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+Project Gutenberg's Domesticated Animals, by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Domesticated Animals
+       Their Relation to Man and to his Advancement in Civilization
+
+Author: Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
+
+Release Date: May 23, 2008 [EBook #25568]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTICATED ANIMALS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Joseph Cooper and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: AFRICAN ELEPHANT]
+
+
+
+
+       DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
+
+  THEIR RELATION TO MAN AND TO HIS
+    ADVANCEMENT IN CIVILIZATION
+
+
+               BY
+
+
+    NATHANIEL SOUTHGATE SHALER
+
+DEAN OF THE LAWRENCE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL OF
+         HARVARD UNIVERSITY
+
+
+          _ILLUSTRATED_
+
+
+            NEW YORK
+      CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+             1908
+
+
+        COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY
+      CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+INTRODUCTION,                                                          1
+
+
+THE DOG
+
+Ancestry of the Domesticated Dogs.--Early Uses of the Animal:
+Variations induced by Civilization.--Shepherd-dogs: their
+Peculiarities; other Breeds.--Possible Intellectual
+Advances.--Evils of Specialized Breeding.--Likeness of Emotions
+of Dogs to those of Man: Comparison with other Domesticated
+Animals.--Modes of Expression of Emotions in Dogs.--Future
+Development of this Species.--Comparison of Dogs and Cats as
+regards Intelligence and Position in Relation to Man,                 11
+
+
+THE HORSE
+
+Value of the Strength of the Horse to Man.--Origin of the
+Horse.--Peculiar Advantage of the Solid Hoof.--Domestication
+of the Horse.--How begun.--Use as a Pack Animal.--For
+War.--Peculiar Advantages of the Animal for Use of Men.--Mental
+Peculiarities.--Variability of Body.--Spontaneous Variations
+due to Climate.--Variations of Breeds.--Effect of the Invention
+of Horseshoes.--Donkeys and Mules compared with Horse.--Especial
+Value of these Animals.--Diminishing Value of Horses in Modern
+Civilization.--Continued Need of their Service in War,                57
+
+
+THE FLOCKS AND HERDS: BEASTS FOR BURDEN,
+FOOD, AND RAIMENT
+
+Effect of this Group of Animals on Man.--First Subjugations.--Basis
+of Domesticability.--Horned Cattle.--Wool-bearing Animals.--Sheep
+and Goats.--Camels: their Limitation.--Elephants: Ancient History;
+Distribution; Intelligence; Use in the Arts; Need of True
+Domestication.--Pigs: their Peculiar Economic Value; Modern
+Varieties; Mental Qualities.--Relation of the Development of
+Domesticable Animals to the Time of Man's Appearance on the Earth,   103
+
+
+DOMESTICATED BIRDS
+
+Domestication of Animals mainly accomplished by the Aryan Race;
+Small Amount of Such Work by American Indians.--Barnyard Fowl:
+Mental Qualities; Habits of Combat.--Peacocks: their Limited
+Domestication.--Turkeys: their Origin; tending to revert to the
+Savage State.--Water Fowl: Limited Number of Species domesticated;
+Intellectual Qualities of this Group.--The Pigeon: Origin and
+History of Group; Marvels of Breeding.--Song Birds.--Hawks and
+Hawking.--Sympathetic Motive of Birds: their �sthetic Sense;
+their Capacity for Enjoyment,                                        152
+
+
+USEFUL INSECTS
+
+Relations of Men to Insect World.--But Few Species Useful to
+Man.--Little Trace of Domestication.--Honey-bees: their Origin;
+Reasons for no Selective Work; Habits of the Species.--Silkworms:
+Singular Importance to Man.--Intelligence of Species.--Cochineal
+Insect.--Spanish Flies.--Future of Man relative to Useful Insects,   190
+
+
+THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS
+
+Recent Understanding as to the Rights of Animals; Nature of these
+Rights; their Origin in Sympathy.--Early State of Sympathetic
+Emotions.--Place of Statutes concerning Animal Rights.--Present
+and Future of Animal Rights.--Question of Vivisection.--Rights of
+Domesticated Animals to Proper Care; to Enjoyment.--Ends of the
+Breeder's Art.--Moral Position of the Hunter.--Probable
+Development of the Protecting Motive as applied to Animals,          204
+
+
+THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION
+
+The Conditions of Domestication; Effects on Society; Share of the
+Races of Men in the Work.--Evils of Non-Intercourse with
+Domesticated Animals as in Cities; Remedies.--Scientific Position
+of Domestication; Future of the Art.--List of Species which may
+Advantageously be Domesticated.--Peculiar Value of the Birds and
+Mammals.--Importance of Groups which tenant High Latitudes.--Plan
+for Wilderness Reservations; Relation to National Parks.--Project
+for International System of Reservations.--Nature of Organic
+Provinces; Harm done to them by Civilized Men.--Way in which
+Reservations would Serve to Maintain Types of the Life of
+the Earth; how they may be Founded.--Summary and Conclusions,        218
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+AFRICAN ELEPHANT,                                          _Frontispiece_
+
+SHEEP-DOGS GUARDING A FLOCK AT NIGHT,                                 10
+
+HOUNDS RUNNING A WILD BOAR,                                           53
+
+ON ROTTEN ROW, HYDE PARK, LONDON,                                     63
+
+CAVALRY HORSE,                                                        71
+
+A HURDLE JUMPER,                                                      79
+
+ENGLISH POLO PONIES,                                                  89
+
+WINNOWING GRAIN IN EGYPT,                                            111
+
+THE HALT IN THE DESERT AT NIGHT--THE STORY TELLER,                   121
+
+CARRYING THE SUGAR CANE IN HARVEST--EGYPT,                           125
+
+FEEDING SILKWORMS WITH MULBERRY LEAVES IN JAPAN,                     193
+
+THE FARMER'S APIARY,                                                 199
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
+
+GREYHOUND AFTER "THE KILL,"                                           13
+
+ST. BERNARD,                                                          15
+
+SPANIEL RETRIEVING WILD DUCK,                                         17
+
+BULL-DOG,                                                             22
+
+FOX-HOUND AND PUPS,                                                   25
+
+POINTER RETRIEVING A FALLEN BIRD,                                     26
+
+POINTER AND SETTER, FLUSHING GAME,                                    27
+
+DUTCH DOGS USED IN HARNESS,                                           30
+
+KING CHARLES SPANIEL,                                                 33
+
+THE POUNCE OF A TERRIER,                                              35
+
+POMERANIAN OR "SPITZ,"                                                38
+
+POODLES,                                                              39
+
+COLLIE,                                                               41
+
+A HUNTER,                                                             60
+
+HORSE OF A BULGARIAN MARAUDER,                                        67
+
+MARE AND FOAL,                                                        68
+
+PLOUGH HORSES, FRANCE,                                                73
+
+BELGIAN FISHERMAN'S HORSE,                                            76
+
+HORSES FOR TOWING ON THE BEACH IN HOLLAND,                            78
+
+EXERCISING THE THOROUGHBREDS,                                         84
+
+AN ARABIAN HORSE,                                                     85
+
+ARABIAN SPORTS,                                                       86
+
+SYRIAN HORSE,                                                         92
+
+IN THE CIRCUS,                                                        96
+
+DOMESTICATED BUFFALOES IN EGYPT,                                     104
+
+CATTLE OF INDIA,                                                     105
+
+INDIAN BULLOCK AND WATER-CARRIER,                                    108
+
+PLOUGHING IN SYRIA,                                                  109
+
+EGYPTIAN SHEEP,                                                      114
+
+BEDOUIN GOAT-HERD--PALESTINE,                                        116
+
+THE GREAT CARAVAN ROAD--CENTRAL ASIA,                                119
+
+CAMELS FEEDING,                                                      123
+
+CAMELS ALONG THE SEA AT TWILIGHT,                                    127
+
+AN INDIAN ELEPHANT,                                                  134
+
+THE ORIGINAL JUNGLE FOWL (_Gallus bankiva_) AND SOME OF HIS
+  DOMESTIC DESCENDANTS,                                              153
+
+HOUDIN, COCHINS, LEGHORNS, AND GAME,                                 158
+
+BANTAMS, BRAHMA, AND DORKINGS,                                       160
+
+CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ASIA, AFRICA, AND AMERICA--PEACOCKS,
+  GUINEA-FOWL, AND TURKEY,                                           163
+
+THE DOMESTICATED TURKEY,                                             165
+
+THE LARGEST OF ALL POULTRY--THE OSTRICH,                             168
+
+AN EIDER COLONY,                                                     170
+
+TERNS AIDING A WOUNDED COMRADE,                                      171
+
+SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE POULTRY YARD,                           173
+
+SWANS,                                                               174
+
+THE ORIGINAL WILD ROCK DOVE (_Columba livia_) AND SOME OF ITS
+  DOMESTIC DESCENDANTS,                                              175
+
+TURTLE DOVES,                                                        177
+
+THE GIANT CROWNED PIGEON OF INDIA,                                   178
+
+THE ENGLISH PHEASANT,                                                181
+
+THE FALCONER'S FAVORITE--PEREGRINE FALCON,                           184
+
+THE BANDIT'S BROOD,                                                  186
+
+
+
+
+DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+One of the effects of the modern advance in natural science has been
+greatly to increase the attention which is devoted to the influences
+that the conditions of diverse peoples have had upon their development.
+Man is no longer looked upon, as he was of old, as a being which had
+been imposed upon the earth in a sudden and arbitrary manner, set to
+rule the world into which he had been sent as a master. We now see him
+as one of the myriad species which has won its way by powers of mind out
+of darkness and the great struggle to the place of command. The way in
+which this creature, weak in body and exceedingly dependent on his
+surroundings, has in the modern geologic epoch come forth from the mass
+of the lower animals, is by far the most impressive and as yet the most
+unexplained phenomenon which the geologist has to consider. It is not
+likely that the marvellous advancement can be accounted for by any
+single cause; it is probably due, as are most of the great evolutions,
+to the concurrence of many influences; but among these which make for
+advance, we clearly have to reckon the animals and plants which man has
+learned to associate with his work of the household and the fields.
+
+Although certain species of insects, particularly the ants, have the
+well-developed habit of subjugating certain creatures of their own
+family, man is the only vertebrate that has ever adopted the plan of
+domesticating a variety of animals and plants. The beginnings of this
+custom were made in a very remote time, and for long ages the profit
+which was thereby gained appears to have been but slight. Gradually,
+however, races, owing to their masterful quality and to the
+opportunities which were offered by the wild life about their dwelling
+places, obtained flocks and herds. In the group of continents commonly
+termed the old world, where there were several ancient primitive peoples
+of innate ability, and where there were many species of larger mammals
+which were well fitted for domestication, the advance in social
+development went on rapidly. In the new world, though the primitive
+races contained tribes of much ability, there was practically no chance
+for the people to add to their strength by the subjugation of beasts of
+burden, or to their food resources by the adoption of various animals
+which could be used for the needs of food or raiment. The advance of men
+when they have obtained valuable domesticated animals, and their failure
+to win a high station where the surrounding nature denied such
+opportunities, go far to prove the bearing of this accomplishment in the
+development of peoples.
+
+A little consideration makes it evident to us that the advance of
+mankind above the original savage state is in several ways favored by
+the possession of domesticated animals. In the first place, each
+creature which is adopted into the household or the fields usually
+brings as its tribute a substantial contribution to the resources which
+tend to make the society commercially successful. When we consider the
+enlargements of resources and the diversification of industries which
+rest upon the adoption of any one of these animals--as, for instance,
+the horse--we see in a way what the possession of domesticated animals
+and plants really means, and are in a position to conceive, though at
+best but dimly, what the scores of these captive species have done for
+us. We recognize the fact that while, under almost any conditions, a
+certain manner of advance above the most primitive savagery is possible
+to a naturally able people, this on-going cannot lead any distance
+unless the folk have other help than their own weak bodies can give
+them. It is hardly too much to say that civilization has intimately
+depended on the subjugation of a great range of useful species.
+
+It would be interesting to trace, if we could, what share the several
+domesticated animals have had in the development of the human races; but
+this task is not to be done. We can, however, discern that the Arab
+without the camel and the horse would not have found the place in
+history which he has filled, and that our own race could not have
+attained its place save for the aid which the horned cattle, sheep, and
+a host of other helpers which we have pressed into service, have
+afforded. These economic gains have to be judged in mass, they cannot be
+reckoned in detail. When we have made the best account of them we can,
+there remains another class of influences, the value of which, though
+evidently great, is yet harder to reckon; these arise from the education
+which has been attained through the care of these adopted creatures.
+Among savages the great need is a training in forethoughtfulness; all
+primitive peoples are like children, they live in the interests of the
+day; the cares of the seasons to come, or even of the morrow, are not
+for them. The possession of domesticated animals certainly did much to
+break up this old brutal way of life; it led to a higher sense of
+responsibility to the care of the household; it brought about systematic
+agriculture; it developed the art of war; it laid the foundations of
+wealth and commerce, and so set men well upon their upward way.
+Moreover, the use of domesticated animals of the better sort enabled the
+more vigorous and care-taking races to gain the strength which led to
+their advancement in power to a point where they were able to displace
+the lower and feebler tribes. In other words, the system of
+domestication has provided a method by which those peoples who were
+fitted to develop the qualities which make for civilization could
+advance; it has provided the opportunity for selection.
+
+Of all the influences which have been exercised on man by the care of
+his flocks, herds, and droves, perhaps the most important is that which
+has arisen from the broader development of his sympathies. The savage
+may be defined as a man who cares only for his family and his tribe; the
+civilized man as one whose kindly interest extends to mankind and beyond
+to all sentient beings. In the development of this altruistic motive the
+care of the dependent species has evidently been most effective. We note
+that the peoples who have attained the first upward step in the
+association with domesticated animals are in their quality, so far as
+tested by literature and history, much above the mere savage. With the
+care of the flocks we find associated poetry, the first notes of higher
+religious motives, and a largeness of the sympathetic life which is
+favored by the nature of the occupation. Where the nomadic habits of the
+original shepherds pass into the more sedentary state of the soil
+tiller, the element of personal care and the affection and the
+consequent education of the sympathy were increased. Men had now to care
+for half a dozen or more kinds of animals; they had to learn their ways,
+in a manner to put themselves in their places and conceive their needs.
+Thus the life of a farmer is a continual lesson in the art of sympathy;
+with the result, certainly in part due to this cause, that there is no
+class of people from whom the brutal instincts of the ancient savage
+life which we all inherit have been so completely eradicated.
+
+It is perhaps too much to attribute the advance of the agricultural
+classes of our civilized peoples, in all that serves to remove them from
+the brutality of their savage ancestors, altogether to the nature of
+their work--to the very large element of kindly care for which it calls,
+and which is the price of success in the occupation. Yet when we note
+the immediate way in which the people bred in cities, under
+circumstances of excitement are wont to behave like savages of the lower
+kind, showing in their conduct a lack of all sympathetic education, and
+contrast their behavior with that of their kinsmen from the fields--we
+see essential differences in character which cannot well be explained
+save by the diverse natures of the training which the men have received.
+Thus in the French Revolution, the baser, more inhuman deeds were not
+committed by the peasants, who had been the principal sufferers under
+the r�gime which was overthrown, but by the people of the great towns
+who had been less oppressed by the iniquities of the old system of
+government.
+
+If it be true--as my personal experiences and observations lead me
+firmly to believe is the case--that man's contact with the domesticated
+animals has been and is ever to be one of the most effective means
+whereby his sympathetic, his civilized motives may be broadened and
+affirmed, there is clearly reason for giving to this side of life a
+larger share of attention than it has received. So far the presence of
+these lower creatures in our society has generally been accepted as a
+matter of course. Sentimentalists, after the fashion of Laurence Sterne,
+have dwelt upon the imaginary woes of the creatures. Associations of
+well-meaning people have endeavored to diminish the cruelty which people
+of the towns, rarely those bred on the soil, often inflict upon them. It
+seems, however, desirable that we should place this consideration upon a
+plane more fitting the knowledge of our time. It should be made plain,
+not only that the success of our civilization depends now as in the past
+on the co�peration which mankind has had from the domesticated animals,
+but also that the development of this relation is one of the most
+interesting features in all history. On through the ages of the geologic
+past comes this great procession of life, in the endless succession of
+species whose numbers in the aggregate are to be reckoned by the scores,
+if not by the hundreds of millions. Until this modern age, the throng
+goes forward blindly, groping its way towards the higher planes of life.
+At length certain of the more advanced forms attain to a measure of
+intellectual elevation. Still, for all this advance, the life is not
+organized so as to attain any large ends; no society arises from it.
+
+Suddenly, in the last geological epoch, man, the descendant of a group
+which like all others had led the narrow life of the preparatory ages,
+appears upon the scene. At first, and in his lower human estate, his
+position was not noticeably higher than that of his kindred, but there
+was in him the seed of a great unlikeness, of very new things, in that
+his desires had an element of the unlimited which was to grow apace, and
+in time to make him greedy of on-going. As this innovating creature
+sought for agents of power in the wilderness about him, he blindly laid
+hands upon such of the fellow tenants of the wilds as might serve his
+immediate needs. This species, both animals and plants, endowed with the
+capacity for variation, the plasticity which is in general a
+characteristic of all organic forms, were early led by their new master,
+as of old they had been guided by the old organic laws. They changed
+according to his choice, abandoning their ancient ways for the novel
+paths of civilization. With this association of the higher forms of the
+earth under the leadership of man, there began an entirely new and
+unprecedented condition of the world's affairs. In place of the ancient
+law of nature there came the control of our species which had been, in a
+way, chosen to be the overlord of life.
+
+At first, the number of species of animals and plants which man brought
+under his control was very limited; it was indeed confined to those
+which might readily be subjugated to meet immediate needs. Gradually,
+however, the list has been extended until it included thousands of
+forms, which, while they meet no need such as the savage recognizes, are
+gratifying to the taste or the ambitions of civilized peoples. These
+�sthetic devices, or those of necessity, are advancing so rapidly that
+each generation sees hundreds of new animal and plant species added to
+our living collections, so that our plant and animal gardens now contain
+a large share of the more attractive forms which are to be found in the
+various geographical realms. Our tilled fields yield perhaps a hundred
+times as many varieties of plants as they did in the earliest historic
+agriculture. The advance in the process of domestication is not so rapid
+as regards the animal kingdom as it is with the realm of plants, and
+this mainly for the reason that animals have a will of their own which
+has to be bent or broken to that of man. Still it goes on apace. We of
+to-day have at our command many times the number of sentient species
+contributive to our pleasure or profit that had been made captive at the
+beginning of our era. Naturally, in the early days of domestication, men
+brought under their control the greater number of the animals which gave
+promise of utility. As no new species of any economic importance have
+been created within the last geologic period, the field for the
+extension of economic domestication has of late been very limited. But
+the realm of sympathetic appreciation, unlike the economic, knows no
+definite bounds, and promises in time to bring all the more important
+organic forms under the care of the sympathetic and masterful being who
+has been chosen as the ruler of terrestrial life.
+
+We thus see that the matter of domesticated animals is but a part of the
+larger problem which includes all that relates to man's destined mastery
+of the earth--a mastery which he is rapidly winning. It means that, in
+time, a large part of the life of this sphere is to be committed to his
+care, to survive or perish as he wills, to change at his bidding, to
+give, as other subjugated kinds have done, whatever of profit or
+pleasure they may contribute to his endless advancement. From this point
+of view our domesticated creatures should be presented to our people,
+with the purpose in mind of bringing them to see that the process of
+domestication has a far-reaching aspect, a dignity, we may fairly say a
+grandeur, that few human actions possess. If we can impress this view,
+it will be certain to awaken men to a larger sense of their
+responsibility for, and their duty by, the creatures which we have taken
+from their olden natural state into the social order. It will, at the
+same time, enlarge our conceptions of our own place in the order of this
+world.
+
+In the following pages little effort has been made to present those
+facts concerning domesticated animals which would commonly be reckoned
+as scientific. The several essays which, in larger part, were separately
+printed in Scribner's Magazine, are intended for those persons who,
+while they may not care to approach the matter in the manner of the
+professional inquirer, are glad to have the results which naturalists
+have attained, so far as they may serve to extend knowledge of things
+which lie in the field of familiar experiences. To the text as it at
+first appeared, numerous additions have been made, and the concluding
+chapters, on the Rights of Animals, and on the Problem of Domestication,
+are new. In them an effort is made to direct attention to the importance
+of the problem of man's relation to the lower life which is about him,
+and which in the future far more than in the past is to be helped or
+hindered by his rule. Our life is made up of large problems; but there
+seem few that are greater than this, which concerns our duty by the
+creatures that share with us the blessings of existence, and over which
+we have come to rule.
+
+[Illustration: Sheep-Dogs Guarding a Flock at Night]
+
+
+
+
+THE DOG
+
+   Ancestry of the Domesticated Dogs.--Early Uses of the Animal:
+   Variations induced by Civilization.--Shepherd-dogs: their
+   Peculiarities; other Breeds.--Possible Intellectual Advances.--Evils
+   of Specialized Breeding.--Likeness of Emotions of Dogs to those of
+   Man: Comparison with other Domesticated Animals.--Modes of
+   Expression of Emotions in Dogs.--Future Development of this
+   Species.--Comparison of Dogs and Cats as regards Intelligence and
+   Position in Relation to Man.
+
+
+It is an interesting fact that the first creature which man won to
+domesticity was made captive and friend for the sake of companionship
+rather than for any grosser profit. The dog was, the world over, the
+first living possession of man beyond the limits of his own kindred. He
+has been so long separated from the primitive species whence he sprang
+that we cannot trace with any certainty his kinship with the creatures
+of the wilderness. Like his master he has become so artificialized that
+it is hard to conjecture what his original state may have been.
+
+Naturalists are much divided in opinion in all that relates to the
+origin of our ancient and common domesticated animals; and this for the
+reason that the longer a creature has been subjected to the
+change-bringing conditions of our fields and households, the further it
+has departed from the parent stock. This difficulty is naturally the
+greatest in the case of the dogs, for the reason that they have been
+longer and more completely under the control of man than any other of
+the lower animals. Some students of the problem have inclined to the
+opinion that the dog is a descendant of the wolf; the whelps of this
+species, it is supposed, were captured by primitive men and brought
+under domestication. Savages, like children, are much given to bringing
+the young of wild animals to their homes; if the conditions are
+favorable they will care for these captives, even if the charge upon
+their resources is tolerably heavy. With most primitive people, however,
+life is so vagarious and starvation so recurrent that they are not apt
+to retain their pets long enough to establish domesticated forms. Thus,
+among our American Indians, though they show fondness for wild creatures
+as much as any other people, no species save the dog ever became
+permanently associated with their tribe. It is, however, possible, that
+in some sedentary group of savages the work of domesticating the
+ancestors of the dog, even if they were wolf-like, was accomplished.
+
+The difficulty of this view is that even with the high measure of care
+which the conditions of civilization permit us to devote to the
+effort, it has been found impossible to educate captive wolves to the
+point where they show any affection for their masters, or are in the
+least degree useful in the arts of the household or the occupations of
+the chase. They are, in fact, indomitably fierce and utterly
+self-regarding. It seems unreasonable to believe that any savage would
+have found either pleasure or profit from an effort to tame any of the
+known species of wolves. Moreover, the fact that dogs show little or
+no tendency to revert to the form and habits of their brutal kindred,
+or to interbreed with them, is clearly against the supposition that
+there is any close relation between the creatures.
+
+[Illustration: Greyhound after "the Kill"]
+
+Yet other speculative inquirers have sought the origin of the dog
+through the admixture of the blood of several different species, the
+wolf and the jackal being, perhaps, the principal or the only components
+of the hybrid stock. Here, too, the evidence of nature is against the
+supposition. No one has ever succeeded in hybridizing the wolf and the
+jackal, nor do our dogs show any more tendency to revert to the jackal
+than to the wolf. They meet their tropical relative with as much
+animosity as is proper, or at least customary, in the intercourse of
+allied yet distinct species. In fact, all the indices by which we are
+able to carry back the history of other domesticated animals to their
+primitive or even extinct ancestry, fail in the case of the dog. When
+the stock is allowed to go as nearly wild as they can be induced to
+become, we do not find that they thereby approach to any known wild
+form. It therefore seems reasonable to betake ourselves to another
+basis for the natural history of the dog, which has not yet been made a
+matter of much inquiry, but which promises to afford us more substantial
+truth than the conjectures which we have just considered.
+
+We should, in the first place, note the fact that the ancestors of our
+more important domesticated animals, those which have been longest in
+subjugation, have commonly disappeared from the wild state--the species,
+except for the cultivated forms, having gone into the irrecoverable
+past. This is the case with the wild kindred of our bulls, horses,
+sheep, and camels, there probably being none of the original wild
+species of these groups now living, except those which have been more
+or less completely subjugated by man, and then have returned to the
+wilderness. The fact is, that with any large mammal the domestication
+of the species tends to bring about the destruction of the remaining
+wild forms. If we go back in fancy to the time when the dog was taken
+in from the wilderness, we readily perceive how certainly the
+subjugated individuals would have mingled with their wild kindred, so
+that either the wild would have become tame or _vice versa_. The same
+incompatibility which exists between slavery and freedom in our own
+species in any given territory may be said to hold in the case of
+captive animals. It is particularly on this account that I am disposed
+to think that our races of dogs have been derived from one or more
+original species of truly canine ancestors, the wild forms of which
+have long since disappeared from the earth.
+
+[Illustration: St. Bernard]
+
+Although there are no species of wild dogs now in existence to which we
+can refer the origin of our household friends, there are several known
+to us only in their fossil state, from which they may possibly--indeed,
+we may say probably--have been derived. These creatures are, of course,
+represented only by their skeletons, and even these remains have only
+been found in an imperfect state of preservation. It is evident,
+however, that these extinct species, or at least certain of them, lived
+down to the time when man had come upon the earth, and was beginning to
+speculate on his surroundings for such company and help as he might win
+therefrom. It may interest the reader to know that a species of American
+dog existed in the Southern Appalachians down to a very recent
+time--recent, at least, in a geological sense. The remains of one of
+these animals were found by the writer in a cave in East Tennessee, near
+Cumberland Gap. From the fragments of the skeleton, Mr. J. A. Allen has
+described the species. The animal appears to have been of moderate
+size, and, from the position of the bones, it seems tolerably certain
+that it lived but a few centuries ago.
+
+It is clearly a reasonable supposition that some of these primitive
+canine species may have been far more domesticable than the existing
+kindred of the dog--the wolves, foxes, jackals, or hyenas--differing
+from their fiercer kindred much as the zebras do from the wild asses,
+the one form being utterly undomesticable, and the other lending its
+back almost willingly to the burdens which man chooses to impose. It
+seems likely that this primitive species--perhaps more than one--whence
+the dog sprang was not a very vigorous or widespread form; else, as
+before remarked, a savage would have found it impossible to keep his
+half-tamed creatures from rejoining their wild kinsmen. Thus, if a man
+should in this day succeed in taming wolves, in a region where they were
+plenty, to the point where they began to abide his presence, or even to
+have some slight affection for him, the call of nature would be likely
+to lead them back to reunion with their kind.
+
+It seems pretty certain that the first steps in the domestication of the
+dog must be attributed not to any distinct purpose of acquiring a useful
+companion, but to that vague instinct which leads children to make
+captives of any wild animals with which they come in contact. The fancy
+for pets is not only common to all mankind, civilized and savage alike,
+but is clearly exhibited in many of the mammals below the level of man.
+Almost every one has observed cases where dogs, cats, and horses have
+become attached to some creature of an alien species with which they
+have been by chance thrown in contact. The higher the grade of the
+intelligence, the more sympathetic with other life the animal is likely
+to become. Thus the elephants, whose natural endowments in the way of
+intelligence are perhaps superior to those of any other wild creatures,
+are, when brought into captivity, curiously prone to form attachments to
+human beings. Savages appear to make but little use of their dogs in
+hunting. In fact, those peculiar combinations of instinct and training
+which we find in our hounds, pointers, setters, and other dogs which
+have been bred to serve the purposes of sportsmen, have been acquired
+but slowly, and are of no value except where the search for game is
+carried on under what we may term civilized conditions. The dog of the
+savage is in all countries much like his master--a creature with few
+arts and unaccustomed to subdue his rude native impulses.
+
+[Illustration: Spaniel Retrieving Wild Duck]
+
+It seems most likely that for ages the principal use of the dog which
+dwelt about the camps of the primitive people was found in the reserve
+food supply which they afforded their thriftless masters. When the
+hunting was successful the poor brutes had a chance to wax fat, and
+even in times of scarcity they managed to pick up enough food to keep
+them alive. When their masters were brought to a state of famine they
+were doubtless accustomed, as are many savages at the present time, to
+eat a portion of their pack. In the early conditions of humanity there
+was no other beast which could be made to serve so well this simple
+need in the way of provender. The dog is, in fact, the only animal
+ever domesticated which can be trusted through his own affections
+alone to abide with his master in the endless changes of camp and the
+rapid movements of flight and chase which characterized men before
+their housed state began. In a certain curious way the use of dogs for
+food has served greatly to advance the development of these captives.
+When the savage was driven to feed upon his dogs he was naturally more
+willing to sacrifice the least intelligent and affectionate of them,
+delaying, to the point of extremity, the time when he would kill those
+which had endeared themselves to him. In this way for ages a careful
+though unintended process of selection was applied to these creatures,
+and to it we may fairly attribute, as many considerate naturalists
+have done, a large part of the intellectual--indeed, we may say
+moral--elevation to which they have attained.
+
+When the place of the dog as the first and most intimate companion of
+man was affirmed in the rude way above described--when the savagery to
+which he was at first made free gradually enlarged to civilization, a
+number of special uses were found for the peculiar capacities of the
+creature. These varied in the different parts of the world, according
+to the peculiarities in the conditions of the masters. In high
+latitudes, where the ground is snow-covered during the winter season,
+dogs were used, as they are to this day, in dragging sleds. They were,
+indeed, perhaps the first animals which were harnessed to vehicles. When
+they were brought to serve this definite end, we may well believe that
+the stronger and more enduring individuals were spared in times of
+dearth for the reason that they were almost indispensable to their
+masters, and even the little forethought which we find among primitive
+peoples would lead to their preservation. Here again, doubtless, came in
+the process of unintended selection which has made the Esquimau sled-dog
+one of the most remarkable varieties of his kind.
+
+Perhaps the most interesting of the early variations induced among
+dogs is that which has arisen from the pastoral habit. We do not know
+when this custom of keeping sheep in large flocks was first
+instituted, but it is evidently of exceeding antiquity, probably far
+older than the pyramids of Egypt. The custom could hardly have been
+instituted without help of the shepherd's mate, the sheep-dog.
+Although the creatures of this breed are probably in form very near to
+the original wild species whence our canines came, the variety has as
+regards its instincts been, by a process of education and selection,
+led very far away from the original stock.
+
+The wild forefathers of this species were clearly natural born
+sheep-slayers, and the motive abides to this day in all the breeds which
+have the strength to assail our unresisting flocks. The spirit is so
+ingrained that even the most civilized of our house-dogs, which may for
+generations never have tasted blood and which show no disposition to
+attack the other animals of the barn-yard, cannot be trusted alone with
+sheep. When two or more of them are together the old instincts of the
+wild pack return, and they will slay with insensate brutality until they
+are fairly exhausted with their fury. Their behavior on such occasions
+reminds one of the actions of their masters when possessed with the
+blind rage of a mob. Yet in the shepherd-dog we find this ancestral
+motive, once a large part of the life of the creature, so overcome by
+education and selection that they will not only care for a flock with
+all the devotion which self-interest can lead the master to give to the
+task, but they will cheerfully undergo almost any measure of privation
+in order to protect their charges from harm. The annals of shepherd
+districts, especially those where winter snows fall deeply, as in
+Scotland, abound in anecdotes of a well-attested nature which show how
+profoundly the dogs which tend the flocks are imbued with the love of
+the animals committed to their care. This affection is more curious for
+the reason that it is never in any measure returned by the sheep. To
+them the custodian is ever a dreaded overseer. He seems to bring to them
+nothing but the memories of danger derived from the experience which
+their species acquired in far-away times.
+
+It is very interesting to note the behavior of a young shepherd-dog when
+he is first brought in contact with a flock. It is easy to see that he
+has an amazingly keen interest in the sheep. He regards them with an
+attention which he gives to no other living things, except perhaps his
+master. Out of a litter of well-bred pups belonging to this variety, the
+greater part will at once assume a curatorial attitude toward a flock.
+They will show a disposition to keep them together, and will seize on
+an individual only in case he undertakes to break away. They will
+generally use no more force than is necessary to reduce the recalcitrant
+to order. They arrest him by catching hold of the leg or fleece, and
+rarely seize hold of the throat, which other dogs, led by their
+inherited instincts, are apt at once to assail. Very rarely does a
+shepherd-dog of good ancestry, even at the outset of his career, attack
+a sheep in a way which shows that the ancient proclivities have been
+revived in his spirit. Even then a little remonstrance, or at most a
+slight castigation, is pretty sure to turn him from his evil ways. If we
+could measure in some visible manner the psychic peculiarities of
+animals, we would be led to regard this great change in the instincts of
+the dog, which has been brought about by his use in herding, as perhaps
+the most momentous transformation which man has ever accomplished in any
+creature, including himself; for none of our own inherited savage traits
+are so completely sublated at the time of our birth as is this old and
+sometime dominant slaying motive in the shepherd-dog.
+
+With the advancing differentiation of human occupations and amusements,
+our breeds of dogs have, by more or less deliberate selection, been
+developed until by form and instincts they fit a great variety of
+purposes. Some of these pertain to industrial work, but the greater
+portion are related to the sports or fancies of men. The turnspit was
+bred for its short legs and small, compact body, and was serviceable in
+those treadmills of the hearth which have long since passed out of use,
+but which were for centuries features in our kitchens.
+
+[Illustration: Bull-Dog]
+
+The massive type of bull-dogs, characterized by heavy frames and an
+indomitable will, appears to have been brought about by a process of
+selection having for its unconscious end the development of a breed
+which should render the herdsman of horned cattle something like the
+assistance which the shepherd-dog gave to those who had charge of
+flocks. In the more primitive state of our bulls and cows the
+creatures were much wilder than at present, and were generally kept,
+not in enclosed pastures, but on unfenced ranges. In these conditions
+the care taken needed the help which the ancestors of our modern
+bull-dog afforded. The tasks which the animal was called on to perform
+were of a ruder nature than those which were allotted to the
+shepherd-dog. Their business was to conquer the unruly beast. They
+were taught to seize the muzzle, and by the pain they thus inflicted
+they could subdue even the fiercer small bulls of the ancient type of
+form. From this original use the cattle-dogs were turned to the brutal
+sport of bull-baiting, a rude diversion which was indulged in by our
+ancestors for centuries, and has only disappeared in our less cruel
+modern days. Bred for the bull-ring, these dogs acquired the
+formidable strength and ferocity under excitement which made their
+name a terror and their qualities a satirical embodiment of the ruder
+traits which characterized the British folk.
+
+The training which instituted the breed of bull-dogs was evidently
+much less continuous and effective than that which developed the
+shepherding variety. The use for the creature in the care of herds has
+passed away. In the older parts of the world cattle are kept only in
+enclosures; and where, as on our frontier, they still range over
+unbounded fields, they are guarded by horsemen who do not need the
+assistance of dogs to control the movements of the herds. No longer
+serviceable either in economies or sports, the breed of true bull-dogs
+is rapidly disappearing. As we may often observe in other fields of
+development, the peculiarities of this breed are now under the control
+of fancy, and the blood is being led far away from its old
+characteristics. The bull-terrier and other varieties, which retain
+something of the form and of the solemn demeanor which characterized
+their ancestors, but which are too small to assail horned cattle, mark
+the vanishing stages of this great stock, which will soon be known
+only in memory. The history of this peculiar herd-dog shows us how
+marvellously pliant the body and mind of this species has become under
+the conditions of civilization. The rude process of unconscious
+selection, acting without steadfastness of purpose or rationally
+developed skill, serves to sway the qualities of the animal this way
+or that to meet the ever-changing requirements of use or fancy. A
+similar selection in the case of our horned cattle has within a few
+centuries converted the cows into mild-mannered and sedentary
+milk-making machines, and has deprived the bulls of the greater part
+of their ancient savage humor. Owing to this change in the quality of
+their associates in captivity the dogs have also been led into great
+variations. The same type of interaction may be traced again and again
+in the isolated part of the world enclosed within our fences, as well
+as in the free realm of the wildernesses. All the individuals in the
+great host of life affect each other as do the soldiers of a
+well-organized army in the movements of a battle.
+
+The shepherd-dog, the turnspit, and the bull-dog are the three
+remarkable variations of the canine blood which were brought about by
+a process of training and selection unconsciously directed to the
+institution of breeds suited to special economic ends. The other
+varieties of dogs have been shaped more distinctly for purposes of
+amusement or for the indulgence of mere fancy. The several varieties
+of hounds, harriers, beagles, pointers, setters, terriers, etc., have
+been designed to meet a dozen or more variations in the conditions of
+the chase. The marvellously complete way in which special
+peculiarities have been developed in mind and body makes this field of
+domestic culture the most fascinating subject of inquiry to the
+naturalist. The ordinary fox-hound has had his inheritances determined
+so as to fit him for pursuing a small animal which can rarely be kept
+in view during its flight, and which can only be followed by the odor
+it leaves in its trail, so these creatures run almost altogether under
+guidance of their sense of smell. The stag-hound, on the other hand,
+pursues a relatively large animal which cannot well be followed by the
+nose, at least with any speed; they therefore trust almost altogether
+to vision in their chase. The packs which hunt otters have developed
+the swimming habit and an array of instincts which fit them
+especially for this peculiar sport. If space allowed we could note at
+least a dozen divisions of the group of hounds or chasing dogs, each
+of which has developed a peculiar assemblage of qualities, more or
+less precisely adapted to some particular game.
+
+[Illustration: Fox-Hound and Pups]
+
+Perhaps the most special adaption which man has brought about in his
+domesticated animals is found in our pointers and setters. In these
+groups the dogs have been taught, in somewhat diverse ways, to
+indicate the presence of birds to the gunner. Although the modes of
+action of these two breeds are closely related, they are sufficiently
+distinct to meet certain differences of circumstances. The
+peculiarities of their actions, it should be noted, are altogether
+related to the qualities of our fowling-pieces. These have been in
+use, at least in the form where shot took the place of the single
+ball, for less than two centuries, and the peculiar training of our
+pointers and setters has been brought about in even less time. It
+seems likely, indeed, that it is the result of about a hundred and
+fifty years of teaching, combined with the selection which so
+effectively works upon all our domesticated creatures. It thus appears
+that this peculiar impress upon the habits of the hunting-dog is the
+result of somewhere near thirty generations of culture.
+
+[Illustration: Pointer Retrieving a Fallen Bird]
+
+Although, as has been often suggested, the pointing or setting habit
+probably rests upon an original custom of pausing for a moment before
+leaping upon their prey, which was possibly characteristic of the wild
+dog, it seems to me unlikely that this is the case, for we do not find
+this habit of creeping on the prey among our more primitive forms of
+dogs nor the wild allied species as a marked feature. All the canine
+animals trust rather to furious chase than to the cautious form of
+assault by stealthy approach and a final spring upon their prey, as is
+the habit with the cat tribe. Granting this somewhat doubtful claim that
+the induced habits of these dogs which have been specially adapted to
+the fowling-piece rest upon an original and native instinct, the amount
+of specialization which has been attained in about thirty generations of
+care remains a very surprising feature, and affords one of the most
+instructive lessons as to the possibilities of animal culture.
+
+[Illustration: Pointer and Setter, Flushing Game]
+
+It is an interesting fact that the variation of a spontaneous sort,
+which is now taking place in our pointers and setters, is
+considerable. It is, perhaps, more distinctly indicated here than in
+any other of the breeds which are characterized by peculiar
+qualities of mind. All those familiar with the behavior of these
+strains of dogs have observed the high measure of individuality
+which characterizes them. I have recently been informed by a friend,
+who is a hunter and a very observing naturalist, of one of these
+variations in the pointer's instinct, which may, by careful
+selection, possibly lead to a very useful change in the habits of
+the animal. Hunting the Virginia partridge in the tall grass on the
+sea-coast of Georgia, his dog found by experience that his master
+could not discern him when he was pointing birds, and that a yelp of
+impatience would put up the covey before the gun was ready for them.
+The sagacious dog, therefore, adopted the habit of backing away from
+the point where he first fixed himself, so that he, by barking,
+denoted the presence of the birds without giving them alarm.
+Although, in this first instance, the action is purely rational, and
+is indeed good evidence of singular discernment and contriving
+skill, it seems likely that by careful breeding it may be brought
+into the realm of pure instinct or inherited habit.
+
+The great variation in habits which is taking place in those varieties
+of dogs which are immediately under the master's eye during all the
+process of the chase, is easily explained by the fact that these
+creatures are in a position to be immediately and constantly
+influenced during their most active, and therefore teachable state of
+mind, by the will of man. A pack of fox-hounds is, to a great extent,
+out of hand while engaged in the pursuit of their prey; but a pointer
+or setter, even when under extreme excitement, is almost completely
+mastered by the superior will. When we observe the extent to which
+human intelligence is affecting the qualities of our hunting-dogs, it
+is not surprising to note that, in almost every district where there
+are peculiar kinds of game, varieties of the dog are developing which
+are especially adapted to its pursuit. Thus, in the parts of North
+America where the raccoon abounds, a variety of hunting-dog is in
+process of development which has a singular assemblage of qualities
+which fit it for this peculiar form of the chase. Although as yet
+"coon-dogs" have not been cultivated for a sufficient time to acquire
+distinct physical characteristics, their habits exhibit a larger range
+of specialization than those of any other breed of sporting dogs.
+
+In those parts of the Americas where peccaries are hunted, the dogs
+used in their pursuit have learned to beware of assaulting the pack
+which they have brought to bay, and instead of indulging in the
+instinct which leads them into that way of danger and of certain
+death, they circle round the assemblage, compelling them to show front
+on every side and so to remain stationary until the hunters come up.
+Perhaps a score of similar specializations in the modes of action of
+our dogs which are employed in the chase could be recited; but as they
+all lead us to one conclusion--which is to the effect that these
+creatures are, as far as their mental powers are concerned, like clay
+in the hands of the potter--we may pass them by for some
+considerations which appear to have escaped the attention of writers
+who have discussed the problems of canine intelligence.
+
+The singular elasticity as regards both mental and physical qualities
+which the dog exhibits, may well be compared with the other conditions
+which we find in certain of our domesticated animals, as, for instance,
+in the horse, where the mind shows but slight changes, and where the
+body has proved far less plastic than among dogs. The readiness with
+which the proportions of the dog may, by the breeder's art, be made to
+vary, is probably due to the fact that the group to which this creature
+belongs is one of relatively modern institution. It has the plasticity
+which we note as a characteristic of many other newly-established forms.
+The flexibility of mind is a concomitant of the carnivorous habit where
+creatures obtain their prey by the chase. Such an occupation tends to
+develop agile minds as well as bodies, and where exercised as it
+doubtless was by the ancestry of the dog, in the manner of pack hunting,
+where many individuals share in the chase, it is well calculated to
+insure a certain free and outgoing quality of the mind.
+
+[Illustration: Dutch Dogs used in Harness]
+
+So long as our dogs were employed in the labor or the organized
+recreations of man, the tendency of the association with the superior
+being was in a high measure educative. They were constantly submitted
+to a more or less critical but always effective selection which
+tended ever to develop a higher grade of intelligence. With the
+advance in the organization of society the dog is losing something of
+his utility, even in the way of sport. He is fast becoming a mere
+idle favorite, prized for unimportant peculiarities of form. The
+effort in the main is not now to make creatures which can help in the
+employments of man, but to breed for show alone, demanding no more
+intelligence than is necessary to make the animal a well-behaved
+denizen of a house. The result is the institution of a wonderful
+variety in the size, shape, and special peculiarities of different
+breeds with what appears to be a concomitant loss in their
+intelligence. We often hear it remarked by those who are familiar
+with dogs that the ordinary mongrels are more intelligent and more
+susceptible of high training than the carefully inbred varieties,
+which are more highly prized because they conform to some thoroughly
+artificial standard of form or coloring. This is what we should
+expect from all we know concerning the breeding. Where for
+generations the dog-fancier has selected for reproduction with
+reference to the trifling and often injurious features of shape he
+seeks to attain, he naturally and almost necessarily neglects to
+choose the creatures in regard to their mental peculiarities. The
+result is that the breed tends to fall back in these regards to below
+the level of the ordinary cur, who makes his place in the affections
+of his owner because he has attractive or useful qualities of mind.
+It appears to me, in a word, that our treatment of this noble animal,
+where he is bred for ornament, is in effect degrading.
+
+Although the formation of our fancy breeds does not serve to advance the
+development of those intellectual features which are the most
+interesting part of our dogs, the experiments have served to show the
+amazing physical plasticity of this species under the conditions of long
+domestication. The range in size between a tiny spaniel, such as those
+which are bred in Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, and the great Danes or
+mastiffs of northern Europe, is, perhaps, the greatest which has ever
+been attained in any mammal. In some cases the larger individuals
+belonging to the mastiff breed probably weigh nearly thirty times as
+much as their smaller kinsmen. Great as are these variations, they are
+only in form and bulk. They involve none of those curious changes in the
+number of bones of the skeleton which we may trace among the
+domesticated pigeons. We therefore turn from these results of breeders'
+fancy to consider certain of the mental qualities of dogs which have not
+come in our way in our review of the history of its relations to man.
+
+First of all, we may note the fact that the friendly relations which
+dogs have become accustomed to form with men vary exceedingly in their
+range and activity. Perhaps in no other regard does the dog exhibit
+such distinctly human characteristics as in the way in which he meets
+the individuals of the mastering species. The gamut of their social
+relations with men is almost exactly parallel with our own. With from
+one to a dozen persons a dog may maintain an attitude of almost equally
+complete sympathy and mutual understanding. He may be on terms of
+acquaintanceship in varied degrees of familiarity with a few score
+others with whom he comes in frequent contact. Toward the rest of
+mankind he maintains a position of more or less complete distrust,
+which with experience may attain the indifference which men commonly
+show toward perfect strangers. If we observe a dog going along a
+much-frequented street, we may note that his relations to the people
+are substantially those which the folk have to each other. He shows as
+they do a certain consideration for the individuals he encounters,
+gives them their due place, and yet holds to his own. It is
+particularly noticeable that he avoids all contact with the other
+passers--in fact a dog has to be much beside himself with rage or fear,
+or insane from disease, before he will break those bounds of
+personality which civilization has set up to guide the conduct of life.
+
+[Illustration: King Charles Spaniel]
+
+The social culture of dogs appears to have gone to the point where
+they recognize the meaning of an introduction--at least as far as the
+sympathetic relations of that understanding are concerned. Almost any
+well-bred dog will submit to be presented by his master, or even by
+persons whom he knows but is not accustomed to obey, to a stranger to
+whom he has already exhibited some dislike. During the introduction
+he will submit to those formal exchanges of courtesy which he is
+accustomed to recognize as the indices of friendship. The impression
+of this understanding seems to be so permanent that on subsequent
+meetings the dog, though he may maintain his original dislike of the
+man who has been forced upon his acquaintance, will continue to treat
+him with a certain consideration, though it is often easy to see that
+it is a difficult matter for him to conform to the requirements of
+society. When we compare the conduct of dogs in these regards with
+the behavior of other animals, even highly domesticated forms, we
+perceive how marvellously successful has been man's unconscious
+effort to mould this creature on his own nature.
+
+Another extremely human characteristic of our canine friends is shown
+in their susceptibility to ridicule. Faint traces of this quality are
+to be found in monkeys and perhaps even in the more intelligent horses,
+but nowhere else save in man, and hardly there, except in the more
+sensitive natures, do we find contempt, expressed in laughter of the
+kind which conveys that emotion, so keenly and painfully appreciated.
+With those dogs which are endowed with a large human quality, such as
+our various breeds of hounds, it is possible by laughing in their faces
+not only to quell their rage, but to drive them to a distance. They
+seem in a way to be put to shame and at the same time hopelessly
+puzzled as to the nature of their predicament. In this connection we
+may note the very human feature that after you have cowed a dog by
+insistent laughter you can never hope to make friends with him. A case
+of this kind is fresh in my experience. A year or two ago I was
+imprudent enough to laugh at a very intelligent dog in my neighborhood,
+he having unreasonably assailed me at my house-door, where he had been
+left for a long time to wait while his owner was within and had thereby
+been brought into an unhappy state of mind. Sympathizing with his
+situation, I preferred to laugh him out of his humor rather than to
+beat him with my stick. I regret I did not take the other alternative,
+for I made the poor brute my implacable enemy by my pretence of
+contempt for him. I am inclined to think that if I had beaten him the
+matter could have been arranged afterward in a friendly way.
+
+[Illustration: The Pounce of a Terrier]
+
+Another very remarkable and I believe hitherto unnoticed likeness
+between the mind of dogs and that of man is found in the fact that
+these dumb beasts, unlike all other inferior animals, except, perhaps,
+some of the more intelligent species of monkeys, will learn lessons
+from isolated experiences. In this regard they are indeed quite as apt
+as the lower kinds of men. Thus a dog who has had an unsavory or
+painful experience with a skunk or a porcupine is apt to keep away
+from these creatures for a long time thereafter. Where, as is not
+infrequently the case, a cur takes to eating eggs, a single dose of
+tartar emetic concealed in an egg which is placed where he can readily
+find it, is apt to effect an immediate and complete reform. This ready
+learning from experience is almost the gist of our human quality--at
+least on the intellectual side of it.
+
+Perhaps the greatest success to which man has attained in his education
+of the dog is to be found in the measure in which he has overcome the
+fierce rage which clearly characterized the ancestors of this creature
+when they first felt the mastering hand. The reader cannot understand
+the intensity of the rage motive in the carnivora unless he has studied
+some of these brutes in their wild state, where from the time in the
+remote ages when they first began to take on the qualities of their
+species they have survived and won success by the fury of their assault.
+In almost all our breeds of dogs this primal ferocity has been overlaid
+by the various motives of rationality, sympathy, and conventional
+demeanor, until one may live half a lifetime with well-bred dogs without
+a chance to see the demon which we have buried in their breasts, as we
+have in our own, beneath a host of civilizing influences. It is rare
+indeed in our day that a dog, unless insane, will bite a human being.
+The most of their assaults are pure bluster, mere pretence of fury, as
+is shown by the fact that if, carried away by their pretence, they are
+led to use their teeth, it is usually a mere sham assault, having no
+semblance of the effectiveness of true combat.
+
+Something of the pristine fury of the primitive dogs may still be noted
+in a certain brutal variety of watch-dogs which are still to be found in
+parts of continental Europe. The best types of this breed which I have
+ever seen are to be found among the dogs which are kept to guard the
+quarries of Solenhofen, in Bavaria, whence come all the fine
+lithographic stones which are so extensively used in printing. These
+quarries are scattered over several square miles of untilled country,
+and the separate pits are to be numbered by the score. As much valuable
+stone is necessarily left over night in the quarries, their care is
+confined to packs of watch-dogs which are turned loose at night and
+appear as if by instinct to spend the hours of darkness in prowling over
+the territory. Such is their size and ferocity that it takes a sturdy
+beggar to face them. I remember inadvertently disturbing one of these
+brutes from sleep, in the strong cage where he was confined, and I have
+never beheld such a picture of blind fury as he exhibited. I had not
+come within twenty feet of him, and was merely moving past his place of
+confinement; yet he sprang to the grating and strove with his teeth to
+break his way through the bars. I thought the animal must be mad, but
+his keeper assured me that such was his ordinary state of mind and that
+the humor was common to all the breed; even the masters dwelt in fear of
+them. Ordinarily the only exhibitions of the innate ferocity of our dogs
+are to be seen in their combats with each other, when for a time the
+creatures return to their primitive state of mind. Even these occasional
+exhibitions of fury are not found among all breeds of dogs, and among
+many individuals even of the combative strains of blood the motive of
+battle appears to have quite passed away.
+
+[Illustration: Pomeranian or "Spitz"]
+
+In antithesis to the old Ishmaelitic humor of our primitive dogs, man
+has developed a singular, sympathetic, and kindly motive in these
+creatures. From the point of view of the dog's education we must not
+set too much store by his affection for his master. This kind of
+devotion of one being to another is displayed elsewhere in the animal
+kingdom, though it is more common among birds than among mammals. We
+find traces of it in the greater part of our domesticated creatures or
+in those which we have individually adopted from the wilderness. It is a
+part of the great sympathetic motive, which, originating far down in the
+series of animals, increases as they gain in the scale of being, until
+it reaches the highest level it has yet attained in spiritually minded
+men. The eminent peculiarity in the case of a dog is that the very
+centre of his life is formed of the affections, which are evidently the
+same as those which rule the days of the most cultivated men. To him
+these elements of friendliness are absolutely necessary to a comfortable
+existence. If by chance he becomes separated from his master and the
+other people with whom he is familiar, his bereavement is intense; but
+in most cases, at the end of a day or two, he is compelled to form new
+bonds, and he sets about the task in an exceedingly human way. I dwell
+in a town where dogs abound and where the frequent coming and going of
+the people puts many of the creatures astray. Perhaps as often as once a
+week, almost always late in the evening, one of these unhappy lost ones
+seeks to make friends with me. His advances toward this end always begin
+by his dogging my footsteps at a little distance. If I do not repulse
+him he will come nearer until he has made sure of my attention. A
+friendly word will bring him to my hand; but his behavior is never
+effusive, as it would be if he had found his rightful owner, but mildly
+propitiative and with a touch of sadness. There is, it seems to me, no
+other feature in the life of the dog which tells so much as to his moral
+nature as his conduct under these unhappy circumstances.
+
+[Illustration: Poodles]
+
+In the long catalogue of human qualities which characterize our
+thoroughly domesticated dogs, we must not fail to take account of
+their sense of property. In this the creature differs from all other
+of our domesticated animals. It is a common characteristic of mammals,
+both in their wild and tame state, that they feel a motive of
+ownership in the food which they have captured or in the den which
+they have made their lair; but beyond these narrow personal limits we
+see no evidence of any sense of ownership in land or effects. We
+readily observe, however, that our household dogs not only know the
+chattels of their master and distinguish them from those of other
+people, but they also learn to recognize the bounds of their house-lot
+or even of a considerable farm. When a dog, even of a militant
+quality, enters on territory which he does not feel to belong to him,
+he is at once a very different creature as compared to his condition
+when he is on his own land. He treads warily and will accept without
+dispute an order to take himself off. A perception of this sort
+indicates an extraordinary amount of sympathy and discernment. It
+requires us to assume that the creature has a good sense of topography
+and that he observes closely the various acts, none of them perhaps
+very indicative, which go to show the limits of his master's claims.
+
+Although the mental qualities of our highly domesticated dogs are
+singularly like those of their masters, the likeness going to the
+point that the household pet is apt to have acquired something of the
+general character of the people with whom he dwells, there are many
+suggestive differences arising from failures of development which are
+in the highest measure interesting to those who study the species. We
+note, in the first place, that although for ages in contact with the
+constructive work which occupies his masters, the dog shows no
+tendency whatever to essay any undertakings of this nature. He is
+quite alive to considerations of personal comfort and is particularly
+fond of a warm bed; yet, except for a few unverified stories, we may
+say that there is no evidence whatever to show that they ever try to
+improve their conditions by deliberately providing themselves with warm
+bedding. In no well-attested case has a dog shown any sense as to the
+nature of any mechanical contrivance. They will learn which way a door
+opens, and rarely if ever do they undiscerningly close it when it is
+slightly ajar and they wish to pass through the opening; but I have
+never been able to observe or obtain evidence to show that they would
+without teaching pull down a latch in the way in which a cat readily
+learns to do. Much as dogs have had to do with guns, they display no
+kind of interest in the arms except so far as they are tokens of sport
+to come. They connect the explosion with the capture of game, and will
+search for it in the direction toward which the barrel was pointed. I
+have not, however, been able to find that they know, as they might
+readily do, and as a crow would surely do, when the weapon was loaded
+and when empty. They show no interest in it, such as monkeys readily
+display toward any mechanical contrivance to which their attention has
+been directed. All these negative features indicate that the mechanical
+side of the canine mind is entirely undeveloped.
+
+[Illustration: Collie]
+
+Although there is some evidence that the sense of number attains a
+measure of development in dogs, the ability to form mathematical
+conceptions of any kind appears to be very weak in this species. The
+fact that shepherd-dogs, in a way, keep an account of considerable
+flocks so that they will know when one is gone astray, can readily be
+explained on the supposition that they know their charges individually
+and not in sum. The absence of arithmetical capacity is, however, less
+important than the lack of mechanical sense, for the reason that such
+incapacity is also common in the lowest races of men. Although dogs, as
+before noted, quickly and clearly acquire a notion of property rights in
+all which pertains to their owner's holdings, they appear never to
+extend their sense of their own personal possessions beyond the original
+limit to which they had attained when the species was domesticated. The
+creature feels a sense of personal property in his food and in his
+sleeping-place, but appears not to extend his conception of individual
+rights beyond these primitively established limits.
+
+All our well-bred household dogs quickly learn certain bodily habits
+which are necessary to make them acceptable members of a household.
+These habits are not well affirmed by inherited instinct, but the ease
+with which the instruction is acquired shows that they have become prone
+to submit to such regulations. Culture on this line rests upon a primal
+instinct, originating we know not how, which leads a number of wild
+animals to conceal their excrement. On the other hand, these creatures
+exhibit no sense of modesty, though that, in a more or less complete
+measure, is characteristic of all human tribes whatsoever.
+
+As regards the memory, dogs appear to have a considerably greater
+measure of capacity than is observable in any other group of
+domesticated animals. There is no question that they can recall their
+associations with people from whom they have been separated for a year
+or more. Some trustworthy anecdotes appear to establish the fact that
+the recollections may endure for two or three years. I have observed
+an instance in which the memory seems perfectly clear after an
+interval of eighteen months, and this concerned a person who had been
+with the dog for a period of not more than four days. It is
+interesting to note the behavior of a dog when he has failed to
+recognize a person whom he has known well, but from whom he has been
+long separated. I have a shepherd-dog that has known me well, but the
+friendship is often interrupted by partings of some months' duration.
+When, after one of these absences, I appear to him in the distance, he
+comes furiously towards me, quite possessed by his enmity. At a certain
+point in his charge a doubt begins to beset him; he moderates his pace;
+his roaring bark passes into a whine; and as the full measure of his
+blunder is borne in upon him by my voice, he becomes the picture of
+shame. In his perplexity, he always finds relief in endeavoring with
+his paw to scrape a supposititious fly from the side of his nose. He
+then deals with what I suppose to be an equally imaginary flea; after
+he has thus gained a few seconds for readjustment, he welcomes me
+joyously. All this is so thoroughly human-like, that even the
+naturalist, the professional doubter, is forced to believe that the
+dog's mind works substantially as his own, and that the feelings
+connected with the action are essentially the same.
+
+While in the case of the elephant and the pig, and in a less measure
+in several other of the lower animals, we have indices of as high or
+even higher intelligence than the dog, no other brute shows anything
+like the same measure of what we may term human quality. So far as the
+field of the emotions is concerned, we are driven to believe that it
+has been bred into the kind by the ages of intimate associations,
+supported by the selective process which has led people to preserve
+the individual of the species with which they found themselves the
+most in sympathy. I repeat the suggestion, and shall repeat it yet
+again, for the reason that just here--how effectively the reader's
+imagination will suggest--we find a basis for the hope that, with
+time and care, man may bring his subjects of the lower realm into a
+more intimate, affectionate, and helpful relation than is dreamed of
+by those who look upon them as mere brutes.
+
+The most curious limitation which we find in dogs is as to the measure
+of expression to which they have attained. No one who has well
+considered the facts can doubt that our civilized varieties of this
+species have something like a hundred times as much which deserves
+utterance as their savage forefathers possessed. Yet the capacity for
+giving note to these thoughts or emotions has not gained anything like
+the proportion to the needs. It seems, however, that some gain in this
+direction has been made, and that much may be won hereafter in the way
+of further advance. Never having known the species whence our dogs came
+in its wild state, we are uncertain as to its modes of expression; but,
+observing the varieties of dogs which are kept by savages, it seems
+probable that the primitive canines used their voice only in howling or
+yelping; that is, as a continuous sound akin to the bellowings or other
+cries of the various wild mammals. It is characteristic of all these
+primitive forms of utterance that they are, to a great extent,
+involuntary, and that when the outcry is begun it continues in a
+mechanical manner, with no trace of modulation arising from the
+conditions of the moment. In other words, these actions resemble, in a
+way, sneezing or hiccoughing in human kind; actions which are
+stimulated by certain states of the body, but which are not at all
+under the control of the will. Howling or bellowing doubtless
+represents, in a measure, a state of mind as well as of body, but the
+action is of a general and uncontrolled kind.
+
+The effect of advancing culture upon a dog has been gradually to
+decrease this ancient undifferentiated mode of expression afforded by
+howling and yelping, and to replace it by the much more speech-like
+bark. There is some doubt whether the dogs possessed by savages have the
+power of uttering the sharp, specialized note which is so characteristic
+of the civilized forms of their species. It is clear, however, that if
+they have the capacity of thus expressing themselves, they use it but
+rarely. On the other hand, our high-bred dogs have, to a great extent,
+lost the habit of expressing themselves in the ancient way. Many of our
+breeds appear to have become incapable of ululating. There is no doubt
+but this change in the mode of expression greatly increases the capacity
+of our dogs to set forth their states of mind. If we watch a high-bred
+dog, one with a wide range of sensibilities, which we may find in breeds
+which have long been closely associated with man, we may readily note
+five or six varieties of sound in the bark, each of which is clearly
+related to a certain state of mind. The bark of welcome, of fear, of
+rage, of doubt, and of pure fun, are almost always perfectly distinct to
+the educated ear, and this although the observer may not be acquainted
+with the creature; if he knows him well, he may be able to distinguish
+various other intonations--those which express impatience and even an
+element of sorrow. This last note verges toward the howl.
+
+It does not seem to me that we should regard barking as a new and
+useful invention; there are, indeed, few such in the organic world. The
+sound appears to me to have been derived from the primitive habit of
+howling. If we hearken to this utterance we perceive that it is not an
+unbroken sound, but is somewhat intermittent. At either end of the
+prolonged sound we can often notice that it is divided into rather
+distinct yelps more or less completely separated from the other notes.
+The cries of a dog when beaten often exhibit the same peculiarity; so,
+too, the puppy, before he has attained skill in barking, will often
+prolong each utterance in a way which makes its relation to the ancient
+mode of expression tolerably clear. At the risk of being deemed
+fanciful, I venture to suggest that the bark is in effect a division
+of the howl into clearly separated notes, the change having come about
+as a similar alteration is effected in our own speech, by the increase
+in the intelligence which the creature is called upon to express. I
+conceive that while the primitive and massive emotions found
+satisfying utterance in the long-drawn notes, the more divided state
+of mind of the humanized successor has led to a change in its
+utterances. Although these modifications of speech, if such we may
+term them, have probably been developed on the basis of the dog's
+human relations, there is, it seems to me, good reason to believe that
+the diversities in note have come to have a distinct conventional
+value between the individuals of all the different breeds. Any one who
+closely observes these animals must have noticed the fact that the
+degree of attention they give to the utterances of their kindred
+varies in a way which indicates that they have great varieties of
+denotations. Some of the shades of the meaning which a dog's bark has
+to others of his species probably escape our less fine ears.
+
+The creation of something like a language among our civilized dogs
+has naturally been accompanied by the development of an understanding
+of human speech. Although we cannot attach much importance to the
+mass of anecdote on this point, there is enough which is well
+attested--sufficient, indeed, which has come within the limits of my
+own observation--to make it clear that dogs, even without deliberate
+teaching, frequently acquire a tolerably clear understanding of a
+number of words and even of short phrases. They will catch these not
+only when given in distinct command, but when uttered in an ordinary
+tone, without any sign that they relate to their affairs. It is true
+that these understood words generally relate to some action which the
+dog is accustomed to perform, yet there are instances so well
+attested that they deserve credit, which seem to show that the
+creatures can get some sense of the drift of conversation even when
+it is carried on by persons with whom they are not familiar and does
+not clearly relate to their own affairs.
+
+It should be observed that within the narrow limits of this essay little
+or no effort has been made to interpret the state of mind of dogs from
+the vast but rather untrustworthy mass of anecdote with which our books
+are filled. So large a part of this evidence is contaminated by
+prepossessions, and a yet larger part is so unverified in any scientific
+sense, that for purposes of sound inquiry it is worthless. It therefore
+seems best to limit ourselves, as has been done in this paper, to those
+general actions of the creatures which are matters of common knowledge
+and safely beyond question. From these indices we are able to determine
+a basis for some important conclusions. These are in effect as follows,
+viz.: Our domestic dog is derived from a species, one or more, akin to
+the wolf, the jackal, and the fox; to a group of animals not
+characterized by great native intelligence, but distinguished for their
+ferocity and their general untamableness. There is no reason to believe
+that the primitive dog had any more foundation for his great attainments
+than his obstinately savage kindred, except that he may have had a
+greater disposition to form an attachment to a master. We can hardly
+believe that he had any share of that marvellous sympathy with man
+and understanding of his motives which characterize the high-bred
+varieties of his species. All this vast transformation, which from a
+psychological point of view has carried the dog relatively as far up
+above his origin as civilization has lifted man above his lowest
+estate, has been due to human intercourse and the long and effective
+concomitant selection of good from bad. It is hardly too much to say
+that a large part of our human nature has been transferred into the
+descendants of this ancient wild beast. The sense of property, a great
+part of human affections, many of the attributes which constitute the
+gentleman, have been passed over to him.
+
+In considering the effects arising from the intercourse of man with the
+dog, we should not overlook the development of human sympathy which has
+come about through this relation. The fact that the dog has been made by
+far the most sympathetic of the lower animals, is due to the affection
+which men for thousands of years have given to him. In his intercourse
+with this creature, man first learned to develop his altruistic motives
+beyond the limits of his own kind. With this extension of his affection
+must have begun the growth of that large motive, which is the most
+distinguishing feature of our modern life, which leads us to go forth in
+a loving manner to the living beings about us, not only to our flocks
+and herds but to the life of the unsubjugated realm as well. Thus, in a
+way, we may look upon the dog as affording the first steps on the path
+of culture which was to lift man from his primitive selfishness to the
+altruistic state to which he has attained.
+
+Great as has been the work of man upon the dog--it deserves, indeed,
+to be ranked high among all the accomplishments of his culture--there
+is reason to believe that if he but go forward with understanding in
+the ways which have hitherto led him blindly to his success, the
+final result may be very much more perfect than that which has been
+attained. It is on this account that I feel it fit to make a strong
+protest against the system our breeders pursue. Except in the case of
+dogs used in sport and for herding sheep, the sole effort appears to
+be to create breeds which shall exhibit peculiarities of form which
+are mere extravagances, and move the real lover of this noble animal
+to indignation. In these preposterous and unseemly tasks no care is
+taken to continue the mental development on lines which have been
+established by long use. Still less is there any effort to essay the
+development of the intelligence in ways which are clearly open to us,
+and which afford possibilities of lifting this species to a yet
+nobler companionship with our own kind.
+
+It seems worth while for our associations of dog fanciers to undertake
+to develop varieties of dogs solely with reference to the intellectual
+qualities of the animal. I venture to suggest that those who seek this
+end should select some of the primitive types of form, such as are
+found among the undifferentiated mass of the species, those which are
+improperly termed mongrels, and this for the reason that among these
+unselected creatures the intelligence is quicker and more varied than
+it is in the highly developed varieties. Under skilful trainers the
+successive generations bred in the experimental station should be
+subjected to tests which will indicate the measure of intellectual
+ability. The results already attained by the unconscious selection
+which man has applied serve to indicate that at the end of a century,
+and perhaps in much less time, we might develop an animal which in
+various ways would come to a closer intellectual relation with man than
+any other lower species has attained.
+
+Cats deserve some mention for the reason, that, while they are the least
+essential, and on the whole the least interesting, of domesticated
+animals, they have had a certain place in civilization. They afford,
+moreover, a capital foil by which to set off the virtues of the dog.
+Nowhere else, indeed, among the creatures which are intimately
+associated with men, do we find two related forms which afford, along
+with a certain likeness, such great diversities of quality.
+
+We know nothing as to the time when the cat first found its way to the
+associations of man. Presumably this period was much later than the
+advent of the dog into the human family. The presumption rests upon the
+fact that while the dog does not demand fixed residence as a condition
+of its fealty, but is at home wherever his master is, the cat is the
+creature of the domicile, caring more indeed for its dwelling-place than
+it ever does for the inmates thereof. In a word, the creature must have
+come to us after our forefathers gave up the nomadic life.
+Nevertheless, the association is very ancient; it has endured in Egypt
+at least for a term of several thousand years.
+
+Among the curious features connected with the association of the cat
+with man, we may note that it is the only animal which has been
+tolerated, esteemed, and at times worshipped, without having a
+single distinctly valuable quality. It is, in a small way,
+serviceable in keeping down the excessive development of small
+rodents, which from the beginning have been the self-invited guests
+of man. As it is in a certain indifferent way sympathetic, and by
+its caresses appears to indicate affection, it has awakened a
+measure of sympathy which it hardly deserves. I have been unable to
+find any authentic instances which go to show the existence in cats
+of any real love for their masters.
+
+In the matter of intelligence cats appear to rank almost as high as
+dogs. They are even quicker than their canine relatives in
+discerning the nature of man's artful contrivances; they readily
+acquire the habit of opening doors which are closed by means of a
+latch, even where it is necessary to combine the strong pull on the
+handle with the push that completes the operation. Feats of this
+sort are rarely if ever performed by dogs.
+
+The most peculiar quality in the mind of cats is the intense way in
+which they cling to a well-known locality. Their memory of places, and
+affection for them, if we may so term it, is evidently far greater
+than that which they feel for people. Some years ago I had an
+interesting exhibition of this singular humor. A well-grown and
+thoroughly domesticated cat, one that seemed more than usually
+attached to people, was brought from my house in town to a place on
+the shore. When released, the creature seemed for some days to be
+nearly insane. It did not recognize any of its friends, it betook
+itself to the fields, and was with difficulty captured at the end
+of a week of roaming, during which it appeared to have had no food.
+Confined within one room, it gradually recovered its powers of mind,
+and began to take account of its friends. In the course of a month it
+seemed to be reconciled to its surroundings. Nine months after its
+first sojourn in the wilderness it was again brought from the town to
+the same place. On the second visit the creature was somewhat uneasy,
+but this passed away in a day or two. On a third visit, after a like
+interval, it seemed at once and entirely at home. Nevertheless, its
+habits while in the country differ very much from those it has in
+town. In its original domicile it insists on being about the table at
+meal-times. While in the country it does not care to be present; in
+fact, it appears to avoid associations with the household. It seems
+to me that this cat, after the manner of some men whose brains are
+diseased, now lives in two distinct states of consciousness, each
+relating to one of its places of abode.
+
+[Illustration:          Hounds Running a Wild Boar
+               (Showing the habit of attacking neck of prey.) ]
+
+The differences as regards affection for localities which is shown by
+cats and dogs are perhaps to be accounted for by an original and
+essential variation in the habits of life in their wild ancestors.
+Judging by the kindred of the species which are known to us in their
+wild state, we may fairly suppose that the dogs were of old accustomed
+to range over a wide field, having no fixed place of abode; the pack
+ranging, if the occasion served, for hundreds of miles in any direction.
+On the other hand, with the cats, it is characteristic of the species
+that they have lairs to which they resort, and a definite hunting ground
+in which they seek their food. They are, in a word, animals of very
+determined routine. As there has been no effort by breeding to change
+this feature, it has remained in all its old ingrained intensity.
+
+As a consequence of the affection which cats have for particular places,
+they often return to the wilderness when by chance the homes in which
+they have been reared are abandoned. Thus in New England, in those
+sections of the district where many farmsteads have of late years been
+deserted, the cats have remained about their ancient haunts and have
+become entirely wild. In this State they are bred in such numbers that
+their presence is now a serious menace to the birds and other weaker
+creatures of the country. The behavior of these feralized animals
+differs somewhat from that of creatures which have never been tamed.
+They have not the same immediate fear of a man, but the least effort to
+approach them leads to their hasty flight.
+
+While considering the inelastic quality which is exhibited by cats as
+compared with the dog, the naturalist notes with interest the fact that
+the former creature belongs to a family which has never been accustomed
+to any social life beyond the limits of the family. Moreover, all the
+cats have the habit of hunting in a solitary way, each for itself, in
+the achievement and in the result. It is otherwise with dogs. They
+belong to a group which hunts in packs. For ages they have been used to
+a communal life. Their minds have thus become accustomed to social
+intercourse; they are used to having their excitements of the chase in
+comradeship, and generally they are accustomed to the rough-and-tumble
+fraternity which we behold in a pack of wolves. It was long ago remarked
+that the really social animals are those which afford the only good
+material for subjugation. The difference between the cat and dog seems,
+in a way, to warrant this statement.
+
+Although it is likely that many efforts have been made to domesticate
+the other larger felines, no distinct success has attended these
+experiments. A large Asiatic cat known as the chetah is somewhat used
+in hunting for sport, but the species has never been adopted in any
+definite way. In fact, with all the larger cats, including the lion,
+which is structurally a little apart from the other members of
+the group, the size and furious nature of the animal have made it
+impossible to begin the process of selection which has been the means
+whereby the wilderness motive has been replaced by that of the
+household in the case of all other domesticated beasts.
+
+
+
+
+THE HORSE
+
+   Value of the Strength of the Horse to Man.--Origin of the
+   Horse.--Peculiar Advantage of the Solid Hoof.--Domestication of the
+   Horse.--How begun.--Use as a Pack Animal.--For War.--Peculiar
+   Advantages of the Animal for Use of Men.--Mental
+   Peculiarities.--Variability of Body.--Spontaneous Variations due to
+   Climate.--Variations of Breeds.--Effect of the Invention of
+   Horseshoes.--Donkeys and Mules compared with Horse.--Especial Value
+   of these Animals.--Diminishing Value of Horses in Modern
+   Civilization.--Continued Need of their Service in War.
+
+
+The largest economic problem which primitive people on their way upward
+towards civilization had unconsciously to face was that of obtaining
+some kind of strength which could be added to the power of their own
+weak limbs. For all his eminent capacities of body, man is not a strong
+animal, nor is he so built that he can apply the measure of strength
+that is in him to good advantage. There are scores if not hundreds
+of species with which he came in contact in his effort to dominate
+nature that are stronger, swifter, and better provided with natural
+weapons. With the first step upward, as in almost all the succeeding
+steps, the advance depended on securing more energy than that with
+which our kind was directly endowed. It is hardly too much to say
+that the progress of mankind beyond the savage state would probably
+never have been effected but for the bodily help which has been
+rendered by a few domesticated animals.
+
+From the point of view of the student of domesticated animals the races
+of men may well be divided into those which have and those which have
+not the use of the horse. Although there are half a score of other
+animals which have done much for man, which have indeed stamped
+themselves upon his history, no other creature has been so inseparably
+associated with the great triumphs of our kind, whether won on the
+battle-field or in the arts of peace. So far as material comfort, or
+even wealth, is concerned, we of the northern realms and present age
+could, perhaps, better spare the horse from our present life than
+either sheep or horned cattle; but without this creature it is certain
+that our civilization would never have developed in anything like its
+present form. Lacking the help which the horse gives, it is almost
+certain that, even now, it could not be maintained.
+
+We know the ancient natural history of the horse more completely than
+that of any other of our domesticated animals. We can trace the steps
+by which its singularly strong limbs and feet, on which rests its value
+to man, were formed in the great laboratory of geologic time. The story
+is so closely related to the interests of man that it will be well
+briefly to set it before the reader. In the first stages of the
+Tertiary period, in the age when we begin to trace the evolution of the
+suck-giving animals above the lowly grade in which the kangaroos and
+opossums belong, we find the ancestors of our mammalian series all
+characterized by rather weakly organized limbs fitted, as were those of
+their remoter kindred the marsupials, for tree climbing rather than for
+moving over the surface of the ground. The fact is, that all the
+creatures of this great clan acquired their properties of body in
+arboreal life, and with such relatively small and light bodies as were
+fitted for tree climbing. For this use the feet need to be
+loose-jointed, and so the system of five toes, each terminating in a
+sharp and strong nail or claw, became fixed in the inheritances. When,
+gaining strength and coming to possess a more important place in the
+world, these ancient tree-dwellers were able to occupy the ground which
+of old had been possessed by the great reptiles, the limbs that had
+served well for an arboreal life had to undergo many changes in order
+to fit them for progression in the new realm.
+
+If we watch the progress of a bear over the surface of the ground, we
+readily perceive how lumbering is its gait and how poor the speed which
+it attains. Its slow and shambling movement is due to the fact that it
+has the tree-climbing foot, and is not well fitted for motion such as is
+required in running. To attain anything like speed in this exercise it
+is necessary to support the body on the tips of the toes. Every man who
+has gained any skill in this art knows full well how incompetent he is
+if he tries to run with rapidity in the flat-footed manner. The bear
+cannot essay this method of progression on the toe-tips because its
+loose-jointed feet cannot be made to support its heavy body. In this way
+arose the necessity of developing a peculiar kind of foot when that part
+had to serve for rapid locomotion. The experiments to this end have been
+numerous and varied. Thus in the elephants, which retain the originally
+numerous toes, the bones of these members are planted in an upright
+position and tied together with such strong muscles and sinews, that the
+foot parts have something like the solidity and strength of the upper
+portions of the legs. In the single-hoofed or horse-like forms, and in
+the cloven-footed animals, other series of experiments have been tried
+which in the end have proved most successful, giving us animals with the
+speediest movements of any animals except the creatures of the air.
+
+[Illustration: A Hunter]
+
+The success which has been attained in our ordinary large herbivora, and
+which has made them competent to evade the chase of the beasts of prey,
+has been accomplished by reducing the number of the toes, giving the
+strength of the aborted parts to increase the power of those remaining.
+The result is the formation of two great groups, the double-hoofed
+forms, including the pigs, deer, cattle, sheep, and their kindred, and
+the single-toed species, of which our horse is the foremost example. In
+the reduction of the number of toes, different plans were followed in
+each of these groups. In the cloven-hoofed forms, a single toe first
+disappeared, leaving but four; then the two outer of these were aborted,
+leaving two nearly equal digits. In the series of the horse, where we
+can trace the change more clearly, we find the earliest form five-toed,
+but the outer and inner digit shrunken so as to become of little use.
+This condition of the creature in the early Tertiaries gives us the
+beginning of the equine series, and shows that far away as the creature
+is now from ourselves, it originated from the main stem of mammalian
+life, from which our own forms have sprung. In the next higher stage in
+time, and likewise in development, we find these lessened toes at their
+vanishing point, and two of the remaining digits, lying on either side
+of what corresponds to the middle finger in our own hands, beginning to
+shrink in length and volume, while the central toe becomes larger and
+stronger than before. Last in the series we come to our ordinary equine
+form, in which nothing is left but the single massive extremity, though
+the remnants of two of the toes can be traced in the form of slender
+bones known as splints, which are altogether enclosed within the skin
+which wraps the region about the fetlock joints.
+
+As if it were to show to us the history of this marvellous organic
+achievement, nature now and then, though seldom--perhaps not oftener
+than one in ten million instances--sends forth a horse with three hoofs
+to each leg. Two of these are small and lie on either side of the
+functioning extremity. Each of these hoofs is connected with a
+splint-bone which has in some way suddenly become reminded of its
+ancient use, and develops in a manner to imitate the creatures which
+passed from the earth millions of years ago. In most cases the
+splint-bones have no function whatever to perform. They are indeed
+superfluous and injurious parts, and are likely from time to time to be
+worse than useless, becoming the seats of disease. In this beautiful
+instance, perhaps the fairest of all those showing how the highly
+developed forms of our time retain a memory of their ancestral life, we
+see how the advance in the series of the horse has been effected against
+the resistance ancient organic habit opposes to all gains. We can
+therefore the better understand how the building of the hoof represents
+the labor of geologic ages during which the slow-made gains were won.
+
+In its present elaborate form, the hoof of a horse is the most perfect
+instrument of support which has been devised in the animal kingdom to
+uphold a large and swiftly moving animal in its passage over the
+ground. The original toe-nail, and the neighboring soft parts connected
+with it, have been modified into a structure which in an extraordinary
+manner combines solidity with elasticity, so that it may strike violent
+blows upon the hard surface of the earth without harm. The bones of the
+toe to which it is affixed have enlarged with the progressive loss of
+their neighbors of the extremity, until they fairly continue the
+dimensions of the bony parts of the leg. Moreover, they have lengthened
+out, so as to give the limb a great extension, and this, in turn,
+magnifies the stride which the creature can take in running. The result
+is that the horse can carry a greater weight at a swifter speed than
+any other animal approaching it in size.
+
+[Illustration: On Rotten Row, Hyde Park, London]
+
+The needs which led, in a slow accumulative way, to the invention of
+the admirable contrivance of the horse's foot, were doubtless founded
+on the necessities of swift movement in fleeing from the great
+predaceous animals. Incidentally, however, as this development has
+gone on, the peculiarities of the extremity have proved highly
+advantageous in defence, and the creatures have acquired certain
+peculiar ways of using their feet effectively to this end. The solid
+character of the hoof, its considerable weight, and the great power
+of the muscles of the hams, which are the principal agents in
+propelling the animal, make the hind feet capable of delivering a
+very powerful blow. The measure of its efficiency may be judged from
+the fact that a lion has been slain by a stroke from the foot of a
+donkey, and in their wild state a herd of horses with their heads
+together, can beat off the attack of the most powerful beasts of
+prey. In using the hind feet for assault or defence, horses have
+adopted an effective method of kicking which is unknown among other
+animals. Resting on their fore-legs, the hinder feet are thrown
+backward and upward, so that they may strike a blow six feet from the
+ground. Many of our cloven-footed animals have learned to strike
+cutting blows with the sharp hoofs of their fore-limbs--our bulls
+will stamp a fallen enemy with great force; but the backward kick of
+the horse is a peculiar movement, and is distinctly related to the
+peculiar structure of the animal's extremities.
+
+It is an interesting fact that the development of a long and slowly
+elaborated series leading to the making of the horse appears to have
+taken place mainly, if not altogether, in the region about the
+headwaters of the Missouri River. In the olden days when this great work
+was done, that part of our continent was a well-watered country, much of
+its surface being occupied by great lakes which have long since
+disappeared. In the deposits accumulated in these bodies of fresh water
+are found the bones of the olden species telling the history of their
+series. It is not yet certain that the final step of the accomplishment
+which gave us our existing species was effected in this land. It seems
+indeed most likely that the ancestral form of our domesticated horses
+found their way to the continents of the Old World, and there underwent
+the last slight changes, before they were made captive by man. If there
+ever were perfect horses on this continent, they had passed away from
+its area before the coming of man to the land. The history of our
+aborigines would have been quite other than it has been, if they had
+had a chance to win the assistance of this noble helpmeet.
+
+Central Asia appears to have been the domicile of the horse when he
+first began his acquaintance with our kind. We do not know the
+original form of the creature. The wild horses existing at the
+present day in that part of the world, and which plentifully occur
+in other regions whereunto they have been taken by man, appear to
+have been set free from captivity.
