BUFFALO 225 BUFFALO torical Society, the Society of Natural Sciences, and the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. The city has the largest night schooJ attendance of any city of its size in the world. Churches. — There are 260 churches in Buffalo, many of them with beautiful structures. Noteworthy edifices are Trinity (Protestant Episcopal), the First Presbyterian, and St. Joseph's Ca- thedral (Roman Catholic), which has the largest carillon in the United States and the third largest in the world. Hos- pitals and charitable institutions are the Buffalo State Hospital, Children's Hos- pital, Erie Hospital, General Hos- pital, Homeopathic Hospital, Lexington Heights Hospital, Providence Retreat, Riverside Hospital, and Women's Hos- pital; the Home for the Friendless, Or- phan Asylum, St. Vincent's Orphanage for Girls, Church Home for Aged Women, St. Mary's Asylum for Widows and Foundlings, Home for Erring Women, State Asylum for the Insane, Fitch Institute, and St. Mary's Institu- tion for Deaf Mutes. Finances. — The funded debt of the city, June 30, 1920, was $45,034,719. The total assessed realty valuation was $608,175,115. The ratio of assessed valu- ation to market value was 100 per cent. There is an excellent police force num- bering 800, and a fire department num- bering 915. The total number of city employees including laborers was 7,865. There are more than 600 miles of paved streets. The mileage of street rail- ways was 223.40 and the passengers car- ried annually were 191,200,048. There are 610 miles of water mains and 568 miles of sewers. The birth rate per 1,000 was 26.70 and the death rate 15.30. Government. — The city is under the commission form of government, which went into operation Jan. 1, 1916. The commission consists of the mayor and four councilmen, and in these all exec- utive, administrative and legislative power is vested. The term of office of each member is four years. The govern- ment of the city is divided into five major departments, designated as the Department of Public Safety; Depart- ment of Finance and Accounts; Depart- ment of Public Works; Department of Parks and Public Buildings, and Depart- ment of Public Affairs. The Mayor in 1920 was George S. Buck. History. — The site of Buffalo was first visited by the French, under La Salle, in 1679. In 1687 a settlement was made by Baron La Honton and Fort Suppose was erected. It was held by the British as Fort Erie during 1783-1784, and was in- corporated as the village of Buffalo and soon afterward burned by the British, in 1813. It was rebuilt in 1815; but its progress was slow until the completion of the Erie canal in 1825. It became a city in 1832 and since then it has been very prosperous. During 1901 the Pan- American Exposition was held in Buf- falo. Here on September 6, Pres. Mc- Kinley was assassinated. The exposition was a brilliant affair, but not successful financially. BUFFALO, a name often applied to two distinct bovine genera or sub-genera — viz., the Asiatic buffalo (bubalus) with the Cape buffalo; and the American buffalo, better named bison. The genus or sub-genus bubalus has the usual bovine characteristics, and, whatever be its exact limits in strict zoological classi- fication, remains, for practical purposes, a large, clumsy ox. The horns rise from the posterior side corners of the skull, are usually thickened out of proportion at the base, and irregularly ridged, though smooth toward the points; the forehead is short and arched; the cover- ing of hair is comparatively sparse. The common or Asiatic buffalo {B. bnffelus) has beautifully twisted horns, thick and broad at the base, rough on to the middle, somewhat triangular in section. The horns lie back on the shoulders when the animal walks or runs, with its muzzle projecting characteristically for- ward. The hair is short and scanty, almost bristly, slightly longer on head, shoulders and front of neck, and all but black in color. The bare, brown, pol- ished hide is, however, the more striking feature. The animal measures about 7 feet in length, and stands about 4 feet high at the shoulder. It is a native of the East Indies, has been domesticated in India, and thence introduced into Egypt, Greece, Italy, Hungary, etc. The buffalo is a very powerful animal, much more powerful than the ox, and capable of dragging or carrying a far heavier load. The female yields a much greater quantity of milk than a cow, and of ex- cellent quality. It is from buffalo milk that the ghee or semi-fluid butter of India is made. The hide is greatly valued for its strengrth and durability, but the flesh is decidedly inferior to that of the ox. The Cape buffalo {bos caffer) is generally regarded as a distinct species. The horns are very large; they spread horizontally over the top of the head, and are then bent down laterally, and turned upward at the point. The head is carried, as by the common buf- falo, with projecting muzzle and reclin- ing horns, but the bases of the horns nearly meet on the forehead, where they are from 8 to 10 inches broad. The
