namely, in spring, when they are driven to the Alps, or removed from one
pasture to another; or in their autumnal descents, when they travel to
the different farmers for the winter. On such days the Senn, even in the
depth of winter, appears dressed in a fine white shirt, with the sleeves
rolled above the elbows; neatly embroidered red braces suspend his
yellow linen trowsers, which reach down to the shoes; he wears a small
leather cap on his head, and a new and skilfully carved wooden milk-bowl
hangs across his left shoulder. Thus arrayed, the Senn proceeds, singing
the _Ranz des Vaches_, followed by three or four fine goats; next comes
the finest cow, adorned with the great bell; then the other two with the
smaller bells; and these are succeeded by the rest of the cattle,
walking one after another, and having in their rear the bull, with a
one-legged milking-stool on his horns; the procession is closed by a
_traineau_, or sledge, bearing the dairy implements.
When dispersed on the Alps, the cattle are collected together by the
voice of the Senn, who is then said to allure them. How well these cows
distinguish the voice of their keeper, appears from the circumstance of
their hastening to him, although at a great distance, whenever he
commences singing the _Ranz des Vaches_.
This celebrated air is played on the bagpipes, as well as sung by the
young Swiss cowherds while watching their cattle on the mountains. The
astonishing effects of this simple melody on the Swiss soldier, when
absent from his native land, are thus described by Rousseau:
"Cet air, se cheri des Suisses qu'il fut defendu sous peine de mort de
le jouer dans leurs troupes, parce qu'il faisait fondre en larmes,
deserter, ou mourir, ceux qui l'entendaient, tant il excitait en eux
l'ardent desir de revoir leur pays. On chercherait en vain dans cet air
les accens energetiques capables de produire de si etonnans effets. Ces
effets, qui n'ont aucun lieu sur les etrangers, ne viennent qui de
l'habitude, des souvenirs de mille circonstances qui, retracees par cet
air a ceux que l'entendent, et leur rappellant leur pays, leurs anciens
plaisirs, leur jeunesse, et toutes leur facons de vivre, excitent en eux
une douleur amere d'avoir perdu tout cela. La musique alors n'agit point
precisement comme musique, mais comme signe memoratif. Cet air, quoique
toujours le meme, ne produit plus aujourd'hui les memes effets qu'il
produisait ci-devant sur les Suisses, parce qu'ayant perdu le gout de
leur premiere simplicite, ils ne la regrettent plus quand on la leur
rappelle. Tant il est vrai que ce n'est pas dans leur action physique
qu'il faut chercher les plus grand effets des sons sur le coeur
humain."
For the delectation of the musical reader, the notes of this celebrated
air are here introduced, with the words, and an English imitation:
AIR SUISSE
Appelle le RANZ DES VACHES.
[Illustration: Musical notation]
The words are as follows:--
Quand reverai-je en un jour,
Tous les objets de mon amour,
Nos clairs ruisseaux,
Nos hameaux,
Nos coteaux,
Nos montagnes,
Et l'ornament de nos montagnes,
La si gentille Isabeau?
Dans l'ombre d'un ormeau,
Quand danserai-je au son du Chalameau?
Quand reverai-je en un jour,
Tous les objets de mon amour,
Mon pere,
Ma mere,
Mon frere,
Ma soeur,
Mes agneaux,
Mes troupeaux,
Ma bergere?
IMITATED.
When shall I return to the Land of the Mountains--
The lakes and the Rhone that is lost in the earth--
Our sweet little hamlets, our villages, fountains,
The flour-clad rocks of the place of my birth?
O when shall I see my old garden of flowers,
Dear Emma, the sweetest of blooms in the glade,
And the rich chestnut grove, where we pass'd the long hours
With tabor and pipe, while we danced in the shade?
When shall I revisit the land of the mountains,
Where all the fond objects of memory meet:
The cows that would follow my voice to the fountains,
The lambs that I called to the shady retreat:
My father, my mother, my sister, and brother;
My all that was dear in this valley of tears;
My palfrey grown old, but there's ne'er such another;
My dear dog, still faithful, tho' stricken in years:
The vesper bell tolling, the loud thunder rolling,
The bees that humm'd round the tall vine-mantled tree:
The smooth water's margin whereon we were strolling
When evening painted its mirror for me?
And shall I return to this scenery never?
These objects of infantine glory and love,--
O tell me, my dear Guardian Angel, that ever
Floats nigh me,--safe guide to the regions above.
SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF HABITAT
Buffalo--_Bos Bubalus_ Asia, North Africa, and South Europe.
Manilla Buffalo Island of Manilla.
Condore Buffalo Island of Pulo Condore.
Cape Buffalo South Africa.
Pegasse Congo, Angola, Central Africa.
Arnee India and China.
Gaur India.
American Bison North America.
Aurochs Lithuania.
Yak Tartary and Hindustan.
Musk Ox North America.
Zamouse, or Bush Cow Gambia, Sierra Leone.
Banteng Island of Java.
Gyall India.
Gayal India.
Sanga, or Galla Ox Abyssinia.
Zebu--Brahmin Ox Southern Asia, Eastern Africa.
Domestic Ox Generally diffused.
AND MODE OF LIFE.
Mode of Life.
Partial to water and mud, swampy localities.
Semi-aquatic in its habits,--sometimes called the Water Buffalo.
Fond of wallowing in mire, and swims well.
Lives much in the water, and feeds on aquatic plants.
Ranges in mountain forests, and feeds on leaves and buds of trees.
Migratory in its habits--fond of bathing in marshy swamps.
Lives chiefly on the woody banks of rivers--feeds on bark of trees,
lichens, and herbaceous plants.
Feeds on the short herbage peculiar to the tops of mountains and
bleak plains.
Lives chiefly on rocky mountains.
Delights in the deepest jungles--feeds on leaves and shoots of
brushwood.
Lives entirely on woody-mountains--feeds on shoots and shrubs.
Half domesticated.
Domesticated, and artificially fed.
So completely domesticated, as to be subject to an endless variety of
diseases, and generally requires medical attendance.
THE INDEFINITE DEFINITIONS OF COL. HAMILTON SMITH.
On commencing this Monograph of the _Genus Bos_, I entertained the
confident expectation, that in the voluminous work of Cuvier's 'Animal
Kingdom,' translated and enlarged by Griffith and others, I should find
all that related to generic and specific distinction so clearly
exhibited, and so systematically arranged, that I should have no
hesitation in adopting the classification there set forth, and no
difficulty in determining the place of any new species or variety. With
this expectation I diligently studied that portion of Col. H. Smith's
volume on the Ruminantia, which treat of the _Genus Bos_, and I here
subjoin (verbatim) the generic and subgeneric characters there given of
that Genus, by which it will be seen how far they fall short of the
clearness and precision which are indispensable to a scientific work.
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
"_Genus BOS._--Skull very strong, dense about the frontals, which are
convex, nearly flat, or concave; horns invariably occupying the crest,
projecting at first laterally; osseous nucleus throughout porous, even
cellular; muzzle _invariably broad_, naked, moist, _black_; ears, _in
general_, _middle sized_; body _long_; legs _solid_; stature _large_."
Generic characters should be such as will apply to every species in the
genus; they should likewise be such as will distinguish the genus
described from every other genus. From such observations as I have been
enabled to make, the five last-mentioned characters do not appear to
accord with either of these conditions.
1st. The muzzle is stated to be _black_; but in the Yak, and in domestic
cattle (as may be observed by any one), the muzzle is very frequently
_white_; and granting that it was invariably black, other genera of the
ruminantia have the muzzle black: and therefore it cannot be said to be
a distinguishing mark of the _Genus Bos_.
2d. The ears are stated to be _in general middle-sized_. To pass over
the extreme vagueness of the terms "_in general_" and "_middle-sized_,"
I may state that having measured the ears of several species, I find
them to be of all lengths, varying from 5 inches to nearly 18 inches.
Such a term as "_middle-sized_" may be applied "_in general_" to the
ears of a vast variety of animals; and therefore it cannot be applied
_in particular_ to the _Genus Bos_.
3d. The body is said to be _long_. They are, indeed, of all lengths,
from 4 ft. 6 in. to nearly 11 ft. Can the term long be equally
applicable to animals of such different lengths?
4th. The legs are said to be _solid_. In some species the legs are very
slender, as the Zebu, Manilla Buffalo, and Domestic Ox.
5th. The stature is said to be _large_. From actual measurement I find
the stature to vary from 2 ft. 8 in. to upwards of 6 ft.; the smaller
species weighing not more than 100 lbs., the larger weighing as much as
2000 lbs. Can the term large be equally applicable to animals of such
different sizes?
SUB-GENERIC CHARACTERS.
