584 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
SEPT. 6 
have in the buffalo an animal exactly evolved out of his 
environment to fill the true American beef-producing ani¬ 
mal’s place, without any recourse to the tricks of shelter 
or winter fodder used by man for the benefit of animals 
adapted to a wider range of conditions. 
Having come to the very important conclusion, tbat in 
the American buffalo we have an animal superbly endowed 
by Nature—not by artifice—to fill the bovine requirements 
of this country, we have now to consider the possibility of 
realizing our dream, i. e , of establishing his destiny as an 
animal of such utility as is proved he possesses. The 
buffalo, as he has been known, will be known no more. 
Under the conditions which will surround him henceforth 
• . he will be an entirely different animal. This is inevitable. 
We see the effect of the same treatment on the bovine 
species, which was a wild species subdued at a compar¬ 
atively early period. Even the wild white cattle of Britain 
kept in the parks from the earliest times, the most 
direct descendants of Bos Urns, are greatly modified 
from their ancestors by the restricted area in which 
they range and the nature of their confinement. So it is 
with the truest representative of the buffalo in Europe, 
the Aurochs—Bison priscus—of the Lithuanian forests. I 
believe, however, that in the buffalo of the future, we 
shall, as the result of our judicious interference, see arise 
a new race thoroughly capable of enacting an undreamed¬ 
of career, and that with happier results than might 
formerly have been possible; for that former career of his 
was apparently doomed to be sooner or later played out 
on the plains that witnessed his early glory. We have now 
to consider the species as it is, its number and how com¬ 
posed. The following list gives the location of the dif¬ 
ferent herds and the numbers they contain, fit for breed¬ 
ing purposes, in the United States. 
Location of Herd. No. 
Garden City, Kan. 115 
Flathead Indian Reservation, Mont. 35 
Clarendon. Tex. 13 
Bismarck Grove, Kan. 10 
Fort Bennet. Dak. 9 
Rapid City, Dak. 4 
Hamline, Minn. 2 
Glen Island, N. Y. 4 
Other places. 12 
Wild West Show. 18 
Philadelphia. 10 
Chicago. 7 
Cincinnati. 4 
New York. 4 
Washington. 2 
249 
For comparison I also give the following figures to show 
the distribution of the entire number known: 
Total captive, fit for breeding purposes in America... 249 
Wild, under Government protection in the Yellow¬ 
stone Park. 200 
Running wild, unprotected : 
in the United States. 85 
In Athabasca .550— 635 
In foreign countries. 7 
Total.1,091 
It will thus be seen that the number of those fit for 
breeding is only one fourth of the whole. This number 
might possibly be added to In the future by new captures 
from the wild herds. Now, what do we propose to do 
with these remnants in order to preserve them from the 
surest forms of destruction that seemingly await them, 
if not carefully avoided—(a) in-breeding, and (b) out cross¬ 
ing ? For there is just now as much danger from the 
latter as from the former. We are not in the position of 
the “early improvers” of the bovine race; that is, of 
those who have undertaken within the last 100 years to 
rescue from a conglomerate promiscuity the various types 
of bovine excellence. By them in-breediDg was necessary 
to establish the type. The period of out crossing with 
regard to the animals they handled had been going on 
during centuries previous to the commencement of the 
improving period. But we have no type to establish ; in 
fact, hardly any characteristics to improve—we have only 
to use those means of amelioration which captivity, that 
is, domesticity brings. Therefore, and it is fortunate for 
us, we do not need to resort to the usual initial essential of 
in-breeding. But that is, nevertheless, the chief thing, in 
fact—with the limited alliances at our disposal—the main 
thing to be avoided, and the chief purpose of this article 
is to deal with this matter. The danger of out-crossing is 
the establishment of a mixed or bastard bisontine-bovine 
race. With the alliances existing, what can be done to in¬ 
crease the number of animals without circumscribing their 
area or bringing their points of convergence too close ? We 
have to widen these points as much as possible. Within 
the limits of the existing relationships—which are in 
reality just now sufficiently distant, in so far as tracing to 
their common ancestors is concerned—we have to out- 
cross as much as possible. This would appear to be an 
easy matter to do by the simple interchange of blood from 
one herd to another. But under existing conditions of 
ownership and want of co-operation between breeders as a 
whole, would that be likely soon to prove impracticable ? 
We have to look for some means of effecting a unity of 
purpose and interest among owners and breeders. Let us 
avail ourselves of the experience of the pioneers of im¬ 
provement among the gentler bovine races. The cause of 
their rescue from the general wreck was the herd-book, 
and, in Britain at least, every distinct breed has now i f s 
“register.” But we have so few to register! Patience! 
In establishing the various bovine breeds, the number of 
animals originally handled, even in the case of the most 
numerous breed nowadays, fell short of the number of 
buffaloes we have. 