+
+[Illustration: Horse of a Bulgarian Marauder]
+
+The first domestication of the horse appears to have been brought
+about, at an early time in the history of our race, in northern Asia.
+The time when this feat was accomplished antedates our records. The
+creature may first have come into possession of the Tartar tribes,
+but it quickly passed over Asia and Europe and shortly became the
+mainstay of the Aryan and Semitic folk. None other of our
+domesticated forms has been disseminated with like rapidity, or at
+the outset with as little change in its original features. From the
+first the horse seems to have been mainly used as a saddle and pack
+animal. It has never served in any considerable measure for food. The
+failure to make use of the flesh of this animal appears to be common
+to most of the savage or barbaric people who keep horses, and has been
+transmitted in a singularly definite way to all civilized folk. The
+origin of such a prejudice, despite the fact that the flesh of the
+horse is of excellent quality, can only be explained through the
+sympathetic motives common to all men. Their association with the
+horse, as with the dog, is so intimate as to make the use of these
+animals in the form of food more or less repugnant. In a small though
+unimportant way, mares have been used for milk, and there seems no
+reason to doubt that, if they had been carefully bred for this purpose,
+they might have been as serviceable as the cow. It may be that the
+failure to use the milk of the horse is to be accounted for on the
+same ground as the dislike to its flesh.
+
+The horse was probably at first most valued for its use in war. The
+peoples which possessed it certainly had a great advantage over their
+less well provided neighbors. In fact the development of the military
+art, as distinguished from the mere fighting of savages, was made easy
+by the strength, endurance, fleetness, and measure of bravery
+characterizing this creature. In the wide range of species which have
+been domesticated or might be won to companionship with man, there is
+none other which so completely supplements the imperfect human body,
+making it fit for great deeds. If the horse had been much smaller or
+larger than he is, he would have been far less serviceable to man. It
+was a most fortunate accident that the creature came to us with the
+proportions which insured a high measure of utility in various lines
+of activity. The elephant has been found too large for agricultural
+uses, and too powerful to be controlled by the will and force of his
+master under conditions of excitement.
+
+[Illustration: Mare and Foal]
+
+Those peoples which early acquired the resources in the way of
+strength and fleetness which the horse put at their disposition,
+became inevitably the conquerors of the folk who were denied these
+advantages. If we consider the conditions which have led to the
+domination of the world by the Aryan and Semitic people, and the
+races which they have affiliated with them, we readily discern the
+fact that they have, to a great extent, won by horse-power rather
+than by their own physical strength. Thus equipped by their able
+servants, they have pressed outward from their ancient realms and
+have in a way overridden the tribes which were unmounted.
+
+So imposing is the effect of the horsed man on all peoples who are
+without previous knowledge of the united creatures, that it always
+carries fear to their hearts. To such folk the combination appears as
+a single terrible being. The ease with which the Spaniards conquered
+Mexico and Peru can, to a great extent, be attributed to the awe
+carried into the ranks of the savage footmen by their mail-clad
+horses. The Greeks, who were wont to represent the forces of nature
+and the accomplishments of man by skilfully constructed myths, have
+left a record showing their appreciation of the strength derived from
+the union of horse and man, in their fable of the Centaur, which
+possibly grew up in a time before their people had won the use of the
+animal, and when they only knew the creature by chance encounters
+with enemies who were mounted upon them. Although the naturalist of
+to-day perceives the impossibility of there ever having been on this
+earth a form uniting the trunk and fore-limbs of a quadruped to the
+upper part of a man's body, such scientific conceptions are a part of
+our modern, recently acquired store of knowledge. To the Greeks of
+the myth-making age the creature, half man, half horse, added but one
+more wonder to the vast store the world already contained. The
+currency of this fable shows us very clearly how great was the
+impression which the horse made upon primitive peoples.
+
+To perceive the value of the horse in those ancient contests which
+opened the paths of civilization, we must note the fact that, until
+the invention of gunpowder, success in breaking the ranks of an
+enemy depended mainly on the charge. With a large body of vigorous
+horsemen it was generally possible to overwhelm an enemy's line of
+battle, either by direct assault or by an attack on its flank or
+rear. If the reader is curious to see the value of horsemen in
+ancient warfare, he should read the story of the campaigns of
+Hannibal against the Romans in Italy. The first successes of that
+great commander--victories which came near changing the history of
+the western world--were almost altogether due to the strength lying
+in his admirable Numidian cavalry. The Romans were already good
+soldiers, their footmen more trustworthy than those which the
+Carthagenian general could set against them; but with his horsemen,
+as at Cann�, he could wrap in the Roman line and reduce the most
+valiant legions to the confused herd which awaited the butcher.
+
+[Illustration: Cavalry Horse]
+
+Although the invention of firearms has somewhat changed the
+conditions under which cavalry may be used, making indeed the direct
+charge more costly to the assailant than the assailed, it has in no
+wise diminished, but rather increased, the value of horses in
+military campaigns. In the line of battle horses have become
+necessary for the conveyance of field officers and messengers, and
+the right arm of battle, the artillery, could not possibly be managed
+except by horse-power. The swift marches of modern armies, by
+hastening the issue of contests, have spared the world half the woes
+of its great campaigns, and are made possible by the ready movement
+of supply trains, which could not be effected except by the help of
+these creatures. The result is that a large part of the military
+strength of any state rests not only in the valor and training of its
+fighting men, but in the supply of horses that its fields may afford.
+In this connection it is instructive to compare the military
+strength of a country like China, where the horse is not a common
+element in the life of the people, with that of any of the western
+folk who may hereafter have to wrestle with that populous empire.
+Some writers, in their efforts to forecast the large politics of the
+future, have imagined that when the hardy and obedient Chinaman came
+to receive the European training in the military art, the armies of
+that country might prove from their numbers a menace to our own
+civilization. Such an issue seems in a high degree improbable, for
+the reason that the eastern realm could not provide the horses which
+would be necessary for the use of invading armies; nor is it at all
+likely that the rigid framework of their society will ever be so
+altered as to provide an abundance of these animals.
+
+[Illustration: Plough Horses, France]
+
+Although in the first instance the horse served mainly, if not
+altogether, as an ally of man in his contests with his neighbors, its
+most substantial use has been in the peaceful arts. As pack animal and
+drawer of the plough, the ox appears in general to have come into use
+before its swifter companion. The displacement of horned cattle has
+been due to the fact that their structure and habits make them much
+less fit for arduous and long-continued labor than the horse has been
+found to be. The cloven foot, because of its division, is weak. It
+cannot sustain a heavy burden. Even with the unincumbered weight of
+the body of the animal, the feet are apt to become sore in marches
+which the heavily mounted horse endures unharmed. Centuries of
+experience have shown that while the ox is an excellent animal for
+drawing a plough in a stubborn soil, and is well adapted to pulling
+carriages where the burden is heavy and the speed is not a matter of
+importance and the distance not great, the creature is too slow for
+the greater part of the work which the farmer needs to do. The pace
+which they can be made to take in walking is not more than half as
+great as that of a quick-footed horse moving in the same gait; and the
+ox is practically incapable, because of its weak feet, of keeping up a
+trot on any ordinary road. But for the fact that an aged ox may be
+used for beef, they would doubtless long since have ceased to serve us
+as draught animals. As it is, with the growing money value of the
+laborer's time, this slow-moving creature is steadily and rather
+rapidly disappearing from our farms. This change, indeed, is one of
+the most indicative of all those now occurring in our agriculture. It
+is an excellent example of the operations which the increase in the
+workman's pay is bringing into our civilization.
+
+The natural advantages of the horse for the use of man consisted in
+its size, strength, and endurance to burden; form of the body, which
+enabled a skilful rider to maintain his position astride the trunk; and
+the peculiar shape of the mouth and disposition of the teeth which made
+it possible to use the bit. With these direct physical advantages there
+were others of a physiological and psychic sort, of equal value. The
+creature breeds as well under domestication as in the wilderness; the
+young are fit for some service in the third year of their life, and
+are, at least in the less elaborated breeds, in a mature condition when
+they are five years old. Experience shows that the animal can subsist
+on a great variety of diet, being in this regard surpassed only by its
+humbler kinsman the donkey, and by the goats. There are few fields so
+lean that they will not maintain serviceable horses. They do well alike
+in mountain pastures and amid the herbage of the moistest plainland.
+
+The mental peculiarities of the horse are much less characteristic than
+its physical. It is indeed the common opinion, among those who do not
+know the animal well, that it is endowed with much sagacity, but no
+experienced and careful observer is likely to maintain this opinion.
+All such students find the intelligence of the horse to be very
+limited. It requires but little observation to show that the creature
+observes quickly, and in some way classifies the objects with which it
+comes in contact. The fear aroused in it by unknown things makes this
+feature of attention to the surrounding world very evident. Almost all
+these animals retain a tolerably distinct memory of the roads which
+they have traversed, even if they have passed over them but a few
+times. The studies which I have made on this point show me that the
+average horse will be able to return on a road which it has traversed
+a few hours before, with less risk of blundering than an ordinary
+driver. Some well-endowed animals can remember as many as a dozen
+turnings in a path over which they have journeyed three or four times.
+It seems almost certain that their guidance in these movements is not
+at all effected by the sense of smell, but is due to a distinct memory
+of the detailed features of the country.
+
+[Illustration: Belgian Fisherman's Horse]
+
+Good as is the horse's memory, it is difficult to organize its actions
+on that basis. Only in rare cases and with much labor can he be taught
+to execute movements that are at all complicated. Fire-engine horses
+may be trained of their own will to step into the position where they
+are to be attached to the carriage. Some artillery horses will, as I
+have noticed, associate the sound of the bugle with the resulting
+movements of the guns and take the appropriate positions, where they
+may be out of danger in the rapid swinging of the teams and
+carriages. It is partly because of this training received by
+disciplined artillery horses, that it seems to many experienced
+officers not worth while to have militia companies in this arm, who
+have to manoeuvre with animals untrained for the service. Although
+some part of this mental defect in the horse, causing its actions to
+be widely contrasted with those of the dog, may be due to a lack of
+deliberate training and to breeding with reference to intellectual
+accomplishment, we see by comparing the creature with the elephant,
+which practically has never been bred in captivity, that the equine
+mind is, from the point of view of rationality, very feeble.
+
+The emotional side of the horse's nature seems little more developed
+than its rational. Although they have a certain affection for the hand
+which feeds them, and in a mild way are disposed to form friendships
+with other animals, they are not really affectionate, and never, so
+far as I have been able to find, show any distinct signs of grief at
+separation from their masters or of pleasure when they return to them.
+Although there are many stories appearing to indicate a certain
+faithfulness in horses which have remained beside their fallen and
+wounded riders, the facts do not justify us in supposing that such
+actions are due to the affection a dog clearly feels.
+
+[Illustration: Horses for Towing on the Beach in Holland]
+
+We have been singularly led astray by a chance use of the epithet
+"horse," which has come to be applied to many organic forms and
+functions where strength is indicated. Thus, in the case of plants we
+speak of "horse-radish" or "horse-mint," denoting thereby spices which
+have strong qualities. Horse-chestnut is another instance of the
+application of the term to plants. It chanced that "horse-sense" came
+to be used to indicate a sound understanding, and in an obscure way,
+but in a manner common with words, this has led to a vague implication
+of mental capacity in the animals whence the term is derived. The fact
+is that our horses, as far as their mental powers are concerned,
+appear to be the least improvable of our great domesticated animals.
+
+[Illustration: A Hurdle Jumper]
+
+Little elastic as the horse appears to be on the psychic side of its
+nature, in its physical aspects it is one of the most plastic of all the
+forms subjected to the breeder's art. It requires no more than a glance
+at the streets of our large cities to see how great is the range in
+size, form, and carriage of these animals which may be found in any of
+our great centres of civilization. We readily perceive that these
+variations have a distinct relation to the several divisions of human
+activity in which this creature has a share. The massive cart-horse,
+weighing it may be as much as eighteen hundred or two thousand pounds,
+heavy limbed, big headed, unwilling to move at a pace faster than a slow
+trot, yet not without the measure of beauty seemingly inseparable from
+the species, contrasts very markedly with the alert saddle animal bred
+for speed and grace, and for the easy movement which makes it
+comfortable to the equestrian. Between these extremes we may note minor
+differences which, though they may not strike those persons who take
+only a commonplace view of the creatures, are most marked to the
+initiated. The trotter, the coach horse, the strong but nimble animals
+which are used in fire-engines and other heavy carriages which have to
+be swiftly moved, mark the results of breeding designed to insure
+particular qualities, and show how readily the physical features of the
+animal can be made to fit to our desires.
+
+Although from an early day a certain amount of care has been given to
+breeding horses for saddle purposes, the careful and continuous choice
+which has led to the modern variations is a matter of only a few
+centuries of endeavor. So far as we can judge from the classic
+monuments, the olden varieties were mere varieties of the pony--the
+small, compact, agile creature which had not departed far from the
+parent wild form. It seems to me doubtful whether any of the horses
+possessed by the Greeks or Romans attained a weight much exceeding a
+thousand pounds, or had the peculiarities of our modern breeds. The
+first considerable departure from the original type appears to have
+been brought about when it became necessary to provide a creature
+which could serve as a mount for the heavy armored knights of the
+Middle Ages, where man and horse were weighted with from one to two
+hundred pounds of metal. To serve this need it was necessary to have a
+saddle animal of unusual strength, weighing about three-quarters of a
+ton, easily controllable and at once fairly speedy and nimble. To meet
+this necessity the Norman horse was gradually evolved, the form
+naturally taking shape in that part of Europe where the iron-clad
+warrior was most perfectly developed. In the tapestries and other
+illustrative work of that day, when the knight won tournaments and
+battle-fields, gaining victory by the weight and speed which he
+brought to bear upon his enemies, we can see this splendid animal, in
+physical form, at least, the finest product of man's care and skill in
+the development of the lower species.
+
+With the advance in the use of firearms the value of the Norman horse
+in the art of war rapidly diminished. This breed, however, has, with
+slight modifications, survived, and is extensively used for draught
+purposes where strength at the sacrifice of speed is demanded. It is a
+curious fact that the creatures which now draw the beer wagons of
+London often afford the nearest living successors in form to the
+horses which bore the medi�val knights. It is an ignoble change, but
+we must be grateful for any accident which has preserved to us, though
+in a somewhat degraded form, this noblest product of the breeder's
+art, which, even as much as the valor of our ancestors, won success
+for our Teutonic folk in their great struggle with Islam. A tincture
+of this Norman blood, perhaps the firmest fixed in the species of any
+variety, pervades many other strains most valuable in our arts. The
+best of our artillery horses, particularly those set next the wheels,
+are generally in part Norman. In the well-known American Morgan, the
+swiftest and strongest of our harnessed forms, the observant eye
+detects indications of this masterful blood.
+
+The Norman strains of horses retain certain interesting indications of
+their ancient lineage and occupation. As appears to be common with old
+breeds, the stock is readily maintained. It breeds true to its
+ancestry, with little tendency to those aberrations so common in the
+newly instituted varieties. When crossed with other strains, the
+effect of the intermixture of this strong blood is distinctly
+traceable for many generations. In their mental habits these creatures
+still appear to show something of the effects of their old use in war;
+it is a valiant race, less given to insane fear than other strains,
+and, even under excitement, more controllable than the most of their
+kindred. So far as I have been able to learn, they seem singularly
+free from those wild panics which are so common among our ordinary
+horses. It does not seem to me fanciful to suppose that these
+qualities were bred in the stock during the centuries of experience
+with the confusion of battle-fields and tournaments.
+
+[Illustration: Exercising the Thoroughbreds]
+
+The horse, in common with the other domesticated animals varying
+readily in the hands of the breeder, undergoes a certain spontaneous
+change which in a way corresponds to the physiography of the region in
+which it is bred. At first sight it may seem as if these alterations
+are due to the admixture of previously existing varieties, or to the
+institution of peculiarities by some process of selection. I am,
+however, well convinced that these variations are in good part due to a
+direct influence from the environment. Thus in our high northern lands
+there is a distinct and spontaneous reduction in size of the creatures,
+which attains its farthest point in the Shetland pony. Again, as we go
+toward the tropics, a like though less conspicuous decrease in bulk is
+observable. The largest animals of the species develop in the middle
+latitudes, the realm where the form appears to have acquired its
+characters. The speed with which these local variations are made is
+often great. Thus the horses of Kentucky have, in about a century,
+acquired a certain stamp of the soil which makes it possible, in most
+cases, for the observer to identify an individual as from that State,
+though he may find it in a field a thousand miles away. The defining
+indications are not limited altogether to bodily form, but are shown in
+what might seem trifling features of carriage and behavior. The
+difference between the horses of Great Britain and those of the United
+States seems to me, from repeated observations, to be quite as great as
+that separating the men of the two realms. I believe that if a lot of a
+thousand, taken in equal parts from either land, were put together, a
+person well accustomed to taking account of these animals could
+separate them into two herds, with less than ten per cent. of error. It
+is doubtful if a more perfect selection could be made if the same
+experiment were tried on an equal number of men, provided the indices
+to be derived from peculiarities of speech or dress could be excluded.
+
+[Illustration: An Arabian Horse]
+
+By some the Arabian horse is thought to be the most remarkable
+specialization of the kind which has been attained. In his native
+country and in his perfection, the Arab breed has been seen by but
+few persons who have been specially trained in noting the
+peculiarities of the animal. So far as I have been able to judge by
+pictures and a few specimens, said to be thoroughbreds of their
+stock, which I have had a chance to see, the Arabian form of the
+horse appears to have been led less far away from the primitive
+stock than many of our European and American varieties.
+
+[Illustration: Arabian Sports]
+
+The very great, if not the pre�minent, success of the horse in Arabia
+is the more remarkable from the fact that it has been attained under
+conditions which, from an _a priori_ point of view, must be deemed
+most unfavorable. This variety has been bred in a land of scant
+herbage and deficient water-supply, where the creature has had from
+time to time, indeed we may say generally, to endure something of the
+dearth of food which stunts the Indian ponies and the other horses of
+the Cordilleran district. The ancestors of the horse appear to have
+attained their development in well-watered and fertile regions. All
+the varieties bred within the limits of civilization do best on rich
+pasturages such as Arabia does not afford. The success of the horse in
+that land shows how devoted must have been the care which has been
+given to its nurture. Fitting, as the Arabian horse does, exactly to
+the needs of nomadic people engaged in almost constant warfare, it
+has naturally been a far more important helper to the wild folk of
+the desert lands about the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea than
+to any other race. In those lands horses fell into the keeping of a
+very able folk. The contrast between the care devoted to the animals
+by them, and that which our Indians give to their ponies, is a fair
+measure of the difference in the ability of these very diverse races.
+
+As a whole, the horse demands for his best nurture and keeping an
+amount of care required by no other animal which has been won to the
+uses of man, unless perhaps it be the silkworm. Kept in its best
+state, the horse has to be sedulously groomed. To be maintained in
+its very best condition some hours of human labor must each day be
+given to keeping his skin in order. The effect arising from a
+friction on the horse's hide is not confined to the beauty that comes
+from cleanliness, but in a curious way reacts upon the general
+nervous tone of the animal. All those who are familiar with horses
+will, I think, agree with me that much grooming distinctly increases
+the endurance and elasticity of their bodies. The influence of the
+grooming process appears to be somewhat like that obtained by massage
+and friction of the skin in the training of an athlete. More than
+once I have had occasion to observe the effect of this process on
+some ancient horse of good blood, which for years had been allowed in
+its old age to go uncared for as an idle tenant of the pastures. Two
+or three days of assiduous grooming will bring back the strength and
+suppleness to the aged limbs, and restore something of the olden
+spirit. The effect obtained from this care is the more remarkable for
+the reason that nothing similar to it was experienced by the wild
+ancestors of these creatures. It is as artificial as bathing in the
+case of man. The influence of the treatment shows how very unnatural
+is the state of our civilized horses.
+
+The task of providing horses with food is more considerable than in
+the case of any of our other domesticated creatures. By nature the
+animal is a frequent feeder, and does not well endure long fasts. Its
+stomach is rather small for the size of the body, and the digestive
+process appears to be more than usually rapid. A mounted animal, when
+taxed to its utmost, should be fed four or five times a day, and with
+less than three good meals is apt to break down. No such care in the
+matter of provender is necessary in the case of the other members of
+man's animal family. The contrast between the physiological
+conditions of the camel and those of the horse are fully recognized
+by the Arabs, in their almost complete neglect of the individuals of
+the one species and their exceeding care of the other.
+
+[Illustration: English Polo Ponies]
+
+Perhaps the greatest element of care which man has had to devote to
+the horse is found in the matter of shoeing. In the state of nature
+the admirably constructed hoof sufficiently provided the animal
+against the excessive wearing of its horny extremity. Nature,
+however, rarely provides for more strength and endurance than the
+creature in its wild state demands; and so it comes about that when
+horses have to bear burdens or draw carriages, particularly on
+roadways, their unprotected feet will not withstand the strain which
+is put upon them, the rate of growth of the structure composing the
+hoof not being sufficiently rapid to make good the wearing which
+these unnatural conditions impose. For thousands of years, in the
+roadless stages of man's development, the difficulties arising from
+the wearing of the hoof were not serious, for the creatures trod
+either on turf-covered plains or on the soft ways of the desert.
+When the advance of culture made roads necessary, when carriages
+were invented and something like our modern conditions were
+instituted, it became imperatively necessary to provide additional
+protection for the feet. We find the Greeks, in the classic time,
+wrestling with this problem. Xenophon, in his treatise on the care
+of horses, advises that they be reared on stony ground, he having
+observed that, in a natural way, the hoof becomes somewhat adapted
+to the necessities of its conditions. The Romans found the
+difficulty from the tender foot of the horse yet more serious on
+their paved roads; but both these classic people showed, in their
+ways of dealing with the difficulty, that lack of inventive skill
+which so curiously separates the olden from the modern men. They
+devised soles of leather and bags as coverings for the horse's feet,
+but none of the contrivances could have been very serviceable. All
+such coverings must have been quickly worn out in active use.
+
+So far as we can determine, it was not until about the fourth century
+of our era that the iron horseshoe was invented. This valuable
+contrivance appears to have originated in Greek or Roman lands,
+probably in the former realm, for it first bore the name of "selene,"
+from its likeness to the crescent shape of the new moon. Although
+simple, the horseshoe was a most important invention, for it
+completely reconciled the animal to the conditions of our higher
+civilization by removing the one hinderance to its general use in the
+work of war and commerce. It is probable that with this invention
+began the great task of differentiating the several breeds of
+European horses for their use in various employments, as draught
+animals for packing purposes, as light saddle horses, and the
+bearing of armored men. Neither the draught nor the war horses of
+Europe could well have been specialized until their heavy bodies were
+separated from the ground by these metallic coverings of the hoof.
+
+[Illustration: Syrian Horse]
+
+Much has depended on the specialization of the horse into different
+breeds, made possible by the iron shoe. By reconciling the creature to
+uses--agriculture, which depends on draught animals, and the commerce
+of importance, which can only be effected by means of wagons--the
+rapid economic development of our civilization was made possible. By
+developing a horse capable of bearing an armored man, Europe was
+brought into a condition in which organized armies took the place of
+mere forays, and so the development of centralized states was
+promoted. In the warfare between the Mohammedans and the Christian
+states of Europe, in the campaigns with the Turks and the Saracens,
+it is easy to see that the powerful breeds of horses reared in western
+and northern Europe were a mighty element in determining the issue of
+the contest. The battles of these momentous campaigns represented, not
+only a struggle between the Christian Aryans and the Semitic followers
+of Mahomet, but, in quite as great a degree, the war was waged between
+the light and agile steeds of the Orient and the massive and powerful
+animals that bore the mail-clad warriors of the West. On the field of
+Tours, when the fate of Christian Europe for hours hung in the
+balance, we may well believe that the strong and enduring horses of
+the northern cavalry did much to give victory to our race.
+
+Along with our general account of the place of the horse in
+civilization, it is fit to give something to the story of his near,
+though inferior, kinsmen, the ass and the mule, both of which have
+played a subordinate, though important, part in the same field of
+endeavor in which the nobler species has done so much for man. The
+original progenitors of our donkeys differed from the ancestral form
+of the horse by variations of good specific value. So far as we can
+determine from visible features, these forms were more distinctly
+parted than the dog and the wolf, or either of these animals from the
+jackal. Nevertheless, these equine forms are clearly closely akin, for
+they may be bred together. Although the original stock of the ass may
+possibly have been lost, it seems most likely that the wild forms
+which exist in Asia have not wandered off from captivity, but are the
+remnants of the original wilderness form.
+
+It appears likely that the two domesticated equine species have been
+under the care of man for about the same length of time; but the
+difference in their condition, and in the place which they hold in
+civilization, is very great. As we have seen, the horse has been made
+to vary in a singular measure, its form and other qualities changing to
+meet the need or fancy of its master. Its humbler kinsman has remained
+almost unchanged. Except small differences in size, the donkeys in
+different parts of the world are singularly alike. In part this lack of
+change may be explained by the relative neglect with which this species
+has been treated. From the point of view of the breeder it has perhaps
+been the least cared for of any of our completely domesticated animals.
+In some parts of the world, as for instance in Spain, where a
+long-continued effort has been made to develop the animal for
+interbreeding with the horse, the result shows that the form is
+relatively inelastic. It is doubtful if any conceivable amount of care
+would develop such variations as the horse now exhibits.
+
+The principal hinderances to the general acceptation of the donkey as a
+help-meet to man are found in its small size and slow motion. These
+qualities make the creature unserviceable in active war or in
+agriculture, and they seem to be so fixed in the blood that they are
+not to any extent corrigible. So long as pack animals were in general
+use, and in those parts of the world where the conditions of culture
+cause this method of transportation to be retained, the qualities of
+the donkey have proved and are still found of value. The animal can
+carry a relatively heavy burden, being in such tasks, for its weight,
+more efficient than the horse. It is less liable to stampedes. It
+learns a round of duty much more effectively than that creature, and
+can subsist by browsing on coarse herbage, where a horse would be so
+far weakened as to become useless. Thus, in developing the mines in the
+unimproved wilderness of the Cordilleras, where ores of the precious
+metals have to be carried for considerable distances, trains of
+"burros" are often employed. The animals quickly learn the nature of
+their task, and will do their work with but little guidance from man.
+
+In general we may say that the donkeys belong to a vanishing state of
+human culture, to the time before carriage-ways existed. Now that
+civilization goes on wheels, they seem likely to have an
+ever-decreasing value. A century ago they were almost everywhere in
+common use. At the present time there are probably millions of people
+in the United States to whom the animal is known only by description.
+In a word, the creature marks a stage in the development of our
+industries which is passing away as rapidly as that in which the
+spinning-wheel and the hand-loom played a part.
+
+As the use of the ass in the economic arts began to decline, the mule
+or hybrid progeny of this creature and the horse has progressively
+increased. Although the value of this mongrel has been known,
+particularly in southern Europe, from very early days, its most
+extensive employment has been found in the old slave-holding States of
+the Federal union. The custom of using mules has been almost unknown in
+England, and has never been generally adopted in the northern part of
+the United States. It appears to have been introduced into southern
+regions by the Spaniards and the French, and there to have spread,
+because of the peculiar fitness of the creature to the climate and the
+employment it had to endure in that part of America. The mule has the
+peculiar advantage that it is on the average as large as the horse, is
+nearly as quick-footed when walking, and has at the same time a
+considerable share of the patient endurance to hard labor and scant
+fare which characterizes the donkeys. It matures somewhat more speedily
+than its nobler kinsman, being ready to meet severe strains perhaps a
+year earlier. Unless unconscionably abused, its period of fitness for
+hard work endures about one-third longer, often lasting for thirty
+years. It is singularly exempt from disease, its sturdy frame
+withstanding rude usage until the old age time.
+
+[Illustration: In the Circus]
+
+The mule is especially interesting to the naturalist for the reason
+that it affords the only certain case in which a hybrid has proved
+decidedly serviceable to man. It is not unlikely that a similar mixture
+of the blood of two species occurs in our ordinary cats, and it may
+exist in the case of the dog and in some of the domestic birds; but so
+far as we know, there has been no other useful result from the
+hybridizing, if it has occurred. Moreover, the mule is unique for the
+fact that the animal is distinctly stronger for its weight, and more
+enduring than either species which his blood combines. In fact, there
+is no product of man's industry in relation to domesticated animals
+which is more interesting than this singular creature. At present, its
+use appears to be going out of vogue; the evidence goes to show that
+the hybrid has no place in the affections of mankind, and that it is
+only likely to be kept in its use in tropical countries, and
+particularly in regions where the beasts have to be under the care of
+slaves or other negligent folk. It is a singular fact in connection
+with this hybrid, that it is nearly absolutely sterile, there being
+only two or three cases on record in which they have proved fecund. It
+seems, however, possible that if these rare instances of continued
+breeding were to be duly used, an intermediate species might be
+permanently established. This is, indeed, one of the most important
+lines for experiment which could be undertaken by an institution
+devoted to the study of problems relating to domestication.
+
+It is commonly thought that a mule is a stupider creature than the
+horse; but I have never found a person, who was well acquainted with
+both animals, who hesitated to place the mongrel in the intellectual
+grade above the pure-blood animal. There is, it is true, a decided
+difference in the mental qualities of the two creatures. The mule is
+relatively undemonstrative, its emotions being sufficiently expressed
+by an occasional bray--a mode of utterance which he has inherited from
+the humbler side of his house in a singularly unchanged way. Even in
+the best humor it appears sullen, and lacks those playful capers which
+give such expression to the well-bred horse, particularly in its
+youthful state. It is evident, however, that it discriminates men and
+things more clearly than does the horse. In going over difficult ground
+it studies its surface, and picks its way so as to secure a footing in
+an almost infallible manner. Even when loaded with a pack, it will
+consider the incumbrance and not so often try to pass where the burden
+will become entangled with fixed objects.
+
+Mules soon learn the difference between those who have the care of them
+and strangers. It is a well-known fact that trouble awaits the wight
+who unwarily ventures to take from the stall a mule which has not the
+advantage of his acquaintance. On this account they are rarely stolen.
+Even in the daytime they are often dangerous for strangers to approach,
+and the most of the ill-usage which men receive from their heels arises
+where unwitting people venture to treat them as they would horses.
+Mules are much less liable to panic-fear than the most of our
+domesticated animals, yet, when kept in the herded way, they
+occasionally become stampeded. Many a soldier of our Civil War, where
+mules played a large part in the campaigns, doubtless remembers the mad
+outbreaks of these creatures from their corrals, when they went
+charging through the army with a fury which, if directed against an
+enemy, would have been almost as effective as a cavalry charge.
+
+It is interesting to note that mules have a greater disposition to
+adopt a leader in their movements than we note in either of the species
+whence they come. In the old days when mules were plentifully bred in
+Kentucky, and taken thence for sale to the plantation States, they went
+forth in droves, commonly under the leadership of a bell horse, or, by
+preference, a mare, which it was quite the custom to choose of a white
+color. In the course of a few hours the creatures would learn to know
+their guide, and to follow the leader with so little trouble that two
+men could conduct a throng of several hundred. Nevertheless, if the
+foremost mule of the procession turned aside, all the others would
+blindly follow him in the manner of a flock of sheep.
+
+I recall an amusing instance of this "follow-my-leader" motive which
+occurred many years ago in a way somewhat personal to myself, in
+southern Kentucky. Engaged in survey work, I was passing along a quiet
+road when in the distance I heard a thunder of hoofs, and in a moment
+saw a great drove of mules, the appointed leader of which, a man on a
+white horse, had fallen to the rear of the column. The creatures,
+thinking that it was their duty to overtake the missing master, were
+going on the full run. Heeding the shouts of the troubled herder, I
+turned my wagon across the road, which, being at that point very narrow,
+was effectually barricaded by the vehicle. Although the rush was so wild
+that the brutes nearly overset my "outfit," they were brought to a full
+stop. Unhappily, on one side of the road and one hundred feet or so from
+it, there was a comfortably built southern house, with a broad gallery
+extending along the front; while in the door of the mansion were some
+women who had been attracted by the tumult. No sooner had the mob of
+mules been brought to a state of surging quiet, than one of the
+creatures jumped the picket fence, and started for the open house-door,
+thinking, perhaps, that he would find some peace of life in what
+probably seemed to him his accustomed barn. In much less time than it
+takes to tell it, a hundred or more mules were on the gallery, the floor
+of which gave way beneath their weight; they quickly broke down the
+columns which supported the roof, so that the whole structure at once
+became a heap of wood and mules. The unhappy proprietor of the drove, in
+his consternation, forgot even to swear--an art which I have never known
+on any other occasion to pass from a mule-driver; and, sitting on his
+white horse, he lifted his hands like an oriental in prayer, and said to
+me meekly, "Did you ever in all your life?" I assured him that I had
+never, and went my way, leaving him to settle an interesting case of
+damages with the owner of the mansion.
+
+In considering the general influence of the horse and its kindred forms
+on human culture, we clearly perceive that we are now attaining a time
+when the machinery of civilization is to depend in a much less degree
+than of old on the help which these creatures give to man. Even fifty
+years ago the horse was far more necessary to the work of our kind than
+it is at present. Going back a hundred years, we perceive that the
+population of the civilized world could not possibly have been
+maintained, if by some disease all the horses had been swept away. Such
+a calamity in the year 1800 would have led to the depopulation of almost
+all the cities of the interior country, famine would have ravaged our
+States, and the whole economic system of society would have had to be
+reconstructed. Now the greater part of the work which of old had to be
+done by horses, can, at a slight increase of cost, be effected by
+mechanical engines. Ploughing, except on steep hillsides and in very
+stony ground, can be cheaply and effectively done by steam. The same
+agent can propel the harvesters and work the threshing machines. Even
+farmers who till fields of no great extent find it desirable to do much
+of their work by steam-engines, for the reason that fuel is less costly
+than horse feed. An interesting instance to show how far mechanical
+inventions have taken the place of horsed wagons in the work of
+civilized communities was afforded by the horse distemper which swept
+over the country in 1872. During the week or more in which this epidemic
+was at the worst, the State of Massachusetts was practically unhorsed,
+yet the greater part of the necessary business, that required to bring
+provisions to the town, was effected by means of the railways. The same
+incident shows, however, in another way, how absolutely necessary this
+animal is, in certain parts of our work. For the great Boston fire,
+which occurred at that time, was doubtless due to the fact that, owing
+to the sickness of the horses, an effort was made to drag the engines by
+hand-power, with the result that they came upon the ground so slowly as
+to give the fire a chance to become an uncontrollable conflagration.
+
+In the present state of our arts there is one great occupation which we
+cannot conceive to be carried on without the services of horses. This is
+war. It is hardly too much to say that all our highly elaborated
+military system has depended for its development, as it does for its
+maintenance, on the transportation value of horses. Much has been said
+of late as to the use of bicycles as adjuncts to armies, and in a
+certain limited way they will doubtless prove serviceable in future
+campaigns; but no one who has had any experience of military duty, with
+its work across tilled fields and through forests, can imagine a man on
+a wheel rendering any very effective service except under peculiar
+conditions. Moreover, no ordnance corps can do its appointed work in the
+rear of a line of battle without sending its wagons across country and
+over ground which no unhorsed vehicle could traverse.
+
+The mark of the old utility of the animal in varied employment is
+retained in our use of the term horse-power in measuring the energy of
+engines. That gauge of strength of old determined what man could do in
+the severest taxes upon the forces at his command. In attaining the
+point where, owing to the possession of horses, he could use this
+standard, he won a great way beyond the station of his ancestors, who
+had but the strength of men at their command. Modern invention, by
+giving us heat-engines, has made the way for an advance. In another
+century, or even in another generation, the horse may, save for the uses
+of war, be confined to the position of a luxury and an ornament.
+
+
+
+
+THE FLOCKS AND HERDS: BEASTS FOR
+BURDEN, FOOD, AND RAIMENT
+
+   Effect of this Group of Animals on Man.--First Subjugations.--Basis
+   of Domesticability.--Horned Cattle.--Wool-bearing Animals.--Sheep
+   and Goats.--Camels: their Limitation.--Elephants: Ancient History;
+   Distribution; Intelligence; Use in the Arts; Need of True
+   Domestication.--Pigs: their Peculiar Economic Value; Modern
+   Varieties; Mental Qualities.--Relation of the Development of
+   Domesticable Animals to the Time of Man's Appearance on the Earth.
+
+
+It is not too much to say that the opportunity to go forward on the
+paths of culture, at least the chance to advance any considerable
+distance beyond the estate of primitive men, depends in a considerable
+measure upon what the wilderness may offer in the way of domesticable
+beasts of burden. Where such exist we find that the folk who dwell with
+them in any land are almost certain to have made great advances. Where
+the surrounding nature, however rich, denies this boon, we find that
+men, however great their natural abilities may appear to be, exhibit a
+retarded development. Thus in North America, where there was no
+domesticable beast of burden, the Indians, though an able folk, remain
+savages. So, too, in central and southern Africa, where the mammalian
+life, though rich, affords no large forms which tolerate captivity, the
+people have failed to attain any considerable culture. On the other
+hand, in the great continent of the Old World, where the horse, the ass,
+the buffalo, the camel, and the elephant existed in the primitive wilds,
+men rose swiftly toward the civilized station.
+
+[Illustration: Domesticated Buffaloes in Egypt]
+
+The immediate effect arising from the possession of beasts of burden is
+greatly to enlarge the scope and educative value of human labor. A
+primitive agriculture, sufficient to provide for the needs of a people,
+can be carried on by man's labor alone, though the resulting food-supply
+has generally to be supplemented by the chase. Rarely, if ever, are the
+products of the soil thus won sufficient in quantity to be made the
+basis of any commerce. Such conveyance as is necessary among the people
+who are served by their own hands alone, has to be accomplished by boat
+transportation or by the backs of men. The immediate effect of using
+beasts for burden is the introduction of some kind of plough, which
+spares the labor of men in delving the ground, and the use of pack
+animals, which, employed in the manner of caravans, greatly promotes the
+extension of trade. A great range of secondary influences is found in
+the development of the arts of war, by which people who have become
+provided with pack or saddle animals are able to prevail over their
+savage neighbors, and thus to extend the realm of a nascent
+civilization. Yet another influence, arising from the domestication of
+large beasts, arises from the fact that these creatures are important
+storehouses of food; their flesh spares men the labor of the chase, and
+so promotes those regularities of employment which lead men into
+civilized ways of life. In fact, by making these creatures captive, men
+unintentionally brought themselves out of their ancient savagery. They
+were led into systematic and forethoughtful courses, and thus found a
+training which they could in no other way have secured.
+
+[Illustration: Cattle of India]
+
+The first and simplest use made of the animals from which man derives
+strength appears to have been brought about by the subjugation of wild
+cattle--the bulls and buffaloes. Several wild varieties of the bovine
+tribe were originally widely disseminated in Europe and Asia, and these
+forms must have been frequent objects of chase by the ancient hunters.
+Although in their adult state these animals were doubtless originally
+intractable, the young were mild-mannered, and, as we can readily
+conceive, must often have been led captive to the abodes of the
+primitive people. As is common with all gregarious animals which have
+long acknowledged the authority of their natural herdsmen, the dominant
+males of their tribe, these creatures lent themselves to domestication.
+Even the first generation of the captives reared by hand probably showed
+a disposition to remain with their masters; and in a few generations
+this native impulse might well have been so far developed that the
+domestic herd was established, affording perhaps at first only flesh and
+hides, and leading the people who made them captives to a nomadic
+life--that constant search for fresh fields and pastures new which
+characterizes people who are supported by their flocks and herds.
+
+It is a curious fact that the kindred of the buffaloes and bisons
+differ exceedingly in the measure of their domesticability. Thus, the
+ordinary buffalo of Asia, though a dull brute, is very subjugable,
+even in the literal sense, for he makes a tolerable beast for the
+plough and bears the yoke with due patience. His African kinsman, on
+the other hand, is perhaps the most unconquerable of all the large
+wild animals. The late Sir Samuel Baker, in answer to my question as
+to what wild form was the most to be feared in combat, unhesitatingly
+answered, "The African buffalo, the bulls of which charge home upon
+any aggressor with an immediate and determined fury, which often
+enables them to kill the hunter after they have been shot through the
+brain." Our American bison, though a much milder-spirited beast, seems
+also to be essentially undomesticable for the reason that he cannot be
+taught to subordinate his desires to the will of man. He can readily
+be brought to the point where he will tolerate captivity; but if, when
+engaged in ploughing, it occurs to him that he needs water, he will
+straightway go in search of it, not in a vicious, but in a perfectly
+obdurate manner. This quality of mind appears to be accountable for
+the failure of the many experiments which have been made to
+domesticate this interesting American form.
+
+The limitations of the domesticating work, the fact that as between
+two kindred species the one has been chosen by man and the other left,
+indicate the truth--which is generally of much importance--that the
+intellectual qualities of animals commonly differ more than their
+frames. This is a part of the larger fact that with the advance in
+organization the individuality, as regards the whole spiritual field
+in persons and species alike, becomes greater. The culmination of the
+tendency is seen in man, where, with bodies which do not vary much, we
+have an almost infinite range in individual qualities.
+
+This is perhaps a good place in which to make answer to the suggestion
+that the domesticability of the animal species is in inverse
+proportion to their native courage and independence of mind. The
+reader will see how fallacious is this common notion if he will
+consider the quality of the supremely domesticated creature, the dog.
+There is probably no beast which has a larger share of natural courage
+and of independent motive. When not under the control of their
+masters, they have perhaps as free a contact with nature as any
+creature in the world; the same thing may be said of the elephant,
+which, next to the dog, lends himself most obediently to the
+requirements of the master. Owing to the power of his huge body and to
+the ease with which he wins his food, he is in his native wilds the
+least dependent of land animals. Except from the assaults of man, he
+has nothing to fear; yet when enslaved he at once surrenders himself
+to his captors. In general, it may be said that the true gauge of
+domesticability is the sympathetic motive, that strange outgoing
+spirit which leads the mind to recognize the life about it and to
+accept that life as a part of its own. In other words, the
+domesticability of man is due to his willingness to enter into social
+relations and rests on the same foundation that supports his
+intercourse with the lower animals he has won to his use.
+
+[Illustration: Indian Bullock and Water-Carrier]
+
+It is probable that the first use which was made of beasts of burden,
+in ways in which their strength became useful to man, was in packing
+the tents and other valuables of their masters as they moved from
+place to place. Even to this day in certain parts of the world bulls
+and oxen serve for such purposes. In fact the nomadic life, a fashion
+of society which is enforced wherever people subsist from their
+cattle alone, leads inevitably to such use of the beasts. In the
+southern Appalachian district of this country there remain traces of
+this service rendered by bulls and oxen. These creatures, provided
+with a kind of pack saddle, are occasionally used in conveying the
+dried roots of the ginseng, beeswax, feathers, and the peltries which
+are gathered by the inhabitants of remote districts, not accessible
+to carriages, to the markets of the outer world. All the varieties of
+ordinary cattle could be made to serve as burden-carriers, and they
+doubtless would be continued to be used for saddle purposes in one
+way or another but for the wide use of the horse, a creature very
+much better adapted for carrying weight. The cloven foot of the bulls
+and buffaloes gives a weakness to the extremities which will quickly
+lead to disease in case they are forced to carry heavy loads such
+as the horse or ass may safely bear.
+
+[Illustration: Ploughing in Syria]
+
+The help which our bovine servants afford us by the power which they
+exert in traction, as in drawing ploughs, sleds, or wagons, appears to
+have been first rendered long after their introduction to the ways of
+man. The first of these uses in which the drawing strength of these
+animals was made serviceable appears to have been in the work of
+ploughing. In primitive days and with primitive tools, hand delving
+was a sore task. The inventive genius who first contrived to overturn
+the earth by means of the forked limb of a tree, shaped in the
+semblance of a plough and drawn by oxen, began a great revolution in
+the art of agriculture. To this unknown genius we may award a place
+among the benefactors of mankind, quite as distinguished as that which
+is occupied by the equally unknown inventors of the arts of making fire
+or of smelting ores. After the experience with the strength of oxen had
+been won from the work of ploughing, it was easy to pass to the other
+grades of their employment, where they were made to draw carriages.
+
+Next after the contribution which the kindred of the bulls, have made
+by their strength, we must set that which has come from their milk.
+Although this substance can be obtained in small quantities from
+several other domesticated animals, the species of the genus Bos alone
+have yielded it in sufficient quantities greatly to affect the
+development of man. It is difficult to measure the importance of the
+addition to the diet, both of savage and civilized peoples, which milk
+affords. It is a fact well known to physiologists that in its simple
+form this substance is a complete food, capable when taken alone of
+sustaining life and insuring a full development of the body. It is
+indeed a natural contrivance exactly adapted to afford those materials
+which are required for the development and restoration of creatures
+essentially akin to our own species. Those races which avail themselves
+extensively of it in their dietary are the strongest and most enduring
+the world has known. The Aryan folk are indeed characteristically
+drinkers of milk and users of its products, cheese and butter. It may
+well be that their power is in some measure due to this resource.
+
+[Illustration: Winnowing Grain in Egypt]
+
+In our horned cattle man won to domestication creatures which were
+admirably suited to promote his advancement from savagery to
+civilization. Indeed, the possession of these animals appears to have
+been a prime condition of his advancement. With them, however, as with
+the camel, there came little in the way of those sympathetic qualities
+which have made it possible for our race to establish affectionate
+relations with other captive forms. Long intercourse with man has, it
+is true, somewhat diminished the wildness of these creatures, though
+the males remain the most indomitably ferocious of all our
+servants. The truth seems to be that the bovine animals have but
+little intellectual capacity, and it has in no wise served the
+purposes of man to develop such powers of mind as they have. We have
+ever been given to asking little of them, save docility. This we have
+in a high measure won with our milch cows, which of all our
+domesticated creatures are perhaps the most absolutely submissive; the
+more highly developed of them being little more than passive producers
+of milk, almost without a trace of instincts or emotions except such
+as pertain to reproduction and to feeding. It is a noteworthy fact
+that in all the great literature of anecdote concerning our
+domesticated animals, there is hardly a trace of stories which tend to
+show the existence of sagacity in our common cattle.
+
+It is evident that the variability of our domesticated bovines, as far
+as their bodies are concerned, is very great. Between the ancient
+aurochs and the more highly cultivated of its descendants, the
+difference is as great as that which separates any other of our captive
+animals from their wild ancestors. In size, shape, in flesh-and
+milk-giving qualities, the departure from the old form of the wilderness
+is remarkable. Moreover, at the present time these diverse breeds of
+horned cattle are rapidly being multiplied, the distinctive forms
+probably being twice as numerous as they were at the beginning of the
+present century. The process of selection has led to some very wide
+diversifications of the body. The horns, which in the wild state are
+invariably well developed, and which in the cattle of our Western plains
+attain very great size, have in certain breeds altogether disappeared,
+and in their place there sometimes comes a remarkable crest of bony
+matter which does not project beyond the skin which covers the head. If
+such differences occurred in the wild state, they would be regarded as
+separating the two types of animals widely from each other.
+
+[Illustration: Egyptian Sheep]
+
+In treating the wool-bearing animals along with beasts of burden, we
+make a somewhat fanciful classification which yet is not quite without
+reason. By long training man has brought these species to the state
+where their covering of wool or hair, once a coating only sufficient to
+afford protection from the weather, has become a very serious load. In
+certain of our highly developed varieties the annual coat is so far
+increased that the creature loses a large part of its bulk after the
+shearer has done his work. Each year's fleece often amounts in weight
+to eight to twelve pounds, and in its lifetime the animal may yield a
+mass of wool far exceeding its weight of flesh and bones in any time
+of its life. When the fleece is mature the animal is often burdened
+with a load about as heavy in proportion to his size as is a horse by
+the weight of its rider and accoutrements.
+
+As a flesh producer, particularly in sterile fields, sheep are more
+valuable than our horned cattle. They mature more rapidly, attaining
+their adult size and reproducing their kind in less than two years, so
+that in many parts of the world it is possible to obtain a larger
+quantity of flesh from poor pasturages with sheep than with any other
+of our domesticated animals. Their principal value, however, has been
+from the means they afforded whereby men in high latitudes have
+obtained warm clothing. Before the domestication of these creatures,
+peoples who had to endure the winter of high latitudes were forced to
+rely upon hides for covering--a form of clothing which is clumsy,
+uncleanly, and which the chase could not supply in any considerable
+quantity. Owing to its peculiar structure, the hair of the sheep makes
+the strongest and warmest covering, when rendered into cloth, which has
+ever been devised for the use of man. The value of this contribution is
+directly related to the conditions of climate. In the intertropical
+regions the sheep plays no part of importance. In high latitudes it is
+of the utmost value to man. No other of our domesticated creatures,
+except the camel, is so specially adapted to the needs which
+peculiarities of climate impose upon their possessors.
+
+[Illustration: Bedouin Goat-Herd--Palestine]
+
+The relations of the goat to mankind are in certain ways peculiar. The
+creature has long been subjugated, probably having come into the human
+family before the dawn of history. It has been almost as widely
+disseminated, among barbarian and civilized peoples alike, as the
+sheep. It readily cleaves to the household, and exhibits much more
+intelligence than the other members of our flocks and herds. It yields
+good milk, the flesh is edible, though in the old animals not savory,
+and the hair can be made to vary in a larger measure than any of our
+animals which are shorn. Yet this creature has never obtained the place
+in relation to man to which it seems entitled. Only here and there is
+it kept in considerable numbers or made the basis of extensive
+industries. The reason for this seems to be that these animals cannot
+readily be kept in flocks in the manner of sheep. They are only partly
+gregarious, and tend to stray from the owner's keeping. There seems
+reason also to believe that they cannot easily be made to vary in other
+characteristics except their hairy covering at the will of the breeder,
+and so varieties cannot be formed, as is the case with sheep, to suit
+each peculiarity of soil and climate. Thus in Europe, where it would be
+easy to name a score of distinct breeds of sheep, each peculiarly well
+suited to the conditions of the country where it had been developed,
+the goats are singularly alike. The original stock of these creatures
+appears to have been adapted to feeding on the scant herbage which
+develops in rocky and mountainous countries. They do not seem able to
+make the perfect use of the resources of a pasture which sheep do.
+These inherited peculiarities in feeding enable them to pick up a
+subsistence where they may range over a considerable territory, even
+where it seems to afford no forms of food for the hungriest animal.
+Thus in that part of the city of New York known as "Shanty town," goats
+may be seen in fairly good condition, although the sole source of food,
+besides a few stray weeds, appears to be the paste of the paper
+advertisements which they pick from the rocks and fences.
+
+Although goats appear to be characterized by invariable bodies, our
+sheep are, in physical characteristics, among the most flexible of our
+domesticated animals. They may by selection readily and rapidly be made
+to vary as regards the character of their wool, the size and proportion
+of their muscles, and the quantity and placing of the fat. In all these
+features they may be fairly blown to and fro by the wind of favor.
+Between the meagre-bodied merino, with its skeleton-like frame and
+heavily wrinkled skin bearing a vast burden of long wool, and the heavy
+Hampshire-downs or South-downs, there is really an immense difference in
+bodily quality; yet these variations represent only a century or two of
+careful experiment on the part of the breeders. It seems not improbable
+that in the present state of this developing art it would be possible,
+in a hundred years, to reverse the conditions of these two varieties.
+
+Sheep and goats, like the other herbivorous species which are the
+common tenants of our fields and forests, belong to the great class of
+dull-witted mammals in which the intellectual processes appear to be
+almost altogether limited to ancient and simple emotions, such as are
+inspired by fear or hunger. They are characterized by little
+individuality of mind, and although the needs of men have not led to
+any experiment in developing their wits, as in the case of dogs, there
+is no reason to believe that they afford much foundation for such
+essays. The present rapid variations in the physical characteristics of
+our sheep which are induced by the breeder's skill, make it evident
+that we are far from having attained the maximum profit from these
+creatures. The goats also give promise, when selective work is
+carefully done upon them, of giving much more than they now afford to
+the uses of mankind; but from neither of these forms is there reason to
+hope, at least on our present lines of experiment, for any considerable
+gain in the intellectual qualities.
+
+[Illustration: The Great Caravan Road--Central Asia]
+
+We have already noted the fact that the sheep is especially adapted to
+serve man in high latitudes, where he has to provide against the
+winter's cold. The camel is an even more striking instance in which the
+value of the creature depends upon climatal peculiarities. It is
+peculiarly fitted, by its ancestral training and development, for the
+use of men who dwell in arid countries. In the olden days of the later
+Tertiary epoch, creatures akin to the camels appear to have been widely
+distributed, and were probably adapted to considerable variations of
+environment. Within the time of which we know something by history,
+these forms have been limited to the arid districts of southwestern
+Asia and northern Africa. It is not certain that we know the originally
+wild form of either of the two species, the double-humped or
+single-humped camels. Wild members of each exist, but they may be the
+descendants of the domesticated forms. It seems probable that long
+before the building of the Pyramids the people of the deserts had
+learned how to profit from the very peculiar qualities of this
+strangely provided beast, which in several distinct ways is singularly
+fitted to serve the needs of man in arid lands. The large and
+well-padded foot of this creature is well adapted for treading a
+surface unsoftened by vegetation. Its peculiar stomach enables it to
+store water in such a manner that it can go for days without drink. In
+the humps upon its back, as in natural pack-saddles, it may harvest a
+share of the nutriment which it obtains from occasional good
+pasturages, the store being laid away in the form of fat which may
+return to the blood when the creature would otherwise starve. So
+important have these peculiarities been found by men who have
+domesticated the camel, that on them have rested many of the most
+interesting features of race development in the history of our kind. In
+the territories along the eastern and southern shores of the
+Mediterranean, and in a large part of southern and central Asia, the
+camel has done service to man which elsewhere has been performed by
+sheep, cattle, and horses. In those parts of the world the share which
+these domesticated animals have had in the development of man has been
+relatively small. The camel has given the strength for burdens, hair
+for clothing, and often flesh to the needy men of the desert.
+
+[Illustration: The Halt in the Desert at Night--The Story Teller]
+
+Although long a captive, and for ages, perhaps, the most serviceable of
+all the creatures which man has won from the wilds, the camel is still
+only partly domesticated, having never acquired even the small measure
+of affection for his master which we find in the other herbivorous
+animals which have been won to the service of man. The obedience which
+he renders is but a dull submission to inevitable toil. The
+intelligence which he shows is very limited, and, so far as I can judge
+from the accounts of those who have observed him, there is but little
+variation in his mental qualities. As a whole, the creature appears to
+be innately the dullest and least improvable of all our servitors.
+The fact is, this animal belongs to an ancient and lowly type of
+mammals characterized by relatively small brains, and therefore of weak
+intelligence; but, for its singular serviceableness in drought-ridden
+countries, it would probably have been hunted off the earth by the
+early men, as have been many other remnants of the ancient life.
+
+[Illustration: Camels Feeding]
+
+It is somewhat characteristic of the older forms of animals, those
+which took shape in the earlier Tertiary periods, that they are less
+variable than those which acquired their characteristics in times
+nearer our own. It is a fact well known to the students of
+paleontology, that species and genera which have been long on the
+earth are apt to become in a way rigid as regards their qualities of
+body and mind. It is an interesting fact that, although the camel can
+readily be transplanted to many other parts of the world, where the
+physiographic conditions are similar to those of the realm where he has
+served man so well, he has never been thoroughly successful except in
+the regions where he has been in use for ages. In the desert regions of
+the Cordilleras of America, in South Africa, and in Australia, various
+experiments go to show that the creature could be perfectly reconciled
+to its environment. Many years ago a lot of camels were brought to the
+valley of the Rio Grande with a view to their utilization in that
+region, which closely resembles the desert countries about the
+Mediterranean. These animals were thoroughly successful in meeting the
+climatal conditions of the region. They proved as strong and as fertile
+as in their natural realms. Although it is said they survive to the
+present day, they have never been of any service to the people.
+
+[Illustration: Carrying the Sugar Cane in Harvest--Egypt]
+
+Although, as before noted, the camel has a certain value for other
+purposes than conveying burdens, these subsidiary uses are so far
+limited that the creature is not likely to retain a place in the world
+after his service in caravans is no longer called for. The rapid
+recivilization of northern Africa, leading as it does to the development
+of a railway system in that region, promises to displace this creature
+from his most trodden ways. It seems likely that the other portions of
+the desert lands in the old world will soon be brought under the same
+civilizing influences, the nomadic tribes reduced to a stationary habit
+of life, and the commerce effected in the modern manner. When this
+change is brought about, this old-time animal, which but for the care of
+man would have probably long since passed away, will be likely, save
+so far as it may be preserved through motives of scientific interest, to
+join the great array of vanished species.
+
+[Illustration: Camels along the Sea at Twilight]
+
+It affords a pleasant contrast to turn from the consideration of the
+camels to a study of the elephants. The difference in the measure of
+attractiveness of the two forms is very great, and depends upon facts of
+remarkable interest. Unlike the camel--which, as we have seen, is the
+last survivor of an ancient lineage, represented by but two species, and
+these limited to a small part of the world--the elephant, at the time
+when man appears to have taken shape, seems to have existed on all the
+continental lands except Australia, and to have been in a state of
+singular prosperity. As is often the case with other vigorous genera of
+mammals, the species were adapted to a very great variety of climates,
+and were fitted to endure tropic heat as well as arctic cold.
+
+The group of elephants is first known to us in the early part of
+Tertiary time. From its first appearance on our stage it seems to have
+been successful in a high measure, and this probably by reason of its
+possession of the remarkable invention of the trunk--a prolonged and
+marvellously flexible nose which serves in the manner of an arm and
+hand for gathering food.
+
+When we first find traces of mankind in the records of the rocks, in
+what appears to be an age just anterior to the Glacial epoch, the
+elephant had passed the experimental stages of its development and
+was firmly established as the king of beasts. In his adult form he
+had nothing to fear from any of the lower animals, and by the
+organization of herds it is probable that even the young were
+tolerably safe from assault. Until the early races of men had attained
+a considerable skill in the use of weapons, the great beasts were
+probably safe from human attack. We may well believe that primitive
+savages shunned them as unconquerable. As early, perhaps, as the
+closing stages of the Glacial epoch in Europe, we find evidences which
+pretty clearly show that the folk of that land, probably belonging to
+some race other than our own, had attained a state of the warlike arts
+in which they could venture to hunt this creature.
+
+The species of elephant which was hunted by the early men of Europe,
+and perhaps also by those in Asia and America as well, was a greater
+and, at least in appearance, a more formidable monster than the living
+species of Asia or Africa. He was on the average taller and probably
+bulkier than any of his living kindred. The tusks were large and
+curved in a curious scimitar form. Adding to the might of its aspect
+was a vast covering of hair, which on the neck appears to have had the
+form of a mane. This covering must have greatly increased the
+apparent size of the creature, which no doubt appeared about twice as
+large as any of our modern elephants which are nearly hairless.
+Although the perils of this ancient chase must have been great, the
+triumphs were equally so, and to a people who lived by hunting, most
+profitable; a single animal would furnish more food than scores of
+the lesser beasts such as the reindeer.
+
+It seems probable that the ancient northern elephant continued in
+existence in North America down to the time when this continent was
+inhabited by man. It can hardly be doubted that the very ancient human
+beings, whose remains are preserved to us beneath the lava streams of
+California, dwelt on the continent along with the mammoth. In
+excavations which I have made at Big Bone Lick in Kentucky, where a
+group of saline springs emerges at the bottom of a valley, there were
+disclosed a very great number of skeletons of this great elephant,
+commingled with the bones of one or two smaller forms of the related
+genus, the mastodon. At a slightly higher level was the multitude of
+remains belonging to an extinct species of bison which came just before
+our so-called buffalo, while near the surface of the ground was found
+the waste of the creatures which were in the field when it was first
+seen by the white men. A very careful search failed to reveal any trace
+of man until the uppermost level was attained. The facts, which cannot
+well be discussed here, have led me to the conclusion that only a few
+thousand years can have elapsed since the mammoth and the mastodon
+plentifully abounded in North America; but I am forced to doubt whether
+our savages were here in time to make acquaintance with these animals.
+
+It is not certain that the extermination of the great northern
+elephant or mammoth even in the Old World came about through the
+action of man. It is possible that the death was due to more natural
+causes, such as the change of climate which attended the decline of
+the Glacial period, or to the attacks of some insect enemy like the
+tsetze fly of South Africa, which occasionally brings destruction to
+cattle in that part of the world. On the whole, however, it seems
+most probable that the extermination of this noble beast is to be
+accounted among the brutal triumphs of mankind, perhaps as the first
+of the long tale of destructions which he has inflicted upon his
+fellow-creatures. However this may be, it is clear that at the dawn
+of civilization the species of the genus elephas had become limited
+to that part of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara,
+and to the portion of Asia east of the Persian Gulf and south of
+China. The remnant consisted of two species: the African form, on the
+average the larger of the two, a fierce and scarcely domesticable
+creature; and the Asiatic, a milder-natured species which alone has
+been to any extent brought into the service of man.
+
+It is not certain when or where elephants were first reduced to
+domestication. In the dawn of history we find them used to enhance the
+state of princes and for the purposes of war. It seems possible that
+in this early day the African as well as the Asiatic species was
+tamed, at least to the point where they could be made to serve in
+battle. We can hardly believe that all these animals which were at the
+command of Hannibal and the other generals of North Africa, came from
+the Asiatic realm. The fact that in modern times the species which
+dwells south of the Sahara has not been turned to the uses of man, may
+be accounted for by the lowly estate of the native people in that part
+of the world, and the lack of need for such creatures in the economic
+conditions of the Aryan folk who have settled along the shores and in
+the southern part of that continent.
+
+The relations of man to the elephant are more peculiar than those which
+he has formed with any other domesticated animal. Although the creature
+will breed in captivity, its reproduction in that state is exceptional,
+and it is many years before the offspring are fit for any service. It
+is indeed about thirty years before the creature is sufficiently adult
+to attain a good measure of strength and endurance. It has therefore
+been the habit of the people who avail themselves of this admirable
+beast to use the captures which they make in the wilderness. It is a
+most interesting and exceptional fact that these captive elephants,
+though bred in perfect freedom and provided with none of those
+inherited instincts so essentially a part of the value of our other
+domesticated quadrupeds, become helpful to man and attached to him in a
+way which is characteristic of none other of our ancient companions
+except the dog. It is safe to say that the Asiatic elephant is the most
+innately domesticable, and the best fitted by nature for companionship
+with man, of all our great quadrupeds. The qualities of mind which in
+our other domesticated quadrupeds have been slowly developed by
+thousands of years of selection and intercourse with our kind, are in
+this creature a part of its wild estate.
+
+It appears from trustworthy anecdotes that the Asiatic elephants in a
+few months of captivity acquire the rules of conduct which it is
+necessary to impose upon them. The speediness of this intellectual
+subjugation may be judged from the fact that, after a short term of
+domestication, they will take a willing and intelligent part in
+capturing their kindred of the wilderness, showing in this work little
+or no disposition to rejoin the wild herds. In the case of no other
+animal do we find anything like such an immediate adhesion to the ways
+of civilization. We have to account for this eminent peculiarity of the
+elephant on the supposition, which appears to be thoroughly justified,
+that the creature has, even in its wild state, a type of intelligence
+and instincts more nearly like those of men than is the case with any
+other wild mammal, an affinity with human quality which is, perhaps,
+only approached by certain species of birds. It appears from the
+observations of naturalists that the family or tribe of wild elephants
+is a distinct and highly sympathetic community. The grade and value of
+the friendly feeling which prevails among them may be judged by the
+fact that, when one of the males becomes lost or is driven away from
+its associates, it does not seem to be able to join any other tribe,
+but becomes a "rogue," or solitary individual, and in this state
+develops a morose and furious temper.
+
+There are many well-attested stories which serve to show that wild
+elephants have a kind of intelligence which indicates a certain
+constructive capacity. Of these, perhaps the best are the instances in
+which the creatures have been caught in pitfalls, made by digging a
+hole in the paths of the wilderness which they are accustomed to
+follow, the surface being covered with a frail platform so arranged as
+to conceal the excavation. When one of a tribe is caught in the trap,
+the others, if time allows before the hunters come to the ground, will
+in an ingenious way release him. I doubt if the most practicable
+manner of effecting this will occur at once to the reader. The easiest
+plan may seem to drag the captive from the pit by sheer strength, but
+as the hole is deep and has vertical sides, the elephants contrive a
+better way. They bring bits of timber, which they throw into the
+pitfall, the captive treads them down until he is elevated to a
+position whence he can escape from his prison.
+
+The intelligence of the wild elephant is probably in good part to be
+accounted for by the fact that the creature possesses in its trunk an
+instrument which is admirably contrived to execute the behests of an
+intelligent will. It is easy for us to see how, in the case of man, the
+hands have served to develop the intelligence by providing him with
+means whereby he could do a great variety of things which demanded
+thought and afforded education. The elephant is the only large mammal
+which has ever acquired a serviceable addition to the body such as the
+trunk affords. In their ordinary life the trunk does almost as varied
+work as the human arm. With it they can express emotions in a remarkable
+way; they caress their young, gather their food by a great variety of
+movements, or defend themselves from assailants. To the naturalist who
+has come to perceive the close relations between bodily structure and
+mental endowments, it is not surprising to find that these creatures
+have attained a quality of mind which is found nowhere else among the
+mammals except in man and in some of his kindred, the apes.
+
+The most peculiar mental quality of the elephant, a feature which
+separates him even from the dog, is the rational way in which he will
+do certain kinds of mechanical work. He appears to have an immediate
+sense as to the effects of his actions, which we find elsewhere only
+among human beings. From a great body of well-attested observations,
+showing what may be called the logical quality of the mind of these
+creatures, I may be allowed to select a few stories which have a
+singular denotative value. An acquaintance of mine, a British officer
+who had served long in India, told me that in taking artillery over
+very difficult roads, certain of the abler elephants could be trusted
+to walk behind each piece, where they would in a fashion control its
+movements, steadying or lifting it as the occasion demanded without
+any directions from the driver.
+
+[Illustration: An Indian Elephant]
+
+Elephants can be trained to pile up sticks of timber, such as railway
+ties, placing the layers alternately in opposite directions, as is the
+custom in such work. There is an excellent and well-attested story of
+an elephant who, without a driver, was bearing a stick of timber
+through a narrow wood path. Meeting a man on horseback, and
+perceiving that the way was not wide enough for both himself and the
+oncomer, the sagacious animal deliberately backed his huge body into
+the chaparral so as to clear the way, and then trumpeted as if to
+signal the horseman that the path was free.
+
+The emotions as well as the intelligence of elephants are singularly
+like those of human kind. It is said by those who know them well that
+if when in their stubborn fits they are brutally overborne, they are
+apt to die of what seems to be pure chagrin. Their states of grief,
+despair, and rage much resemble those which are exhibited by violent
+children or men unaccustomed to control. Their affections and
+animosities have also a curious human cast. They readily form
+attachments which appear to be quite as enduring as those exhibited by
+dogs, and their memory of injuries remains quick for years after they
+have received the harm. Well-verified anecdotes showing the likeness
+of these emotional qualities to our own exist in such numbers that it
+would be easy to fill a volume with them. They are, however, not
+necessary to show the likeness of the creature to ourselves. This is
+sufficiently exhibited by their daily behavior under domestication. In
+noting this we should remember that the male elephant is the only
+large mammal the males of which it has proved safe to use in the
+ordinary work of life. Even our bulls and stallions, though they
+belong to species which have been domesticated for thousands of years,
+are so violent and untrustworthy as to be of little value except for
+breeding purposes. Bulls, even of the tamer breeds, are a constant
+menace to the lives of their masters; yet an adult male elephant
+recently made captive may, except when seriously diseased, be trusted
+to obey the mere signals of the driver, who has no such control over
+him as the bit affords in the case of horses. The creature has the
+strength to overcome all control save that of a moral nature. To this
+he submits in a way which is only equalled by our well-bred dogs.
+
+As yet the utility of the elephant to man has, measured by his
+qualities, been but small. The creature has a marvellous strength,
+great intelligence, and remarkable docility. In proportion to the
+power which he can apply to a task, he is not an expensive animal to
+maintain. He can endure a considerable range of climate, and enjoys a
+tolerable immunity from disease. The reason for the relatively
+inconsiderable use of these creatures is probably to be found in the
+fact that they are not adapted for ordinary draught purposes, nor are
+they well suited to the needs of the caravan, for which the camel or
+the pack-mule is much better fitted. In ancient warfare, before the
+invention of gunpowder, elephants carrying archers or javelin-men upon
+their backs were greatly valued for the effect of their charge against
+an enemy and for the fright with which they inspired horses. Against
+the unsteady ranks of Oriental armies they were often most efficient
+in breaking a line of battle. Even the Roman troops, when they first
+encountered them and before they knew how to meet their charges, found
+them very formidable. It was soon learned that if their onset was
+stoutly resisted, they were likely to become unmanageable in the
+uproar of the fight, and to do as much damage to friends as to foes.
+It is only in certain peculiar tasks that, in modern days, the
+elephants have any economic value, and in the most of this work their
+strength is likely to be replaced by various engines.
+
+The two existing species of elephants are, as before remarked, the
+survivors of a long lineage, represented in the geological record by
+the remains of many extinct forms. Some of these lost species were far
+smaller than those of to-day; one at least was no larger than our
+heavier horses. If by the breeder's art the existing varieties could be
+caused so to change as to give us once again this relatively diminutive
+form, the creature would be sure to find a place of importance in our
+ordinary arts. The trouble is that the very long life of this animal is
+naturally associated with a slow growth. It requires indeed almost the
+lifetime of a generation to bring the individual to an adult age. It is
+therefore not surprising that, as the wild forms can readily be won to
+domestication, these creatures have not been the subject of any of those
+interesting processes of selection which have so far affected for the
+better the characteristics of nearly all the other domesticated animals.
+
+In every other regard than those mentioned above, the elephant appears
+to be an excellent subject for improvement by choice in breeding. The
+individuals vary much as regards their physical and mental qualities.
+Probably no other wild mammal exhibits such differences in the mental
+features as does this highly intellectual creature. The physical
+individuality does not seem to be as striking as the mental, but even
+here we note a range, at least as regards size, which is unusual in the
+wild forms bred under similar conditions. The general elasticity of the
+group is shown by the considerable differences which may be traced in
+the herds which occupy different parts of the field over which the
+species range. As yet these local peculiarities have not been carefully
+studied; but from an examination of the tusks in the ivory warehouse at
+the docks in London, I have found that those shipped from particular
+ports in Africa and Asia differed both in form and texture, so that
+the experts were able to tell from which district they came. The
+evidence, in a word, appears to show that the creature tends to vary;
+and it is a safe presumption that the forms would prove as responsive
+to the breeder's art as those of our horses, cattle, sheep, or dogs.
+
+As a whole, the elephant has been almost as little associated with the
+life of our own race as the camel. Neither of these creatures has ever
+played any considerable part in European affairs. From the
+disappearance of the last of the mammoths in the closing stages of the
+Glacial time until the invasions of Italy by Pyrrhus and by Hannibal,
+elephants were practically unknown in Western Europe. They have never
+been used in peaceful occupations on that continent, and have had only
+a trifling place in its military arts. It was probably due to this
+separation of our eminently experimental race from the realm of the
+elephants that no efforts have been made systematically to breed them
+in captivity, and thus to win varieties in which the form might become
+better adapted to economic needs, and the remarkable mental powers of
+the creature be brought to their utmost development. As yet the only
+Europeans who have had much to do with elephants are the British, who
+in their civil and military service in India have been thrown in
+contact with these animals. Generally, however, these people have been
+only temporarily domiciled in Asia, and probably on this account have
+not become interested in the problems which this noble beast presents
+to all those who appreciate the animal world. We lack, indeed, the
+observations which might have been made with admirable effect by
+British observers in India during the two centuries in which that
+people has had to do with the lands in which elephants abound.
+
+The elephant of Africa is still a tolerably abundant animal. Its
+numbers, though doubtless diminished by more than one-half within this
+century, are probably to be counted by the hundred thousand.
+Nevertheless, in less than a hundred years the field which they occupied
+has been greatly reduced; and between the ivory hunter and the sportsman
+of our brutal race armed with guns of ever-increasing deadliness, it
+will certainly not require another century of free shooting to
+annihilate the African species. In view of the present condition of the
+life of these noble beasts, it seems in a high measure desirable that a
+thorough-going effort should be made to extend the domestication to the
+point where the form will not only be won from the wilds, but will be a
+permanent element in our civilization, in the manner of our common
+flocks and herds. It will be an enduring shame if, by neglect of our
+opportunities, the utmost is not done to attain this end. It appears fit
+that this task should be undertaken by the British Government, which in
+modern days has displayed a skill and forethought in the administration
+of its Indian provinces unexampled in the history of colonies. Owing to
+the slow breeding-rate of the elephant, it may require more than a
+century for experiments to attain any definite result, so that the task
+is clearly beyond the limits of individual endeavor.
+
+Among the humbler helpers of man, the pig holds an important place. He
+has had no small share in the betterment of the estate of his masters.
+One of the large questions which beset men in their unconscious
+endeavors to lay the foundations of civilization was that of
+food-supply. No sooner does a population become sedentary than the
+wildernesses about its dwelling-place are rapidly cleared of the large
+game, so that the chase affords but little save amusement. Therefore a
+provision in the way of meat has to be obtained from domesticated
+animals. The flocks and herds supply this need, though in a costly way.
+Sheep have a value for their wool; horned cattle develop slowly, and
+are, moreover valuable, the oxen for their strength and the cows for
+their milk. Horses are too valuable to be used for food, save in times
+of exceeding stress; and none but the lowest savages are willing to send
+their faithful dogs to the pot. From the beginning of his experience
+with man the pig has been found the cheapest and most serviceable
+domesticated animal as a source of food-supply.
+
+We can trace the origin of our domesticated pigs more clearly than in
+the case of the most of the other subjugated animals. The creature is
+evidently descended from the wild boar of Europe and Asia; and though
+long under domestication and greatly varied from its primitive stock,
+it readily reverts to something like its original form when allowed to
+betake itself once more to the wilds. The domestication of the species
+appears to have been accomplished at several different points in Asia
+and Europe. The forms which are found in eastern Asia differ from those
+which are kept in the western portion of the great continent, and may
+have their blood commingled with that of another species which is
+native in that part of the world.
+
+Among our domesticated animals the pig is exceptional in the fact that
+it has been bred for its flesh alone; for although the hide is
+valuable and the hair serves certain purposes, as in the manufacture
+of brushes, these uses are only incidental and modern. They have not
+affected the plan of the breeder, whose aim has been to produce the
+largest weight of flesh in the shortest time, and with the least
+expenditure of food. In this peculiar task the success has been
+remarkable, the creature having been made to vary from its primitive
+condition in an extraordinary manner. In its wild state the species
+develops slowly, requiring, perhaps, three or four years to attain its
+maximum size. It never becomes very fat, but remains an agile,
+swift-footed, and fierce tenant of the wilds. Under the conditions of
+subjugation the pig has been brought to a state in which its qualities
+of mind and body have undergone a very great change. In the more
+developed breeds, even the males, when kept about the barnyard, are
+quiet-natured and not at all dangerous. The creatures have become
+slow-moving; they attain their full development in about half the time
+required for the growth of their wild kindred, and when adult they may
+outweigh them in the ratio of four to one.
+
+The effect arising from the food-supply which our pigs afford is well
+seen in the use which is made of their flesh in all the ruder work of
+men, at least in the case of those of our race. Our soldiers and
+sailors are to a great extent fed on the flesh of these creatures,
+which lends itself readily to preservation by the use of salt. So
+rapidly can these animals be bred, owing to the number of young which
+they produce in a litter and the swiftness of their growth, that
+sudden demands for an increase in the supply, such as occurred at the
+outbreak of our civil war, can quickly be met. If the need should
+arise, the quantity of pork produced in this country could readily be
+doubled within eighteen months. This is the case with no other source
+of flesh-supply, and this fact gives the pig a peculiar importance.
+
+Owing to the remarkably complete domestication of this animal, and
+also to the fact that it is omnivorous, the creature has ever been a
+favorite with the cotter class. Those folk, who can afford neither
+sheep nor horned cattle, can often provide the food for pigs, and
+thus, in turn, be much better fed than they would otherwise be.
+
+It is only within two centuries that our pigs have attained to
+anything like the domestication in which we commonly find them. Of old
+they were allowed to range the forests, much as they do in certain
+parts of our Southern States at the present day. In some parts of
+Europe, particularly in the southern portion of the continent, this
+method of rearing and feeding is still common. It was and is
+advantageous, for the reason that the creature, by its remarkably keen
+sense of smelling and its singular capacity for overturning the
+ground, is able to provide itself with abundant food in the way of
+grubs and roots which are not at the disposition of any other animal.
+It was only as the public forests disappeared that pigs came to
+receive any considerable part of their provender from the products of
+tilled fields. In this stage of our agriculture, when all the land was
+possessed, the life of the pig was necessarily more restricted, and he
+became the denizen of a pen. In the earlier state there was no cost
+for his keeping; in the latter, except so far as he could be fed from
+the waste of a household, he is an expensive animal.
+
+It is with this last state of the pig, when he became the most housed
+of our domesticated animals, that the work of the breeder really
+began. The aim of those who have developed the pig has been, as we
+have said, to obtain the most rapid growth along with the greatest
+weight of fat, and to accomplish the results with the least
+expenditure in the way of food. Although the animal has been subjected
+to selective experiments, looking to these ends, for not more than a
+century, or say about forty generations of the species, the amount of
+variation which has been attained is singularly great, the form and
+habits having been changed more rapidly, and in a larger measure, than
+in the case of any other of our domesticated animals. It may fairly be
+said that this creature is more obedient to the will of the practical
+selectionist than any other with which we have experimented.
+
+It is commonly assumed that our pigs are among the least intelligent
+of the creatures which man has turned to his use. This impression is
+due to the fact that the conditions in which these animals are kept
+insure their degradation by cutting them off from all the natural
+mental training which wild animals, as well as the other tenants of
+the fields, receive. In the state of nature or in the condition of
+domestication which existed before pigs became captives in their
+pens, they were among the most alert and sagacious animals with which
+man has come in contact. Their wits were quick and their sympathies
+with their kind remarkably strong. Trainers have found these
+creatures more apt in receiving instruction than any other of our
+mammals, and the things which they can be made to do appear to
+indicate a native intelligence nearer to that of man than is found in
+any other species below the level of the apes.
+
+As there is little in the books of anecdotes of animals concerning
+pigs, I venture to give an account of a learned individual of this
+species whose performances I had an opportunity of observing in much
+detail. The creature, an ordinary specimen about three years old, had
+been trained by a peasant in the mountain district of Virginia who
+made his living by instructing animals for show purposes. He stated
+that in selecting pigs for education it was his practice to choose
+those characterized by a considerable width between the eyes and
+whose skulls projected in this part of their periphery to a more than
+usual degree. He said that from many experiments he was satisfied
+that there was a very great difference in the capacity of the animals
+to receive training, and that the above-mentioned indices afforded
+him sufficient guidance in his choice.
+
+In the exhibition about to be described there were but three persons
+present, myself, another spectator, and the showman. A score of cards
+were placed upon the ground, each bearing a numeral or the name of
+some distinguished person. These cards were in perfect disorder. I was
+allowed, indeed, repeatedly to change their position and to mix them
+up as I pleased. The pig was then told to pick out the name of Abraham
+Lincoln and bring it to his master. This he readily did. He was asked
+in what year Lincoln was assassinated. He slowly but without
+correction brought one by one the appropriate numerals and put them on
+the ground in due order. Half a dozen other questions concerning names
+and dates were answered in a similar way. Each success was rewarded
+with a grain of corn, and for his failures the creature received a
+reasonable drubbing. It was evident that the animal had to consider in
+making his choice of the cards. At times he was evidently much puzzled
+and would indicate his perplexity by squealing.
+
+It seemed clear that the master of this learned pig did not guide the
+movements of the animal by other indications than words. The questions,
+in some cases, had to be reiterated in a loud voice in order to insure
+attention. Several times during the performance the pig rebelled, broke
+from the tent, and was with difficulty recaptured. The creature
+disliked this task in the manner of a lazy school-boy, and at the end
+of an hour of exercises seemed utterly overcome by his labor. He ran
+into the box where he was ordinarily confined, and when dragged forth,
+neither rewards nor punishments would quicken him to further work.
+
+The above-described exhibition made it plain to me that the pig can be
+taught to understand a certain amount of human speech and to associate
+memories with phrases substantially as we do ourselves. It is perfectly
+clear that the performance which I witnessed was not a mere routine
+action, for I had a number of questions asked over again so as to make
+it sure that the creature acted with reference to each separate inquiry.
+The behavior of the animal during the performance seemed clearly to
+indicate mental effort and not mere automatic memory. His attitude when
+trying to determine which of two cards to take distinctly showed that he
+was intently viewing the figures and endeavoring to come to a decision.
+I am aware it has been suggested that learned pigs discriminate between
+the cards by peculiarities of odor which have been given to these bits
+of paper. I sought carefully to find if such was the case, and though I
+have a very keen sense of smell I found nothing which led me to suspect
+that this device was used. Even if such were the case, the rationality
+of the animal's action would be none the less clear. The showman assured
+me that he never used any such means in training pigs. He seemed,
+indeed, to treat the suggestion with contempt.
+
+Although experiments in the training of pigs show that they have rather
+remarkable intellectual capacities, the most human feature in their
+mental organization is found in the keen sympathy which they exhibit
+with the sufferings of their own kind and the willingness with which
+they encounter danger in protecting their comrades. It usually requires
+close observation for the naturalist to determine the existence of this
+motive among the other wild or domesticated mammals. In fact, the
+traces of it are very slight indeed, and are generally to be
+attributed to the care of parents for offspring or of the males for
+their harem--a disposition which, though akin to the defence of the
+kind, is nevertheless of a special and peculiar nature. Even among our
+domestic dogs, whose sympathies have been developed in a remarkable
+degree and who will sacrifice their lives to defend or rescue the
+human beings with whom they are familiar, there appears to be but
+little disposition to support members of their species who may be
+assailed. With pigs, however, as is well known to all those who have
+observed their habits, the characteristic cry of distress of their
+fellows proves very exciting and stimulates all the adults, both male
+and female, who hear it to hasten in defence of their kinsmen. It is a
+noteworthy fact that while most other animals when in danger utter no
+distinct or continuous cry, the pig gives voice in a vociferous and
+insistent manner, as if he had a right to expect the sympathy and help
+of his species. The cry goes with the custom of defence which in this
+species has attained a better foundation in the sympathetic motives
+than in any other mammal below the level of man.
+
+It is perhaps due to their relatively high intellectual organization
+that the excessively domesticated pigs are liable to suffer from
+attacks of mania. This is most commonly exhibited by the sows, which at
+times will destroy their young shortly after they are born. The sight
+of their progeny seems to infuriate them in a curious manner. One sow
+which I owned killed three successive litters; another fine animal of
+the Berkshire breed, a very amiable, indeed affectionate, creature, was
+carefully watched at the time she first bore young, precautions being
+taken to prevent her from harming them; she would willingly allow them
+to suckle, provided she did not see them, but the moment she laid her
+eyes upon them she was seized with the strange fury.