"_Sub-genus_ I.--_Bubalus._--Animals low in proportion to their bulk;
limbs very solid; head large, forehead narrow, very strong, convex;
chaffron straight; muzzle square, horns lying flat, or bending laterally
with a certain direction to the rear; eyes large; ears mostly
funnel-shaped; no hunch; a small dewlap; _female udder with four mammae_;
_tail long_; slender."
This sub-genus comprises Cape Buffalo, Pegasse, Arnee, Domestic Buffalo.
"_Sub-genus_ II.--BISON.--Forehead slightly arched, much broader than
high; horns placed before the salient line of the frontal crest; the
plane of the occiput forming an obtuse angle with the forehead and
semicircular in shape; fourteen or fifteen pairs of ribs; the shoulders
rather elevated; the _tail shorter_; the legs more slender; the tongue
blue; the hair soft and woolly."
This sub-genus comprises Aurochs, Gaur, American Bison, Yak, Gayal.
"_Sub-genus_ III.--TAURUS.--Forehead square from the orbits to the
occipital crest, somewhat concave, not convex, or arched as in the
former; the horns rising from the sides of the salient edge or crest of
the frontals; the plane of the occiput forming an acute angle with the
frontal, and of quadrangular form; the curve of the horns outwards,
upwards, and forwards; no mane; a deep dewlap; _thirteen pairs of ribs_;
_tail long_; _udder four teats in a square_."
This sub-genus comprises the Urus and the Domestic Ox.
Subgeneric characters should be such as will clearly distinguish the
animals of one sub-genus from those of another. But here we have set
down, in the sub-genus Bubalus, tail _long_, slender; in the sub-genus
Taurus, tail _long_; and although the epithet slender is not added in
the latter case, yet in truth it ought to be, as the tail of Taurus is
quite as slender as that of Bubalus.
The udder of Bubalus is said to have four mammae; they are not stated to
be in a square, but, on examination, I find they are so; the udder of
Taurus has likewise four teats in a square.
Thirteen pairs of ribs are set down as a distinguishing character of the
sub-genus Taurus; but the Cape Buffalo, Domestic Buffalo, and the
Manilla Buffalo (in the sub-genus Bubalus), and the Gaur (in the
sub-genus Bison), all possess thirteen pairs of ribs.
In the sub-genus Bison the tail is said to be _shorter_ than the tail of
Bubalus; but on subjecting them to the infallible test of feet and
inches, I find the tails of the Aurochs, Gaur, Yak, and Gayal, to be
decidedly _longer_ than those of the Cape or the Manilla Buffalo.
The legs of Bisons are stated to be more slender than those of
Buffaloes,--the reverse of this is the fact in the instances which I
have had an opportunity of observing.
SPECIFIC DETAILS.
The details of a system of scientific classification should be precise,
methodical, and consistent; but the method observed by Col. Smith, in
describing the lengths of animals, can scarcely be called either precise
or consistent; for example, he states:--
1st. That the Cape Buffalo is nine feet from _nose to ROOT of tail_.
2d. That the Gaur is twelve feet long _to the END of tail_.
3d. That the Aurochs is ten feet three inches _from nose to tail_.
4th. That the Domestic Buffalo is eight feet six inches long, _without
mentioning either nose or tail_.
In none of these cases can we be even proximately certain of the length
of the animal.
In the first instance we may err to the amount of the length of the
head; as it is not stated whether the measure was taken when the head
was extended in a line with the back, or in a position at right angles
with the back, or in any intermediate position.
The following outline will illustrate this:--
[Illustration]
It is obvious that the length of a line from the nose to the tail will
vary according to the different positions of the head of the animal.
In the second instance (taking it for granted that the measure was taken
from the nose), the same difficulty exists with respect to the head, and
another difficulty presents itself in our being left to guess the length
of the tail, which might be eighteen inches, or it might be four feet.
In the third instance, the same difficulty exists with respect to the
head, and the difficulty is further complicated by our being left to
guess whether the ROOT or the END of the tail is meant.
In the fourth we are completely "_at sea_."
The true value of these characteristic distinctions, definitions, or
descriptions, are left to the appreciation of the judicious reader.
Colonel Smith may doubtless be, what he has been styled, "an
indefatigable naturalist," and "in general" an exact one; but in this
special instance of the _Genus Bos_, his warmest admirers must allow
that his accuracy and precision have not kept pace with his industry.
[Illustration: Hungarian Ox, _Bos Taurus_, from a specimen in the
British Museum.]
MR. SWAINSON'S TRANSCENDENTAL ATTEMPT AT CLASSIFICATION.