Besides, those we possess are absolutely pure, and all up 
to the highest standard. It was not so with the bovine 
races. In breeding buffaloes, therefore, there is an advan¬ 
tage over breeding for a certain type of their cousins. If 
such a register were begun to-day we would start at a 
point which it took at least a quarter of a century for the 
bovine improvers to reach. Of course, it must be admitted 
that the improvers of the bovioe race did not, could not, 
start with the certainty of absolute purity, because of the 
intermingling of races before the registers were started. 
Those who developed the various breeds of domestic ani¬ 
mals had an advantage over the buffalo breeders, in that 
they did not incur the greatest and most immediate danger 
which the latter have to avoid—in-breeding. Is such a 
regis'er possible for the buffalo ? I think so. Let us see. 
We start, I believe, with a larger “ foundation stock,” 
and absolute purity—the two desirable essentials. We 
should, therefore, obtain a complete record of all the male 
and female buffaloes fit for breeding. We should have 
their relationship to each other noted, traced and arranged 
in a systematic record. To whom should we look to 
underbake this task ? We have the National Zoological 
Park recently established at Washington—on account of 
the very interest manifested in the “ passing of the buf¬ 
falo’’—for the purpose of providing a safe abiding place 
for what is left of this noble representative of AmericHn 
fauna, and rescuing it from immediate or total obliteration. 
As such was the origin of the National Park, we would 
put the matter under the superintendence of its director, 
Mr. W. T. Hornaday, to whom for what remains of the buf¬ 
falo we owe so much. Such a register should contain a 
systematic and as far as possible detailed history of each 
remaining herd and of each male and female composing it. 
An inspector of herds might be advantageously appointed 
to collect such matter on the spot. The early entries at 
least should be free of charge, and such points as the fol¬ 
lowing should be recorded: 1. Location of the herd. 2. 
As nearly as possible, age, place of birth or capture, of its 
original members. 3. Affidavit of purity. 4. For each 
younger member of the herd the record of the sire and 
dam,grandsireand grandam, if necessary. 5. Description, 
according to a schedule of details, with photographs, if 
possible. 6. Nomenclature, to be governed by the proverb 
that “ brevity is the soul of witthat is, each individual 
entry should be named, and the name should be one word. 
Indian names would be most appropriate, or such short 
names as would have a direct connection with the subject. 
7. Pedigree to rank through the side of the dam, which 
establishes the best means of afterwards tracing each suc¬ 
ceeding entry, especially of sires. 8. As an appendix, a 
bibliography of the subject would be useful. 
Such a register would make a handsome and highly in¬ 
teresting volume. If it were distributed among the 
breeders, they, constantly sending in periodical reports, 
would become generally and specially bound together in 
one great, united experiment. From this intercourse and 
correspondence judicious interchanges of animals could be 
continuously made from time to time, and the process and 
results of breeding could be constantly watched. Breeders 
being bound by a common interest, weuld have the best 
means at their disposal of avoiding the fatal extermina¬ 
tion of their herds, from an insufficient knowledge, by too 
dangerous in-breeding. The register would supply them 
with the means of avoiding this danger, as it would afford 
means of tracing the relationships of the sires and dams 
of the stock which they might desire to interchange. 
Thus divergent lines of relationships would be established, 
so that a broadeniug foundation would be obtained. Then 
the American buffalo would take rank as the true, because 
indigenous, but ruminant, and have its place alongside 
the proudest breed of cattle in existence. Thus the two 
fatal possibilities of out-crossing and in-and-in breeding, 
which without such a method of prevention must ever 
menace the uncertain existence of the buffalo, would been- 
tirely avoided. No better method than the one herein 
advocated can exist for the purpose designed. The num¬ 
ber of separate herds that such a register would develop 
would tend to perpetuate “the breed.” I think I hear this 
entire proposal scouted as bold and chimerical. But the 
adoption of such a plan, there can be little doubt, is about 
the only chance left of rehabilitating the species as a 
whole. Breeding would then become a fine art; and it 
would put the undertaking on a lasting financial and com¬ 
mercial basis. 
INJURIOUS INSECTS. 
VII. 
The order Orthoptera, which comprises the crickets, 
grasshoppers, locusts, walking-sticks and cockroaches, is 
peculiarly a plant-eating order. Nearly all feed on vegeta¬ 
tion, and often come in such swarms that they defoliate 
almost every herb, shrub and tree—“eat every green 
thing from off the face of the whole earth.” But there is 
just one important exception to this rule. It is the family 
Mautidae. These insects (see Figure 240) are very curious 
and interesting. They are known as “Praying Mantis,” 
spelt praying, though it would be equally appropriate 
were the word preying. The name comes from the enor¬ 
mous development of their anterior legs, which makes 
the insect remind one of a person in prayer, or in the atti¬ 
tude of supplication. These legs are powerful, spined, 
and really act as jaws as well as legs. The insects are 
very fierce and predaceous, and grasp their victims by 
means of these jaw-like legs. They are found South, and 
do much good in capturing and destroying insects, which 
otherwise would do farmers a great deal of barm. Un¬ 
fortunately they do not stop here, but often lay hold of 
the honey bee, which thus suffers death at their hands or 
rather legs. Yet the good they do certainly exceeds very 
greatly all the harm they cause. 
