idently commend themselves to our use. The flesh of this species is
quite as good as that of the wild bulls of the genus Bos, and the hides
have a peculiar value on account of their somewhat woolly character.
There is reason to believe that, bred in the region of the high north,
about Lake Saskatchewan for instance, with proper selection this hairy
covering could be developed much as has the wool on the sheep. This is
indicated by the considerable variations in the quality of the coat
which go to show that the feature is still in a very plastic state, a
state that may be said to invite the assistance of man in order to
bring it to the full measure of its possibilities. If this covering
could be developed, the result would be to give us a domesticated beast
of large size with a hairy covering having the character of a fur; such
would be a great addition to our resources.

As there is a large extent of country in the high latitudes of North
America, Asia, and South America, where the climate is too severe and
the herbage too scanty to serve the needs of our ordinary cattle, in
which a hardy feeder with a well-clad body such as the buffalo might
do well, it seems most desirable to essay the experiment of
domesticating the bison before it is too late, before the brutal
instincts of our kind have quite made an end of the noblest animal
which is native in the Americas.

There is another inhabitant of the high north of this continent which
deserves the notice of those who are disposed to attend to the questions
concerning the extension of man's control over nature; this is the
ovibos or musk-ox. Like the buffalo, only in much higher measure, this
singular creature is fit for very cold countries; his fitness being in
part assured by his admirable covering of long hair as well as by his
capacity for taking on fat during the short summer in sufficient store
to last him through the trials of the winter season. The kinship of the
musk-ox to the group of the sheep is near enough to warrant the belief
that the hair could be improved by selection, and that from the process
we would be likely to obtain an animal much larger than our largest
sheep and yielding fleeces of peculiar value in the arts.

Among the northern carnivora there are several species which deserve
attention for the reason that they may be brought to some degree of
domestication which may enable us to make better use of their hairy
coverings. Among these we may ment