The following very laboured attempt to arrange the various species of
_Genus Bos_ into groups, according to the Quinary or Circular System of
M'Leay, is from the pen of Mr. Swainson--the precise and fastidious
Swainson--who, from the number and boldness of his hypothetical views in
every department of Zoology, may be truly regarded as the beau-ideal of
a speculative naturalist--one of those, in short, so well described by
Swift, "whose chief art in division hath been to grow fond of some
proper mystical number, which their imaginations have rendered sacred to
a degree, that they force common reason to find room for it in every
part of nature; _reducing_, _including_, and _adjusting_, every _genus_
and _species_ within that compass, by coupling some against their wills,
and banishing others at any rate."
After describing the various members of the Bovine Family according to
the Procrustean method of stretching and chopping, Mr. Swainson
continues in his peculiarly dogmatic style "The types of form of the
_Genus Bos_, above enumerated, _we shall now demonstrate_ to be a
natural group. We have seen that the first represented by the _Bos
Scoticus_, or Scotch Wild Ox, is an untameable savage race, which
preserves, even in the domestication of a park, all that fierceness
which the ancient writers attributed to the Wild Bulls of Britain and of
the European Continent. Let those who imagine that the influence of
civilization, of care, and of judicious treatment, will alter the
natural instincts of animals, look to this as a palpable refutation of
their doctrine. Where is that boasted power of man over nature? Where
the fruits of long-continued efforts and fostering protection? The _Bos
Scoticus_ is as untameable now as it was centuries ago, simply for this
reason, that it is in accordance with an unalterable law of nature; a
law by which one type in every circular group is to represent the worst
passions of mankind--fierceness, or cruelty, or horror. In the _Urus_ we
consequently have the type of the wild and untameable _Ferae_ among
quadrupeds, the eagles among birds, and the innumerable analogies which
all the subordinate groups of these two great divisions present.
Following this is the typical Ox--a god among the ancients, and that
animal above all others, which, from its vital importance to man, we
should naturally expect such a nation as the ancient Egyptians would
exalt above all others. It is, in short, the typical perfection of the
whole order of Ruminants, and consequently represents the _Quadrumana_
among quadrupeds, and the _Incessores_ among birds. The third type is no
less beautiful; but it cannot be illustrated without going into details
which it is not our present intention to make public: suffice it,
however, to say, that in the prominent hump upon the shoulders we have a
perfect representation of the Camel, one of the most striking types of
the order, while it reminds us at the same time of the Buffalo, the
genus _Acronatus_ among the large Antelopes, and numerous other
representations of the same form. The fourth type is our _Bos Pusio_:
here we find the horns, when present, remarkably small, but in many
cases absent; and the size is diminutive to an extreme. These also are
distinguishing marks of the groups it is to represent: the
_Tenuirostres_ among birds, and the _Glires_, or mice, among quadrupeds,
are the smallest of their respective classes; and both are typically
distinguished by wanting all appendages to the head, either in the form
of crests or horns. The fifth type is, perhaps, the most extraordinary
of all; it should represent not only the order _Rasores_ among birds,
but also the _Camelopardalis_ among ruminating quadrupeds. Hence we find
that, in accordance with the first of these analogies, it is a peaceful
domesticated race, and that it has horns of an unusually large size,
even in its own group; while, at the same time, those horns have that
peculiar structure which can only be traced in the Camelopardalis; they
are covered with skin, which passes so imperceptibly to the horny state,
that, as Captain Clapperton observes, "there is no exact demarcation
where the one commences and the other ends." The five leading types of
quadrupeds and birds being now represented, and in precisely the same
order, _we demonstrate_ the groups to be natural by the following
table:--
GENUS _BOS_--_the Natural Types._
1. _Bos Scoticus._ Fierce, untameable. FERAE. RAPTORES.
2. ---- _Taurus._ Pre-eminently typical. PRIMATES. INCESSORES.
{Appendages on the head}
3. ---- _Dermaceros._ {greatly developed } UNGULATA. RASORES.
{Stature remarkably }
4. ---- _Pusio._ {small. } GLIRES. GRALLATORES.
{Fore-part of the shoulders}
5. ---- _Thersites._ {elevated } CETACEA. NATATORES.
