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

Fig. 78.-Yak.

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

Fig. 79.-Musk Ox.

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?

CHAPTER X.

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS—continued.

162. THE different species of the Ovidæ, or Sheep family, have many varieties, from the influence of domestication. The Sheep is the first animal noticed in the Bible as subjected to man, for "Abel was a keeper of sheep." The tail of the Sheep seems to be much affected by domestication, it being much larger in the domesticated than in those that run wild. In the Egyptian and Syrian Sheep it often becomes enormous, reaching a weight of 50 or even 100 pounds, in which case a board or a little wagon is attached to it, to prevent it from dragging on the ground. This overgrown tail is mostly a mass of fat, which is considered a great delicacy, and is frequently used as butter.

163. The Capridæ, or Goat family, are nearly allied to the Sheep. They are, however, stronger, lighter, more agile, and less timid. They appear in almost all parts of the world. In some countries they are greatly valued for their milk. The best Morocco leather is made from their skins, and the skin of the kid is much used in making fine gloves. The silken wool of the Angora Goat of Asia Minor hangs in long ringlets, furnishing the material for the finest camlets. From the wool of the Cashmere Goat of Thibet and the region of the Himalaya Mountains, are manufactured the famous Cashmere shawls. The Caucasian Ibex, Fig. 80 (p. 96), which inhabits the Alpine regions of Europe and Western Asia, is remarkable for its large and beautiful horns. They are surrounded with rings at regular intervals, and are very strong. When chased, it will frequently turn on its pursuer, and with its horns, hurl him from some

Fig. 80.-Caucasian Ibex.

precipice, unless he can shoot it before it reaches him.

164. The Cervidæ, or Deer family, are distinguished from all the other families of Ruminants, in having horns which are cast off at intervals, new ones growing out in their place. In the young animal they are small, but in the full-grown Deer they are very large. These horns are also covered with a vel

While they are growskin, and from the

vety skin, and are called antlers. ing there are blood-vessels in this blood in them the antlers are made. You can see on them, after this skin is stripped off, just the course of the large arteries, by the channels for them in the horn. These antlers grow very rapidly. After they have attained their growth, there is no farther need of the blood in the "velvet," and it must be got rid of, for if it remained there would be bleeding every time that the Deer should hit any thing hard with its antlers. There is a singular process for doing this. In the rings of bone at the foot of the antlers there are openings, through which the arteries pass. These gradually close up, and the supply of blood to the "velvet" is, therefore, gradually cut off. It would not answer to have this done suddenly, for then all the blood going to the head would be turned in upon the brain, and such a rush of blood to that organ would be injurious, perhaps fatal. After blood ceases to be supplied to this skin it dries and readily peels

off, and the Deer gets rid of it by rubbing his antlers against the trees.

165. The females of this family, except in the case of the Reindeer, have no antlers. In those species that are found in extremely cold climates, as the Elk, Fig. 81,

Fig. 81.-The Elk.

the antlers are apt to be flattened, "as if," says Carpenter, "they were destined to be used by the animal, like shovels, in clearing the snow from off its food." The animals of this tribe are celebrated for both their beauty and speed. They are distributed over all parts of the globe, except Australia, and the southern and central regions of Africa, these regions being supplied in place of them with Giraffes and multitudes of Antelopes.

166. The Reindeer is seen throughout the Arctic regions of America, Europe, and Asia. It lives in summer on the buds and twigs of small shrubs, and in winter on a lichen growing under the snow, which it digs up with

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