+
+Although this singular perversion of the natural instincts of maternity
+sometimes occurs among the pigs which are allowed to roam together in
+herds, it seems to be far more common in those conditions where the
+animals are confined in pens without contact with their kind, and where
+they have no chance to recognize the young as members of their species
+or to acquire that interest in them which they would gain in the
+society of the herd. It is also clear that this maniacal habit is
+inherited; according to my observation it is common among the
+Berkshire, and relatively rare in other less specialized varieties.
+
+The intelligence of the pig is also shown in the readiness with which
+the creature changes its habits to meet varied environments. Thus the
+pigs which range the woods in the western and southern parts of the
+United States have learned to catch the crawfish which abounds in the
+shallow streams in those parts of this country. They will wade up a
+brook, turning over the stones and driftwood as they go, catching with
+a quick movement the crustaceans which they have thus dislodged from
+their cover. Along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, the pigs, accustomed
+to follow the tide out, picking the chance food which is thus exposed
+to them, have learned carefully to avoid the risk of being caught by
+the returning waters. With the first splash of the turning tide they
+hasten inshore until they have attained safe ground.
+
+One of the best evidences of the mental state of these animals is
+found in their actions when assailed by dogs or other beasts of prey.
+Pigs, though wary and sensible of danger, seem exempt from the
+extreme fear which leads to panic, and fight, even before being
+brought to bay by long chasing, in a discreet and valiant manner.
+Where a number of them are attacked by dogs or other enemies, they
+will form a circle with their heads out, each supporting the other
+in such a manner that the ring cannot readily be broken. Their
+thick-skinned forequarters and stout tusks provide them with
+excellent instruments with which to resist an assault.
+
+The sagacity of the pigs is probably, in part at least, to be
+attributed to the fact that in their native state they are communal
+animals, all the species of their family being accustomed to live
+gregariously, so that for ages they have had the training which every
+social organization, however simple, affords. They are, moreover,
+omnivorous feeders, accustomed to subsist on a great variety of
+food--a habit which seems in all cases to promote the development
+of the intelligence in animals.
+
+Although the pigs by their nature afforded the best opportunity for
+developing an intellectual animal which has come to us through our
+domesticated creatures, no effort whatever has been made by selection to
+develop the latent mental capacities of this species. It is perhaps the
+only form of those which man has subjugated which by his treatment he
+tends to degrade. In the time to come, when men will be held to a better
+accountability for the treatment of their captives, the condition of
+these animals will afford a fair field for the reformer's care.
+
+The geologist who is acquainted with the mammalian life of the Middle
+Tertiary period readily notes the fact that the variety in genera and
+species appears to be much greater than it is at the present time. A
+great number of forms, differing somewhat widely from those now in
+existence, then abounded in the Americas and the Old World. It may at
+first sight seem unfortunate that man did not have the chance to essay
+his domesticative arts on that older and apparently richer life. A
+closer examination, however, leads us to see that the species of that
+time, though more numerous than those of the present, were on the whole
+less fitted for our use than the fewer but more completely
+differentiated kinds with which we have had to deal. The multitude of
+kinds which we find in the Mesozoic period indicates that the life was
+in a state more experimental than that to which it has attained. A host
+of forms on their way towards the specialization which has now been
+attained have been removed from the sphere, in the manner of a
+scaffolding from a completed structure. That which has been left remains
+because it has successfully accomplished the task of reconciliation with
+environment, or, in simpler phrase, because it has learned to do things
+which were useful and profitable in a more perfect manner.
+
+As an illustration of the fact that the animals of to-day are better
+fitted to be the help-meets of man than were their ancestors of an
+earlier time, we may note the state of the horse at the time when that
+genus was undergoing its development in the region about the upper
+waters of the Missouri. As may be imagined, the long and difficult
+passage from the five-toed to the single-toed form was slowly
+accomplished, and to its doing went a great many temporary forms, which
+served, we may say, as stepping-stones for the ongoing. So far as we can
+judge, these intermediate forms were small, rather frail creatures,
+which probably could not have been made to serve any purpose useful to
+man. It was not until the mechanical system of the large single toe with
+the wonderfully developed nail, which makes up the foot and hoof of the
+horse, had been attained, that the creature becomes fit for the
+wonderful work we have persuaded him to do in our civilization.
+
+A comparison of the skulls of the Tertiary mammals and those of our own
+day indicates that in certain of the important series, and presumably in
+them all, the brain has increased in size from the earlier to the later
+times. This increase in brain capacity has doubtless been attended by a
+decided gain in the measure of intelligence, a gain which has doubtless
+served to make the modern representatives of the series fitter for man's
+use than their ancestors were. For, while the number of our very useful
+domesticated forms may seem at first sight to be dull of wit, none of
+them are really low in the intellectual scale as we apply it to the
+brute; in fact, a considerable measure of intelligence is absolutely
+required as a condition for true subjugation. This is seen by the fact
+that nothing like a real adoption into our social system has ever been
+accomplished except with a few of the higher orders of mammals and
+birds, species which have an intellectual capacity that we recognize as
+akin to our own. Thus, so far as we can see, man's appearance on this
+stage was, so far as it relates to the possibility of companionship with
+the lower life, exceedingly well timed. He came at a period when the
+life was ready to give him and to receive from him a large measure of
+help. If his advent had been much earlier, he might have had less
+trouble in his contests with the larger carnivora; but if there had been
+a lack of beasts to obey his will, it is doubtful whether he could
+himself have won his way above that primitive life.
+
+
+
+
+DOMESTICATED BIRDS
+
+   Domestication of Animals mainly accomplished by the Aryan Race;
+   Small Amount of Such Work by American Indians.--Barnyard Fowl:
+   Mental Qualities; Habits of Combat.--Peacocks: their Limited
+   Domestication.--Turkeys: their Origin; tending to revert to the
+   Savage State.--Water Fowl: Limited Number of Species domesticated;
+   Intellectual Qualities of this Group.--The Pigeon: Origin and
+   History of Group; Marvels of Breeding.--Song Birds.--Hawks and
+   Hawking.--Sympathetic Motive of Birds: their �sthetic Sense;
+   their Capacity for Enjoyment.
+
+
+It is an interesting fact that about all the work of domestication which
+has been done by man has been accomplished by the peoples of Asia and
+mainly by the Aryan race. The American Indians tamed the llama and
+alpaca and a few species of native plants; even where their habits were
+prevailingly sedentary they domesticated no birds. It was left for
+Europeans to make use of the wild turkey. Our primitive people had the
+same chance to tame ducks and geese as the folk of the Old World. They
+appear, however, to have lacked all capacity for such endeavors. The
+same lack of disposition to capture and tame wild creatures is
+noticeable among the characteristic peoples of Africa; all of which
+serves to show that the domesticating art, at least as applied to
+animals, is peculiar to the higher-grade folk of the Old World.
+
+Of all the birds which have been domesticated, our common barnyard fowl
+has been by far the most useful to man. It has become in a way
+interwoven with his life to a degree found only in a few of our barnyard
+animals. Next after the pigeons and the pigs it has been most deeply
+impressed by the breeder's art. The wild species whence it sprang is a
+small creature, laying but few eggs and with but a slight tendency to
+accumulate fat. From this parent stock varieties have been bred which
+attain in some cases to eight or ten times the weight of the ancient
+form. They have, moreover, lost the fierce combative spirit which
+characterizes their ancestors and which by selection has been preserved
+and intensified in our breeds of game-cocks.
+
+[Illustration: The Original Jungle Fowl (_Gallus bankiva_)
+                  and Some of His Domestic Descendants]
+
+It is an interesting fact that our barnyard fowl is the only species of
+a large family of birds which has been truly domesticated. The kindred
+pheasants and grouse, though abounding in the Old World and the New, and
+much disposed to abide about the cultivated fields, appear to be rather
+untamable. However well cared for, the wilderness motive seems never to
+have been eradicated. The domesticability of the cock, as is that of
+most other wild animals, is doubtless to be explained by the conditions
+of the life in which it has dwelt for ages before it was introduced to
+the society of man. In its wild state this bird had already to a great
+extent lost the power of flight, using its wings only for escaping from
+four-footed pursuers or to attain the branches of the trees in which it
+sought safety in the night time. With this measure of loss of the flying
+power, the creature abandoned the habit of ranging over a wide field,
+and thus was made more fit for domestication. Moreover, in their
+wilderness life these birds dwelt in more established communities than
+their kindred species. The most of these wild forms do not keep together
+through the year, but scatter after the young are able to shift for
+themselves. The Indian species of _Gallus_, however, from which our
+cocks and hens descend, have organized their life so that the
+individuals remain associate in a friendly way throughout the year.
+
+A part of the fitness of this creature to cast in its lot with man
+arises from the fact that they have very sympathetic natures. This is
+shown by the way in which the cocks will fight for their hens, even
+against their dreaded enemies, the hawks; and by the manner in which the
+mother, overcoming her natural fears, will do battle for her brood. It
+is shown also in the curious mingling of gallantry and kindliness with
+which the cock will call a hen to give her some choice bit of food which
+he has captured. As he grows older and becomes Philistinish, we may note
+that, after the manner of unfeathered bipeds, he is often disposed to
+indulge his selfishness, and summons his flock only to see him devour
+the morsel. Even in old age, however, the males of the varieties which
+are nearest the parent stock maintain their helpful motives and will
+struggle with infirmity to beat off a bird of prey.
+
+The sympathetic and affectionate quality of our barnyard fowl is perhaps
+best indicated by the singular variety and denotative value of their
+various calls and cries. Those who know these birds well will find no
+difficulty in recognizing about a score of diverse sounds, each of which
+indicates a particular turn of their mind. Almost all of these different
+notes have slight variations of expression which fit particular
+situations. Thus the crow of these birds, which may seem to the
+unobservant a very unvaried sound, discloses to those who have lovingly
+studied them at least half a dozen distinct modifications. In the
+fledgling male who just begins to feel the spirit of his kind, and who
+goes through his performance in the adolescent way, it is a cheap and
+often pitiful call. From the open roost in the trees, where the birds
+are gradually aroused by the slow-coming day, we can often hear the note
+of the half-awakened cock, as full of the sense of slumber as the speech
+of a sleeping man. As the creature gradually awakens, his cry becomes
+more resonant until it has the true morning ring. Brave as is this note
+of the full day, it is not to be compared with the crowing of a
+game-cock, the most splendid braggart sound of all the animal world.
+
+The really sympathetic notes of our fowls are uttered in their ordinary
+intercourse. Here the gradations of sounds have a range and fineness
+which, it seems to me, we can observe in no other creature below the
+level of man. Attention, astonishment, fear, commonplace distress,
+exultation, and agony are all set forth with cries which we, in a way,
+recognize as appropriate. Although some of these sounds relate to the
+larger experiences of the creatures, the most instructive of them are
+uttered in their ordinary intercourse, where they clearly maintain a
+kind of consensus in the flock by unending small bits of emotional
+speech, the notes being shaded in a wonderful way. These fine
+variations of utterance can sometimes be observed to be related to
+slight differences of situation. Thus the cackle of a hen when she
+leaves her nest after laying an egg is quite different from that which
+is made by the same hen when, during the period of incubation, she
+quits her eggs in search of food and water.
+
+It is not unlikely that the eminent domesticability of our common fowls
+is in a way associated with the singular variety of their notes. This
+variety indicates that the creatures are in constant and effective
+communication with one another; in a word, they are very sympathetic.
+With this intellectual helpfulness naturally goes the love of the
+domicile and a disposition to submit to control.
+
+So nice and well understood are the differences between the sounds
+which these birds give forth, and so well are their notes appreciated
+by their companions, that the creatures may well be said to have a
+language. Though it probably conveys only emotions and not distinct
+thoughts, it still must be regarded as a certain kind of speech. The
+modes of expression indicate that in this creature, as in the other
+feathered forms, the intellectual life consists largely in the
+movements inspired by the emotions. On the rational side our fowls seem
+weaker than many other less interesting species. In their nesting and
+other habits there are no evidences of constructive ingenuity; and in
+all my observations on them I have never seen any evidence which showed
+either considerable powers of memory or a capacity to act in any
+complicated way with reference to an end. It is evident, however, that
+they make a very good classification of the world about them. They
+have, for the limited field over which they roam, a keen topographic
+sense; they never are lost, and this in connection with their
+sympathetic homing instinct prevents them from wandering from their
+accustomed places to take up again with a wilderness life.
+
+In their adhesion to domestication our common fowls differ in a
+remarkable way from all other of our captive animals except the dog, and
+these birds are even more ineradicably attached to man than their older
+companion. While the dog will sometimes become half wild, or, as we may
+phrase it, undomiciled, fowls seem incapable of maintaining themselves
+apart from human care. In much ranging of the wilderness I have never
+found one of these creatures more than a thousand feet away from a human
+habitation. When we consider how common must be the chances of their
+going astray, and how easy it is in many parts of the country, as in our
+Southern States, for them to obtain in the wilderness food throughout
+the year, the fact that they never go wild is indeed remarkable. It can
+only be explained by the great development of the homing instinct which
+man has brought about in their sympathetic souls.
+
+[Illustration: Houdin, Cochins, Leghorns, and Game]
+
+Although our unnatural process of breeding has done much to degrade the
+original beauty of the cocks and hens, destroying the delicate
+coloration of the feathers as well as the admirable blending and
+contrasts of their pristine hues, it seems likely that the effect on the
+physical and mental development as a whole has not been unfavorable.
+Though less courageous, they are stronger creatures than in their wild
+state; they are clearly more fecund; they are gentler natured; and, so
+far as I have been able to compare the high-bred with the primitive
+forms, their range of expression through the voice has been much
+increased, a feature which may be noted in other domesticated species of
+birds, as, for instance, in the canaries. The most remarkable alteration
+which has been brought about in the minds of these creatures consists
+in the very great diminution in the combative motive of the males. In
+the wild forms, as well as in the kindred variety of the game-cock, this
+impulse to battle attains a truly phenomenal development, the like of
+which is probably not to be found in any other creature. The male birds
+begin their warfare before they are more than half grown, and in their
+adult state will attack anything which they can conceive to be an enemy.
+They will, with slight provocation, assail any of the other domesticated
+species of birds, and even the lesser mammals, such as the dogs and
+cats. They will fight their own image in a looking-glass. I have had
+game-cocks attack my hand when it was held near the ground and given an
+up-and-down movement in imitation of their antagonist's head.
+
+I once reared a game-cock by hand, keeping him secluded from his kind
+until he was adult. I then placed him in a large collection of barnyard
+fowl where there were half a dozen mongrel cocks, a drake of the muscovy
+variety, several ganders, and two turkey-gobblers. Immediately and in
+rapid succession he settled his accounts with the males of his own kind.
+He shortly overcame the drake and the ganders. He then devoted what was
+left of his forces to battles with the turkeys. Here he found himself in
+great difficulty, for the reason that these great birds would seize him
+by the head and lift his body off the ground. However, he soon learned
+an ingenious trick which protected him from this danger. When gathering
+breath in the intervals between his assaults, he would hover himself
+between his antagonist's legs, keeping step with the awkward creature in
+its efforts to get away from him. In a few days he wore out these
+doughty foemen and remained the battered master of the field.
+
+Although the indomitable valor of the game-cock may be in some measure
+due to the selection which the breeder has applied to the variety, there
+can be no question that it is essentially natural to the species and is
+the result of an age-long habit which in the native wilds of the
+creature did much to insure its safety. The antiquity of the state of
+mind may be judged by the perfection to which the spurs have attained
+and the remarkably skilful and definite way in which the creatures use
+them. The spur, which has arisen from the development of the scales and
+underlying bone of the bird's leg, is a singularly perfect structure,
+the finish of which cannot be judged in the degraded form in which it is
+found in our ordinary barnyard species. Although in its construction
+this weapon is admirably devised, it is placed in a position where only
+a remarkably well-addressed movement can give effect to its blow. Those
+who have watched game-cocks in combat have had a chance to see the
+vaults by which the creature, partly turning in the air, is able to
+throw the spur in such a manner that it shares the impulse of the body
+when it strikes the antagonist. This peculiar craft has been in good
+part lost among our common varieties. Their spiritless contests differ
+as much from those of the game-birds as do the fist fights of untrained
+men from the contests of skilled pugilists.
+
+[Illustration: Bantams, Brahma, and Dorkings]
+
+Although to persons unaccustomed to the spectacle the combats between
+game-birds may seem disgusting, almost every one must admire the valor,
+grace, and address which such scenes exhibit. Except where the brutal
+custom of putting steel points on the spurs prevails, the birds rarely
+receive fatal wounds. The defeated cock is soon brought to confess his
+inferiority and takes himself away. At no other time in the life of
+these birds does their organic beauty appear to such advantage as when
+they are struggling with each other. Then alone do we perceive the
+singular efficiency of their bodies and the quick as well as appropriate
+action of their instincts. They set themselves against each other in
+attitudes as well chosen and as peculiar as those of a well-trained
+fencer. Before the assault they often go through a singular performance,
+which consists in picking up bits of twigs or pebbles. These they cast
+into the air, an unmeaning movement which may be compared to the like
+meaningless though similarly graceful salute with which swordsmen
+preface their contests. Then, with their legs flexed so that they may be
+ready for the spring, and with the rather stiff feathers about the neck
+erected so as to serve as a shield, they creep toward each other until
+they are separated by the distance appropriate for the spring. When
+fairly placed for battle they begin a system of fence which is intended
+to provoke the enemy to an untimely assault. The art of the game appears
+to consist in persuading the adversary to venture an attack where his
+force will be spent in the air, so that a blow can be given him before
+he has time to recover position. The issue depends much on the endurance
+of the birds. Their movements require so much energy that one of them is
+apt to become exhausted before the other is quite spent. In rare cases,
+only one of which has been seen by me, a weary bird will feign death for
+a minute or so and thus obtain new strength with which to renew the
+combat, profiting also by the confusion which he will bring upon his
+adversary by his sudden revival.
+
+Although the combatant motive which we find in the males among our
+barnyard fowls has doubtless been developed through their combats with
+each other, the valiant spirit which has come from it often leads the
+creatures to attack the enemies of their flock. I have seen a nimble
+game-cock strike a hawk which was pouncing to its prey, delivering the
+blow some feet above the surface of the ground, and this so effectively
+that the marauder was driven away in a sorely hurt condition. I have
+seen males of the game variety attack a number of other larger animals
+which in any way threatened their charges.
+
+Although our barnyard fowl are almost the only ground birds which
+have ever been brought to a state of perfect domestication, there are
+several other species of the same group which have been taught in a
+measure to adhere to man. Of these perhaps the longest in
+domestication is the peafowl. This creature, though it has edible,
+indeed we may say savory flesh, has retained its small place in
+civilization solely on account of its extraordinary beauty. For its
+size it is doubtless the most beautiful of animals, its plumage,
+especially the magnificent display of the tail, exceeding that of any
+other natural object. There are other birds of small size which vie
+with the peacock in the details of ornamentation. Those jewels among
+the feathered tribes, the humming-birds, have a more delicate beauty.
+The birds-of-paradise and the lyre-birds have a grace in the attitudes
+of particular feathers which is unequalled; but for splendor none of
+them approach the peacock in his best estate.
+
+[Illustration:         Contributions from Asia, Africa,
+                and America--Peacocks, Guinea-fowl, and Turkey]
+
+The peacock is a native of Southern Asia, a realm in fact in which the
+species of the group attain an uncommonly rich development. The creature
+appears to have been domesticated some thousands of years ago, but has
+undergone no considerable changes in its experience with man. It has in
+truth not been completely tamed. It does not willingly remain near the
+dwellings of man, but prefers to abide apart, only resorting to the home
+when in need of food. It is very intolerant of the other barnyard
+creatures, and often becomes possessed of a kind of mania for slaying
+their young, not for food but from pure spirit of mischief.
+
+Intellectually speaking, the peacocks are much below the cocks and
+hens; although they flock together, their sympathies do not seem
+quick; their cries and calls do not number a fifth part of those which
+we hear from our chickens, and their notes are prevailingly very
+discordant. Their cry of defiance, answering to the crow of the cock,
+is one of the rudest and least sympathetic sounds which is heard among
+the birds. Its only merit is that it can be heard very far. It is
+readily audible at the distance of a mile when it breaks the stillness
+of a summer night. At present the bird seems out of favor. At best it
+is a beautiful but annoying ornament to pleasure-grounds. It is
+likely, indeed, that it may in time become limited to its native
+wildernesses and to zo�logical gardens.
+
+From Africa we have derived one rather uncommon tenant of our barnyards
+and fields, the guinea-hen. This creature, though of convenient size,
+hardy, and commendable from the number of eggs it lays, has never won a
+large place in the esteem of our rural people, and is now not much kept,
+except in some parts of the Southern States of this country. The
+difficulty with this creature, as with the peacock, is that it is not
+truly domesticated; though it will not betake itself altogether to
+the woods, it prefers to maintain a half-wild habit. It will not, if
+it can possibly avoid it, lay its eggs in any place where they are
+likely to be found by man. Moreover, their rude and little-modulated
+cries are in the summer season almost incessant, and the din which a
+considerable flock can produce is exceedingly vexatious. They thus do
+not fit the needs or comfort of man to the degree which is likely to
+give them a permanent place among his associates.
+
+[Illustration: The Domesticated Turkey]
+
+The last considerable addition to our barnyards has come to us in the
+form of the turkey. This species has the peculiar distinction of
+being the only animal form of definite use to man over a wide field
+which has been contributed from the life of the New World. Although
+the creature was much hunted by our North American Indians, and is
+of a type which lends itself to domestication, it does not appear to
+have become a companion of man until it was taken from the West
+India Islands to Europe shortly after the discovery of this country.
+Thence the domesticated form appears to have been returned to this
+country, where it has been a favorite in a measure unknown in the
+Old World. Ornithologists deem the Cuban turkey, whence our tame
+form came, to be specifically distinct from those which are found on
+the mainland of this continent. Although these kinds are
+distinguishable by plumage, they are probably only varieties of a
+common species. This is indicated by the fact that our tame flocks
+readily intermingle with their wild kindred.
+
+The ease with which the turkey becomes domesticated is remarkable. In
+this regard the creature may be compared to our cocks and hens. In both
+cases the tamableness is doubtless to be explained by the fact that the
+primitive forms dwelt in permanent association, the movements of which
+were in a way controlled by the adult males, and by the fact that the
+forms had abandoned the use of wings for wide-ranging flight. The
+change which has been brought about in the turkeys with their adoption
+into the human association has been slight. No distinct varieties of
+breeds have been originated, though here and there the observer may
+note slight local variations in the coloration of the plumage, which
+are probably due to varying admixtures with the wild forms of our
+forests. Thus in Kentucky and other parts of the South, where the
+opportunities for the intermingling of blood of the tame and wild forms
+are frequent, the domesticated creatures often resemble so nearly the
+wilderness forms that even the wary hunter may make mistakes as to
+whether the bird he sights be fair game or not. Unless carefully
+watched, a drove of these creatures on the border of the wilderness is
+apt gradually to return to the wild state, the three or four centuries
+of life about the home of man not having been sufficient to do away
+with their ancient love of freedom.
+
+Among the English folk of North America the turkeys found a large place
+as an element of the food-supply. It has become curiously associated
+with the Puritan festival of Thanksgiving, an institution which has
+spread throughout the United States and which has in a way taken the
+place of the harvest-home festivities of the Old World and bygone ages.
+It is probable that the relation of this bird to our national
+festivities has done much to keep it in use in this country. It is a
+well-recognized fact that it is costly to keep and that the eggs are not
+desirable for culinary use. The species requires a wide range. It does
+not do well in the confined conditions in which cocks and hens can
+readily be maintained. It therefore is not likely to be kept in any
+region where the agriculture is of a high grade. It is best suited to
+farms where there are considerable areas of half-wild pastures.
+
+Although the turkey is a truly gregarious form, its mental endowments
+are of a lower grade than those of most social birds. Their calls are
+few in number and have little of that conversational quality which we
+note in those of our ordinary barnyard fowls. Although the males contest
+the field with each other by personal combats, they are not very
+valiant, the creatures trusting for favor with the females rather to the
+parade of their plumage and the pomp of their carriage than to the wager
+of battle. In the matter of show they are, however, very effective,
+being surpassed only by the peacock in the splendor of their attire. In
+their domesticated state they lose much of the beauty which they have in
+the wilderness, as they do their pristine dimensions. Those who have
+hunted our wild species are likely to remember scenes where in some
+forest glade they have beheld a gobbler displaying his graces to an
+admiring harem. As he struts about with his tail feathers erect and his
+neck arched back, now and then pausing to utter an exultant gobble, the
+spectacle is one of the most amusing displays of animal pride which the
+naturalist has a chance to behold.
+
+[Illustration: The Largest of all Poultry--The Ostrich]
+
+Recent experiments in ostrich farming seem to indicate that we are on
+the eve of introducing into our "happy family" the noblest remaining
+member of that group of great birds which characterized the life of
+the later geological periods. As yet the efforts in taming ostriches
+are too new for us to tell just what the effect of man's skill on the
+development of this creature will be. It is evident, however, that the
+creature can be won from its wilderness state, at least to something
+like the imperfect companionship with man which has been attained by
+the guinea-fowls and turkeys. All we know of the variations in plumage
+of birds indicates that the breeder's art may bring about great
+changes in the highly decorative feathers for which this bird is to be
+reared. It is also probable that with the better food which domestic
+conditions imply, this wanderer of the desert may be brought to attain
+a very much greater size than it wins in the hard life of its native
+land. If the form should prove as plastic as that of our ordinary
+barnyard species, we may indeed succeed in developing a variety
+approaching in dimensions the gigantic moa of New Zealand, or the
+�pyornis of Madagascar, those magnificent creatures of the past which
+passed away just before their native lands were known to our race. The
+variations in size of the wild ostrich appear to indicate that this
+interesting result may be attainable.
+
+Next after the cocks and hens the most important birds of economic
+value have come from the water fowl. In this field there are great
+opportunities for domestication, only a few of which have been
+adequately used. The aquatic birds, save for the fact that they are in
+all cases inspired with a more or less strong migratory humor, lend
+themselves to the shaping hand of man more readily than most other
+forms. These creatures have the habit of association in a much more
+perfect way than our ground birds. They normally dwelt in rather close
+order and in relations which are necessarily very sympathetic. Whoever
+has watched the flight of wild geese must have remarked the beautiful
+way in which they arrange at once for close companionship and for
+safety in the violent movements which impel their heavy bodies at high
+speed through the air. In the order of their flight the alignment is
+more perfect than in the march of trained soldiers. Each bird keeps as
+near to his neighbor as possible; but manages always to preserve the
+interval which will insure against a collision of the strong and
+swift-moving wings, an accident which might well disable them for
+flight. I have repeatedly undertaken to confound their motion by
+firing a rifle bullet at the head of the moving wedge. Although the
+sound of the projectile, if well directed, will disturb their
+processional order, it never brings confusion. The startled birds sink
+down or rise above the plane of the air in which their comrades are
+moving, but they never strike against them.
+
+[Illustration: An Eider Colony]
+
+The admirable sense of interval which the wild birds exhibit in their
+flight is to be seen also when they move over the surface of the
+water, where the fleet of living forms is always so arranged that each
+individual does not interfere with its neighbor. I recall with much
+pleasure an occasion when, from a ship becalmed in a thick fog off the
+southern shore of Labrador, within sound of the breakers, I undertook
+to find something about the lay of the land and the chance of
+harborage by paddling in a small boat toward the shore. I had hardly
+lost sight of the ship when my boat glided into an assemblage of eider
+ducks, where the mothers, with their fledgling young, were lazily
+swimming to and fro, as if to practise the ducklings in the art of
+swimming. Each brood appeared to have its own space of water, and
+between each of the chicks there was likewise a less but equally well
+measured interval. The same features of orderly association, which I
+have just noted in the swimming and flying of these wild birds, may be
+seen in a somewhat degraded state in our domesticated varieties of the
+group. They all indicate in these forms a keen sense of their
+neighbors and a habit of association based upon sympathetic emotions.
+
+[Illustration: Terns Aiding a Wounded Comrade]
+
+The sympathetic quality of our water fowl, at least in that part of
+the emotion which leads them to be concerned with the afflictions of
+their species, appears to be more distinct than in the case of our
+ordinary barnyard fowl. Geese, as is well known, will make common
+cause against an intruder from whom harm to the flock may be expected.
+Their simultaneous din when anything occurs to arouse their enmity is
+commemorated in the ancient myth concerning the aid which they gave in
+the defence of the walls of Rome. There are anecdotes apparently well
+attested where water fowl have borne away a wounded comrade which had
+fallen before the huntsman's fowling-piece. In Smiles's "Life of
+Edwards" there is an often-quoted story which appears to be
+trustworthy and sufficiently illustrates this point. A hunter, having
+shot one of a flock of terns, which fell wounded into the water near
+the shore, waded in to seize it. Suddenly two of the terns came to
+their wounded companion, seized him by either wing, and bore him
+toward the open sea. When these two helpers were weary, the sufferer
+was lowered into the water, and, in turn, seized by two other birds
+which were fresh for the labor. Working in succession, these birds
+carried their companion to a rock some distance from the shore. When
+the hunter endeavored to approach the rock, yet others of the species
+seized the cripple and bore him far beyond reach.
+
+Although too much value must not be given to the numerous anecdotes
+concerning the sagacity of water fowl, the great mass of these stories,
+as compared with the poverty of the anecdotes concerning the
+better-known barnyard creatures, seems to establish the fact that their
+intelligence is much greater than that of the land birds. This
+superiority can probably be attributed to the fact that their life
+requires much more definite adaptation of means to ends than in the
+simpler conditions which are met by the forms which dwell in the fields.
+The circumstances of their life are something like those of the seals
+among mammals. They have to do with the conditions of the air, the land,
+and the water; and as they generally undertake long migrations, the
+range of the things they have to accommodate themselves to is great, and
+the effect of their labor is decidedly educative.
+
+[Illustration:        Some Recent Additions to the Poultry Yard:
+               Wood Duck, China Goose, Australian Swan, Canada Goose]
+
+As yet, from the great number of species of water fowl man has really
+domesticated but two characteristic groups, the species of geese and of
+ducks. Swans have been brought to a state where they tolerate the
+presence of man, though they rarely establish any really intimate
+relations with him. Some other species, as, for instance, the grebe,
+have been taught to dwell about the homes of man, accepting food from
+his hands. It is likely that more of these water fowl would have come
+into human associations were it not for the fact that they are naturally
+migratory, and when, after a season of domestication, they join a
+passing flock, they never return to the place where they have been kept.
+
+[Illustration: Swans]
+
+The swan, like the peacock, has been bred for ornament rather than for
+use. In fact, the bird has no other merit than its exceeding grace.
+We cannot believe that much pains was ever taken with this creature to
+break up the migratory instincts which are common in the wild kindred
+species. We have to suppose that the bird in its pristine form was
+without the impulse to undertake distant journeys in the winter
+season, or that it abandoned ancient habits with no great difficulty.
+We obtain some light on this point by noting the fact that among the
+migratory species it not infrequently happens that, while the greater
+number of individuals undertake the annual journey, certain of them
+will remain on the ground where they were born. Those which remain
+would be more likely to mate with those which were like-minded than
+with others that journeyed afar. In this way small local breeds might
+well be originated which would differ from their migratory kindred not
+only in the measure of the wandering instincts, but in the capacity
+for flight which their kindred preserve. There is some reason to
+believe that this process of selection naturally and somewhat
+frequently takes place. In certain cases it may lay the foundation of
+new species, or at least of distinct varieties; more commonly,
+however, the individuals which have abandoned the migratory life are
+likely to perish from the severity of climate or the other unfavorable
+conditions that their mates avoid by their wanderings.
+
+[Illustration: The Original Wild Rock Dove (_Columba livia_)
+                    and Some of its Domestic Descendants]
+
+Although many of the free-flying birds of the land are or have been kept
+captive because of the pleasure which men have found from their songs,
+their grace, or their quaint ways, only one of these has really been
+gained to domestication. In the pigeon, man has made what is on many
+accounts the most remarkable of all his conquests over the wild nature
+about him. While the breeder's art has led many forms, some of them on
+several divergent lines, far away from their primitive estate, in no
+other field has it accomplished such surprising results as with the
+doves. The original wild form of this group is a native of Europe and
+Asia, where the species _Columba livia_, or rock pigeon, is still
+common, and whence it may be readily won anew to domestication. It is
+a small, plain-colored, rather invariable and inconspicuous bird about
+the size of our American dove. In its wild state it dwells in small
+flocks, nesting by preference in the crannies of the cliffs, and
+exhibiting no striking qualities which make it seem a desirable subject
+for domestication. We note, however, that even in this primitive
+condition the creature has certain physical and mental qualities
+which have been the basis of its adoption by man as well as of the
+wide changes which it has undergone at his hands.
+
+It is a characteristic of all the doves that their young are born in a
+very immature state, and for some time after they come from the egg they
+have to be supplied with food which has been partly digested in the crop
+or upper part of the stomach of the parent. For the proper rearing of
+the brood there is required the assiduous care of both parents.
+Therefore quite naturally we find among these birds that the pairing
+habit is well developed, and as they rear several broods each season,
+that the mating is for life. Although there are numbers of birds in
+various orders which are accustomed to the monogamic habit, it happens
+that the pigeon is the only animal which man has ever won to true
+domestication in which the sexes can be thus permanently united. In the
+dovecote, however many birds it may contain, the breeder can be always
+sure as to the parentage of the young which he is rearing. This affords
+an admirable basis for the practice of his art, which is still further
+favored by the fact that pigeons reproduce rapidly and the progeny are
+ready to mate in a few months after they come into the world. Thus the
+species affords really ideal conditions for that process of selection on
+which the improvement of all domesticated animals intimately depends.
+
+[Illustration: Turtle Doves]
+
+Selective breeding of pigeons began in India, as the records seem to
+show, more than two thousand years ago. Though other animals have been
+brought to domestication at much earlier times, this appears to have
+been the first of them to be subjected to deliberate efforts on the part
+of their masters, which were intended to bring about in a methodical way
+certain changes in their forms and habits. The most curious part of this
+great endeavor which has been applied to breeding pigeons is found in
+the fact that the ends sought have no utility, but afford satisfaction
+from the point of view of pure diversion or the gratification of taste.
+We are well accustomed to the action of such motives upon our flowering
+plants of the garden, but the pigeon is the only animal where fancy has
+labored for thousands of years for its gratification. The breeders of
+pigeons from remote antiquity to the present day appear to have had no
+definite purpose in all their pains. They have taken the chance
+variations in form and habit and endeavored to extend these sports of
+nature by a careful system of mating those in which the singular
+features were most evident. Thus the fan-tail breed has been developed
+until the creatures display their unornamental tail feathers with all
+the dignity with which a peacock shows his marvellous decorations. The
+pouters have in some unaccountable way learned to take air into their
+crop; and the habit has been developed by selection until the bird
+destroys all trace of his original shapeliness, though he seems to take
+pride in his diseased appearance. The tumbler, probably derived from
+some ancestor afflicted with a disease of an epileptic character,
+manages to go through his convulsions in the air without serious
+consequences and apparently with some pleasure to himself. There are
+over one hundred less conspicuous varieties, of which only one deserves
+notice, and this for the reason that it has some possible utility to
+man and is now much attended to. This is known as the carrier pigeon.
+
+[Illustration: The Giant Crowned Pigeon of India]
+
+In early time, before the invention of the railway and telegraph, some
+ingenious breeder of pigeons, observing the constant way in which these
+creatures returned to the place where they were bred, invented the plan
+of using them to convey information. This service was found convenient
+not only for ordinary correspondence, but was exceedingly valuable where
+a place was beleaguered by an enemy. In such cases carrier pigeons could
+often be used to convey information across the otherwise impassable
+lines. Even in modern times, as, for instance, during the last siege of
+Paris, these swift and sure flying birds proved of great use in keeping
+up communications between the people of the invested town and the French
+armies in the field. Letters in cipher, sometimes photographed down
+until the characters were microscopically fine, were made into packages
+of small weight in order not to impede the flight of the bird, carefully
+affixed to its body, and thus sent away. Very generally these curious
+shipments came to the hands of those for whom they were destined. The
+birds can be trusted to fly at night; they retain for a long time the
+memory of their home, and spare no pains to return to it.
+
+The homing power of the carrier pigeon appears to be a special
+development of a natural capacity, as is also its swiftness and
+endurance in flight. Our other breeds and the wild species whence they
+have all come are not disposed to undertake long journeys; they rarely,
+indeed, wander far from their abiding places. Our experience with the
+carriers shows how readily the creatures may be educated to perform
+feats which they were not accustomed to do in their wild state.
+Something of the same elasticity of constitution may be observed in the
+bodies of our pigeons as they have been affected by selection. Not only
+has the plumage been greatly altered by the breeder's art and in
+pursuance of his plans, but the form and proportions of the bones have
+coincidently and unintentionally been greatly changed. So considerable
+are these alterations that if these creatures were submitted for
+dissection to a naturalist who knew nothing of the history of the bird,
+he would have no hesitation in classing them as belonging not only in
+different species, but as members of diverse genera.
+
+It must be regarded as unfortunate that the experiments which have been
+made on pigeons have been limited to their features of form, color, and
+slight peculiarities in their habits. If the breeders had sought to
+modify the intellectual parts with anything like the insistence which
+they have given to the development of these bodily peculiarities, we
+might now have a most valuable store of knowledge as to the limitations
+of animal minds. The facts gained in the breeding of the carriers show
+clearly that certain of the instincts of these birds can be readily
+modified. There is every reason to suppose that their mental capacities
+in other directions have something of the same pliability.
+
+[Illustration: The English Pheasant]
+
+Although the pigeon is the only free-flying form which has been won to
+intimate relations with man, there are numerous other species of these
+volant creatures which have been reduced to partial domestication,
+though they cannot be trusted to abide with us without being more or
+less completely caged. Experience has shown that by far the greater part
+of the arboreal birds may be kept and will breed in captivity. From the
+host of these feathered creatures men have from time to time selected
+species which grace their habitations by their beauty, their song, or by
+the sympathetic relations which they form with their captors. Our
+successes in these efforts toward domestication of these birds have been
+most eminent with those varieties which in their wilderness state have a
+well-developed social life, which abide in families or flocks, and have
+the pairing habit well affirmed. The reason for this has been already
+indicated. It is due to the sympathetic motive which is developed in
+such communal life, and is manifested in the friendly relations with
+each other which the creatures maintain. A good instance of this is to
+be found in the crows and their kindred, a group of extremely sociable
+creatures, which are endlessly engaged in chattering communications with
+each other. All these forms are highly domesticable, and if for any
+reason they had proved permanently attractive to men they would
+doubtless have been brought into the state of willing captives.
+
+Although some of the free-flying or tree birds have been kept for their
+beauty alone, the greater part of them have commended themselves to man
+because of their voices. It is hardly necessary to tell the reader that
+the birds, of all animals, are most provided with means of expression
+through the voice. There is hardly a species which has not a greater
+range of notes or calls than the most vocal of our wild mammals, and
+many varieties are impelled to tuneful expression in a measure which no
+other creature, not even man, exhibits. In most cases these utterances
+are pleasing to the human ear, for they have the quality which we term
+musical. Therefore it is not surprising that the most of our captive
+birds have been chosen for their song.
+
+It seems clear that the song of birds, like their calls--the two shade
+indefinitely into each other--expresses a sympathetic emotional
+consciousness of the actions going on about them, particularly of the
+life of their kind. In general these utterances are directed toward
+their kindred of their own species. In many cases, however, as among the
+imitative birds, the sounds which they utter indicate a curiously keen
+interest in the actions of their masters or other human affairs. The
+mocking-birds and some other species will, with great assiduity,
+endeavor to copy any sound which they happen to hear. I well remember
+watching a mocking-bird which was listening with rapt attention to the
+noise produced by a man sharpening a saw with a file. The poor bird
+would hearken with great attention until he thought he had caught the
+note, and then endeavor to reproduce it. As may be imagined, the measure
+of his success was small. He was fully conscious of his failure, and
+would beat himself about the cage in evident chagrin, returning again
+and again to try the hopeless task.
+
+Wherever the vocal organs of caged birds permit them to imitate human
+speech they are apt to devote a large part of their labor to this task,
+paying little attention to other less meaningful sounds. It appears to
+me that they perceive in a way the sympathetic character of language and
+therefore take a peculiar pleasure in copying it. It is hardly to be
+believed that they ever get a sense of the connotative value of words,
+but it is not to be doubted that they sometimes attain to a certain
+appreciation of the denotation of simpler phrases. In this task they do
+not exhibit as much sagacity as the dog, a creature which learns to
+understand the purport of rather complicated sentences. Nevertheless,
+their capacity for imitating speech is a fascinating peculiarity, one
+which has greatly endeared them to bird fanciers.
+
+Those who have observed the talking birds have doubtless noted the
+fact that their capacity for remembering and uttering words varies
+greatly. I am inclined to think that in the same species some
+individuals can do such tasks several times as easily as others. If
+these speaking forms could be brought to breed in captivity, and
+something like the selective care were given to their development that
+has been devoted to the varieties of pigeons, we might well expect to
+attain very remarkable results. If anywhere in the animal world there
+is a chance to open communication by means of speech with the lower
+creatures, it should be here.
+
+[Illustration: The Falconer's Favorite--Peregrine Falcon]
+
+At one time among our ancestors it was accustomed to make much use of
+the larger hawks in hunting. Curiously enough this amusement, more
+refined and elaborated than any other form of the chase, has gradually
+fallen into disuse among Europeans. So far as I have been able to learn,
+the only region in which it is well preserved is in northern Africa, a
+country in which the custom was probably introduced from Spain during
+the occupancy of that peninsula by the Moors. From the literature of
+this art of hawking, even after we allow much for the exaggeration of
+unobservant men, it seems certain that the training of these fierce
+birds was carried to a point of singular perfection. The creatures
+learned to do their duty in a very skilful way, and they readily
+acquired habits of obedience, under circumstances of excitement, more
+perfect than those which we succeed in instilling in any animal but the
+dog. When we consider the natural qualities of the hawk, and note that
+when well trained he flew at only the designated game, and came back to
+the master when a bit of hide or other lure was thrown into the air as a
+signal, we may fairly believe that the creature displayed an
+extraordinary fitness for receiving instruction. The facts are the more
+remarkable because these hawks were not bred in cages, but were taken
+from the wild nests; so that there was none of that gradual accumulation
+of inheritances under the conditions of selection which have brought
+about the obedience of our really domesticated animals.
+
+The remarkable way in which the art of hawking has disappeared from our
+civilization deserves more than a passing notice, though it appears to
+be inexplicable. It is evident that it was a tolerably ingrained habit,
+at least among the English-speaking people, for it has left a very deep
+impress upon the language. There are far more phrases derived from the
+custom than can be traced to any other of the sportsman's arts. At least
+one of these collocations of words which has escaped from the minds of
+grown people still holds a place among the boys of this country. When
+two lads are fighting we often hear the bystanders say, by the way of
+encouragement to one of the contestants, "Give him jesse." The use of
+this curious phrase prevails in all parts of the United States, but
+after much inquiry I have failed to find a trace of it preserved in
+England. There seems to be little doubt that these words are due to a
+custom of beating a hawk which failed to do its duty with the thongs or
+jesses by which it was attached to the wrist of the falconer. Giving
+another jesse thus came to be equivalent to giving a person a strapping.
+
+[Illustration: The Bandit's Brood]
+
+Whatever may have been the reason for abandoning this beautiful and in a
+way noble sport, its disuse must be deemed most unfortunate by all the
+students of animal intelligence, for it has deprived us of precious
+opportunities in the way of observations on the mental peculiarities
+which exist in a most interesting group of birds. In these days, when
+there is a fancy for reviving the customs of our forefathers, it might
+be well for some persons of leisure to give their attention to restoring
+the arts of falconry. Enough of the practice and of the traditions is
+left to make it an easy task to reinstitute all the important parts of
+the custom. Moreover, those who essayed the matter would have access to
+a much greater range of rapacious birds than our forefathers, who had to
+content themselves with the limited number of wild species which inhabit
+the continent of Europe. Especially on our Western plains, where
+game-birds abound and the country lies wide open, sportsmen would find
+an admirable field in which to follow the bird they flew. Not only would
+the restoration of hawking give us a sport much more skilful and refined
+than the fox chase, but it would reintroduce the cultivation of the only
+creature which, having once been brought to the service of man, has
+been permitted to return to its ancestral wild life.
+
+The most striking and by far the most interesting quality exhibited by
+our birds is found in their sympathetic motive. In this spiritual
+quality, so far as it relates to their own kind, the feathered
+creatures are clearly in advance of all other species, including even
+man. A single fact, one of great generality, will serve to make this
+statement clear. Among the birds we find the only cases of true
+marriage which are known in the animal kingdom. In the greater number
+of the species the union is for a season, but among many it is for
+life. In the case of certain varieties of paroquets, the union is so
+indissoluble that, according to common report, a report which seems
+much better verified than the most of those concerning the habits of
+animals, neither member of the pair will survive the death of the
+other. Man, with all his striving towards a better social state, has,
+as a whole, not yet attained to the enduring affection for the mate
+which is evinced by the greater part of the birds.
+
+In this same connection, we may note that the �sthetic appreciation
+among the birds appears to have attained a far higher level than it has
+won in any other creatures. There can be little doubt that the
+exquisitely beautiful plumage, the unparalleled shapeliness of form and
+grace of carriage, as well as the melodies which are uttered by so many
+species, all owe their development to a process of sexual selection
+which has led the discerning females to prefer the more ornamental of
+the males who sought them as partners. If any one will examine the
+exquisite shapes and gradations of color which are exhibited in the tail
+of the peacock, or of the lyre-bird, or even the coloration of the
+game-cock, he may perhaps imagine how prodigious must be the
+development of the �sthetic sense in these species, in order that it may
+take account of every little betterment which leads towards more perfect
+beauty. As it will take the generations of �sthetes many generations
+before they are able to "live up to" the level of their culture which is
+attained by the peacock's tail, it is not unreasonable for us to hold
+that in the appreciation of simple beauty in form and in color, the
+birds are far ahead of ourselves. It must not be supposed that our
+�sthetic culture is to be reckoned below that of birds, though in our
+case the work embodies the delineation of ideas, while in the birds it
+is a matter of pure ornament. Nevertheless, taking the evidence which
+shows the way in which these creatures appreciate beauty in the three
+realms of form, color, and sound, it seems to me clear that while their
+intellectual life is low, their purely emotional experiences are
+probably more vivid than those of ordinary men.
+
+As the joy of life is, in the main, even in ourselves the result of
+emotional experiences, we may fairly reckon, even on _a priori_ ground,
+that the birds win a measure of happiness, though it be that of an
+unconscious kind, which is granted to no other living beings.
+Psychologically described, they might well be termed the group built
+for joy. Their bodies are, on the whole, the best constructed of all
+animals, except the insects. They suffer little from disease. We all
+see that their intercourse with each other is freer and merrier than
+that of other creatures. The wide range of their notes shows that in
+most forms they appreciate every little difference in the
+pleasure-giving changes of the day or the weather. They rejoice in the
+coming of each morning; they are sorrowful with the advent of each
+evening. They echo the distress of their kind in a readier way than
+any other forms. He is indeed a poor naturalist who overlooks this
+trait; for however deeply he may have delved, he has not won the jewel
+unless he appreciates this element of an unending joy which the
+bird-life continually offers him. From that life we may well believe
+that man is hereafter to derive some great and fruitful lessons.
+
+
+
+
+USEFUL INSECTS
+
+   Relations of Man to Insect World.--But Few Species Useful to
+   Man.--Little Trace of Domestication.--Honey-bees: their Origin;
+   Reasons for no Selective Work; Habits of the Species.--Silkworms:
+   Singular Importance to Man; Intelligence of Species.--Cochineal
+   Insect.--Spanish Flies.--Future of Man relative to Useful Insects.
+
+
+Although the relations of man to the insect world are prevailingly those
+of hostility, there are a few of these multitudinous creatures which
+have been more or less completely adopted into his great society.
+Although not more than half a dozen out of the million or more species
+in this subkingdom have thus been brought to the uses of civilization,
+the forms are interesting not only for what they give, but for the
+promise of further contributions when this great problem of winning help
+from the insect world receives adequate consideration.
+
+As a whole, the insects are not well fitted to serve the needs of man.
+Owing to certain peculiarities in their organic laws they, fortunately
+for ourselves, are very limited in size. Although some of them afford
+savory food and are occasionally eaten by savages, and even by civilized
+folk when pressed by hunger owing to the famines which the invasions of
+these animals occasionally produce, they can never be of any value as
+sources of provisions, except through the stores which they accumulate
+in the manner of the bees. All that we have won, or are likely to win,
+from this realm is from the filaments which the creatures spin, the wax
+or honey which they accumulate, the coloring or other matters which
+their bodies afford, or the help which they may give us in our struggle
+with invading species of their class.
+
+Probably the first insect to be brought into friendly relations with man
+was the honey-bee. This creature, like the most of our domesticated
+animals, is a native of the great continent of the Old World, though it
+has now been conveyed to all the flowery lands of the world where the
+season is long enough for it to win its harvest. In its wild as well as
+in its tame state the honey-bee dwells in one of the most perfect and
+highly elaborated of insect societies. It is a member of the group of
+membranous-winged insects known to naturalists as _Hymenoptera_, an
+order which includes all the elaborate societies of the class except the
+colonies of white ants. It is characteristic of all these colonial
+insects that, from the experience of ages, they have learned the great
+principles of the division of labor and of profit sharing towards which
+mankind are now clumsily stumbling; the great work which their societies
+are able to do is accomplished by a complete specialization of function
+and a perfect share in the commonwealth. So far has this elaboration
+gone, that in the bees the work of reproducing the kind is allotted to
+forms which do no labor; all the work of the hive being effected by
+individuals which are sterile, and whose sole function it is to toil
+unendingly for the profit of the great household.
+
+While the greater part of the kindred of the bees either construct the
+nests for their young in the manner of our wasps or hornets, building
+them entirely in the open air, or excavate underground chambers in the
+fashion of our bumble-bees, our domesticated form at some time in the
+remote past adopted the plan of choosing for its dwelling-place some
+chamber in the rocks, or cavity in a hollow tree which could be shaped
+to the needs of a habitation. Owing to the size of these cavities, they
+were enabled to form societies composed of many thousands of
+individuals; while the species which adopted nests, in other conditions,
+were much more limited as regards their numbers. Thus the bumble-bee,
+which abides underground, dwells in very small communities, probably for
+the reason that the conditions of the soil it inhabits make it difficult
+to excavate and maintain large rooms. It is this habit of resorting to
+hollow spaces, as well as the instinct to store up honey in wax cases,
+which has made the common bee valuable to man.
+
+[Illustration: Feeding Silkworms with Mulberry Leaves in Japan]
+
+At best the opportunities which the wilderness affords, in the way of
+fit dwelling-places for the swarm which goes forth from a hive, are
+much less than can readily be provided by art. In almost all cases the
+wild bees have to expend a great deal of labor in searching for a fit
+residence; and after such is found it requires a great deal of toil and
+expenditure of the costly wax in order to shape the cavity so that it
+may comfortably accommodate the multitude, and be reasonably safe from
+the attacks of other insects. Thus it has come about that the bee has,
+in a way, welcomed the interference of man with his ancestral
+conditions; and, though the species exists in the wildernesses of its
+native land, the domesticated varieties have so far taken up with man
+that in other countries they do not wander far from the limits of
+civilization. Now and then an uncared-for swarm which cannot find
+accommodations about the parent hive will betake itself to the
+wilderness; though it generally continues to seek sustenance from
+the abundant flowers of the tilled fields where it finds species, such
+as clover and buckwheat, from which it has been long accustomed to win
+the harvest of pollen and honey.
+
+In North America the honey-bees, which were brought by the early
+settlers, and which had been kept on the frontier by the pioneers of our
+civilization, have always extended, in wild swarms, a little distance
+into the wilderness. But, at most, they appear to have wandered only for
+a few miles beyond the homestead, going no further away than would
+permit their use of the cultivated plants. The aborigines early learned
+to regard the insect as the _avant courier_ of European men. When they
+came upon an individual of the species they always knew that some white
+man's dwelling stood nearby. Those who are familiar with the solitudes
+of our Appalachian forests must often have remarked, in the stillness of
+a summer day, the hum of a swarm from some forest or domestic hive in
+its search for a dwelling-place. Those who have followed up the
+movements of these migrating colonies have had a chance to perceive how
+long is the search before they find a fit abiding place. Doubtless by
+far the greater part of these searchers for a home fail of their quest,
+and the wandering swarms perish without finding a suitable shelter.
+
+In certain kinds of woods, as, for instance, those occupied by pine
+trees or other species which do not develop spacious hollows in their
+trunks, and where there are no crannied rocks--all the swarms which seek
+habitations there are foredoomed to destruction. If by chance the
+colonies wander too far, they generally find the wilderness so ill
+provided with plants which may furnish them with the sources of wax,
+honey, or other necessaries, that they cannot maintain their life. Thus
+it is that the bee, though domiciled with us rather than domesticated,
+has become united in its fortunes with civilization. In this position
+they have shown a remarkable adaptation to extremely varied conditions.
+They can withstand any climate which permits the development of the
+vegetation to which they need have access, provided the growing season
+continues long enough to accumulate their store. In the tropical lands
+they harvest so little honey that they are not profitable to man, and in
+the high north they need all their summer's accumulation to maintain
+them through the long winter. Thus, though they may range almost as far
+as man through the gamut of climates, they are profitable to their
+masters only in the middle latitudes. They commonly do not do well close
+to the sea, and cannot be kept on inconsiderable islands for the reason
+that they are, in their wanderings, likely to be lost in the waters.
+
+The bee, like the other social insects, evinces a wide range of
+instincts which are intimately related to the economy of the hive; but
+these motives appear to be of an unchangeable character. They show no
+tendency to undergo the modifications which we observe to take place in
+our birds and mammals when they are brought under the influence of man.
+The only case in which they show any distinct effect from their contact
+with man is found in their evident recognition of those who care for
+them. They soon learn that their master is not to be feared, and,
+therefore, need not be resisted; but, beyond this dumb acceptance of a
+situation, they exhibit no trace of sympathetic recognition of our
+kind. It is clear that their mental endowments, though considerable,
+are very much more remote from our own than are those of the
+vertebrated animals with which we have formed a friendly association.
+Moreover, the type of life of the creatures in a way excludes them from
+any kind of share in human society. Each of them is, from its birth to
+its death, entirely devoted to the interests of its little
+commonwealth. Every impulse of their being relates to the economy of
+their hive. While we know little about instinct, we know enough of its
+manifestations to state that the real unit of this species is not the
+individual insect, but the colony to which it belongs. The separate
+form is hardly more than a bit of machinery so arranged that it may
+operate at a distance from the engine of which it forms a part. On this
+account it appears to be impossible for us ever to attain to any kind
+of sympathetic relations with these creatures.
+
+Even more important than the bees are those insects which, in their
+immature state, yield us silk. The so-called silkworms, like the bees,
+originated in Asia, and have long been in the care of man. Beginning
+their experiments in spinning with the wool of animals and the various
+accessible vegetable fibres, men have ever been seeking materials which
+could serve them in the weaver's art. At one time or another they have
+tried an exceeding variety of materials; in modern days more than a
+score of insects have been experimented with in the endeavor to obtain
+fibres which could be turned to use. So far, however, the _Bombyx
+mori_--the form which, as its specific name indicates, feeds upon the
+leaves of the mulberry tree--is the only one which proves really
+serviceable. The advantages of this species are found in a peculiar
+assemblage of qualities, each of which is necessary to make it fit for
+the ends it attains at the hand of man.
+
+The mulberry silkworm can readily be bred in confinement. The eggs are
+easily gathered and preserved, and are so readily kept that they may be
+sent the world about. At a given temperature they with infrequent
+failures hatch; and if sufficiently fed with the fresh leaves of the
+mulberry, will in a short time attain to as perfect a development as
+though they grew, not in close rooms, but in the open conditions of the
+trees. When of adult size, the grubs proceed to spin themselves in,
+forming a thick cocoon composed of threads of a material which, though
+as soft as paste when emitted from the body, hardens so as to form a
+strong and even thread. If the insect be allowed to remain for a
+sufficient time in the cradle which it has spun for its second birth,
+the body within the chrysalis case will proceed in a manner to
+dissolve; and in the milky fluid thus produced, where only faint traces
+of its former state remain, the beautiful image or perfect form will
+arise. In the economic use of the creature, however, except as far as a
+supply of eggs may be desired, it is necessary to prevent the
+completion of its development; for in escaping from the chrysalis case,
+the butterfly cuts many of the delicate threads, so that the silk is
+made unserviceable. It is necessary to wind it off before the insect
+escapes. In this part of the work we notice the most perfect adaptation
+of the creature to the needs of man. While the silk threads from the
+cocoons of other species which might prove of value cannot be easily
+reeled off, those of the silkworm, when placed in hot water, readily
+separate, and can be gathered in a condition for spinning. Thus, while
+some success has been attained by carding the cocoons of other species,
+thereby making a fibre which has a certain utility, the silkworm alone
+yields material fitted for delicate fabrics.
+
+[Illustration: The Farmer's Apiary]
+
+At the present time in Europe, Asia, and America there are probably not
+far from ten million people who depend in large measure upon the
+product of the silkworm for their livelihood. Although the product of
+their industry and that of the insects combined is not nearly as
+indispensable to man as those which are won from the hair of animals or
+the fibres of plants--for silk is a luxury rather than a necessity--the
+value of the work done by these humble creatures is greater than that
+effected by the largest of our domesticated animals, the elephant. If
+the philanthropic economist were forced to choose which of these
+creatures should pass from the earth, he would have to accept the loss
+of the greater and far nobler animal.
+
+So far as regards their intelligence, the silkworms are much below the
+level of the bees. Though they dwell in an aggregate way they have
+scarcely a semblance of social order, and are without the wide range of
+peculiar instincts which we invariably find among the commonwealth
+animals. The order of _Lepidoptera_, in which these creatures belong,
+though the most beautiful, appears to be from an intellectual point of
+view the least advanced of our insects. Their instincts are all on a low
+plane; they have no kind of mutual labor, and however much advance we
+may make by selection in developing their bodies, there is no reason to
+expect that we shall affect their intelligences.
+
+The cochineal insect, a species which has the habit of feeding upon
+the cactus, is used for a dye stuff, for which service the brightly
+colored body is appropriated. Although the creature is deliberately
+planted where it is to feed, and thus is in a way submitted to
+culture, it cannot fairly be said to have been entered in the
+domesticated circle of man. In a similar way the so-called Spanish
+fly--which really belongs among the beetles--whose ground-up bodies
+are used for producing blisters, is merely appropriated to our use
+without any process of subjugation. The fact remains that, so far as
+our dealings with the insect world have gone, we have really won but
+two of the million or more of forms to captivity; and our relations
+with these have nothing of the humanized nature which marks our
+intercourse with truly domesticated creatures.
+
+Small as are the lessons which we may read from our experience with the
+honey-bee and the silkworm, they appear clearly to indicate that, while
+we may expect to do little with the intelligences of insects, we may
+fairly reckon on a great field for accomplishment in the way of changes
+in their bodily constitution. In the case of the bees the facts show us
+that in particular conditions of climate or other surroundings a certain
+amount of variation takes place, and by proper selection either of
+queens or swarms it may be possible considerably to extend the value of
+these animals. The task is beset with difficulties for the reason that,
+while in ordinary selective breeding we deal with individuals, we have,
+as before remarked, in this species to regard the hive or colony as the
+unit and to make our selection with reference to the qualities of that
+colony as a whole. Nevertheless, with the constant advances in the skill
+of our economic selectionists, there is reason to expect that our bees
+may be progressively improved. On the other hand, there is the chance
+that the progress of chemical discovery may enable us at any time to
+manufacture honey in the artificial way and of a quality
+indistinguishable from that produced by domesticated bees; in which case
+these captives, at best troublesome, though most interesting, will
+probably disappear from the human association.
+
+With the silkworms, variations can be more readily brought about; for,
+as is the case with other animals, the individuals can be paired. The
+efforts at selection already made show that valuable characters can be
+thus accumulated, though not with the success which attends the
+efforts of a like nature made in the case of our domesticated mammals
+and birds. In common with other animals--indeed, we may say, with all
+organic life--the silkworms vary perceptibly in different parts of the
+world to which they may be taken. Thus, when reared in California it
+is said that this insect develops more strength than it exhibits in
+Europe; and the eggs which it lays there produce stronger insects,
+which in turn yield larger cocoons than the individuals born in Italy
+or France. With such a basis for the selective art as the variations
+of this insect afford, there seems no reason why it should not afford
+a good field for the work of the breeder's art.
+
+
+
+
+THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS
+
+    Recent Understanding as to the Rights of Animals; Nature of these
+    Rights; their Origin in Sympathy.--Early State of Sympathetic
+    Emotions.--Place of Statutes concerning Animal Rights.--Present
+    and Future of Animal Rights.--Question of Vivisection.--Rights of
+    Domesticated Animals to Proper Care; to Enjoyment.--Ends of the
+    Breeder's Art.--Moral Position of the Hunter.--Probable Development
+    of the Protecting Motive as applied to Animals.
+
+
+It is well to note the fact that, in considering the rights of the
+creatures below the level of man, we are dealing with a question which
+does not seem to have entered into the minds of the ancients. Such old
+phrases as "the merciful man is merciful to his beast" indicate that
+cruelty to the domesticated creatures was, in a way, reprobated by the
+ancients; but not until well on in the present century do we find any
+indication that reason had come to the help of pity in an effort to
+frame rules having the weight of law and the support of sanctions,
+either those of public opinion or the more direct penalties of the
+courts, to limit the conduct of men towards the lower animals. The great
+tide of mercy and justice which marks our modern civilization had first
+to break down the grievous and strongly founded evils of human slavery.
+Having effected that great work, the sympathetic motives are moving on
+to a similar conflict with the moral ills which arise from an improper
+treatment of those slaves of a lower estate, the domesticated animals.
+
+It is impossible to see our position in relation to the matter of the
+rights of animals without looking somewhat carefully into the
+intellectual and moral steps which have at length brought us to the
+consideration of the question. First let us note that while the rights
+of their fellows have been impressed on men by the precepts of
+religions, particularly by those of Christianity, the rules of conduct
+which guide us in our contacts with beings below the level of our
+species have never been determined by the canons of our faith, for the
+reason that they are the product of very modern conditions; they are the
+thought of our own time. New as are these tenets, however, they may
+fairly be received as but the last though not the final expression of
+that most interesting of all natural series--the succession in the
+development of sympathy which, step by step in the progress of organic
+life, has led from the original dull insensitiveness of the lower
+animals upwards to the outgoing spirit of man.
+
+In the lower stages of animal life we find no traces of appreciation of
+the neighbor except those which necessarily relate to the selection and
+capture of food and perhaps to the selection of mates. Further on in the
+process of development we note the love of offspring, and, as a
+consequence of that love, the growth of the family sense, which rarely
+is maintained beyond the time when the young can shift for themselves.
+Among the species of the higher groups--certain insects, the greater
+part of the birds, and the nobler of the mammals--the instinct of the
+family is extended until it includes the tribe, or perhaps goes yet
+further and leads to a certain kindliness to all the individuals of the
+race. Thus it comes about that the individuals of many species below the
+level of man will respond to the cries of their kindred though they may
+never have had a chance to know them. There is in these cases a
+sympathetic bond that binds the kind together. It is with this
+condition of the sympathies that the task of their further evolution is
+transferred to man. Inheriting as he does the essential motives of the
+lower beings through which he came to his present estate, man proceeds
+to deal with them in a manner which is determined by the peculiar
+rational power which belongs to him. In place of the blind following of
+the emotions which characterizes the sympathetic movements of the lower
+animals, we find that even among the most primitive and lowly savages
+rules of conduct are instituted which serve to direct the ways in which
+the individual shall act with regard to his fellows. In almost all cases
+these rules are much intermingled with the religion of the people;
+usually they rest upon a body of advancing public opinion which
+amplifies the motives and, in turn, is enlarged by their growth. As time
+goes on and the folk attain the stage of records, these rules of conduct
+become definite laws which at first are based on religious ordinances;
+but in time they are, in the latest stage of social growth, brought into
+the state of ordinary statutes which, while they may have some religious
+sanction, are supported by the machinery of the secular government.
+
+After the first rude work of shaping the body of ancient experience into
+law was done, there remained the larger and more difficult task of
+continuing the development of the sympathetic motives with a
+corresponding amplification of customs and statutes so that the steps of
+advance should be duly embodied in these rules of conduct. The stages of
+this purely human attainment have been slowly taken, the onward way has
+been effectively won but by few peoples. A part of the slowness in
+advance in the enlargement of the sympathetic motives beyond the stage
+which has been attained in the life below the human grade is to be
+accounted for in the fact that no sooner are laws formed than they
+become in a way sacred. If they be cast in the religious mould their
+sanctity may be such that they are almost beyond the reach of
+modification; even when they are secular the reverence for the wisdom of
+the forefathers naturally leads men to regard them as the ark of safety.
+Thus it has come about that the codification of the ancient sympathies,
+won by experience in the pre-human time and in the early life of man,
+has led to the institution of a barrier which makes further advance a
+matter of difficulty--one which, in the case of most peoples, binds them
+firmly to the past, arresting their sympathetic development at a point
+which it had attained when their laws were framed. This is, indeed, the
+position of nearly all the peoples except those of our own Aryan race.
+
+When the conditions of a people are fortunately such that they may
+continue their sympathetic growth, they proceed to carry onward the
+process of sympathetic enlargement, modifying their laws to suit the
+gains in understanding which come with this growth. It may be noticed
+that the development takes place most readily where the rules of
+conduct are embodied in statute law; for this law, being the evident
+result of human action, is manifestly alterable in a way that cannot be
+taken when the prescriptions are supposed to rest on divine commands.
+Under such conditions of statute law men are freer to advance than they
+can possibly be where the rules of action are in the form of revered
+precepts, such as guide the peoples who are accustomed to base their
+action on the books which they esteem as sacred. Endowed with this
+element of freedom, the peoples of our own Aryan race--and,
+fortunately, the most advanced of all its varieties, the
+English-speaking part of the folk--have, by the divine impulse towards
+moral advancement, been led to make a great extension of the
+sympathetic motives. The first step in this direction seems to have
+been towards the mitigation of the horrors of war, which of old meant
+the slavery or slaughter of the prisoners. Under the dictates of the
+developing spirit of mercy and without written law, these brutal
+actions have been limited until the dogs of war are allowed to rend
+only in the hour of battle. In this day the man who slays the wounded
+or robs the dead is esteemed an outlaw. The same beneficent motive was
+next extended towards human slaves. In this matter English people led;
+and to them it was almost altogether due that this evil has come nearly
+to an end except among the Mohammedans, who are bound as in chains to
+their sacred books and cannot win their way to progress through
+statutes. In a like manner, in the care of the poor, of prisoners for
+debt, and even of malefactors, our English folk on both sides of the
+Atlantic have led in the ongoing towards a higher moral estate.
+
+The last great excursion of sympathy which has characterized the
+English Aryans--one dating its beginning to this century--is that
+relating to the rights of our domesticated animals. This has come
+about, like the other movements, in a way unconsciously. Prophetic
+spirits have seen beyond the vision of their fellows; they have given
+their messages, which have found an echo in the souls of men. The
+motive originated in the recognition of the essential likeness of the
+minds of the lower animals to our own. But it has been greatly
+re�nforced by the teachings of the naturalists to the effect that all
+the life of this sphere is akin in its origin and that our subjects are
+not very far away from our own ancestral line.
+
+It is characteristic of sympathetic movements that, while they are
+slowly prepared for, their final development is very rapid. Thus it has
+come about that within one hundred years the conception of the rights of
+animals has advanced with almost startling rapidity. No other moral gain
+has been made with such speed or has so rapidly become a part of the
+property of civilized man. The steps are those which have been taken in
+all the other great moral advances: at first there were but a few who,
+in the manner of the skirmishers of armies, set the standards far on in
+the new ground; gradually the less ardent win their way to them, only to
+be led the further by their natural guides. As the great advance is
+still making, it is difficult to see how far it may attain; it is,
+however, easy to recognize some of the important gains and to foretell
+the path if not the field of full accomplishment of the conquest. A
+century ago a man, so far as the law was concerned, owned his living
+chattels as he did the inanimate things of his property. He could
+torture or slay them as whim or malice might dictate; there were no
+limitations by statute, and public opinion, where it might reprobate,
+was too weak to influence his conduct. Now the statute books of all
+countries which are moving in the path of moral advance show that public
+opinion has attained the point where it begins to formulate itself in
+statutes which restrict the relations of men to their domesticated
+animals--or, in other words, endow them with definite rights. He may, of
+course, force them to do him their fit service; he may at his need slay
+them; but he must exercise his authority without brutality; he must, in
+form at least, be merciful unto his beasts. With this limitation the
+rights of domesticated animals began to exist.
+
+At first sight it may seem unreasonable to found the rights of dumb
+beasts on the embodiment of public opinion in the law, and this for
+the reasons that many persons have held, that rights have an
+establishment in the ultimate moral constitution of the world. It may
+be granted that even before man or even life existed in the universe
+there were certain logical moral principles which were destined to
+take shape when the creatures to which they were adapted came to be;
+but such speculations are fanciful and do not much concern those who
+are dealing with the problems of the barnyard. We may, to bring the
+matter nearer, say that the slave of half a century ago had a right to
+be free; but this right, in all practical senses, meant only that
+certain people very much disliked to see him enthralled.
+
+So far, by successive stages, first by accumulated public opinion and
+then by its embodiment in statutes, we have won a measure of protection
+to subjugated animals which tends to save them from the extremer forms
+of cruelty. The question now is as to the advances which may be made in
+the time to come. It is evident that these advances, so far as the
+domesticated species are concerned, will have to be limited by the needs
+of man. We cannot ever expect to have the reverence of the Hindoo for
+the lower animals, for the reason that his state of mind is based on the
+preposterous supposition that the beast contains the spirit of a man on
+its way through the cycles towards perfection. We must continue to
+burthen, tax, and slay; but we may fairly be required to inflict no
+unnecessary suffering. In this process of amendment we shall undoubtedly
+before long come to the point where we shall demand that these animals
+shall be lodged in a wholesome manner and so fed that they may be fit
+for their tasks. We may, in a word, consider their well being so far as
+it is consistent with the well being of mankind, and in so doing we
+shall demand some personal sacrifice from the owner where such is
+clearly demanded to maintain the principle of the law.
+
+As in all other great sympathetic movements, the leaders of the advance
+in the matter of the humane treatment of animals are occasionally
+unreasonable in their demands--it may well be held that the prophet has
+to be unreasonable in order to attain his goal; hence it has come about
+that the demands of these admirable people are often beyond the bounds
+of things that are practicable. Fire-horses, however ill, should be
+made to do their duty, even if it costs them any amount of suffering;
+even as the artillerymen should, if the occasion calls for it, rush
+their teams, though they know that the poor beasts are to die at the
+goal. In a word, the only and supreme test of our relations to these
+subjects is the well being of man considered from the higher point of
+view. This principle we apply to our own kind; we are justified in like
+action in case of the brutes. In this consideration, the offence to the
+feelings of man which is caused by any act of cruelty, however
+necessary, deserves its due weight.
+
+The most serious matter connected with the question of the rights of
+animals which is now under discussion relates to the use of these
+creatures in the investigative work of the naturalist, or in the
+repetition of the processes and results of those inquiries before
+students. Although all judicious people are likely to welcome the
+exceeding reprobation with which many philanthropists visit the
+vivisectionists, and this for the reason that the state of mind
+shows a rapid advance of the sympathetic motive, they are likely to
+question the sound foundation of the objections that are raised to
+experiments with animals, made for the purpose of discovering of
+displaying the truths of nature.
+
+So far as the work of research into the phenomena of life is
+concerned, there can be no question as to its importance or as to the
+fitness of sacrificing the lives of the lowlier creatures in any way
+that may be necessary for the advancement of knowledge. In the last
+half century there has been an improvement in the treatment and
+prevention of diseases so great as almost to defy adequate
+description. To take only the last of these precious gains, that in
+relation to the treatment of diphtheria, the gain has been such that
+although the process is not past its experimental stage the reduction
+of the mortality in hospitals where the remedy is used has lowered
+the death rate from above fifty to about fifteen per cent. of the
+cases. Yet this result rests upon a vast amount of experiment which
+has cost suffering and life to the lower animals; and to produce the
+remedy which is used, horses have to be innoculated with the disease,
+and thereby much pain is inflicted upon them. Weighed as against the
+life of a human being, a host of the lower creatures must count as
+nothing. As all human advancement depends upon the dissemination of
+knowledge, it is difficult to see any objection, from the point of view
+of justice, to the use of the lower creatures to accomplish this end.
+The only real point in the matter is as to the effect of such scenes on
+the minds of young people; yet they have to be accustomed to behold the
+processes of destruction of life which are everywhere going on about
+them. The gardener maintains his work by endless slaying. Our tables
+bear the products of the slaughter-houses. While the anatomist's work
+may be revolting, it is only so because his tasks are done deliberately
+and for a purpose that is not yet properly appreciated.
+
+It is a curious fact that many a person who enjoys hunting or fishing,
+and who slays or maims with much pleasure and to no substantial profit,
+is horrified to see a student dissecting a living frog, guinea-pig, or
+cat, in order that he may learn new truths or himself behold what others
+have discovered. Of the two aims, momentary pleasure or intellectual
+profit, which is the nobler? In which work is the mind the most likely
+to become careless as to the rights of the dumb beast? To my
+understanding, the present turn of sympathetic people against
+vivisection indicates that the movement of the emotions has, as is often
+the case, been diverted from the fittest path. So far from natural
+science tending in any way towards cruelty, it has been the very guide
+in the development of the modern affection for living beings. By showing
+something of the marvels of their structure and history, it has
+increased in a way no other influence has ever done the conception which
+we form as to their dignity and the wonderful nature of their history.
+It is in the true interest of mercy to disseminate in every way we can
+knowledge as to the real nature of animals, leaving this knowledge to
+bring forth the good fruit which it ever bears. In this connection it
+should moreover be said that the naturalist, like the surgeon,
+instinctively seeks to make his work as little painful as may be to the
+subjects of his experiments. In almost all cases, the animal is made
+unconscious. Moreover, all we know of the life of the lower animals
+leads us to suppose that while they suffer much as we do, their pains
+are of a physical sort, and unassociated to any great extent with the
+large fears and anticipations which in the case of man form so
+considerable a part of his torment when in face of death.
+
+The question of vivisection is but a part, indeed a very small part, of
+the much larger problem as to the relation of men to the lower life
+which is about them in their fields and in the wilderness. An
+approximate census of the species now on the earth shows that the number
+is between two and three million. In the presence of this host, we have
+to recognize that each of the innumerable individuals in its lifetime is
+a record of toil and pain the history of which extends backward to the
+beginnings of life. In this wonderful living world man has trodden
+ruthlessly, for the reason that he has no sense as to the dignity of the
+field. In the manner of a vandal, he has slain for profit or sport. He
+has been so effectual a destroyer that species, genera, and even
+families of animals have been ruthlessly swept away. The revelation of
+natural science, of the men of the knife who are so hated by some
+well-meaning but misdirected people, have now and only in our day
+brought us to a point where the sense of nature in its organic aspect
+begins to penetrate the minds of men. The revelation is so vast in its
+contents and its imports, the conceptions which rest upon it are so
+greatly enlarging to the human soul, that we may be sure of the wide and
+swift extension of the new light. It cannot be questioned that the
+clearer insight will rapidly change the attitude of men toward all
+living beings. We can in a way discern some of the conceptions as to the
+rights of the other life which will be enforced on mankind.
+
+It is likely that the first step into the new field of human duty, due
+to our better understanding as to our place in nature, will be in the
+direction of a greater care as to our domesticated forms. While we must
+continue to make their lives subserve our own, we may well insist that
+they should be properly housed, and have what it may be possible to
+afford them in the way of their primitive joys, which come from the sun,
+the air, and their natural food. No one who has seen a long-stabled
+horse made free of a field can have failed to note the intense pleasure
+which he takes in returning to something like his natural conditions.
+Many a cow stable with its foul conditions inflicts more and more
+enduring torments than all the vivisectionists that some misguided
+philanthropists are fighting; yet because of the novelty of the
+naturalist's work these attend to the new scene and neglect the ancient
+abuse. Among these evils which are to be corrected we may also account
+that which arises from the unguided development of what are called fancy
+breeds. Thus among our horned cattle, the Jerseys have been brought to a
+point where, from the iniquitous inbreeding, which is against what may
+be called the morality of nature, they are fearfully subjected to
+tuberculosis. The punishment for this insensate performance comes back
+upon mankind in the dissemination of consumption; but unhappily it does
+not visit the people who are responsible for the development of this
+breed. A like, though less considerable, evil is shown in the fancy
+breeds of dogs, pigeons, and some other petted animals, where for
+amusement and as an indication of his power man has raised up many
+decrepit and sickly varieties, which are not likely to have a fair share
+in the pleasure of life which their natural breeding insured them.
+
+The observant naturalist of the field has the sense--at least he has it
+if he be endowed with a little imagination--of the immense pleasure
+which life gives to most wild animals. That instinctive, and in its
+foundations utterly irrational and animal joy which men have, or should
+have, in their day, is part of the birthright of all sentient beings. As
+yet we have not recognized that this privilege of enjoyment should be
+confessed. We do not hesitate to slay or maim for mere sport. It is true
+that some of the ancient forms of this sport, such as bull-baiting and
+cock-fighting, have been condemned, but the best of men go afield with
+the gun to slay for pleasure. In a measure they keep up the pretence
+that they are in some way contributing to the needs of the larder, but
+so far as needs are concerned the pretence is mostly idle. It seems to
+me clear that in shaping our sympathetic relations towards animals in
+the light of our present knowledge, the huntsman will soon become
+unknown in civilized life. So long as men looked upon animals in the
+childish, ignorant way, viewing them as utterly commonplace things,
+hunting or fishing, for the reason that they rested on a foundation of
+ancient emotions, might well be indulged in. But to the man who knows
+what science has to teach him, and who discerns the marvels which the
+animal form enfolds, the destruction of such objects, except for need's
+sake, is sure to be painful. I judge this from my individual experience.
+In my youth I was very fond of hunting, and could even wring the necks
+of wounded birds without trouble of mind. A better sense of what life
+means, a sense which is no better than that to which all educated men
+are soon to attain, has made such work very repulsive to me.
+
+When the knowledge of our time is so brought down among the masses of
+men that it may afford the foundations for appropriate enlargement of
+the sympathies, the result will doubtless be a great movement towards
+enlargement in public opinion which credits the lower life with what we
+term rights. The most important result of this movement will be the
+creation of a sense of duty by this life. It is said of Mohammedans
+that they hesitate to tread upon a bit of paper lest it bear the name
+of God. We know now full well that every living creature in this world
+bears the stamp of a Providence which has acted from all time, and that
+we, so far as our own advancement will permit, are morally bound to
+allow this life to go forward on the appointed way.
+
+
+
+
+THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION
+
+    The Conditions of Domestication; Effects on Society; Share of the
+    Races of Men in the Work.--Evils of Non-Intercourse with
+    Domesticated Animals as in Cities; Remedies.--Scientific Position
+    of Domestication; Future of the Art.--List of Species which may
+    Advantageously be Domesticated.--Peculiar Value of the Birds and
+    Mammals.--Importance of Groups which tenant High Latitudes.--Plan
+    for Wilderness Reservations; Relation to National Parks.--Project
+    for International System of Reservations.--Nature of Organic
+    Provinces; Harm done to them by Civilized Men.--Way in which
+    Reservations would Serve to Maintain Types of the Life of the
+    Earth; how they may be Founded.--Summary and Conclusions.
+
+
+The advance of mankind from the primitive savagery has been
+accomplished in many ways. Among the various paths of onward and upward
+going, however, we trace three which have served greatly to secure the
+elevation of our estate. First of all, culture came through the use of
+the hands in the development of the simpler arts. Next, these arts led
+men to search the stores of the wilderness and of the under earth for
+materials which could serve them in their advancing crafts. The third
+important stage in their ongoing was attained when they began to
+subjugate the animals and plants of the wilds, bringing the creatures
+to abide in and about the households. Although in general this was the
+last great step to be taken in the beginnings of civilization, it was
+on many accounts the most important.
+
+Until men began to domesticate the forms of the wilderness, it was
+impossible for them to rise above the grade of savages. Their supply of
+food was necessarily in such a measure limited that their societies had
+to remain small and they were given to much wandering to and fro over
+the earth. Moreover, they had only the strength of their own hands for
+all the work of life. It was not until our kind began to form a society
+of other species about their homes that the foundations of civilizations
+were firmly established. The home, indeed, may fairly be said to be the
+product of the conditions which the process of domestication brought
+about. As distinguished from the temporary hut of primitive men, it
+represented the stability which was induced by the care of the plants
+and animals which man had domiciled about him.
+
+With every step upward in the organization of society we find that
+the number and efficiency of these subjugated creatures increases.
+Our American aborigines in their primitive state commanded only the
+dog and three or four plants, yet with this scant help they had
+already won beyond the lowest savagery and were at the threshold of
+barbarism. In our more civilized societies of to-day we find the
+products of near a hundred animals and about a thousand plants as
+elements of commerce, and each year sees some gain in the number of
+creatures which we make tributary to our desires.
+
+So far as we can discern, the relations of primitive savages to the
+animal life about them is on the whole more friendly than is that of
+cultivated men. It is true that the savage looks to the creatures of
+the wilderness for the greater part of his needs. He slays them, not
+at all in sport, but for the profit they may afford. Moreover, in most
+cases, his imagination endows these wild creatures with a spirit like
+his own. He often adopts them, in his religious worship, placing his
+tribe under the protection of one or another, as some of our own
+people do themselves under the protection of particular saints. The
+effect of domestication when man comes to have his own separate
+estate in animal life is to separate men from the creatures of the
+wilderness. "Wild" and "tame" come to be terms having a meaning which
+the savage does not recognize, and this meaning has with the advance
+of culture become intensified, until to most men the only creatures
+entitled to protection are those which have been made subject to man.
+
+At first the process of domestication concerned only useful animals or
+plants, those which would take a part in our industries. Rapidly,
+however, these creatures have been adopted with the view to the �sthetic
+satisfaction which they might afford. Quite half of the number of
+species which have come under human control have been tamed mainly if
+not altogether because of the charms which they possess. If we reckon
+flowering plants in the category, by far the greater number of our
+captives have been brought to us because of their beauty.
+
+The work of domestication has in the main been effected by our own
+Aryan race. Out of the total number of animals and plants which have
+been made captives, probably more than two-thirds have been brought
+into subjection by the European Aryans or by the folk whom they have
+profoundly affected with their civilizing motives. The disposition to
+win goods from the wilderness is in effect a fair test of those
+qualities in a people which give them dominance: we may indeed
+roughly measure the qualities of diverse folk by a variety of
+conquests of this kind, which they have made. The reason for this
+relation is plain. Success, whether it be of the individual or of the
+race, depends in large measure upon forethoughtfulness, on a
+disposition to study as to where profit may be had, and intelligently
+to seek accessions of strength by experiments in domestication. Each
+of these winnings from the wilderness represented by our domesticated
+animals or plants has been painfully and laboriously gained. The men
+who did the tasks were not creatures of the day, but foresightful
+beyond the average of mortals.