In regard to the last type, the analogies can only be traced through
the animals or types of other groups; but should the habits of
_Thersites_ lead it to frequent the water (like the Buffaloes) more than
any other species of true oxen--a supposition highly probable--the
analogy to the _Cetacea_ and the _Natatores_ would be direct. When we
find in all the other four types such a surprising representation of the
same peculiarities, we are justified in believing that want of
information alone prevents this analogy from being so complete as the
others. These analogies, in point of fact, may be traced through the
whole of the principal groups in this order, the most important, and the
most numerous of ungulated animals." Our luminous classifier then
triumphantly winds up:--"_Having now demonstrated_, in one of the very
lowest groups of quadrupeds, the validity of those principles of natural
classification we have so often illustrated," &c.
Let us not be confounded with high-sounding terms; let us rather
endeavour to ascertain the meaning of them, if indeed they possess a
meaning. Here we have, under the head of "_Genus_ Bos--the Natural
Types"--(see p. 178), certain words arranged in regular columns, which,
at a first glance, appear as though they were intended to bear some
relation to each other. But let us ask the most ordinary observer, or
the most profound observer, or the observer of any grade or shade
between these two extremes, what resemblance--what relation--what
analogy--can be discovered between an ordinary bull (_Taurus_) and a
man, a monkey, or a bat (_Primates_); or between Taurus and the
_Incessores_ (Perching Birds)? Or between Buffaloes, whose horns are
partially covered with skin (_Dermaceros_), and cocks and hens
(_Rasores_)? Can any one say wherein consists the similarity between a
dwarf Zebu and a Mouse, or a Flamingo? Yet this is the material of
which the columns are composed.
But one of the most unhappy of Mr. Swainson's speculations is that
wherein he represents the _Bos Scoticus_, or wild ox, as the type of "an
_untameable savage_ race, which preserves, even in the domestication of
a park, all that fierceness which the ancient writers attributed to the
wild bulls of Britain and the European continent. Let those who imagine
that the influence of civilization, of care, and of judicious treatment,
will alter the natural instinct of animals, look to this as a palpable
refutation of their doctrine. [!] Where is that boasted power of man
over nature? Where the fruits of long-continued efforts and fostering
protection? [!!] The _Bos Scoticus_ is as untameable now as it was
centuries ago, simply for this reason, that it is in accordance with an
unalterable law of nature; a law by which one type in every group is to
represent the worst passions of mankind--fierceness, or cruelty, or
horror." [!!!]
Who would for a moment imagine that all this grandiloquence is bestowed
upon an animal, which is so far from being fierce and untameable, that
young ones, taken and reared with ordinary cattle, become, even in the
first generation, as tame as domestic animals? [See account of
Chillingham White Cattle, p. 140.]
For a more complete satisfaction of his thought, the reader is referred
to Mr. Swainson's volume "On the Natural History and Classification of
Quadrupeds," p. 274, where he has given us an incoherent abstract of
Colonel Smith's article on the _Bovinae_, without, however, making the
least attempt to verify the statements there recorded. The descriptions
and characteristics are avowedly Colonel Smith's; but, in justice to
the latter gentleman, it must be added, that the disquisitions on the
circular succession of forms, and the analogical relations, are entirely
Mr. Swainson's.
ON SPECIES AND VARIETY.
What constitutes a species? And how far do the limits of varieties
extend? Cuvier, who is, perhaps, the best authority we can have upon
this subject, in defining a species, says:--_A species comprehends all
the individuals which descend from each other or from a common
parentage, and those which resemble them as much as they do each other._
Thus, the different races which they have generated from them are
considered as varieties but of one species. Our observations, therefore,
respecting the differences between the ancestors and the descendants,
are the only rules by which we can judge on this subject; all other
considerations being merely hypothetical, and destitute of proof. Taking
the word _variety_ in this limited sense, we observe that the
differences which constitute this variety depend upon determinate
circumstances, and that their extent increases in proportion to the
intensity of the circumstances which occasion them.
Upon these principles it is obvious, that the most superficial
characters are the most variable. Thus colour depends much upon light;
thickness of hair upon heat; size upon abundance of food, &c. In wild
animals, however, these varieties are greatly limited by the natural
habits of the animal, which does not willingly migrate from the places
where it finds, in sufficient quantity, what is necessary for the
support of its species, and does not even extend its haunts to any great
distances, unless it also finds all these circumstances conjoined. Thus,
although the Wolf and the Fox inhabit all the climates from the torrid
to the frigid zone, we hardly find any other differences among them,
through the whole of that vast space, than a little more or less beauty
in their furs. The more savage animals, especially the carnivorous,
being confined within narrower limits, vary still less; and the only
difference between the Hyaena of Persia and that of Morocco, consists in
a thicker or a thinner mane.