The eggs (Figure 241) are in great clusters, and are at¬ 
tached to some branch or twig. So ferocious are these 
raptorial insects that several times eggs which have been 
sent me from South Carolina and other Southern States, 
have hatched and unless prevented, the insects first 
hatched would fall to and eat up their more tardy brothers 
as fast as they came from the eggs. Indeed, these are 
cannibals par excellence. It is said that after mating the 
female often seizes the male and devours him. She evi¬ 
dently likes her liege well enough to eat him up, and 
stops at nothing short of her impulse. 
Our common Southern species is Mantis Carolina (Fig¬ 
ure 240). It is called the Race-horse, and is found from 
Kentucky to the Gulf. Though the one predaceous repre¬ 
sentative of its order, this insect is so pre-eminently pre¬ 
daceous that it makes up for numbers in its terrific 
ferocity. a. j. cook. 
AMERICAN VS. CANADIAN BARLEY. 
Since the announcement of the proposed increase in the 
tariff on barley in the McKinley tariff bill there has been 
much discussion as to the possibility of usiug American- 
grown barley in the place of the Canadian grain. To aid 
in settling the matter The Rural New-Yorker sent the 
following note to a number of authorities : 
“ We arc told that American barley cannot tane the 
place of the Canadian grain because it is of an inferior 
quality and is not so good for malting purposes. Ilcnre 
wc are told the tariff proposed by the McKinley bill will 
be of no help to American barley growers. Will you be 
good enough to give us the facts in the matter ? 
The Statement Not Founded On Fact. 
I think that the statement that American barley cannot 
take the place of the Canadian article for brewing purposes 
is not founded upon fact. The real truth of the case is 
that Canadian farmers take much more pains in growing 
their barley than do American farmers, and hence thpy 
often get a better article; but if American farmers, espe¬ 
cially those living along theNortheru borders, took the same 
care and exercised the same skill that are manifested by 
the Canadian farmers, in my opinion they could produce a 
barley fully equal to the Canadian in every respect. 
Chemical analysis fails to disclose that fundamental dif¬ 
ference between the Canadian and the American product 
of which you speak. I am firmly of the opiuion that there 
is no just reason for discriminating against Americau 
barley, and if there be one, it is the fault of the American 
farmer rather than that of the Americau climate. 
I am strongly of the opinion that the protection which is 
afforded to American barley under the McKinley bill is 
just and right and that with the aid of it the American 
farmer should grow just as good an article of barley as it is 
possible to grow in Canada. I have thought perhaps it 
would be of interest to see the results of comparative an¬ 
alyses of large numbers of Canadian and United States bar¬ 
leys, and these averages are given below. 
Water. 
United states 
, per cent. 
. 6.53 
Canada 
per cent. 
8 02 
Ash. 
. 2 89 
2.80 
Oil. 
. 2 68 
2.70 
Carbohydrates. 
. 72.77 
73.17 
Fiber. .. 
. 3.80 
3.48 
Albuminoids.. 
. 11.33 
9.83 
You will notice that the chief difference in 
the analyses 
is in the percentage of water and albuminoids. The United 
States barley is drier than the Canadian and also has 2 5 
per cent, more of albuminous substance. This large per¬ 
centage of albuminous bodies is considered objectionable 
by brewers on account of its tendency to produce secondary 
fermentation. If, however, we study the compositon of 
barleys from different parts of the Uuited States, we find 
many localities which produce barleys fairly comparable 
with the Canadian article in their percentage of albumin¬ 
oids. For instance, the barley grown in Montana has 
only 9.80 per cent, of albuminoids, while that grown in 
Kentucky has even less than the Canadian barley, viz., 
8.75 per cent; barleys grown in Arizona have 9 63 per cent, 
and in California 9.05 per cent.; in Indiana the percentage 
is 10 42 and in Connecticut, 10.15. It is thus seen that it 
would not be so difficult to find numerous localities in the 
United States capable of producing as good barley for 
brewing purposes as is grown in Canada. The average 
high percentage of albuminoids in the table given above 
is due to the influence of the barleys from Colorado and 
Dakota, the percentage of albuminoids in the samples from 
those two States being 13 30 and 13.02 respectively. From 
a careful study of the detailed data of analyses, it seems 
quite possible for the farmers in many portions of the 
United States, especially in California, to increase their 
supply of barley of good quality by attention to the condi¬ 
tions of the most favorable growth and thus prevent the 
necessity of importing grain, which should be produced at 
home. From the analyses already made, it appears that 
the most favorable localities are those which have been 
mentioned above, but in my opinion, there is no reason 
to doubt the fact that all our barley-producing States, by 
careful selection of seed and a gradual elimination of the 
excessive percentage of albuminoids, may produce barley 
equally favorable for malting purposes. II. w. 'WILEY. 
Chemist, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
