RELATIONSHIP OF SPECIES. 449 



if possible, night and day. Without this, however much one 

 may see the animal in collections, one cannot often form any 

 but a very superficial idea of the above qualities of the animal 

 in question. Being subjected so long to the sight and blandish- 

 ments of visitors, it unfortunately often refuses to bestir itself 

 sufficiently to enable much of interest to be noted. 



Some years ago the chief members of the subfamily Bovince 

 were made the type of as many different genera ; while later all 

 these genera were merged into one. About that time I sug- 

 gested that this appeared unnatural, as seeming to imply that 

 there was no more difference between the Buffalo and the Ox 

 than there was between the Ox and the Bison. "When one 

 remembers that the two latter animals readily interbreed and 

 that the hybrid is quite a fertile one, and that the two former 

 animals are said to show such aversion to each other that 

 they never even herd together, the idea this arrangement gives 

 of the kinship of these species seems singularly inexpressive. 

 Although I have seen attempts at copulation, I am not aware 

 that any hybrid between the Buffalo group and the Ox group 

 has ever been produced, and it is quite probable that, even if the 

 above act took place, reproduction would be an impossibility. 

 From this cause alone there is probably a considerable amount 

 of remoteness in the Buffalo and Ox groups as compared with 

 those of the Bison and Ox, and this is again borne out by the 

 divergence of habits. Our classifications explain nothing of this, 

 and we have to go back to the times of the older naturalists, with 

 their "animals of the Cow kind" and "animals of the Buffalo 

 kind," to get this brought out at all prominently to our notice. 



Again, it is only quite recently that any attempt has been 

 made to class the Equidce other than by the somewhat obvious 

 one of colour alone. In a recent publication * there appear 

 some remarks (Pocock) which would seem to be the first avail- 

 able to the general public of any change in the old order 

 of grouping. Mr. Pocock designates the various varieties of the 

 Zebras of the plains as " Quacchas,"t as distinct from the two 

 remaining forms of Zebra (Grevy's and the Mountain Zebra). 

 There would appear to be much reason for this, and it is 



* Harmsworth's Natural History. 

 f A phonetic variant for " Quaggas." 



