RUMINANTIA. 
143 
of Guinea, which have also long tails, are distinguished by their long legs, very convex forehead, pendent ears, 
want of horns, and short coarse hair instead of wool. The Sheep of Northern Europe and Asia are mostly of small 
size, with a very short tail, [the truth being, that this appendage is merely cut short by the shepherds soon after 
birth]. 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, which 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 
j| wool is intermixed with hair. 
Sheep are valuable for their flesh, suet, milk, skin, wool, and manure ; the flocks, well managed, proving every- 
I where a source of fertility. The Lamb is weaned at two months, and sheds its milk teeth from the first to the 
I third year. The Ewe propagates at one year, and is prolific for ten or twelve ; its period of gestation is five 
I months, and it often yeans two Lambs. The Ram, adult at eighteen months, suffices for thirty Ewes, and is 
enfeebled at eight years old. 
The Oxen {Bos, Linn.) — 
Have horns directed laterally, inclining upwards or forwards in a crescent form; they are large 
animals, with a broad muzzle, heavy and massive body, and stout limbs. 
The Common Ox ( B. taurm, Lin.).— Specifically distinguished by its flat forehead, longer than broad, and round 
horns, placed at the two extremities of a projecting ridge which separates the forehead from the occiput. In 
p fossil skulls, which appear to have belonged to this species in its original condition (the TJrus of the ancients), 
these horns curve forwards and downwards ; but in the numberless domestic varieties they vary exceedingly in 
I size and direction, and are sometimes altogether wanting. The ordinary races of the torrid 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 acquainted with 
, the utility of these animals for labour, and with the value of their flesh, fat, milk, hide, and even horns. The 
I Cow goes with young nine months, and produces at eighteen. The Bull couples at eighteen months or two years, 
and is useless at ten. 
The European Bison, or Aurochs, (Bos urus, 
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 
shoi*t beard xinder 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 
Anglo-Americans, (B. bison, Lin.). — The bony 
head very like that of the preceding, and similarly 
covered, together with the neck and shoulders, 
with frizzled wool, which becomes very long in 
winter ; but its limbs and tail are shorter, [and it 
has yet another pair of ribs]. It inhabits all the 
temperate parts of North America, and repro- 
duces with the domestic Cow. 
!j The Indian Buffalo (B. bubalus, Lin.). — Originally from India, and brought into Egypt, Greece and Italy, during 
: the middle ages. It has a convex forehead, longer than broad ; the horns are directed backward, and marked in 
front by a longitudinal projection. This animal is diflicult 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 
j 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 
'l named Arni in Hindostan, and is the Bos ami of Shaw. [There would appear to be several different wild races, 
I and many tame ones, varying much in size.] 
j The Gyall, or Jungle Ox (B. frontalis, Lambert), — resembles the Domestic Ox in most of its characters, but 
j| has horns flattened from before backwards, and no angular ridges. They are directed laterally and more or less 
I 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 
I allied to the original stock, if it be not really the latter, of the various humped breeds of India.] 
The Yak, or Grunting Ox, (B. grunniens. Pal.) — A small species, with the tail completely covered with long 
j hairs like that of a Horse, and a long mane on the back : its head appears to resemble that of a Buffalo, but the 
I' jg. 64. — European Bison. 
