds 

 of labouf. Buffaloes are made to draw heavy loads, and are 

 commonly dircfled or reftiained by means of a ring paffed 

 through the nofe. Two buffaloes yuked, or rather chained, 

 to a cart, are able to draw as much as four llrong horfes. 

 As they carry their neck and head low, the whole weight 

 of their body is employed in drawing ; and their mafs much 

 furpaffes that of a labouring horfe. In its habits the buf- 

 falo is much lefs cleanly than the ox, delighting to wallow 

 in the mud ; and, next to the hog, may be confideied as 

 the dirtied of dom.cllicated quadrupeds. His voice is 

 deeper, more uncouth ar.d hideous than that of the bull. 

 The milk of the female buffalo is faid by fome authors to be 

 not fo good as that of the cnv, but it is more plentiful, and 

 is nfcd for the purpofes of the dairy in the warmer regions. 

 In the fixth fupplemental volume cf Buffon, it is affirmed 

 that the milk is far fuperior to cow's milk, not only in tafte 

 biiicolour, and that it makes the mod excellent butter, cheefe, 

 &c. The (kin ar.d horns are of more value than all the reft 

 of the animal ; the former beinjr of extreme ftrcngth and du- 

 rability, and coiifequcntly well adapted for various purpofes 

 in which llrong leather is required ; the latter are of a fine 

 grain, ftrong, and bear a good polidi, and are therefore in 

 much efteem with cutlers and other artificers. Italy is the 

 country where buffaloes are mofl common in a domelHcated 

 Rate, being ufcd there, as in India, both for the dairy and 

 the draught. The parts in which they are mod fuccrlsfuily 

 eultivattd are the diftritl of the Pontine mailhes, and thofe 

 of Sienna. The Spaniards are attentive to this race of 

 cattle, and indeed the cultivation of this ufcful animal feems 

 to be pretty general in all countries on the borders of the 

 Mediterrancafl fea both iii Europe and Africa. 



For fo robuft a creature, the buffalo is of a delicate con- 

 ftitution, and fuffers equally by an cxccfs of cold or heat. 

 In the fummcr it retires to (hady places, or into the water 

 in which it takes the greateft delight ; and in winter retreats 

 t© the warmer coTcrts, or the receffes and flKker of the 



BUB 



forells. This inftinAive quality of tlie animal feems tft 

 imply that the buffalo originated rather in temperate cli- 

 mates than in fuch as arc either very hot or cold. 



Dcfides the maladies that are common to the ox and other 

 cattle, the buffalo is fubjtft to one of a particular fort, vs'ith 

 which it is attacked only in the early part of its life. This is 

 called by the French l/irhone, an exprelfion that implies it 

 to be mod common in the male. The fymptoms of this 

 diforder are eafily detefted by a confiderable fwelling that 

 takes place in the throat and under-parts of the muzzle, ard 

 fometimes by the whole body becoming inflated. Tlie 

 poor animal thus affliclid refufcs all kinds of nourifliment ; 

 his eyes tiickle; his tongue appears covered with a thick 

 white fcum ; and when he attempts to walk, he moves with 

 difficulty at a flow pace, with a lame or limping motion. 

 They breed in the fourth year, producing young for two 

 years together, and remaining fttriie the third. The buffalo 

 has feldom more than one young at a birth, or two at the 

 utmoil ; and they commonly ceafe brteding after their 

 twelfth year. Their term of hfe is pretty much the fau.e 

 as that of the common ox. 



The fmall naked Indian buffalo of Pennant, and its ana- 

 logous variety, the dwarf buffalo, appear to us to belong ra- 

 ther to the fpecies Bos Coffer, than to the above ; and will 

 be therefore confidered feparately under that article. See 

 Caffsr. 



BUBASTIS, or Bubastus, in ylncknt Geography, a 

 famous town of Lower Egypt, fcated on the moft eallern 

 branch of the Nile, which, from the name of this city, was 

 called by the ancients the "Buhailic" river, or canal. The 

 prophet Ezekiel calls this place " Phi-Bcfeth." M. d'An- 

 ville fuppofes, that the Bubaftic canal of Ptolemy was not 

 that which proceeded from Bubaftis to the fea, this being 

 the Pelufiac canal ; hut that which pafftd from this city to- 

 wards the fouth, and, joining with the Trajan can?l, dif- 

 chargcd itfelf into a lake called " Lacus Arrari." In this 

 place \vas a magnificent temple dedicated to Diana, who, 

 in the Egyptian language, was denominated " Bubaftis ;" 

 and hence has been derived the name of the city. 



BuBASTis, in Mythology, a name or attribute afcribed by 

 the Egyptians to Ifis, or the moon, which, being perfoni- 

 fied, was regarded as a diftinft deitv, and gave name to the 

 city above-mentioned, whither the people refcrted from all 

 parts of Egypt, at a certain period < f the year. The (yirbol 

 of this deity was a cat, which was fed by the priells with fa- 

 cred food, and, when it died, embalmed and carried in pomp 

 to the tomb prepared for it. To this fabulous circumftance, 

 the veneration manifefted by the Egyptians for the cat has 

 been afcribed. In the language of the pricfts, Buballis was 

 reprefented as the daughter of Ifis ; and hence the Greeks, 

 who honoured the moon by the name of Diana, beftowcd it 

 alfo on tliis Egyptian divinity. Accordinglv Herodotus 

 (lib. ii.) fays, that Bubaftis was called Diana by the Greeks { 

 and to her the Egyptians attributed the office ofaffilling 

 pregnant women. The Greeks and Latins afcribed the fame 

 power to Diana. Sec Horarr, lib. iii. od. 22. According 

 to the Greeks, Diana was the daughter of Jupiter and La- 

 tona ; arid BubTllis fpruiig, according to the Egyptian my- 

 thology, from Ofiris and Lis. Bubailis was called by the 

 Greeks alfo Il'thyia, or 1 ucina, fnmi Icr prctiding over 

 child-birth ; and the Egyptians adored her under this name 

 in the city of Ihthyia, fituattd ne?r Latopolis. Plutarch, 

 in his treatifc of Ilis and Ofiris, fays, that at the fcftivals 

 celebrated in honour of Bubaft'f, they burnt men alive, calU 

 ipjj them Typhous, and throwing their afhcs to the winds, 

 Amafis, fiiys Porphyry, in his difcoirfe of abftmence, who 

 cite* the fame faft, aboliffied thefc fanguiuary Verifiers, and 



eftabii.ned 