+
+In a large way the work of domestication represents one of the modes
+of action of that sympathetic motive which more than any other has
+been the basis of the highest development of mankind. Ordinary men of
+the low grade are content to slay, or otherwise rudely gain what value
+they find in the wild creatures. Only the higher grades of men
+perceive much of the charm in the inhabitants of the wilderness, or
+desire to win them to their homes. If our conquests from the wilds
+were limited to the grossly profitable life alone, we might say that
+interest only had determined the work of subjugation; but as soon as
+men escape from their primitive state, even while in their general
+motives they are still essentially barbarians, they cultivate flowers
+and derive a keen pleasure from their company. They domesticate birds
+which are valuable only for the pleasures which their presence lends
+to human abodes. This action clearly shows that the element of
+sympathy, that love for the other life which in any way fixes the
+attention, has had much to do with this work of bringing other beings
+into association with our own lives.
+
+Not only is the motive which has led our race to such extensive
+conquests over the wild nature in itself sympathetic, but the
+process of winning these creatures from the wilderness has served
+effectively to extend and amplify this same impulse. One of the best
+features of agricultural life consists in the great amount of
+care-taking which it imposes upon its followers. The ordinary farmer
+has to enter into more or less sympathetic relations with half a
+score of animal species and many kinds of plants. His life, indeed,
+is devoted to ceaseless friendly relations with these creatures which
+live or die at his will. In this task his ancient savage impulses are
+slowly worn away, and in their place comes the enduring kindliness of
+cultivated men. When we compare the state of mind of the hunter with
+that of the care-taking soil-tiller, we see the vast scope and
+influence which this work of domestication has effected in our kind.
+To it perhaps more than to any other cause we must attribute the
+civilizable and the civilized state of mind.
+
+Although no discreet person will venture to determine the relative
+weight which should be given to the influences which have made for
+civilization, there can be no doubt that the care of domesticated
+animals has been one of the most potent of these agents. Not only has
+this employment served to develop the motives of care-taking that
+result in the postponement of the momentary satisfaction of indolence
+or of hunger for the prospect of security or wealth to come, but it
+has served to arouse and broaden the sympathies given men, that
+humane spirit without which the best of our higher culture cannot be
+attained. If this view be correct, we may find in it a good reason
+for regretting the increasing development of cities, a reason which
+is more definite than the most of those which have been urged against
+the growth of great towns. Statistics seem to indicate that people
+are as healthy, as long lived, and on the whole no more given to vice
+and crime in a well-ordered urban life than they are on the farms. It
+is certainly easier to give them the formal education of the schools
+in the dense than in the scattered condition. There can be no doubt,
+however, that the practically complete separation of the most of our
+cities from all educative contact with the ancient companions and
+helpers of men brings about an omission of an element in culture that
+may entail serious consequences.
+
+The question arises as to what can be done to diminish the evils
+which come from the total separation of a large part of our people
+from the humanizing influences due to the care of animals. How
+general this separation is may be judged from the fact that so far as
+I have been able to find in the manufacturing towns of Massachusetts
+not one child in thirty ever knew what it is to care for any
+creature, save those of its kind. And even in a well-conditioned
+place like Cambridge, the proportion of those who have any educative
+contact with animals probably does not exceed one in fifteen. I do
+not reckon the mere chance playing with a dog or cat as serving the
+need; the real service is when the person has a sense of
+responsibility for the life of the animal. To bring about this
+relation in the ordinary conditions of a town is usually impossible.
+Something can, however, be accomplished by various expedients.
+
+In the lowest state of townspeople it is out of the question to give
+the children any pets whatever. Even caged birds cannot or should not
+be accommodated in the cheaper grade of lodging-houses. Wherever the
+animals are in separate houses it is often possible for children to
+have some contact with sympathetic animal life. In these conditions,
+our cocks and hens are the best creatures to rear. They are the most
+attractive of all our domesticated birds; they do better than any
+other forms of economic value in narrow conditions, and, what is of
+importance for the end in view, they contribute a share of food, so
+that a boy may have from them some experience with the economic
+relation of animals to men.
+
+Some persons who have observed the advancing process of destruction of
+the natural world may have been brought to consider the change as in the
+necessary and inevitable order which comes with the higher development
+of man. They may welcome--indeed, some evidently do welcome--the chance
+that the ancient system may utterly disappear, and all the earth become
+fields and garden places tenanted only by those forms that man may have
+chosen to be his companions. To many people who have a keen impression
+as to the importance of man in the great economy, and no clear sense of
+his relation to the natural order, this possibility is doubtless
+attractive. It is not so to those who have gained a clear idea of the
+place of man and the conditions of his ongoing.
+
+There is reason to expect that the modern gains in the cheapness and
+speed of transportation may before long bring about a material change in
+the housing of the laboring classes of our cities, so that they may be
+able to dwell in somewhat rural conditions. In this way we may hope to
+see these people once again brought where they may receive a fuller
+share of the influences which have served so well to lift our race to
+its elevated moral station. Working to the same end is the spirit which
+is leading many manufacturers to place their establishments in the
+country, where they can control the mode of life of the employees and
+their families. Against the growth of the factory towns with their
+sordid conditions, we may with pleasure set these rural workshops where
+the capitalists are doing the best they can to better the mode of living
+of the people who are under their charge. In this good work it may well
+be possible to include a share of contact with the soil and with
+domesticated animals. In this system of isolated factories we may
+perhaps hope to find the way out of the perplexities which the present
+condition of our industries have imposed on our civilization.
+
+Up to our present half-century the process of winning animals and plants
+to domestication, and of improving them after they had been thus won,
+has been in its nature a matter of haphazard. Here and there, as men
+have seen creatures which promised in captivity to afford either
+pleasure or profit, they have endeavored to convert them to use. In some
+cases the effort has been made with some patience and steadfastness of
+purpose. If the creature yielded quickly to the needs of a new life
+which it was sought to impose upon him, he became a member of man's
+family. If its wilderness motives were strong, the effort to domesticate
+was soon abandoned. The greater part of these efforts to win animals and
+plants into alliance with our race have been made with the creatures
+which were native in the wildernesses about our ancestral
+dwelling-places. Occasionally from distant lands important gains have
+been made, especially among the food-giving plants; but all the animals
+of any importance which have been adopted by the Aryan people were
+originally natives of the lands in which that race has dwelt.
+
+It is a remarkable fact that no sooner does a wild animal or plant
+become intimately associated with man, than it at once departs more or
+less widely from its ancient type. Our conquests from the vegetable
+world have to a great extent so far lost their original character that
+we can no longer determine the species from which they sprang. Botanists
+cannot find the wild forms which have given us the cabbage, wheat, and
+most other small grains, and a host of other important varieties. So,
+too, the origin of our dogs is as yet unsolved and bids fair ever to
+remain a mystery. In addition to this changed character which we observe
+in the forms of domesticated animals and plants alike, we note that the
+mental characteristics of the former undergo vast alterations. The
+creatures, in a way, take the tone of civilization, and to a great
+extent abandon those ancient habits of fear and rage which were
+essential to their life in the wilderness. The intellectual condition of
+our dogs shows us that the creatures may be progressively educated--in a
+word, that man may put into them something of his human quality. In the
+case of the dog, the longest possessed and most familiar to our
+households of all our captives, the mental change which has come, partly
+by selection, from association with man has gone so far that the species
+may be fairly said to have replaced its pristine motives with those
+which it has derived from ourselves. In many cases it has become, so far
+as its ways are concerned, even more man than dog.
+
+Although the physical and mental educability of animals when brought
+into companionship with man is an old subject of remark, and one of the
+most interesting features which they exhibit, it was not until the
+doctrine of descent by variation of species from other related forms
+became established, that we had a chance to see the vast possibilities
+of accomplishment which are presented to us by our domesticated
+creatures. It is true that the breeder's art is old and that men have
+felt the subjugated animals to be almost like clay in the potter's
+hands, but except in a small and rather careless way with the dogs,
+little attention has been given to the development of the intelligence
+of these captives. The success which we have obtained with this animal
+has been accomplished by a selective process, but one which has been
+almost as blind in its operation as the choice which acts in the natural
+world. For thousands of years men have preferred the dogs which
+manifested a sympathy with them, and the result is a creature which,
+though derived from a very brutal ancestry, has in its way as intense
+affections as human beings. Now and then they have chosen deliberately
+to develop some mental peculiarity of the animal which would be of
+service in hunting, and the effect of this care is to be noted in the
+considerable variety and perfection of mental development which the
+sporting dogs exhibit. In the main, however, the interest of our dog
+fanciers has been limited to the physical features of the species;
+nothing like a deliberate effort to ascertain how far the development of
+their mental parts could be carried has ever been essayed. In no other
+field of human endeavor of anything like equal importance has there been
+so little understanding applied to the tasks.
+
+Now that we are beginning to know something of the laws of inheritance,
+it is high time for us deliberately to consider what our relations to
+the organic world are hereafter to be, and how we can guide ourselves in
+these relations by the light of modern learning. It is in the first
+place clear that the subjugation of the earth which necessarily
+accompanies the development of civilization, inevitably tends to sweep
+away a large part of the organic life which is not adopted and
+protected by man. Already, with the mere beginnings of this culture, we
+find that several of the large beasts and birds and a number of plants
+have been destroyed. New as civilization is on this continent, it has
+already brought the moose and the buffalo to a point where they are on
+the verge of extinction, and in the Old World the wild ancestors of the
+horse and the bull have quite disappeared from the wildernesses. Within
+a few centuries the greater birds, the Dinornis and Epiornis, as well as
+the interesting Dodo, have vanished from the southern isles which they
+inhabited. In the century to come we can foresee that this process of
+effacement of the ancient life will go on with accelerated velocity.
+
+It seems inevitable that man should play the part of a destroyer. It is
+his place to break down the ancient order determined by what we call
+natural forces and in its stead to set a new accord in which the economy
+of the earth will be in a great measure controlled by his intelligence.
+Even those who most keenly sympathize with the wilderness life, are not
+likely to object to the changes which are necessary to open the way for
+this new dispensation. They may fairly ask, however, that hereafter the
+displacement of the ancient life shall be brought about with foresight
+and with the exercise of the utmost care in minimizing the sacrifices
+which we are called on to make. Naturalists may fairly ask men to
+remember that each of these species which we are forced to destroy
+represents the toil and pains of unimaginable ages, and that when these
+creatures are swept away they can never be recovered. Whatever new
+species may come, by processes of evolution from the life which remains
+after we have done our will with the wilderness, we shall never see
+again the forms which have passed away.
+
+It is the worst feature of the destruction which man is bringing upon
+the organic species that the assault is most effective on those
+varieties which are most interesting both from an intellectual and an
+economic point of view. To take only the case of the great birds which
+have recently been swept from the earth, we see clearly that we have
+with them lost precious opportunities for enlarging our understanding of
+nature and have at the same time been deprived of the chance to
+domesticate creatures which would most likely have proved of much
+economic value. With each of these species which disappears we lose what
+may be a precious chance of adding to the small store of animals or
+plants which may contribute to the well being of our kind. These
+considerations make it plain that it is our duty by our civilization, to
+do all in our power to save these species and at the same time to essay
+their domestication, for only when under the protection of man can they
+be regarded as insured from destruction.
+
+The task of bringing wild creatures into our domestic fold is one of
+very varied difficulty. Many plants are easily reconciled to the
+conditions of our fields and gardens: they may be said to welcome the
+care of man which insures them some protection from the fierce
+contention with other life or with the elements to which they are
+exposed in their natural conditions. Only here and there is it necessary
+by careful breeding to develop domesticated habits to the point where
+the forms will endure culture. Where the task is, however, to make avail
+of some natural peculiarity which promises to be useful, but is not yet
+of economic value, it may require a hundred generations of careful
+selection to develop and fix desirable features. We are, however, in all
+cases sure in these half-animate species, the plants, that they will
+prove perfectly obedient to our will. It is otherwise, however, with
+wild animals. Here we have to deal with intelligences in which the most
+striking characteristic is an abiding fear of the master, and a general
+indisposition to submit to any other control than that of their native
+wild instincts. The measure in which this wilderness habit, bred of long
+contention with enemies, prevails in animals varies greatly. Some, as
+for instance the elephant, at once reconcile themselves to human
+association, and directly on being made slaves accept the mastery of
+their captors. Others, such as the zebra, remain for a lifetime
+possessed of their original savage nature. A large part of the labor
+which has been given to the work of domesticating by the breeder's art
+the score of mammalian species which man has won to his use has been
+devoted to this task of expelling the wilderness motives from these
+forms. The cases in which he has failed to accomplish this end are those
+in which the savage humor has persisted for so long a time that he has
+been forced to abandon his effort to subdue the stock.
+
+It seems likely that at the present time we have acquired from the
+wilderness nearly all the animals which are capable of adoption by
+such brief and individual experiments as have won to us the species
+which constitute our flocks and herds. Our future gains will have to
+be made by far more deliberate and continuous endeavors. These tasks
+of the hereafter will have to be undertaken in a way which will insure
+a continuity of effort such as can only be attained by permanently
+organized associations which may continue their essays if needs be for
+centuries. The work should be done with two distinct ends in view:
+first, to determine what members of the wilderness life may be made
+to contribute to the needs of man; and, second, how far it is possible
+so to develop the intelligence of the lower animals in general as to
+make them better fitted for companionship with our kind. This
+last-named line of experiments needs to be undertaken not only with
+reference to varieties now wild, but also upon our most domesticated
+forms, for, as before remarked, we have not begun to explore the
+possibilities of intellectual gain, even in those species which have
+been the longest associated with us.
+
+In considering a list of the creatures which might well be made the
+subjects of trial with a view to their domestication, we find ourselves
+at once embarrassed by the exceeding wealth of our opportunities. It is
+impossible within the limits of this article to treat, even in the
+catalogue way, a vast number of forms which commend themselves for
+experiment. Something of the richness of the field, however, may be
+judged by noting some of the more conspicuous forms, as we shall now
+proceed to do. Beginning with the insects, the lowest forms in the
+animal series which have proved in any sense domesticable, we note that
+wide as is this realm of life it offers but few opportunities such as
+the domesticator seeks. Of the million or more species in the group,
+only two, the honey-bee and the silkworm, have been won to man's use,
+and there is not another wild form which the naturalist can suggest as
+likely to prove a valuable captive. The only use which we are probably
+to find for these creatures is where, by some form of culture, we may
+induce predatory or parasitic species more effectively to do their
+destructive work on noxious forms of the class. So well fitted is this
+group for purposes of self-defence that however much man may interfere
+with the course of nature, he is not likely to sweep any of their
+multitudinous kinds from the earth, though experience clearly shows that
+by the methods above mentioned they may be greatly reduced.
+
+It is among the vertebrate forms alone that we find animals which by
+their characteristics of body or of mind are well fitted to have an
+economic or social value. There alone are the qualities of flesh or of
+the external covering such as to make them in a high measure valuable,
+and the instincts of a nature to fit them for association in man's work.
+Even among these back-boned animals we find that the lower groups--the
+fishes, the amphibians, and the reptiles--promise little in the way of
+gains as compared with the higher groups, the birds and mammals; yet
+even among these inferior creatures we find certain forms which give
+promise of improvement under the care of man. Some of the fishes readily
+learn to come to any one from whom they may expect food, and they
+indicate in other ways that they are capable of a certain intellectual
+advance. The frogs and toads readily learn to recognize a master.
+Several of the larger members of the first-named forms could
+advantageously be bred so as to be very useful as food. The common hop
+toad of our gardens is an admirable helper in restraining the excessive
+development of certain slugs and insects. The tortoises and turtles
+contain a number of species which are edible, and many of the forms
+invite the breeder's care. It is, however, when we ascend in the type of
+vertebrates to the level of the birds that we find the great array of
+creatures which are worth considering as members of our civilization.
+
+Nearly all the birds except those of prey and those which haunt the
+seas can easily be accustomed to man. A few of these species which
+have been reduced to captivity have not become sufficiently reconciled
+to the unnatural conditions to maintain their breeding habits. Even in
+these cases, however, it seems likely that in spacious aviaries, at
+least in climates to which they are accustomed, it will be possible to
+secure the continuous reproduction of the kind, on which all
+development by the breeder's art depends.
+
+The ease with which most birds, except those of prey, may be reduced to
+domestication is due to the remarkable intensity of their sympathetic
+motives. In this regard the class is much more advanced than that of the
+mammalia to which we ourselves belong. Accustomed as they are to
+ceaseless and active intercourse with each other by means of their
+varied calls, largely endowed with the faculty of attention, and
+provided with fairly retentive memories, the birds are, on the average,
+nearer in the qualities of their intelligence to man than are many of
+the species in his own class. It was long ago remarked that the birds of
+remote islands, such as the Galapagos, which had never seen man, were at
+first not in the least afraid of him. It required, however, but a few
+generations of experience to show these creatures that the unfeathered
+biped was a singularly dangerous animal, and they at once and
+permanently adopted the habit of avoiding him. This incident of itself
+shows how quick birds are to learn certain large and important lessons.
+We see also the reverse of this education in fear in the rapid way in
+which birds become tame when they are secured from persecution. Wherever
+shooting is stopped over a considerable territory the birds rapidly
+become more tolerant of man's presence. Even among migratory species the
+individuals appear to learn that certain places where they are
+protected may be resorted to with safety.
+
+Because of their freedom of flight it is in all cases difficult to
+bring our perching birds into such relations with the domiciles of man
+that they can be truly domesticated. The success, however, which has
+been attained in the case of the pigeons, which have been so far made
+captive by the change of their instincts that they never depart far
+from their cotes, seems to indicate that this tendency again to go
+wild is by no means ineradicable. In other instances it will probably
+disappear as it has in this by long-continued care in breeding. Our
+successes with the geese, ducks, and swans, all of which belong to
+genera characterized by the migratory habit, show how readily in the
+course of time the old native instincts may be subordinated to the
+will of man. Although the degree of the difficulty which will be
+encountered in taming many wild forms may be far greater than that
+which has been met in those which we have domesticated, there is no
+reason whatever to believe that in any case it will be insuperable.
+
+While all the creatures of the wilderness may by the breeder's art be
+induced to vary in the conditions of captivity, the birds have shown
+themselves more plastic in our hands than any other animals. In almost
+every brood we find individuals possessing marked peculiarities of
+form or plumage. In their mental qualities also there is a like range
+of variation. Seizing upon these, the fancier can guide the quick
+succeeding generations so as to cause the form to depart in the course
+of a few years very far from its original aspect. With each step in
+this succession of changes the readiness with which the species
+responds to selective care increases. The results which have been
+attained in our barnyard fowl and with the pigeons show how admirably
+these creatures are fitted to obey the will of man when he has a mind
+to take charge of their destiny.
+
+Perhaps the greatest conquests which we have yet to make among the
+birds will be won from the species which have the habit of dwelling
+mainly or altogether upon the ground. These, as experience shows, can
+be more readily brought to the uses of man than the species which are
+free by their strong wings to wander through the realms of air. There
+are very many of these ground birds the domestication of which has
+never been fairly essayed. There are perhaps a hundred species which
+in one part of the world or another might afford valuable additions to
+our resources, those of ornament or of economy, and yet within three
+centuries only one of these, the turkey, has been brought to the
+domesticated state. The greater part of our game birds, such as the
+quail, pheasants, and partridges, though they appear on slight
+experiments to be untamable, could probably by continuous effort be
+reduced to perfect domestication. For ages they have been harried by
+man in a manner which has insured a great fear of his presence. We
+have indeed through our hunting instituted a very thorough-going and
+continuous system of selection which has tended to affirm in these
+creatures an intense fear of our kind. Only the more timorous have
+escaped us, and year after year we proceed to remove with the gun the
+individuals which by chance are born with any considerable share of
+the primitive tolerance of man's presence. It is not to be expected
+that the chicks of these species will at once accept relations with
+our kind. The domestication of many of these forms is to be desired,
+not only on account of the excellent quality of their flesh, but
+because of their beauty and the charm which their quick intelligences
+afford them. Whoever has watched them in their care of their young or
+their other social habits has observed features which indicate a
+possible development under domestication perhaps greater than that
+which we have attained in any other of our feathered captives.
+
+It seems most important that experiments in the further domestication of
+birds should be first addressed to certain, large ground forms which are
+now in more or less danger of extinction. The newly instituted industry
+of ostrich farming has probably insured this the noblest remnant of the
+old avian life from destruction; but the emu and the cassowary are still
+among the diminishing and endangered forms which unless taken into the
+human fold are likely soon to pass away. The brush turkey and the bower
+bird of Australia, two of the most curious inhabitants of that realm of
+strange life, appear to have qualities of mind and body which would make
+them readily domesticable and which would cause them to be among the
+most interesting of our feathered captives.
+
+Among the aquatic birds there are many species which are as promising
+subjects for domestication as any which have been made captive; these if
+subjugated would prove great additions to our resources of ornament and
+use. Thus the eider duck, so well known for its wonderful soft down
+which is plucked from the breast to make a covering for the eggs, though
+a marine species, would prove domesticable at least on the seashore of
+high latitudes. There are many other varieties of the family, such as
+the canvas-back which is so highly esteemed for its flesh, that would
+likewise afford very interesting subjects for experiment.
+
+The wading birds are characteristically very wild and range over a wide
+field; yet the flamingoes, the herons, and their kindred could probably
+be brought into at least as near an approach to reconciliation with man
+as their relations the storks. The comfortable relations which have been
+established between the last-named species and humankind in northern
+Europe is probably in nowise due to the peculiarly tamable nature of the
+bird, but rather to the fact that certain superstitious fancies on the
+part of the featherless biped led him to protect the feathered visitor
+of his roofs and chimneys. Should it be desirable to break up the habit
+of migration in these or other birds which are now accustomed to range
+up and down the meridians, there seems no reason to doubt that the
+change could be accomplished with the same ease that it has been in the
+case of the tamed geese and swans. Experience has shown that with these
+forms, which probably have not been associated with men for more than
+three or four thousand years, the migratory instinct, which appears one
+of the strongest of motives, has utterly disappeared. Not only do they
+no longer heed the cries of the wild birds of their kind as they fly
+away on their annual journeys, but they have, through the changes in
+form induced by their quiet life, lost the power to rise far above the
+earth. They are even more effectively tamed than are their captors.
+
+Owing to their singularly perfect protection against the cold, and also
+perhaps to the quickness of their wits, birds are more readily
+transferable from one clime to another than are any other animals. The
+feathered tenants of our barnyards are, except perhaps the aquatic
+species and the turkey, all from the tropical realm. Experiments with
+various other wild forms go to show that there are very many other
+tropical species which will prove to have an equal tolerance of high
+latitudes. If this be true we may fairly look to the domestication of
+the varied bird life of the equatorial regions for the enrichment of our
+northern lands. Even when it may not be desirable to bring these species
+to the state of complete subjugation they may be introduced on something
+like the terms which have been given and accepted in the case of the
+so-called English pheasant, which has brought to the high north of
+Britain and some parts of this country an element of grace which is
+afforded by no indigenous form of North America or Europe. There are
+hundreds of beautiful tropical species which await reconciliation with
+men; they have that quality of sympathy which affords the natural
+foundations for the contract, but this has in no case been availed of
+except when the creatures, in addition to their �sthetic charm, have
+possessed some economic value. There as elsewhere in the matter of
+domestication the commercial motive has controlled our action.
+
+In forming our societies as we are in time to do, account must be
+taken of the sympathetic value of its elements, reckoning among these
+the animals which the system brings in contact with men. Much of the
+culture which has served to lift our race above its ancient savagery
+has been derived from the influence of domesticated animals; in
+proportion as these creatures have sympathetically responded to our
+care we have been thereby educated and our spiritual development
+advanced. So far as in our further choice of animals which are to be
+associated with ourselves we are guided by a desire to extend this
+work, we may well turn our attention towards the birds, for in that
+group we may find a greater number of species which have attained the
+physical beauty which attracts and the mental qualities which may
+endear them to mankind. They can give us nothing that can ever come so
+close to us as the dog--the unique gift of the wilderness--but they
+may afford a host of forms to enrich our lives.
+
+The mammals, because they are, in qualities of body and mind, nearer to
+us than the members of any other class of animals, afford the most
+promising field from which to make selections for future domestication.
+In an economic sense it seems unlikely that any very great profit can
+be attained by the subjugation of any of the mammalian species which
+are still wild. Civilized people have been so long in contact with the
+life of all the continents, and have ever been so hungry for gain, that
+they have already essayed about every experiment in subjugating the
+larger wild beasts which appears to be very promising. Still there are
+certain cases where there have been no trials and others where the
+failure to tame particular species has been due to hindrances which
+systematic labor may possibly overcome. It will therefore be well to
+glance at the array of the wild forms which afford some prospect of
+success in the hereafter, including under the title of successes those
+kinds which may contribute not only to immediately measurable wealth,
+but the �sthetic satisfactions as well.
+
+Beginning with the lowlier group of mammals we find in the base of the
+series the ornithorhynchus and its allies, creatures which have nothing
+to recommend them but their exceeding organic peculiarities that render
+them attractive to the naturalist, but which are not likely to win them
+a place in the affections of men in general. As these species are most
+inoffensive as well as interesting, and as they are now confined to a
+portion of Australia, they might well be made the subject of some human
+care which would stop short of domestication. They might be transplanted
+to other continents and thereby given a larger field for variation as
+well as a chance to exhibit their features in a wider field. Among the
+pouched mammals, especially in the species of kangaroo, there are forms
+which commend themselves as very fair subjects for taming. They are of
+considerable size, their flesh is palatable, and their hides useful for
+leather; they breed rapidly, live on a poor herbage, and are, for wild
+animals of like strength, very inoffensive. Moreover, though relatively
+invariable both in mind and body, they exhibit sufficient individual
+peculiarities to indicate that the breeder's art could, in a short time,
+bring about considerable changes such as have been effected in other
+species, changes that would increase the value of these animals. As far
+as �sthetic or sympathetic relations are concerned, the pouched mammals
+have nothing to give us; they are, as befits their lowly estate, among
+the least graceful of their class; they are also little interesting in
+their mental qualities, being about the stupidest of our kindred.
+
+Among the ordinary herbivorous mammals there are several which should
+be domesticable which have not yet been properly subjected to
+experiment looking to that end. The American bison, commonly but
+improperly termed the buffalo, is a strong creature, one which is
+easily nourished. In its present condition, it is about as promising a
+subject for the breeder's care as were the ancestors of our horned
+cattle. Although there have been sundry trials of this animal as a
+beast of burthen, they have been of a rude as well as a brief kind, no
+care having been taken by selection to improve the qualities which
+evidently 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 mention the foxes, the polar bears, and
+the seals. The first-named group affords at present about the dearest
+furs of our markets. The silver-gray variety, which at present seems to
+be a frequent individual variation, could doubtless be affirmed by
+selection, and probably could be brought to a higher state of perfection
+than it has as yet attained. The animals are, if we may judge from their
+kindred, not untamable; at least they could be brought to live in a
+sufficient state of captivity to permit selection. In time they might be
+quite domesticated. Many of the islands of the high north and south are
+well fitted for such experiments.
+
+As is well known, the polar bears have a wonderfully developed hairy
+covering; their coats, indeed, are among the richest that exist. These
+animals subsist mainly on what they capture from the sea, so that it
+might be possible to keep them at a small expense. They are, however, of
+all their kindred the most indomitable; it would probably require a
+long and costly effort to reduce them to anything like domestication.
+Moreover, being strong, free swimmers, it would not be easy to maintain
+them in captivity. Still, selecting such a well-inundated place as Bear
+Island of the North Atlantic, it would be most interesting to make the
+experiment, first of accustoming them to some human control, and then to
+a selection which might serve to lift the quality of the kind. It would
+be less difficult and perhaps more advisable at first to make a trial of
+a similar sort with the black bear, which in less arctic conditions
+flourishes and carries a fine pelt. The only difficulty would be in
+finding a sufficient supply of food for such captives, for although they
+will eat fish they have no skill in capturing them such as is possessed
+by their more degraded, or perhaps we should say their less advanced
+kindred, the polar bears. Still, as the form is even more omnivorous
+than man, it might be practicable to feed them.
+
+By far the most important of the carnivora in an economic sense are the
+seals which dwell in the high northern waters. These creatures afford
+the most interesting subjects for experiments in domestication from an
+economic point of view that remain to be made. Of all the predatory
+animals the seals seem to have the largest share of intelligence and
+the greatest amount of sympathetic motives. No other wild animals,
+except perhaps the monkeys, appear to be so human-like in their
+qualities of mind as these creatures of the sea. So far, except when
+they have been captured and kept for purposes of show in menageries,
+man's relations to the seals have been purely destructive; he has
+incessantly hunted them. Yet certain species of them remain singularly
+willing, we may say desirous, of claiming friendship with their
+persecutors. As elsewhere noted, wounded seals behave in a curiously
+appealing way towards their assailants. When in captivity certain of
+the species show a remarkable friendliness and a capacity to receive
+training. No other wild animals, except perhaps the elephants, exhibit
+so great a fitness for profiting from contact with man.
+
+Although our knowledge as to the habits of seals is still very
+imperfect, it appears likely that the greater part of the species have
+the habit of resorting to certain places during the breeding season, and
+that the individuals after the manner of certain fishes return at that
+time to their native shore. If this be true, as there is good reason to
+believe it is, it should not be a matter of grave difficulty, provided
+the maritime nations would abet the experiment, to establish seal
+colonies composed of the several promising forms at fit points in the
+circumpolar seas. There is reason to suppose that with ordinary decent
+treatment the animals would become to a great degree accustomed to men,
+and that it might be possible to accomplish selection enough of the
+individuals which were left to breed, to develop the already valuable
+characteristics of the fur. In the present disgraceful condition of our
+relations to these animals it will be but a few years before we shall
+have to lament the extirpation of several species, including the most
+interesting members of the group.
+
+Looking upon the questions of man's future on the earth in a large
+way, we see that there are reasons why the animals of the high north,
+particularly those which obtain their food from the sea, should be
+protected from extermination. There is a great area of country in that
+part of the world which is not adapted to the occupation of any of the
+species which have as yet been domesticated. If this portion of the
+world is ever to prove fruitful in other ways than through its
+mineral stores, it will be by the creatures which are adapted to its
+climate and other conditions. At the present rate of increase in
+numbers, the population of the world will, in the course of two or
+three centuries, begin seriously to press upon the resources in the
+way of food which the fields of the tropical and temperate zones can
+supply; the chances of the arctic regions may then have much
+importance to our successors. Moreover, in the case of the seals we
+find the peculiar advantage that the animals are fed entirely from the
+sea, so that the domestication of these forms would give to man a
+means, the like of which he has never possessed, whereby he would be
+enabled to harvest the food resources of the deep.
+
+The beaver, particularly the North American form, offers a most
+attractive opportunity for a great and far-reaching experiment in
+domestication. On this continent, at least, the creature exhibits a
+range of attractive qualities which is exceeded by none other in the
+whole range of the lower mammalian life. No other mammal below man shows
+anything like the same constructive skill in the contrivance of its
+habitations, or is able so to modify its habits of building to meet the
+varied needs of its life. When this country was first visited by man
+near one half of its area was occupied by this species. It built its
+dams and dwelling-places and, when necessary, excavated its canals along
+all the lesser streams in the timbered regions of the northern
+districts. As the destructive effects of civilization increased, the
+animal has gradually, to a great extent, been driven away from its old
+haunts, and where it remains it has, as the price of life, given up its
+architectural habits and betaken itself to the older and simpler mode of
+living in a chance manner much as is now the habit of the European
+variety. As an illustration of this I may note, in passing, that before
+the civil war, when all the recesses of the forests in the region about
+Richmond, Virginia, had for more than a century been industriously
+explored by hunters, the beaver was supposed to be extinct in the
+district; yet during the civil war, as I am credibly informed, a colony
+of these creatures became established near the town of Suffolk, and
+there, amid the roar of a great conflict in which men ceased to seek the
+lesser game, they recovered their habit of building dams, which we must
+believe to have been discontinued for many generations. This capacity to
+vary action with reference to changing needs is the best possible index
+of the mental power of animals. Guided by the exhibition that has been
+given us by the beavers, we are justified in considering them to be the
+one group of mammals which has gained a distinct, rational constructive
+power. This feature makes them decidedly the most interesting group for
+investigations which may be expected to throw light on the problems of
+animal intelligence. From the economic point of view the species has a
+certain importance for the reason that it affords one of the most
+valuable kinds of fur that has ever been marketed.
+
+The domestication of the beavers to the point where they would tolerate
+the presence of man should not, provided they could be protected against
+the depredations of poachers, be a matter of any difficulty. The
+colonies of these animals require only what is afforded by vast realms
+of our wildernesses--flowing streams of moderate fall with timber upon
+their banks. They are not particular as to the species, so that
+swift-growing kinds of trees such as the poplars may be made to serve
+their needs. The natural growth on a hundred acres of otherwise
+worthless land would probably be sufficient to maintain a colony of
+average size containing say twenty-five individuals. In the region about
+the great lakes and for some distance to the northward and to the east
+and west there are great areas amounting in the aggregate to some
+hundred thousand square miles that would apparently be well suited to
+the nurture of this form, and which in the present condition of the
+country, as well as for the immediate future, cannot be turned to better
+use. It may be remarked that the domestication of the beavers would
+afford yet another means, in addition to those above noted, whereby we
+might be able to win some profit from the great wilderness of the north,
+which is, so far as our existing means of appropriating its resources,
+of little use to mankind. The only evident way by which we may hope to
+win profit from this part of our continent is by using it as a field for
+rearing animals that have yet to be subjugated; none of our captive
+varieties are fit for the service.
+
+In the tropical parts of the world there are many mammalian species
+which are worthy subjects for essays in domestication. This is
+particularly the case in the continent of Africa where, except in the
+lands about the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the native peoples have
+never attained the stage of culture in which men become strongly
+inclined to subjugate wild animals. Africa is richer in large
+herbivorous species than any other of the great lands; many of these
+forms are of large size and have qualities of flesh, of hide, or other
+peculiar features which promise to make them valuable in an economic
+way. Others, especially the antelopes, have a beauty of form and a grace
+of movement which render them among the most attractive creatures of
+their class. Even the hippopotamus, one of the grossest beasts of this
+realm, affords in its teeth a valuable ivory, and its hides, if supplied
+in sufficient quantity, would probably find a considerable use. It is
+evident that in this "dark continent," where the influences which make
+for human advancement have been so slight, we have the best field for
+the selection of species that may hereafter be brought to the use of
+man. There is evidently danger, in the advance in the civilizing
+process, that the native forms which, owing to their fitness to the
+physical conditions of the country, might be made useful to its people,
+may be utterly destroyed by hunters.
+
+Perhaps the most interesting of the tropical beasts from the point of
+view which we occupy is the elephant: This animal in its relations to
+men is eminently peculiar, in that while it has been in an individual
+way long and completely subjugated, it has never been systematically
+reared in captivity. Owing, it may be, to the slow growth of these
+great beasts, as well as to the immediate manner in which they submit
+to their captors, it has ever been the custom to take them when adult
+from the wilderness. The result is that the supply of the Asiatic
+species, which alone is serviceable--the African form being apparently
+too fierce for use--is now dependent on a relatively small number of
+wild herds. Certain of these herds are protected by the governments of
+India, but it seems as if the species were already dangerously near
+the vanishing point--in a position where the invasion of some disease
+or some insect enemy might deprive the world of what is, all things
+considered, the most interesting of the brutes. Moreover, the failure
+to rear elephants in captivity has made it impossible to essay any of
+those experiments in breeding which have done so much to improve the
+utility and the beauty of most subjugated forms.
+
+If the elephants could be reared in captivity there is little reason
+to doubt that with a few centuries of selection they might be made to
+vary in many important ways. It is evident that the form and mental
+quality of these creatures is as plastic as those features in the
+other domesticated animals have been proved to be. Moreover, the
+group, though it is now represented by but two recognized species, was
+in comparatively recent times quite rich in varieties, a fact which
+raises the presumption that the existing kinds are open to
+modification by the selective process. As the elephant is not mature
+until it is near thirty years old, probably not reproducing until
+about that age, there is little inducement for any person to undertake
+the process of breeding them in the selective way; if the task is ever
+done it will have to be accomplished by government action or by that
+of a society which is pledged to such tasks. If the effort to bring
+the elephants into a more permanent relation with man is not made and
+the race is allowed to perish, we may be sure that in the time to come
+people will gravely censure us for any such neglect of the
+opportunities which this world affords as would be involved in the
+loss of this noble brute. It is clearly our duty to see that all such
+resources are preserved for the inquirers of the future.
+
+Among the other tropical mammals which, because they have not as yet
+proved of economic value, are on account of their size and their
+attractiveness to sportsmen in danger of extinction, we may note the
+various species of rhinoceros, the giraffe, and the several African
+forms which are akin to the horse. None of these forms have been
+turned to use, none of them appear likely to be adopted by man for
+the service they can do; but they are, in common with all the host
+which cannot be mentioned here, of great interest to the naturalists
+of our time. Their importance in the inquiries which are hereafter to
+be made by our ever expanding science of life cannot be estimated. It
+certainly will not be possible to overreckon it in this very practical
+age. This plea for the sparing of the mammalian species in no case
+needs to be made so strongly, and in no other instance is so well
+entitled to a hearing, as when it is raised for the life of the
+monkeys. These interesting animals because of their collateral kinship
+with man afford precious evidence as to the stages of intellectual
+development which is likely to be of exceeding value to students in
+that field of inquiry. There is unfortunately little chance that any
+of the monkeys will ever prove useful; their habits are such that they
+are generally troublesome neighbors; moreover, their weakness makes it
+easy to exterminate them. The result is that some species have
+probably already been destroyed, and others are in conditions where
+during the next century they are likely to vanish. In the animate
+realm it is hard to choose the forms which are to be the most
+important for the naturalists of the time to come, but it is certain
+that these students will deplore the loss of the simian life and
+charge us sorely if we neglect due effort for its preservation.
+
+Although the matter before us concerns the domestication of animals, it
+may be well to devote a little attention to the question of the wild
+plants which need protection or which promise to afford unwon values. It
+may be said that plants in general are much less likely than animals to
+be disturbed by the process of bringing a country under the conditions
+of civilization. With rare exceptions the individuals of each species
+are so numerous that, like the insects, they escape by their numbers the
+risk of the extinction of their kinds. Moreover, the ease with which
+nearly all the kinds can be brought under cultivation, and the fact that
+they present no self-will to be dominated, makes the task of dealing
+with them, in a protective way, infinitely easier than in the case of
+animals. So far as we know, there has not been an instance in which a
+continental species of plant has been exterminated by man, while there
+are a number of the larger animals which have been swept away apparently
+by human agency, and there are many more which are on the verge of
+extinction. Therefore, so far as the plant world is concerned, we may
+for the present at least trust the species to their own powers to
+maintain them against the rude assaults of civilization. If here and
+there one is overrun by the wheels of our economic engines, something of
+value to the student is lost, but the loss does not include the element
+of mind which is hereafter to be the subject of so much study.
+
+The foregoing considerations make it evident that the problem of
+domestication shades into the question as to the preservation of the
+life which is now on the earth, and this with a view to the advantage
+which the arts, the sciences, or general culture may obtain from the
+preservation of the useful, the instructive, and the beautiful things in
+the realm of nature from the swift destruction which our rude
+subjugation of the earth threatens to inflict. To deal with this problem
+in an adequate manner we must ask ourselves what limits are to be set to
+the displacement of the ancient order which is now going on. We see that
+wherever civilization enters, and even where its first influences are
+felt, the olden societies of nature are disturbed or broken up. All the
+nobler members of these associations, the greater mammals, many of the
+larger birds, and a host of the lesser forms, are expelled or destroyed.
+In the condition of organic life when the supremely predatory creature
+man rose to domination, the species were grouped in those vast
+organizations which were of old termed faun� and flor�, but which are
+now better known as biological fields or provinces. In each of these
+hosts the several species were, as regards their external life, so
+balanced with their neighbors that the assemblage from the point of view
+of these relations might well be compared with the polities or states of
+man's construction. Such an organic society represents the result of a
+series of trials and balances which began to be made in the immeasurably
+remote past and have been continued through the geologic ages, each age
+adding something to the accord. The plants give and take from the
+animals; the insects are equated with the birds, and each species in
+every group has set up an accord with its rivals. From time to time the
+host has by the changes of sea and land been compelled to migrate,
+moving this way and that to find its fit station. In these movements
+species are rapidly extinguished, much as the weaker soldiers of an army
+perish in forced marches. Into their places new forms hasten to take
+their place, so that every position of advantage is filled. At a less
+rapid rate, but perpetually, even without the change of abode, which it
+is often by climatic changes compelled to make, the organic host is
+slowly changing in character; old kinds give way in the endless contest
+to new varieties which have managed to establish a better relation to
+the environment. Still the legions press on towards the great
+accomplishment of a higher and nobler life.
+
+No one, however well he may conceive the nature and history of the
+organic hosts of the earth, can hope to convey to the general reader
+an adequate sense of their majesty or the wonderful part they have
+played in the history of the life which has culminated in mankind. The
+largest words are freighted with too little meaning, and even the
+metaphors drawn from human associations fail to convey a sufficient
+picture of these enduring organizations which have enabled living
+beings to meet the difficulties of their long contest with this rude
+world, and to win the advance they have gained. The reader will have
+to tax his imagination to picture, it may be, a quarter of a million
+species dwelling in the same field, each united with the other in the
+method of exchange in such a way that the withdrawal of any one form
+is likely in some measure to change the estate of every other. In some
+cases this removal of one species means the loss of the life of many
+and perhaps the better opportunity of other neighbors; again, the
+influence on remoter members of the society may be so slight as to
+escape detection. Yet it is doubtful if the slightest change in the
+population of a biologic province can be brought about without some
+effect upon all the members of the society. It is a vast, sensitive
+thing, fit to be compared with the living body where every cell lives
+in accord with every other of the frame.
+
+So long as the organic hosts were in the prehuman stage the maintenance
+of the accord was easily and naturally attained. Species arose and
+perished, each in turn effecting a simple reconciliation with the
+others, grasping only so much room and food as was necessary for its
+proper support. But with the coming of man, the species which by its
+swiftly progressive desires has become a host in itself, a disturbing
+element was introduced into the old order. Man as a primitive savage
+falls into the natural system without greatly disturbing it; but man as
+a soil-tiller, in so far as he carries out his subjugative work,
+utterly wrecks the ancient establishments of life. To attain his object
+he has to banish from the soil nearly all the plants which originally
+belonged upon it, and in their place, with or without intention, he
+introduces species from other organic provinces. With the change in
+plant-life necessarily goes a like, or even a greater, alteration in
+the native animals. They are driven into the wilderness or, it may be,
+extirpated. The reader who would obtain an idea of these changes will
+do well to study the invasions of weeds or of those noxious insects
+which in the economy of a civilized country may be likened to weeds.
+These pests are in nearly all cases invaders which owe their successes
+to the fact that our treatment of the regions they have entered has
+opened vacancies in the once closed ranks of the indigenous host, into
+which the foreigners are free to enter. In the fresh field they are not
+likely to find enemies which by long training are especially fitted to
+cope with them, and so they run riot and contest with man the gains he
+has won from the ancient possessors of the land.
+
+Of all the large questions which the consideration of the future of
+man's work on this planet opens to us, there is none which now appears
+to be more serious or, in its consequences, more far-reaching than
+this concerning the treatment which he is to give to the old natural
+order of sea and land. The very first condition of civilization is an
+utter spoiling of that order, so far as the land areas are concerned,
+in the fields of the richest and highest life. It is clearly
+impossible to avoid this destruction over all the surface which we win
+to culture. Spare as we may, the subversion of the ancient balances
+and adjustments must be complete before the earth is ready for our
+tillage and other modes of use. This overturning is a part of the
+destiny of man. It is a characteristic of the new dispensation which
+came with his progressive desires. Yet the rational quality which has
+led to the mastery of man may be trusted to bring him to a point where
+he will endeavor to minimize the ill effects of his actions on the
+life which has been placed in his hands.
+
+In considering the ways in which we can mitigate the evils of our rule
+over organic nature, we at once see that our aim should be to preserve
+all the varieties of living creatures from destruction, provided they
+are not distinctly harmful to man, and this with the intention of
+keeping for our successors in the inheritance all that can in any way
+afford a foundation for further experiments in domestication, materials
+for learned inquiries, or pleasure in contemplation. To attain this
+object we cannot trust to the share of this life which can be brought
+into zo�logical and botanical gardens, however extensive and well
+managed. The only way is to make certain reservations in various parts
+of the world, each containing an area and a variety of conditions great
+enough to afford a safe lodgment for a true sample of the life of an
+organic province. Owing to the fact that these provinces are never
+sharply bounded, it would naturally be impossible to select reservations
+which would in a complete manner represent all the conditions of the
+biologic societies; but if properly distributed the outlying animals and
+plants could in most if not all cases be introduced into one or other
+of these protected fields, so that there would be little reason to fear
+that any important part of the existing life would be lost.
+
+Owing to the wise forethought of our American people, a practical
+foundation of the system of national reservations has been instituted
+in our so-called national parks. Although these reservations were
+established to preserve to the public certain natural beauties in the
+way of scenery or vegetation, or to secure the regimen of streams,
+they will, if properly guarded against depredations, effect the end
+which we have in view. Owing to their large area and somewhat varied
+positions, these parks provide a safe refuge for a great part of the
+life which belongs in the Cordilleran district of the United States.
+If the method should be extended to the whole country, we should have
+the peculiar satisfaction of having been the first state to institute
+the system of preservation which is here suggested.
+
+To complete a system of reservations designed to perpetuate the
+aboriginal life of this country would require the institution of about a
+dozen other similar natural shelters. It would not be necessary to have
+these on as large a scale as that of the Yellowstone. In most cases
+areas of from ten to twenty thousand acres in extent would, if well
+guarded, suffice to give refuge to the animals and plants of the field
+in which it lay. The selection of these refuges would demand much
+consideration. In general, it may be said that they need to include at
+least two on the Atlantic coast, which might also be fitted for the use
+of marine birds as breeding places, one on the northern part of the
+coast of Maine, and another in southern Florida. The latter might serve
+as well for the protection of the turtles which resort to that shore to
+lay their eggs. Similar coast parks should be established on the shores
+of the Pacific. Yet other closed areas would be needed in the interior,
+the evidently desirable fields lying in the region about the headwaters
+of the Mississippi, in the Adirondacks, in the mountains of North
+Carolina, in the lower part of the Mississippi delta, in Arizona, and at
+least two points in Alaska; one of these should afford a place of refuge
+for the persecuted fur seals and another for the musk-ox.
+
+At first sight it may seem to be a simple matter to accommodate the
+wild life of a country on a relatively small piece of land. So far,
+indeed, as the plants, the insects, and the lesser mammalian life are
+concerned, an area of a few hundred acres will serve very well for
+their safe harborage, but when it comes to protecting the larger birds
+and mammals we see how easily the natural balance of life is by some
+chance influence destroyed. A capital instance of this difficulty
+which arises when preservation is essayed on small areas has recently
+been forced on my attention. In Dukes County, Massachusetts, there is
+the vanishing remnant of an interesting bird known from the island to
+which it is limited as the Martha's Vineyard prairie chicken. It is
+closely related to its better known Western kinsman, yet is a distinct
+variety. Although the form has apparently developed on the island and
+once abounded there, it has dwindled in numbers until there are but
+few surviving. In the hope of providing a safe refuge for the remnant,
+I have for a number of years stopped all shooting on a tract of a
+thousand or two acres which is well fitted to supply them with food
+and shelter. As they still dwindled, it seemed probable that the foxes
+were harming them. This appeared the more likely for the reason that
+the fox is not a native of the island, but was introduced a few years
+ago by some reckless experimenters. These marauders were cleared away
+without good results. Further inquiry made it apparent that the real
+enemy of these birds was the feralized domestic cat which has gone
+wild from the households, especially from the many homesteads that
+have been abandoned. This creature has bred in great numbers and is
+now threatening the existence of all birds that rear their broods upon
+the ground. It is hardly possible to exterminate them, for the reason
+that they are wary, and any systematic hunting of them would prove
+exceedingly disturbing to the very timid birds. The result is that
+nearly all these birds have left my land for certain plains near by
+which are covered with scrub oaks and where there is too little ground
+life to attract the cats. In that region, though it has an area of
+about thirty thousand acres, the food is scanty; the prairie chickens
+dwelling there are likely to perish for lack of the rose-hips which,
+in the hill country they have been forced to desert, served to
+maintain them at times when the ground was covered with snow.
+
+The lesson which may be drawn from the experience above stated is to
+the effect that it is necessary to have a protected field of
+sufficient area, and in the proper conditions to keep the balance of
+life which arises from the exchange of relations between species in
+their normal state. Even in ideal reservations where all invasions are
+excluded, we should have to expect that from time to time certain
+forms would disappear, their place perhaps being taken by new species
+which would arise. Such is the manner of the great procession of life.
+Probably at least twenty and perhaps a hundred times as many species
+as are now living on the earth have perished from it, and before the
+unimaginable goal is attained as many others may pass away. Our task
+with the refuges would be to keep the death of the specific
+inhabitants to the natural and wholesome rate that is determined by
+the endless struggle for existence.
+
+It is impracticable at the present time to devise a scheme for refuge
+stations in other countries than our own; it is evident, however,
+that these would have to be numerous and widely distributed. A glance
+at a map showing the political distribution of the lands will make it
+evident, however, that within the holdings of the British, French,
+German, Dutch, and Russian governments there are large areas which
+might, without evident loss of considerable economic values,
+immediate or prospective, be turned to such uses, and that these
+reservations would probably include nearly all that would be
+required to preserve the most important samples of the primitive
+life. Some of them, as for instance those intended to retain the
+large tropical animals in their natural state, would have to be as
+imperial in their areas as the Yellowstone Park, but these would lie
+in realms which have no present value to our own race and are
+scantily inhabited by the indigenous peoples.
+
+It is easy to see that the proposed world-wide system of wilderness
+stations in which the native life should be preserved from the
+destructive influences of man's assault upon it could not be brought
+about without international co�peration and with a considerable
+expenditure of money both for the foundation and maintenance of the
+establishments; but, as before remarked, the idea of public
+reservations of this nature is one which immediately and strongly
+commended itself to the people of this country and has led their
+representatives to set aside for such use lands which in the
+aggregate amount to a larger area than some of our sister states.
+The same motive is seen in the action of the State of Massachusetts,
+which a few years ago created a Board of Trustees of Public
+Reservations, a corporate body authorized to hold in perpetuity
+lands which are intended to serve the public for pleasure and
+instruction. The recent rapid extension of the park systems
+appertaining to the cities of this country and Europe is a further
+illustration of the same motive which makes for the object which we
+desire. It therefore seems not unreasonable to hope that very soon
+we may find the governments of the greater nations willing to go
+forward on the line of advance in which our own has so well led the
+way. At the right time the United States could probably do much to
+further the matter by asking for international action in this
+admirable work. There is hardly any undertaking which would afford a
+fairer chance for friendly co�peration among the great states than
+this which looks forward to the good of the time to come.
+
+While looking forward to the establishment of a system of sanctuaries
+which may serve to protect examples of the present life of all the
+lands, it is also well to consider what can be done by local
+authorities and by individuals in the same direction. The numerous
+zo�logical and botanical gardens which have been established in
+different parts of the world have in part the same motive that is to be
+embodied in the larger institutions which we would see founded; they
+seek to preserve the interesting and instructive animals and plants,
+and in some cases contrive to perpetuate the kinds. The trouble is that
+their main purpose is to make a striking show, one that will attract
+the eye and lead to profit of an immediate kind. If these institutions
+could be persuaded to add to their former exhibitions grounds designed
+for the maintenance of the natural order, true wildernesses, where the
+native life would find a fit place of abode and where it would be
+protected from the ravages of man or from accident, a certain gain
+would be made; at least the masses of our city people, who have now
+come to control legislation in the great states, would be brought to
+see the beauties of the primitive conditions which they now rarely
+have a chance to behold. Yet more might be accomplished if men of
+wealth could be induced to turn their generous spirit towards this
+object. There are many parts of this country where reservations are
+most desirable and where the price of land is so low that an area of
+thirty thousand acres could be acquired for that number of dollars. A
+capital of one hundred thousand dollars would, at the present rates of
+interest, afford the revenue necessary for the pay of a keeper and
+half a dozen guards, a sufficient force to maintain a due watchfulness
+against depredations. Moreover, the use of such land as an asylum
+would not prevent a careful exploitation of its timber resources,
+which in many cases would give a sufficient return to provide for the
+policing expenses, as well as for incidental costs incurred in
+bringing upon the land species from the neighboring country which it
+might be desirable to introduce. At a cost of not more than a million
+dollars it would be possible to secure and maintain a well-chosen
+system of guarded wildernesses which would preserve the
+characteristics of the original plant and animal life in all the
+region of this country lying to the east of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+It would be essential in any such privately founded system of wilderness
+reservations to have the control of the establishments in the hands of
+some authorities which were of an enduring nature. In our American
+experience it has become certain that such trusts cannot be safely
+reposed in the state or national governments, or in the hands of
+trustees chosen for the particular function. The only authorities which
+commend themselves for the execution of such a purpose are those of our
+universities. In these institutions we find boards which are chosen for
+the attainment of intellectual ends; in certain cases the choice is made
+by the vote of an intelligent body of alumni, or in other ways guarded
+by that body, so that the chance of lapse in the quality of the contract
+is reduced to a minimum. Several instances could be given showing that
+such trusts, even when they do not directly pertain to the teaching work
+of these institutions, have been long and faithfully maintained. We may
+therefore look upon our universities as the natural repositories of
+confidences which pertain to the continuous intellectual work of man.
+There is no other kind of association where interests of the sort which
+would have to be cared for in the reservations of the wilderness are so
+likely to receive continuous attention. In these homes of learning,
+while business considerations enter, personal greed is naturally absent.
+
+The method which may be chosen for the control of wilderness
+reservations, though a problem of much importance, is of course
+secondary to the matter of their establishment. This work should at once
+command the attention of those persons who are of the foresightful class
+who see beyond the interests of the day, and take account of the needs
+of the generations to come. Such men will do well to begin the work by
+organizing a society which shall endeavor to arouse public attention to
+the destructive effects of man's occupation of the earth by his
+civilizations. The people need to be taught the true meaning of the
+indigenous life in relation to the problems of the origin and destiny
+of our own and other life, to the future exercise of the domesticating
+art and to the most refined gratifications.
+
+It may be noted that, beginning with the apparently simple and
+eminently popular questions as to the origin and economic history of
+the animals which have been subjugated by man, we have been naturally
+led to the consideration of much larger problems, those relating to the
+place of man in the order of nature, and his duty by the life of which
+he is an integral part. There can be no question that the sense of this
+duty which mastery of the earth gives or should afford is to be one of
+the moral gifts of modern learning. So long as men considered
+themselves to be accidents on the earth, imposed upon it by the will of
+a Supreme Being, but in nowise related in origin and history to the
+creatures amid which they dwelt, it was natural that they should
+exercise a careless and despotic power over their subjects. Now that it
+has been made perfectly clear that we have come forth from the maze of
+the lower life, that all these tenants of the wilderness are sharers in
+the order which has brought us to our estate, and that each one of
+them, plant and animal alike, is the record of the impulses which lead
+beings upward, we can no longer keep the old careless attitude. We are
+compelled to deal with the organic hosts as we deal with the creatures
+of our folds and fields. We have to look upon them all as a member of
+the great household of man, made such by the intellectual conquest of
+the world to which he has attained. We may trust the sense of this
+large duty to extend abroad under the influences which have developed
+it in the minds of a few men, or we may hasten its development by a
+propaganda such as is carried on by the societies for the prevention of
+cruelty to animals. If this latter course is taken the teaching should
+be on a higher plane than that which we have yet had from those
+generally admirable associations. Bad as is the ill treatment of
+domesticated animals, the suppression of that evil will not bring us
+materially nearer the true attitude that we need to assume in face of
+our responsibilities to the natural world. We need to see the greatness
+of the responsibility which has been imposed upon us by the action of
+the guiding power that has made us lords of the earth.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Animals, rights of, 204.
+  separation of city folk from, 223.
+  educability of, 227.
+
+Antelopes, 247.
+
+Aryan race, relation to domestication, 152, 220.
+  relation to rights of animals, 208.
+
+Ass, 93.
+
+
+Bears, possible domestication of, 243.
+
+Beasts of burden, 103.
+
+Beaver, 246.
+  habits of, 246.
+  domestication of, 247.
+
+Bee (honey), 191.
+  in North America, 195.
+
+Big Bone Lick, Ky., 129.
+
+Birds, 152.
+  free-flying species of, 182.
+  tree species of, 182.
+  vocal powers of, 183.
+  �sthetic nature of, 187.
+  conditions of domestication of, 233.
+  future domestication of, 235.
+
+Bison, 106.
+  domestication of, 241.
+
+Buffaloes, 105.
+  African, 106.
+
+Bulls, 105.
+
+
+Camels, origin of, 119.
+  limited nature of, 120.
+  lessening value of, 124.
+
+Cattle (horned), value of, 110.
+  variations of, 113.
+
+Cats, origin of domesticated forms of, 51.
+  their love of well-known places, 51.
+  compared with dogs, 52.
+  their return to wild state, 55.
+  no large species domesticated, 56.
+
+Cochineal, 201.
+
+
+Dogs, origin of, 11.
+  fossil species of, 15.
+  savage selection of, 17.
+  civilized conditions of, 18.
+  shepherd breed of, etc., 19.
+  hunting varieties of, 25.
+  intellectual qualities of, 29.
+  evils of fancy breeding, 31.
+  lack of constructive faculty, 40.
+  modes of expression, 44.
+  effect on human sympathy, 48.
+  possible new varieties of, 50.
+
+Domestication, relation to culture, 2.
+  relation to sympathies, 4.
+  slow institution of, 7.
+  mainly by Aryan people, 152.
+  problem of, 218.
+  hap-hazard nature of, 225.
+  conditions of, 229.
+
+Domesticability, on what depending, 107.
+
+Donkey, 93.
+  limited use of, 94.
+
+
+Elephants, native freedom of, 107.
+  origin of, 127.
+  ancient species of, 128.
+  present limitation of, 130.
+  use in war, 130.
+  domesticability of, 131.
+  intelligence of, 132.
+  possible improvement of, 137.
+  future care of species required for preservation, 249.
+
+
+Falconry, 184.
+
+Fishes, limits of domestication, 232.
+
+Fowls (barnyard), 153.
+  mental qualities of, 154.
+  voices of, 155.
+  domesticability of, 156.
+  game variety of, 159.
+
+
+Giraffe, 249.
+
+Goats, 115.
+  limited relation to man, 116.
+  little variation of, 117.
+  limited intelligence of, 118.
+
+Guinea hen, 164.
+
+
+Hawking, 184.
+
+Horse, economic value to man, 57.
+  origin of, 58.
+  hoof of, 61.
+  field in which developed, 65.
+  domestication of, 66.
+  use in war, 67.
+  effect of mounted men on early peoples, 69.
+  future use in military campaigns, 70.
+  value in agriculture, 74.
+  mental qualities of, 75.
+  ready variations of, 78.
+  Norman variety of, 82.
+  geographic varieties of, 83.
+  Arabian variety of, 85.
+  Indian ponies, 86.
+  care of, 87.
+  shoeing of, 91.
+  influence on man, 100.
+
+Hybrids, utility of, 96.
+
+
+Insects, 190.
+  limited value to man, 190.
+
+
+Kangaroo, 240.
+
+
+Mammalia, value of class as source of domesticable animals, 149.
+  future domestication of, 238.
+
+Mammals (tertiary), 150.
+
+Mammoth, 129.
+
+Man, his place in nature, 1.
+  sudden appearance of, 6.
+  as a destroyer, 229.
+
+Martha's Vineyard prairie chicken, 257.
+
+Milk, value of, as food, 110.
+
+Monkeys, little use to man, 250.
+  value for inquiry, 250.
+
+Mule, 95.
+  limitations in use of, 95.
+  only hybrid serviceable to man, 96.
+  mental qualities of, 98.
+
+Musk ox, 241.
+
+
+Organic hosts, 253.
+
+Ostrich, 168.
+  possible improvement of, 168.
+
+
+Pack animals, 104.
+
+Parks, national, etc., 256.
+
+Pea-fowl, 162.
+  habits of, 163.
+  intelligence of, 164.
+
+Pets, influence of, 223.
+
+Pig, origin of, 140.
+  value of flesh, 140.
+  progressive domestication of, 142.
+  intelligence of, 143, 148.
+  variations in habits of, 147.
+
+Pigeons, 175.
+  origin of, 176.
+  breeds of, 177.
+  mental qualities of, 180.
+
+Plants, danger of extinction of species of, 250.
+
+
+Refuge stations. (See Reservations.)
+
+Reservations (of wilderness), 256.
+  American, 256.
+  foreign, 259.
+  cost of, 261.
+
+Rhinoceros, 249.
+
+Rights of animals, 204.
+  origin of, 205.
+
+
+Savages, relation of, to animals, 219.
+
+Seals, possible domestication of, 243.
+
+Sheep, 115.
+  value of wool, 115.
+  variations of, 116.
+  mental qualities of, 118.
+
+Silkworm, 197.
+
+
+Turkey, origin of, 165.
+  variations of, 166.
+  mental qualities of, 167.
+
+
+Vivisection, 211.
+
+
+Water-birds, 169.
+  flight of, 169.
+  sympathetic quality, 171.
+
+Wildernesses, destruction of, 224.
+  reservations of, 256.
+
+Wool-bearing animals, 114.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+
+Inconsistencies in hyphenation of words retained. (barn-yard, barnyard,
+hap-hazard, haphazard, help-meet, helpmeet, on-going, ongoing,
+pre-human, prehuman)
+
+Inconsistencies in spelling of zoological names retained. (aepyornis,
+Epiornis)
+
+List of illustrations and page 158 caption, among the of four breeds of
+domestic fowl named, the original spelling of the breed "Houdin" is
+retained. Probably refers to the breed now more commonly known as
+"Houdan".
+
+Page 56, unusual spelling of "chetah" retained. Probably refers to
+"cheetah". (A large Asiatic cat known as the chetah is somewhat)
+
+Page 87, "similiar" changed to "similar". (reason that nothing similar)
+
+Page 158, 160, 173 captions. The original appearance and wording is
+reproduced in the html version. For the text version, more meaningful
+and grammatical captions have been provided as the original captions
+comprised a series of separate breed or species names used to label
+the animals in the illustration.
+
+Page 179, original text "In early time" retained, although "In early
+times" is probably more grammatical. (In early time, before the
+invention of)
+
+Page 256, "cordilleran" changed to "Cordilleran". ( the Cordilleran
+district of the United States)
+
+Page 266, index entry "Ostrich, possible improvement of". Page reference
+changed from 108 to 168. Page 108 has no content fitting the topic while
+page 168 clearly has.
+
+Postioning of illustrations:
+
+   Text version: illustration tags in the middle of a paragraph are
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+   Where full page illustrations occur in the middle of a paragraph,
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+   retained, however the underlying links have been edited to navigate
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+
+Original page numbers in the index have been retained (except for the
+typo correction on page 266 ("Ostrich", see above). Html links navigate
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Domesticated Animals, by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler.
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Domesticated Animals, by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Domesticated Animals
+       Their Relation to Man and to his Advancement in Civilization
+
+Author: Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
+
+Release Date: May 23, 2008 [EBook #25568]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTICATED ANIMALS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Joseph Cooper and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" >
+<a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a>
+<img src="images/da-004.jpg" alt="African Elephant." width="400" height="604" /><br />
+<p class="caption">African Elephant</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h1>DOMESTICATED ANIMALS<br />
+<span class="tiny">THEIR RELATION TO MAN AND TO HIS<br />
+ADVANCEMENT IN CIVILIZATION</span>
+</h1>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="title"><small>BY</small><br />
+<big>NATHANIEL SOUTHGATE SHALER</big><br />
+<small>DEAN OF THE LAWRENCE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL OF<br />
+HARVARD UNIVERSITY</small></p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>ILLUSTRATED</i></p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class= "center"><small>NEW YORK</small><br />
+CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS<br />
+<small>1908</small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1895, by</span><br />
+CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<table summary="Contents">
+
+<tr><td></td><td class="tocpg"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="toc"><a href="#Page_1"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></a></td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2"><a href="#Page_11">THE DOG</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Ancestry of the Domesticated Dogs.&mdash;Early Uses of the Animal:
+Variations induced by Civilization.&mdash;Shepherd-dogs: their
+Peculiarities; other Breeds.&mdash;Possible Intellectual
+Advances.&mdash;Evils of Specialized Breeding.&mdash;Likeness of Emotions
+of Dogs to those of Man: Comparison with other Domesticated
+Animals.&mdash;Modes of Expression of Emotions in Dogs.&mdash;Future
+Development of this Species.&mdash;Comparison of Dogs and Cats as
+regards Intelligence and Position in Relation to Man,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2"><a href="#Page_57">THE HORSE</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Value of the Strength of the Horse to Man.&mdash;Origin of the
+Horse.&mdash;Peculiar Advantage of the Solid Hoof.&mdash;Domestication
+of the Horse.&mdash;How begun.&mdash;Use as a Pack Animal.&mdash;For
+War.&mdash;Peculiar Advantages of the Animal for Use of Men.&mdash;Mental
+Peculiarities.&mdash;Variability of Body.&mdash;Spontaneous Variations
+due to Climate.&mdash;Variations of Breeds.&mdash;Effect of the Invention
+of Horseshoes.&mdash;Donkeys and Mules compared with Horse.&mdash;Especial
+Value of these Animals.&mdash;Diminishing Value of Horses in Modern
+Civilization.&mdash;Continued Need of their Service in War,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2"><a href="#Page_103">THE FLOCKS AND HERDS: BEASTS FOR BURDEN,<br />
+FOOD, AND RAIMENT</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Effect of this Group of Animals on Man.&mdash;First Subjugations.&mdash;Basis
+of Domesticability.&mdash;Horned Cattle.&mdash;Wool-bearing Animals.&mdash;Sheep
+and Goats.&mdash;Camels: their Limitation.&mdash;Elephants: Ancient History;
+Distribution; Intelligence; Use in the Arts; Need of True
+Domestication.&mdash;Pigs: their Peculiar Economic Value; Modern
+Varieties; Mental Qualities.&mdash;Relation of the Development of
+Domesticable Animals to the Time of Man's Appearance on the Earth,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2"><a href="#Page_152">DOMESTICATED BIRDS</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Domestication of Animals mainly accomplished by the Aryan Race;
+Small Amount of Such Work by American Indians.&mdash;Barnyard Fowl:
+Mental Qualities; Habits of Combat.&mdash;Peacocks: their Limited
+Domestication.&mdash;Turkeys: their Origin; tending to revert to the
+Savage State.&mdash;Water Fowl: Limited Number of Species domesticated;
+Intellectual Qualities of this Group.&mdash;The Pigeon:
+Origin and History of Group; Marvels of Breeding.&mdash;Song
+Birds.&mdash;Hawks and Hawking.&mdash;Sympathetic Motive of Birds:
+their &AElig;sthetic Sense; their Capacity for Enjoyment,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2"><a href="#Page_190">USEFUL INSECTS</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Relations of Men to Insect World.&mdash;But Few Species Useful to
+Man.&mdash;Little Trace of Domestication.&mdash;Honey-bees: their Origin;
+Reasons for no Selective Work; Habits of the Species.&mdash;Silkworms:
+Singular Importance to Man.&mdash;Intelligence of Species.&mdash;Cochineal
+Insect.&mdash;Spanish Flies.&mdash;Future of Man relative to Useful Insects,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2"><a href="#Page_204">THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Recent Understanding as to the Rights of Animals; Nature of these
+Rights; their Origin in Sympathy.&mdash;Early State of Sympathetic
+Emotions.&mdash;Place of Statutes concerning Animal Rights.&mdash;Present
+and Future of Animal Rights.&mdash;Question of Vivisection.&mdash;Rights of
+Domesticated Animals to Proper Care; to Enjoyment.&mdash;Ends of the
+Breeder's Art.&mdash;Moral Position of the Hunter.&mdash;Probable
+Development of the Protecting Motive as applied to Animals,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2"><a href="#Page_218">THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">The Conditions of Domestication; Effects on Society; Share of the
+Races of Men in the Work.&mdash;Evils of Non-Intercourse with
+Domesticated Animals as in Cities; Remedies.&mdash;Scientific Position
+of Domestication; Future of the Art.&mdash;List of Species which may
+Advantageously be Domesticated.&mdash;Peculiar Value of the Birds and
+Mammals.&mdash;Importance of Groups which tenant High Latitudes.&mdash;Plan
+for Wilderness Reservations; Relation to National Parks.&mdash;Project
+for International System of Reservations.&mdash;Nature of Organic
+Provinces; Harm done to them by Civilized Men.&mdash;Way in which
+Reservations would Serve to Maintain Types of the Life of
+the Earth; how they may be Founded.&mdash;Summary and Conclusions,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_218">218</a></td></tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<table summary="List of Illustrations">
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2">FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td></td><td class="tocpg"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">African Elephant</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#frontis"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Sheep-dogs Guarding a Flock at Night</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#sheep_dogs">10</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Hounds Running a Wild Boar</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#hounds_boar">53</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">On Rotten Row, Hyde Park, London</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#rotten_row">63</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Cavalry Horse</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#cavalry">71</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">A Hurdle Jumper</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#hurdle_jumper">79</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">English Polo Ponies</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#polo_ponies">89</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Winnowing Grain in Egypt</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#winnowing_egypt">111</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Halt in the Desert at Night&mdash;The Story Teller</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#story_teller">121</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Carrying the Sugar Cane in Harvest&mdash;Egypt</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#sugar_cane">125</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Feeding Silkworms with Mulberry Leaves in Japan</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#silkworms">193</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Farmer's Apiary</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#apiary">199</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tochead" colspan="2">ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Greyhound after "the Kill,"</span></td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#greyhound">13</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">St. Bernard</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#stbernard">15</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Spaniel Retrieving Wild Duck</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#spaniel">17</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Bull-Dog</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#bull-dog">22</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Fox-Hound and Pups</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#fox-hound">25</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Pointer Retrieving a Fallen Bird</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#pointer">26</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Pointer and Setter, Flushing Game</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#flushing_game">27</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Dutch Dogs Used in Harness</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#dutch_dogs">30</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">King Charles Spaniel</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#king_charles_spaniel">33</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Pounce of a Terrier</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#terrier">35</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Pomeranian or "Spitz,"</span></td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#spitz">38</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Poodles</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#poodles">39</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Collie</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#collie">41</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">A Hunter</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#hunter">60</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Horse of a Bulgarian Marauder</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#marauder">67</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Mare and Foal</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#mare_foal">68</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Plough Horses, France</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#plough_horses_france">73</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Belgian Fisherman's Horse</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#belgian_fisherman">76</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Horses for Towing on the Beach in Holland</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#horses_towing">78</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Exercising the Thoroughbreds</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#exercising">84</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">An Arabian Horse</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#arabian_horse">85</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Arabian Sports</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#arabian_sports">86</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Syrian Horse</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#syrian_horse">92</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">In the Circus</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#circus">96</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Domesticated Buffaloes in Egypt</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#buffaloes_egypt">104</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Cattle of India</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#cattle_india">105</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Indian Bullock and Water-Carrier</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#indian_bullock">108</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Ploughing in Syria</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#ploughing_syria">109</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Egyptian Sheep</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#egyptian_sheep">114</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Bedouin Goat-Herd&mdash;Palestine</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#bedouin">116</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Great Caravan Road&mdash;Central Asia</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#caravan">119</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Camels Feeding</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#camels_feeding">123</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Camels along the Sea at Twilight</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#camels_twilight">127</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">An Indian Elephant</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#indian_elephant">134</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Original Jungle Fowl</span> (<i>Gallus bankiva</i>)
+<span class="smcap">and Some of his Domestic Descendants</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#jungle_fowl">153</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Houdin, Cochins, Leghorns, and Game</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#chickens">158</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Bantams, Brahma, and Dorkings</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#bantam">160</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Contributions from Asia, Africa, and America&mdash;Peacocks,
+Guinea-fowl, and Turkey</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#peacock">163</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Domesticated Turkey</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#turkeys">165</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Largest of all Poultry&mdash;The Ostrich</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#ostrich">168</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">An Eider Colony</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#eiders">170</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Terns Aiding a Wounded Comrade</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#terns">171</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Some Recent Additions to the Poultry Yard</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#recent">173</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Swans</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#swans">174</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Original Wild Rock Dove</span> (<i>Columba livia</i>)
+<span class="smcap">and Some of its Domestic Descendants</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#rock_dove">175</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">Turtle Doves</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#turtle_doves">177</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Giant Crowned Pigeon of India</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#pigeon">178</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The English Pheasant</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#pheasant">181</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Falconer's Favorite&mdash;Peregrine Falcon</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#falcon">184</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="illus"><span class="smcap">The Bandit's Brood</span>,</td><td class="tocpg"><a href="#brood">186</a></td></tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+<h1>DOMESTICATED ANIMALS</h1>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2>
+
+<p>One of the effects of the modern advance in natural science has been
+greatly to increase the attention which is devoted to the influences
+that the conditions of diverse peoples have had upon their development.
+Man is no longer looked upon, as he was of old, as a being which had
+been imposed upon the earth in a sudden and arbitrary manner, set to
+rule the world into which he had been sent as a master. We now see him
+as one of the myriad species which has won its way by powers of mind out
+of darkness and the great struggle to the place of command. The way in
+which this creature, weak in body and exceedingly dependent on his
+surroundings, has in the modern geologic epoch come forth from the mass
+of the lower animals, is by far the most impressive and as yet the most
+unexplained phenomenon which the geologist has to consider. It is not
+likely that the marvellous advancement can be accounted for by any
+single cause; it is probably due, as are most of the great evolutions,
+to the concurrence of many influences; but among these which make for
+advance, we clearly have to reckon the animals and plants which man has
+learned to associate with his work of the household and the fields.</p>
+
+<p>Although certain species of insects, particularly the ants, have the
+well-developed habit of subjugating certain creat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>ures of their own
+family, man is the only vertebrate that has ever adopted the plan of
+domesticating a variety of animals and plants. The beginnings of this
+custom were made in a very remote time, and for long ages the profit
+which was thereby gained appears to have been but slight. Gradually,
+however, races, owing to their masterful quality and to the
+opportunities which were offered by the wild life about their dwelling
+places, obtained flocks and herds. In the group of continents commonly
+termed the old world, where there were several ancient primitive peoples
+of innate ability, and where there were many species of larger mammals
+which were well fitted for domestication, the advance in social
+development went on rapidly. In the new world, though the primitive
+races contained tribes of much ability, there was practically no chance
+for the people to add to their strength by the subjugation of beasts of
+burden, or to their food resources by the adoption of various animals
+which could be used for the needs of food or raiment. The advance of men
+when they have obtained valuable domesticated animals, and their failure
+to win a high station where the surrounding nature denied such
+opportunities, go far to prove the bearing of this accomplishment in the
+development of peoples.</p>
+
+<p>A little consideration makes it evident to us that the advance of
+mankind above the original savage state is in several ways favored by
+the possession of domesticated animals. In the first place, each
+creature which is adopted into the household or the fields usually
+brings as its tribute a substantial contribution to the resources which
+tend to make the society commercially successful. When we consider the
+enlargements of resources and the diversification of indus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>tries which
+rest upon the adoption of any one of these animals&mdash;as, for instance,
+the horse&mdash;we see in a way what the possession of domesticated animals
+and plants really means, and are in a position to conceive, though at
+best but dimly, what the scores of these captive species have done for
+us. We recognize the fact that while, under almost any conditions, a
+certain manner of advance above the most primitive savagery is possible
+to a naturally able people, this on-going cannot lead any distance
+unless the folk have other help than their own weak bodies can give
+them. It is hardly too much to say that civilization has intimately
+depended on the subjugation of a great range of useful species.</p>
+
+<p>It would be interesting to trace, if we could, what share the several
+domesticated animals have had in the development of the human races; but
+this task is not to be done. We can, however, discern that the Arab
+without the camel and the horse would not have found the place in
+history which he has filled, and that our own race could not have
+attained its place save for the aid which the horned cattle, sheep, and
+a host of other helpers which we have pressed into service, have
+afforded. These economic gains have to be judged in mass, they cannot be
+reckoned in detail. When we have made the best account of them we can,
+there remains another class of influences, the value of which, though
+evidently great, is yet harder to reckon; these arise from the education
+which has been attained through the care of these adopted creatures.
+Among savages the great need is a training in forethoughtfulness; all
+primitive peoples are like children, they live in the interests of the
+day; the cares of the seasons to come, or even of the morrow, are not
+for them. The possession of domesticated animals certainly did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> much to
+break up this old brutal way of life; it led to a higher sense of
+responsibility to the care of the household; it brought about systematic
+agriculture; it developed the art of war; it laid the foundations of
+wealth and commerce, and so set men well upon their upward way.
+Moreover, the use of domesticated animals of the better sort enabled the
+more vigorous and care-taking races to gain the strength which led to
+their advancement in power to a point where they were able to displace
+the lower and feebler tribes. In other words, the system of
+domestication has provided a method by which those peoples who were
+fitted to develop the qualities which make for civilization could
+advance; it has provided the opportunity for selection.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the influences which have been exercised on man by the care of
+his flocks, herds, and droves, perhaps the most important is that which
+has arisen from the broader development of his sympathies. The savage
+may be defined as a man who cares only for his family and his tribe; the
+civilized man as one whose kindly interest extends to mankind and beyond
+to all sentient beings. In the development of this altruistic motive the
+care of the dependent species has evidently been most effective. We note
+that the peoples who have attained the first upward step in the
+association with domesticated animals are in their quality, so far as
+tested by literature and history, much above the mere savage. With the
+care of the flocks we find associated poetry, the first notes of higher
+religious motives, and a largeness of the sympathetic life which is
+favored by the nature of the occupation. Where the nomadic habits of the
+original shepherds pass into the more sedentary state of the soil
+tiller, the element of personal care and the affection and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> the
+consequent education of the sympathy were increased. Men had now to care
+for half a dozen or more kinds of animals; they had to learn their ways,
+in a manner to put themselves in their places and conceive their needs.
+Thus the life of a farmer is a continual lesson in the art of sympathy;
+with the result, certainly in part due to this cause, that there is no
+class of people from whom the brutal instincts of the ancient savage
+life which we all inherit have been so completely eradicated.</p>
+
+<p>It is perhaps too much to attribute the advance of the agricultural
+classes of our civilized peoples, in all that serves to remove them from
+the brutality of their savage ancestors, altogether to the nature of
+their work&mdash;to the very large element of kindly care for which it calls,
+and which is the price of success in the occupation. Yet when we note
+the immediate way in which the people bred in cities, under
+circumstances of excitement are wont to behave like savages of the lower
+kind, showing in their conduct a lack of all sympathetic education, and
+contrast their behavior with that of their kinsmen from the fields&mdash;we
+see essential differences in character which cannot well be explained
+save by the diverse natures of the training which the men have received.
+Thus in the French Revolution, the baser, more inhuman deeds were not
+committed by the peasants, who had been the principal sufferers under
+the r&eacute;gime which was overthrown, but by the people of the great towns
+who had been less oppressed by the iniquities of the old system of
+government.</p>
+
+<p>If it be true&mdash;as my personal experiences and observations lead me
+firmly to believe is the case&mdash;that man's contact with the domesticated
+animals has been and is ever to be one of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> the most effective means
+whereby his sympathetic, his civilized motives may be broadened and
+affirmed, there is clearly reason for giving to this side of life a
+larger share of attention than it has received. So far the presence of
+these lower creatures in our society has generally been accepted as a
+matter of course. Sentimentalists, after the fashion of Laurence Sterne,
+have dwelt upon the imaginary woes of the creatures. Associations of
+well-meaning people have endeavored to diminish the cruelty which people
+of the towns, rarely those bred on the soil, often inflict upon them. It
+seems, however, desirable that we should place this consideration upon a
+plane more fitting the knowledge of our time. It should be made plain,
+not only that the success of our civilization depends now as in the past
+on the co&ouml;peration which mankind has had from the domesticated animals,
+but also that the development of this relation is one of the most
+interesting features in all history. On through the ages of the geologic
+past comes this great procession of life, in the endless succession of
+species whose numbers in the aggregate are to be reckoned by the scores,
+if not by the hundreds of millions. Until this modern age, the throng
+goes forward blindly, groping its way towards the higher planes of life.
