Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 34.djvu/799

Rh draught-animal, and the ox and cow as their rivals in the production of beef and milk, buffaloes have not until recent years sufficiently risen in value to warrant their domestication and breeding being taken up systematically and on a large scale. It is their rapid approach to extinction that has made the man of business succeed to the curious experimenter of a decade or a century ago.



and recognize how much of value there is in a strain which, if opportunity be not promptly seized, will soon be no more than a remembrance. Regarding, then, the buffalo as an animal well worthy conserving, what are his good and bad points? First of all, he is hardy, not liable to disease, and on the plains of the American and Canadian Northwest he can forage in deep snow and live in the open air all winter long. His meat brings nearly as good a price as beef. His robe is worth $25 to $40; and his head taxidermized, thanks to the decorative tastes of sportsmen, fetches as much as the robe, or even more. So much for the credit side of the account; now for the debit. The buffalo is a strong brute, and of a temper at times so fierce that his domestication is a task not seldom accompanied by decided hazard. Ordinary fences are as gossamer to a buffalo bull, especially during the irritable years when he is past his prime and finds himself less attractive than of yore. Still, the example of well-behaved domestic cattle, with which buffaloes readily amalgamate, is very effective. It is not, however, in mere domestication, but in cross-breeding that the buffalo's value consists. In pairing a buffalo bull and domestic cow the young are brought forth without any unusual percentage of loss being sustained. The offspring combines good points of sire and dam. It has nearly all its sire's hardiness and strength, and so much of its dam's tractability as to be well suited for draught purposes. When killed, the net