1865.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 43 



alist. Where historical documents are wanting, the facts of nature may 

 guide the student, and in the case of the origin of domesticated animals, 

 we have hardly any trustworthy tradition ; though, wild animals 

 closely related to them are found all the world over. It has therefore 

 occurred to me that a careful comparison of these wild animals with 

 the various breeds in a state of domesticity might throw some light 

 upon the first seats of agriculture, and human civilization. But the 

 materials for these comparisons are wanting, and I now take the liberty 

 of appealing to those interested in such matters, to help me in collect- 

 ing the data necessary to answer this question. I would begin with 

 the Cattle, as of all our domesticated animals, it is most intimately 

 connected with the progress of human culture. 



At one time it was supposed that our ox was derived from the wild 

 bulls mentioned by the Roman writers as living in Germany and G-aul, 

 some of which are still preserved in Lithuania. Afterwards, it was sup- 

 posed to be derived from a species no longer living in Europe, but 

 found fossil among the most recent geological deposits. These suppo- 

 sitions cannot stand the test of a close criticism, and it now becomes 

 necessary to look further East for its probable origin, especially since 

 philology and history point to India, as the primeval seat of civilization. 

 But is any of the wild bulls of Asia identical in species with our 

 domestic cattle, and are the domestic cattle of Asia of the same species 

 as ours ? Skeletons of all these animals carefully compared can alone 

 furnish the answer, and thus far these exist in no museum in the world. 

 Six different species of wild bulls are mentioned in various works as 

 found in Asia, all of which should be collected before a comparison 

 can be instituted between them. These are — 



1st. The Indian Buffalo, which is said to be common in the East 

 Indies generally, and upon the islands adjoining, has been extensively 

 tamed, and has even been imported into Southern Europe. The Arnee 

 is supposed to be only a wild variety of the same ; whether the Manila 

 buffalo is of the same species or not, I have been unable to ascertain. 



2nd. The Yak, which is found in Tibet, Northern China and 

 Mongolia and ascends the slopes of the Himalaya to a height of from 

 10 to 17,000 feet above the level of the Sea. The Yak is tamed in 

 Tibet and Central Asia. 



3rd. The G-aur, which lives in the mountain forests of Central 

 India and is only known in a wild state. 



