190 
UNGULATES. 
time of Julius Caesar, and as late as the ninth and tenth centuries were sufficiently 
numerous in parts of Switzerland and Germany to be used as food. In a recent 
summary of the history of the species, Mr. F. A. Lucas states that “ up to 1500 the 
European bison seems to have been common in Poland, where it was looked upon 
as royal game, and hunted in right royal manner by the king and nobility, as many 
as two thousand or three thousand beaters being employed to drive the game. In 
1534 the animal was still so numerous in the vicinity of Girgau, Transylvania, 
that peasants passing through the woods were occasionally trampled to death by 
startled bison, and hunts were undertaken by the nobles in order to reduce the 
number of the animals. In spite of this local abundance, it is probable that about 
this time the bison was in a great measure restricted to Lithuania; and although 
so late as 1555 one was killed in Prussia, it is almost certain that this was merely 
a straggler from the main herd. In 1752 a grand hunt was organised by the 
Polish king, Augustus III., and in one day 60 bison were killed. . . . For some 
time after the above event little seems to have been recorded concerning the zubr, 
so that Dcsmarest, writing in 1822, says that if any remain in Lithuania they must 
be very few in number. There were, however, over 500 bison in Lithuania at 
that time, for in 1820 there were that number, this being a considerable increase 
since 1815, when there were estimated to be only 300. About this time active 
measures must have been taken for the protection of the Lithuanian herd, for in 
1830 it comprised over 700 individuals. In 1831 a local revolt occurred, the 
game laws were set at naught, and the number of bison reduced to 637. Order 
having been restored, the bison began to recuperate, and according to the official 
enumeration at the end of each decade, there were in 1840, 780; in 1850, 1390; 
and in 1860, 1700. Political troubles were, however, the bane of the bison, and 
just as the prosperity of the Lithuanian herd seemed assured, the Polish uprising 
of 1863 took place. Many bands of insurgents sought refuge in the forests; the 
bison were left to take care of themselves, and were so rapidly killed off that the 
next official count showed only 847. For a short time after peace was restored the 
herd increased to a slight extent, but later on it began to decrease, the enumeration 
of 1880 showing but 600, a number that has since been lessened, the herd being 
still on the wane.” The herd is divided into about a dozen distinct bands, 
inhabiting different regions of the forest. In the Caucasus the bison is protected 
by the rugged nature of the country, as well as by special laws. Recently an 
English sportsman—Mr. Littledale—has been bison - shooting in the Caucasus, 
and a male and female which fell to his rifle are now exhibited in the British 
Museum. 
The European bison, so far as can now be ascertained, appears to have always 
associated in small bands. In Lithuania these bands comprise from fifteen to 
twenty individuals during the summer, but in winter two or more of them 
unite to form a herd of from thirty to forty head. The very old bulls are solitary. 
In spring and summer the bison seek the thickest and deepest portions of the 
forest, but during winter frequent drier and more elevated cover. Whereas the 
nutriment of the American species consists wholly of grass, the European bison 
feeds largely upon the leaves, twigs, and bark of trees. Although active during 
both day and night, bison feed chiefly during the morning and evening. Large 
