Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Excerpt from The Cow: Dairy Husbandry and Cattle Breeding
Tracing our domestic breed back to the Bison, or Wild 0x, known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, but driven away from central Europe, we find they now inhabit the wild morasses and forests of Lithuania and Circassia, Where they appear so wild and ferocious, as to resemble but little, except by marks too unmistakable to overlook, the quiet and gentle kine, which low around our homes with a social attachment. Attempts made to domesticate these have by no means been successful, and, when partially effected, they seem to have an aversion to our domesticated cattle which is highly indica tive of their half educated state. The Bison is found also in British India, in Western Asia, and on the American continent the race is hunted in most of these countries for their skins, and now perhaps for their flesh and bones.
These Bisons are usually very formidable in numbers, associate together for mutual protection, move in rank and file, observing almost military disci pline, and are led by the largest and fiercest bull. So dense is their column when migrating, that, if one falls or halts, the whole herd will march over him and trample him to death.
The Buffalo is another species of wild ox, and is also somewhat widely diffused, being common in India, in Africa, and in some of the wilder or more southerly parts of Europe. It seems more tameable than the Bison, and is used for domestic purposes in the East and in Africa. The native African buffalo affords hunting sport of the wildest kind, and, having also a bull leader, will rush headlong against any opposing enemy. Sometimes life is sacrificed in these exciting but terrible engagements.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.