+At length certain of the more advanced forms attain to a measure of
+intellectual elevation. Still, for all this advance, the life is not
+organized so as to attain any large ends; no society arises from it.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, in the last geological epoch, man, the descendant of a group
+which like all others had led the narrow life of the preparatory ages,
+appears upon the scene. At first, and in his lower human estate, his
+position was not noticeably higher than that of his kindred, but there
+was in him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> the seed of a great unlikeness, of very new things, in that
+his desires had an element of the unlimited which was to grow apace, and
+in time to make him greedy of on-going. As this innovating creature
+sought for agents of power in the wilderness about him, he blindly laid
+hands upon such of the fellow tenants of the wilds as might serve his
+immediate needs. This species, both animals and plants, endowed with the
+capacity for variation, the plasticity which is in general a
+characteristic of all organic forms, were early led by their new master,
+as of old they had been guided by the old organic laws. They changed
+according to his choice, abandoning their ancient ways for the novel
+paths of civilization. With this association of the higher forms of the
+earth under the leadership of man, there began an entirely new and
+unprecedented condition of the world's affairs. In place of the ancient
+law of nature there came the control of our species which had been, in a
+way, chosen to be the overlord of life.</p>
+
+<p>At first, the number of species of animals and plants which man brought
+under his control was very limited; it was indeed confined to those
+which might readily be subjugated to meet immediate needs. Gradually,
+however, the list has been extended until it included thousands of
+forms, which, while they meet no need such as the savage recognizes, are
+gratifying to the taste or the ambitions of civilized peoples. These
+&aelig;sthetic devices, or those of necessity, are advancing so rapidly that
+each generation sees hundreds of new animal and plant species added to
+our living collections, so that our plant and animal gardens now contain
+a large share of the more attractive forms which are to be found in the
+various geographical realms. Our tilled fields yield perhaps a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> hundred
+times as many varieties of plants as they did in the earliest historic
+agriculture. The advance in the process of domestication is not so rapid
+as regards the animal kingdom as it is with the realm of plants, and
+this mainly for the reason that animals have a will of their own which
+has to be bent or broken to that of man. Still it goes on apace. We of
+to-day have at our command many times the number of sentient species
+contributive to our pleasure or profit that had been made captive at the
+beginning of our era. Naturally, in the early days of domestication, men
+brought under their control the greater number of the animals which gave
+promise of utility. As no new species of any economic importance have
+been created within the last geologic period, the field for the
+extension of economic domestication has of late been very limited. But
+the realm of sympathetic appreciation, unlike the economic, knows no
+definite bounds, and promises in time to bring all the more important
+organic forms under the care of the sympathetic and masterful being who
+has been chosen as the ruler of terrestrial life.</p>
+
+<p>We thus see that the matter of domesticated animals is but a part of the
+larger problem which includes all that relates to man's destined mastery
+of the earth&mdash;a mastery which he is rapidly winning. It means that, in
+time, a large part of the life of this sphere is to be committed to his
+care, to survive or perish as he wills, to change at his bidding, to
+give, as other subjugated kinds have done, whatever of profit or
+pleasure they may contribute to his endless advancement. From this point
+of view our domesticated creatures should be presented to our people,
+with the purpose in mind of bringing them to see that the process of
+domestication has a far-reaching aspect, a dignity, we may fairly say a
+grandeur, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> few human actions possess. If we can impress this view,
+it will be certain to awaken men to a larger sense of their
+responsibility for, and their duty by, the creatures which we have taken
+from their olden natural state into the social order. It will, at the
+same time, enlarge our conceptions of our own place in the order of this
+world.</p>
+
+<p>In the following pages little effort has been made to present those
+facts concerning domesticated animals which would commonly be reckoned
+as scientific. The several essays which, in larger part, were separately
+printed in Scribner's Magazine, are intended for those persons who,
+while they may not care to approach the matter in the manner of the
+professional inquirer, are glad to have the results which naturalists
+have attained, so far as they may serve to extend knowledge of things
+which lie in the field of familiar experiences. To the text as it at
+first appeared, numerous additions have been made, and the concluding
+chapters, on the Rights of Animals, and on the Problem of Domestication,
+are new. In them an effort is made to direct attention to the importance
+of the problem of man's relation to the lower life which is about him,
+and which in the future far more than in the past is to be helped or
+hindered by his rule. Our life is made up of large problems; but there
+seem few that are greater than this, which concerns our duty by the
+creatures that share with us the blessings of existence, and over which
+we have come to rule.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" >
+<a name="sheep_dogs" id="sheep_dogs"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-010.jpg" alt="A pair of sheep-dogs guarding a flock of sheep at night." width="600" height="377" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Sheep-Dogs Guarding a Flock at Night</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_DOG" id="THE_DOG"></a>THE DOG</h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+Ancestry of the Domesticated Dogs.&mdash;Early Uses of the Animal:
+Variations induced by Civilization.&mdash;Shepherd-dogs: their
+Peculiarities; other Breeds.&mdash;Possible Intellectual Advances.&mdash;Evils
+of Specialized Breeding.&mdash;Likeness of Emotions of Dogs to those of
+Man: Comparison with other Domesticated Animals.&mdash;Modes of
+Expression of Emotions in Dogs.&mdash;Future Development of this
+Species.&mdash;Comparison of Dogs and Cats as regards Intelligence and
+Position in Relation to Man.
+</p>
+
+<p>It is an interesting fact that the first creature which man won to
+domesticity was made captive and friend for the sake of companionship
+rather than for any grosser profit. The dog was, the world over, the
+first living possession of man beyond the limits of his own kindred. He
+has been so long separated from the primitive species whence he sprang
+that we cannot trace with any certainty his kinship with the creatures
+of the wilderness. Like his master he has become so artificialized that
+it is hard to conjecture what his original state may have been.</p>
+
+<p>Naturalists are much divided in opinion in all that relates to the
+origin of our ancient and common domesticated animals; and this for the
+reason that the longer a creature has been subjected to the
+change-bringing conditions of our fields and households, the further it
+has departed from the parent stock. This difficulty is naturally the
+greatest in the case of the dogs, for the reason that they have been
+longer and more completely under the control of man than any other of
+the lower animals. Some students of the problem have inclined to the
+opinion that the dog is a descendant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> of the wolf; the whelps of this
+species, it is supposed, were captured by primitive men and brought
+under domestication. Savages, like children, are much given to bringing
+the young of wild animals to their homes; if the conditions are
+favorable they will care for these captives, even if the charge upon
+their resources is tolerably heavy. With most primitive people, however,
+life is so vagarious and starvation so recurrent that they are not apt
+to retain their pets long enough to establish domesticated forms. Thus,
+among our American Indians, though they show fondness for wild creatures
+as much as any other people, no species save the dog ever became
+permanently associated with their tribe. It is, however, possible, that
+in some sedentary group of savages the work of domesticating the
+ancestors of the dog, even if they were wolf-like, was accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>The difficulty of this view is that even with the high measure of care
+which the conditions of civilization permit us to devote to the
+effort, it has been found impossible to educate captive wolves to the
+point where they show any affection for their masters, or are in the
+least degree useful in the arts of the household or the occupations of
+the chase. They are, in fact, indomitably fierce and utterly
+self-regarding. It seems unreasonable to believe that any savage would
+have found either pleasure or profit from an effort to tame any of the
+known species of wolves. Moreover, the fact that dogs show little or
+no tendency to revert to the form and habits of their brutal kindred,
+or to interbreed with them, is clearly against the supposition that
+there is any close relation between the creatures.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="greyhound" id="greyhound"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-013.jpg" alt="Greyhound with rabbit prey, desert background." width="600" height="423" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Greyhound after &quot;the Kill&quot;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Yet other speculative inquirers have sought the origin of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> the dog
+through the admixture of the blood of several different species, the
+wolf and the jackal being, perhaps, the principal or the only components
+of the hybrid stock. Here, too, the evidence of nature is against the
+supposition. No one has ever succeeded in hybridizing the wolf and the
+jackal, nor do our dogs show any more tendency to revert to the jackal
+than to the wolf. They meet their tropical relative with as much
+animosity as is proper, or at least customary, in the intercourse
+of allied yet distinct species. In fact, all the indices by which we are
+able to carry back the history of other domesticated animals to their
+primitive or even extinct ancestry, fail in the case of the dog. When
+the stock is allowed to go as nearly wild as they can be induced to
+become, we do not find that they thereby approach to any known wild
+form. It therefore seems<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> reasonable to betake ourselves to another
+basis for the natural history of the dog, which has not yet been made a
+matter of much inquiry, but which promises to afford us more substantial
+truth than the conjectures which we have just considered.</p>
+
+<p>We should, in the first place, note the fact that the ancestors of our
+more important domesticated animals, those which have been longest in
+subjugation, have commonly disappeared from the wild state&mdash;the species,
+except for the cultivated forms, having gone into the irrecoverable
+past. This is the case with the wild kindred of our bulls, horses,
+sheep, and camels, there probably being none of the original wild
+species of these groups now living, except those which have been more or
+less completely subjugated by man, and then have returned to the
+wilderness. The fact is, that with any large mammal the domestication of
+the species tends to bring about the destruction of the remaining wild
+forms. If we go back in fancy to the time when the dog was taken in from
+the wilderness, we readily perceive how certainly the subjugated
+individuals would have mingled with their wild kindred, so that either
+the wild would have become tame or <i>vice versa</i>. The same
+incompatibility which exists between slavery and freedom in our own
+species in any given territory may be said to hold in the case of
+captive animals. It is particularly on this account that I am disposed
+to think that our races of dogs have been derived from one or more
+original species of truly canine ancestors, the wild forms of which have
+long since disappeared from the earth.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="stbernard" id="stbernard"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-015.jpg" alt="St. Bernard digging in snow." width="600" height="356" /><br />
+<p class="caption">St. Bernard</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although there are no species of wild dogs now in existence to which we
+can refer the origin of our household friends,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> there are several known
+to us only in their fossil state, from which they may possibly&mdash;indeed,
+we may say probably&mdash;have been derived. These creatures are, of course,
+represented only by their skeletons, and even these remains have only
+been found in an imperfect state of preservation. It is evident,
+however, that these extinct species, or at least certain of them, lived
+down to the time when man had come upon the earth, and was beginning to
+speculate on his surroundings for such company and help as he might win
+therefrom. It may interest the reader to know that a species of American
+dog existed in the Southern Appalachians down to a very recent
+time&mdash;recent, at least, in a geological sense. The remains of one of
+these animals were found by the writer in a cave in East Tennessee, near
+Cumberland Gap. From the fragments of the skeleton, Mr. J. A. Allen has
+described the species. The animal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> appears to have been of moderate
+size, and, from the position of the bones, it seems tolerably certain
+that it lived but a few centuries ago.</p>
+
+<p>It is clearly a reasonable supposition that some of these primitive
+canine species may have been far more domesticable than the existing
+kindred of the dog&mdash;the wolves, foxes, jackals, or hyenas&mdash;differing
+from their fiercer kindred much as the zebras do from the wild asses,
+the one form being utterly undomesticable, and the other lending its
+back almost willingly to the burdens which man chooses to impose. It
+seems likely that this primitive species&mdash;perhaps more than one&mdash;whence
+the dog sprang was not a very vigorous or widespread form; else, as
+before remarked, a savage would have found it impossible to keep his
+half-tamed creatures from rejoining their wild kinsmen. Thus, if a man
+should in this day succeed in taming wolves, in a region where they were
+plenty, to the point where they began to abide his presence, or even to
+have some slight affection for him, the call of nature would be likely
+to lead them back to reunion with their kind.</p>
+
+<p>It seems pretty certain that the first steps in the domestication of the
+dog must be attributed not to any distinct purpose of acquiring a useful
+companion, but to that vague instinct which leads children to make
+captives of any wild animals with which they come in contact. The fancy
+for pets is not only common to all mankind, civilized and savage alike,
+but is clearly exhibited in many of the mammals below the level of man.
+Almost every one has observed cases where dogs, cats, and horses have
+become attached to some creature of an alien species with which they
+have been by chance thrown in contact. The higher the grade of the
+intelligence, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> more sympathetic with other life the animal is likely
+to become. Thus the elephants, whose natural endowments in the way of
+intelligence are perhaps superior to those of any other wild creatures,
+are, when brought into captivity, curiously prone to form attachments to
+human beings. Savages appear to make but little use of their dogs in
+hunting. In fact, those peculiar combinations of instinct and training
+which we find in our hounds, pointers, setters, and other dogs which
+have been bred to serve the purposes of sportsmen, have been acquired
+but slowly, and are of no value except where the search for game is
+carried on under what we may term civilized conditions. The dog of the
+savage is in all countries much like his master&mdash;a creature with few
+arts and unaccustomed to subdue his rude native impulses.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="spaniel" id="spaniel"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-017.jpg" alt="Spaniel with duck in its mouth." width="600" height="472" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Spaniel Retrieving Wild Duck</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It seems most likely that for ages the principal use of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> dog which
+dwelt about the camps of the primitive people was found in the reserve
+food supply which they afforded their thriftless masters. When the
+hunting was successful the poor brutes had a chance to wax fat, and
+even in times of scarcity they managed to pick up enough food to keep
+them alive. When their masters were brought to a state of famine they
+were doubtless accustomed, as are many savages at the present time, to
+eat a portion of their pack. In the early conditions of humanity there
+was no other beast which could be made to serve so well this simple
+need in the way of provender. The dog is, in fact, the only animal
+ever domesticated which can be trusted through his own affections
+alone to abide with his master in the endless changes of camp and the
+rapid movements of flight and chase which characterized men before
+their housed state began. In a certain curious way the use of dogs for
+food has served greatly to advance the development of these captives.
+When the savage was driven to feed upon his dogs he was naturally more
+willing to sacrifice the least intelligent and affectionate of them,
+delaying, to the point of extremity, the time when he would kill those
+which had endeared themselves to him. In this way for ages a careful
+though unintended process of selection was applied to these creatures,
+and to it we may fairly attribute, as many considerate naturalists
+have done, a large part of the intellectual&mdash;indeed, we may say
+moral&mdash;elevation to which they have attained.</p>
+
+<p>When the place of the dog as the first and most intimate companion of
+man was affirmed in the rude way above described&mdash;when the savagery to
+which he was at first made free gradually enlarged to civilization, a
+number of special uses were found for the peculiar capacities of the
+creature.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> These varied in the different parts of the world, according
+to the peculiarities in the conditions of the masters. In high
+latitudes, where the ground is snow-covered during the winter season,
+dogs were used, as they are to this day, in dragging sleds. They were,
+indeed, perhaps the first animals which were harnessed to vehicles. When
+they were brought to serve this definite end, we may well believe that
+the stronger and more enduring individuals were spared in times of
+dearth for the reason that they were almost indispensable to their
+masters, and even the little forethought which we find among primitive
+peoples would lead to their preservation. Here again, doubtless, came in
+the process of unintended selection which has made the Esquimau sled-dog
+one of the most remarkable varieties of his kind.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the most interesting of the early variations induced among
+dogs is that which has arisen from the pastoral habit. We do not know
+when this custom of keeping sheep in large flocks was first
+instituted, but it is evidently of exceeding antiquity, probably far
+older than the pyramids of Egypt. The custom could hardly have been
+instituted without help of the shepherd's mate, the sheep-dog.
+Although the creatures of this breed are probably in form very near to
+the original wild species whence our canines came, the variety has as
+regards its instincts been, by a process of education and selection,
+led very far away from the original stock.</p>
+
+<p>The wild forefathers of this species were clearly natural born
+sheep-slayers, and the motive abides to this day in all the breeds which
+have the strength to assail our unresisting flocks. The spirit is so
+ingrained that even the most civilized of our house-dogs, which may for
+generations never have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> tasted blood and which show no disposition to
+attack the other animals of the barn-yard, cannot be trusted alone with
+sheep. When two or more of them are together the old instincts of the
+wild pack return, and they will slay with insensate brutality until they
+are fairly exhausted with their fury. Their behavior on such occasions
+reminds one of the actions of their masters when possessed with the
+blind rage of a mob. Yet in the shepherd-dog we find this ancestral
+motive, once a large part of the life of the creature, so overcome by
+education and selection that they will not only care for a flock with
+all the devotion which self-interest can lead the master to give to the
+task, but they will cheerfully undergo almost any measure of privation
+in order to protect their charges from harm. The annals of shepherd
+districts, especially those where winter snows fall deeply, as in
+Scotland, abound in anecdotes of a well-attested nature which show how
+profoundly the dogs which tend the flocks are imbued with the love of
+the animals committed to their care. This affection is more curious for
+the reason that it is never in any measure returned by the sheep. To
+them the custodian is ever a dreaded overseer. He seems to bring to them
+nothing but the memories of danger derived from the experience which
+their species acquired in far-away times.</p>
+
+<p>It is very interesting to note the behavior of a young shepherd-dog when
+he is first brought in contact with a flock. It is easy to see that he
+has an amazingly keen interest in the sheep. He regards them with an
+attention which he gives to no other living things, except perhaps his
+master. Out of a litter of well-bred pups belonging to this variety, the
+greater part will at once assume a curatorial attitude toward a flock.
+They will show a disposition to keep them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> together, and will seize on
+an individual only in case he undertakes to break away. They will
+generally use no more force than is necessary to reduce the recalcitrant
+to order. They arrest him by catching hold of the leg or fleece, and
+rarely seize hold of the throat, which other dogs, led by their
+inherited instincts, are apt at once to assail. Very rarely does a
+shepherd-dog of good ancestry, even at the outset of his career, attack
+a sheep in a way which shows that the ancient proclivities have been
+revived in his spirit. Even then a little remonstrance, or at most a
+slight castigation, is pretty sure to turn him from his evil ways. If we
+could measure in some visible manner the psychic peculiarities of
+animals, we would be led to regard this great change in the instincts of
+the dog, which has been brought about by his use in herding, as perhaps
+the most momentous transformation which man has ever accomplished in any
+creature, including himself; for none of our own inherited savage traits
+are so completely sublated at the time of our birth as is this old and
+sometime dominant slaying motive in the shepherd-dog.</p>
+
+<p>With the advancing differentiation of human occupations and amusements,
+our breeds of dogs have, by more or less deliberate selection, been
+developed until by form and instincts they fit a great variety of
+purposes. Some of these pertain to industrial work, but the greater
+portion are related to the sports or fancies of men. The turnspit was
+bred for its short legs and small, compact body, and was serviceable in
+those treadmills of the hearth which have long since passed out of use,
+but which were for centuries features in our kitchens.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="bull-dog" id="bull-dog"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-022.jpg" alt="A seated bull-dog." width="600" height="402" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Bull-Dog</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The massive type of bull-dogs, characterized by heavy frames and an
+indomitable will, appears to have been brought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> about by a process of
+selection having for its unconscious end the development of a breed
+which should render the herdsman of horned cattle something like the
+assistance which the shepherd-dog gave to those who had charge of
+flocks. In the more primitive state of our bulls and cows the
+creatures were much wilder than at present, and were generally kept,
+not in enclosed pastures, but on unfenced ranges. In these conditions
+the care taken needed the help which the ancestors of our modern
+bull-dog afforded. The tasks which the animal was called on to perform
+were of a ruder nature than those which were allotted to the
+shepherd-dog. Their business was to conquer the unruly beast. They
+were taught to seize the muzzle, and by the pain they thus inflicted
+they could subdue even the fiercer small bulls of the ancient type of
+form. From this original use the cattle-dogs were turned to the brutal
+sport of bull-baiting, a rude diversion which was indulged in by our
+ancestors for centuries, and has only dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>appeared in our less cruel
+modern days. Bred for the bull-ring, these dogs acquired the
+formidable strength and ferocity under excitement which made their
+name a terror and their qualities a satirical embodiment of the ruder
+traits which characterized the British folk.</p>
+
+<p>The training which instituted the breed of bull-dogs was evidently
+much less continuous and effective than that which developed the
+shepherding variety. The use for the creature in the care of herds has
+passed away. In the older parts of the world cattle are kept only in
+enclosures; and where, as on our frontier, they still range over
+unbounded fields, they are guarded by horsemen who do not need the
+assistance of dogs to control the movements of the herds. No longer
+serviceable either in economies or sports, the breed of true bull-dogs
+is rapidly disappearing. As we may often observe in other fields of
+development, the peculiarities of this breed are now under the control
+of fancy, and the blood is being led far away from its old
+characteristics. The bull-terrier and other varieties, which retain
+something of the form and of the solemn demeanor which characterized
+their ancestors, but which are too small to assail horned cattle, mark
+the vanishing stages of this great stock, which will soon be known
+only in memory. The history of this peculiar herd-dog shows us how
+marvellously pliant the body and mind of this species has become under
+the conditions of civilization. The rude process of unconscious
+selection, acting without steadfastness of purpose or rationally
+developed skill, serves to sway the qualities of the animal this way
+or that to meet the ever-changing requirements of use or fancy. A
+similar selection in the case of our horned cattle has within a few
+centuries converted the cows into mild-mannered and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> sedentary
+milk-making machines, and has deprived the bulls of the greater part
+of their ancient savage humor. Owing to this change in the quality of
+their associates in captivity the dogs have also been led into great
+variations. The same type of interaction may be traced again and again
+in the isolated part of the world enclosed within our fences, as well
+as in the free realm of the wildernesses. All the individuals in the
+great host of life affect each other as do the soldiers of a
+well-organized army in the movements of a battle.</p>
+
+<p>The shepherd-dog, the turnspit, and the bull-dog are the three
+remarkable variations of the canine blood which were brought about by
+a process of training and selection unconsciously directed to the
+institution of breeds suited to special economic ends. The other
+varieties of dogs have been shaped more distinctly for purposes of
+amusement or for the indulgence of mere fancy. The several varieties
+of hounds, harriers, beagles, pointers, setters, terriers, etc., have
+been designed to meet a dozen or more variations in the conditions of
+the chase. The marvellously complete way in which special
+peculiarities have been developed in mind and body makes this field of
+domestic culture the most fascinating subject of inquiry to the
+naturalist. The ordinary fox-hound has had his inheritances determined
+so as to fit him for pursuing a small animal which can rarely be kept
+in view during its flight, and which can only be followed by the odor
+it leaves in its trail, so these creatures run almost altogether under
+guidance of their sense of smell. The stag-hound, on the other hand,
+pursues a relatively large animal which cannot well be followed by the
+nose, at least with any speed; they therefore trust almost altogether
+to vision in their chase. The packs which hunt otters have developed
+the swimming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> habit and an array of instincts which fit them
+especially for this peculiar sport. If space allowed we could note at
+least a dozen divisions of the group of hounds or chasing dogs, each
+of which has developed a peculiar assemblage of qualities, more or
+less precisely adapted to some particular game.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="fox-hound" id="fox-hound"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-025.jpg" alt="Fox-hound with a litter of pups." width="600" height="380" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Fox-Hound and Pups</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Perhaps the most special adaption which man has brought about in his
+domesticated animals is found in our pointers
+and setters. In these
+groups the dogs have been taught, in somewhat diverse ways, to
+indicate the presence of birds to the gunner. Although the modes of
+action of these two breeds are closely related, they are sufficiently
+distinct to meet certain differences of circumstances. The
+peculiarities of their actions, it should be noted, are altogether
+related to the qualities of our fowling-pieces. These have been in
+use, at least in the form where shot took the place of the single
+ball, for less than two centuries, and the peculiar training of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> our
+pointers and setters has been brought about in even less time. It
+seems likely, indeed, that it is the result of about a hundred and
+fifty years of teaching, combined with the selection which so
+effectively works upon all our domesticated creatures. It thus appears
+that this peculiar impress upon the habits of the hunting-dog is the
+result of somewhere near thirty generations of culture.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="pointer" id="pointer"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-026.jpg" alt="Pointer about to pick up a fallen bird" width="600" height="438" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Pointer Retrieving a Fallen Bird</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although, as has been often suggested, the pointing or setting habit
+probably rests upon an original custom of pausing for a moment before
+leaping upon their prey, which was possibly characteristic of the wild
+dog, it seems to me unlikely that this is the case, for we do not find
+this habit of creeping on the prey among our more primitive forms of
+dogs nor the wild allied species as a marked feature. All the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> canine
+animals trust rather to furious chase than to the cautious form of
+assault by stealthy approach and a final spring upon their prey, as is
+the habit with the cat tribe. Granting this somewhat doubtful claim that
+the induced habits of these dogs which have been specially adapted to
+the fowling-piece rest upon an original and native instinct, the amount
+of specialization which has been attained in about thirty generations of
+care remains a very surprising feature, and affords one of the most
+instructive lessons as to the possibilities of animal culture.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="flushing_game" id="flushing_game"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-027.jpg" alt="A pointer and setter flushing a bird from some bushes." width="600" height="414" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Pointer and Setter, Flushing Game</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is an interesting fact that the variation of a spontaneous sort,
+which is now taking place in our pointers and setters, is
+considerable. It is, perhaps, more distinctly indicated here than in
+any other of the breeds which are characterized by peculiar
+qualities of mind. All those familiar with the behav<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>ior of these
+strains of dogs have observed the high measure of individuality
+which characterizes them. I have recently been informed by a friend,
+who is a hunter and a very observing naturalist, of one of these
+variations in the pointer's instinct, which may, by careful
+selection, possibly lead to a very useful change in the habits of
+the animal. Hunting the Virginia partridge in the tall grass on the
+sea-coast of Georgia, his dog found by experience that his master
+could not discern him when he was pointing birds, and that a yelp of
+impatience would put up the covey before the gun was ready for them.
+The sagacious dog, therefore, adopted the habit of backing away from
+the point where he first fixed himself, so that he, by barking,
+denoted the presence of the birds without giving them alarm.
+Although, in this first instance, the action is purely rational, and
+is indeed good evidence of singular discernment and contriving
+skill, it seems likely that by careful breeding it may be brought
+into the realm of pure instinct or inherited habit.</p>
+
+<p>The great variation in habits which is taking place in those varieties
+of dogs which are immediately under the master's eye during all the
+process of the chase, is easily explained by the fact that these
+creatures are in a position to be immediately and constantly
+influenced during their most active, and therefore teachable state of
+mind, by the will of man. A pack of fox-hounds is, to a great extent,
+out of hand while engaged in the pursuit of their prey; but a pointer
+or setter, even when under extreme excitement, is almost completely
+mastered by the superior will. When we observe the extent to which
+human intelligence is affecting the qualities of our hunting-dogs, it
+is not surprising to note that, in almost every district where there
+are peculiar kinds of game, varieties<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> of the dog are developing which
+are especially adapted to its pursuit. Thus, in the parts of North
+America where the raccoon abounds, a variety of hunting-dog is in
+process of development which has a singular assemblage of qualities
+which fit it for this peculiar form of the chase. Although as yet
+"coon-dogs" have not been cultivated for a sufficient time to acquire
+distinct physical characteristics, their habits exhibit a larger range
+of specialization than those of any other breed of sporting dogs.</p>
+
+<p>In those parts of the Americas where peccaries are hunted, the dogs
+used in their pursuit have learned to beware of assaulting the pack
+which they have brought to bay, and instead of indulging in the
+instinct which leads them into that way of danger and of certain
+death, they circle round the assemblage, compelling them to show front
+on every side and so to remain stationary until the hunters come up.
+Perhaps a score of similar specializations in the modes of action of
+our dogs which are employed in the chase could be recited; but as they
+all lead us to one conclusion&mdash;which is to the effect that these
+creatures are, as far as their mental powers are concerned, like clay
+in the hands of the potter&mdash;we may pass them by for some
+considerations which appear to have escaped the attention of writers
+who have discussed the problems of canine intelligence.</p>
+
+<p>The singular elasticity as regards both mental and physical qualities
+which the dog exhibits, may well be compared with the other conditions
+which we find in certain of our domesticated animals, as, for instance,
+in the horse, where the mind shows but slight changes, and where the
+body has proved far less plastic than among dogs. The readiness with
+which the proportions of the dog may, by the breeder's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> art, be made to
+vary, is probably due to the fact that the group to which this creature
+belongs is one of relatively modern institution. It has the plasticity
+which we note as a characteristic of many other newly-established forms.
+The flexibility of mind is a concomitant of the carnivorous habit where
+creatures obtain their prey by the chase. Such an occupation tends to
+develop agile minds as well as bodies, and where exercised as it
+doubtless was by the ancestry of the dog, in the manner of pack hunting,
+where many individuals share in the chase, it is well calculated to
+insure a certain free and outgoing quality of the mind.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="dutch_dogs" id="dutch_dogs"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-030.jpg" alt="Two Dutch dogs in harness pulling a cart, a harbour in the background." width="600" height="420" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Dutch Dogs used in Harness</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>So long as our dogs were employed in the labor or the organized
+recreations of man, the tendency of the association with the superior
+being was in a high measure educative. They were constantly submitted
+to a more or less critical<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> but always effective selection which
+tended ever to develop a higher grade of intelligence. With the
+advance in the organization of society the dog is losing something of
+his utility, even in the way of sport. He is fast becoming a mere
+idle favorite, prized for unimportant peculiarities of form. The
+effort in the main is not now to make creatures which can help in the
+employments of man, but to breed for show alone, demanding no more
+intelligence than is necessary to make the animal a well-behaved
+denizen of a house. The result is the institution of a wonderful
+variety in the size, shape, and special peculiarities of different
+breeds with what appears to be a concomitant loss in their
+intelligence. We often hear it remarked by those who are familiar
+with dogs that the ordinary mongrels are more intelligent and more
+susceptible of high training than the carefully inbred varieties,
+which are more highly prized because they conform to some thoroughly
+artificial standard of form or coloring. This is what we should
+expect from all we know concerning the breeding. Where for
+generations the dog-fancier has selected for reproduction with
+reference to the trifling and often injurious features of shape he
+seeks to attain, he naturally and almost necessarily neglects to
+choose the creatures in regard to their mental peculiarities. The
+result is that the breed tends to fall back in these regards to below
+the level of the ordinary cur, who makes his place in the affections
+of his owner because he has attractive or useful qualities of mind.
+It appears to me, in a word, that our treatment of this noble animal,
+where he is bred for ornament, is in effect degrading.</p>
+
+<p>Although the formation of our fancy breeds does not serve to advance the
+development of those intellectual feat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>ures which are the most
+interesting part of our dogs, the experiments have served to show the
+amazing physical plasticity of this species under the conditions of long
+domestication. The range in size between a tiny spaniel, such as those
+which are bred in Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, and the great Danes or
+mastiffs of northern Europe, is, perhaps, the greatest which has ever
+been attained in any mammal. In some cases the larger individuals
+belonging to the mastiff breed probably weigh nearly thirty times as
+much as their smaller kinsmen. Great as are these variations, they are
+only in form and bulk. They involve none of those curious changes in the
+number of bones of the skeleton which we may trace among the
+domesticated pigeons. We therefore turn from these results of breeders'
+fancy to consider certain of the mental qualities of dogs which have not
+come in our way in our review of the history of its relations to man.</p>
+
+<p><a name="king_charles_spaniel" id="king_charles_spaniel"></a></p>
+<div class="figright">
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-033.jpg" alt="King Charles spaniel on a chair." width="400" height="320" />
+<p class="caption">King Charles Spaniel</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>First of all, we may note the fact that the friendly relations which
+dogs have become accustomed to form with men vary exceedingly in their
+range and activity. Perhaps in no other regard does the dog exhibit
+such distinctly human characteristics as in the way in which he meets
+the individuals of the mastering species. The gamut of their social
+relations with men is almost exactly parallel with our own. With from
+one to a dozen persons a dog may maintain an attitude of almost equally
+complete sympathy and mutual understanding. He may be on terms of
+acquaintanceship in varied degrees of familiarity with a few score
+others with whom he comes in frequent contact. Toward the rest of
+mankind he maintains a position of more or less complete distrust,
+which with experience may attain the indifference which men commonly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+show toward perfect strangers. If we observe a dog going along a
+much-frequented street, we may note that his relations to the people
+are substantially those which the folk have to each other. He shows as
+they do a certain consideration for the individuals he encounters,
+gives them their due place, and yet holds to his own. It is
+particularly noticeable that he avoids all contact with the other
+passers&mdash;in fact a dog has to be much beside himself with rage or fear,
+or insane from disease, before he will break those bounds of
+personality which civilization has set up to guide the conduct of life.</p>
+
+<p>The social culture of dogs appears to have gone to the point where
+they recognize the meaning of an introduction&mdash;at least as far as the
+sympathetic relations of that understanding are concerned. Almost any
+well-bred dog will submit to be presented by his master, or even by
+persons whom he knows but is not accustomed to obey, to a stranger to
+whom he has already exhibited some dislike. During the introduction
+he will submit to those formal exchanges of courtesy which he is
+accustomed to recognize as the indices of friendship. The impression
+of this understanding seems to be so permanent that on subsequent
+meetings the dog,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> though he may maintain his original dislike of the
+man who has been forced upon his acquaintance, will continue to treat
+him with a certain consideration, though it is often easy to see that
+it is a difficult matter for him to conform to the requirements of
+society. When we compare the conduct of dogs in these regards with
+the behavior of other animals, even highly domesticated forms, we
+perceive how marvellously successful has been man's unconscious
+effort to mould this creature on his own nature.</p>
+
+<p>Another extremely human characteristic of our canine friends is shown
+in their susceptibility to ridicule. Faint traces of this quality are
+to be found in monkeys and perhaps even in the more intelligent horses,
+but nowhere else save in man, and hardly there, except in the more
+sensitive natures, do we find contempt, expressed in laughter of the
+kind which conveys that emotion, so keenly and painfully appreciated.
+With those dogs which are endowed with a large human quality, such as
+our various breeds of hounds, it is possible by laughing in their faces
+not only to quell their rage, but to drive them to a distance. They
+seem in a way to be put to shame and at the same time hopelessly
+puzzled as to the nature of their predicament. In this connection we
+may note the very human feature that after you have cowed a dog by
+insistent laughter you can never hope to make friends with him. A case
+of this kind is fresh in my experience. A year or two ago I was
+imprudent enough to laugh at a very intelligent dog in my neighborhood,
+he having unreasonably assailed me at my house-door, where he had been
+left for a long time to wait while his owner was within and had thereby
+been brought into an unhappy state of mind. Sympathizing with his
+situation, I preferred to laugh him out of his humor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> rather than to
+beat him with my stick. I regret I did not take the other alternative,
+for I made the poor brute my implacable enemy by my pretence of
+contempt for him. I am inclined to think that if I had beaten him the
+matter could have been arranged afterward in a friendly way.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="terrier" id="terrier"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-035.jpg" alt="A terrier pouncing on a rat." width="600" height="533" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Pounce of a Terrier</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Another very remarkable and I believe hitherto unnoticed likeness
+between the mind of dogs and that of man is found in the fact that
+these dumb beasts, unlike all other inferior animals, except, perhaps,
+some of the more intelligent species of monkeys, will learn lessons
+from isolated experiences. In this regard they are indeed quite as apt
+as the lower kinds of men. Thus a dog who has had an unsavory or
+painful experience with a skunk or a porcupine is apt to keep away<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+from these creatures for a long time thereafter. Where, as is not
+infrequently the case, a cur takes to eating eggs, a single dose of
+tartar emetic concealed in an egg which is placed where he can readily
+find it, is apt to effect an immediate and complete reform. This ready
+learning from experience is almost the gist of our human quality&mdash;at
+least on the intellectual side of it.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the greatest success to which man has attained in his education
+of the dog is to be found in the measure in which he has overcome the
+fierce rage which clearly characterized the ancestors of this creature
+when they first felt the mastering hand. The reader cannot understand
+the intensity of the rage motive in the carnivora unless he has studied
+some of these brutes in their wild state, where from the time in the
+remote ages when they first began to take on the qualities of their
+species they have survived and won success by the fury of their assault.
+In almost all our breeds of dogs this primal ferocity has been overlaid
+by the various motives of rationality, sympathy, and conventional
+demeanor, until one may live half a lifetime with well-bred dogs without
+a chance to see the demon which we have buried in their breasts, as we
+have in our own, beneath a host of civilizing influences. It is rare
+indeed in our day that a dog, unless insane, will bite a human being.
+The most of their assaults are pure bluster, mere pretence of fury, as
+is shown by the fact that if, carried away by their pretence, they are
+led to use their teeth, it is usually a mere sham assault, having no
+semblance of the effectiveness of true combat.</p>
+
+<p>Something of the pristine fury of the primitive dogs may still be noted
+in a certain brutal variety of watch-dogs which are still to be found in
+parts of continental Europe. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> best types of this breed which I have
+ever seen are to be found among the dogs which are kept to guard the
+quarries of Solenhofen, in Bavaria, whence come all the fine
+lithographic stones which are so extensively used in printing. These
+quarries are scattered over several square miles of untilled country,
+and the separate pits are to be numbered by the score. As much valuable
+stone is necessarily left over night in the quarries, their care is
+confined to packs of watch-dogs which are turned loose at night and
+appear as if by instinct to spend the hours of darkness in prowling over
+the territory. Such is their size and ferocity that it takes a sturdy
+beggar to face them. I remember inadvertently disturbing one of these
+brutes from sleep, in the strong cage where he was confined, and I have
+never beheld such a picture of blind fury as he exhibited. I had not
+come within twenty feet of him, and was merely moving past his place of
+confinement; yet he sprang to the grating and strove with his teeth to
+break his way through the bars. I thought the animal must be mad, but
+his keeper assured me that such was his ordinary state of mind and that
+the humor was common to all the breed; even the masters dwelt in fear of
+them. Ordinarily the only exhibitions of the innate ferocity of our dogs
+are to be seen in their combats with each other, when for a time the
+creatures return to their primitive state of mind. Even these occasional
+exhibitions of fury are not found among all breeds of dogs, and among
+many individuals even of the combative strains of blood the motive of
+battle appears to have quite passed away.</p>
+
+<p><a name="spitz" id="spitz"></a></p>
+<div class="figleft">
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-038.jpg" alt="Indoors scene with a Pomeranian." width="400" height="253" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Pomeranian or &quot;Spitz &quot;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In antithesis to the old Ishmaelitic humor of our primitive dogs, man
+has developed a singular, sympathetic, and kindly motive in these
+creatures. From the point of view of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> the dog's education we must not
+set too much store by his affection for his master. This kind of
+devotion of one being to another is displayed elsewhere in the animal
+kingdom, though it is more common among birds than among mammals. We
+find traces of it in the greater part of our domesticated creatures or
+in those which we have individually adopted from the wilderness. It is a
+part of the great sympathetic motive, which, originating far down in the
+series of animals, increases as they gain in the scale of being, until
+it reaches the highest level it has yet attained in spiritually minded
+men. The eminent peculiarity in the case of a dog is that the very
+centre of his life is formed of the affections, which are evidently the
+same as those which rule the days of the most cultivated men. To him
+these elements of friendliness are absolutely necessary to a comfortable
+existence. If by chance he becomes separated from his master and the
+other people with whom he is familiar, his bereavement is intense; but
+in most cases, at the end of a day or two, he is compelled to form new
+bonds, and he sets about the task in an exceedingly human way. I dwell
+in a town where dogs abound and where the frequent coming and going of
+the people puts many of the creatures astray. Perhaps as often as once a
+week, almost always late in the evening, one of these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> unhappy lost ones
+seeks to make friends with me. His advances toward this end always begin
+by his dogging my footsteps at a little distance. If I do not repulse
+him he will come nearer until he has made sure of my attention. A
+friendly word will bring him to my hand; but his behavior is never
+effusive, as it would be if he had found his rightful owner, but mildly
+propitiative and with a touch of sadness. There is, it seems to me, no
+other feature in the life of the dog which tells so much as to his moral
+nature as his conduct under these unhappy circumstances.</p>
+
+<p><a name="poodles" id="poodles"></a></p>
+<div class="figright">
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-039.jpg" alt="A pair of poodles wearing clothes and pointed hats." width="400" height="279" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Poodles</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the long catalogue of human qualities which characterize our
+thoroughly domesticated dogs, we must not fail to take account of
+their sense of property. In this the creature differs from all other
+of our domesticated animals. It is a common characteristic of mammals,
+both in their wild and tame state, that they feel a motive of
+ownership in the food which they have captured or in the den which
+they have made their lair; but beyond these narrow personal limits we
+see no evidence of any sense of ownership in land or effects. We
+readily observe, however, that our household dogs not only know the
+chattels of their master and distinguish them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> from those of other
+people, but they also learn to recognize the bounds of their house-lot
+or even of a considerable farm. When a dog, even of a militant
+quality, enters on territory which he does not feel to belong to him,
+he is at once a very different creature as compared to his condition
+when he is on his own land. He treads warily and will accept without
+dispute an order to take himself off. A perception of this sort
+indicates an extraordinary amount of sympathy and discernment. It
+requires us to assume that the creature has a good sense of topography
+and that he observes closely the various acts, none of them perhaps
+very indicative, which go to show the limits of his master's claims.</p>
+
+<p>Although the mental qualities of our highly domesticated dogs are
+singularly like those of their masters, the likeness going to the
+point that the household pet is apt to have acquired something of the
+general character of the people with whom he dwells, there are many
+suggestive differences arising from failures of development which are
+in the highest measure interesting to those who study the species. We
+note, in the first place, that although for ages in contact with the
+constructive work which occupies his masters, the dog shows no
+tendency whatever to essay any undertakings of this nature. He is
+quite alive to considerations of personal comfort and is particularly
+fond of a warm bed; yet, except for a few unverified stories, we may
+say that there is no evidence whatever to show that they ever try to
+improve their conditions by deliberately providing themselves with warm
+bedding. In no well-attested case has a dog shown any sense as to the
+nature of any mechanical contrivance. They will learn which way a door
+opens, and rarely if ever do they undiscerningly close it when it is
+slightly ajar and they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> wish to pass through the opening; but I have
+never been able to observe or obtain evidence to show that they would
+without teaching pull down a latch in the way in which a cat readily
+learns to do. Much as dogs have had to do with guns, they display no
+kind of interest in the arms except so far as they are tokens of sport
+to come. They connect the explosion with the capture of game, and will
+search for it in the direction toward which the barrel was pointed. I
+have not, however, been able to find that they know, as they might
+readily do, and as a crow would surely do, when the weapon was loaded
+and when empty. They show no interest in it, such as monkeys readily
+display toward any mechanical contrivance to which their attention has
+been directed. All these negative features indicate that the mechanical
+side of the canine mind is entirely undeveloped.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="collie" id="collie"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-041.jpg" alt="A collie with mountains in the background." width="600" height="386" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Collie</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p>
+<p>Although there is some evidence that the sense of number attains a
+measure of development in dogs, the ability to form mathematical
+conceptions of any kind appears to be very weak in this species. The
+fact that shepherd-dogs, in a way, keep an account of considerable
+flocks so that they will know when one is gone astray, can readily be
+explained on the supposition that they know their charges individually
+and not in sum. The absence of arithmetical capacity is, however, less
+important than the lack of mechanical sense, for the reason that such
+incapacity is also common in the lowest races of men. Although dogs, as
+before noted, quickly and clearly acquire a notion of property rights in
+all which pertains to their owner's holdings, they appear never to
+extend their sense of their own personal possessions beyond the original
+limit to which they had attained when the species was domesticated. The
+creature feels a sense of personal property in his food and in his
+sleeping-place, but appears not to extend his conception of individual
+rights beyond these primitively established limits.</p>
+
+<p>All our well-bred household dogs quickly learn certain bodily habits
+which are necessary to make them acceptable members of a household.
+These habits are not well affirmed by inherited instinct, but the ease
+with which the instruction is acquired shows that they have become prone
+to submit to such regulations. Culture on this line rests upon a primal
+instinct, originating we know not how, which leads a number of wild
+animals to conceal their excrement. On the other hand, these creatures
+exhibit no sense of modesty, though that, in a more or less complete
+measure, is characteristic of all human tribes whatsoever.</p>
+
+<p>As regards the memory, dogs appear to have a considerably<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> greater
+measure of capacity than is observable in any other group of
+domesticated animals. There is no question that they can recall their
+associations with people from whom they have been separated for a year
+or more. Some trustworthy anecdotes appear to establish the fact that
+the recollections may endure for two or three years. I have observed
+an instance in which the memory seems perfectly clear after an
+interval of eighteen months, and this concerned a person who had been
+with the dog for a period of not more than four days. It is
+interesting to note the behavior of a dog when he has failed to
+recognize a person whom he has known well, but from whom he has been
+long separated. I have a shepherd-dog that has known me well, but the
+friendship is often interrupted by partings of some months' duration.
+When, after one of these absences, I appear to him in the distance, he
+comes furiously towards me, quite possessed by his enmity. At a certain
+point in his charge a doubt begins to beset him; he moderates his pace;
+his roaring bark passes into a whine; and as the full measure of his
+blunder is borne in upon him by my voice, he becomes the picture of
+shame. In his perplexity, he always finds relief in endeavoring with
+his paw to scrape a supposititious fly from the side of his nose. He
+then deals with what I suppose to be an equally imaginary flea; after
+he has thus gained a few seconds for readjustment, he welcomes me
+joyously. All this is so thoroughly human-like, that even the
+naturalist, the professional doubter, is forced to believe that the
+dog's mind works substantially as his own, and that the feelings
+connected with the action are essentially the same.</p>
+
+<p>While in the case of the elephant and the pig, and in a less measure
+in several other of the lower animals, we have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> indices of as high or
+even higher intelligence than the dog, no other brute shows anything
+like the same measure of what we may term human quality. So far as the
+field of the emotions is concerned, we are driven to believe that it
+has been bred into the kind by the ages of intimate associations,
+supported by the selective process which has led people to preserve
+the individual of the species with which they found themselves the
+most in sympathy. I repeat the suggestion, and shall repeat it yet
+again, for the reason that just here&mdash;how effectively the reader's
+imagination will suggest&mdash;we find a basis for the hope that, with
+time and care, man may bring his subjects of the lower realm into a
+more intimate, affectionate, and helpful relation than is dreamed of
+by those who look upon them as mere brutes.</p>
+
+<p>The most curious limitation which we find in dogs is as to the measure
+of expression to which they have attained. No one who has well
+considered the facts can doubt that our civilized varieties of this
+species have something like a hundred times as much which deserves
+utterance as their savage forefathers possessed. Yet the capacity for
+giving note to these thoughts or emotions has not gained anything like
+the proportion to the needs. It seems, however, that some gain in this
+direction has been made, and that much may be won hereafter in the way
+of further advance. Never having known the species whence our dogs came
+in its wild state, we are uncertain as to its modes of expression; but,
+observing the varieties of dogs which are kept by savages, it seems
+probable that the primitive canines used their voice only in howling or
+yelping; that is, as a continuous sound akin to the bellowings or other
+cries of the various wild mammals. It is characteristic of all these
+primitive forms of utterance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> that they are, to a great extent,
+involuntary, and that when the outcry is begun it continues in a
+mechanical manner, with no trace of modulation arising from the
+conditions of the moment. In other words, these actions resemble, in a
+way, sneezing or hiccoughing in human kind; actions which are
+stimulated by certain states of the body, but which are not at all
+under the control of the will. Howling or bellowing doubtless
+represents, in a measure, a state of mind as well as of body, but the
+action is of a general and uncontrolled kind.</p>
+
+<p>The effect of advancing culture upon a dog has been gradually to
+decrease this ancient undifferentiated mode of expression afforded by
+howling and yelping, and to replace it by the much more speech-like
+bark. There is some doubt whether the dogs possessed by savages have the
+power of uttering the sharp, specialized note which is so characteristic
+of the civilized forms of their species. It is clear, however, that if
+they have the capacity of thus expressing themselves, they use it but
+rarely. On the other hand, our high-bred dogs have, to a great extent,
+lost the habit of expressing themselves in the ancient way. Many of our
+breeds appear to have become incapable of ululating. There is no doubt
+but this change in the mode of expression greatly increases the capacity
+of our dogs to set forth their states of mind. If we watch a high-bred
+dog, one with a wide range of sensibilities, which we may find in breeds
+which have long been closely associated with man, we may readily note
+five or six varieties of sound in the bark, each of which is clearly
+related to a certain state of mind. The bark of welcome, of fear, of
+rage, of doubt, and of pure fun, are almost always perfectly distinct to
+the educated ear, and this although the observer may not be acquainted
+with the creature; if he knows him well, he may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> be able to distinguish
+various other intonations&mdash;those which express impatience and even an
+element of sorrow. This last note verges toward the howl.</p>
+
+<p>It does not seem to me that we should regard barking as a new and
+useful invention; there are, indeed, few such in the organic world. The
+sound appears to me to have been derived from the primitive habit of
+howling. If we hearken to this utterance we perceive that it is not an
+unbroken sound, but is somewhat intermittent. At either end of the
+prolonged sound we can often notice that it is divided into rather
+distinct yelps more or less completely separated from the other notes.
+The cries of a dog when beaten often exhibit the same peculiarity; so,
+too, the puppy, before he has attained skill in barking, will often
+prolong each utterance in a way which makes its relation to the ancient
+mode of expression tolerably clear. At the risk of being deemed
+fanciful, I venture to suggest that the bark is in effect a division
+of the howl into clearly separated notes, the change having come about
+as a similar alteration is effected in our own speech, by the increase
+in the intelligence which the creature is called upon to express. I
+conceive that while the primitive and massive emotions found
+satisfying utterance in the long-drawn notes, the more divided state
+of mind of the humanized successor has led to a change in its
+utterances. Although these modifications of speech, if such we may
+term them, have probably been developed on the basis of the dog's
+human relations, there is, it seems to me, good reason to believe that
+the diversities in note have come to have a distinct conventional
+value between the individuals of all the different breeds. Any one who
+closely observes these animals must have noticed the fact that the
+degree of attention they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> give to the utterances of their kindred
+varies in a way which indicates that they have great varieties of
+denotations. Some of the shades of the meaning which a dog's bark has
+to others of his species probably escape our less fine ears.</p>
+
+<p>The creation of something like a language among our civilized dogs
+has naturally been accompanied by the development of an understanding
+of human speech. Although we cannot attach much importance to the
+mass of anecdote on this point, there is enough which is well
+attested&mdash;sufficient, indeed, which has come within the limits of my
+own observation&mdash;to make it clear that dogs, even without deliberate
+teaching, frequently acquire a tolerably clear understanding of a
+number of words and even of short phrases. They will catch these not
+only when given in distinct command, but when uttered in an ordinary
+tone, without any sign that they relate to their affairs. It is true
+that these understood words generally relate to some action which the
+dog is accustomed to perform, yet there are instances so well
+attested that they deserve credit, which seem to show that the
+creatures can get some sense of the drift of conversation even when
+it is carried on by persons with whom they are not familiar and does
+not clearly relate to their own affairs.</p>
+
+<p>It should be observed that within the narrow limits of this essay little
+or no effort has been made to interpret the state of mind of dogs from
+the vast but rather untrustworthy mass of anecdote with which our books
+are filled. So large a part of this evidence is contaminated by
+prepossessions, and a yet larger part is so unverified in any scientific
+sense, that for purposes of sound inquiry it is worthless. It therefore
+seems best to limit ourselves, as has been done in this paper, to those
+general actions of the creatures which are matters<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> of common knowledge
+and safely beyond question. From these indices we are able to determine
+a basis for some important conclusions. These are in effect as follows,
+viz.: Our domestic dog is derived from a species, one or more, akin to
+the wolf, the jackal, and the fox; to a group of animals not
+characterized by great native intelligence, but distinguished for their
+ferocity and their general untamableness. There is no reason to believe
+that the primitive dog had any more foundation for his great attainments
+than his obstinately savage kindred, except that he may have had a
+greater disposition to form an attachment to a master. We can hardly
+believe that he had any share of that marvellous sympathy with man
+and understanding of his motives which characterize the high-bred
+varieties of his species. All this vast transformation, which from a
+psychological point of view has carried the dog relatively as far up
+above his origin as civilization has lifted man above his lowest
+estate, has been due to human intercourse and the long and effective
+concomitant selection of good from bad. It is hardly too much to say
+that a large part of our human nature has been transferred into the
+descendants of this ancient wild beast. The sense of property, a great
+part of human affections, many of the attributes which constitute the
+gentleman, have been passed over to him.</p>
+
+<p>In considering the effects arising from the intercourse of man with the
+dog, we should not overlook the development of human sympathy which has
+come about through this relation. The fact that the dog has been made by
+far the most sympathetic of the lower animals, is due to the affection
+which men for thousands of years have given to him. In his intercourse
+with this creature, man first learned to develop his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> altruistic motives
+beyond the limits of his own kind. With this extension of his affection
+must have begun the growth of that large motive, which is the most
+distinguishing feature of our modern life, which leads us to go forth in
+a loving manner to the living beings about us, not only to our flocks
+and herds but to the life of the unsubjugated realm as well. Thus, in a
+way, we may look upon the dog as affording the first steps on the path
+of culture which was to lift man from his primitive selfishness to the
+altruistic state to which he has attained.</p>
+
+<p>Great as has been the work of man upon the dog&mdash;it deserves, indeed,
+to be ranked high among all the accomplishments of his culture&mdash;there
+is reason to believe that if he but go forward with understanding in
+the ways which have hitherto led him blindly to his success, the
+final result may be very much more perfect than that which has been
+attained. It is on this account that I feel it fit to make a strong
+protest against the system our breeders pursue. Except in the case of
+dogs used in sport and for herding sheep, the sole effort appears to
+be to create breeds which shall exhibit peculiarities of form which
+are mere extravagances, and move the real lover of this noble animal
+to indignation. In these preposterous and unseemly tasks no care is
+taken to continue the mental development on lines which have been
+established by long use. Still less is there any effort to essay the
+development of the intelligence in ways which are clearly open to us,
+and which afford possibilities of lifting this species to a yet
+nobler companionship with our own kind.</p>
+
+<p>It seems worth while for our associations of dog fanciers to undertake
+to develop varieties of dogs solely with reference to the intellectual
+qualities of the animal. I venture to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> suggest that those who seek this
+end should select some of the primitive types of form, such as are
+found among the undifferentiated mass of the species, those which are
+improperly termed mongrels, and this for the reason that among these
+unselected creatures the intelligence is quicker and more varied than
+it is in the highly developed varieties. Under skilful trainers the
+successive generations bred in the experimental station should be
+subjected to tests which will indicate the measure of intellectual
+ability. The results already attained by the unconscious selection
+which man has applied serve to indicate that at the end of a century,
+and perhaps in much less time, we might develop an animal which in
+various ways would come to a closer intellectual relation with man than
+any other lower species has attained.</p>
+
+<p>Cats deserve some mention for the reason, that, while they are the least
+essential, and on the whole the least interesting, of domesticated
+animals, they have had a certain place in civilization. They afford,
+moreover, a capital foil by which to set off the virtues of the dog.
+Nowhere else, indeed, among the creatures which are intimately
+associated with men, do we find two related forms which afford, along
+with a certain likeness, such great diversities of quality.</p>
+
+<p>We know nothing as to the time when the cat first found its way to the
+associations of man. Presumably this period was much later than the
+advent of the dog into the human family. The presumption rests upon the
+fact that while the dog does not demand fixed residence as a condition
+of its fealty, but is at home wherever his master is, the cat is the
+creature of the domicile, caring more indeed for its dwelling-place than
+it ever does for the inmates thereof. In a word, the creature must have
+come to us after our forefathers gave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> up the nomadic life.
+Nevertheless, the association is very ancient; it has endured in Egypt
+at least for a term of several thousand years.</p>
+
+<p>Among the curious features connected with the association of the cat
+with man, we may note that it is the only animal which has been
+tolerated, esteemed, and at times worshipped, without having a
+single distinctly valuable quality. It is, in a small way,
+serviceable in keeping down the excessive development of small
+rodents, which from the beginning have been the self-invited guests
+of man. As it is in a certain indifferent way sympathetic, and by
+its caresses appears to indicate affection, it has awakened a
+measure of sympathy which it hardly deserves. I have been unable to
+find any authentic instances which go to show the existence in cats
+of any real love for their masters.</p>
+
+<p>In the matter of intelligence cats appear to rank almost as high as
+dogs. They are even quicker than their canine relatives in
+discerning the nature of man's artful contrivances; they readily
+acquire the habit of opening doors which are closed by means of a
+latch, even where it is necessary to combine the strong pull on the
+handle with the push that completes the operation. Feats of this
+sort are rarely if ever performed by dogs.</p>
+
+<p>The most peculiar quality in the mind of cats is the intense way in
+which they cling to a well-known locality. Their memory of places, and
+affection for them, if we may so term it, is evidently far greater
+than that which they feel for people. Some years ago I had an
+interesting exhibition of this singular humor. A well-grown and
+thoroughly domesticated cat, one that seemed more than usually
+attached to people, was brought from my house in town to a place on
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> shore. When released, the creature seemed for some days to be
+nearly insane. It did not recognize any of its friends, it betook
+itself to the fields, and was with difficulty captured at the end
+of a week of roaming, during which it appeared to have had no food.
+Confined within one room, it gradually recovered its powers of mind,
+and began to take account of its friends. In the course of a month it
+seemed to be reconciled to its surroundings. Nine months after its
+first sojourn in the wilderness it was again brought from the town to
+the same place. On the second visit the creature was somewhat uneasy,
+but this passed away in a day or two. On a third visit, after a like
+interval, it seemed at once and entirely at home. Nevertheless, its
+habits while in the country differ very much from those it has in
+town. In its original domicile it insists on being about the table at
+meal-times. While in the country it does not care to be present; in
+fact, it appears to avoid associations with the household. It seems
+to me that this cat, after the manner of some men whose brains are
+diseased, now lives in two distinct states of consciousness, each
+relating to one of its places of abode.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53-4]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="hounds_boar" id="hounds_boar"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-053.jpg" alt="Several hounds pursuing a wild boar." width="600" height="352" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Hounds Running a Wild Boar<br />
+(Showing the habit of attacking neck of prey.)
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The differences<a name="compare_dog" id="compare_dog"></a> as regards affection for localities which is shown by
+cats and dogs are perhaps to be accounted for by an original and
+essential variation in the habits of life in their wild ancestors.
+Judging by the kindred of the species which are known to us in their
+wild state, we may fairly suppose that the dogs were of old accustomed
+to range over a wide field, having no fixed place of abode; the pack
+ranging, if the occasion served, for hundreds of miles in any direction.
+On the other hand, with the cats, it is characteristic of the species
+that they have lairs to which they resort, and a definite hunting ground
+in which they seek their food. They are, in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> word, animals of very
+determined routine. As there has been no effort by breeding to change
+this feature, it has remained in all its old ingrained intensity.</p>
+
+<p>As a consequence of the affection which cats have for particular places,
+they often return to the wilderness when by chance the homes in which
+they have been reared are abandoned. Thus in New England, in those
+sections of the district where many farmsteads have of late years been
+deserted, the cats have remained about their ancient haunts and have
+become entirely wild. In this State they are bred in such numbers that
+their presence is now a serious menace to the birds and other weaker
+creatures of the country. The behavior of these feralized animals
+differs somewhat from that of creatures which have never been tamed.
+They have not the same immediate fear of a man, but the least effort to
+approach them leads to their hasty flight.</p>
+
+<p>While considering the inelastic quality which is exhibited by cats as
+compared with the dog, the naturalist notes with interest the fact that
+the former creature belongs to a family which has never been accustomed
+to any social life beyond the limits of the family. Moreover, all the
+cats have the habit of hunting in a solitary way, each for itself, in
+the achievement and in the result. It is otherwise with dogs. They
+belong to a group which hunts in packs. For ages they have been used to
+a communal life. Their minds have thus become accustomed to social
+intercourse; they are used to having their excitements of the chase in
+comradeship, and generally they are accustomed to the rough-and-tumble
+fraternity which we behold in a pack of wolves. It was long ago remarked
+that the really social animals are those which afford the only good
+material for subjugation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> The difference between the cat and dog seems,
+in a way, to warrant this statement.</p>
+
+<p>Although it is likely that many efforts have been made to domesticate
+the other larger felines, no distinct success has attended these
+experiments. A large Asiatic cat known as the chetah is somewhat used
+in hunting for sport, but the species has never been adopted in any
+definite way. In fact, with all the larger cats, including the lion,
+which is structurally a little apart from the other members of
+the group, the size and furious nature of the animal have made it
+impossible to begin the process of selection which has been the means
+whereby the wilderness motive has been replaced by that of the
+household in the case of all other domesticated beasts.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE HORSE</h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+Value of the Strength of the Horse to Man.&mdash;Origin of the
+the Solid Hoof.&mdash;Domestication of the
+Horse.&mdash;How begun.&mdash;Use as a Pack Animal.&mdash;For War.&mdash;Peculiar
+Advantages of the Animal for Use of Men.&mdash;Mental
+Peculiarities.&mdash;Variability of Body.&mdash;Spontaneous Variations due to
+Climate.&mdash;Variations of Breeds.&mdash;Effect of the Invention of
+Horseshoes.&mdash;Donkeys and Mules compared with Horse.&mdash;Especial Value
+of these Animals.&mdash;Diminishing Value of Horses in Modern
+Civilization.&mdash;Continued Need of their Service in War.
+</p>
+
+<p>The largest economic problem which primitive people on their way upward
+towards civilization had unconsciously to face was that of obtaining
+some kind of strength which could be added to the power of their own
+weak limbs. For all his eminent capacities of body, man is not a strong
+animal, nor is he so built that he can apply the measure of strength
+that is in him to good advantage. There are scores if not hundreds
+of species with which he came in contact in his effort to dominate
+nature that are stronger, swifter, and better provided with natural
+weapons. With the first step upward, as in almost all the succeeding
+steps, the advance depended on securing more energy than that with
+which our kind was directly endowed. It is hardly too much to say
+that the progress of mankind beyond the savage state would probably
+never have been effected but for the bodily help which has been
+rendered by a few domesticated animals.</p>
+
+<p>From the point of view of the student of domesticated animals the races
+of men may well be divided into those which have and those which have
+not the use of the horse.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> Although there are half a score of other
+animals which have done much for man, which have indeed stamped
+themselves upon his history, no other creature has been so inseparably
+associated with the great triumphs of our kind, whether won on the
+battle-field or in the arts of peace. So far as material comfort, or
+even wealth, is concerned, we of the northern realms and present age
+could, perhaps, better spare the horse from our present life than
+either sheep or horned cattle; but without this creature it is certain
+that our civilization would never have developed in anything like its
+present form. Lacking the help which the horse gives, it is almost
+certain that, even now, it could not be maintained.</p>
+
+<p>We know the ancient natural history of the horse more completely than
+that of any other of our domesticated animals. We can trace the steps
+by which its singularly strong limbs and feet, on which rests its value
+to man, were formed in the great laboratory of geologic time. The story
+is so closely related to the interests of man that it will be well
+briefly to set it before the reader. In the first stages of the
+Tertiary period, in the age when we begin to trace the evolution of the
+suck-giving animals above the lowly grade in which the kangaroos and
+opossums belong, we find the ancestors of our mammalian series all
+characterized by rather weakly organized limbs fitted, as were those of
+their remoter kindred the marsupials, for tree climbing rather than for
+moving over the surface of the ground. The fact is, that all the
+creatures of this great clan acquired their properties of body in
+arboreal life, and with such relatively small and light bodies as were
+fitted for tree climbing. For this use the feet need to be
+loose-jointed, and so the system of five toes, each terminating in a
+sharp and strong nail or claw,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> became fixed in the inheritances. When,
+gaining strength and coming to possess a more important place in the
+world, these ancient tree-dwellers were able to occupy the ground which
+of old had been possessed by the great reptiles, the limbs that had
+served well for an arboreal life had to undergo many changes in order
+to fit them for progression in the new realm.</p>
+
+<p>If we watch the progress of a bear over the surface of the ground, we
+readily perceive how lumbering is its gait and how poor the speed which
+it attains. Its slow and shambling movement is due to the fact that it
+has the tree-climbing foot, and is not well fitted for motion such as is
+required in running. To attain anything like speed in this exercise it
+is necessary to support the body on the tips of the toes. Every man who
+has gained any skill in this art knows full well how incompetent he is
+if he tries to run with rapidity in the flat-footed manner. The bear
+cannot essay this method of progression on the toe-tips because its
+loose-jointed feet cannot be made to support its heavy body. In this way
+arose the necessity of developing a peculiar kind of foot when that part
+had to serve for rapid locomotion. The experiments to this end have been
+numerous and varied. Thus in the elephants, which retain the originally
+numerous toes, the bones of these members are planted in an upright
+position and tied together with such strong muscles and sinews, that the
+foot parts have something like the solidity and strength of the upper
+portions of the legs. In the single-hoofed or horse-like forms, and in
+the cloven-footed animals, other series of experiments have been tried
+which in the end have proved most successful, giving us animals with the
+speediest movements of any animals except the creatures of the air.</p>
+
+<p><a name="hunter" id="hunter"></a></p>
+<div class="figleft">
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-060.jpg" alt="A hunter mounted on a horse." width="400" height="639" /><br />
+<p class="caption">A Hunter</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p><p>The success which has been attained in our ordinary large herbivora, and
+which has made them competent to evade the chase of the beasts of prey,
+has been accomplished by reducing the number of the toes, giving the
+strength of the aborted parts to increase the power of those remaining.
+The result is the formation of two great groups, the double-hoofed
+forms, including the pigs, deer, cattle, sheep, and their kindred, and
+the single-toed species, of which our horse is the foremost example. In
+the reduction of the number of toes, different plans were followed in
+each of these groups. In the cloven-hoofed forms, a single toe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> first
+disappeared, leaving but four; then the two outer of these were aborted,
+leaving two nearly equal digits. In the series of the horse, where we
+can trace the change more clearly, we find the earliest form five-toed,
+but the outer and inner digit shrunken so as to become of little use.
+This condition of the creature in the early Tertiaries gives us the
+beginning of the equine series, and shows that far away as the creature
+is now from ourselves, it originated from the main stem of mammalian
+life, from which our own forms have sprung. In the next higher stage in
+time, and likewise in development, we find these lessened toes at their
+vanishing point, and two of the remaining digits, lying on either side
+of what corresponds to the middle finger in our own hands, beginning to
+shrink in length and volume, while the central toe becomes larger and
+stronger than before. Last in the series we come to our ordinary equine
+form, in which nothing is left but the single massive extremity, though
+the remnants of two of the toes can be traced in the form of slender
+bones known as splints, which are altogether enclosed within the skin
+which wraps the region about the fetlock joints.</p>
+
+<p>As if it were to show to us the history of this marvellous organic
+achievement, nature now and then, though seldom&mdash;perhaps not oftener
+than one in ten million instances&mdash;sends forth a horse with three hoofs
+to each leg. Two of these are small and lie on either side of the
+functioning extremity. Each of these hoofs is connected with a
+splint-bone which has in some way suddenly become reminded of its
+ancient use, and develops in a manner to imitate the creatures which
+passed from the earth millions of years ago. In most cases the
+splint-bones have no function whatever to perform. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> are indeed
+superfluous and injurious parts, and are likely from time to time to be
+worse than useless, becoming the seats of disease. In this beautiful
+instance, perhaps the fairest of all those showing how the highly
+developed forms of our time retain a memory of their ancestral life, we
+see how the advance in the series of the horse has been effected against
+the resistance ancient organic habit opposes to all gains. We can
+therefore the better understand how the building of the hoof represents
+the labor of geologic ages during which the slow-made gains were won.</p>
+
+<p>In its present elaborate form, the hoof of a horse is the most perfect
+instrument of support which has been devised in the animal kingdom to
+uphold a large and swiftly moving animal in its passage over the
+ground. The original toe-nail, and the neighboring soft parts connected
+with it, have been modified into a structure which in an extraordinary
+manner combines solidity with elasticity, so that it may strike violent
+blows upon the hard surface of the earth without harm. The bones of the
+toe to which it is affixed have enlarged with the progressive loss of
+their neighbors of the extremity, until they fairly continue the
+dimensions of the bony parts of the leg. Moreover, they have lengthened
+out, so as to give the limb a great extension, and this, in turn,
+magnifies the stride which the creature can take in running. The result
+is that the horse can carry a greater weight at a swifter speed than
+any other animal approaching it in size.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63-4]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="rotten_row" id="rotten_row"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-063.jpg" alt="A group of riders in a park." width="600" height="389" /><br />
+<p class="caption">On Rotten Row, Hyde Park, London</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The needs which led, in a slow accumulative way, to the invention of
+the admirable contrivance of the horse's foot, were doubtless founded
+on the necessities of swift movement in fleeing from the great
+predaceous animals. Incidentally, however, as this development has
+gone on, the peculiarities<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> of the extremity have proved highly
+advantageous in defence, and the creatures have acquired certain
+peculiar ways of using their feet effectively to this end. The solid
+character of the hoof, its considerable weight, and the great power
+of the muscles of the hams, which are the principal agents in
+propelling the animal, make the hind feet capable of delivering a
+very powerful blow. The measure of its efficiency may be judged from
+the fact that a lion has been slain by a stroke from the foot of a
+donkey, and in their wild state a herd of horses with their heads
+together, can beat off the attack of the most powerful beasts of
+prey. In using the hind feet for assault or defence, horses have
+adopted an effective method of kicking which is unknown among other
+animals. Resting on their fore-legs, the hinder feet are thrown
+backward and upward, so that they may strike a blow six feet from the
+ground. Many of our cloven-footed animals have learned to strike
+cutting blows with the sharp hoofs of their fore-limbs&mdash;our bulls
+will stamp a fallen enemy with great force; but the backward kick of
+the horse is a peculiar movement, and is distinctly related to the
+peculiar structure of the animal's extremities.</p>
+
+<p>It is an interesting fact that the development of a long and slowly
+elaborated series leading to the making of the horse appears to have
+taken place mainly, if not altogether, in the region about the
+headwaters of the Missouri River. In the olden days when this great work
+was done, that part of our continent was a well-watered country, much of
+its surface being occupied by great lakes which have long since
+disappeared. In the deposits accumulated in these bodies of fresh water
+are found the bones of the olden species telling the history of their
+series. It is not yet certain that the final<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> step of the accomplishment
+which gave us our existing species was effected in this land. It seems
+indeed most likely that the ancestral form of our domesticated horses
+found their way to the continents of the Old World, and there underwent
+the last slight changes, before they were made captive by man. If there
+ever were perfect horses on this continent, they had passed away from
+its area before the coming of man to the land. The history of our
+aborigines would have been quite other than it has been, if they had
+had a chance to win the assistance of this noble helpmeet.</p>
+
+<p>Central Asia appears to have been the domicile of the horse when he
+first began his acquaintance with our kind. We do not know the
+original form of the creature. The wild horses existing at the
+present day in that part of the world, and which plentifully occur
+in other regions whereunto they have been taken by man, appear to
+have been set free from captivity.</p>
+
+<p><a name="marauder" id="marauder"></a></p>
+<div class="figright">
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-067.jpg" alt="Horseman on a steppe." width="400" height="247" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Horse of a Bulgarian Marauder</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The first domestication of the horse appears to have been brought
+about, at an early time in the history of our race, in northern Asia.
+The time when this feat was accomplished antedates our records. The
+creature may first have come into possession of the Tartar tribes,
+but it quickly passed over Asia and Europe and shortly became the
+mainstay of the Aryan and Semitic folk. None other of our
+domesticated forms has been disseminated with like rapidity, or at
+the outset with as little change in its original features. From the
+first the horse seems to have been mainly used as a saddle and pack
+animal. It has never served in any considerable measure for food. The
+failure to make use of the flesh of this animal appears to be common
+to most of the savage or barbaric people who keep horses, and has been
+transmitted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> in a singularly definite way to all civilized folk. The
+origin of such a prejudice, despite the fact that the flesh of the
+horse is of excellent quality, can only be explained through the
+sympathetic motives common to all men. Their association with the
+horse, as with the dog, is so intimate as to make the use of these
+animals in the form of food more or less repugnant. In a small though
+unimportant way, mares have been used for milk, and there seems no
+reason to doubt that, if they had been carefully bred for this purpose,
+they might have been as serviceable as the cow. It may be that the
+failure to use the milk of the horse is to be accounted for on the
+same ground as the dislike to its flesh.</p>
+
+<p>The horse was probably at first most valued for its use in war. The
+peoples which possessed it certainly had a great advantage over their
+less well provided neighbors. In fact the development of the military
+art, as distinguished from the mere fighting of savages, was made easy
+by the strength, endurance, fleetness, and measure of bravery
+characterizing this creature. In the wide range of species which have
+been domesticated or might be won to companionship with man, there is
+none other which so completely supplements the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> imperfect human body,
+making it fit for great deeds. If the horse had been much smaller or
+larger than he is, he would have been far less serviceable to man. It
+was a most fortunate accident that the creature came to us with the
+proportions which insured a high measure of utility in various lines
+of activity. The elephant has been found too large for agricultural
+uses, and too powerful to be controlled by the will and force of his
+master under conditions of excitement.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="mare_foal" id="mare_foal"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-068.jpg" alt="A mare with a foal." width="600" height="383" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Mare and Foal</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Those peoples which early acquired the resources in the way of
+strength and fleetness which the horse put at their disposition,
+became inevitably the conquerors of the folk who were denied these
+advantages. If we consider the conditions which have led to the
+domination of the world by the Aryan and Semitic people, and the
+races which they have affiliated with them, we readily discern the
+fact that they have, to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> great extent, won by horse-power rather
+than by their own physical strength. Thus equipped by their able
+servants, they have pressed outward from their ancient realms and
+have in a way overridden the tribes which were unmounted.</p>
+
+<p>So imposing is the effect of the horsed man on all peoples who are
+without previous knowledge of the united creatures, that it always
+carries fear to their hearts. To such folk the combination appears as
+a single terrible being. The ease with which the Spaniards conquered
+Mexico and Peru can, to a great extent, be attributed to the awe
+carried into the ranks of the savage footmen by their mail-clad
+horses. The Greeks, who were wont to represent the forces of nature
+and the accomplishments of man by skilfully constructed myths, have
+left a record showing their appreciation of the strength derived from
+the union of horse and man, in their fable of the Centaur, which
+possibly grew up in a time before their people had won the use of the
+animal, and when they only knew the creature by chance encounters
+with enemies who were mounted upon them. Although the naturalist of
+to-day perceives the impossibility of there ever having been on this
+earth a form uniting the trunk and fore-limbs of a quadruped to the
+upper part of a man's body, such scientific conceptions are a part of
+our modern, recently acquired store of knowledge. To the Greeks of
+the myth-making age the creature, half man, half horse, added but one
+more wonder to the vast store the world already contained. The
+currency of this fable shows us very clearly how great was the
+impression which the horse made upon primitive peoples.</p>
+
+<p>To perceive the value of the horse in those ancient contests which
+opened the paths of civilization, we must note the fact that, until
+the invention of gunpowder, success in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> breaking the ranks of an
+enemy depended mainly on the charge. With a large body of vigorous
+horsemen it was generally possible to overwhelm an enemy's line of
+battle, either by direct assault or by an attack on its flank or
+rear. If the reader is curious to see the value of horsemen in
+ancient warfare, he should read the story of the campaigns of
+Hannibal against the Romans in Italy. The first successes of that
+great commander&mdash;victories which came near changing the history of
+the western world&mdash;were almost altogether due to the strength lying
+in his admirable Numidian cavalry. The Romans were already good
+soldiers, their footmen more trustworthy than those which the
+Carthagenian general could set against them; but with his horsemen,
+as at Cann&aelig;, he could wrap in the Roman line and reduce the most
+valiant legions to the confused herd which awaited the butcher.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71-2]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="cavalry" id="cavalry"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-071.jpg" alt="A mounted cavalryman with sword raised." width="400" height="652" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Cavalry Horse</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although<a name="future_use" id="future_use"></a> the invention of firearms has somewhat changed the
+conditions under which cavalry may be used, making indeed the direct
+charge more costly to the assailant than the assailed, it has in no
+wise diminished, but rather increased, the value of horses in
+military campaigns. In the line of battle horses have become
+necessary for the conveyance of field officers and messengers, and
+the right arm of battle, the artillery, could not possibly be managed
+except by horse-power. The swift marches of modern armies, by
+hastening the issue of contests, have spared the world half the woes
+of its great campaigns, and are made possible by the ready movement
+of supply trains, which could not be effected except by the help of
+these creatures. The result is that a large part of the military
+strength of any state rests not only in the valor and training of its
+fighting men, but in the supply of horses that its fields may afford.
+In this connection<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> it is instructive to compare the military
+strength of a country like China, where the horse is not a common
+element in the life of the people, with that of any of the western
+folk who may hereafter have to wrestle with that populous empire.
+Some writers, in their efforts to forecast the large politics of the
+future, have imagined that when the hardy and obedient Chinaman came
+to receive the European training in the military art, the armies of
+that country might prove from their numbers a menace to our own
+civilization. Such an issue seems in a high degree improbable, for
+the reason that the eastern realm could not provide the horses which
+would be necessary for the use of invading armies; nor is it at all
+likely that the rigid framework of their society will ever be so
+altered as to provide an abundance of these animals.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="plough_horses_france" id="plough_horses_france"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-073.jpg" alt="A farmer with two horses pulling a plough." width="600" height="387" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Plough Horses, France</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although in the first instance the horse served mainly, if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> not
+altogether, as an ally of man in his contests with his neighbors, its
+most substantial use has been in the peaceful arts. As pack animal and
+drawer of the plough, the ox appears in general to have come into use
+before its swifter companion. The displacement of horned cattle has
+been due to the fact that their structure and habits make them much
+less fit for arduous and long-continued labor than the horse has been
+found to be. The cloven foot, because of its division, is weak. It
+cannot sustain a heavy burden. Even with the unincumbered weight of
+the body of the animal, the feet are apt to become sore in marches
+which the heavily mounted horse endures unharmed. Centuries of
+experience have shown that while the ox is an excellent animal for
+drawing a plough in a stubborn soil, and is well adapted to pulling
+carriages where the burden is heavy and the speed is not a matter of
+importance and the distance not great, the creature is too slow for
+the greater part of the work which the farmer needs to do. The pace
+which they can be made to take in walking is not more than half as
+great as that of a quick-footed horse moving in the same gait; and the
+ox is practically incapable, because of its weak feet, of keeping up a
+trot on any ordinary road. But for the fact that an aged ox may be
+used for beef, they would doubtless long since have ceased to serve us
+as draught animals. As it is, with the growing money value of the
+laborer's time, this slow-moving creature is steadily and rather
+rapidly disappearing from our farms. This change, indeed, is one of
+the most indicative of all those now occurring in our agriculture. It
+is an excellent example of the operations which the increase in the
+workman's pay is bringing into our civilization.</p>
+
+<p>The natural advantages of the horse for the use of man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> consisted in
+its size, strength, and endurance to burden; form of the body, which
+enabled a skilful rider to maintain his position astride the trunk; and
+the peculiar shape of the mouth and disposition of the teeth which made
+it possible to use the bit. With these direct physical advantages there
+were others of a physiological and psychic sort, of equal value. The
+creature breeds as well under domestication as in the wilderness; the
+young are fit for some service in the third year of their life, and
+are, at least in the less elaborated breeds, in a mature condition when
+they are five years old. Experience shows that the animal can subsist
+on a great variety of diet, being in this regard surpassed only by its
+humbler kinsman the donkey, and by the goats. There are few fields so
+lean that they will not maintain serviceable horses. They do well alike
+in mountain pastures and amid the herbage of the moistest plainland.</p>
+
+<p>The mental peculiarities of the horse are much less characteristic than
+its physical. It is indeed the common opinion, among those who do not
+know the animal well, that it is endowed with much sagacity, but no
+experienced and careful observer is likely to maintain this opinion.
+All such students find the intelligence of the horse to be very
+limited. It requires but little observation to show that the creature
+observes quickly, and in some way classifies the objects with which it
+comes in contact. The fear aroused in it by unknown things makes this
+feature of attention to the surrounding world very evident. Almost all
+these animals retain a tolerably distinct memory of the roads which
+they have traversed, even if they have passed over them but a few
+times. The studies which I have made on this point show me that the
+average horse will be able to return on a road<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> which it has traversed
+a few hours before, with less risk of blundering than an ordinary
+driver. Some well-endowed animals can remember as many as a dozen
+turnings in a path over which they have journeyed three or four times.
+It seems almost certain that their guidance in these movements is not
+at all effected by the sense of smell, but is due to a distinct memory
+of the detailed features of the country.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="belgian_fisherman" id="belgian_fisherman"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-076.jpg" alt="A fisherman on a horse." width="600" height="388" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Belgian Fisherman's Horse</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Good as is the horse's memory, it is difficult to organize its actions
+on that basis. Only in rare cases and with much labor can he be taught
+to execute movements that are at all complicated. Fire-engine horses
+may be trained of their own will to step into the position where they
+are to be attached to the carriage. Some artillery horses will, as I
+have noticed, associate the sound of the bugle with the resulting
+movements of the guns and take the appropriate positions, where they
+may be out of danger in the rapid swinging of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> teams and
+carriages. It is partly because of this training received by
+disciplined artillery horses, that it seems to many experienced
+officers not worth while to have militia companies in this arm, who
+have to man&oelig;uvre with animals untrained for the service. Although
+some part of this mental defect in the horse, causing its actions to
+be widely contrasted with those of the dog, may be due to a lack of
+deliberate training and to breeding with reference to intellectual
+accomplishment, we see by comparing the creature with the elephant,
+which practically has never been bred in captivity, that the equine
+mind is, from the point of view of rationality, very feeble.</p>
+
+<p>The emotional side of the horse's nature seems little more developed
+than its rational. Although they have a certain affection for the hand
+which feeds them, and in a mild way are disposed to form friendships
+with other animals, they are not really affectionate, and never, so
+far as I have been able to find, show any distinct signs of grief at
+separation from their masters or of pleasure when they return to them.
