250 
THE AUROCH. 
in herds, except a few of the older ones, which wan- 
der about singly. Tliough tfiey have never been 
tamed, they are not so shy but that they may be ap- 
proached within a moderate distance, when care is 
t^ken to advance towards them from the windward 
side. Each herd keeps constantly to the same district 
of forest, near to some river or stream, so that eacli^of 
the twelve foresters, wlio liave charge of the wood, 
knows tile herds that belong to his district. The 
number of oxen in every herd is ascertained in the 
beginning of winter, by observing their feet-tracks 
on the new fallen snow, as they pass between the 
wood and the store of hay, which forms their winter 
provender. The whole number, as thus estimated, 
is at present about 7 1 1, of which 48 are calves of last 
year. The cows scarcely bring forth above once in 
three years : the calves are produced in May, and 
are suckled nearly a whole year. They continue to 
grow for six years, and may live till forty. The 
UiTis feeds on various grasses, and on the leaves and 
bark of young trees and brushwood, especially the 
willow, poplar, ash, and birch. In autumn they also 
browse on heath, and the lichens which cover the 
bark of trees. The rutting season commences in 
August, and lasts a fortnight ; about which time they 
are fat and sleek, and unusually sportive. Their 
most common sport consists' in thrusting their horns 
into the ground, near a young tree, and ploughing 
round it till they root it up. It is from this circum- 
stance, in the author’s opinion, that the horns are al- 
