This family is easily distinguished from the other groups of Hollow-horned Ruminants. It is composed of large, heavy animals, in which the skin of the neck is loose and hanging, forming a large fold called the dew-lap. There are eight species found in this family—the American Buffalo or Bison, the Musk Ox, the Cape Buffalo, the European Bison or Auroch, the Yak, the Jungle Ox, the Common Buffalo of India, and the Common Ox, or the well known group including our domestic Cattle. THE AMERICAN BUFFALO. [Illustration: AMERICAN BUFFALO.] The American Buffalo, commonly known in other countries as the Bison, is a gigantic species which ranges over the temperate and northern provinces of the American continent. It is of thick-set shape, and carries its head low, on a level with its back, while its shoulders are high. Its head is short and large; its horns are small, lateral, far apart, black and rounded. Its head, neck, and shoulders are covered with thick, curly, dark brown hair. Its tail is short, and terminated by a tuft of long hair. This immense animal inhabits all parts of North America, especially the plateaux on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. In the spring, herds of thousands of Buffaloes, crowded closely together, make their way up from the south to the north of these vast steppes; in the autumn they migrate again to the south. When the summer comes, these wild troops break up, and the Buffaloes separate into couples or small herds. American Buffaloes are not ferocious in their nature; they seldom attack Man, but will defend themselves when wounded; they then become formidable adversaries, for their enormous heads, well furnished with horns, and their fore-feet, are terrible weapons. In their migrations, their numbers are so enormous, that as they advance everything that comes in their way is devastated. THE MUSK OX. The Musk Ox is much smaller than the Common Ox, and has somewhat the appearance of an enormous sheep. Its forehead is arched; its mouth small; its muzzle completely covered with hair; and its horns, which are very large, are closely united at the base, and bending downwards over the sides of its head, suddenly turn backwards and upwards at the tips. Its long and abundant coat is of a dark brown color. It exhales a strong odor of musk. This animal, which is a combination of the Ox, Sheep, and Goat, inhabits North America below the polar circle, and lives in families of from ten to twenty individuals. Notwithstanding its apparent heaviness, the Musk Ox climbs over rocks almost as nimbly as a Goat, and its speed across the rocky, rough, barren grounds, (its principal habitat) for an animal so clumsy, is truly astonishing. THE EUROPEAN BUFFALO.