+Although there are many stories appearing to indicate a certain
+faithfulness in horses which have remained beside their fallen and
+wounded riders, the facts do not justify us in supposing that such
+actions are due to the affection a dog clearly feels.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="horses_towing" id="horses_towing"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-078.jpg" alt="A group of horses towing a boat." width="600" height="396" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Horses for Towing on the Beach in Holland</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>We have been singularly led astray by a chance use of the epithet
+"horse," which has come to be applied to many organic forms and
+functions where strength is indicated. Thus, in the case of plants we
+speak of "horse-radish" or "horse-mint," denoting thereby spices which
+have strong qualities. Horse-chestnut is another instance of the
+application of the term to plants. It chanced that "horse-sense"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> came
+to be used to indicate a sound understanding, and in an obscure way,
+but in a manner common with words, this has led to a vague implication
+of mental capacity in the animals whence the term is derived. The fact
+is that our horses, as far as their mental powers are concerned,
+appear to be the least improvable of our great domesticated animals.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79-80]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="hurdle_jumper" id="hurdle_jumper"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-079.jpg" alt="Rider and horse jumping over a hurdle." width="400" height="636" /><br />
+<p class="caption">A Hurdle Jumper</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><a name="variation" id="variation"></a>Little elastic as the horse appears to be on the psychic side of its
+nature, in its physical aspects it is one of the most plastic of all the
+forms subjected to the breeder's art. It requires no more than a glance
+at the streets of our large cities to see how great is the range in
+size, form, and carriage of these animals which may be found in any of
+our great centres of civilization. We readily perceive that these
+variations have a distinct relation to the several divisions of human
+activity in which this creature has a share. The massive<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> cart-horse,
+weighing it may be as much as eighteen hundred or two thousand pounds,
+heavy limbed, big headed, unwilling to move at a pace faster than a slow
+trot, yet not without the measure of beauty seemingly inseparable from
+the species, contrasts very markedly with the alert saddle animal bred
+for speed and grace, and for the easy movement which makes it
+comfortable to the equestrian. Between these extremes we may note minor
+differences which, though they may not strike those persons who take
+only a commonplace view of the creatures, are most marked to the
+initiated. The trotter, the coach horse, the strong but nimble animals
+which are used in fire-engines and other heavy carriages which have to
+be swiftly moved, mark the results of breeding designed to insure
+particular qualities, and show how readily the physical features of the
+animal can be made to fit to our desires.</p>
+
+<p>Although from an early day a certain amount of care has been given to
+breeding horses for saddle purposes, the careful and continuous choice
+which has led to the modern variations is a matter of only a few
+centuries of endeavor. So far as we can judge from the classic
+monuments, the olden varieties were mere varieties of the pony&mdash;the
+small, compact, agile creature which had not departed far from the
+parent wild form. It seems to me doubtful whether any of the horses
+possessed by the Greeks or Romans attained a weight much exceeding a
+thousand pounds, or had the peculiarities of our modern breeds. The
+first considerable departure from the original type appears to have
+been brought about when it became necessary to provide a creature
+which could serve as a mount for the heavy armored knights of the
+Middle Ages, where man and horse were weighted with from one to two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+hundred pounds of metal. To serve this need it was necessary to have a
+saddle animal of unusual strength, weighing about three-quarters of a
+ton, easily controllable and at once fairly speedy and nimble. To meet
+this necessity the Norman horse was gradually evolved, the form
+naturally taking shape in that part of Europe where the iron-clad
+warrior was most perfectly developed. In the tapestries and other
+illustrative work of that day, when the knight won tournaments and
+battle-fields, gaining victory by the weight and speed which he
+brought to bear upon his enemies, we can see this splendid animal, in
+physical form, at least, the finest product of man's care and skill in
+the development of the lower species.</p>
+
+<p>With the advance in the use of firearms the value of the Norman horse
+in the art of war rapidly diminished. This breed, however, has, with
+slight modifications, survived, and is extensively used for draught
+purposes where strength at the sacrifice of speed is demanded. It is a
+curious fact that the creatures which now draw the beer wagons of
+London often afford the nearest living successors in form to the
+horses which bore the medi&aelig;val knights. It is an ignoble change, but
+we must be grateful for any accident which has preserved to us, though
+in a somewhat degraded form, this noblest product of the breeder's
+art, which, even as much as the valor of our ancestors, won success
+for our Teutonic folk in their great struggle with Islam. A tincture
+of this Norman blood, perhaps the firmest fixed in the species of any
+variety, pervades many other strains most valuable in our arts. The
+best of our artillery horses, particularly those set next the wheels,
+are generally in part Norman. In the well-known American Morgan, the
+swiftest and strongest of our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> harnessed forms, the observant eye
+detects indications of this masterful blood.</p>
+
+<p>The Norman strains of horses retain certain interesting indications of
+their ancient lineage and occupation. As appears to be common with old
+breeds, the stock is readily maintained. It breeds true to its
+ancestry, with little tendency to those aberrations so common in the
+newly instituted varieties. When crossed with other strains, the
+effect of the intermixture of this strong blood is distinctly
+traceable for many generations. In their mental habits these creatures
+still appear to show something of the effects of their old use in war;
+it is a valiant race, less given to insane fear than other strains,
+and, even under excitement, more controllable than the most of their
+kindred. So far as I have been able to learn, they seem singularly
+free from those wild panics which are so common among our ordinary
+horses. It does not seem to me fanciful to suppose that these
+qualities were bred in the stock during the centuries of experience
+with the confusion of battle-fields and tournaments.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="exercising" id="exercising"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-084.jpg" alt="Groom exercising a horse." width="600" height="354" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Exercising the Thoroughbreds</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The horse, in common with the other domesticated animals varying
+readily in the hands of the breeder, undergoes a certain spontaneous
+change which in a way corresponds to the physiography of the region in
+which it is bred. At first sight it may seem as if these alterations
+are due to the admixture of previously existing varieties, or to the
+institution of peculiarities by some process of selection. I am,
+however, well convinced that these variations are in good part due to a
+direct influence from the environment. Thus in our high northern lands
+there is a distinct and spontaneous reduction in size of the creatures,
+which attains its farthest point in the Shetland pony. Again, as we go
+toward the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> tropics, a like though less conspicuous decrease in bulk is
+observable. The largest animals of the species develop in the middle
+latitudes, the realm where the form appears to have acquired its
+characters. The speed with which these local variations are made is
+often great. Thus the horses of Kentucky have, in about a century,
+acquired a certain stamp of the soil which makes it possible, in most
+cases, for the observer to identify an individual as from that State,
+though he may find it in a field a thousand miles away. The defining
+indications are not limited altogether to bodily form, but are shown in
+what might seem trifling features of carriage and behavior. The
+difference between the horses of Great Britain and those of the United
+States seems to me, from repeated observations, to be quite as great as
+that separating the men of the two realms. I believe that if a lot of a
+thousand, taken in equal parts from either land, were put together, a
+person well accustomed to taking account of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> these animals could
+separate them into two herds, with less than ten per cent. of error. It
+is doubtful if a more perfect selection could be made if the same
+experiment were tried on an equal number of men, provided the indices
+to be derived from peculiarities of speech or dress could be excluded.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="arabian_horse" id="arabian_horse"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-085.jpg" alt="Man in Arab garb holding musical instrument next to a horse." width="600" height="404" /><br />
+<p class="caption">An Arabian Horse</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>By some the Arabian horse<a name="arabian" id="arabian"></a> is thought to be the most remarkable
+specialization of the kind which has been attained. In his native
+country and in his perfection, the Arab breed has been seen by but
+few persons who have been specially trained in noting the
+peculiarities of the animal. So far as I have been able to judge by
+pictures and a few specimens, said to be thoroughbreds of their
+stock, which I have had a chance to see, the Arabian form of the
+horse appears to have been led less far away from the primitive
+stock than many of our European and American varieties.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="arabian_sports" id="arabian_sports"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-086.jpg" alt="Arab horsemen with weapons at the gallop." width="600" height="380" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Arabian Sports</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p>
+<p>The very great, if not the pre&euml;minent, success of the horse in Arabia
+is the more remarkable from the fact that it has been attained under
+conditions which, from an <i>a priori</i> point of view, must be deemed
+most unfavorable. This variety has been bred in a land of scant
+herbage and deficient water-supply, where the creature has had from
+time to time, indeed we may say generally, to endure something of the
+dearth of food which stunts the Indian ponies and the other horses of
+the Cordilleran district. The ancestors of the horse appear to have
+attained their development in well-watered and fertile regions. All
+the varieties bred within the limits of civilization do best on rich
+pasturages such as Arabia does not afford. The success of the horse in
+that land shows how devoted must have been the care which has been
+given to its nurture. Fitting, as the Arabian horse does, exactly to
+the needs of nomadic people engaged in almost constant warfare, it
+has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> naturally been a far more important helper to the wild folk of
+the desert lands about the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea than
+to any other race. In those lands horses fell into the keeping of a
+very able folk. The contrast between the care devoted to the animals
+by them, and that which our Indians give to their ponies, is a fair
+measure of the difference in the ability of these very diverse races.</p>
+
+<p>As a whole, the horse demands for his best nurture and keeping an
+amount of care required by no other animal which has been won to the
+uses of man, unless perhaps it be the silkworm. Kept in its best
+state, the horse has to be sedulously groomed. To be maintained in
+its very best condition some hours of human labor must each day be
+given to keeping his skin in order. The effect arising from a
+friction on the horse's hide is not confined to the beauty that comes
+from cleanliness, but in a curious way reacts upon the general
+nervous tone of the animal. All those who are familiar with horses
+will, I think, agree with me that much grooming distinctly increases
+the endurance and elasticity of their bodies. The influence of the
+grooming process appears to be somewhat like that obtained by massage
+and friction of the skin in the training of an athlete. More than
+once I have had occasion to observe the effect of this process on
+some ancient horse of good blood, which for years had been allowed in
+its old age to go uncared for as an idle tenant of the pastures. Two
+or three days of assiduous grooming will bring back the strength and
+suppleness to the aged limbs, and restore something of the olden
+spirit. The effect obtained from this care is the more remarkable for
+the reason that nothing similar to it was experienced by the wild
+ancestors of these creatures. It is as artificial as bathing in the
+case of man. The influ<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>ence of the treatment shows how very unnatural
+is the state of our civilized horses.</p>
+
+<p>The task of providing horses with food is more considerable than in
+the case of any of our other domesticated creatures. By nature the
+animal is a frequent feeder, and does not well endure long fasts. Its
+stomach is rather small for the size of the body, and the digestive
+process appears to be more than usually rapid. A mounted animal, when
+taxed to its utmost, should be fed four or five times a day, and with
+less than three good meals is apt to break down. No such care in the
+matter of provender is necessary in the case of the other members of
+man's animal family. The contrast between the physiological
+conditions of the camel and those of the horse are fully recognized
+by the Arabs, in their almost complete neglect of the individuals of
+the one species and their exceeding care of the other.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89-90]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="polo_ponies" id="polo_ponies"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-089.jpg" alt="A group on polo players on their ponies." width="600" height="398" /><br />
+<p class="caption">English Polo Ponies</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Perhaps the greatest element of care which man has had to devote to
+the horse is found in the matter of shoeing. In the state of nature
+the admirably constructed hoof sufficiently provided the animal
+against the excessive wearing of its horny extremity. Nature,
+however, rarely provides for more strength and endurance than the
+creature in its wild state demands; and so it comes about that when
+horses have to bear burdens or draw carriages, particularly on
+roadways, their unprotected feet will not withstand the strain which
+is put upon them, the rate of growth of the structure composing the
+hoof not being sufficiently rapid to make good the wearing which
+these unnatural conditions impose. For thousands of years, in the
+roadless stages of man's development, the difficulties arising from
+the wearing of the hoof were not serious, for the creatures trod
+either on turf-covered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> plains or on the soft ways of the desert.
+When the advance of culture made roads necessary, when carriages
+were invented and something like our modern conditions were
+instituted, it became imperatively necessary to provide additional
+protection for the feet. We find the Greeks, in the classic time,
+wrestling with this problem. Xenophon, in his treatise on the care
+of horses, advises that they be reared on stony ground, he having
+observed that, in a natural way, the hoof becomes somewhat adapted
+to the necessities of its conditions. The Romans found the
+difficulty from the tender foot of the horse yet more serious on
+their paved roads; but both these classic people showed, in their
+ways of dealing with the difficulty, that lack of inventive skill
+which so curiously separates the olden from the modern men. They
+devised soles of leather and bags as coverings for the horse's feet,
+but none of the contrivances could have been very serviceable. All
+such coverings must have been quickly worn out in active use.</p>
+
+<p>So far as we can determine, it was not until about the fourth century
+of our era that the iron horseshoe was invented. This valuable
+contrivance appears to have originated in Greek or Roman lands,
+probably in the former realm, for it first bore the name of "selene,"
+from its likeness to the crescent shape of the new moon. Although
+simple, the horseshoe was a most important invention, for it
+completely reconciled the animal to the conditions of our higher
+civilization by removing the one hinderance to its general use in the
+work of war and commerce. It is probable that with this invention
+began the great task of differentiating the several breeds of
+European horses for their use in various employments, as draught
+animals for packing purposes, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> light saddle horses, and the
+bearing of armored men. Neither the draught nor the war horses of
+Europe could well have been specialized until their heavy bodies were
+separated from the ground by these metallic coverings of the hoof.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="syrian_horse" id="syrian_horse"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-092.jpg" alt="A Syrian with a rifle beside a hirse with a high-backed saddle." width="600" height="399" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Syrian Horse</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Much has depended on the specialization of the horse into different
+breeds, made possible by the iron shoe. By reconciling the creature to
+uses&mdash;agriculture, which depends on draught animals, and the commerce
+of importance, which can only be effected by means of wagons&mdash;the
+rapid economic development of our civilization was made possible. By
+developing a horse capable of bearing an armored man, Europe was
+brought into a condition in which organized armies took the place of
+mere forays, and so the development of centralized states was
+promoted. In the warfare between the Mohammedans and the Christian
+states of Europe, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> the campaigns with the Turks and the Saracens,
+it is easy to see that the powerful breeds of horses reared in western
+and northern Europe were a mighty element in determining the issue of
+the contest. The battles of these momentous campaigns represented, not
+only a struggle between the Christian Aryans and the Semitic followers
+of Mahomet, but, in quite as great a degree, the war was waged between
+the light and agile steeds of the Orient and the massive and powerful
+animals that bore the mail-clad warriors of the West. On the field of
+Tours, when the fate of Christian Europe for hours hung in the
+balance, we may well believe that the strong and enduring horses of
+the northern cavalry did much to give victory to our race.</p>
+
+<p>Along with our general account of the place of the horse in
+civilization, it is fit to give something to the story of his near,
+though inferior, kinsmen, the ass and the mule, both of which have
+played a subordinate, though important, part in the same field of
+endeavor in which the nobler species has done so much for man. The
+original progenitors of our donkeys differed from the ancestral form
+of the horse by variations of good specific value. So far as we can
+determine from visible features, these forms were more distinctly
+parted than the dog and the wolf, or either of these animals from the
+jackal. Nevertheless, these equine forms are clearly closely akin, for
+they may be bred together. Although the original stock of the ass may
+possibly have been lost, it seems most likely that the wild forms
+which exist in Asia have not wandered off from captivity, but are the
+remnants of the original wilderness form.</p>
+
+<p>It appears likely that the two domesticated equine species have been
+under the care of man for about the same length<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> of time; but the
+difference in their condition, and in the place which they hold in
+civilization, is very great. As we have seen, the horse has been made
+to vary in a singular measure, its form and other qualities changing to
+meet the need or fancy of its master. Its humbler kinsman has remained
+almost unchanged. Except small differences in size, the donkeys in
+different parts of the world are singularly alike. In part this lack of
+change may be explained by the relative neglect with which this species
+has been treated. From the point of view of the breeder it has perhaps
+been the least cared for of any of our completely domesticated animals.
+In some parts of the world, as for instance in Spain, where a
+long-continued effort has been made to develop the animal for
+interbreeding with the horse, the result shows that the form is
+relatively inelastic. It is doubtful if any conceivable amount of care
+would develop such variations as the horse now exhibits.</p>
+
+<p>The principal hinderances to the general acceptation of the donkey as a
+help-meet to man are found in its small size and slow motion. These
+qualities make the creature unserviceable in active war or in
+agriculture, and they seem to be so fixed in the blood that they are
+not to any extent corrigible. So long as pack animals were in general
+use, and in those parts of the world where the conditions of culture
+cause this method of transportation to be retained, the qualities of
+the donkey have proved and are still found of value. The animal can
+carry a relatively heavy burden, being in such tasks, for its weight,
+more efficient than the horse. It is less liable to stampedes. It
+learns a round of duty much more effectively than that creature, and
+can subsist by browsing on coarse herbage, where a horse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> would be so
+far weakened as to become useless. Thus, in developing the mines in the
+unimproved wilderness of the Cordilleras, where ores of the precious
+metals have to be carried for considerable distances, trains of
+"burros" are often employed. The animals quickly learn the nature of
+their task, and will do their work with but little guidance from man.</p>
+
+<p>In general we may say that the donkeys belong to a vanishing state of
+human culture, to the time before carriage-ways existed. Now that
+civilization goes on wheels, they seem likely to have an
+ever-decreasing value. A century ago they were almost everywhere in
+common use. At the present time there are probably millions of people
+in the United States to whom the animal is known only by description.
+In a word, the creature marks a stage in the development of our
+industries which is passing away as rapidly as that in which the
+spinning-wheel and the hand-loom played a part.</p>
+
+<p>As the use of the ass in the economic arts began to decline, the mule
+or hybrid progeny of this creature and the horse has progressively
+increased. Although the value of this mongrel has been known,
+particularly in southern Europe, from very early days, its most
+extensive employment has been found in the old slave-holding States of
+the Federal union. The custom of using mules has been almost unknown in
+England, and has never been generally adopted in the northern part of
+the United States. It appears to have been introduced into southern
+regions by the Spaniards and the French, and there to have spread,
+because of the peculiar fitness of the creature to the climate and the
+employment it had to endure in that part of America. The mule has the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+peculiar advantage that it is on the average as large as the horse, is
+nearly as quick-footed when walking, and has at the same time a
+considerable share of the patient endurance to hard labor and scant
+fare which characterizes the donkeys. It matures somewhat more speedily
+than its nobler kinsman, being ready to meet severe strains perhaps a
+year earlier. Unless unconscionably abused, its period of fitness for
+hard work endures about one-third longer, often lasting for thirty
+years. It is singularly exempt from disease, its sturdy frame
+withstanding rude usage until the old age time.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="circus" id="circus"></a>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-096.jpg" alt="A horse performing in a circus." width="600" height="397" /><br />
+<p class="caption">In the Circus</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The mule<a name="hybrid" id="hybrid"></a> is especially interesting to the naturalist for the reason
+that it affords the only certain case in which a hybrid has proved
+decidedly serviceable to man. It is not unlikely that a similar mixture
+of the blood of two species occurs in our ordinary cats, and it may
+exist in the case of the dog<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> and in some of the domestic birds; but so
+far as we know, there has been no other useful result from the
+hybridizing, if it has occurred. Moreover, the mule is unique for the
+fact that the animal is distinctly stronger for its weight, and more
+enduring than either species which his blood combines. In fact, there
+is no product of man's industry in relation to domesticated animals
+which is more interesting than this singular creature. At present, its
+use appears to be going out of vogue; the evidence goes to show that
+the hybrid has no place in the affections of mankind, and that it is
+only likely to be kept in its use in tropical countries, and
+particularly in regions where the beasts have to be under the care of
+slaves or other negligent folk. It is a singular fact in connection
+with this hybrid, that it is nearly absolutely sterile, there being
+only two or three cases on record in which they have proved fecund. It
+seems, however, possible that if these rare instances of continued
+breeding were to be duly used, an intermediate species might be
+permanently established. This is, indeed, one of the most important
+lines for experiment which could be undertaken by an institution
+devoted to the study of problems relating to domestication.</p>
+
+<p>It is commonly thought that a mule is a stupider creature than the
+horse; but I have never found a person, who was well acquainted with
+both animals, who hesitated to place the mongrel in the intellectual
+grade above the pure-blood animal. There is, it is true, a decided
+difference in the mental qualities of the two creatures. The mule is
+relatively undemonstrative, its emotions being sufficiently expressed
+by an occasional bray&mdash;a mode of utterance which he has inherited from
+the humbler side of his house in a singularly unchanged way. Even in
+the best humor it appears sullen, and lacks<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> those playful capers which
+give such expression to the well-bred horse, particularly in its
+youthful state. It is evident, however, that it discriminates men and
+things more clearly than does the horse. In going over difficult ground
+it studies its surface, and picks its way so as to secure a footing in
+an almost infallible manner. Even when loaded with a pack, it will
+consider the incumbrance and not so often try to pass where the burden
+will become entangled with fixed objects.</p>
+
+<p>Mules soon learn the difference between those who have the care of them
+and strangers. It is a well-known fact that trouble awaits the wight
+who unwarily ventures to take from the stall a mule which has not the
+advantage of his acquaintance. On this account they are rarely stolen.
+Even in the daytime they are often dangerous for strangers to approach,
+and the most of the ill-usage which men receive from their heels arises
+where unwitting people venture to treat them as they would horses.
+Mules are much less liable to panic-fear than the most of our
+domesticated animals, yet, when kept in the herded way, they
+occasionally become stampeded. Many a soldier of our Civil War, where
+mules played a large part in the campaigns, doubtless remembers the mad
+outbreaks of these creatures from their corrals, when they went
+charging through the army with a fury which, if directed against an
+enemy, would have been almost as effective as a cavalry charge.</p>
+
+<p>It is interesting to note that mules have a greater disposition to
+adopt a leader in their movements than we note in either of the species
+whence they come. In the old days when mules were plentifully bred in
+Kentucky, and taken thence for sale to the plantation States, they went
+forth in droves, commonly under the leadership of a bell horse, or, by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
+preference, a mare, which it was quite the custom to choose of a white
+color. In the course of a few hours the creatures would learn to know
+their guide, and to follow the leader with so little trouble that two
+men could conduct a throng of several hundred. Nevertheless, if the
+foremost mule of the procession turned aside, all the others would
+blindly follow him in the manner of a flock of sheep.</p>
+
+<p>I recall an amusing instance of this "follow-my-leader" motive which
+occurred many years ago in a way somewhat personal to myself, in
+southern Kentucky. Engaged in survey work, I was passing along a quiet
+road when in the distance I heard a thunder of hoofs, and in a moment
+saw a great drove of mules, the appointed leader of which, a man on a
+white horse, had fallen to the rear of the column. The creatures,
+thinking that it was their duty to overtake the missing master, were
+going on the full run. Heeding the shouts of the troubled herder, I
+turned my wagon across the road, which, being at that point very narrow,
+was effectually barricaded by the vehicle. Although the rush was so wild
+that the brutes nearly overset my "outfit," they were brought to a full
+stop. Unhappily, on one side of the road and one hundred feet or so from
+it, there was a comfortably built southern house, with a broad gallery
+extending along the front; while in the door of the mansion were some
+women who had been attracted by the tumult. No sooner had the mob of
+mules been brought to a state of surging quiet, than one of the
+creatures jumped the picket fence, and started for the open house-door,
+thinking, perhaps, that he would find some peace of life in what
+probably seemed to him his accustomed barn. In much less time than it
+takes to tell it, a hundred or more mules were on the gallery, the floor
+of which gave way beneath<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> their weight; they quickly broke down the
+columns which supported the roof, so that the whole structure at once
+became a heap of wood and mules. The unhappy proprietor of the drove, in
+his consternation, forgot even to swear&mdash;an art which I have never known
+on any other occasion to pass from a mule-driver; and, sitting on his
+white horse, he lifted his hands like an oriental in prayer, and said to
+me meekly, "Did you ever in all your life?" I assured him that I had
+never, and went my way, leaving him to settle an interesting case of
+damages with the owner of the mansion.</p>
+
+<p>In considering the general influence of the horse and its kindred forms
+on human culture, we clearly perceive that we are now attaining a time
+when the machinery of civilization is to depend in a much less degree
+than of old on the help which these creatures give to man. Even fifty
+years ago the horse was far more necessary to the work of our kind than
+it is at present. Going back a hundred years, we perceive that the
+population of the civilized world could not possibly have been
+maintained, if by some disease all the horses had been swept away. Such
+a calamity in the year 1800 would have led to the depopulation of almost
+all the cities of the interior country, famine would have ravaged our
+States, and the whole economic system of society would have had to be
+reconstructed. Now the greater part of the work which of old had to be
+done by horses, can, at a slight increase of cost, be effected by
+mechanical engines. Ploughing, except on steep hillsides and in very
+stony ground, can be cheaply and effectively done by steam. The same
+agent can propel the harvesters and work the threshing machines. Even
+farmers who till fields of no great extent find it desirable to do much
+of their work by steam-engines, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> the reason that fuel is less costly
+than horse feed. An interesting instance to show how far mechanical
+inventions have taken the place of horsed wagons in the work of
+civilized communities was afforded by the horse distemper which swept
+over the country in 1872. During the week or more in which this epidemic
+was at the worst, the State of Massachusetts was practically unhorsed,
+yet the greater part of the necessary business, that required to bring
+provisions to the town, was effected by means of the railways. The same
+incident shows, however, in another way, how absolutely necessary this
+animal is, in certain parts of our work. For the great Boston fire,
+which occurred at that time, was doubtless due to the fact that, owing
+to the sickness of the horses, an effort was made to drag the engines by
+hand-power, with the result that they came upon the ground so slowly as
+to give the fire a chance to become an uncontrollable conflagration.</p>
+
+<p>In the present state of our arts there is one great occupation which we
+cannot conceive to be carried on without the services of horses. This is
+war. It is hardly too much to say that all our highly elaborated
+military system has depended for its development, as it does for its
+maintenance, on the transportation value of horses. Much has been said
+of late as to the use of bicycles as adjuncts to armies, and in a
+certain limited way they will doubtless prove serviceable in future
+campaigns; but no one who has had any experience of military duty, with
+its work across tilled fields and through forests, can imagine a man on
+a wheel rendering any very effective service except under peculiar
+conditions. Moreover, no ordnance corps can do its appointed work in the
+rear of a line of battle without sending its wagons across<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> country and
+over ground which no unhorsed vehicle could traverse.</p>
+
+<p>The mark of the old utility of the animal in varied employment is
+retained in our use of the term horse-power in measuring the energy of
+engines. That gauge of strength of old determined what man could do in
+the severest taxes upon the forces at his command. In attaining the
+point where, owing to the possession of horses, he could use this
+standard, he won a great way beyond the station of his ancestors, who
+had but the strength of men at their command. Modern invention, by
+giving us heat-engines, has made the way for an advance. In another
+century, or even in another generation, the horse may, save for the uses
+of war, be confined to the position of a luxury and an ornament.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE FLOCKS AND HERDS: BEASTS FOR<br />
+BURDEN, FOOD, AND RAIMENT</h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+Effect of this Group of Animals on Man.&mdash;First Subjugations.&mdash;Basis
+of Domesticability.&mdash;Horned Cattle.&mdash;Wool-bearing Animals.&mdash;Sheep
+and Goats.&mdash;Camels: their Limitation.&mdash;Elephants: Ancient History;
+Distribution; Intelligence; Use in the Arts; Need of True
+Domestication.&mdash;Pigs: their Peculiar Economic Value; Modern
+Varieties; Mental Qualities.&mdash;Relation of the Development of
+Domesticable Animals to the Time of Man's Appearance on the Earth.
+</p>
+
+<p>It is not too much to say that the opportunity to go forward on the
+paths of culture, at least the chance to advance any considerable
+distance beyond the estate of primitive men, depends in a considerable
+measure upon what the wilderness may offer in the way of domesticable
+beasts of burden. Where such exist we find that the folk who dwell with
+them in any land are almost certain to have made great advances. Where
+the surrounding nature, however rich, denies this boon, we find that
+men, however great their natural abilities may appear to be, exhibit a
+retarded development. Thus in North America, where there was no
+domesticable beast of burden, the Indians, though an able folk, remain
+savages. So, too, in central and southern Africa, where the mammalian
+life, though rich, affords no large forms which tolerate captivity, the
+people have failed to attain any considerable culture. On the other
+hand, in the great continent of the Old World, where the horse, the ass,
+the buffalo, the camel, and the elephant existed in the primitive wilds,
+men rose swiftly toward the civilized station.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="buffaloes_egypt" id="buffaloes_egypt"></a>
+<img src="images/da-104.jpg" alt="Farmer with a pair of buffaloes yoked together." width="600" height="380" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Domesticated Buffaloes in Egypt</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p>
+<p>The immediate effect arising from the possession of beasts of burden is
+greatly to enlarge the scope and educative value of human labor. A
+primitive agriculture, sufficient to provide for the needs of a people,
+can be carried on by man's labor alone, though the resulting food-supply
+has generally to be supplemented by the chase. Rarely, if ever, are the
+products of the soil thus won sufficient in quantity to be made the
+basis of any commerce. Such conveyance as is necessary among the people
+who are served by their own hands alone, has to be accomplished by boat
+transportation or by the backs of men. The immediate effect of using
+beasts for burden is the introduction of some kind of plough, which
+spares the labor of men in delving the ground, and the use of pack
+animals, which, employed in the manner of caravans, greatly promotes the
+extension of trade. A great range of secondary influences is found in
+the development of the arts of war, by which people who have become
+provided with pack or saddle ani<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>mals are able to prevail over their
+savage neighbors, and thus to extend the realm of a nascent
+civilization. Yet another influence, arising from the domestication of
+large beasts, arises from the fact that these creatures are important
+storehouses of food; their flesh spares men the labor of the chase, and
+so promotes those regularities of employment which lead men into
+civilized ways of life. In fact, by making these creatures captive, men
+unintentionally brought themselves out of their ancient savagery. They
+were led into systematic and forethoughtful courses, and thus found a
+training which they could in no other way have secured.</p>
+
+<p><a name="cattle_india" id="cattle_india"></a></p>
+<div class="figright">
+<img src="images/da-105.jpg" alt="Line drawings of Indian cattle." width="400" height="292" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Cattle of India</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The first and simplest use made of the animals from which man derives
+strength appears to have been brought about by the subjugation of wild
+cattle&mdash;the bulls and buffaloes. Several wild varieties of the bovine
+tribe were originally widely disseminated in Europe and Asia, and these
+forms must have been frequent objects of chase by the ancient hunters.
+Although in their adult state these animals were doubtless originally
+intractable, the young were mild-mannered, and, as we can readily
+conceive, must often have been led captive to the abodes of the
+primitive people. As is common with all gregarious animals which have
+long acknowledged the authority<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> of their natural herdsmen, the dominant
+males of their tribe, these creatures lent themselves to domestication.
+Even the first generation of the captives reared by hand probably showed
+a disposition to remain with their masters; and in a few generations
+this native impulse might well have been so far developed that the
+domestic herd was established, affording perhaps at first only flesh and
+hides, and leading the people who made them captives to a nomadic
+life&mdash;that constant search for fresh fields and pastures new which
+characterizes people who are supported by their flocks and herds.</p>
+
+<p>It is a curious fact that the kindred of the buffaloes and bisons
+differ exceedingly in the measure of their domesticability. Thus, the
+ordinary buffalo of Asia, though a dull brute, is very subjugable,
+even in the literal sense, for he makes a tolerable beast for the
+plough and bears the yoke with due patience. His African kinsman, on
+the other hand, is perhaps the most unconquerable of all the large
+wild animals. The late Sir Samuel Baker, in answer to my question as
+to what wild form was the most to be feared in combat, unhesitatingly
+answered, "The African buffalo, the bulls of which charge home upon
+any aggressor with an immediate and determined fury, which often
+enables them to kill the hunter after they have been shot through the
+brain." Our American bison, though a much milder-spirited beast, seems
+also to be essentially undomesticable for the reason that he cannot be
+taught to subordinate his desires to the will of man. He can readily
+be brought to the point where he will tolerate captivity; but if, when
+engaged in ploughing, it occurs to him that he needs water, he will
+straightway go in search of it, not in a vicious, but in a perfectly
+obdurate manner. This quality of mind appears to be accountable for
+the failure of the many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> experiments which have been made to
+domesticate this interesting American form.</p>
+
+<p>The limitations of the domesticating work, the fact that as between
+two kindred species the one has been chosen by man and the other left,
+indicate the truth&mdash;which is generally of much importance&mdash;that the
+intellectual qualities of animals commonly differ more than their
+frames. This is a part of the larger fact that with the advance in
+organization the individuality, as regards the whole spiritual field
+in persons and species alike, becomes greater. The culmination of the
+tendency is seen in man, where, with bodies which do not vary much, we
+have an almost infinite range in individual qualities.</p>
+
+<p>This is perhaps a good place in which to make answer to the suggestion
+that the domesticability of the animal species is in inverse
+proportion to their native courage and independence of mind. The
+reader will see how fallacious is this common notion if he will
+consider the quality of the supremely domesticated creature, the dog.
+There is probably no beast which has a larger share of natural courage
+and of independent motive. When not under the control of their
+masters, they have perhaps as free a contact with nature as any
+creature in the world; the same thing may be said of the elephant,
+which, next to the dog, lends himself most obediently to the
+requirements of the master. Owing to the power of his huge body and to
+the ease with which he wins his food, he is in his native wilds the
+least dependent of land animals. Except from the assaults of man, he
+has nothing to fear; yet when enslaved he at once surrenders himself
+to his captors. In general, it may be said that the true gauge of
+domesticability is the sympathetic motive, that strange outgoing
+spirit which leads the mind to recognize the life about it and to
+accept<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> that life as a part of its own. In other words, the
+domesticability of man is due to his willingness to enter into social
+relations and rests on the same foundation that supports his
+intercourse with the lower animals he has won to his use.</p>
+
+<p><a name="indian_bullock" id="indian_bullock"></a></p>
+<div class="figleft">
+<img src="images/da-108.jpg" alt="Indian water-carrier with a bullock beside a pool of water." width="400" height="277" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Indian Bullock and Water-Carrier</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is probable that the first use which was made of beasts of burden,
+in ways in which their strength became useful to man, was in packing
+the tents and other valuables of their masters as they moved from
+place to place. Even to this day in certain parts of the world bulls
+and oxen serve for such purposes. In fact the nomadic life, a fashion
+of society which is enforced wherever people subsist from their
+cattle alone, leads inevitably to such use of the beasts. In the
+southern Appalachian district of this country there remain traces of
+this service rendered by bulls and oxen. These creatures, provided
+with a kind of pack saddle, are occasionally used in conveying the
+dried roots of the ginseng, beeswax, feathers, and the peltries which
+are gathered by the inhabitants of remote districts, not accessible
+to carriages, to the markets of the outer world. All the varieties of
+ordinary cattle could be made to serve as burden-carriers, and they
+doubtless would be continued to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> used for saddle purposes in one
+way or another but for the wide use of the horse, a creature very
+much better adapted for carrying weight. The cloven foot of the bulls
+and buffaloes gives a weakness to the extremities which will quickly
+lead to disease in case they are forced to carry heavy loads such
+as the horse or ass may safely bear.</p>
+
+<p><a name="ploughing_syria" id="ploughing_syria"></a></p>
+<div class="figright">
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-109.jpg" alt="Farmer with a pair of oxen pulling a plough." width="400" height="266" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Ploughing in Syria</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The help which our bovine servants afford us by the power which they
+exert in traction, as in drawing ploughs, sleds, or wagons, appears to
+have been first rendered long after their introduction to the ways of
+man. The first of these uses in which the drawing strength of these
+animals was made serviceable appears to have been in the work of
+ploughing. In primitive days and with primitive tools, hand delving
+was a sore task. The inventive genius who first contrived to overturn
+the earth by means of the forked limb of a tree, shaped in the
+semblance of a plough and drawn by oxen, began a great revolution in
+the art of agriculture. To this unknown genius we may award a place
+among the benefactors of mankind, quite as distinguished as that which
+is occupied by the equally unknown inventors of the arts of making fire
+or of smelting ores. After the experience with the strength of oxen had
+been won from the work of ploughing, it was easy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> to pass to the other
+grades of their employment, where they were made to draw carriages.</p>
+
+<p>Next after the contribution which the kindred of the bulls, have made
+by their strength, we must set that which has come from their milk.
+Although this substance can be obtained in small quantities from
+several other domesticated animals, the species of the genus Bos alone
+have yielded it in sufficient quantities greatly to affect the
+development of man. It is difficult to measure the importance of the
+addition to the diet, both of savage and civilized peoples, which milk
+affords. It is a fact well known to physiologists that in its simple
+form this substance is a complete food, capable when taken alone of
+sustaining life and insuring a full development of the body. It is
+indeed a natural contrivance exactly adapted to afford those materials
+which are required for the development and restoration of creatures
+essentially akin to our own species. Those races which avail themselves
+extensively of it in their dietary are the strongest and most enduring
+the world has known. The Aryan folk are indeed characteristically
+drinkers of milk and users of its products, cheese and butter. It may
+well be that their power is in some measure due to this resource.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111-2]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="winnowing_egypt" id="winnowing_egypt"></a>
+<img src="images/da-111.jpg" alt="Two oxen pulling a device used for trampling grain." width="600" height="415" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Winnowing Grain in Egypt</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In our horned cattle<a name="horned_cattle" id="horned_cattle"></a> man won to domestication creatures which were
+admirably suited to promote his advancement from savagery to
+civilization. Indeed, the possession of these animals appears to have
+been a prime condition of his advancement. With them, however, as with
+the camel, there came little in the way of those sympathetic qualities
+which have made it possible for our race to establish affectionate
+relations with other captive forms. Long intercourse with man has, it
+is true, somewhat diminished the wildness of these creatures, though
+the males remain the most indomitably fero<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>cious of all our
+servants. The truth seems to be that the bovine animals have but
+little intellectual capacity, and it has in no wise served the
+purposes of man to develop such powers of mind as they have. We have
+ever been given to asking little of them, save docility. This we have
+in a high measure won with our milch cows, which of all our
+domesticated creatures are perhaps the most absolutely submissive; the
+more highly developed of them being little more than passive producers
+of milk, almost without a trace of instincts or emotions except such
+as pertain to reproduction and to feeding. It is a noteworthy fact
+that in all the great literature of anecdote concerning our
+domesticated animals, there is hardly a trace of stories which tend to
+show the existence of sagacity in our common cattle.</p>
+
+<p>It is evident that the variability of our domesticated bovines, as far
+as their bodies are concerned, is very great. Between the ancient
+aurochs and the more highly cultivated of its descendants, the
+difference is as great as that which separates any other of our captive
+animals from their wild ancestors. In size, shape, in flesh-and
+milk-giving qualities, the departure from the old form of the wilderness
+is remarkable. Moreover, at the present time these diverse breeds of
+horned cattle are rapidly being multiplied, the distinctive forms
+probably being twice as numerous as they were at the beginning of the
+present century. The process of selection has led to some very wide
+diversifications of the body. The horns, which in the wild state are
+invariably well developed, and which in the cattle of our Western plains
+attain very great size, have in certain breeds altogether disappeared,
+and in their place there sometimes comes a remarkable crest of bony
+matter which does not project beyond the skin which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> covers the head. If
+such differences occurred in the wild state, they would be regarded as
+separating the two types of animals widely from each other.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="egyptian_sheep" id="egyptian_sheep"></a>
+<img src="images/da-114.jpg" alt="Shepherdess with a flock of sheep." width="600" height="457" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Egyptian Sheep</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In treating the wool-bearing<a name="wool_bearing" id="wool_bearing"></a> animals along with beasts of burden, we
+make a somewhat fanciful classification which yet is not quite without
+reason. By long training man has brought these species to the state
+where their covering of wool or hair, once a coating only sufficient to
+afford protection from the weather, has become a very serious load. In
+certain of our highly developed varieties the annual coat is so far
+increased that the creature loses a large part of its bulk after the
+shearer has done his work. Each year's fleece often amounts in weight
+to eight to twelve pounds, and in its lifetime the animal may yield a
+mass of wool far exceeding its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> weight of flesh and bones in any time
+of its life. When the fleece is mature the animal is often burdened
+with a load about as heavy in proportion to his size as is a horse by
+the weight of its rider and accoutrements.</p>
+
+<p>As a flesh producer, particularly in sterile fields, sheep are more
+valuable than our horned cattle. They mature more rapidly, attaining
+their adult size and reproducing their kind in less than two years, so
+that in many parts of the world it is possible to obtain a larger
+quantity of flesh from poor pasturages with sheep than with any other
+of our domesticated animals. Their principal value, however, has been
+from the means they afforded whereby men in high latitudes have
+obtained warm clothing. Before the domestication of these creatures,
+peoples who had to endure the winter of high latitudes were forced to
+rely upon hides for covering&mdash;a form of clothing which is clumsy,
+uncleanly, and which the chase could not supply in any considerable
+quantity. Owing to its peculiar structure, the hair of the sheep makes
+the strongest and warmest covering, when rendered into cloth, which has
+ever been devised for the use of man. The value of this contribution is
+directly related to the conditions of climate. In the intertropical
+regions the sheep plays no part of importance. In high latitudes it is
+of the utmost value to man. No other of our domesticated creatures,
+except the camel, is so specially adapted to the needs which
+peculiarities of climate impose upon their possessors.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="bedouin" id="bedouin"></a>
+<img src="images/da-116.jpg" alt="Bedouin goat-herd with goats." width="500" height="610" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Bedouin Goat-Herd&mdash;Palestine</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The relations of the goat<a name="goat" id="goat"></a> to mankind are in certain ways peculiar. The
+creature has long been subjugated, probably having come into the human
+family before the dawn of history. It has been almost as widely
+disseminated, among barbarian and civilized peoples alike, as the
+sheep. It readily<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> cleaves to the household, and exhibits much more
+intelligence than the other members of our flocks and herds. It yields
+good milk, the flesh is edible, though in the old animals not savory,
+and the hair can be made to vary in a larger measure than any of our
+animals which are shorn. Yet this creature has never obtained the place
+in relation to man to which it seems entitled. Only here and there is
+it kept in consider<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>able numbers or made the basis of extensive
+industries. The reason for this seems to be that these animals cannot
+readily be kept in flocks in the manner of sheep. They are only partly
+gregarious, and tend to stray from the owner's keeping. There seems
+reason also to believe that they cannot easily be made to vary in other
+characteristics except their hairy covering at the will of the breeder,
+and so varieties cannot be formed, as is the case with sheep, to suit
+each peculiarity of soil and climate. Thus in Europe, where it would be
+easy to name a score of distinct breeds of sheep, each peculiarly well
+suited to the conditions of the country where it had been developed,
+the goats are singularly alike. The original stock of these creatures
+appears to have been adapted to feeding on the scant herbage which
+develops in rocky and mountainous countries. They do not seem able to
+make the perfect use of the resources of a pasture which sheep do.
+These inherited peculiarities in feeding enable them to pick up a
+subsistence where they may range over a considerable territory, even
+where it seems to afford no forms of food for the hungriest animal.
+Thus in that part of the city of New York known as "Shanty town," goats
+may be seen in fairly good condition, although the sole source of food,
+besides a few stray weeds, appears to be the paste of the paper
+advertisements which they pick from the rocks and fences.</p>
+
+<p>Although goats appear to be characterized by invariable bodies, our
+sheep are, in physical characteristics, among the most flexible of our
+domesticated animals. They may by selection readily and rapidly be made
+to vary as regards the character of their wool, the size and proportion
+of their muscles, and the quantity and placing of the fat. In all these
+features they may be fairly blown to and fro by the wind of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> favor.
+Between the meagre-bodied merino, with its skeleton-like frame and
+heavily wrinkled skin bearing a vast burden of long wool, and the heavy
+Hampshire-downs or South-downs, there is really an immense difference in
+bodily quality; yet these variations represent only a century or two of
+careful experiment on the part of the breeders. It seems not improbable
+that in the present state of this developing art it would be possible,
+in a hundred years, to reverse the conditions of these two varieties.</p>
+
+<p>Sheep and goats, like the other herbivorous species which are the
+common tenants of our fields and forests, belong to the great class of
+dull-witted mammals in which the intellectual processes appear to be
+almost altogether limited to ancient and simple emotions, such as are
+inspired by fear or hunger. They are characterized by little
+individuality of mind, and although the needs of men have not led to
+any experiment in developing their wits, as in the case of dogs, there
+is no reason to believe that they afford much foundation for such
+essays. The present rapid variations in the physical characteristics of
+our sheep which are induced by the breeder's skill, make it evident
+that we are far from having attained the maximum profit from these
+creatures. The goats also give promise, when selective work is
+carefully done upon them, of giving much more than they now afford to
+the uses of mankind; but from neither of these forms is there reason to
+hope, at least on our present lines of experiment, for any considerable
+gain in the intellectual qualities.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="caravan" id="caravan"></a>
+<img src="images/da-119.jpg" alt="A caravan in the desert." width="600" height="394" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Great Caravan Road&mdash;Central Asia</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>We have already noted the fact that the sheep is especially adapted to
+serve man in high latitudes, where he has to provide against the
+winter's cold. The camel is an even more striking instance in which the
+value of the creature<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> depends upon climatal peculiarities. It is
+peculiarly fitted, by its ancestral training and development, for the
+use of men who dwell in arid countries. In the olden days of the later
+Tertiary epoch, creatures akin to the camels appear to have been widely
+distributed, and were probably adapted to considerable variations of
+environment. Within the time of which we know something by history,
+these forms have been limited to the arid districts of southwestern
+Asia and northern Africa. It is not certain that we know the originally
+wild form of either of the two species, the double-humped or
+single-humped camels. Wild members of each exist, but they may be the
+descendants of the domesticated forms. It seems probable that long
+before the building of the Pyramids the people of the deserts had
+learned how to profit from the very peculiar qualities of this
+strangely provided beast, which in several distinct ways is singularly
+fitted to serve the needs of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> man in arid lands. The large and
+well-padded foot of this creature is well adapted for treading a
+surface unsoftened by vegetation. Its peculiar stomach enables it to
+store water in such a manner that it can go for days without drink. In
+the humps upon its back, as in natural pack-saddles, it may harvest a
+share of the nutriment which it obtains from occasional good
+pasturages, the store being laid away in the form of fat which may
+return to the blood when the creature would otherwise starve. So
+important have these peculiarities been found by men who have
+domesticated the camel, that on them have rested many of the most
+interesting features of race development in the history of our kind. In
+the territories along the eastern and southern shores of the
+Mediterranean, and in a large part of southern and central Asia, the
+camel has done service to man which elsewhere has been performed by
+sheep, cattle, and horses. In those parts of the world the share which
+these domesticated animals have had in the development of man has been
+relatively small. The camel has given the strength for burdens, hair
+for clothing, and often flesh to the needy men of the desert.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121-2]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="story_teller" id="story_teller"></a>
+<img src="images/da-121.jpg" alt="A caravan campfire with a story teller." width="600" height="374" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Halt in the Desert at Night&mdash;The Story Teller</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><a name="camels_limited" id="camels_limited"></a>Although long a captive, and for ages, perhaps, the most serviceable of
+all the creatures which man has won from the wilds, the camel is still
+only partly domesticated, having never acquired even the small measure
+of affection for his master which we find in the other herbivorous
+animals which have been won to the service of man. The obedience which
+he renders is but a dull submission to inevitable toil. The
+intelligence which he shows is very limited, and, so far as I can judge
+from the accounts of those who have observed him, there is but little
+variation in his mental qualities. As a whole, the creature appears to
+be innately the dullest and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> least improvable of all our servitors.
+The fact is, this animal belongs to an ancient and lowly type of
+mammals characterized by relatively small brains, and therefore of weak
+intelligence; but, for its singular serviceableness in drought-ridden
+countries, it would probably have been hunted off the earth by the
+early men, as have been many other remnants of the ancient life.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="camels_feeding" id="camels_feeding"></a>
+<img src="images/da-123.jpg" alt="A group of camels feeding." width="500" height="468" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Camels Feeding</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is somewhat characteristic of the older forms of animals, those
+which took shape in the earlier Tertiary periods, that they are less
+variable than those which acquired their characteristics in times
+nearer our own. It is a fact well known to the students of
+paleontology, that species and genera<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> which have been long on the
+earth are apt to become in a way rigid as regards their qualities of
+body and mind. It is an interesting fact that, although the camel can
+readily be transplanted to many other parts of the world, where the
+physiographic conditions are similar to those of the realm where he has
+served man so well, he has never been thoroughly successful except in
+the regions where he has been in use for ages. In the desert regions of
+the Cordilleras of America, in South Africa, and in Australia, various
+experiments go to show that the creature could be perfectly reconciled
+to its environment. Many years ago a lot of camels were brought to the
+valley of the Rio Grande with a view to their utilization in that
+region, which closely resembles the desert countries about the
+Mediterranean. These animals were thoroughly successful in meeting the
+climatal conditions of the region. They proved as strong and as fertile
+as in their natural realms. Although it is said they survive to the
+present day, they have never been of any service to the people.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125-6]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="sugar_cane" id="sugar_cane"></a>
+<img src="images/da-125.jpg" alt="Camels working in fields of sugar cane." width="600" height="367" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Carrying the Sugar Cane in Harvest&mdash;Egypt</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><a name="camels_lessening" id="camels_lessening"></a>Although, as before noted, the camel has a certain value for other
+purposes than conveying burdens, these subsidiary uses are so far
+limited that the creature is not likely to retain a place in the world
+after his service in caravans is no longer called for. The rapid
+recivilization of northern Africa, leading as it does to the development
+of a railway system in that region, promises to displace this creature
+from his most trodden ways. It seems likely that the other portions of
+the desert lands in the old world will soon be brought under the same
+civilizing influences, the nomadic tribes reduced to a stationary habit
+of life, and the commerce effected in the modern manner. When this
+change is brought about, this old-time animal, which but for the care of
+man would have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> probably long since passed away, will be likely, save
+so far as it may be preserved through motives of scientific interest, to
+join the great array of vanished species.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="camels_twilight" id="camels_twilight"></a>
+<img src="images/da-127.jpg" alt="A line of camels along a beach." width="600" height="370" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Camels along the Sea at Twilight</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It affords a pleasant contrast to turn from the consideration of the
+camels to a study of the elephants<a name="elephant_origin" id="elephant_origin"></a>. The difference in the measure of
+attractiveness of the two forms is very great, and depends upon facts of
+remarkable interest. Unlike the camel&mdash;which, as we have seen, is the
+last survivor of an ancient lineage, represented by but two species, and
+these limited to a small part of the world&mdash;the elephant, at the time
+when man appears to have taken shape, seems to have existed on all the
+continental lands except Australia, and to have been in a state of
+singular prosperity. As is often the case with other vigorous genera of
+mammals, the species were adapted to a very great variety of climates,
+and were fitted to endure tropic heat as well as arctic cold.</p>
+
+<p>The group of elephants is first known to us in the early<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> part of
+Tertiary time. From its first appearance on our stage it seems to have
+been successful in a high measure, and this probably by reason of its
+possession of the remarkable invention of the trunk&mdash;a prolonged and
+marvellously flexible nose which serves in the manner of an arm and
+hand for gathering food.</p>
+
+<p>When we first find traces of mankind in the records of the rocks, in
+what appears to be an age just anterior to the Glacial epoch, the
+elephant had passed the experimental stages of its development and
+was firmly established as the king of beasts. In his adult form he
+had nothing to fear from any of the lower animals, and by the
+organization of herds it is probable that even the young were
+tolerably safe from assault. Until the early races of men had attained
+a considerable skill in the use of weapons, the great beasts were
+probably safe from human attack. We may well believe that primitive
+savages shunned them as unconquerable. As early, perhaps, as the
+closing stages of the Glacial epoch in Europe, we find evidences which
+pretty clearly show that the folk of that land, probably belonging to
+some race other than our own, had attained a state of the warlike arts
+in which they could venture to hunt this creature.</p>
+
+<p>The species of elephant which was hunted by the early men of Europe,
+and perhaps also by those in Asia and America as well, was a greater
+and, at least in appearance, a more formidable monster than the living
+species of Asia or Africa. He was on the average taller and probably
+bulkier than any of his living kindred. The tusks were large and
+curved in a curious scimitar form. Adding to the might of its aspect
+was a vast covering of hair, which on the neck appears to have had the
+form of a mane. This covering must have greatly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> increased the
+apparent size of the creature, which no doubt appeared about twice as
+large as any of our modern elephants which are nearly hairless.
+Although the perils of this ancient chase must have been great, the
+triumphs were equally so, and to a people who lived by hunting, most
+profitable; a single animal would furnish more food than scores of
+the lesser beasts such as the reindeer.</p>
+
+<p>It seems probable that the ancient northern elephant continued in
+existence in North America down to the time when this continent was
+inhabited by man. It can hardly be doubted that the very ancient human
+beings, whose remains are preserved to us beneath the lava streams of
+California, dwelt on the continent along with the mammoth. In
+excavations which I have made at Big Bone Lick in Kentucky, where a
+group of saline springs emerges at the bottom of a valley, there were
+disclosed a very great number of skeletons of this great elephant,
+commingled with the bones of one or two smaller forms of the related
+genus, the mastodon. At a slightly higher level was the multitude of
+remains belonging to an extinct species of bison which came just before
+our so-called buffalo, while near the surface of the ground was found
+the waste of the creatures which were in the field when it was first
+seen by the white men. A very careful search failed to reveal any trace
+of man until the uppermost level was attained. The facts, which cannot
+well be discussed here, have led me to the conclusion that only a few
+thousand years can have elapsed since the mammoth and the mastodon
+plentifully abounded in North America; but I am forced to doubt whether
+our savages were here in time to make acquaintance with these animals.</p>
+
+<p>It is not certain that the extermination of the great north<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>ern
+elephant or mammoth even in the Old World came about through the
+action of man. It is possible that the death was due to more natural
+causes, such as the change of climate which attended the decline of
+the Glacial period, or to the attacks of some insect enemy like the
+tsetze fly of South Africa, which occasionally brings destruction to
+cattle in that part of the world. On the whole, however, it seems
+most probable that the extermination of this noble beast is to be
+accounted among the brutal triumphs of mankind, perhaps as the first
+of the long tale of destructions which he has inflicted upon his
+fellow-creatures. However this may be, it is clear that at the dawn
+of civilization the species of the genus elephas had become limited
+to that part of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara,
+and to the portion of Asia east of the Persian Gulf and south of
+China. The remnant consisted of two species: the African form, on the
+average the larger of the two, a fierce and scarcely domesticable
+creature; and the Asiatic, a milder-natured species which alone has
+been to any extent brought into the service of man.</p>
+
+<p>It is not certain when or where elephants were first reduced to
+domestication. In the dawn of history we find them used to enhance the
+state of princes and for the purposes of war. It seems possible that
+in this early day the African as well as the Asiatic species was
+tamed, at least to the point where they could be made to serve in
+battle. We can hardly believe that all these animals which were at the
+command of Hannibal and the other generals of North Africa, came from
+the Asiatic realm. The fact that in modern times the species which
+dwells south of the Sahara has not been turned to the uses of man, may
+be accounted for by the lowly estate of the native people in that part
+of the world, and the lack of need<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> for such creatures in the economic
+conditions of the Aryan folk who have settled along the shores and in
+the southern part of that continent.</p>
+
+<p>The relations of man to the elephant are more peculiar than those which
+he has formed with any other domesticated animal. Although the creature
+will breed in captivity, its reproduction in that state is exceptional,
+and it is many years before the offspring are fit for any service. It
+is indeed about thirty years before the creature is sufficiently adult
+to attain a good measure of strength and endurance. It has therefore
+been the habit of the people who avail themselves of this admirable
+beast to use the captures which they make in the wilderness. It is a
+most interesting and exceptional fact that these captive elephants,
+though bred in perfect freedom and provided with none of those
+inherited instincts so essentially a part of the value of our other
+domesticated quadrupeds, become helpful to man and attached to him in a
+way which is characteristic of none other of our ancient companions
+except the dog. It is safe to say that the Asiatic elephant is the most
+innately domesticable, and the best fitted by nature for companionship
+with man, of all our great quadrupeds. The qualities of mind which in
+our other domesticated quadrupeds have been slowly developed by
+thousands of years of selection and intercourse with our kind, are in
+this creature a part of its wild estate.</p>
+
+<p>It appears from trustworthy anecdotes that the Asiatic elephants in a
+few months of captivity acquire the rules of conduct which it is
+necessary to impose upon them. The speediness of this intellectual
+subjugation may be judged from the fact that, after a short term of
+domestication, they will take a willing and intelligent part in
+capturing their kindred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> of the wilderness, showing in this work little
+or no disposition to rejoin the wild herds. In the case of no other
+animal do we find anything like such an immediate adhesion to the ways
+of civilization. We have to account for this eminent peculiarity of the
+elephant on the supposition, which appears to be thoroughly justified,
+that the creature has, even in its wild state, a type of intelligence
+and instincts more nearly like those of men than is the case with any
+other wild mammal, an affinity with human quality which is, perhaps,
+only approached by certain species of birds. It appears from the
+observations of naturalists that the family or tribe of wild elephants
+is a distinct and highly sympathetic community. The grade and value of
+the friendly feeling which prevails among them may be judged by the
+fact that, when one of the males becomes lost or is driven away from
+its associates, it does not seem to be able to join any other tribe,
+but becomes a "rogue," or solitary individual, and in this state
+develops a morose and furious temper.</p>
+
+<p>There are many well-attested stories which serve to show that wild
+elephants have a kind of intelligence which indicates a certain
+constructive capacity. Of these, perhaps the best are the instances in
+which the creatures have been caught in pitfalls, made by digging a
+hole in the paths of the wilderness which they are accustomed to
+follow, the surface being covered with a frail platform so arranged as
+to conceal the excavation. When one of a tribe is caught in the trap,
+the others, if time allows before the hunters come to the ground, will
+in an ingenious way release him. I doubt if the most practicable
+manner of effecting this will occur at once to the reader. The easiest
+plan may seem to drag the captive from the pit by sheer strength, but
+as the hole is deep and has vertical sides,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> the elephants contrive a
+better way. They bring bits of timber, which they throw into the
+pitfall, the captive treads them down until he is elevated to a
+position whence he can escape from his prison.</p>
+
+<p>The intelligence of the wild elephant is probably in good part to be
+accounted for by the fact that the creature possesses in its trunk an
+instrument which is admirably contrived to execute the behests of an
+intelligent will. It is easy for us to see how, in the case of man, the
+hands have served to develop the intelligence by providing him with
+means whereby he could do a great variety of things which demanded
+thought and afforded education. The elephant is the only large mammal
+which has ever acquired a serviceable addition to the body such as the
+trunk affords. In their ordinary life the trunk does almost as varied
+work as the human arm. With it they can express emotions in a remarkable
+way; they caress their young, gather their food by a great variety of
+movements, or defend themselves from assailants. To the naturalist who
+has come to perceive the close relations between bodily structure and
+mental endowments, it is not surprising to find that these creatures
+have attained a quality of mind which is found nowhere else among the
+mammals except in man and in some of his kindred, the apes.</p>
+
+<p>The most peculiar mental quality of the elephant, a feature which
+separates him even from the dog, is the rational way in which he will
+do certain kinds of mechanical work. He appears to have an immediate
+sense as to the effects of his actions, which we find elsewhere only
+among human beings. From a great body of well-attested observations,
+showing what may be called the logical quality of the mind of these
+creatures, I may be allowed to select a few stories which have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> a
+singular denotative value. An acquaintance of mine, a British officer
+who had served long in India, told me that in taking artillery over
+very difficult roads, certain of the abler elephants could be trusted
+to walk behind each piece, where they would in a fashion control its
+movements, steadying or lifting it as the occasion demanded without
+any directions from the driver.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="indian_elephant" id="indian_elephant"></a>
+<img src="images/da-134.jpg" alt="A mahout riding on an elephant." width="500" height="474" /><br />
+<p class="caption">An Indian Elephant</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Elephants can be trained to pile up sticks of timber, such as railway
+ties, placing the layers alternately in opposite directions, as is the
+custom in such work. There is an excellent and well-attested story of
+an elephant who, without a driver, was bearing a stick of timber
+through a narrow wood<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> path. Meeting a man on horseback, and
+perceiving that the way was not wide enough for both himself and the
+oncomer, the sagacious animal deliberately backed his huge body into
+the chaparral so as to clear the way, and then trumpeted as if to
+signal the horseman that the path was free.</p>
+
+<p>The emotions as well as the intelligence of elephants are singularly
+like those of human kind. It is said by those who know them well that
+if when in their stubborn fits they are brutally overborne, they are
+apt to die of what seems to be pure chagrin. Their states of grief,
+despair, and rage much resemble those which are exhibited by violent
+children or men unaccustomed to control. Their affections and
+animosities have also a curious human cast. They readily form
+attachments which appear to be quite as enduring as those exhibited by
+dogs, and their memory of injuries remains quick for years after they
+have received the harm. Well-verified anecdotes showing the likeness
+of these emotional qualities to our own exist in such numbers that it
+would be easy to fill a volume with them. They are, however, not
+necessary to show the likeness of the creature to ourselves. This is
+sufficiently exhibited by their daily behavior under domestication. In
+noting this we should remember that the male elephant is the only
+large mammal the males of which it has proved safe to use in the
+ordinary work of life. Even our bulls and stallions, though they
+belong to species which have been domesticated for thousands of years,
+are so violent and untrustworthy as to be of little value except for
+breeding purposes. Bulls, even of the tamer breeds, are a constant
+menace to the lives of their masters; yet an adult male elephant
+recently made captive may, except when seriously diseased, be trusted
+to obey the mere signals of the driver, who has no such control<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> over
+him as the bit affords in the case of horses. The creature has the
+strength to overcome all control save that of a moral nature. To this
+he submits in a way which is only equalled by our well-bred dogs.</p>
+
+<p>As yet the utility of the elephant to man has, measured by his
+qualities, been but small. The creature has a marvellous strength,
+great intelligence, and remarkable docility. In proportion to the
+power which he can apply to a task, he is not an expensive animal to
+maintain. He can endure a considerable range of climate, and enjoys a
+tolerable immunity from disease. The reason for the relatively
+inconsiderable use of these creatures is probably to be found in the
+fact that they are not adapted for ordinary draught purposes, nor are
+they well suited to the needs of the caravan, for which the camel or
+the pack-mule is much better fitted. In ancient warfare, before the
+invention of gunpowder, elephants carrying archers or javelin-men upon
+their backs were greatly valued for the effect of their charge against
+an enemy and for the fright with which they inspired horses. Against
+the unsteady ranks of Oriental armies they were often most efficient
+in breaking a line of battle. Even the Roman troops, when they first
+encountered them and before they knew how to meet their charges, found
+them very formidable. It was soon learned that if their onset was
+stoutly resisted, they were likely to become unmanageable in the
+uproar of the fight, and to do as much damage to friends as to foes.
+It is only in certain peculiar tasks that, in modern days, the
+elephants have any economic value, and in the most of this work their
+strength is likely to be replaced by various engines.</p>
+
+<p>The two existing species of elephants are, as before remarked, the
+survivors of a long lineage, represented in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> geological record by
+the remains of many extinct forms. Some of these lost species were far
+smaller than those of to-day; one at least was no larger than our
+heavier horses. If by the breeder's art the existing varieties could be
+caused so to change as to give us once again this relatively diminutive
+form, the creature would be sure to find a place of importance in our
+ordinary arts. The trouble is that the very long life of this animal is
+naturally associated with a slow growth. It requires indeed almost the
+lifetime of a generation to bring the individual to an adult age. It is
+therefore not surprising that, as the wild forms can readily be won to
+domestication, these creatures have not been the subject of any of those
+interesting processes of selection which have so far affected for the
+better the characteristics of nearly all the other domesticated animals.</p>
+
+<p>In every other regard than those mentioned above, the elephant appears
+to be an excellent subject for improvement by choice in breeding. The
+individuals vary much as regards their physical and mental qualities.
+Probably no other wild mammal exhibits such differences in the mental
+features as does this highly intellectual creature. The physical
+individuality does not seem to be as striking as the mental, but even
+here we note a range, at least as regards size, which is unusual in the
+wild forms bred under similar conditions. The general elasticity of the
+group is shown by the considerable differences which may be traced in
+the herds which occupy different parts of the field over which the
+species range. As yet these local peculiarities have not been carefully
+studied; but from an examination of the tusks in the ivory warehouse at
+the docks in London, I have found that those shipped from particular
+ports in Africa and Asia differed both in form and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> texture, so that
+the experts were able to tell from which district they came. The
+evidence, in a word, appears to show that the creature tends to vary;
+and it is a safe presumption that the forms would prove as responsive
+to the breeder's art as those of our horses, cattle, sheep, or dogs.</p>
+
+<p>As a whole, the elephant has been almost as little associated with the
+life of our own race as the camel. Neither of these creatures has ever
+played any considerable part in European affairs. From the
+disappearance of the last of the mammoths in the closing stages of the
+Glacial time until the invasions of Italy by Pyrrhus and by Hannibal,
+elephants were practically unknown in Western Europe. They have never
+been used in peaceful occupations on that continent, and have had only
+a trifling place in its military arts. It was probably due to this
+separation of our eminently experimental race from the realm of the
+elephants that no efforts have been made systematically to breed them
+in captivity, and thus to win varieties in which the form might become
+better adapted to economic needs, and the remarkable mental powers of
+the creature be brought to their utmost development. As yet the only
+Europeans who have had much to do with elephants are the British, who
+in their civil and military service in India have been thrown in
+contact with these animals. Generally, however, these people have been
+only temporarily domiciled in Asia, and probably on this account have
+not become interested in the problems which this noble beast presents
+to all those who appreciate the animal world. We lack, indeed, the
+observations which might have been made with admirable effect by
+British observers in India during the two centuries in which that
+people has had to do with the lands in which elephants abound.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p>
+<p>The elephant of Africa is still a tolerably abundant animal. Its
+numbers, though doubtless diminished by more than one-half within this
+century, are probably to be counted by the hundred thousand.
+Nevertheless, in less than a hundred years the field which they occupied
+has been greatly reduced; and between the ivory hunter and the sportsman
+of our brutal race armed with guns of ever-increasing deadliness, it
+will certainly not require another century of free shooting to
+annihilate the African species. In view of the present condition of the
+life of these noble beasts, it seems in a high measure desirable that a
+thorough-going effort should be made to extend the domestication to the
+point where the form will not only be won from the wilds, but will be a
+permanent element in our civilization, in the manner of our common
+flocks and herds. It will be an enduring shame if, by neglect of our
+opportunities, the utmost is not done to attain this end. It appears fit
+that this task should be undertaken by the British Government, which in
+modern days has displayed a skill and forethought in the administration
+of its Indian provinces unexampled in the history of colonies. Owing to
+the slow breeding-rate of the elephant, it may require more than a
+century for experiments to attain any definite result, so that the task
+is clearly beyond the limits of individual endeavor.</p>
+
+<p>Among the humbler helpers of man, the pig holds an important place. He
+has had no small share in the betterment of the estate of his masters.
+One of the large questions which beset men in their unconscious
+endeavors to lay the foundations of civilization was that of
+food-supply. No sooner does a population become sedentary than the
+wildernesses about its dwelling-place are rapidly cleared of the large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+game, so that the chase affords but little save amusement. Therefore a
+provision in the way of meat has to be obtained from domesticated
+animals. The flocks and herds supply this need, though in a costly way.
+Sheep have a value for their wool; horned cattle develop slowly, and
+are, moreover valuable, the oxen for their strength and the cows for
+their milk. Horses are too valuable to be used for food, save in times
+of exceeding stress; and none but the lowest savages are willing to send
+their faithful dogs to the pot. From the beginning of his experience
+with man the pig has been found the cheapest and most serviceable
+domesticated animal as a source of food-supply.</p>
+
+<p>We can trace the origin of our domesticated pigs more clearly than in
+the case of the most of the other subjugated animals. The creature is
+evidently descended from the wild boar of Europe and Asia; and though
+long under domestication and greatly varied from its primitive stock,
+it readily reverts to something like its original form when allowed to
+betake itself once more to the wilds. The domestication of the species
+appears to have been accomplished at several different points in Asia
+and Europe. The forms which are found in eastern Asia differ from those
+which are kept in the western portion of the great continent, and may
+have their blood commingled with that of another species which is
+native in that part of the world.</p>
+
+<p>Among our domesticated animals the pig is exceptional in the fact that
+it has been bred for its flesh alone; for although the hide is
+valuable and the hair serves certain purposes, as in the manufacture
+of brushes, these uses are only incidental and modern. They have not
+affected the plan of the breeder, whose aim has been to produce the
+largest weight of flesh in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> the shortest time, and with the least
+expenditure of food. In this peculiar task the success has been
+remarkable, the creature having been made to vary from its primitive
+condition in an extraordinary manner. In its wild state the species
+develops slowly, requiring, perhaps, three or four years to attain its
+maximum size. It never becomes very fat, but remains an agile,
+swift-footed, and fierce tenant of the wilds. Under the conditions of
+subjugation the pig has been brought to a state in which its qualities
+of mind and body have undergone a very great change. In the more
+developed breeds, even the males, when kept about the barnyard, are
+quiet-natured and not at all dangerous. The creatures have become
+slow-moving; they attain their full development in about half the time
+required for the growth of their wild kindred, and when adult they may
+outweigh them in the ratio of four to one.</p>
+
+<p>The effect arising from the food-supply which our pigs afford is well
+seen in the use which is made of their flesh in all the ruder work of
+men, at least in the case of those of our race. Our soldiers and
+sailors are to a great extent fed on the flesh of these creatures,
+which lends itself readily to preservation by the use of salt. So
+rapidly can these animals be bred, owing to the number of young which
+they produce in a litter and the swiftness of their growth, that
+sudden demands for an increase in the supply, such as occurred at the
+outbreak of our civil war, can quickly be met. If the need should
+arise, the quantity of pork produced in this country could readily be
+doubled within eighteen months. This is the case with no other source
+of flesh-supply, and this fact gives the pig a peculiar importance.</p>
+
+<p>Owing to the remarkably complete domestication of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> animal, and
+also to the fact that it is omnivorous, the creature has ever been a
+favorite with the cotter class. Those folk, who can afford neither
+sheep nor horned cattle, can often provide the food for pigs, and
+thus, in turn, be much better fed than they would otherwise be.</p>
+
+<p>It is only within two centuries that our pigs have attained to
+anything like the domestication in which we commonly find them. Of old
+they were allowed to range the forests, much as they do in certain
+parts of our Southern States at the present day. In some parts of
+Europe, particularly in the southern portion of the continent, this
+method of rearing and feeding is still common. It was and is
+advantageous, for the reason that the creature, by its remarkably keen
+sense of smelling and its singular capacity for overturning the
+ground, is able to provide itself with abundant food in the way of
+grubs and roots which are not at the disposition of any other animal.
+It was only as the public forests disappeared that pigs came to
+receive any considerable part of their provender from the products of
+tilled fields. In this stage of our agriculture, when all the land was
+possessed, the life of the pig was necessarily more restricted, and he
+became the denizen of a pen. In the earlier state there was no cost
+for his keeping; in the latter, except so far as he could be fed from
+the waste of a household, he is an expensive animal.</p>
+
+<p>It is with this last state of the pig, when he became the most housed
+of our domesticated animals, that the work of the breeder really
+began. The aim of those who have developed the pig has been, as we
+have said, to obtain the most rapid growth along with the greatest
+weight of fat, and to accomplish the results with the least
+expenditure in the way of food. Although the animal has been subjected
+to selective experi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>ments, looking to these ends, for not more than a
+century, or say about forty generations of the species, the amount of
+variation which has been attained is singularly great, the form and
+habits having been changed more rapidly, and in a larger measure, than
+in the case of any other of our domesticated animals. It may fairly be
+said that this creature is more obedient to the will of the practical
+selectionist than any other with which we have experimented.</p>
+
+<p>It is commonly assumed that our pigs are among the least intelligent
+of the creatures which man has turned to his use. This impression is
+due to the fact that the conditions in which these animals are kept
+insure their degradation by cutting them off from all the natural
+mental training which wild animals, as well as the other tenants of
+the fields, receive. In the state of nature or in the condition of
+domestication which existed before pigs became captives in their
+pens, they were among the most alert and sagacious animals with which
+man has come in contact. Their wits were quick and their sympathies
+with their kind remarkably strong. Trainers have found these
+creatures more apt in receiving instruction than any other of our
+mammals, and the things which they can be made to do appear to
+indicate a native intelligence nearer to that of man than is found in
+any other species below the level of the apes.</p>
+
+<p>As there is little in the books of anecdotes of animals concerning
+pigs, I venture to give an account of a learned individual of this
+species whose performances I had an opportunity of observing in much
+detail. The creature, an ordinary specimen about three years old, had
+been trained by a peasant in the mountain district of Virginia who
+made his living by instructing animals for show purposes. He stated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+that in selecting pigs for education it was his practice to choose
+those characterized by a considerable width between the eyes and
+whose skulls projected in this part of their periphery to a more than
+usual degree. He said that from many experiments he was satisfied
+that there was a very great difference in the capacity of the animals
+to receive training, and that the above-mentioned indices afforded
+him sufficient guidance in his choice.</p>
+
+<p>In the exhibition about to be described there were but three persons
+present, myself, another spectator, and the showman. A score of cards
+were placed upon the ground, each bearing a numeral or the name of
+some distinguished person. These cards were in perfect disorder. I was
+allowed, indeed, repeatedly to change their position and to mix them
+up as I pleased. The pig was then told to pick out the name of Abraham
+Lincoln and bring it to his master. This he readily did. He was asked
+in what year Lincoln was assassinated. He slowly but without
+correction brought one by one the appropriate numerals and put them on
+the ground in due order. Half a dozen other questions concerning names
+and dates were answered in a similar way. Each success was rewarded
+with a grain of corn, and for his failures the creature received a
+reasonable drubbing. It was evident that the animal had to consider in
+making his choice of the cards. At times he was evidently much puzzled
+and would indicate his perplexity by squealing.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed clear that the master of this learned pig did not guide the
+movements of the animal by other indications than words. The questions,
+in some cases, had to be reiterated in a loud voice in order to insure
+attention. Several times during the performance the pig rebelled, broke
+from the tent,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> and was with difficulty recaptured. The creature
+disliked this task in the manner of a lazy school-boy, and at the end
+of an hour of exercises seemed utterly overcome by his labor. He ran
+into the box where he was ordinarily confined, and when dragged forth,
+neither rewards nor punishments would quicken him to further work.</p>
+
+<p>The above-described exhibition made it plain to me that the pig can be
+taught to understand a certain amount of human speech and to associate
+memories with phrases substantially as we do ourselves. It is perfectly
+clear that the performance which I witnessed was not a mere routine
+action, for I had a number of questions asked over again so as to make
+it sure that the creature acted with reference to each separate inquiry.
+The behavior of the animal during the performance seemed clearly to
+indicate mental effort and not mere automatic memory. His attitude when
+trying to determine which of two cards to take distinctly showed that he
+was intently viewing the figures and endeavoring to come to a decision.
+I am aware it has been suggested that learned pigs discriminate between
+the cards by peculiarities of odor which have been given to these bits
+of paper. I sought carefully to find if such was the case, and though I
+have a very keen sense of smell I found nothing which led me to suspect
+that this device was used. Even if such were the case, the rationality
+of the animal's action would be none the less clear. The showman assured
+me that he never used any such means in training pigs. He seemed,
+indeed, to treat the suggestion with contempt.</p>
+
+<p>Although experiments in the training of pigs show that they have rather
+remarkable intellectual capacities, the most human feature in their
+mental organization is found in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> keen sympathy which they exhibit
+with the sufferings of their own kind and the willingness with which
+they encounter danger in protecting their comrades. It usually requires
+close observation for the naturalist to determine the existence of this
+motive among the other wild or domesticated mammals. In fact, the
+traces of it are very slight indeed, and are generally to be
+attributed to the care of parents for offspring or of the males for
+their harem&mdash;a disposition which, though akin to the defence of the
+kind, is nevertheless of a special and peculiar nature. Even among our
+domestic dogs, whose sympathies have been developed in a remarkable
+degree and who will sacrifice their lives to defend or rescue the
+human beings with whom they are familiar, there appears to be but
+little disposition to support members of their species who may be
+assailed. With pigs, however, as is well known to all those who have
+observed their habits, the characteristic cry of distress of their
+fellows proves very exciting and stimulates all the adults, both male
+and female, who hear it to hasten in defence of their kinsmen. It is a
+noteworthy fact that while most other animals when in danger utter no
+distinct or continuous cry, the pig gives voice in a vociferous and
+insistent manner, as if he had a right to expect the sympathy and help
+of his species. The cry goes with the custom of defence which in this
+species has attained a better foundation in the sympathetic motives
+than in any other mammal below the level of man.</p>
+
+<p>It is perhaps due to their relatively high intellectual organization
+that the excessively domesticated pigs are liable to suffer from
+attacks of mania. This is most commonly exhibited by the sows, which at
+times will destroy their young shortly after they are born. The sight
+of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> progeny seems to infuriate them in a curious manner. One sow
+which I owned killed three successive litters; another fine animal of
+the Berkshire breed, a very amiable, indeed affectionate, creature, was
+carefully watched at the time she first bore young, precautions being
+taken to prevent her from harming them; she would willingly allow them
+to suckle, provided she did not see them, but the moment she laid her
+eyes upon them she was seized with the strange fury.</p>
+
+<p>Although this singular perversion of the natural instincts of maternity
+sometimes occurs among the pigs which are allowed to roam together in
+herds, it seems to be far more common in those conditions where the
+animals are confined in pens without contact with their kind, and where
+they have no chance to recognize the young as members of their species
+or to acquire that interest in them which they would gain in the
+society of the herd. It is also clear that this maniacal habit is
+inherited; according to my observation it is common among the
+Berkshire, and relatively rare in other less specialized varieties.</p>
+
+<p>The intelligence of the pig is also shown in the readiness with which
+the creature changes its habits to meet varied environments. Thus the
+pigs which range the woods in the western and southern parts of the
+United States have learned to catch the crawfish which abounds in the
+shallow streams in those parts of this country. They will wade up a
+brook, turning over the stones and driftwood as they go, catching with
+a quick movement the crustaceans which they have thus dislodged from
+their cover. Along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, the pigs, accustomed
+to follow the tide out, picking the chance food which is thus exposed
+to them, have learned carefully to avoid the risk of being caught by
+the returning<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> waters. With the first splash of the turning tide they
+hasten inshore until they have attained safe ground.</p>
+
+<p>One of the best evidences of the mental state of these animals is
+found in their actions when assailed by dogs or other beasts of prey.
+Pigs, though wary and sensible of danger, seem exempt from the
+extreme fear which leads to panic, and fight, even before being
+brought to bay by long chasing, in a discreet and valiant manner.
+Where a number of them are attacked by dogs or other enemies, they
+will form a circle with their heads out, each supporting the other
+in such a manner that the ring cannot readily be broken. Their
+thick-skinned forequarters and stout tusks provide them with
+excellent instruments with which to resist an assault.</p>
+
+<p>The sagacity of the pigs is probably, in part at least, to be
+attributed to the fact that in their native state they are communal
+animals, all the species of their family being accustomed to live
+gregariously, so that for ages they have had the training which every
+social organization, however simple, affords. They are, moreover,
+omnivorous feeders, accustomed to subsist on a great variety of
+food&mdash;a habit which seems in all cases to promote the development
+of the intelligence in animals.</p>
+
+<p>Although the pigs by their nature afforded the best opportunity for
+developing an intellectual animal which has come to us through our
+domesticated creatures, no effort whatever has been made by selection to
+develop the latent mental capacities of this species. It is perhaps the
+only form of those which man has subjugated which by his treatment he
+tends to degrade. In the time to come, when men will be held to a better
+accountability for the treatment of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> captives, the condition of
+these animals will afford a fair field for the reformer's care.</p>
+
+<p>The geologist who is acquainted with the mammalian life of the Middle
+Tertiary period readily notes the fact that the variety in genera and
+species appears to be much greater than it is at the present time. A
+great number of forms, differing somewhat widely from those now in
+existence, then abounded in the Americas and the Old World. It may at
+first sight seem unfortunate that man did not have the chance to essay
+his domesticative arts on that older and apparently richer life. A
+closer examination, however, leads us to see that the species of that
+time, though more numerous than those of the present, were on the whole
+less fitted for our use than the fewer but more completely
+differentiated kinds with which we have had to deal. The multitude of
+kinds which we find in the Mesozoic period indicates that the life was
+in a state more experimental than that to which it has attained. A host
+of forms on their way towards the specialization which has now been
+attained have been removed from the sphere, in the manner of a
+scaffolding from a completed structure. That which has been left remains
+because it has successfully accomplished the task of reconciliation with
+environment, or, in simpler phrase, because it has learned to do things
+which were useful and profitable in a more perfect manner.</p>
+
+<p>As an illustration of the fact that the animals of to-day are better
+fitted to be the help-meets of man than were their ancestors of an
+earlier time, we may note the state of the horse at the time when that
+genus was undergoing its development in the region about the upper
+waters of the Missouri. As may be imagined, the long and difficult
+passage from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> five-toed to the single-toed form was slowly
+accomplished, and to its doing went a great many temporary forms, which
+served, we may say, as stepping-stones for the ongoing. So far as we can
+judge, these intermediate forms were small, rather frail creatures,
+which probably could not have been made to serve any purpose useful to
+man. It was not until the mechanical system of the large single toe with
+the wonderfully developed nail, which makes up the foot and hoof of the
+horse, had been attained, that the creature becomes fit for the
+wonderful work we have persuaded him to do in our civilization.</p>
+
+<p>A comparison of the skulls of the Tertiary mammals and those of our own
+day indicates that in certain of the important series, and presumably in
+them all, the brain has increased in size from the earlier to the later
+times. This increase in brain capacity has doubtless been attended by a
+decided gain in the measure of intelligence, a gain which has doubtless
+served to make the modern representatives of the series fitter for man's
+use than their ancestors were. For, while the number of our very useful
+domesticated forms may seem at first sight to be dull of wit, none of
+them are really low in the intellectual scale as we apply it to the
+brute; in fact, a considerable measure of intelligence is absolutely
+required as a condition for true subjugation. This is seen by the fact
+that nothing like a real adoption into our social system has ever been
+accomplished except with a few of the higher orders of mammals and
+birds, species which have an intellectual capacity that we recognize as
+akin to our own. Thus, so far as we can see, man's appearance on this
+stage was, so far as it relates to the possibility of companionship with
+the lower life, exceedingly well timed. He came at a period when the
+life was ready to give him and to receive from him a large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> measure of
+help. If his advent had been much earlier, he might have had less
+trouble in his contests with the larger carnivora; but if there had been
+a lack of beasts to obey his will, it is doubtful whether he could
+himself have won his way above that primitive life.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p>
+<h2>DOMESTICATED BIRDS</h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+Domestication of Animals mainly accomplished by the Aryan Race;
+Small Amount of Such Work by American Indians.&mdash;Barnyard Fowl:
+Mental Qualities; Habits of Combat.&mdash;Peacocks: their Limited
+Domestication.&mdash;Turkeys: their Origin; tending to revert to the
+Savage State.&mdash;Water Fowl: Limited Number of Species domesticated;
+Intellectual Qualities of this Group.&mdash;The Pigeon: Origin and
+History of Group; Marvels of Breeding.&mdash;Song Birds.&mdash;Hawks and
+Hawking.&mdash;Sympathetic Motive of Birds: their &AElig;sthetic Sense;
+their Capacity for Enjoyment.</p>
+
+<p>It is an interesting fact that about all the work of domestication which
+has been done by man has been accomplished by the peoples of Asia and
+mainly by the Aryan race. The American Indians tamed the llama and
+alpaca and a few species of native plants; even where their habits were
+prevailingly sedentary they domesticated no birds. It was left for
+Europeans to make use of the wild turkey. Our primitive people had the
+same chance to tame ducks and geese as the folk of the Old World. They
+appear, however, to have lacked all capacity for such endeavors. The
+same lack of disposition to capture and tame wild creatures is
+noticeable among the characteristic peoples of Africa; all of which
+serves to show that the domesticating art, at least as applied to
+animals, is peculiar to the higher-grade folk of the Old World.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the birds which have been domesticated, our common barnyard fowl
+has been by far the most useful to man. It has become in a way
+interwoven with his life to a degree found only in a few of our barnyard
+animals. Next after the pigeons and the pigs it has been most deeply
+impressed by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> the breeder's art. The wild species whence it sprang is a
+small creature, laying but few eggs and with but a slight tendency to
+accumulate fat. From this parent stock varieties have been bred which
+attain in some cases to eight or ten times the weight of the ancient
+form. They have, moreover, lost the fierce combative spirit which
+characterizes their ancestors and which by selection has been preserved
+and intensified in our breeds of game-cocks.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="jungle_fowl" id="jungle_fowl"></a>
+<img src="images/da-153.jpg" alt="Various types of fowl." width="600" height="357" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Original Jungle Fowl (<i>Gallus bankiva</i>)<br />
+and Some of His Domestic Descendants
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is an interesting fact that our barnyard fowl is the only species of
+a large family of birds which has been truly domesticated. The kindred
+pheasants and grouse, though abounding in the Old World and the New, and
+much disposed to abide about the cultivated fields, appear to be rather
+untamable. However well cared for, the wilderness motive seems never to
+have been eradicated. The domesticability of the cock, as is that of
+most other wild animals, is doubtless to be explained by the conditions
+of the life in which it has dwelt for ages before it was introduced to
+the society of man. In its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> wild state this bird had already to a great
+extent lost the power of flight, using its wings only for escaping from
+four-footed pursuers or to attain the branches of the trees in which it
+sought safety in the night time. With this measure of loss of the flying
+power, the creature abandoned the habit of ranging over a wide field,
+and thus was made more fit for domestication. Moreover, in their
+wilderness life these birds dwelt in more established communities than
+their kindred species. The most of these wild forms do not keep together
+through the year, but scatter after the young are able to shift for
+themselves. The Indian species of <i>Gallus</i>, however, from which our
+cocks and hens descend, have organized their life so that the
+individuals remain associate in a friendly way throughout the year.</p>
+
+<p>A part of the fitness of this creature to cast in its lot with man
+arises from the fact that they have very sympathetic natures. This is
+shown by the way in which the cocks will fight for their hens, even
+against their dreaded enemies, the hawks; and by the manner in which the
+mother, overcoming her natural fears, will do battle for her brood. It
+is shown also in the curious mingling of gallantry and kindliness with
+which the cock will call a hen to give her some choice bit of food which
+he has captured. As he grows older and becomes Philistinish, we may note
+that, after the manner of unfeathered bipeds, he is often disposed to
+indulge his selfishness, and summons his flock only to see him devour
+the morsel. Even in old age, however, the males of the varieties which
+are nearest the parent stock maintain their helpful motives and will
+struggle with infirmity to beat off a bird of prey.</p>
+
+<p>The sympathetic and affectionate quality of our barnyard fowl is perhaps
+best indicated by the singular variety and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> denotative value of their
+various calls and cries. Those who know these birds well will find no
+difficulty in recognizing about a score of diverse sounds, each of which
+indicates a particular turn of their mind. Almost all of these different
+notes have slight variations of expression which fit particular
+situations. Thus the crow of these birds, which may seem to the
+unobservant a very unvaried sound, discloses to those who have lovingly
+studied them at least half a dozen distinct modifications. In the
+fledgling male who just begins to feel the spirit of his kind, and who
+goes through his performance in the adolescent way, it is a cheap and
+often pitiful call. From the open roost in the trees, where the birds
+are gradually aroused by the slow-coming day, we can often hear the note
+of the half-awakened cock, as full of the sense of slumber as the speech
+of a sleeping man. As the creature gradually awakens, his cry becomes
+more resonant until it has the true morning ring. Brave as is this note
+of the full day, it is not to be compared with the crowing of a
+game-cock, the most splendid braggart sound of all the animal world.</p>
+
+<p>The really sympathetic notes of our fowls are uttered in their ordinary
+intercourse. Here the gradations of sounds have a range and fineness
+which, it seems to me, we can observe in no other creature below the
+level of man. Attention, astonishment, fear, commonplace distress,
+exultation, and agony are all set forth with cries which we, in a way,
+recognize as appropriate. Although some of these sounds relate to the
+larger experiences of the creatures, the most instructive of them are
+uttered in their ordinary intercourse, where they clearly maintain a
+kind of consensus in the flock by unending small bits of emotional
+speech, the notes being shaded in a wonderful way. These fine
+variations of utterance can some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>times be observed to be related to
+slight differences of situation. Thus the cackle of a hen when she
+leaves her nest after laying an egg is quite different from that which
+is made by the same hen when, during the period of incubation, she
+quits her eggs in search of food and water.</p>
+
+<p>It is not unlikely that the eminent domesticability of our common fowls
+is in a way associated with the singular variety of their notes. This
+variety indicates that the creatures are in constant and effective
+communication with one another; in a word, they are very sympathetic.
