pouches; and then, retiring to a secluded place among their mountain fastnesses, they masticate their aliment in comparative security. Moreover, the maceration (or soaking) in the fluids of the first and second stomachs, to which the food has been subjected, causes it to be much more readily ground down than if it were triturated immediately on being first cropped from the pasture.”

156. There is an obvious adaptation of the structure of the Ruminants to the habits just stated. That they may quickly perceive the approach of an enemy their senses are extremely acute. Their eyes are placed at the side of the head rather than in front, which affords them a great range of vision. Besides this, the pupils of the eyes have an oval shape, extending horizontally, instead of up and down, as we see it in the Cat.* This increases the range of sight in the rear direction. The ears are placed far back, and can be readily turned to any quarter. This is quite essential in fleeing from their pursuers. In order that they may flee swiftly they have long legs, and are for the most part slender in form. When there is an accumulation of flesh and fat, making the animal bulky and slow in motion, it is commonly owing to the influence of domestication. Though the Ruminants are generally timid animals, the means of defense which they have in their horns and hoofs some of them are disposed to use sometimes in offensive warfare, at least among each other.

157. The family Bovidæ (Bos, an Ox) is distinguished from the other families of this order by the uniform presence of horns in both sexes, and by the bulkiness of their forms. The common Ox is diffused widely in all quarters of the globe, and has a great variety of breeds. I will notice only one. The Bos Indicus, the Zebu, or

* The reason for this shape of the pupil in the cat and other animals of the feline tribe is obvious. In taking its prey the animal has need of a good range of vision up and down, or vertically, rather than laterally, especially if its prey be on any height, as a tree.

Brahmin Bull, Fig. 75, is a native of India, and is remarkable for a large fatty hump above the shoulders. In all

Southern Asia and Eastern Africa this animal supplies the place of the common Ox, and is supposed to have come from the same origin, instead of being another species. The Hindoos treat it with great reverence and attention. They allow it to go about the streets, which it does with great familiarity, even walking into shops, helping itself to sweetmeats and other articles, and resenting the slightest affronts with a peevish thrust of the horns. But while the bull is thus honored, the ox is treated without mercy, being urged on in its labor by the cruel goad. The Brahmin cow is treated more kindly than the ox, but is not reverenced as the bull is.

158. The true Buffaloes belong to a genus of this family. They are found in Asia and Africa, and to some little extent in the south of Europe. The common species, Fig. 76 (p. 92), was originally a native of India, where it has long been domesticated, and used like the Ox. Its hide is very strong, and harness is made from it.

159. The American Bison, Fig. 77 (p. 92), improperly called a Buffalo, is found in immense herds in the prairies

of North America. The Indians hunt them with the bow and arrow, mounted upon swift horses to give them chase.

They show great skill as well as daring, often firing their arrows into the hearts of their victims. The flesh of

these animals constitutes a large portion of the food of the Indians. Much of the pemmican, so called, used by hunters and voyagers in the far north, is made from the meat of the Bison. Then the skin, the buffalo-robe, is a necessary article of clothing, and is used also in constructing tents, and the horns furnish the powder-flasks of the hunters. The Buffalo or Bison hunt is therefore a great item in the life of an Indian in the West.

The herds of these animals sometimes number thousands. Lewis and Clarke supposed that there were certainly 20,000 in one herd which they saw. The range of the Bison in this country is becoming every year less extensive from the encroachments of civilized man.

160. The Yak, Fig. 78, is found in Tartary. It is not

a very large animal. The mass of hair, which, rising above the shoulders, hangs like a mane almost to the ground, is applied to various uses by the Tartars. They weave it into cloth, which they use in making articles of dress and their tents, and they also make ropes from it. The hair of the tail, which is great in amount, is long and fine. The tail, with an ivory or metal handle, is used in India to keep off musquitoes, and is called a chowrie.

161. The Musk Ox, Fig. 79, is a native of the cold regions of North America. It somewhat resembles the

Yak. It is covered with very long hair which almost reaches the ground. It appears in small herds, numbering, perhaps, twenty or thirty. Both this animal and the Yak are rather small, but the thick hair covering them makes them look quite large.

Questions.-What are the families of the order Ruminantia? What is said of the usefulness of the Ruminants to man? State how well defined this order is compared with some others. What is the structure of the feet of the Ruminants? What are the structure and arrangement of their teeth? What is rumination? Describe the arrangement of the stomachs of the Ruminants. Illustrate its purpose. What is there in some Monkeys analogous to the paunch of the Ruminants? In what other respects is the organization of the Ruminants adapted to their habits? What is said of the arrangement of the eye? What influence has domestication on the bulk of the Ruminants? What partial exceptions are there to the general timid habits of this order? What distinguishes the Bovidæ from the other families? What is said of the distribution of the Ox, and of its varieties? What is said of the Bos Indicus? Where are the true Buffaloes found? How are they useful to man? What is said of the American Bison? What of its usefulness to man? What is said of the Yak? What of the Musk Ox?