Part 2 (1/2)

_g._ Costal cartilages.

_h._ Scapula.

_i._ Humerus, _k._ Radius.

_l._ Ulna _m._ Carpus, or knee.

_n._ Large metacarpal, or cannon.

_pp._ Sesamoid bones.

_qq._ Phalanges.

_r._ Pelvis.

_s._ Femur.

_t._ Patella.

_u._ Tibia.

_v._ Rudimentum fibulae.

_w._ Hock and tarsals.

_x._ Large metatarsal.

_y._ Small metatarsal.

1. Inferior maxilla (lower jaw).

2. Superior maxilla (upper jaw).

3. Anterior maxilla 4. Nasal bone.

5. Frontal.

6. Parietal.

7. Occipital.

Skeleton of Domestic Ox, from a specimen in the Royal College of Surgeons.]

THE OX TRIBE

OR

_Genus_ BOS,

Is distinguished from other Genera of Ruminantia by possessing hollow persistent horns, growing on a bony core; the tail long, terminated by a tuft of hair; and four inguinal mammae.

THE AMERICAN BISON.

_Bos America.n.u.s._

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BISON. ]

The head of this animal is enormously large; larger, in fact, in proportion to the size of its body, than that of any other species of the Ox Tribe. This huge head is supported by very powerful muscles, attached to the projecting spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae; and these muscles, together with a quant.i.ty of fat, const.i.tute the hump on the shoulders. The horns are short, tapering, round, and very distant from each other, as are also the eyes, which are small and dark. The head, neck, shoulders, and fore-legs, to the knee-joints, are covered with long woolly hair, which likewise forms a beard under the mouth. The rest of the body is clothed only by short, close hair, which becomes rather woolly in the depth of winter. The colour is of a deep brown, nearly black on the head, and lighter about the neck and shoulders. The legs are firm and muscular; the tail is short, with a tuft at the end.