+With this intellectual helpfulness naturally goes the love of the
+domicile and a disposition to submit to control.</p>
+
+<p>So nice and well understood are the differences between the sounds
+which these birds give forth, and so well are their notes appreciated
+by their companions, that the creatures may well be said to have a
+language. Though it probably conveys only emotions and not distinct
+thoughts, it still must be regarded as a certain kind of speech. The
+modes of expression indicate that in this creature, as in the other
+feathered forms, the intellectual life consists largely in the
+movements inspired by the emotions. On the rational side our fowls seem
+weaker than many other less interesting species. In their nesting and
+other habits there are no evidences of constructive ingenuity; and in
+all my observations on them I have never seen any evidence which showed
+either considerable powers of memory or a capacity to act in any
+complicated way with reference to an end. It is evident, however, that
+they make a very good classification of the world about them. They
+have, for the limited field over which they roam, a keen topographic
+sense; they never are lost, and this in connection with their
+sympathetic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> homing instinct prevents them from wandering from their
+accustomed places to take up again with a wilderness life.</p>
+
+<p>In their adhesion to domestication our common fowls differ in a
+remarkable way from all other of our captive animals except the dog, and
+these birds are even more ineradicably attached to man than their older
+companion. While the dog will sometimes become half wild, or, as we may
+phrase it, undomiciled, fowls seem incapable of maintaining themselves
+apart from human care. In much ranging of the wilderness I have never
+found one of these creatures more than a thousand feet away from a human
+habitation. When we consider how common must be the chances of their
+going astray, and how easy it is in many parts of the country, as in our
+Southern States, for them to obtain in the wilderness food throughout
+the year, the fact that they never go wild is indeed remarkable. It can
+only be explained by the great development of the homing instinct which
+man has brought about in their sympathetic souls.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="chickens" id="chickens"></a>
+<img src="images/da-158.jpg" alt="Fours types of domestic fowl." width="600" height="535" /><br />
+<table width="600" summary="caption of domestic fowl">
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="125px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="165px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="125px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="185px" />
+  </colgroup>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="caption">Houdin</span></td>
+  <td><span class="caption">Cochins</span></td>
+  <td><span class="caption">Leghorns</span></td>
+  <td><span class="caption">Game</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although our unnatural process of breeding has done much to degrade the
+original beauty of the cocks and hens, destroying the delicate
+coloration of the feathers as well as the admirable blending and
+contrasts of their pristine hues, it seems likely that the effect on the
+physical and mental development as a whole has not been unfavorable.
+Though less courageous, they are stronger creatures than in their wild
+state; they are clearly more fecund; they are gentler natured; and, so
+far as I have been able to compare the high-bred with the primitive
+forms, their range of expression through the voice has been much
+increased, a feature which may be noted in other domesticated species of
+birds, as, for instance, in the canaries. The most remarkable alteration
+which has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> been brought about in the minds of these creatures consists
+in the very great diminution in the combative motive of the males. In
+the wild forms, as well as in the kindred variety of the game-cock, this
+impulse to battle attains a truly phenomenal development, the like of
+which is probably not to be found in any other creature. The male birds
+begin their warfare before they are more than half grown, and in their
+adult state will attack anything which they can conceive to be an enemy.
+They will, with slight provocation, assail any of the other domesticated
+species of birds, and even the lesser mammals, such as the dogs and
+cats. They will fight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> their own image in a looking-glass. I have had
+game-cocks attack my hand when it was held near the ground and given an
+up-and-down movement in imitation of their antagonist's head.</p>
+
+<p>I once reared a game-cock by hand, keeping him secluded from his kind
+until he was adult. I then placed him in a large collection of barnyard
+fowl where there were half a dozen mongrel cocks, a drake of the muscovy
+variety, several ganders, and two turkey-gobblers. Immediately and in
+rapid succession he settled his accounts with the males of his own kind.
+He shortly overcame the drake and the ganders. He then devoted what was
+left of his forces to battles with the turkeys. Here he found himself in
+great difficulty, for the reason that these great birds would seize him
+by the head and lift his body off the ground. However, he soon learned
+an ingenious trick which protected him from this danger. When gathering
+breath in the intervals between his assaults, he would hover himself
+between his antagonist's legs, keeping step with the awkward creature in
+its efforts to get away from him. In a few days he wore out these
+doughty foemen and remained the battered master of the field.</p>
+
+<p>Although the indomitable valor of the game-cock may be in some measure
+due to the selection which the breeder has applied to the variety, there
+can be no question that it is essentially natural to the species and is
+the result of an age-long habit which in the native wilds of the
+creature did much to insure its safety. The antiquity of the state of
+mind may be judged by the perfection to which the spurs have attained
+and the remarkably skilful and definite way in which the creatures use
+them. The spur, which has arisen from the development of the scales and
+underlying bone of the bird's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> leg, is a singularly perfect structure,
+the finish of which cannot be judged in the degraded form in which it is
+found in our ordinary barnyard species. Although in its construction
+this weapon is admirably devised, it is placed in a position where only
+a remarkably well-addressed movement can give effect to its blow. Those
+who have watched game-cocks in combat have had a chance to see the
+vaults by which the creature, partly turning in the air, is able to
+throw the spur in such a manner that it shares the impulse of the body
+when it strikes the antagonist. This peculiar craft has been in good
+part lost among our common varieties. Their spiritless contests differ
+as much from those of the game-birds as do the fist fights of untrained
+men from the contests of skilled pugilists.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="bantam" id="bantam"></a>
+<img src="images/da-160.jpg" alt="Three breeds of chicken." width="600" height="339" /><br />
+<table width="600" summary="caption of chicken breeds">
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="160px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="140px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="160px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="140px" />
+  </colgroup>
+<tr><td><span class="caption">Bantams</span></td><td><span class="caption">Brahma</span></td><td><span class="caption">Dorkings</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although to persons unaccustomed to the spectacle the combats between
+game-birds may seem disgusting, almost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> every one must admire the valor,
+grace, and address which such scenes exhibit. Except where the brutal
+custom of putting steel points on the spurs prevails, the birds rarely
+receive fatal wounds. The defeated cock is soon brought to confess his
+inferiority and takes himself away. At no other time in the life of
+these birds does their organic beauty appear to such advantage as when
+they are struggling with each other. Then alone do we perceive the
+singular efficiency of their bodies and the quick as well as appropriate
+action of their instincts. They set themselves against each other in
+attitudes as well chosen and as peculiar as those of a well-trained
+fencer. Before the assault they often go through a singular performance,
+which consists in picking up bits of twigs or pebbles. These they cast
+into the air, an unmeaning movement which may be compared to the like
+meaningless though similarly graceful salute with which swordsmen
+preface their contests. Then, with their legs flexed so that they may be
+ready for the spring, and with the rather stiff feathers about the neck
+erected so as to serve as a shield, they creep toward each other until
+they are separated by the distance appropriate for the spring. When
+fairly placed for battle they begin a system of fence which is intended
+to provoke the enemy to an untimely assault. The art of the game appears
+to consist in persuading the adversary to venture an attack where his
+force will be spent in the air, so that a blow can be given him before
+he has time to recover position. The issue depends much on the endurance
+of the birds. Their movements require so much energy that one of them is
+apt to become exhausted before the other is quite spent. In rare cases,
+only one of which has been seen by me, a weary bird will feign death for
+a minute or so and thus obtain new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> strength with which to renew the
+combat, profiting also by the confusion which he will bring upon his
+adversary by his sudden revival.</p>
+
+<p>Although the combatant motive which we find in the males among our
+barnyard fowls has doubtless been developed through their combats with
+each other, the valiant spirit which has come from it often leads the
+creatures to attack the enemies of their flock. I have seen a nimble
+game-cock strike a hawk which was pouncing to its prey, delivering the
+blow some feet above the surface of the ground, and this so effectively
+that the marauder was driven away in a sorely hurt condition. I have
+seen males of the game variety attack a number of other larger animals
+which in any way threatened their charges.</p>
+
+<p>Although our barnyard fowl are almost the only ground birds which
+have ever been brought to a state of perfect domestication, there are
+several other species of the same group which have been taught in a
+measure to adhere to man. Of these perhaps the longest in
+domestication is the peafowl. This creature, though it has edible,
+indeed we may say savory flesh, has retained its small place in
+civilization solely on account of its extraordinary beauty. For its
+size it is doubtless the most beautiful of animals, its plumage,
+especially the magnificent display of the tail, exceeding that of any
+other natural object. There are other birds of small size which vie
+with the peacock in the details of ornamentation. Those jewels among
+the feathered tribes, the humming-birds, have a more delicate beauty.
+The birds-of-paradise and the lyre-birds have a grace in the attitudes
+of particular feathers which is unequalled; but for splendor none of
+them approach the peacock in his best estate.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="peacock" id="peacock"></a>
+<img src="images/da-163.jpg" alt="Two peacocks, a guinea fowl and a turkey." width="500" height="585" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Contributions from Asia, Africa, and America&mdash;Peacocks, Guinea-fowl, and Turkey
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>The peacock is a native of Southern Asia, a realm in fact in which the
+species of the group attain an uncommonly rich development. The creature
+appears to have been domesticated some thousands of years ago, but has
+undergone no considerable changes in its experience with man. It has in
+truth not been completely tamed. It does not willingly remain near the
+dwellings of man, but prefers to abide apart, only resorting to the home
+when in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> need of food. It is very intolerant of the other barnyard
+creatures, and often becomes possessed of a kind of mania for slaying
+their young, not for food but from pure spirit of mischief.</p>
+
+<p>Intellectually speaking, the peacocks are much below the cocks and
+hens; although they flock together, their sympathies do not seem
+quick; their cries and calls do not number a fifth part of those which
+we hear from our chickens, and their notes are prevailingly very
+discordant. Their cry of defiance, answering to the crow of the cock,
+is one of the rudest and least sympathetic sounds which is heard among
+the birds. Its only merit is that it can be heard very far. It is
+readily audible at the distance of a mile when it breaks the stillness
+of a summer night. At present the bird seems out of favor. At best it
+is a beautiful but annoying ornament to pleasure-grounds. It is
+likely, indeed, that it may in time become limited to its native
+wildernesses and to zo&ouml;logical gardens.</p>
+
+<p>From Africa we have derived one rather uncommon tenant of our barnyards
+and fields, the guinea-hen. This creature, though of convenient size,
+hardy, and commendable from the number of eggs it lays, has never won a
+large place in the esteem of our rural people, and is now not much kept,
+except in some parts of the Southern States of this country. The
+difficulty with this creature, as with the peacock, is that it is not
+truly domesticated; though it will not betake itself altogether to
+the woods, it prefers to maintain a half-wild habit. It will not, if
+it can possibly avoid it, lay its eggs in any place where they are
+likely to be found by man. Moreover, their rude and little-modulated
+cries are in the summer season almost incessant, and the din which a
+considerable flock can produce is exceedingly vexatious. They thus do
+not fit the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> needs or comfort of man to the degree which is likely to
+give them a permanent place among his associates.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a name="turkeys" id="turkeys"></a>
+<img src="images/da-165.jpg" alt="A group of turkeys." width="600" height="374" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Domesticated Turkey</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The last considerable addition to our barnyards has come to us in the
+form of the turkey. This species has the peculiar distinction of
+being the only animal form of definite use to man over a wide field
+which has been contributed from the life of the New World. Although
+the creature was much hunted by our North American Indians, and is
+of a type which lends itself to domestication, it does not appear to
+have become a companion of man until it was taken from the West
+India Islands to Europe shortly after the discovery of this country.
+Thence the domesticated form appears to have been returned to this
+country, where it has been a favorite in a measure unknown in the
+Old World. Ornithologists deem the Cuban turkey, whence our tame
+form came, to be specifically distinct from those which are found on
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> mainland of this continent. Although these kinds are
+distinguishable by plumage, they are probably only varieties of a
+common species. This is indicated by the fact that our tame flocks
+readily intermingle with their wild kindred.</p>
+
+<p>The ease with which the turkey becomes domesticated is remarkable. In
+this regard the creature may be compared to our cocks and hens. In both
+cases the tamableness is doubtless to be explained by the fact that the
+primitive forms dwelt in permanent association, the movements of which
+were in a way controlled by the adult males, and by the fact that the
+forms had abandoned the use of wings for wide-ranging flight. The
+change which has been brought about in the turkeys with their adoption
+into the human association has been slight. No distinct varieties of
+breeds have been originated, though here and there the observer may
+note slight local variations in the coloration of the plumage, which
+are probably due to varying admixtures with the wild forms of our
+forests. Thus in Kentucky and other parts of the South, where the
+opportunities for the intermingling of blood of the tame and wild forms
+are frequent, the domesticated creatures often resemble so nearly the
+wilderness forms that even the wary hunter may make mistakes as to
+whether the bird he sights be fair game or not. Unless carefully
+watched, a drove of these creatures on the border of the wilderness is
+apt gradually to return to the wild state, the three or four centuries
+of life about the home of man not having been sufficient to do away
+with their ancient love of freedom.</p>
+
+<p>Among the English folk of North America the turkeys found a large place
+as an element of the food-supply. It has become curiously associated
+with the Puritan festival of Thanksgiving, an institution which has
+spread throughout<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> the United States and which has in a way taken the
+place of the harvest-home festivities of the Old World and bygone ages.
+It is probable that the relation of this bird to our national
+festivities has done much to keep it in use in this country. It is a
+well-recognized fact that it is costly to keep and that the eggs are not
+desirable for culinary use. The species requires a wide range. It does
+not do well in the confined conditions in which cocks and hens can
+readily be maintained. It therefore is not likely to be kept in any
+region where the agriculture is of a high grade. It is best suited to
+farms where there are considerable areas of half-wild pastures.</p>
+
+<p>Although the turkey is a truly gregarious form, its mental endowments
+are of a lower grade than those of most social birds. Their calls are
+few in number and have little of that conversational quality which we
+note in those of our ordinary barnyard fowls. Although the males contest
+the field with each other by personal combats, they are not very
+valiant, the creatures trusting for favor with the females rather to the
+parade of their plumage and the pomp of their carriage than to the wager
+of battle. In the matter of show they are, however, very effective,
+being surpassed only by the peacock in the splendor of their attire. In
+their domesticated state they lose much of the beauty which they have in
+the wilderness, as they do their pristine dimensions. Those who have
+hunted our wild species are likely to remember scenes where in some
+forest glade they have beheld a gobbler displaying his graces to an
+admiring harem. As he struts about with his tail feathers erect and his
+neck arched back, now and then pausing to utter an exultant gobble, the
+spectacle is one of the most amusing displays of animal pride which the
+naturalist has a chance to behold.</p>
+
+<p><a name="ostrich" id="ostrich"></a></p>
+<div class="figleft">
+<img src="images/da-168.jpg" alt="Ostriches." width="400" height="506" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Largest of all Poultry&mdash;The Ostrich</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>Recent experiments in ostrich farming seem to indicate that we are on
+the eve of introducing into our "happy family" the noblest remaining
+member of that group of great birds which characterized the life of
+the later geological periods. As yet the efforts in taming ostriches
+are too new for us to tell just what the effect of man's skill on the
+development of this creature will be. It is evident, however, that the
+creature can be won from its wilderness state, at least to something
+like the imperfect companionship with man which has been attained by
+the guinea-fowls and turkeys. All we know of the variations in plumage
+of birds indicates that the breeder's art may bring about great
+changes in the highly decorative feathers for which this bird is to be
+reared. It is also probable that with the better food which domestic
+conditions imply, this wanderer of the desert may be brought to attain
+a very much greater size than it wins in the hard life of its native
+land. If the form should prove as plastic as that of our ordinary
+barnyard species, we may indeed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> succeed in developing a variety
+approaching in dimensions the gigantic moa of New Zealand, or the
+&aelig;pyornis of Madagascar, those magnificent creatures of the past which
+passed away just before their native lands were known to our race. The
+variations in size of the wild ostrich appear to indicate that this
+interesting result may be attainable.</p>
+
+<p>Next after the cocks and hens the most important birds of economic
+value have come from the water fowl. In this field there are great
+opportunities for domestication, only a few of which have been
+adequately used. The aquatic birds, save for the fact that they are in
+all cases inspired with a more or less strong migratory humor, lend
+themselves to the shaping hand of man more readily than most other
+forms. These creatures have the habit of association in a much more
+perfect way than our ground birds. They normally dwelt in rather close
+order and in relations which are necessarily very sympathetic. Whoever
+has watched the flight of wild geese must have remarked the beautiful
+way in which they arrange at once for close companionship and for
+safety in the violent movements which impel their heavy bodies at high
+speed through the air. In the order of their flight the alignment is
+more perfect than in the march of trained soldiers. Each bird keeps as
+near to his neighbor as possible; but manages always to preserve the
+interval which will insure against a collision of the strong and
+swift-moving wings, an accident which might well disable them for
+flight. I have repeatedly undertaken to confound their motion by
+firing a rifle bullet at the head of the moving wedge. Although the
+sound of the projectile, if well directed, will disturb their
+processional order, it never brings confusion. The startled birds sink
+down or rise above the plane of the air in which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> their comrades are
+moving, but they never strike against them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<p><a name="eiders" id="eiders"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-170.jpg" alt="Eiders on a rock." width="600" height="448" /><br />
+<p class="caption">An Eider Colony</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The admirable sense of interval which the wild birds exhibit in their
+flight is to be seen also when they move over the surface of the
+water, where the fleet of living forms is always so arranged that each
+individual does not interfere with its neighbor. I recall with much
+pleasure an occasion when, from a ship becalmed in a thick fog off the
+southern shore of Labrador, within sound of the breakers, I undertook
+to find something about the lay of the land and the chance of
+harborage by paddling in a small boat toward the shore. I had hardly
+lost sight of the ship when my boat glided into an assemblage of eider
+ducks, where the mothers, with their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> fledgling young, were lazily
+swimming to and fro, as if to practise the ducklings in the art of
+swimming. Each brood appeared to have its own space of water, and
+between each of the chicks there was likewise a less but equally well
+measured interval. The same features of orderly association, which I
+have just noted in the swimming and flying of these wild birds, may be
+seen in a somewhat degraded state in our domesticated varieties of the
+group. They all indicate in these forms a keen sense of their
+neighbors and a habit of association based upon sympathetic emotions.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<p><a name="terns" id="terns"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-171.jpg" alt="Terns aiding a wounded bird in the water, a hunter nearby." width="600" height="367" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Terns Aiding a Wounded Comrade</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The sympathetic quality of our water fowl, at least in that part of
+the emotion which leads them to be concerned with the afflictions of
+their species, appears to be more distinct than in the case of our
+ordinary barnyard fowl. Geese, as is well known, will make common
+cause against an intruder from whom harm to the flock may be expected.
+Their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> simultaneous din when anything occurs to arouse their enmity is
+commemorated in the ancient myth concerning the aid which they gave in
+the defence of the walls of Rome. There are anecdotes apparently well
+attested where water fowl have borne away a wounded comrade which had
+fallen before the huntsman's fowling-piece. In Smiles's "Life of
+Edwards" there is an often-quoted story which appears to be
+trustworthy and sufficiently illustrates this point. A hunter, having
+shot one of a flock of terns, which fell wounded into the water near
+the shore, waded in to seize it. Suddenly two of the terns came to
+their wounded companion, seized him by either wing, and bore him
+toward the open sea. When these two helpers were weary, the sufferer
+was lowered into the water, and, in turn, seized by two other birds
+which were fresh for the labor. Working in succession, these birds
+carried their companion to a rock some distance from the shore. When
+the hunter endeavored to approach the rock, yet others of the species
+seized the cripple and bore him far beyond reach.</p>
+
+<p>Although too much value must not be given to the numerous anecdotes
+concerning the sagacity of water fowl, the great mass of these stories,
+as compared with the poverty of the anecdotes concerning the
+better-known barnyard creatures, seems to establish the fact that their
+intelligence is much greater than that of the land birds. This
+superiority can probably be attributed to the fact that their life
+requires much more definite adaptation of means to ends than in the
+simpler conditions which are met by the forms which dwell in the fields.
+The circumstances of their life are something like those of the seals
+among mammals. They have to do with the conditions of the air, the land,
+and the water; and as they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> generally undertake long migrations, the
+range of the things they have to accommodate themselves to is great, and
+the effect of their labor is decidedly educative.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<p><a name="recent" id="recent"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-173.jpg" alt="Various waterfowl by a pond." width="600" height="349" /><br />
+<table width="600" summary="Caption for recent additions to poultry yard.">
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="180px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="120px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="100px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="100px" />
+  </colgroup>
+  <colgroup>
+    <col width="100px" />
+  </colgroup>
+<tr>
+  <td valign="top"><span class="caption">Wood Duck</span></td>
+  <td valign="top"><span class="caption">China Goose</span></td>
+  <td valign="top"><span class="caption">Australian Swan</span></td>
+  <td valign="top"><span class="caption">Canada Goose</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td colspan="5"><span class="caption">Some Recent Additions to the Poultry Yard</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>As yet, from the great number of species of water fowl man has really
+domesticated but two characteristic groups, the species of geese and of
+ducks. Swans have been brought to a state where they tolerate the
+presence of man, though they rarely establish any really intimate
+relations with him. Some other species, as, for instance, the grebe,
+have been taught to dwell about the homes of man, accepting food from
+his hands. It is likely that more of these water fowl would have come
+into human associations were it not for the fact that they are naturally
+migratory, and when, after a season of domestication, they join a
+passing flock, they never return to the place where they have been kept.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<p><a name="swans" id="swans"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-174.jpg" alt="Swans swimming." width="600" height="358" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Swans</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The swan, like the peacock, has been bred for ornament rather than for
+use. In fact, the bird has no other merit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> than its exceeding grace.
+We cannot believe that much pains was ever taken with this creature to
+break up the migratory instincts which are common in the wild kindred
+species. We have to suppose that the bird in its pristine form was
+without the impulse to undertake distant journeys in the winter
+season, or that it abandoned ancient habits with no great difficulty.
+We obtain some light on this point by noting the fact that among the
+migratory species it not infrequently happens that, while the greater
+number of individuals undertake the annual journey, certain of them
+will remain on the ground where they were born. Those which remain
+would be more likely to mate with those which were like-minded than
+with others that journeyed afar. In this way small local breeds might
+well be originated which would differ from their migratory kindred not
+only in the measure of the wandering instincts, but in the capacity
+for flight which their kindred preserve. There is some reason to
+believe that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> this process of selection naturally and somewhat
+frequently takes place. In certain cases it may lay the foundation of
+new species, or at least of distinct varieties; more commonly,
+however, the individuals which have abandoned the migratory life are
+likely to perish from the severity of climate or the other unfavorable
+conditions that their mates avoid by their wanderings.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<p><a name="rock_dove" id="rock_dove"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-175.jpg" alt="Rock Doves with other birds." width="600" height="354" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Original Wild Rock Dove (<i>Columba livia</i>)<br />
+and Some of its Domestic Descendants
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although many of the free-flying birds of the land are or have been kept
+captive because of the pleasure which men have found from their songs,
+their grace, or their quaint ways, only one of these has really been
+gained to domestication. In the pigeon, man has made what is on many
+accounts the most remarkable of all his conquests over the wild nature
+about him. While the breeder's art has led many forms, some of them on
+several divergent lines, far away from their primitive estate, in no
+other field has it accomplished such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> surprising results as with the
+doves. The original wild form of this group is a native of Europe and
+Asia, where the species <i>Columba livia</i>, or rock pigeon, is still
+common, and whence it may be readily won anew to domestication. It is
+a small, plain-colored, rather invariable and inconspicuous bird about
+the size of our American dove. In its wild state it dwells in small
+flocks, nesting by preference in the crannies of the cliffs, and
+exhibiting no striking qualities which make it seem a desirable subject
+for domestication. We note, however, that even in this primitive
+condition the creature has certain physical and mental qualities
+which have been the basis of its adoption by man as well as of the
+wide changes which it has undergone at his hands.</p>
+
+<p>It is a characteristic of all the doves that their young are born in a
+very immature state, and for some time after they come from the egg they
+have to be supplied with food which has been partly digested in the crop
+or upper part of the stomach of the parent. For the proper rearing of
+the brood there is required the assiduous care of both parents.
+Therefore quite naturally we find among these birds that the pairing
+habit is well developed, and as they rear several broods each season,
+that the mating is for life. Although there are numbers of birds in
+various orders which are accustomed to the monogamic habit, it happens
+that the pigeon is the only animal which man has ever won to true
+domestication in which the sexes can be thus permanently united. In the
+dovecote, however many birds it may contain, the breeder can be always
+sure as to the parentage of the young which he is rearing. This affords
+an admirable basis for the practice of his art, which is still further
+favored by the fact that pigeons reproduce rapidly and the progeny are
+ready to mate in a few<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> months after they come into the world. Thus the
+species affords really ideal conditions for that process of selection on
+which the improvement of all domesticated animals intimately depends.</p>
+
+<div class="figright">
+<p><a name="turtle_doves" id="turtle_doves"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-177.jpg" alt="Two Turtle Doves on some branches." width="400" height="450" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Turtle Doves</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Selective breeding of pigeons began in India, as the records seem to
+show, more than two thousand years ago. Though other animals have been
+brought to domestication at much earlier times, this appears to have
+been the first of them to be subjected to deliberate efforts on the part
+of their masters, which were intended to bring about in a methodical way
+certain changes in their forms and habits. The most curious part of this
+great endeavor which has been applied to breeding pigeons is found in
+the fact that the ends sought have no utility, but afford satisfaction
+from the point of view of pure diversion or the gratification of taste.
+We are well accustomed to the action of such motives upon our flowering
+plants of the garden, but the pigeon is the only animal where fancy has
+labored for thousands of years for its gratification.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> The breeders of
+pigeons from remote antiquity to the present day appear to have had no
+definite purpose in all their pains. They have taken the chance
+variations in form and habit and endeavored to extend these sports of
+nature by a careful system of mating those in which the singular
+features were most evident. Thus the fan-tail breed has been developed
+until the creatures display their unornamental tail feathers with all
+the dignity with which a peacock shows his marvellous decorations. The
+pouters have in some unaccountable way learned to take air into their
+crop; and the habit has been developed by selection until the bird
+destroys all trace of his original shapeliness, though he seems to take
+pride in his diseased appearance. The tumbler, probably derived from
+some ancestor afflicted with a disease of an epileptic character,
+manages to go through his convulsions in the air without serious
+consequences and apparently with some pleasure to himself. There are
+over one hundred less conspicuous varieties, of which only one deserves
+notice, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> this for the reason that it has some possible utility to
+man and is now much attended to. This is known as the carrier pigeon.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="margin-top: 0em;">
+<p><a name="pigeon" id="pigeon"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-178.jpg" alt="Three Crowned Pigeons." width="400" height="446" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Giant Crowned Pigeon of India</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In early time, before the invention of the railway and telegraph, some
+ingenious breeder of pigeons, observing the constant way in which these
+creatures returned to the place where they were bred, invented the plan
+of using them to convey information. This service was found convenient
+not only for ordinary correspondence, but was exceedingly valuable where
+a place was beleaguered by an enemy. In such cases carrier pigeons could
+often be used to convey information across the otherwise impassable
+lines. Even in modern times, as, for instance, during the last siege of
+Paris, these swift and sure flying birds proved of great use in keeping
+up communications between the people of the invested town and the French
+armies in the field. Letters in cipher, sometimes photographed down
+until the characters were microscopically fine, were made into packages
+of small weight in order not to impede the flight of the bird, carefully
+affixed to its body, and thus sent away. Very generally these curious
+shipments came to the hands of those for whom they were destined. The
+birds can be trusted to fly at night; they retain for a long time the
+memory of their home, and spare no pains to return to it.</p>
+
+<p>The homing power of the carrier pigeon appears to be a special
+development of a natural capacity, as is also its swiftness and
+endurance in flight. Our other breeds and the wild species whence they
+have all come are not disposed to undertake long journeys; they rarely,
+indeed, wander far from their abiding places. Our experience with the
+carriers shows how readily the creatures may be educated to perform
+feats which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> they were not accustomed to do in their wild state.
+Something of the same elasticity of constitution may be observed in the
+bodies of our pigeons as they have been affected by selection. Not only
+has the plumage been greatly altered by the breeder's art and in
+pursuance of his plans, but the form and proportions of the bones have
+coincidently and unintentionally been greatly changed. So considerable
+are these alterations that if these creatures were submitted for
+dissection to a naturalist who knew nothing of the history of the bird,
+he would have no hesitation in classing them as belonging not only in
+different species, but as members of diverse genera.</p>
+
+<p>It must be regarded as unfortunate that the experiments which have been
+made on pigeons have been limited to their features of form, color, and
+slight peculiarities in their habits. If the breeders had sought to
+modify the intellectual parts with anything like the insistence which
+they have given to the development of these bodily peculiarities, we
+might now have a most valuable store of knowledge as to the limitations
+of animal minds. The facts gained in the breeding of the carriers show
+clearly that certain of the instincts of these birds can be readily
+modified. There is every reason to suppose that their mental capacities
+in other directions have something of the same pliability.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<p><a name="pheasant" id="pheasant"></a></p>
+<img class="imgborder" src="images/da-181.jpg" alt="Pheasant in woodland." width="600" height="482" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The English Pheasant</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although the pigeon is the only free-flying form which has been won to
+intimate relations with man, there are numerous other species of these
+volant creatures which have been reduced to partial domestication,
+though they cannot be trusted to abide with us without being more or
+less completely caged. Experience has shown that by far the greater part
+of the arboreal birds may be kept and will breed in captivity.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> From the
+host of these feathered creatures men have from time to time selected
+species which grace their habitations by their beauty, their song, or by
+the sympathetic relations which they form with their captors. Our
+successes in these efforts toward domestication of these birds have been
+most eminent with those varieties which in their wilderness state have a
+well-developed social life, which abide in families or flocks, and have
+the pairing habit well affirmed. The reason for this has been already
+indicated. It is due to the sympathetic motive which is developed in
+such communal life, and is manifested in the friendly relations with
+each other which the creatures maintain. A good instance of this is to
+be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> found in the crows and their kindred, a group of extremely sociable
+creatures, which are endlessly engaged in chattering communications with
+each other. All these forms are highly domesticable, and if for any
+reason they had proved permanently attractive to men they would
+doubtless have been brought into the state of willing captives.</p>
+
+<p>Although some of the free-flying or tree birds have been kept for their
+beauty alone, the greater part of them have commended themselves to man
+because of their voices. It is hardly necessary to tell the reader that
+the birds, of all animals, are most provided with means of expression
+through the voice. There is hardly a species which has not a greater
+range of notes or calls than the most vocal of our wild mammals, and
+many varieties are impelled to tuneful expression in a measure which no
+other creature, not even man, exhibits. In most cases these utterances
+are pleasing to the human ear, for they have the quality which we term
+musical. Therefore it is not surprising that the most of our captive
+birds have been chosen for their song.</p>
+
+<p>It seems clear that the song of birds, like their calls&mdash;the two shade
+indefinitely into each other&mdash;expresses a sympathetic emotional
+consciousness of the actions going on about them, particularly of the
+life of their kind. In general these utterances are directed toward
+their kindred of their own species. In many cases, however, as among the
+imitative birds, the sounds which they utter indicate a curiously keen
+interest in the actions of their masters or other human affairs. The
+mocking-birds and some other species will, with great assiduity,
+endeavor to copy any sound which they happen to hear. I well remember
+watching a mocking-bird which was listening with rapt attention to the
+noise produced by a man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> sharpening a saw with a file. The poor bird
+would hearken with great attention until he thought he had caught the
+note, and then endeavor to reproduce it. As may be imagined, the measure
+of his success was small. He was fully conscious of his failure, and
+would beat himself about the cage in evident chagrin, returning again
+and again to try the hopeless task.</p>
+
+<p>Wherever the vocal organs of caged birds permit them to imitate human
+speech they are apt to devote a large part of their labor to this task,
+paying little attention to other less meaningful sounds. It appears to
+me that they perceive in a way the sympathetic character of language and
+therefore take a peculiar pleasure in copying it. It is hardly to be
+believed that they ever get a sense of the connotative value of words,
+but it is not to be doubted that they sometimes attain to a certain
+appreciation of the denotation of simpler phrases. In this task they do
+not exhibit as much sagacity as the dog, a creature which learns to
+understand the purport of rather complicated sentences. Nevertheless,
+their capacity for imitating speech is a fascinating peculiarity, one
+which has greatly endeared them to bird fanciers.</p>
+
+<p>Those who have observed the talking birds have doubtless noted the
+fact that their capacity for remembering and uttering words varies
+greatly. I am inclined to think that in the same species some
+individuals can do such tasks several times as easily as others. If
+these speaking forms could be brought to breed in captivity, and
+something like the selective care were given to their development that
+has been devoted to the varieties of pigeons, we might well expect to
+attain very remarkable results. If anywhere in the animal world there
+is a chance to open communication by means of speech with the lower
+creatures, it should be here.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="margin-top: 0em;">
+<p><a name="falcon" id="falcon"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-184.jpg" alt="A falcon perched on some branches." width="400" height="555" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Falconer's Favorite&mdash;Peregrine Falcon</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p>
+<p>At one time among our ancestors it was accustomed to make much use of
+the larger hawks in hunting. Curiously enough this amusement, more
+refined and elaborated than any other form of the chase, has gradually
+fallen into disuse among Europeans. So far as I have been able to learn,
+the only region in which it is well preserved is in northern Africa, a
+country in which the custom was probably introduced from Spain during
+the occupancy of that peninsula by the Moors. From the literature of
+this art of hawking, even after we allow much for the exaggeration of
+unobservant men, it seems certain that the training of these fierce
+birds was carried to a point of singular perfection. The creatures
+learned to do their duty in a very skilful way, and they readily
+acquired habits of obedience, under circumstances of excitement, more
+perfect than those which we succeed in instilling in any animal but the
+dog. When we consider the natural<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> qualities of the hawk, and note that
+when well trained he flew at only the designated game, and came back to
+the master when a bit of hide or other lure was thrown into the air as a
+signal, we may fairly believe that the creature displayed an
+extraordinary fitness for receiving instruction. The facts are the more
+remarkable because these hawks were not bred in cages, but were taken
+from the wild nests; so that there was none of that gradual accumulation
+of inheritances under the conditions of selection which have brought
+about the obedience of our really domesticated animals.</p>
+
+<p>The remarkable way in which the art of hawking has disappeared from our
+civilization deserves more than a passing notice, though it appears to
+be inexplicable. It is evident that it was a tolerably ingrained habit,
+at least among the English-speaking people, for it has left a very deep
+impress upon the language. There are far more phrases derived from the
+custom than can be traced to any other of the sportsman's arts. At least
+one of these collocations of words which has escaped from the minds of
+grown people still holds a place among the boys of this country. When
+two lads are fighting we often hear the bystanders say, by the way of
+encouragement to one of the contestants, "Give him jesse." The use of
+this curious phrase prevails in all parts of the United States, but
+after much inquiry I have failed to find a trace of it preserved in
+England. There seems to be little doubt that these words are due to a
+custom of beating a hawk which failed to do its duty with the thongs or
+jesses by which it was attached to the wrist of the falconer. Giving
+another jesse thus came to be equivalent to giving a person a strapping.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="margin-top: 0em;">
+<p><a name="brood" id="brood"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-186.jpg" alt="Several birds in a nest." width="400" height="487" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Bandit's Brood</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Whatever may have been the reason for abandoning this beautiful and in a
+way noble sport, its disuse must be deemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> most unfortunate by all the
+students of animal intelligence, for it has deprived us of precious
+opportunities in the way of observations on the mental peculiarities
+which exist in a most interesting group of birds. In these days, when
+there is a fancy for reviving the customs of our forefathers, it might
+be well for some persons of leisure to give their attention to restoring
+the arts of falconry. Enough of the practice and of the traditions is
+left to make it an easy task to reinstitute all the important parts of
+the custom. Moreover, those who essayed the matter would have access to
+a much greater range of rapacious birds than our forefathers, who had to
+content themselves with the limited number of wild species which inhabit
+the continent of Europe. Especially on our Western plains, where
+game-birds abound and the country lies wide open, sportsmen would find
+an admirable field in which to follow the bird they flew. Not only would
+the restoration of hawking give us a sport much more skilful and refined
+than the fox chase, but it would reintroduce the cultivation of the only
+creature which, having once been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> brought to the service of man, has
+been permitted to return to its ancestral wild life.</p>
+
+<p>The most striking and by far the most interesting quality exhibited by
+our birds is found in their sympathetic motive. In this spiritual
+quality, so far as it relates to their own kind, the feathered
+creatures are clearly in advance of all other species, including even
+man. A single fact, one of great generality, will serve to make this
+statement clear. Among the birds we find the only cases of true
+marriage which are known in the animal kingdom. In the greater number
+of the species the union is for a season, but among many it is for
+life. In the case of certain varieties of paroquets, the union is so
+indissoluble that, according to common report, a report which seems
+much better verified than the most of those concerning the habits of
+animals, neither member of the pair will survive the death of the
+other. Man, with all his striving towards a better social state, has,
+as a whole, not yet attained to the enduring affection for the mate
+which is evinced by the greater part of the birds.</p>
+
+<p>In this same connection, we may note that the &aelig;sthetic appreciation
+among the birds appears to have attained a far higher level than it has
+won in any other creatures. There can be little doubt that the
+exquisitely beautiful plumage, the unparalleled shapeliness of form and
+grace of carriage, as well as the melodies which are uttered by so many
+species, all owe their development to a process of sexual selection
+which has led the discerning females to prefer the more ornamental of
+the males who sought them as partners. If any one will examine the
+exquisite shapes and gradations of color which are exhibited in the tail
+of the peacock, or of the lyre-bird, or even the coloration of the
+game-cock, he may perhaps imagine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> how prodigious must be the
+development of the &aelig;sthetic sense in these species, in order that it may
+take account of every little betterment which leads towards more perfect
+beauty. As it will take the generations of &aelig;sthetes many generations
+before they are able to "live up to" the level of their culture which is
+attained by the peacock's tail, it is not unreasonable for us to hold
+that in the appreciation of simple beauty in form and in color, the
+birds are far ahead of ourselves. It must not be supposed that our
+&aelig;sthetic culture is to be reckoned below that of birds, though in our
+case the work embodies the delineation of ideas, while in the birds it
+is a matter of pure ornament. Nevertheless, taking the evidence which
+shows the way in which these creatures appreciate beauty in the three
+realms of form, color, and sound, it seems to me clear that while their
+intellectual life is low, their purely emotional experiences are
+probably more vivid than those of ordinary men.</p>
+
+<p>As the joy of life is, in the main, even in ourselves the result of
+emotional experiences, we may fairly reckon, even on <i>a priori</i> ground,
+that the birds win a measure of happiness, though it be that of an
+unconscious kind, which is granted to no other living beings.
+Psychologically described, they might well be termed the group built
+for joy. Their bodies are, on the whole, the best constructed of all
+animals, except the insects. They suffer little from disease. We all
+see that their intercourse with each other is freer and merrier than
+that of other creatures. The wide range of their notes shows that in
+most forms they appreciate every little difference in the
+pleasure-giving changes of the day or the weather. They rejoice in the
+coming of each morning; they are sorrowful with the advent of each
+evening. They echo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> the distress of their kind in a readier way than
+any other forms. He is indeed a poor naturalist who overlooks this
+trait; for however deeply he may have delved, he has not won the jewel
+unless he appreciates this element of an unending joy which the
+bird-life continually offers him. From that life we may well believe
+that man is hereafter to derive some great and fruitful lessons.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p>
+<h2>USEFUL INSECTS</h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+Relations of Man to Insect World.&mdash;But Few Species Useful to
+Man.&mdash;Little Trace of Domestication.&mdash;Honey-bees: their Origin;
+Reasons for no Selective Work; Habits of the Species.&mdash;Silkworms:
+Singular Importance to Man; Intelligence of Species.&mdash;Cochineal
+Insect.&mdash;Spanish Flies.&mdash;Future of Man relative to Useful Insects.</p>
+
+<p>Although the relations of man to the insect world are prevailingly those
+of hostility, there are a few of these multitudinous creatures which
+have been more or less completely adopted into his great society.
+Although not more than half a dozen out of the million or more species
+in this subkingdom have thus been brought to the uses of civilization,
+the forms are interesting not only for what they give, but for the
+promise of further contributions when this great problem of winning help
+from the insect world receives adequate consideration.</p>
+
+<p>As a whole, the insects are not well fitted to serve the needs of man.
+Owing to certain peculiarities in their organic laws they, fortunately
+for ourselves, are very limited in size. Although some of them afford
+savory food and are occasionally eaten by savages, and even by civilized
+folk when pressed by hunger owing to the famines which the invasions of
+these animals occasionally produce, they can never be of any value as
+sources of provisions, except through the stores which they accumulate
+in the manner of the bees. All that we have won, or are likely to win,
+from this realm is from the filaments which the creatures spin, the wax
+or honey which they accumulate, the coloring or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> other matters which
+their bodies afford, or the help which they may give us in our struggle
+with invading species of their class.</p>
+
+<p>Probably the first insect to be brought into friendly relations with man
+was the honey-bee. This creature, like the most of our domesticated
+animals, is a native of the great continent of the Old World, though it
+has now been conveyed to all the flowery lands of the world where the
+season is long enough for it to win its harvest. In its wild as well as
+in its tame state the honey-bee dwells in one of the most perfect and
+highly elaborated of insect societies. It is a member of the group of
+membranous-winged insects known to naturalists as <i>Hymenoptera</i>, an
+order which includes all the elaborate societies of the class except the
+colonies of white ants. It is characteristic of all these colonial
+insects that, from the experience of ages, they have learned the great
+principles of the division of labor and of profit sharing towards which
+mankind are now clumsily stumbling; the great work which their societies
+are able to do is accomplished by a complete specialization of function
+and a perfect share in the commonwealth. So far has this elaboration
+gone, that in the bees the work of reproducing the kind is allotted to
+forms which do no labor; all the work of the hive being effected by
+individuals which are sterile, and whose sole function it is to toil
+unendingly for the profit of the great household.</p>
+
+<p>While the greater part of the kindred of the bees either construct the
+nests for their young in the manner of our wasps or hornets, building
+them entirely in the open air, or excavate underground chambers in the
+fashion of our bumble-bees, our domesticated form at some time in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
+remote past adopted the plan of choosing for its dwelling-place some
+chamber in the rocks, or cavity in a hollow tree which could be shaped
+to the needs of a habitation. Owing to the size of these cavities, they
+were enabled to form societies composed of many thousands of
+individuals; while the species which adopted nests, in other conditions,
+were much more limited as regards their numbers. Thus the bumble-bee,
+which abides underground, dwells in very small communities, probably for
+the reason that the conditions of the soil it inhabits make it difficult
+to excavate and maintain large rooms. It is this habit of resorting to
+hollow spaces, as well as the instinct to store up honey in wax cases,
+which has made the common bee valuable to man.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193-4]</a></span></p>
+<p><a name="silkworms" id="silkworms"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-193.jpg" alt="Three Japanese farmers feeding silkworms with mulberry leaves." width="600" height="432" /><br />
+<p class="caption">Feeding Silkworms with Mulberry Leaves in Japan</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>At best the opportunities which the wilderness affords, in the way of
+fit dwelling-places for the swarm which goes forth from a hive, are
+much less than can readily be provided by art. In almost all cases the
+wild bees have to expend a great deal of labor in searching for a fit
+residence; and after such is found it requires a great deal of toil and
+expenditure of the costly wax in order to shape the cavity so that it
+may comfortably accommodate the multitude, and be reasonably safe from
+the attacks of other insects. Thus it has come about that the bee has,
+in a way, welcomed the interference of man with his ancestral
+conditions; and, though the species exists in the wildernesses of its
+native land, the domesticated varieties have so far taken up with man
+that in other countries they do not wander far from the limits of
+civilization. Now and then an uncared-for swarm which cannot find
+accommodations about the parent hive will betake itself to the
+wilderness; though it generally continues to seek<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> sustenance from
+the abundant flowers of the tilled fields where it finds species, such
+as clover and buckwheat, from which it has been long accustomed to win
+the harvest of pollen and honey.</p>
+
+<p>In North America the honey-bees, which were brought by the early
+settlers, and which had been kept on the frontier by the pioneers of our
+civilization, have always extended, in wild swarms, a little distance
+into the wilderness. But, at most, they appear to have wandered only for
+a few miles beyond the homestead, going no further away than would
+permit their use of the cultivated plants. The aborigines early learned
+to regard the insect as the <i>avant courier</i> of European men. When they
+came upon an individual of the species they always knew that some white
+man's dwelling stood nearby. Those who are familiar with the solitudes
+of our Appalachian forests must often have remarked, in the stillness of
+a summer day, the hum of a swarm from some forest or domestic hive in
+its search for a dwelling-place. Those who have followed up the
+movements of these migrating colonies have had a chance to perceive how
+long is the search before they find a fit abiding place. Doubtless by
+far the greater part of these searchers for a home fail of their quest,
+and the wandering swarms perish without finding a suitable shelter.</p>
+
+<p>In certain kinds of woods, as, for instance, those occupied by pine
+trees or other species which do not develop spacious hollows in their
+trunks, and where there are no crannied rocks&mdash;all the swarms which seek
+habitations there are foredoomed to destruction. If by chance the
+colonies wander too far, they generally find the wilderness so ill
+provided with plants which may furnish them with the sources of wax,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
+honey, or other necessaries, that they cannot maintain their life. Thus
+it is that the bee, though domiciled with us rather than domesticated,
+has become united in its fortunes with civilization. In this position
+they have shown a remarkable adaptation to extremely varied conditions.
+They can withstand any climate which permits the development of the
+vegetation to which they need have access, provided the growing season
+continues long enough to accumulate their store. In the tropical lands
+they harvest so little honey that they are not profitable to man, and in
+the high north they need all their summer's accumulation to maintain
+them through the long winter. Thus, though they may range almost as far
+as man through the gamut of climates, they are profitable to their
+masters only in the middle latitudes. They commonly do not do well close
+to the sea, and cannot be kept on inconsiderable islands for the reason
+that they are, in their wanderings, likely to be lost in the waters.</p>
+
+<p>The bee, like the other social insects, evinces a wide range of
+instincts which are intimately related to the economy of the hive; but
+these motives appear to be of an unchangeable character. They show no
+tendency to undergo the modifications which we observe to take place in
+our birds and mammals when they are brought under the influence of man.
+The only case in which they show any distinct effect from their contact
+with man is found in their evident recognition of those who care for
+them. They soon learn that their master is not to be feared, and,
+therefore, need not be resisted; but, beyond this dumb acceptance of a
+situation, they exhibit no trace of sympathetic recognition of our
+kind. It is clear that their mental endowments, though considerable,
+are very much more remote from our own than are those of the
+vertebrated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> animals with which we have formed a friendly association.
+Moreover, the type of life of the creatures in a way excludes them from
+any kind of share in human society. Each of them is, from its birth to
+its death, entirely devoted to the interests of its little
+commonwealth. Every impulse of their being relates to the economy of
+their hive. While we know little about instinct, we know enough of its
+manifestations to state that the real unit of this species is not the
+individual insect, but the colony to which it belongs. The separate
+form is hardly more than a bit of machinery so arranged that it may
+operate at a distance from the engine of which it forms a part. On this
+account it appears to be impossible for us ever to attain to any kind
+of sympathetic relations with these creatures.</p>
+
+<p>Even more important than the bees are those insects which, in their
+immature state, yield us silk. The so-called silkworms, like the bees,
+originated in Asia, and have long been in the care of man. Beginning
+their experiments in spinning with the wool of animals and the various
+accessible vegetable fibres, men have ever been seeking materials which
+could serve them in the weaver's art. At one time or another they have
+tried an exceeding variety of materials; in modern days more than a
+score of insects have been experimented with in the endeavor to obtain
+fibres which could be turned to use. So far, however, the <i>Bombyx
+mori</i>&mdash;the form which, as its specific name indicates, feeds upon the
+leaves of the mulberry tree&mdash;is the only one which proves really
+serviceable. The advantages of this species are found in a peculiar
+assemblage of qualities, each of which is necessary to make it fit for
+the ends it attains at the hand of man.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p>
+<p>The mulberry silkworm can readily be bred in confinement. The eggs are
+easily gathered and preserved, and are so readily kept that they may be
+sent the world about. At a given temperature they with infrequent
+failures hatch; and if sufficiently fed with the fresh leaves of the
+mulberry, will in a short time attain to as perfect a development as
+though they grew, not in close rooms, but in the open conditions of the
+trees. When of adult size, the grubs proceed to spin themselves in,
+forming a thick cocoon composed of threads of a material which, though
+as soft as paste when emitted from the body, hardens so as to form a
+strong and even thread. If the insect be allowed to remain for a
+sufficient time in the cradle which it has spun for its second birth,
+the body within the chrysalis case will proceed in a manner to
+dissolve; and in the milky fluid thus produced, where only faint traces
+of its former state remain, the beautiful image or perfect form will
+arise. In the economic use of the creature, however, except as far as a
+supply of eggs may be desired, it is necessary to prevent the
+completion of its development; for in escaping from the chrysalis case,
+the butterfly cuts many of the delicate threads, so that the silk is
+made unserviceable. It is necessary to wind it off before the insect
+escapes. In this part of the work we notice the most perfect adaptation
+of the creature to the needs of man. While the silk threads from the
+cocoons of other species which might prove of value cannot be easily
+reeled off, those of the silkworm, when placed in hot water, readily
+separate, and can be gathered in a condition for spinning. Thus, while
+some success has been attained by carding the cocoons of other species,
+thereby making a fibre which has a certain utility, the silkworm alone
+yields material fitted for delicate fabrics.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199-200]</a></span></p>
+<p><a name="apiary" id="apiary"></a></p>
+<img src="images/da-199.jpg" alt="Three farmers in a large field with several apiaries." width="600" height="385" /><br />
+<p class="caption">The Farmer's Apiary</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p>
+<p>At the present time in Europe, Asia, and America there are probably not
+far from ten million people who depend in large measure upon the
+product of the silkworm for their livelihood. Although the product of
+their industry and that of the insects combined is not nearly as
+indispensable to man as those which are won from the hair of animals or
+the fibres of plants&mdash;for silk is a luxury rather than a necessity&mdash;the
+value of the work done by these humble creatures is greater than that
+effected by the largest of our domesticated animals, the elephant. If
+the philanthropic economist were forced to choose which of these
+creatures should pass from the earth, he would have to accept the loss
+of the greater and far nobler animal.</p>
+
+<p>So far as regards their intelligence, the silkworms are much below the
+level of the bees. Though they dwell in an aggregate way they have
+scarcely a semblance of social order, and are without the wide range of
+peculiar instincts which we invariably find among the commonwealth
+animals. The order of <i>Lepidoptera</i>, in which these creatures belong,
+though the most beautiful, appears to be from an intellectual point of
+view the least advanced of our insects. Their instincts are all on a low
+plane; they have no kind of mutual labor, and however much advance we
+may make by selection in developing their bodies, there is no reason to
+expect that we shall affect their intelligences.</p>
+
+<p>The cochineal insect, a species which has the habit of feeding upon
+the cactus, is used for a dye stuff, for which service the brightly
+colored body is appropriated. Although the creature is deliberately
+planted where it is to feed, and thus is in a way submitted to
+culture, it cannot fairly be said to have been entered in the
+domesticated circle of man. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> a similar way the so-called Spanish
+fly&mdash;which really belongs among the beetles&mdash;whose ground-up bodies
+are used for producing blisters, is merely appropriated to our use
+without any process of subjugation. The fact remains that, so far as
+our dealings with the insect world have gone, we have really won but
+two of the million or more of forms to captivity; and our relations
+with these have nothing of the humanized nature which marks our
+intercourse with truly domesticated creatures.</p>
+
+<p>Small as are the lessons which we may read from our experience with the
+honey-bee and the silkworm, they appear clearly to indicate that, while
+we may expect to do little with the intelligences of insects, we may
+fairly reckon on a great field for accomplishment in the way of changes
+in their bodily constitution. In the case of the bees the facts show us
+that in particular conditions of climate or other surroundings a certain
+amount of variation takes place, and by proper selection either of
+queens or swarms it may be possible considerably to extend the value of
+these animals. The task is beset with difficulties for the reason that,
+while in ordinary selective breeding we deal with individuals, we have,
+as before remarked, in this species to regard the hive or colony as the
+unit and to make our selection with reference to the qualities of that
+colony as a whole. Nevertheless, with the constant advances in the skill
+of our economic selectionists, there is reason to expect that our bees
+may be progressively improved. On the other hand, there is the chance
+that the progress of chemical discovery may enable us at any time to
+manufacture honey in the artificial way and of a quality
+indistinguishable from that produced by domesticated bees; in which case
+these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> captives, at best troublesome, though most interesting, will
+probably disappear from the human association.</p>
+
+<p>With the silkworms, variations can be more readily brought about; for,
+as is the case with other animals, the individuals can be paired. The
+efforts at selection already made show that valuable characters can be
+thus accumulated, though not with the success which attends the
+efforts of a like nature made in the case of our domesticated mammals
+and birds. In common with other animals&mdash;indeed, we may say, with all
+organic life&mdash;the silkworms vary perceptibly in different parts of the
+world to which they may be taken. Thus, when reared in California it
+is said that this insect develops more strength than it exhibits in
+Europe; and the eggs which it lays there produce stronger insects,
+which in turn yield larger cocoons than the individuals born in Italy
+or France. With such a basis for the selective art as the variations
+of this insect afford, there seems no reason why it should not afford
+a good field for the work of the breeder's art.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS</h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+Recent Understanding as to the Rights of Animals; Nature of these
+Rights; their Origin in Sympathy.&mdash;Early State of Sympathetic
+Emotions.&mdash;Place of Statutes concerning Animal Rights.&mdash;Present
+and Future of Animal Rights.&mdash;Question of Vivisection.&mdash;Rights of
+Domesticated Animals to Proper Care; to Enjoyment.&mdash;Ends of the
+Breeder's Art.&mdash;Moral Position of the Hunter.&mdash;Probable Development
+of the Protecting Motive as applied to Animals.</p>
+
+<p>It is well to note the fact that, in considering the rights of the
+creatures below the level of man, we are dealing with a question which
+does not seem to have entered into the minds of the ancients. Such old
+phrases as "the merciful man is merciful to his beast" indicate that
+cruelty to the domesticated creatures was, in a way, reprobated by the
+ancients; but not until well on in the present century do we find any
+indication that reason had come to the help of pity in an effort to
+frame rules having the weight of law and the support of sanctions,
+either those of public opinion or the more direct penalties of the
+courts, to limit the conduct of men towards the lower animals. The great
+tide of mercy and justice which marks our modern civilization had first
+to break down the grievous and strongly founded evils of human slavery.
+Having effected that great work, the sympathetic motives are moving on
+to a similar conflict with the moral ills which arise from an improper
+treatment of those slaves of a lower estate, the domesticated animals.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to see our position in relation to the matter of the
+rights of animals without looking somewhat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> carefully into the
+intellectual and moral steps which have at length brought us to the
+consideration of the question. First let us note that while the rights
+of their fellows have been impressed on men by the precepts of
+religions, particularly by those of Christianity, the rules of conduct
+which guide us in our contacts with beings below the level of our
+species have never been determined by the canons of our faith, for the
+reason that they are the product of very modern conditions; they are the
+thought of our own time. New as are these tenets, however, they may
+fairly be received as but the last though not the final expression of
+that most interesting of all natural series&mdash;the succession in the
+development of sympathy which, step by step in the progress of organic
+life, has led from the original dull insensitiveness of the lower
+animals upwards to the outgoing spirit of man.</p>
+
+<p>In the lower stages of animal life we find no traces of appreciation of
+the neighbor except those which necessarily relate to the selection and
+capture of food and perhaps to the selection of mates. Further on in the
+process of development we note the love of offspring, and, as a
+consequence of that love, the growth of the family sense, which rarely
+is maintained beyond the time when the young can shift for themselves.
+Among the species of the higher groups&mdash;certain insects, the greater
+part of the birds, and the nobler of the mammals&mdash;the instinct of the
+family is extended until it includes the tribe, or perhaps goes yet
+further and leads to a certain kindliness to all the individuals of the
+race. Thus it comes about that the individuals of many species below the
+level of man will respond to the cries of their kindred though they may
+never have had a chance to know them. There is in these cases a
+sympathetic bond that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> binds the kind together. It is with this
+condition of the sympathies that the task of their further evolution is
+transferred to man. Inheriting as he does the essential motives of the
+lower beings through which he came to his present estate, man proceeds
+to deal with them in a manner which is determined by the peculiar
+rational power which belongs to him. In place of the blind following of
+the emotions which characterizes the sympathetic movements of the lower
+animals, we find that even among the most primitive and lowly savages
+rules of conduct are instituted which serve to direct the ways in which
+the individual shall act with regard to his fellows. In almost all cases
+these rules are much intermingled with the religion of the people;
+usually they rest upon a body of advancing public opinion which
+amplifies the motives and, in turn, is enlarged by their growth. As time
+goes on and the folk attain the stage of records, these rules of conduct
+become definite laws which at first are based on religious ordinances;
+but in time they are, in the latest stage of social growth, brought into
+the state of ordinary statutes which, while they may have some religious
+sanction, are supported by the machinery of the secular government.</p>
+
+<p>After the first rude work of shaping the body of ancient experience into
+law was done, there remained the larger and more difficult task of
+continuing the development of the sympathetic motives with a
+corresponding amplification of customs and statutes so that the steps of
+advance should be duly embodied in these rules of conduct. The stages of
+this purely human attainment have been slowly taken, the onward way has
+been effectively won but by few peoples. A part of the slowness in
+advance in the enlargement of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> the sympathetic motives beyond the stage
+which has been attained in the life below the human grade is to be
+accounted for in the fact that no sooner are laws formed than they
+become in a way sacred. If they be cast in the religious mould their
+sanctity may be such that they are almost beyond the reach of
+modification; even when they are secular the reverence for the wisdom of
+the forefathers naturally leads men to regard them as the ark of safety.
+Thus it has come about that the codification of the ancient sympathies,
+won by experience in the pre-human time and in the early life of man,
+has led to the institution of a barrier which makes further advance a
+matter of difficulty&mdash;one which, in the case of most peoples, binds them
+firmly to the past, arresting their sympathetic development at a point
+which it had attained when their laws were framed. This is, indeed, the
+position of nearly all the peoples except those of our own Aryan race.</p>
+
+<p>When the conditions of a people are fortunately such that they may
+continue their sympathetic growth, they proceed to carry onward the
+process of sympathetic enlargement, modifying their laws to suit the
+gains in understanding which come with this growth. It may be noticed
+that the development takes place most readily where the rules of
+conduct are embodied in statute law; for this law, being the evident
+result of human action, is manifestly alterable in a way that cannot be
+taken when the prescriptions are supposed to rest on divine commands.
+Under such conditions of statute law men are freer to advance than they
+can possibly be where the rules of action are in the form of revered
+precepts, such as guide the peoples who are accustomed to base their
+action on the books which they esteem as sacred. Endowed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> with this
+element of freedom, the peoples of our own Aryan race&mdash;and,
+fortunately, the most advanced of all its varieties, the
+English-speaking part of the folk&mdash;have, by the divine impulse towards
+moral advancement, been led to make a great extension of the
+sympathetic motives. The first step in this direction seems to have
+been towards the mitigation of the horrors of war, which of old meant
+the slavery or slaughter of the prisoners. Under the dictates of the
+developing spirit of mercy and without written law, these brutal
+actions have been limited until the dogs of war are allowed to rend
+only in the hour of battle. In this day the man who slays the wounded
+or robs the dead is esteemed an outlaw. The same beneficent motive was
+next extended towards human slaves. In this matter English people led;
+and to them it was almost altogether due that this evil has come nearly
+to an end except among the Mohammedans, who are bound as in chains to
+their sacred books and cannot win their way to progress through
+statutes. In a like manner, in the care of the poor, of prisoners for
+debt, and even of malefactors, our English folk on both sides of the
+Atlantic have led in the ongoing towards a higher moral estate.</p>
+
+<p>The last great excursion of sympathy which has characterized the
+English Aryans&mdash;one dating its beginning to this century&mdash;is that
+relating to the rights of our domesticated animals. This has come
+about, like the other movements, in a way unconsciously. Prophetic
+spirits have seen beyond the vision of their fellows; they have given
+their messages, which have found an echo in the souls of men. The
+motive originated in the recognition of the essential likeness of the
+minds of the lower animals to our own. But it has been greatly
+re&euml;nforced by the teachings of the naturalists to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> effect that all
+the life of this sphere is akin in its origin and that our subjects are
+not very far away from our own ancestral line.</p>
+
+<p>It is characteristic of sympathetic movements that, while they are
+slowly prepared for, their final development is very rapid. Thus it has
+come about that within one hundred years the conception of the rights of
+animals has advanced with almost startling rapidity. No other moral gain
+has been made with such speed or has so rapidly become a part of the
+property of civilized man. The steps are those which have been taken in
+all the other great moral advances: at first there were but a few who,
+in the manner of the skirmishers of armies, set the standards far on in
+the new ground; gradually the less ardent win their way to them, only to
+be led the further by their natural guides. As the great advance is
+still making, it is difficult to see how far it may attain; it is,
+however, easy to recognize some of the important gains and to foretell
+the path if not the field of full accomplishment of the conquest. A
+century ago a man, so far as the law was concerned, owned his living
+chattels as he did the inanimate things of his property. He could
+torture or slay them as whim or malice might dictate; there were no
+limitations by statute, and public opinion, where it might reprobate,
+was too weak to influence his conduct. Now the statute books of all
+countries which are moving in the path of moral advance show that public
+opinion has attained the point where it begins to formulate itself in
+statutes which restrict the relations of men to their domesticated
+animals&mdash;or, in other words, endow them with definite rights. He may, of
+course, force them to do him their fit service; he may at his need slay
+them; but he must exercise his authority without brutality; he must, in
+form at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> least, be merciful unto his beasts. With this limitation the
+rights of domesticated animals began to exist.</p>
+
+<p>At first sight it may seem unreasonable to found the rights of dumb
+beasts on the embodiment of public opinion in the law, and this for
+the reasons that many persons have held, that rights have an
+establishment in the ultimate moral constitution of the world. It may
+be granted that even before man or even life existed in the universe
+there were certain logical moral principles which were destined to
+take shape when the creatures to which they were adapted came to be;
+but such speculations are fanciful and do not much concern those who
+are dealing with the problems of the barnyard. We may, to bring the
+matter nearer, say that the slave of half a century ago had a right to
+be free; but this right, in all practical senses, meant only that
+certain people very much disliked to see him enthralled.</p>
+
+<p>So far, by successive stages, first by accumulated public opinion and
+then by its embodiment in statutes, we have won a measure of protection
+to subjugated animals which tends to save them from the extremer forms
+of cruelty. The question now is as to the advances which may be made in
+the time to come. It is evident that these advances, so far as the
+domesticated species are concerned, will have to be limited by the needs
+of man. We cannot ever expect to have the reverence of the Hindoo for
+the lower animals, for the reason that his state of mind is based on the
+preposterous supposition that the beast contains the spirit of a man on
+its way through the cycles towards perfection. We must continue to
+burthen, tax, and slay; but we may fairly be required to inflict no
+unnecessary suffering. In this process of amendment we shall undoubtedly
+before long come to the point<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> where we shall demand that these animals
+shall be lodged in a wholesome manner and so fed that they may be fit
+for their tasks. We may, in a word, consider their well being so far as
+it is consistent with the well being of mankind, and in so doing we
+shall demand some personal sacrifice from the owner where such is
+clearly demanded to maintain the principle of the law.</p>
+
+<p>As in all other great sympathetic movements, the leaders of the advance
+in the matter of the humane treatment of animals are occasionally
+unreasonable in their demands&mdash;it may well be held that the prophet has
+to be unreasonable in order to attain his goal; hence it has come about
+that the demands of these admirable people are often beyond the bounds
+of things that are practicable. Fire-horses, however ill, should be
+made to do their duty, even if it costs them any amount of suffering;
+even as the artillerymen should, if the occasion calls for it, rush
+their teams, though they know that the poor beasts are to die at the
+goal. In a word, the only and supreme test of our relations to these
+subjects is the well being of man considered from the higher point of
+view. This principle we apply to our own kind; we are justified in like
+action in case of the brutes. In this consideration, the offence to the
+feelings of man which is caused by any act of cruelty, however
+necessary, deserves its due weight.</p>
+
+<p>The most serious matter connected with the question of the rights of
+animals which is now under discussion relates to the use of these
+creatures in the investigative work of the naturalist, or in the
+repetition of the processes and results of those inquiries before
+students. Although all judicious people are likely to welcome the
+exceeding reprobation with which many philanthropists visit the
+vivisectionists, and this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> for the reason that the state of mind
+shows a rapid advance of the sympathetic motive, they are likely to
+question the sound foundation of the objections that are raised to
+experiments with animals, made for the purpose of discovering of
+displaying the truths of nature.</p>
+
+<p>So far as the work of research into the phenomena of life is
+concerned, there can be no question as to its importance or as to the
+fitness of sacrificing the lives of the lowlier creatures in any way
+that may be necessary for the advancement of knowledge. In the last
+half century there has been an improvement in the treatment and
+prevention of diseases so great as almost to defy adequate
+description. To take only the last of these precious gains, that in
+relation to the treatment of diphtheria, the gain has been such that
+although the process is not past its experimental stage the reduction
+of the mortality in hospitals where the remedy is used has lowered
+the death rate from above fifty to about fifteen per cent. of the
+cases. Yet this result rests upon a vast amount of experiment which
+has cost suffering and life to the lower animals; and to produce the
+remedy which is used, horses have to be innoculated with the disease,
+and thereby much pain is inflicted upon them. Weighed as against the
+life of a human being, a host of the lower creatures must count as
+nothing. As all human advancement depends upon the dissemination of
+knowledge, it is difficult to see any objection, from the point of view
+of justice, to the use of the lower creatures to accomplish this end.
+The only real point in the matter is as to the effect of such scenes on
+the minds of young people; yet they have to be accustomed to behold the
+processes of destruction of life which are everywhere going on about
+them. The gardener maintains his work by endless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> slaying. Our tables
+bear the products of the slaughter-houses. While the anatomist's work
+may be revolting, it is only so because his tasks are done deliberately
+and for a purpose that is not yet properly appreciated.</p>
+
+<p>It is a curious fact that many a person who enjoys hunting or fishing,
+and who slays or maims with much pleasure and to no substantial profit,
+is horrified to see a student dissecting a living frog, guinea-pig, or
+cat, in order that he may learn new truths or himself behold what others
+have discovered. Of the two aims, momentary pleasure or intellectual
+profit, which is the nobler? In which work is the mind the most likely
+to become careless as to the rights of the dumb beast? To my
+understanding, the present turn of sympathetic people against
+vivisection indicates that the movement of the emotions has, as is often
+the case, been diverted from the fittest path. So far from natural
+science tending in any way towards cruelty, it has been the very guide
+in the development of the modern affection for living beings. By showing
+something of the marvels of their structure and history, it has
+increased in a way no other influence has ever done the conception which
+we form as to their dignity and the wonderful nature of their history.
+It is in the true interest of mercy to disseminate in every way we can
+knowledge as to the real nature of animals, leaving this knowledge to
+bring forth the good fruit which it ever bears. In this connection it
+should moreover be said that the naturalist, like the surgeon,
+instinctively seeks to make his work as little painful as may be to the
+subjects of his experiments. In almost all cases, the animal is made
+unconscious. Moreover, all we know of the life of the lower animals
+leads us to suppose that while they suffer much as we do, their pains
+are of a physical sort,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> and unassociated to any great extent with the
+large fears and anticipations which in the case of man form so
+considerable a part of his torment when in face of death.</p>
+
+<p>The question of vivisection is but a part, indeed a very small part, of
+the much larger problem as to the relation of men to the lower life
+which is about them in their fields and in the wilderness. An
+approximate census of the species now on the earth shows that the number
+is between two and three million. In the presence of this host, we have
+to recognize that each of the innumerable individuals in its lifetime is
+a record of toil and pain the history of which extends backward to the
+beginnings of life. In this wonderful living world man has trodden
+ruthlessly, for the reason that he has no sense as to the dignity of the
+field. In the manner of a vandal, he has slain for profit or sport. He
+has been so effectual a destroyer that species, genera, and even
+families of animals have been ruthlessly swept away. The revelation of
+natural science, of the men of the knife who are so hated by some
+well-meaning but misdirected people, have now and only in our day
+brought us to a point where the sense of nature in its organic aspect
+begins to penetrate the minds of men. The revelation is so vast in its
+contents and its imports, the conceptions which rest upon it are so
+greatly enlarging to the human soul, that we may be sure of the wide and
+swift extension of the new light. It cannot be questioned that the
+clearer insight will rapidly change the attitude of men toward all
+living beings. We can in a way discern some of the conceptions as to the
+rights of the other life which will be enforced on mankind.</p>
+
+<p>It is likely that the first step into the new field of human duty, due
+to our better understanding as to our place in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> nature, will be in the
+direction of a greater care as to our domesticated forms. While we must
+continue to make their lives subserve our own, we may well insist that
+they should be properly housed, and have what it may be possible to
+afford them in the way of their primitive joys, which come from the sun,
+the air, and their natural food. No one who has seen a long-stabled
+horse made free of a field can have failed to note the intense pleasure
+which he takes in returning to something like his natural conditions.
+Many a cow stable with its foul conditions inflicts more and more
+enduring torments than all the vivisectionists that some misguided
+philanthropists are fighting; yet because of the novelty of the
+naturalist's work these attend to the new scene and neglect the ancient
+abuse. Among these evils which are to be corrected we may also account
+that which arises from the unguided development of what are called fancy
+breeds. Thus among our horned cattle, the Jerseys have been brought to a
+point where, from the iniquitous inbreeding, which is against what may
+be called the morality of nature, they are fearfully subjected to
+tuberculosis. The punishment for this insensate performance comes back
+upon mankind in the dissemination of consumption; but unhappily it does
+not visit the people who are responsible for the development of this
+breed. A like, though less considerable, evil is shown in the fancy
+breeds of dogs, pigeons, and some other petted animals, where for
+amusement and as an indication of his power man has raised up many
+decrepit and sickly varieties, which are not likely to have a fair share
+in the pleasure of life which their natural breeding insured them.</p>
+
+<p>The observant naturalist of the field has the sense&mdash;at least he has it
+if he be endowed with a little imagination&mdash;of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> the immense pleasure
+which life gives to most wild animals. That instinctive, and in its
+foundations utterly irrational and animal joy which men have, or should
+have, in their day, is part of the birthright of all sentient beings. As
+yet we have not recognized that this privilege of enjoyment should be
+confessed. We do not hesitate to slay or maim for mere sport. It is true
+that some of the ancient forms of this sport, such as bull-baiting and
+cock-fighting, have been condemned, but the best of men go afield with
+the gun to slay for pleasure. In a measure they keep up the pretence
+that they are in some way contributing to the needs of the larder, but
+so far as needs are concerned the pretence is mostly idle. It seems to
+me clear that in shaping our sympathetic relations towards animals in
+the light of our present knowledge, the huntsman will soon become
+unknown in civilized life. So long as men looked upon animals in the
+childish, ignorant way, viewing them as utterly commonplace things,
+hunting or fishing, for the reason that they rested on a foundation of
+ancient emotions, might well be indulged in. But to the man who knows
+what science has to teach him, and who discerns the marvels which the
+animal form enfolds, the destruction of such objects, except for need's
+sake, is sure to be painful. I judge this from my individual experience.
+In my youth I was very fond of hunting, and could even wring the necks
+of wounded birds without trouble of mind. A better sense of what life
+means, a sense which is no better than that to which all educated men
+are soon to attain, has made such work very repulsive to me.</p>
+
+<p>When the knowledge of our time is so brought down among the masses of
+men that it may afford the foundations<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> for appropriate enlargement of
+the sympathies, the result will doubtless be a great movement towards
+enlargement in public opinion which credits the lower life with what we
+term rights. The most important result of this movement will be the
+creation of a sense of duty by this life. It is said of Mohammedans
+that they hesitate to tread upon a bit of paper lest it bear the name
+of God. We know now full well that every living creature in this world
+bears the stamp of a Providence which has acted from all time, and that
+we, so far as our own advancement will permit, are morally bound to
+allow this life to go forward on the appointed way.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION</h2>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+The Conditions of Domestication; Effects on Society; Share of the
+Races of Men in the Work.&mdash;Evils of Non-Intercourse with
+Domesticated Animals as in Cities; Remedies.&mdash;Scientific Position
+of Domestication; Future of the Art.&mdash;List of Species which may
+Advantageously be Domesticated.&mdash;Peculiar Value of the Birds and
+Mammals.&mdash;Importance of Groups which tenant High Latitudes.&mdash;Plan
+for Wilderness Reservations; Relation to National Parks.&mdash;Project
+for International System of Reservations.&mdash;Nature of Organic
+Provinces; Harm done to them by Civilized Men.&mdash;Way in which
+Reservations would Serve to Maintain Types of the Life of the
+Earth; how they may be Founded.&mdash;Summary and Conclusions.</p>
+
+<p>The advance of mankind from the primitive savagery has been
+accomplished in many ways. Among the various paths of onward and upward
+going, however, we trace three which have served greatly to secure the
+elevation of our estate. First of all, culture came through the use of
+the hands in the development of the simpler arts. Next, these arts led
+men to search the stores of the wilderness and of the under earth for
+materials which could serve them in their advancing crafts. The third
+important stage in their ongoing was attained when they began to
+subjugate the animals and plants of the wilds, bringing the creatures
+to abide in and about the households. Although in general this was the
+last great step to be taken in the beginnings of civilization, it was
+on many accounts the most important.</p>
+
+<p>Until men began to domesticate the forms of the wilderness, it was
+impossible for them to rise above the grade of savages. Their supply of
+food was necessarily in such a measure limited that their societies had
+to remain small and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> they were given to much wandering to and fro over
+the earth. Moreover, they had only the strength of their own hands for
+all the work of life. It was not until our kind began to form a society
+of other species about their homes that the foundations of civilizations
+were firmly established. The home, indeed, may fairly be said to be the
+product of the conditions which the process of domestication brought
+about. As distinguished from the temporary hut of primitive men, it
+represented the stability which was induced by the care of the plants
+and animals which man had domiciled about him.</p>
+
+<p>With every step upward in the organization of society we find that
+the number and efficiency of these subjugated creatures increases.
+Our American aborigines in their primitive state commanded only the
+dog and three or four plants, yet with this scant help they had
+already won beyond the lowest savagery and were at the threshold of
+barbarism. In our more civilized societies of to-day we find the
+products of near a hundred animals and about a thousand plants as
+elements of commerce, and each year sees some gain in the number of
+creatures which we make tributary to our desires.</p>
+
+<p>So far as we can discern, the relations of primitive savages to the
+animal life about them is on the whole more friendly than is that of
+cultivated men. It is true that the savage looks to the creatures of
+the wilderness for the greater part of his needs. He slays them, not
+at all in sport, but for the profit they may afford. Moreover, in most
+cases, his imagination endows these wild creatures with a spirit like
+his own. He often adopts them, in his religious worship, placing his
+tribe under the protection of one or another, as some of our own
+people do themselves under the protection of particular saints. The
+effect of domestication when man comes to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> his own separate
+estate in animal life is to separate men from the creatures of the
+wilderness. "Wild" and "tame" come to be terms having a meaning which
+the savage does not recognize, and this meaning has with the advance
+of culture become intensified, until to most men the only creatures
+entitled to protection are those which have been made subject to man.</p>
+
+<p>At first the process of domestication concerned only useful animals or
+plants, those which would take a part in our industries. Rapidly,
+however, these creatures have been adopted with the view to the &aelig;sthetic
+satisfaction which they might afford. Quite half of the number of
+species which have come under human control have been tamed mainly if
+not altogether because of the charms which they possess. If we reckon
+flowering plants in the category, by far the greater number of our
+captives have been brought to us because of their beauty.</p>
+
+<p>The work of domestication has in the main been effected by our own
+Aryan race. Out of the total number of animals and plants which have
+been made captives, probably more than two-thirds have been brought
+into subjection by the European Aryans or by the folk whom they have
+profoundly affected with their civilizing motives. The disposition to
+win goods from the wilderness is in effect a fair test of those
+qualities in a people which give them dominance: we may indeed
+roughly measure the qualities of diverse folk by a variety of
+conquests of this kind, which they have made. The reason for this
+relation is plain. Success, whether it be of the individual or of the
+race, depends in large measure upon forethoughtfulness, on a
+disposition to study as to where profit may be had, and intelligently
+to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> seek accessions of strength by experiments in domestication. Each
+of these winnings from the wilderness represented by our domesticated
+animals or plants has been painfully and laboriously gained. The men
+who did the tasks were not creatures of the day, but foresightful
+beyond the average of mortals.</p>
+
+<p>In a large way the work of domestication represents one of the modes
+of action of that sympathetic motive which more than any other has
+been the basis of the highest development of mankind. Ordinary men of
+the low grade are content to slay, or otherwise rudely gain what value
+they find in the wild creatures. Only the higher grades of men
+perceive much of the charm in the inhabitants of the wilderness, or
+desire to win them to their homes. If our conquests from the wilds
+were limited to the grossly profitable life alone, we might say that
+interest only had determined the work of subjugation; but as soon as
+men escape from their primitive state, even while in their general
+motives they are still essentially barbarians, they cultivate flowers
+and derive a keen pleasure from their company. They domesticate birds
+which are valuable only for the pleasures which their presence lends
+to human abodes. This action clearly shows that the element of
+sympathy, that love for the other life which in any way fixes the
+attention, has had much to do with this work of bringing other beings
+into association with our own lives.</p>
+
+<p>Not only is the motive which has led our race to such extensive
+conquests over the wild nature in itself sympathetic, but the
+process of winning these creatures from the wilderness has served
+effectively to extend and amplify this same impulse. One of the best
+features of agricultural life<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> consists in the great amount of
+care-taking which it imposes upon its followers. The ordinary farmer
+has to enter into more or less sympathetic relations with half a
+score of animal species and many kinds of plants. His life, indeed,
+is devoted to ceaseless friendly relations with these creatures which
+live or die at his will. In this task his ancient savage impulses are
+slowly worn away, and in their place comes the enduring kindliness of
+cultivated men. When we compare the state of mind of the hunter with
+that of the care-taking soil-tiller, we see the vast scope and
+influence which this work of domestication has effected in our kind.
+To it perhaps more than to any other cause we must attribute the
+civilizable and the civilized state of mind.</p>
+
+<p>Although no discreet person will venture to determine the relative
+weight which should be given to the influences which have made for
+civilization, there can be no doubt that the care of domesticated
+animals has been one of the most potent of these agents. Not only has
+this employment served to develop the motives of care-taking that
+result in the postponement of the momentary satisfaction of indolence
+or of hunger for the prospect of security or wealth to come, but it
+has served to arouse and broaden the sympathies given men, that
+humane spirit without which the best of our higher culture cannot be
+attained. If this view be correct, we may find in it a good reason
+for regretting the increasing development of cities, a reason which
+is more definite than the most of those which have been urged against
+the growth of great towns. Statistics seem to indicate that people
+are as healthy, as long lived, and on the whole no more given to vice
+and crime in a well-ordered urban life than they are on the farms. It
+is certainly easier to give them the formal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> education of the schools
+in the dense than in the scattered condition. There can be no doubt,
+however, that the practically complete separation of the most of our
+cities from all educative contact with the ancient companions and
+helpers of men brings about an omission of an element in culture that
+may entail serious consequences.</p>
+
+<p>The question arises as to what can be done to diminish the evils
+which come from the total separation of a large part of our people
+from the humanizing influences due to the care of animals. How
+general this separation is may be judged from the fact that so far as
+I have been able to find in the manufacturing towns of Massachusetts
+not one child in thirty ever knew what it is to care for any
+creature, save those of its kind. And even in a well-conditioned
+place like Cambridge, the proportion of those who have any educative
+contact with animals probably does not exceed one in fifteen. I do
+not reckon the mere chance playing with a dog or cat as serving the
+need; the real service is when the person has a sense of
+responsibility for the life of the animal. To bring about this
+relation in the ordinary conditions of a town is usually impossible.
