EXISTING KINDS OF WILD CATTLE 211 
That bison once extended into Asia Minor is 
indicated by the occurrence of fossilised teeth dis- 
covered by Canon Tristram ^ in the Lebanon district, 
which were referred by Professor Boyd Dawkins to 
the extinct B. {Bison) priscus. Assuming the deter- 
mination to be correct, Dr. Diirst remarks that it is 
by no means certain that the extinct species survived 
to Assyrian times. It is added that a wild bull with 
a mane-like coat on the fore-quarters, represented in 
the Assyrian sculptures, can scarcely be regarded as 
decisive evidence of the occurrence of bison in Assyria. 
The history and habits of the bison-herd in the 
Bielowitza forest — an area of several thousand acres — 
have been so often quoted that a very brief notice will 
suffice in this place. The herd has been subject 
to many vicissitudes, having suffered more or less 
severely during the various Polish revolts, in one of 
which a number of the animals were killed. It 
attained its maximum in point of numbers between 
the years 1851 and i860, the largest number of indi- 
viduals living in modern times having occurred in 
1857, when the total was 1898. In 1892 the number 
had become reduced to 375. At that time there 
was, however, living — apparently in a state of still 
closer captivity — a herd of loi head in the neighbour- 
ing forest of Swisslotsch, the members of which 
originally came from Bielowitza. In addition to 
these the Duke of Pless maintains a herd, likewise 
of Lithuanian origin ; and a few head are kept by 
Count Joseph Potocki in his game-preserve at 
Pilawin, in Volhynia. 
During winter the bison in Bielowitza are supported 
on fodder supplied to them by the keepers of the 
^ Die Rinder, etc, p. 8. 
