India in 1887 as seen by Robert Wallace / [Robert Wallace].

  • Robert Wallace
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: India in 1887 as seen by Robert Wallace / [Robert Wallace]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    spot of skin near them, the idea relating to bad luck is not entertained, but such animals arc said not to see clearly. Dingy-white specimens, probably true albinoes, now and then appear. They are not so hardy as those with the naturally black skin. Buffaloes arc not so leggy as cattle in India. The larger varieties, although they may not stand so high as large bullocks, are more substantial, and would weigh more. I hey arc remarkable for their great girth round the region of the heart and for their deep bodies and well- formed shoulders, nicely joined on to the forward ribs. The withers are sharp, and rise above the level of the back, giving more or less the appearance of a hump, which, however, is absent. The back also rises consider- ably above the general level, immediately behind the region of the kidneys. The parts which are particularly defective, from a European point of view, are the hind-quarters. These are short and drooping and badly packed, and the thighs thin and poor. They are much wider than humped cattle behind, between the points of the pelvic bones. The bones of the limbs are strong and well formed. The hair of full-grown buffaloes is long and wiry, but sparsely distributed, and affords little covering to the body. In the larger varieties it is usually black, except on the patches of white skin, where it is white. See Plates XXXIII. and XXXIV. Calves—Plates X. and XXXIV. (a)—and young buffa- loes have a good covering of hair of a light colour, re- sembling the hair of the inferior breeds of Madras and Ceylon. Buffaloes are much more intelligent than ordinary cattle, and when roused and furious are consequently more dangerous. They are most affectionate, and arc