+Something can, however, be accomplished by various expedients.</p>
+
+<p>In the lowest state of townspeople it is out of the question to give
+the children any pets whatever. Even caged birds cannot or should not
+be accommodated in the cheaper grade of lodging-houses. Wherever the
+animals are in separate houses it is often possible for children to
+have some contact with sympathetic animal life. In these conditions,
+our cocks and hens are the best creatures to rear. They are the most
+attractive of all our domesticated birds; they do better than any
+other forms of economic value in narrow con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>ditions, and, what is of
+importance for the end in view, they contribute a share of food, so
+that a boy may have from them some experience with the economic
+relation of animals to men.</p>
+
+<p>Some persons who have observed the advancing process of destruction of
+the natural world may have been brought to consider the change as in the
+necessary and inevitable order which comes with the higher development
+of man. They may welcome&mdash;indeed, some evidently do welcome&mdash;the chance
+that the ancient system may utterly disappear, and all the earth become
+fields and garden places tenanted only by those forms that man may have
+chosen to be his companions. To many people who have a keen impression
+as to the importance of man in the great economy, and no clear sense of
+his relation to the natural order, this possibility is doubtless
+attractive. It is not so to those who have gained a clear idea of the
+place of man and the conditions of his ongoing.</p>
+
+<p>There is reason to expect that the modern gains in the cheapness and
+speed of transportation may before long bring about a material change in
+the housing of the laboring classes of our cities, so that they may be
+able to dwell in somewhat rural conditions. In this way we may hope to
+see these people once again brought where they may receive a fuller
+share of the influences which have served so well to lift our race to
+its elevated moral station. Working to the same end is the spirit which
+is leading many manufacturers to place their establishments in the
+country, where they can control the mode of life of the employees and
+their families. Against the growth of the factory towns with their
+sordid conditions, we may with pleasure set these rural<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> workshops where
+the capitalists are doing the best they can to better the mode of living
+of the people who are under their charge. In this good work it may well
+be possible to include a share of contact with the soil and with
+domesticated animals. In this system of isolated factories we may
+perhaps hope to find the way out of the perplexities which the present
+condition of our industries have imposed on our civilization.</p>
+
+<p>Up to our present half-century the process of winning animals and plants
+to domestication, and of improving them after they had been thus won,
+has been in its nature a matter of haphazard. Here and there, as men
+have seen creatures which promised in captivity to afford either
+pleasure or profit, they have endeavored to convert them to use. In some
+cases the effort has been made with some patience and steadfastness of
+purpose. If the creature yielded quickly to the needs of a new life
+which it was sought to impose upon him, he became a member of man's
+family. If its wilderness motives were strong, the effort to domesticate
+was soon abandoned. The greater part of these efforts to win animals and
+plants into alliance with our race have been made with the creatures
+which were native in the wildernesses about our ancestral
+dwelling-places. Occasionally from distant lands important gains have
+been made, especially among the food-giving plants; but all the animals
+of any importance which have been adopted by the Aryan people were
+originally natives of the lands in which that race has dwelt.</p>
+
+<p>It is a remarkable fact that no sooner does a wild animal or plant
+become intimately associated with man, than it at once departs more or
+less widely from its ancient type. Our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> conquests from the vegetable
+world have to a great extent so far lost their original character that
+we can no longer determine the species from which they sprang. Botanists
+cannot find the wild forms which have given us the cabbage, wheat, and
+most other small grains, and a host of other important varieties. So,
+too, the origin of our dogs is as yet unsolved and bids fair ever to
+remain a mystery. In addition to this changed character which we observe
+in the forms of domesticated animals and plants alike, we note that the
+mental characteristics of the former undergo vast alterations. The
+creatures, in a way, take the tone of civilization, and to a great
+extent abandon those ancient habits of fear and rage which were
+essential to their life in the wilderness. The intellectual condition of
+our dogs shows us that the creatures may be progressively educated&mdash;in a
+word, that man may put into them something of his human quality. In the
+case of the dog, the longest possessed and most familiar to our
+households of all our captives, the mental change which has come, partly
+by selection, from association with man has gone so far that the species
+may be fairly said to have replaced its pristine motives with those
+which it has derived from ourselves. In many cases it has become, so far
+as its ways are concerned, even more man than dog.</p>
+
+<p>Although the physical and mental educability of animals when brought
+into companionship with man is an old subject of remark, and one of the
+most interesting features which they exhibit, it was not until the
+doctrine of descent by variation of species from other related forms
+became established, that we had a chance to see the vast possibilities
+of accomplishment which are presented to us by our domesticated
+creat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>ures. It is true that the breeder's art is old and that men have
+felt the subjugated animals to be almost like clay in the potter's
+hands, but except in a small and rather careless way with the dogs,
+little attention has been given to the development of the intelligence
+of these captives. The success which we have obtained with this animal
+has been accomplished by a selective process, but one which has been
+almost as blind in its operation as the choice which acts in the natural
+world. For thousands of years men have preferred the dogs which
+manifested a sympathy with them, and the result is a creature which,
+though derived from a very brutal ancestry, has in its way as intense
+affections as human beings. Now and then they have chosen deliberately
+to develop some mental peculiarity of the animal which would be of
+service in hunting, and the effect of this care is to be noted in the
+considerable variety and perfection of mental development which the
+sporting dogs exhibit. In the main, however, the interest of our dog
+fanciers has been limited to the physical features of the species;
+nothing like a deliberate effort to ascertain how far the development of
+their mental parts could be carried has ever been essayed. In no other
+field of human endeavor of anything like equal importance has there been
+so little understanding applied to the tasks.</p>
+
+<p>Now that we are beginning to know something of the laws of inheritance,
+it is high time for us deliberately to consider what our relations to
+the organic world are hereafter to be, and how we can guide ourselves in
+these relations by the light of modern learning. It is in the first
+place clear that the subjugation of the earth which necessarily
+accompanies the development of civilization, inevitably tends to sweep
+away a large part of the organic life which is not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> adopted and
+protected by man. Already, with the mere beginnings of this culture, we
+find that several of the large beasts and birds and a number of plants
+have been destroyed. New as civilization is on this continent, it has
+already brought the moose and the buffalo to a point where they are on
+the verge of extinction, and in the Old World the wild ancestors of the
+horse and the bull have quite disappeared from the wildernesses. Within
+a few centuries the greater birds, the Dinornis and Epiornis, as well as
+the interesting Dodo, have vanished from the southern isles which they
+inhabited. In the century to come we can foresee that this process of
+effacement of the ancient life will go on with accelerated velocity.</p>
+
+<p>It seems inevitable that man should play the part of a destroyer. It is
+his place to break down the ancient order determined by what we call
+natural forces and in its stead to set a new accord in which the economy
+of the earth will be in a great measure controlled by his intelligence.
+Even those who most keenly sympathize with the wilderness life, are not
+likely to object to the changes which are necessary to open the way for
+this new dispensation. They may fairly ask, however, that hereafter the
+displacement of the ancient life shall be brought about with foresight
+and with the exercise of the utmost care in minimizing the sacrifices
+which we are called on to make. Naturalists may fairly ask men to
+remember that each of these species which we are forced to destroy
+represents the toil and pains of unimaginable ages, and that when these
+creatures are swept away they can never be recovered. Whatever new
+species may come, by processes of evolution from the life which remains
+after we have done our will with the wilderness, we shall never see
+again the forms which have passed away.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>It is the worst feature of the
+destruction which man is bringing upon the organic species that the
+assault is most effective on those varieties which are most interesting
+both from an intellectual and an economic point of view. To take only
+the case of the great birds which have recently been swept from the
+earth, we see clearly that we have with them lost precious opportunities
+for enlarging our understanding of nature and have at the same time been
+deprived of the chance to domesticate creatures which would most likely
+have proved of much economic value. With each of these species which
+disappears we lose what may be a precious chance of adding to the small
+store of animals or plants which may contribute to the well being of our
+kind. These considerations make it plain that it is our duty by our
+civilization, to do all in our power to save these species and at the
+same time to essay their domestication, for only when under the
+protection of man can they be regarded as insured from destruction.</p>
+
+<p>The task of bringing wild creatures into our domestic fold is one of
+very varied difficulty. Many plants are easily reconciled to the
+conditions of our fields and gardens: they may be said to welcome the
+care of man which insures them some protection from the fierce
+contention with other life or with the elements to which they are
+exposed in their natural conditions. Only here and there is it necessary
+by careful breeding to develop domesticated habits to the point where
+the forms will endure culture. Where the task is, however, to make avail
+of some natural peculiarity which promises to be useful, but is not yet
+of economic value, it may require a hundred generations of careful
+selection to develop and fix desirable features. We are, however, in all
+cases sure in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> these half-animate species, the plants, that they will
+prove perfectly obedient to our will. It is otherwise, however, with
+wild animals. Here we have to deal with intelligences in which the most
+striking characteristic is an abiding fear of the master, and a general
+indisposition to submit to any other control than that of their native
+wild instincts. The measure in which this wilderness habit, bred of long
+contention with enemies, prevails in animals varies greatly. Some, as
+for instance the elephant, at once reconcile themselves to human
+association, and directly on being made slaves accept the mastery of
+their captors. Others, such as the zebra, remain for a lifetime
+possessed of their original savage nature. A large part of the labor
+which has been given to the work of domesticating by the breeder's art
+the score of mammalian species which man has won to his use has been
+devoted to this task of expelling the wilderness motives from these
+forms. The cases in which he has failed to accomplish this end are those
+in which the savage humor has persisted for so long a time that he has
+been forced to abandon his effort to subdue the stock.</p>
+
+<p>It seems likely that at the present time we have acquired from the
+wilderness nearly all the animals which are capable of adoption by
+such brief and individual experiments as have won to us the species
+which constitute our flocks and herds. Our future gains will have to
+be made by far more deliberate and continuous endeavors. These tasks
+of the hereafter will have to be undertaken in a way which will insure
+a continuity of effort such as can only be attained by permanently
+organized associations which may continue their essays if needs be for
+centuries. The work should be done with two distinct ends in view:
+first, to determine what members of the wilder<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>ness life may be made
+to contribute to the needs of man; and, second, how far it is possible
+so to develop the intelligence of the lower animals in general as to
+make them better fitted for companionship with our kind. This
+last-named line of experiments needs to be undertaken not only with
+reference to varieties now wild, but also upon our most domesticated
+forms, for, as before remarked, we have not begun to explore the
+possibilities of intellectual gain, even in those species which have
+been the longest associated with us.</p>
+
+<p>In considering a list of the creatures which might well be made the
+subjects of trial with a view to their domestication, we find ourselves
+at once embarrassed by the exceeding wealth of our opportunities. It is
+impossible within the limits of this article to treat, even in the
+catalogue way, a vast number of forms which commend themselves for
+experiment. Something of the richness of the field, however, may be
+judged by noting some of the more conspicuous forms, as we shall now
+proceed to do. Beginning with the insects, the lowest forms in the
+animal series which have proved in any sense domesticable, we note that
+wide as is this realm of life it offers but few opportunities such as
+the domesticator seeks. Of the million or more species in the group,
+only two, the honey-bee and the silkworm, have been won to man's use,
+and there is not another wild form which the naturalist can suggest as
+likely to prove a valuable captive. The only use which we are probably
+to find for these creatures is where, by some form of culture, we may
+induce predatory or parasitic species more effectively to do their
+destructive work on noxious forms of the class. So well fitted is this
+group for purposes of self-defence that however<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> much man may interfere
+with the course of nature, he is not likely to sweep any of their
+multitudinous kinds from the earth, though experience clearly shows that
+by the methods above mentioned they may be greatly reduced.</p>
+
+<p>It is among the vertebrate forms alone that we find animals which by
+their characteristics of body or of mind are well fitted to have an
+economic or social value. There alone are the qualities of flesh or of
+the external covering such as to make them in a high measure valuable,
+and the instincts of a nature to fit them for association in man's work.
+Even among these back-boned animals we find that the lower groups&mdash;the
+fishes, the amphibians, and the reptiles&mdash;promise little in the way of
+gains as compared with the higher groups, the birds and mammals; yet
+even among these inferior creatures we find certain forms which give
+promise of improvement under the care of man. Some of the fishes readily
+learn to come to any one from whom they may expect food, and they
+indicate in other ways that they are capable of a certain intellectual
+advance. The frogs and toads readily learn to recognize a master.
+Several of the larger members of the first-named forms could
+advantageously be bred so as to be very useful as food. The common hop
+toad of our gardens is an admirable helper in restraining the excessive
+development of certain slugs and insects. The tortoises and turtles
+contain a number of species which are edible, and many of the forms
+invite the breeder's care. It is, however, when we ascend in the type of
+vertebrates to the level of the birds that we find the great array of
+creatures which are worth considering as members of our civilization.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly all the birds except those of prey and those which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> haunt the
+seas can easily be accustomed to man. A few of these species which
+have been reduced to captivity have not become sufficiently reconciled
+to the unnatural conditions to maintain their breeding habits. Even in
+these cases, however, it seems likely that in spacious aviaries, at
+least in climates to which they are accustomed, it will be possible to
+secure the continuous reproduction of the kind, on which all
+development by the breeder's art depends.</p>
+
+<p>The ease with which most birds, except those of prey, may be reduced to
+domestication is due to the remarkable intensity of their sympathetic
+motives. In this regard the class is much more advanced than that of the
+mammalia to which we ourselves belong. Accustomed as they are to
+ceaseless and active intercourse with each other by means of their
+varied calls, largely endowed with the faculty of attention, and
+provided with fairly retentive memories, the birds are, on the average,
+nearer in the qualities of their intelligence to man than are many of
+the species in his own class. It was long ago remarked that the birds of
+remote islands, such as the Galapagos, which had never seen man, were at
+first not in the least afraid of him. It required, however, but a few
+generations of experience to show these creatures that the unfeathered
+biped was a singularly dangerous animal, and they at once and
+permanently adopted the habit of avoiding him. This incident of itself
+shows how quick birds are to learn certain large and important lessons.
+We see also the reverse of this education in fear in the rapid way in
+which birds become tame when they are secured from persecution. Wherever
+shooting is stopped over a considerable territory the birds rapidly
+become more tolerant of man's presence. Even among migratory species the
+individuals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> appear to learn that certain places where they are
+protected may be resorted to with safety.</p>
+
+<p>Because of their freedom of flight it is in all cases difficult to
+bring our perching birds into such relations with the domiciles of man
+that they can be truly domesticated. The success, however, which has
+been attained in the case of the pigeons, which have been so far made
+captive by the change of their instincts that they never depart far
+from their cotes, seems to indicate that this tendency again to go
+wild is by no means ineradicable. In other instances it will probably
+disappear as it has in this by long-continued care in breeding. Our
+successes with the geese, ducks, and swans, all of which belong to
+genera characterized by the migratory habit, show how readily in the
+course of time the old native instincts may be subordinated to the
+will of man. Although the degree of the difficulty which will be
+encountered in taming many wild forms may be far greater than that
+which has been met in those which we have domesticated, there is no
+reason whatever to believe that in any case it will be insuperable.</p>
+
+<p>While all the creatures of the wilderness may by the breeder's art be
+induced to vary in the conditions of captivity, the birds have shown
+themselves more plastic in our hands than any other animals. In almost
+every brood we find individuals possessing marked peculiarities of
+form or plumage. In their mental qualities also there is a like range
+of variation. Seizing upon these, the fancier can guide the quick
+succeeding generations so as to cause the form to depart in the course
+of a few years very far from its original aspect. With each step in
+this succession of changes the readiness with which the species
+responds to selective care increases. The results which have been
+attained in our barnyard fowl<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> and with the pigeons show how admirably
+these creatures are fitted to obey the will of man when he has a mind
+to take charge of their destiny.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the greatest conquests which we have yet to make among the
+birds will be won from the species which have the habit of dwelling
+mainly or altogether upon the ground. These, as experience shows, can
+be more readily brought to the uses of man than the species which are
+free by their strong wings to wander through the realms of air. There
+are very many of these ground birds the domestication of which has
+never been fairly essayed. There are perhaps a hundred species which
+in one part of the world or another might afford valuable additions to
+our resources, those of ornament or of economy, and yet within three
+centuries only one of these, the turkey, has been brought to the
+domesticated state. The greater part of our game birds, such as the
+quail, pheasants, and partridges, though they appear on slight
+experiments to be untamable, could probably by continuous effort be
+reduced to perfect domestication. For ages they have been harried by
+man in a manner which has insured a great fear of his presence. We
+have indeed through our hunting instituted a very thorough-going and
+continuous system of selection which has tended to affirm in these
+creatures an intense fear of our kind. Only the more timorous have
+escaped us, and year after year we proceed to remove with the gun the
+individuals which by chance are born with any considerable share of
+the primitive tolerance of man's presence. It is not to be expected
+that the chicks of these species will at once accept relations with
+our kind. The domestication of many of these forms is to be desired,
+not only on account of the excellent quality of their flesh, but
+because of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> their beauty and the charm which their quick intelligences
+afford them. Whoever has watched them in their care of their young or
+their other social habits has observed features which indicate a
+possible development under domestication perhaps greater than that
+which we have attained in any other of our feathered captives.</p>
+
+<p>It seems most important that experiments in the further domestication of
+birds should be first addressed to certain, large ground forms which are
+now in more or less danger of extinction. The newly instituted industry
+of ostrich farming has probably insured this the noblest remnant of the
+old avian life from destruction; but the emu and the cassowary are still
+among the diminishing and endangered forms which unless taken into the
+human fold are likely soon to pass away. The brush turkey and the bower
+bird of Australia, two of the most curious inhabitants of that realm of
+strange life, appear to have qualities of mind and body which would make
+them readily domesticable and which would cause them to be among the
+most interesting of our feathered captives.</p>
+
+<p>Among the aquatic birds there are many species which are as promising
+subjects for domestication as any which have been made captive; these if
+subjugated would prove great additions to our resources of ornament and
+use. Thus the eider duck, so well known for its wonderful soft down
+which is plucked from the breast to make a covering for the eggs, though
+a marine species, would prove domesticable at least on the seashore of
+high latitudes. There are many other varieties of the family, such as
+the canvas-back which is so highly esteemed for its flesh, that would
+likewise afford very interesting subjects for experiment.</p>
+
+<p>The wading birds are characteristically very wild and range<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> over a wide
+field; yet the flamingoes, the herons, and their kindred could probably
+be brought into at least as near an approach to reconciliation with man
+as their relations the storks. The comfortable relations which have been
+established between the last-named species and humankind in northern
+Europe is probably in nowise due to the peculiarly tamable nature of the
+bird, but rather to the fact that certain superstitious fancies on the
+part of the featherless biped led him to protect the feathered visitor
+of his roofs and chimneys. Should it be desirable to break up the habit
+of migration in these or other birds which are now accustomed to range
+up and down the meridians, there seems no reason to doubt that the
+change could be accomplished with the same ease that it has been in the
+case of the tamed geese and swans. Experience has shown that with these
+forms, which probably have not been associated with men for more than
+three or four thousand years, the migratory instinct, which appears one
+of the strongest of motives, has utterly disappeared. Not only do they
+no longer heed the cries of the wild birds of their kind as they fly
+away on their annual journeys, but they have, through the changes in
+form induced by their quiet life, lost the power to rise far above the
+earth. They are even more effectively tamed than are their captors.</p>
+
+<p>Owing to their singularly perfect protection against the cold, and also
+perhaps to the quickness of their wits, birds are more readily
+transferable from one clime to another than are any other animals. The
+feathered tenants of our barnyards are, except perhaps the aquatic
+species and the turkey, all from the tropical realm. Experiments with
+various other wild forms go to show that there are very many other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>
+tropical species which will prove to have an equal tolerance of high
+latitudes. If this be true we may fairly look to the domestication of
+the varied bird life of the equatorial regions for the enrichment of our
+northern lands. Even when it may not be desirable to bring these species
+to the state of complete subjugation they may be introduced on something
+like the terms which have been given and accepted in the case of the
+so-called English pheasant, which has brought to the high north of
+Britain and some parts of this country an element of grace which is
+afforded by no indigenous form of North America or Europe. There are
+hundreds of beautiful tropical species which await reconciliation with
+men; they have that quality of sympathy which affords the natural
+foundations for the contract, but this has in no case been availed of
+except when the creatures, in addition to their &aelig;sthetic charm, have
+possessed some economic value. There as elsewhere in the matter of
+domestication the commercial motive has controlled our action.</p>
+
+<p>In forming our societies as we are in time to do, account must be
+taken of the sympathetic value of its elements, reckoning among these
+the animals which the system brings in contact with men. Much of the
+culture which has served to lift our race above its ancient savagery
+has been derived from the influence of domesticated animals; in
+proportion as these creatures have sympathetically responded to our
+care we have been thereby educated and our spiritual development
+advanced. So far as in our further choice of animals which are to be
+associated with ourselves we are guided by a desire to extend this
+work, we may well turn our attention towards the birds, for in that
+group we may find a greater number of species which have attained the
+physical<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> beauty which attracts and the mental qualities which may
+endear them to mankind. They can give us nothing that can ever come so
+close to us as the dog&mdash;the unique gift of the wilderness&mdash;but they
+may afford a host of forms to enrich our lives.</p>
+
+<p>The mammals, because they are, in qualities of body and mind, nearer to
+us than the members of any other class of animals, afford the most
+promising field from which to make selections for future domestication.
+In an economic sense it seems unlikely that any very great profit can
+be attained by the subjugation of any of the mammalian species which
+are still wild. Civilized people have been so long in contact with the
+life of all the continents, and have ever been so hungry for gain, that
+they have already essayed about every experiment in subjugating the
+larger wild beasts which appears to be very promising. Still there are
+certain cases where there have been no trials and others where the
+failure to tame particular species has been due to hindrances which
+systematic labor may possibly overcome. It will therefore be well to
+glance at the array of the wild forms which afford some prospect of
+success in the hereafter, including under the title of successes those
+kinds which may contribute not only to immediately measurable wealth,
+but the &aelig;sthetic satisfactions as well.</p>
+
+<p>Beginning with the lowlier group of mammals we find in the base of the
+series the ornithorhynchus and its allies, creatures which have nothing
+to recommend them but their exceeding organic peculiarities that render
+them attractive to the naturalist, but which are not likely to win them
+a place in the affections of men in general. As these species are most
+inoffensive as well as interesting, and as they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> are now confined to a
+portion of Australia, they might well be made the subject of some human
+care which would stop short of domestication. They might be transplanted
+to other continents and thereby given a larger field for variation as
+well as a chance to exhibit their features in a wider field. Among the
+pouched mammals, especially in the species of kangaroo, there are forms
+which commend themselves as very fair subjects for taming. They are of
+considerable size, their flesh is palatable, and their hides useful for
+leather; they breed rapidly, live on a poor herbage, and are, for wild
+animals of like strength, very inoffensive. Moreover, though relatively
+invariable both in mind and body, they exhibit sufficient individual
+peculiarities to indicate that the breeder's art could, in a short time,
+bring about considerable changes such as have been effected in other
+species, changes that would increase the value of these animals. As far
+as &aelig;sthetic or sympathetic relations are concerned, the pouched mammals
+have nothing to give us; they are, as befits their lowly estate, among
+the least graceful of their class; they are also little interesting in
+their mental qualities, being about the stupidest of our kindred.</p>
+
+<p>Among the ordinary herbivorous mammals there are several which should
+be domesticable which have not yet been properly subjected to
+experiment looking to that end. The American bison, commonly but
+improperly termed the buffalo, is a strong creature, one which is
+easily nourished. In its present condition, it is about as promising a
+subject for the breeder's care as were the ancestors of our horned
+cattle. Although there have been sundry trials of this animal as a
+beast of burthen, they have been of a rude as well as a brief kind, no
+care having been taken by selection to improve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> the qualities which
+evidently 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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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 mention the foxes, the polar bears, and
+the seals. The first-named group affords at present about the dearest
+furs of our markets. The silver-gray variety, which at present seems to
+be a frequent individual variation, could doubtless be affirmed by
+selection, and probably could be brought to a higher state of perfection
+than it has as yet attained. The animals are, if we may judge from their
+kindred, not untamable; at least they could be brought to live in a
+sufficient state of captivity to permit selection. In time they might be
+quite domesticated. Many of the islands of the high north and south are
+well fitted for such experiments.</p>
+
+<p>As is well known, the polar bears have a wonderfully developed hairy
+covering; their coats, indeed, are among the richest that exist. These
+animals subsist mainly on what they capture from the sea, so that it
+might be possible to keep them at a small expense. They are, however, of
+all their kindred the most indomitable; it would probably<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> require a
+long and costly effort to reduce them to anything like domestication.
+Moreover, being strong, free swimmers, it would not be easy to maintain
+them in captivity. Still, selecting such a well-inundated place as Bear
+Island of the North Atlantic, it would be most interesting to make the
+experiment, first of accustoming them to some human control, and then to
+a selection which might serve to lift the quality of the kind. It would
+be less difficult and perhaps more advisable at first to make a trial of
+a similar sort with the black bear, which in less arctic conditions
+flourishes and carries a fine pelt. The only difficulty would be in
+finding a sufficient supply of food for such captives, for although they
+will eat fish they have no skill in capturing them such as is possessed
+by their more degraded, or perhaps we should say their less advanced
+kindred, the polar bears. Still, as the form is even more omnivorous
+than man, it might be practicable to feed them.</p>
+
+<p>By far the most important of the carnivora in an economic sense are the
+seals which dwell in the high northern waters. These creatures afford
+the most interesting subjects for experiments in domestication from an
+economic point of view that remain to be made. Of all the predatory
+animals the seals seem to have the largest share of intelligence and
+the greatest amount of sympathetic motives. No other wild animals,
+except perhaps the monkeys, appear to be so human-like in their
+qualities of mind as these creatures of the sea. So far, except when
+they have been captured and kept for purposes of show in menageries,
+man's relations to the seals have been purely destructive; he has
+incessantly hunted them. Yet certain species of them remain singularly
+willing, we may say desirous, of claiming friendship with their
+persecutors. As<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> elsewhere noted, wounded seals behave in a curiously
+appealing way towards their assailants. When in captivity certain of
+the species show a remarkable friendliness and a capacity to receive
+training. No other wild animals, except perhaps the elephants, exhibit
+so great a fitness for profiting from contact with man.</p>
+
+<p>Although our knowledge as to the habits of seals is still very
+imperfect, it appears likely that the greater part of the species have
+the habit of resorting to certain places during the breeding season, and
+that the individuals after the manner of certain fishes return at that
+time to their native shore. If this be true, as there is good reason to
+believe it is, it should not be a matter of grave difficulty, provided
+the maritime nations would abet the experiment, to establish seal
+colonies composed of the several promising forms at fit points in the
+circumpolar seas. There is reason to suppose that with ordinary decent
+treatment the animals would become to a great degree accustomed to men,
+and that it might be possible to accomplish selection enough of the
+individuals which were left to breed, to develop the already valuable
+characteristics of the fur. In the present disgraceful condition of our
+relations to these animals it will be but a few years before we shall
+have to lament the extirpation of several species, including the most
+interesting members of the group.</p>
+
+<p>Looking upon the questions of man's future on the earth in a large
+way, we see that there are reasons why the animals of the high north,
+particularly those which obtain their food from the sea, should be
+protected from extermination. There is a great area of country in that
+part of the world which is not adapted to the occupation of any of the
+species which have as yet been domesticated. If this portion of the
+world is ever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> to prove fruitful in other ways than through its
+mineral stores, it will be by the creatures which are adapted to its
+climate and other conditions. At the present rate of increase in
+numbers, the population of the world will, in the course of two or
+three centuries, begin seriously to press upon the resources in the
+way of food which the fields of the tropical and temperate zones can
+supply; the chances of the arctic regions may then have much
+importance to our successors. Moreover, in the case of the seals we
+find the peculiar advantage that the animals are fed entirely from the
+sea, so that the domestication of these forms would give to man a
+means, the like of which he has never possessed, whereby he would be
+enabled to harvest the food resources of the deep.</p>
+
+<p>The beaver, particularly the North American form, offers a most
+attractive opportunity for a great and far-reaching experiment in
+domestication. On this continent, at least, the creature exhibits a
+range of attractive qualities which is exceeded by none other in the
+whole range of the lower mammalian life. No other mammal below man shows
+anything like the same constructive skill in the contrivance of its
+habitations, or is able so to modify its habits of building to meet the
+varied needs of its life. When this country was first visited by man
+near one half of its area was occupied by this species. It built its
+dams and dwelling-places and, when necessary, excavated its canals along
+all the lesser streams in the timbered regions of the northern
+districts. As the destructive effects of civilization increased, the
+animal has gradually, to a great extent, been driven away from its old
+haunts, and where it remains it has, as the price of life, given up its
+architectural habits and betaken itself to the older and simpler mode of
+living in a chance manner much as is now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> the habit of the European
+variety. As an illustration of this I may note, in passing, that before
+the civil war, when all the recesses of the forests in the region about
+Richmond, Virginia, had for more than a century been industriously
+explored by hunters, the beaver was supposed to be extinct in the
+district; yet during the civil war, as I am credibly informed, a colony
+of these creatures became established near the town of Suffolk, and
+there, amid the roar of a great conflict in which men ceased to seek the
+lesser game, they recovered their habit of building dams, which we must
+believe to have been discontinued for many generations. This capacity to
+vary action with reference to changing needs is the best possible index
+of the mental power of animals. Guided by the exhibition that has been
+given us by the beavers, we are justified in considering them to be the
+one group of mammals which has gained a distinct, rational constructive
+power. This feature makes them decidedly the most interesting group for
+investigations which may be expected to throw light on the problems of
+animal intelligence. From the economic point of view the species has a
+certain importance for the reason that it affords one of the most
+valuable kinds of fur that has ever been marketed.</p>
+
+<p>The domestication of the beavers to the point where they would tolerate
+the presence of man should not, provided they could be protected against
+the depredations of poachers, be a matter of any difficulty. The
+colonies of these animals require only what is afforded by vast realms
+of our wildernesses&mdash;flowing streams of moderate fall with timber upon
+their banks. They are not particular as to the species, so that
+swift-growing kinds of trees such as the poplars may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> be made to serve
+their needs. The natural growth on a hundred acres of otherwise
+worthless land would probably be sufficient to maintain a colony of
+average size containing say twenty-five individuals. In the region about
+the great lakes and for some distance to the northward and to the east
+and west there are great areas amounting in the aggregate to some
+hundred thousand square miles that would apparently be well suited to
+the nurture of this form, and which in the present condition of the
+country, as well as for the immediate future, cannot be turned to better
+use. It may be remarked that the domestication of the beavers would
+afford yet another means, in addition to those above noted, whereby we
+might be able to win some profit from the great wilderness of the north,
+which is, so far as our existing means of appropriating its resources,
+of little use to mankind. The only evident way by which we may hope to
+win profit from this part of our continent is by using it as a field for
+rearing animals that have yet to be subjugated; none of our captive
+varieties are fit for the service.</p>
+
+<p>In the tropical parts of the world there are many mammalian species
+which are worthy subjects for essays in domestication. This is
+particularly the case in the continent of Africa where, except in the
+lands about the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the native peoples have
+never attained the stage of culture in which men become strongly
+inclined to subjugate wild animals. Africa is richer in large
+herbivorous species than any other of the great lands; many of these
+forms are of large size and have qualities of flesh, of hide, or other
+peculiar features which promise to make them valuable in an economic
+way. Others, especially the antelopes, have a beauty of form and a grace
+of movement which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> render them among the most attractive creatures of
+their class. Even the hippopotamus, one of the grossest beasts of this
+realm, affords in its teeth a valuable ivory, and its hides, if supplied
+in sufficient quantity, would probably find a considerable use. It is
+evident that in this "dark continent," where the influences which make
+for human advancement have been so slight, we have the best field for
+the selection of species that may hereafter be brought to the use of
+man. There is evidently danger, in the advance in the civilizing
+process, that the native forms which, owing to their fitness to the
+physical conditions of the country, might be made useful to its people,
+may be utterly destroyed by hunters.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the most interesting of the tropical beasts from the point of
+view which we occupy is the elephant: This animal in its relations to
+men is eminently peculiar, in that while it has been in an individual
+way long and completely subjugated, it has never been systematically
+reared in captivity. Owing, it may be, to the slow growth of these
+great beasts, as well as to the immediate manner in which they submit
+to their captors, it has ever been the custom to take them when adult
+from the wilderness. The result is that the supply of the Asiatic
+species, which alone is serviceable&mdash;the African form being apparently
+too fierce for use&mdash;is now dependent on a relatively small number of
+wild herds. Certain of these herds are protected by the governments of
+India, but it seems as if the species were already dangerously near
+the vanishing point&mdash;in a position where the invasion of some disease
+or some insect enemy might deprive the world of what is, all things
+considered, the most interesting of the brutes. Moreover, the failure
+to rear elephants in captivity has made it impossible to essay any of
+those experiments in breeding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> which have done so much to improve the
+utility and the beauty of most subjugated forms.</p>
+
+<p>If the elephants could be reared in captivity there is little reason
+to doubt that with a few centuries of selection they might be made to
+vary in many important ways. It is evident that the form and mental
+quality of these creatures is as plastic as those features in the
+other domesticated animals have been proved to be. Moreover, the
+group, though it is now represented by but two recognized species, was
+in comparatively recent times quite rich in varieties, a fact which
+raises the presumption that the existing kinds are open to
+modification by the selective process. As the elephant is not mature
+until it is near thirty years old, probably not reproducing until
+about that age, there is little inducement for any person to undertake
+the process of breeding them in the selective way; if the task is ever
+done it will have to be accomplished by government action or by that
+of a society which is pledged to such tasks. If the effort to bring
+the elephants into a more permanent relation with man is not made and
+the race is allowed to perish, we may be sure that in the time to come
+people will gravely censure us for any such neglect of the
+opportunities which this world affords as would be involved in the
+loss of this noble brute. It is clearly our duty to see that all such
+resources are preserved for the inquirers of the future.</p>
+
+<p>Among the other tropical mammals which, because they have not as yet
+proved of economic value, are on account of their size and their
+attractiveness to sportsmen in danger of extinction, we may note the
+various species of rhinoceros, the giraffe, and the several African
+forms which are akin to the horse. None of these forms have been
+turned to use,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> none of them appear likely to be adopted by man for
+the service they can do; but they are, in common with all the host
+which cannot be mentioned here, of great interest to the naturalists
+of our time. Their importance in the inquiries which are hereafter to
+be made by our ever expanding science of life cannot be estimated. It
+certainly will not be possible to overreckon it in this very practical
+age. This plea for the sparing of the mammalian species in no case
+needs to be made so strongly, and in no other instance is so well
+entitled to a hearing, as when it is raised for the life of the
+monkeys. These interesting animals because of their collateral kinship
+with man afford precious evidence as to the stages of intellectual
+development which is likely to be of exceeding value to students in
+that field of inquiry. There is unfortunately little chance that any
+of the monkeys will ever prove useful; their habits are such that they
+are generally troublesome neighbors; moreover, their weakness makes it
+easy to exterminate them. The result is that some species have
+probably already been destroyed, and others are in conditions where
+during the next century they are likely to vanish. In the animate
+realm it is hard to choose the forms which are to be the most
+important for the naturalists of the time to come, but it is certain
+that these students will deplore the loss of the simian life and
+charge us sorely if we neglect due effort for its preservation.</p>
+
+<p>Although the matter before us concerns the domestication of animals, it
+may be well to devote a little attention to the question of the wild
+plants which need protection or which promise to afford unwon values. It
+may be said that plants in general are much less likely than animals to
+be disturbed by the process of bringing a country under the condi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>tions
+of civilization. With rare exceptions the individuals of each species
+are so numerous that, like the insects, they escape by their numbers the
+risk of the extinction of their kinds. Moreover, the ease with which
+nearly all the kinds can be brought under cultivation, and the fact that
+they present no self-will to be dominated, makes the task of dealing
+with them, in a protective way, infinitely easier than in the case of
+animals. So far as we know, there has not been an instance in which a
+continental species of plant has been exterminated by man, while there
+are a number of the larger animals which have been swept away apparently
+by human agency, and there are many more which are on the verge of
+extinction. Therefore, so far as the plant world is concerned, we may
+for the present at least trust the species to their own powers to
+maintain them against the rude assaults of civilization. If here and
+there one is overrun by the wheels of our economic engines, something of
+value to the student is lost, but the loss does not include the element
+of mind which is hereafter to be the subject of so much study.</p>
+
+<p>The foregoing considerations make it evident that the problem of
+domestication shades into the question as to the preservation of the
+life which is now on the earth, and this with a view to the advantage
+which the arts, the sciences, or general culture may obtain from the
+preservation of the useful, the instructive, and the beautiful things in
+the realm of nature from the swift destruction which our rude
+subjugation of the earth threatens to inflict. To deal with this problem
+in an adequate manner we must ask ourselves what limits are to be set to
+the displacement of the ancient order which is now going on. We see that
+wherever civilization enters, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> even where its first influences are
+felt, the olden societies of nature are disturbed or broken up. All the
+nobler members of these associations, the greater mammals, many of the
+larger birds, and a host of the lesser forms, are expelled or destroyed.
+In the condition of organic life when the supremely predatory creature
+man rose to domination, the species were grouped in those vast
+organizations which were of old termed faun&aelig; and flor&aelig;, but which are
+now better known as biological fields or provinces. In each of these
+hosts the several species were, as regards their external life, so
+balanced with their neighbors that the assemblage from the point of view
+of these relations might well be compared with the polities or states of
+man's construction. Such an organic society represents the result of a
+series of trials and balances which began to be made in the immeasurably
+remote past and have been continued through the geologic ages, each age
+adding something to the accord. The plants give and take from the
+animals; the insects are equated with the birds, and each species in
+every group has set up an accord with its rivals. From time to time the
+host has by the changes of sea and land been compelled to migrate,
+moving this way and that to find its fit station. In these movements
+species are rapidly extinguished, much as the weaker soldiers of an army
+perish in forced marches. Into their places new forms hasten to take
+their place, so that every position of advantage is filled. At a less
+rapid rate, but perpetually, even without the change of abode, which it
+is often by climatic changes compelled to make, the organic host is
+slowly changing in character; old kinds give way in the endless contest
+to new varieties which have managed to establish a better relation to
+the environment. Still the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> legions press on towards the great
+accomplishment of a higher and nobler life.</p>
+
+<p>No one, however well he may conceive the nature and history of the
+organic hosts of the earth, can hope to convey to the general reader
+an adequate sense of their majesty or the wonderful part they have
+played in the history of the life which has culminated in mankind. The
+largest words are freighted with too little meaning, and even the
+metaphors drawn from human associations fail to convey a sufficient
+picture of these enduring organizations which have enabled living
+beings to meet the difficulties of their long contest with this rude
+world, and to win the advance they have gained. The reader will have
+to tax his imagination to picture, it may be, a quarter of a million
+species dwelling in the same field, each united with the other in the
+method of exchange in such a way that the withdrawal of any one form
+is likely in some measure to change the estate of every other. In some
+cases this removal of one species means the loss of the life of many
+and perhaps the better opportunity of other neighbors; again, the
+influence on remoter members of the society may be so slight as to
+escape detection. Yet it is doubtful if the slightest change in the
+population of a biologic province can be brought about without some
+effect upon all the members of the society. It is a vast, sensitive
+thing, fit to be compared with the living body where every cell lives
+in accord with every other of the frame.</p>
+
+<p>So long as the organic hosts were in the prehuman stage the maintenance
+of the accord was easily and naturally attained. Species arose and
+perished, each in turn effecting a simple reconciliation with the
+others, grasping only so much room and food as was necessary for its
+proper support. But<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> with the coming of man, the species which by its
+swiftly progressive desires has become a host in itself, a disturbing
+element was introduced into the old order. Man as a primitive savage
+falls into the natural system without greatly disturbing it; but man as
+a soil-tiller, in so far as he carries out his subjugative work,
+utterly wrecks the ancient establishments of life. To attain his object
+he has to banish from the soil nearly all the plants which originally
+belonged upon it, and in their place, with or without intention, he
+introduces species from other organic provinces. With the change in
+plant-life necessarily goes a like, or even a greater, alteration in
+the native animals. They are driven into the wilderness or, it may be,
+extirpated. The reader who would obtain an idea of these changes will
+do well to study the invasions of weeds or of those noxious insects
+which in the economy of a civilized country may be likened to weeds.
+These pests are in nearly all cases invaders which owe their successes
+to the fact that our treatment of the regions they have entered has
+opened vacancies in the once closed ranks of the indigenous host, into
+which the foreigners are free to enter. In the fresh field they are not
+likely to find enemies which by long training are especially fitted to
+cope with them, and so they run riot and contest with man the gains he
+has won from the ancient possessors of the land.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the large questions which the consideration of the future of
+man's work on this planet opens to us, there is none which now appears
+to be more serious or, in its consequences, more far-reaching than
+this concerning the treatment which he is to give to the old natural
+order of sea and land. The very first condition of civilization is an
+utter spoiling of that order, so far as the land areas are concerned,
+in the fields of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> the richest and highest life. It is clearly
+impossible to avoid this destruction over all the surface which we win
+to culture. Spare as we may, the subversion of the ancient balances
+and adjustments must be complete before the earth is ready for our
+tillage and other modes of use. This overturning is a part of the
+destiny of man. It is a characteristic of the new dispensation which
+came with his progressive desires. Yet the rational quality which has
+led to the mastery of man may be trusted to bring him to a point where
+he will endeavor to minimize the ill effects of his actions on the
+life which has been placed in his hands.</p>
+
+<p>In considering the ways in which we can mitigate the evils of our rule
+over organic nature, we at once see that our aim should be to preserve
+all the varieties of living creatures from destruction, provided they
+are not distinctly harmful to man, and this with the intention of
+keeping for our successors in the inheritance all that can in any way
+afford a foundation for further experiments in domestication, materials
+for learned inquiries, or pleasure in contemplation. To attain this
+object we cannot trust to the share of this life which can be brought
+into zo&ouml;logical and botanical gardens, however extensive and well
+managed. The only way is to make certain reservations in various parts
+of the world, each containing an area and a variety of conditions great
+enough to afford a safe lodgment for a true sample of the life of an
+organic province. Owing to the fact that these provinces are never
+sharply bounded, it would naturally be impossible to select reservations
+which would in a complete manner represent all the conditions of the
+biologic societies; but if properly distributed the outlying animals and
+plants could in most if not all cases be introduced into one or other
+of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> these protected fields, so that there would be little reason to fear
+that any important part of the existing life would be lost.</p>
+
+<p>Owing to the wise forethought of our American people, a practical
+foundation of the system of national reservations has been instituted
+in our so-called national parks. Although these reservations were
+established to preserve to the public certain natural beauties in the
+way of scenery or vegetation, or to secure the regimen of streams,
+they will, if properly guarded against depredations, effect the end
+which we have in view. Owing to their large area and somewhat varied
+positions, these parks provide a safe refuge for a great part of the
+life which belongs in the Cordilleran district of the United States.
+If the method should be extended to the whole country, we should have
+the peculiar satisfaction of having been the first state to institute
+the system of preservation which is here suggested.</p>
+
+<p>To complete a system of reservations designed to perpetuate the
+aboriginal life of this country would require the institution of about a
+dozen other similar natural shelters. It would not be necessary to have
+these on as large a scale as that of the Yellowstone. In most cases
+areas of from ten to twenty thousand acres in extent would, if well
+guarded, suffice to give refuge to the animals and plants of the field
+in which it lay. The selection of these refuges would demand much
+consideration. In general, it may be said that they need to include at
+least two on the Atlantic coast, which might also be fitted for the use
+of marine birds as breeding places, one on the northern part of the
+coast of Maine, and another in southern Florida. The latter might serve
+as well for the protection of the turtles which resort to that shore to
+lay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> their eggs. Similar coast parks should be established on the shores
+of the Pacific. Yet other closed areas would be needed in the interior,
+the evidently desirable fields lying in the region about the headwaters
+of the Mississippi, in the Adirondacks, in the mountains of North
+Carolina, in the lower part of the Mississippi delta, in Arizona, and at
+least two points in Alaska; one of these should afford a place of refuge
+for the persecuted fur seals and another for the musk-ox.</p>
+
+<p>At first sight it may seem to be a simple matter to accommodate the
+wild life of a country on a relatively small piece of land. So far,
+indeed, as the plants, the insects, and the lesser mammalian life are
+concerned, an area of a few hundred acres will serve very well for
+their safe harborage, but when it comes to protecting the larger birds
+and mammals we see how easily the natural balance of life is by some
+chance influence destroyed. A capital instance of this difficulty
+which arises when preservation is essayed on small areas has recently
+been forced on my attention. In Dukes County, Massachusetts, there is
+the vanishing remnant of an interesting bird known from the island to
+which it is limited as the Martha's Vineyard prairie chicken. It is
+closely related to its better known Western kinsman, yet is a distinct
+variety. Although the form has apparently developed on the island and
+once abounded there, it has dwindled in numbers until there are but
+few surviving. In the hope of providing a safe refuge for the remnant,
+I have for a number of years stopped all shooting on a tract of a
+thousand or two acres which is well fitted to supply them with food
+and shelter. As they still dwindled, it seemed probable that the foxes
+were harming them. This appeared the more likely for the reason that
+the fox is not a native of the island, but was introduced a few<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> years
+ago by some reckless experimenters. These marauders were cleared away
+without good results. Further inquiry made it apparent that the real
+enemy of these birds was the feralized domestic cat which has gone
+wild from the households, especially from the many homesteads that
+have been abandoned. This creature has bred in great numbers and is
+now threatening the existence of all birds that rear their broods upon
+the ground. It is hardly possible to exterminate them, for the reason
+that they are wary, and any systematic hunting of them would prove
+exceedingly disturbing to the very timid birds. The result is that
+nearly all these birds have left my land for certain plains near by
+which are covered with scrub oaks and where there is too little ground
+life to attract the cats. In that region, though it has an area of
+about thirty thousand acres, the food is scanty; the prairie chickens
+dwelling there are likely to perish for lack of the rose-hips which,
+in the hill country they have been forced to desert, served to
+maintain them at times when the ground was covered with snow.</p>
+
+<p>The lesson which may be drawn from the experience above stated is to
+the effect that it is necessary to have a protected field of
+sufficient area, and in the proper conditions to keep the balance of
+life which arises from the exchange of relations between species in
+their normal state. Even in ideal reservations where all invasions are
+excluded, we should have to expect that from time to time certain
+forms would disappear, their place perhaps being taken by new species
+which would arise. Such is the manner of the great procession of life.
+Probably at least twenty and perhaps a hundred times as many species
+as are now living on the earth have perished from it, and before the
+unimaginable goal is attained<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> as many others may pass away. Our task
+with the refuges would be to keep the death of the specific
+inhabitants to the natural and wholesome rate that is determined by
+the endless struggle for existence.</p>
+
+<p>It is impracticable at the present time to devise a scheme for refuge
+stations in other countries than our own; it is evident, however,
+that these would have to be numerous and widely distributed. A glance
+at a map showing the political distribution of the lands will make it
+evident, however, that within the holdings of the British, French,
+German, Dutch, and Russian governments there are large areas which
+might, without evident loss of considerable economic values,
+immediate or prospective, be turned to such uses, and that these
+reservations would probably include nearly all that would be
+required to preserve the most important samples of the primitive
+life. Some of them, as for instance those intended to retain the
+large tropical animals in their natural state, would have to be as
+imperial in their areas as the Yellowstone Park, but these would lie
+in realms which have no present value to our own race and are
+scantily inhabited by the indigenous peoples.</p>
+
+<p>It is easy to see that the proposed world-wide system of wilderness
+stations in which the native life should be preserved from the
+destructive influences of man's assault upon it could not be brought
+about without international co&ouml;peration and with a considerable
+expenditure of money both for the foundation and maintenance of the
+establishments; but, as before remarked, the idea of public
+reservations of this nature is one which immediately and strongly
+commended itself to the people of this country and has led their
+representatives to set aside for such use lands which in the
+aggregate amount to a larger area<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> than some of our sister states.
+The same motive is seen in the action of the State of Massachusetts,
+which a few years ago created a Board of Trustees of Public
+Reservations, a corporate body authorized to hold in perpetuity
+lands which are intended to serve the public for pleasure and
+instruction. The recent rapid extension of the park systems
+appertaining to the cities of this country and Europe is a further
+illustration of the same motive which makes for the object which we
+desire. It therefore seems not unreasonable to hope that very soon
+we may find the governments of the greater nations willing to go
+forward on the line of advance in which our own has so well led the
+way. At the right time the United States could probably do much to
+further the matter by asking for international action in this
+admirable work. There is hardly any undertaking which would afford a
+fairer chance for friendly co&ouml;peration among the great states than
+this which looks forward to the good of the time to come.</p>
+
+<p>While looking forward to the establishment of a system of sanctuaries
+which may serve to protect examples of the present life of all the
+lands, it is also well to consider what can be done by local
+authorities and by individuals in the same direction. The numerous
+zo&ouml;logical and botanical gardens which have been established in
+different parts of the world have in part the same motive that is to be
+embodied in the larger institutions which we would see founded; they
+seek to preserve the interesting and instructive animals and plants,
+and in some cases contrive to perpetuate the kinds. The trouble is that
+their main purpose is to make a striking show, one that will attract
+the eye and lead to profit of an immediate kind. If these institutions
+could be persuaded to add to their former exhibitions grounds designed
+for the maintenance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> of the natural order, true wildernesses, where the
+native life would find a fit place of abode and where it would be
+protected from the ravages of man or from accident, a certain gain
+would be made; at least the masses of our city people, who have now
+come to control legislation in the great states, would be brought to
+see the beauties of the primitive conditions which they now rarely
+have a chance to behold. Yet more might be accomplished if men of
+wealth could be induced to turn their generous spirit towards this
+object. There are many parts of this country where reservations are
+most desirable and where the price of land is so low that an area of
+thirty thousand acres could be acquired for that number of dollars. A
+capital of one hundred thousand dollars would, at the present rates of
+interest, afford the revenue necessary for the pay of a keeper and
+half a dozen guards, a sufficient force to maintain a due watchfulness
+against depredations. Moreover, the use of such land as an asylum
+would not prevent a careful exploitation of its timber resources,
+which in many cases would give a sufficient return to provide for the
+policing expenses, as well as for incidental costs incurred in
+bringing upon the land species from the neighboring country which it
+might be desirable to introduce. At a cost of not more than a million
+dollars it would be possible to secure and maintain a well-chosen
+system of guarded wildernesses which would preserve the
+characteristics of the original plant and animal life in all the
+region of this country lying to the east of the Rocky Mountains.</p>
+
+<p>It would be essential in any such privately founded system of wilderness
+reservations to have the control of the establishments in the hands of
+some authorities which were of an enduring nature. In our American
+experience it has become<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> certain that such trusts cannot be safely
+reposed in the state or national governments, or in the hands of
+trustees chosen for the particular function. The only authorities which
+commend themselves for the execution of such a purpose are those of our
+universities. In these institutions we find boards which are chosen for
+the attainment of intellectual ends; in certain cases the choice is made
+by the vote of an intelligent body of alumni, or in other ways guarded
+by that body, so that the chance of lapse in the quality of the contract
+is reduced to a minimum. Several instances could be given showing that
+such trusts, even when they do not directly pertain to the teaching work
+of these institutions, have been long and faithfully maintained. We may
+therefore look upon our universities as the natural repositories of
+confidences which pertain to the continuous intellectual work of man.
+There is no other kind of association where interests of the sort which
+would have to be cared for in the reservations of the wilderness are so
+likely to receive continuous attention. In these homes of learning,
+while business considerations enter, personal greed is naturally absent.</p>
+
+<p>The method which may be chosen for the control of wilderness
+reservations, though a problem of much importance, is of course
+secondary to the matter of their establishment. This work should at once
+command the attention of those persons who are of the foresightful class
+who see beyond the interests of the day, and take account of the needs
+of the generations to come. Such men will do well to begin the work by
+organizing a society which shall endeavor to arouse public attention to
+the destructive effects of man's occupation of the earth by his
+civilizations. The people need to be taught the true meaning of the
+indigenous life in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> relation to the problems of the origin and destiny
+of our own and other life, to the future exercise of the domesticating
+art and to the most refined gratifications.</p>
+
+<p>It may be noted that, beginning with the apparently simple and
+eminently popular questions as to the origin and economic history of
+the animals which have been subjugated by man, we have been naturally
+led to the consideration of much larger problems, those relating to the
+place of man in the order of nature, and his duty by the life of which
+he is an integral part. There can be no question that the sense of this
+duty which mastery of the earth gives or should afford is to be one of
+the moral gifts of modern learning. So long as men considered
+themselves to be accidents on the earth, imposed upon it by the will of
+a Supreme Being, but in nowise related in origin and history to the
+creatures amid which they dwelt, it was natural that they should
+exercise a careless and despotic power over their subjects. Now that it
+has been made perfectly clear that we have come forth from the maze of
+the lower life, that all these tenants of the wilderness are sharers in
+the order which has brought us to our estate, and that each one of
+them, plant and animal alike, is the record of the impulses which lead
+beings upward, we can no longer keep the old careless attitude. We are
+compelled to deal with the organic hosts as we deal with the creatures
+of our folds and fields. We have to look upon them all as a member of
+the great household of man, made such by the intellectual conquest of
+the world to which he has attained. We may trust the sense of this
+large duty to extend abroad under the influences which have developed
+it in the minds of a few men, or we may hasten its development by a
+propaganda such as is carried on by the societies for the prevention of
+cruelty to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> animals. If this latter course is taken the teaching should
+be on a higher plane than that which we have yet had from those
+generally admirable associations. Bad as is the ill treatment of
+domesticated animals, the suppression of that evil will not bring us
+materially nearer the true attitude that we need to assume in face of
+our responsibilities to the natural world. We need to see the greatness
+of the responsibility which has been imposed upon us by the action of
+the guiding power that has made us lords of the earth.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2>
+
+<p>Animals, rights of, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">separation of city folk from, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">educability of, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Antelopes, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Aryan race, relation to domestication, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">relation to rights of animals, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Ass, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Bears, possible domestication of, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Beasts of burden, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Beaver, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">habits of, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">domestication of, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Bee (honey), <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">in North America, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Big Bone Lick, Ky., <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Birds, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">free-flying species of, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">tree species of, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">vocal powers of, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">&aelig;sthetic nature of, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">conditions of domestication of, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">future domestication of, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Bison, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">domestication of, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Buffaloes, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">African, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Bulls, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Camels, origin of, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">limited nature of, <a href="#camels_limited">120</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">lessening value of, <a href="#camels_lessening">124</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Cattle (horned), value of, <a href="#horned_cattle">110</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">variations of, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Cats, origin of domesticated forms of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">their love of well-known places, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">compared with dogs, <a href="#compare_dog">52</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">their return to wild state, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">no large species domesticated, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Cochineal, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Dogs, origin of, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">fossil species of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">savage selection of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">civilized conditions of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">shepherd breed of, etc., <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">hunting varieties of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">intellectual qualities of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">evils of fancy breeding, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">lack of constructive faculty, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">modes of expression, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">effect on human sympathy, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">possible new varieties of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Domestication, relation to culture, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">relation to sympathies, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">slow institution of, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">mainly by Aryan people, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">problem of, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">hap-hazard nature of, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">conditions of, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Domesticability, on what depending, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Donkey, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">limited use of, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span>
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Elephants, native freedom of, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">origin of, <a href="#elephant_origin">127</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">ancient species of, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">present limitation of, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">use in war, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">domesticability of, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">intelligence of, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">possible improvement of, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">future care of species required for preservation, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</span>
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Falconry, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Fishes, limits of domestication, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Fowls (barnyard), <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">mental qualities of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">voices of, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">domesticability of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">game variety of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</span>
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Giraffe, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Goats, <a href="#goat">115</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">limited relation to man, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">little variation of, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">limited intelligence of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Guinea hen, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Hawking, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Horse, economic value to man, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">origin of, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">hoof of, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">field in which developed, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">domestication of, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">use in war, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">effect of mounted men on early peoples, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">future use in military campaigns, <a href="#future_use">70</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">value in agriculture, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">mental qualities of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">ready variations of, <a href="#variation">78</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">Norman variety of, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">geographic varieties of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">Arabian variety of, <a href="#arabian">85</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">Indian ponies, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">care of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">shoeing of, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">influence on man, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Hybrids, utility of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Insects, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">limited value to man, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</span>
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Kangaroo, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Mammalia, value of class as source of domesticable animals, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">future domestication of, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Mammals (tertiary), <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Mammoth, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Man, his place in nature, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">sudden appearance of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">as a destroyer, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Martha's Vineyard prairie chicken, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Milk, value of, as food, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Monkeys, little use to man, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">value for inquiry, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Mule, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">limitations in use of, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">only hybrid serviceable to man, <a href="#hybrid">96</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">mental qualities of, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Musk ox, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Organic hosts, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Ostrich, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">possible improvement of, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</span>
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Pack animals, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Parks, national, etc., <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Pea-fowl, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">habits of, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">intelligence of, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Pets, influence of, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Pig, origin of, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">value of flesh, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span><br />
+<span class="index">progressive domestication of, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">intelligence of, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">variations in habits of, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Pigeons, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">origin of, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">breeds of, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">mental qualities of, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Plants, danger of extinction of species of, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Refuge stations. (See Reservations.)</p>
+
+<p>Reservations (of wilderness), <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">American, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">foreign, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">cost of, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Rhinoceros, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Rights of animals, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">origin of, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</span>
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Savages, relation of, to animals, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Seals, possible domestication of, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Sheep, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">value of wool, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">variations of, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">mental qualities of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Silkworm, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Turkey, origin of, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">variations of, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">mental qualities of, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</span>
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Vivisection, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+
+<p>Water-birds, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">flight of, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</span><br />
+<span class="index">sympathetic quality, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Wildernesses, destruction of, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.<br />
+<span class="index">reservations of, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</span></p>
+
+<p>Wool-bearing animals, <a href="#wool_bearing">114</a>.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<div class="tnote">
+<p><b>Transcriber's Notes:</b></p>
+
+<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation of words retained. (barn-yard, barnyard,
+hap-hazard, haphazard, help-meet, helpmeet, on-going, ongoing,
+pre-human, prehuman)</p>
+
+<p>Inconsistencies in spelling of zoological names retained. (�pyornis,
+Epiornis)</p>
+
+<p>List of illustrations and page 158 caption, among the of four breeds of
+domestic fowl named, the original spelling of the breed "Houdin" is
+retained. Probably refers to the breed now more commonly known as
+"Houdan".</p>
+
+<p>Page 56, unusual spelling of "chetah" retained. Probably refers to
+"cheetah". (A large Asiatic cat known as the chetah is somewhat)</p>
+
+<p>Page 87, "similiar" changed to "similar". (reason that nothing similar)</p>
+
+<p>Page 158, 160, 173 captions. The original appearance and wording is
+reproduced in the html version. For the text version, more meaningful
+and grammatical captions have been provided as the original captions
+comprised a series of separate breed or species names used to label
+the animals in the illustration.</p>
+
+<p>Page 179, original text "In early time" retained, although "In early
+times" is probably more grammatical. (In early time, before the
+invention of)</p>
+
+<p>Page 256, "cordilleran" changed to "Cordilleran". ( the Cordilleran
+district of the United States)</p>
+
+<p>Page 266, index entry "Ostrich, possible improvement of". Page reference
+changed from 108 to 168. Page 108 has no content fitting the topic while
+page 168 clearly has.</p>
+
+<p>Postioning of illustrations:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Text version: illustration tags in the middle of a paragraph are
+   moved to a paragraph break above or below.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Html version:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">1. Illustrations in the middle of a paragraph are moved to a
+paragraph break above or below the paragraph. Where there is no
+paragraph break on the page, the illustration is moved to the
+nearest paragraph break in the pages before or after. For smaller
+half-width illustrations with text wrapping down one side, the image
+is floated left or right at a suitable paragraph break to resemble
+the appearance in the original text. The positioning of
+illustrations may cause the amount of text between page number
+anchors to be smaller than usual.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">2. Full page illustrations. With the exception of the illustration
+on Page 10, full page illustrations in the original text had blank
+reverse sides which were included in the page number count. In the
+html, such illustrations carry a two-number page anchor e.g. [53-4].
+Where full page illustrations occur in the middle of a paragraph,
+they and their page anchors are moved upwards to the nearest
+paragraph break. The page anchors remain in sequence but some text
+in the page before the illustration will have been displaced from
+its page anchor and will appear below the illustration.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">3. Original page numbers in the list of illustrations have been
+retained, however the underlying links have been edited to navigate
+directly to the illustrations since they may have been repositioned.</p>
+
+<p>Original page numbers in the index have been retained (except for the
+typo correction on page 266 ("Ostrich", see above). Html links navigate
+to a page anchor for the given page number unless the indexed content has
+been displaced by the repositioning of illustrations. In such cases, the
+links have been edited to navigate directly to the indexed content.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Domesticated Animals, by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
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+</body>
+</html>
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+Project Gutenberg's Domesticated Animals, by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Domesticated Animals
+       Their Relation to Man and to his Advancement in Civilization
+
+Author: Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
+
+Release Date: May 23, 2008 [EBook #25568]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTICATED ANIMALS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Joseph Cooper and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: AFRICAN ELEPHANT]
+
+
+
+
+       DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
+
+  THEIR RELATION TO MAN AND TO HIS
+    ADVANCEMENT IN CIVILIZATION
+
+
+               BY
+
+
+    NATHANIEL SOUTHGATE SHALER
+
+DEAN OF THE LAWRENCE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL OF
+         HARVARD UNIVERSITY
+
+
+          _ILLUSTRATED_
+
+
+            NEW YORK
+      CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+             1908
+
+
+        COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY
+      CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+INTRODUCTION,                                                          1
+
+
+THE DOG
+
+Ancestry of the Domesticated Dogs.--Early Uses of the Animal:
+Variations induced by Civilization.--Shepherd-dogs: their
+Peculiarities; other Breeds.--Possible Intellectual
+Advances.--Evils of Specialized Breeding.--Likeness of Emotions
+of Dogs to those of Man: Comparison with other Domesticated
+Animals.--Modes of Expression of Emotions in Dogs.--Future
+Development of this Species.--Comparison of Dogs and Cats as
+regards Intelligence and Position in Relation to Man,                 11
+
+
+THE HORSE
+
+Value of the Strength of the Horse to Man.--Origin of the
+Horse.--Peculiar Advantage of the Solid Hoof.--Domestication
+of the Horse.--How begun.--Use as a Pack Animal.--For
+War.--Peculiar Advantages of the Animal for Use of Men.--Mental
+Peculiarities.--Variability of Body.--Spontaneous Variations
+due to Climate.--Variations of Breeds.--Effect of the Invention
+of Horseshoes.--Donkeys and Mules compared with Horse.--Especial
+Value of these Animals.--Diminishing Value of Horses in Modern
+Civilization.--Continued Need of their Service in War,                57
+
+
+THE FLOCKS AND HERDS: BEASTS FOR BURDEN,
+FOOD, AND RAIMENT
+
+Effect of this Group of Animals on Man.--First Subjugations.--Basis
+of Domesticability.--Horned Cattle.--Wool-bearing Animals.--Sheep
+and Goats.--Camels: their Limitation.--Elephants: Ancient History;
+Distribution; Intelligence; Use in the Arts; Need of True
+Domestication.--Pigs: their Peculiar Economic Value; Modern
+Varieties; Mental Qualities.--Relation of the Development of
+Domesticable Animals to the Time of Man's Appearance on the Earth,   103
+
+
+DOMESTICATED BIRDS
+
+Domestication of Animals mainly accomplished by the Aryan Race;
+Small Amount of Such Work by American Indians.--Barnyard Fowl:
+Mental Qualities; Habits of Combat.--Peacocks: their Limited
+Domestication.--Turkeys: their Origin; tending to revert to the
+Savage State.--Water Fowl: Limited Number of Species domesticated;
+Intellectual Qualities of this Group.--The Pigeon: Origin and
+History of Group; Marvels of Breeding.--Song Birds.--Hawks and
+Hawking.--Sympathetic Motive of Birds: their AEsthetic Sense;
+their Capacity for Enjoyment,                                        152
+
+
+USEFUL INSECTS
+
+Relations of Men to Insect World.--But Few Species Useful to
+Man.--Little Trace of Domestication.--Honey-bees: their Origin;
+Reasons for no Selective Work; Habits of the Species.--Silkworms:
+Singular Importance to Man.--Intelligence of Species.--Cochineal
+Insect.--Spanish Flies.--Future of Man relative to Useful Insects,   190
+
+
+THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS
+
+Recent Understanding as to the Rights of Animals; Nature of these
+Rights; their Origin in Sympathy.--Early State of Sympathetic
+Emotions.--Place of Statutes concerning Animal Rights.--Present
+and Future of Animal Rights.--Question of Vivisection.--Rights of
+Domesticated Animals to Proper Care; to Enjoyment.--Ends of the
+Breeder's Art.--Moral Position of the Hunter.--Probable
+Development of the Protecting Motive as applied to Animals,          204
+
+
+THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION
+
+The Conditions of Domestication; Effects on Society; Share of the
+Races of Men in the Work.--Evils of Non-Intercourse with
+Domesticated Animals as in Cities; Remedies.--Scientific Position
+of Domestication; Future of the Art.--List of Species which may
+Advantageously be Domesticated.--Peculiar Value of the Birds and
+Mammals.--Importance of Groups which tenant High Latitudes.--Plan
+for Wilderness Reservations; Relation to National Parks.--Project
+for International System of Reservations.--Nature of Organic
+Provinces; Harm done to them by Civilized Men.--Way in which
+Reservations would Serve to Maintain Types of the Life of
+the Earth; how they may be Founded.--Summary and Conclusions,        218
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+AFRICAN ELEPHANT,                                          _Frontispiece_
+
+SHEEP-DOGS GUARDING A FLOCK AT NIGHT,                                 10
+
+HOUNDS RUNNING A WILD BOAR,                                           53
+
+ON ROTTEN ROW, HYDE PARK, LONDON,                                     63
+
+CAVALRY HORSE,                                                        71
+
+A HURDLE JUMPER,                                                      79
+
+ENGLISH POLO PONIES,                                                  89
+
+WINNOWING GRAIN IN EGYPT,                                            111
+
+THE HALT IN THE DESERT AT NIGHT--THE STORY TELLER,                   121
+
+CARRYING THE SUGAR CANE IN HARVEST--EGYPT,                           125
+
+FEEDING SILKWORMS WITH MULBERRY LEAVES IN JAPAN,                     193
+
+THE FARMER'S APIARY,                                                 199
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
+
+GREYHOUND AFTER "THE KILL,"                                           13
+
+ST. BERNARD,                                                          15
+
+SPANIEL RETRIEVING WILD DUCK,                                         17
+
+BULL-DOG,                                                             22
+
+FOX-HOUND AND PUPS,                                                   25
+
+POINTER RETRIEVING A FALLEN BIRD,                                     26
+
+POINTER AND SETTER, FLUSHING GAME,                                    27
+
+DUTCH DOGS USED IN HARNESS,                                           30
+
+KING CHARLES SPANIEL,                                                 33
+
+THE POUNCE OF A TERRIER,                                              35
+
+POMERANIAN OR "SPITZ,"                                                38
+
+POODLES,                                                              39
+
+COLLIE,                                                               41
+
+A HUNTER,                                                             60
+
+HORSE OF A BULGARIAN MARAUDER,                                        67
+
+MARE AND FOAL,                                                        68
+
+PLOUGH HORSES, FRANCE,                                                73
+
+BELGIAN FISHERMAN'S HORSE,                                            76
+
+HORSES FOR TOWING ON THE BEACH IN HOLLAND,                            78
+
+EXERCISING THE THOROUGHBREDS,                                         84
+
+AN ARABIAN HORSE,                                                     85
+
+ARABIAN SPORTS,                                                       86
+
+SYRIAN HORSE,                                                         92
+
+IN THE CIRCUS,                                                        96
+
+DOMESTICATED BUFFALOES IN EGYPT,                                     104
+
+CATTLE OF INDIA,                                                     105
+
+INDIAN BULLOCK AND WATER-CARRIER,                                    108
+
+PLOUGHING IN SYRIA,                                                  109
+
+EGYPTIAN SHEEP,                                                      114
+
+BEDOUIN GOAT-HERD--PALESTINE,                                        116
+
+THE GREAT CARAVAN ROAD--CENTRAL ASIA,                                119
+
+CAMELS FEEDING,                                                      123
+
+CAMELS ALONG THE SEA AT TWILIGHT,                                    127
+
+AN INDIAN ELEPHANT,                                                  134
+
+THE ORIGINAL JUNGLE FOWL (_Gallus bankiva_) AND SOME OF HIS
+  DOMESTIC DESCENDANTS,                                              153
+
+HOUDIN, COCHINS, LEGHORNS, AND GAME,                                 158
+
+BANTAMS, BRAHMA, AND DORKINGS,                                       160
+
+CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ASIA, AFRICA, AND AMERICA--PEACOCKS,
+  GUINEA-FOWL, AND TURKEY,                                           163
+
+THE DOMESTICATED TURKEY,                                             165
+
+THE LARGEST OF ALL POULTRY--THE OSTRICH,                             168
+
+AN EIDER COLONY,                                                     170
+
+TERNS AIDING A WOUNDED COMRADE,                                      171
+
+SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE POULTRY YARD,                           173
+
+SWANS,                                                               174
+
+THE ORIGINAL WILD ROCK DOVE (_Columba livia_) AND SOME OF ITS
+  DOMESTIC DESCENDANTS,                                              175
+
+TURTLE DOVES,                                                        177
+
+THE GIANT CROWNED PIGEON OF INDIA,                                   178
+
+THE ENGLISH PHEASANT,                                                181
+
+THE FALCONER'S FAVORITE--PEREGRINE FALCON,                           184
+
+THE BANDIT'S BROOD,                                                  186
+
+
+
+
+DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+One of the effects of the modern advance in natural science has been
+greatly to increase the attention which is devoted to the influences
+that the conditions of diverse peoples have had upon their development.
+Man is no longer looked upon, as he was of old, as a being which had
+been imposed upon the earth in a sudden and arbitrary manner, set to
+rule the world into which he had been sent as a master. We now see him
+as one of the myriad species which has won its way by powers of mind out
+of darkness and the great struggle to the place of command. The way in
+which this creature, weak in body and exceedingly dependent on his
+surroundings, has in the modern geologic epoch come forth from the mass
+of the lower animals, is by far the most impressive and as yet the most
+unexplained phenomenon which the geologist has to consider. It is not
+likely that the marvellous advancement can be accounted for by any
+single cause; it is probably due, as are most of the great evolutions,
+to the concurrence of many influences; but among these which make for
+advance, we clearly have to reckon the animals and plants which man has
+learned to associate with his work of the household and the fields.
+
+Although certain species of insects, particularly the ants, have the
+well-developed habit of subjugating certain creatures of their own
+family, man is the only vertebrate that has ever adopted the plan of
+domesticating a variety of animals and plants. The beginnings of this
+custom were made in a very remote time, and for long ages the profit
+which was thereby gained appears to have been but slight. Gradually,
+however, races, owing to their masterful quality and to the
+opportunities which were offered by the wild life about their dwelling
+places, obtained flocks and herds. In the group of continents commonly
+termed the old world, where there were several ancient primitive peoples
+of innate ability, and where there were many species of larger mammals
+which were well fitted for domestication, the advance in social
+development went on rapidly. In the new world, though the primitive
+races contained tribes of much ability, there was practically no chance
+for the people to add to their strength by the subjugation of beasts of
+burden, or to their food resources by the adoption of various animals
+which could be used for the needs of food or raiment. The advance of men
+when they have obtained valuable domesticated animals, and their failure
+to win a high station where the surrounding nature denied such
+opportunities, go far to prove the bearing of this accomplishment in the
+development of peoples.
+
+A little consideration makes it evident to us that the advance of
+mankind above the original savage state is in several ways favored by
+the possession of domesticated animals. In the first place, each
+creature which is adopted into the household or the fields usually
+brings as its tribute a substantial contribution to the resources which
+tend to make the society commercially successful. When we consider the
+enlargements of resources and the diversification of industries which
+rest upon the adoption of any one of these animals--as, for instance,
+the horse--we see in a way what the possession of domesticated animals
+and plants really means, and are in a position to conceive, though at
+best but dimly, what the scores of these captive species have done for
+us. We recognize the fact that while, under almost any conditions, a
+certain manner of advance above the most primitive savagery is possible
+to a naturally able people, this on-going cannot lead any distance
+unless the folk have other help than their own weak bodies can give
+them. It is hardly too much to say that civilization has intimately
+depended on the subjugation of a great range of useful species.
+
+It would be interesting to trace, if we could, what share the several
+domesticated animals have had in the development of the human races; but
+this task is not to be done. We can, however, discern that the Arab
+without the camel and the horse would not have found the place in
+history which he has filled, and that our own race could not have
+attained its place save for the aid which the horned cattle, sheep, and
+a host of other helpers which we have pressed into service, have
+afforded. These economic gains have to be judged in mass, they cannot be
+reckoned in detail. When we have made the best account of them we can,
+there remains another class of influences, the value of which, though
+evidently great, is yet harder to reckon; these arise from the education
+which has been attained through the care of these adopted creatures.
+Among savages the great need is a training in forethoughtfulness; all
+primitive peoples are like children, they live in the interests of the
+day; the cares of the seasons to come, or even of the morrow, are not
+for them. The possession of domesticated animals certainly did much to
+break up this old brutal way of life; it led to a higher sense of
+responsibility to the care of the household; it brought about systematic
+agriculture; it developed the art of war; it laid the foundations of
+wealth and commerce, and so set men well upon their upward way.
+Moreover, the use of domesticated animals of the better sort enabled the
+more vigorous and care-taking races to gain the strength which led to
+their advancement in power to a point where they were able to displace
+the lower and feebler tribes. In other words, the system of
+domestication has provided a method by which those peoples who were
+fitted to develop the qualities which make for civilization could
+advance; it has provided the opportunity for selection.
+
+Of all the influences which have been exercised on man by the care of
+his flocks, herds, and droves, perhaps the most important is that which
+has arisen from the broader development of his sympathies. The savage
+may be defined as a man who cares only for his family and his tribe; the
+civilized man as one whose kindly interest extends to mankind and beyond
+to all sentient beings. In the development of this altruistic motive the
+care of the dependent species has evidently been most effective. We note
+that the peoples who have attained the first upward step in the
+association with domesticated animals are in their quality, so far as
+tested by literature and history, much above the mere savage. With the
+care of the flocks we find associated poetry, the first notes of higher
+religious motives, and a largeness of the sympathetic life which is
+favored by the nature of the occupation. Where the nomadic habits of the
+original shepherds pass into the more sedentary state of the soil
+tiller, the element of personal care and the affection and the
+consequent education of the sympathy were increased. Men had now to care
+for half a dozen or more kinds of animals; they had to learn their ways,
+in a manner to put themselves in their places and conceive their needs.
+Thus the life of a farmer is a continual lesson in the art of sympathy;
+with the result, certainly in part due to this cause, that there is no
+class of people from whom the brutal instincts of the ancient savage
+life which we all inherit have been so completely eradicated.
+
+It is perhaps too much to attribute the advance of the agricultural
+classes of our civilized peoples, in all that serves to remove them from
+the brutality of their savage ancestors, altogether to the nature of
+their work--to the very large element of kindly care for which it calls,
+and which is the price of success in the occupation. Yet when we note
+the immediate way in which the people bred in cities, under
+circumstances of excitement are wont to behave like savages of the lower
+kind, showing in their conduct a lack of all sympathetic education, and
+contrast their behavior with that of their kinsmen from the fields--we
+see essential differences in character which cannot well be explained
+save by the diverse natures of the training which the men have received.
+Thus in the French Revolution, the baser, more inhuman deeds were not
+committed by the peasants, who had been the principal sufferers under
+the regime which was overthrown, but by the people of the great towns
+who had been less oppressed by the iniquities of the old system of
+government.
+
+If it be true--as my personal experiences and observations lead me
+firmly to believe is the case--that man's contact with the domesticated
+animals has been and is ever to be one of the most effective means
+whereby his sympathetic, his civilized motives may be broadened and
+affirmed, there is clearly reason for giving to this side of life a
+larger share of attention than it has received. So far the presence of
+these lower creatures in our society has generally been accepted as a
+matter of course. Sentimentalists, after the fashion of Laurence Sterne,
+have dwelt upon the imaginary woes of the creatures. Associations of
+well-meaning people have endeavored to diminish the cruelty which people
+of the towns, rarely those bred on the soil, often inflict upon them. It
+seems, however, desirable that we should place this consideration upon a
+plane more fitting the knowledge of our time. It should be made plain,
+not only that the success of our civilization depends now as in the past
+on the cooperation which mankind has had from the domesticated animals,
+but also that the development of this relation is one of the most
+interesting features in all history. On through the ages of the geologic
+past comes this great procession of life, in the endless succession of
+species whose numbers in the aggregate are to be reckoned by the scores,
+if not by the hundreds of millions. Until this modern age, the throng
+goes forward blindly, groping its way towards the higher planes of life.
+At length certain of the more advanced forms attain to a measure of
+intellectual elevation. Still, for all this advance, the life is not
+organized so as to attain any large ends; no society arises from it.
+
+Suddenly, in the last geological epoch, man, the descendant of a group
+which like all others had led the narrow life of the preparatory ages,
+appears upon the scene. At first, and in his lower human estate, his
+position was not noticeably higher than that of his kindred, but there
+was in him the seed of a great unlikeness, of very new things, in that
+his desires had an element of the unlimited which was to grow apace, and
+in time to make him greedy of on-going. As this innovating creature
+sought for agents of power in the wilderness about him, he blindly laid
+hands upon such of the fellow tenants of the wilds as might serve his
+immediate needs. This species, both animals and plants, endowed with the
+capacity for variation, the plasticity which is in general a
+characteristic of all organic forms, were early led by their new master,
+as of old they had been guided by the old organic laws. They changed
+according to his choice, abandoning their ancient ways for the novel
+paths of civilization. With this association of the higher forms of the
+earth under the leadership of man, there began an entirely new and
+unprecedented condition of the world's affairs. In place of the ancient
+law of nature there came the control of our species which had been, in a
+way, chosen to be the overlord of life.
+
+At first, the number of species of animals and plants which man brought
+under his control was very limited; it was indeed confined to those
+which might readily be subjugated to meet immediate needs. Gradually,
+however, the list has been extended until it included thousands of
+forms, which, while they meet no need such as the savage recognizes, are
+gratifying to the taste or the ambitions of civilized peoples. These
+aesthetic devices, or those of necessity, are advancing so rapidly that
+each generation sees hundreds of new animal and plant species added to
+our living collections, so that our plant and animal gardens now contain
+a large share of the more attractive forms which are to be found in the
+various geographical realms. Our tilled fields yield perhaps a hundred
+times as many varieties of plants as they did in the earliest historic
+agriculture. The advance in the process of domestication is not so rapid
+as regards the animal kingdom as it is with the realm of plants, and
+this mainly for the reason that animals have a will of their own which
+has to be bent or broken to that of man. Still it goes on apace. We of
+to-day have at our command many times the number of sentient species
+contributive to our pleasure or profit that had been made captive at the
+beginning of our era. Naturally, in the early days of domestication, men
+brought under their control the greater number of the animals which gave
+promise of utility. As no new species of any economic importance have
+been created within the last geologic period, the field for the
+extension of economic domestication has of late been very limited. But
+the realm of sympathetic appreciation, unlike the economic, knows no
+definite bounds, and promises in time to bring all the more important
+organic forms under the care of the sympathetic and masterful being who
+has been chosen as the ruler of terrestrial life.
+
+We thus see that the matter of domesticated animals is but a part of the
+larger problem which includes all that relates to man's destined mastery
+of the earth--a mastery which he is rapidly winning. It means that, in
+time, a large part of the life of this sphere is to be committed to his
+care, to survive or perish as he wills, to change at his bidding, to
+give, as other subjugated kinds have done, whatever of profit or
+pleasure they may contribute to his endless advancement. From this point
+of view our domesticated creatures should be presented to our people,
+with the purpose in mind of bringing them to see that the process of
+domestication has a far-reaching aspect, a dignity, we may fairly say a
+grandeur, that few human actions possess. If we can impress this view,
+it will be certain to awaken men to a larger sense of their
+responsibility for, and their duty by, the creatures which we have taken
+from their olden natural state into the social order. It will, at the
+same time, enlarge our conceptions of our own place in the order of this
+world.
+
+In the following pages little effort has been made to present those
+facts concerning domesticated animals which would commonly be reckoned
+as scientific. The several essays which, in larger part, were separately
+printed in Scribner's Magazine, are intended for those persons who,
+while they may not care to approach the matter in the manner of the
+professional inquirer, are glad to have the results which naturalists
+have attained, so far as they may serve to extend knowledge of things
+which lie in the field of familiar experiences. To the text as it at
+first appeared, numerous additions have been made, and the concluding
+chapters, on the Rights of Animals, and on the Problem of Domestication,
+are new. In them an effort is made to direct attention to the importance
+of the problem of man's relation to the lower life which is about him,
+and which in the future far more than in the past is to be helped or
+hindered by his rule. Our life is made up of large problems; but there
+seem few that are greater than this, which concerns our duty by the
+creatures that share with us the blessings of existence, and over which
+we have come to rule.
+
+[Illustration: Sheep-Dogs Guarding a Flock at Night]
+
+
+
+
+THE DOG
+
+   Ancestry of the Domesticated Dogs.--Early Uses of the Animal:
+   Variations induced by Civilization.--Shepherd-dogs: their
+   Peculiarities; other Breeds.--Possible Intellectual Advances.--Evils
+   of Specialized Breeding.--Likeness of Emotions of Dogs to those of
+   Man: Comparison with other Domesticated Animals.--Modes of
+   Expression of Emotions in Dogs.--Future Development of this
+   Species.--Comparison of Dogs and Cats as regards Intelligence and
+   Position in Relation to Man.
+
+
+It is an interesting fact that the first creature which man won to
+domesticity was made captive and friend for the sake of companionship
+rather than for any grosser profit. The dog was, the world over, the
+first living possession of man beyond the limits of his own kindred. He
+has been so long separated from the primitive species whence he sprang
+that we cannot trace with any certainty his kinship with the creatures
+of the wilderness. Like his master he has become so artificialized that
+it is hard to conjecture what his original state may have been.
+
+Naturalists are much divided in opinion in all that relates to the
+origin of our ancient and common domesticated animals; and this for the
+reason that the longer a creature has been subjected to the
+change-bringing conditions of our fields and households, the further it
+has departed from the parent stock. This difficulty is naturally the
+greatest in the case of the dogs, for the reason that they have been
+longer and more completely under the control of man than any other of
+the lower animals. Some students of the problem have inclined to the
+opinion that the dog is a descendant of the wolf; the whelps of this
+species, it is supposed, were captured by primitive men and brought
+under domestication. Savages, like children, are much given to bringing
+the young of wild animals to their homes; if the conditions are
+favorable they will care for these captives, even if the charge upon
+their resources is tolerably heavy. With most primitive people, however,
+life is so vagarious and starvation so recurrent that they are not apt
+to retain their pets long enough to establish domesticated forms. Thus,
+among our American Indians, though they show fondness for wild creatures
+as much as any other people, no species save the dog ever became
+permanently associated with their tribe. It is, however, possible, that
+in some sedentary group of savages the work of domesticating the
+ancestors of the dog, even if they were wolf-like, was accomplished.
+
+The difficulty of this view is that even with the high measure of care
+which the conditions of civilization permit us to devote to the
+effort, it has been found impossible to educate captive wolves to the
+point where they show any affection for their masters, or are in the
+least degree useful in the arts of the household or the occupations of
+the chase. They are, in fact, indomitably fierce and utterly
+self-regarding. It seems unreasonable to believe that any savage would
+have found either pleasure or profit from an effort to tame any of the
+known species of wolves. Moreover, the fact that dogs show little or
+no tendency to revert to the form and habits of their brutal kindred,
+or to interbreed with them, is clearly against the supposition that
+there is any close relation between the creatures.
+
+[Illustration: Greyhound after "the Kill"]
+
+Yet other speculative inquirers have sought the origin of the dog
+through the admixture of the blood of several different species, the
+wolf and the jackal being, perhaps, the principal or the only components
+of the hybrid stock. Here, too, the evidence of nature is against the
+supposition. No one has ever succeeded in hybridizing the wolf and the
+jackal, nor do our dogs show any more tendency to revert to the jackal
+than to the wolf. They meet their tropical relative with as much
+animosity as is proper, or at least customary, in the intercourse of
+allied yet distinct species. In fact, all the indices by which we are
+able to carry back the history of other domesticated animals to their
+primitive or even extinct ancestry, fail in the case of the dog. When
+the stock is allowed to go as nearly wild as they can be induced to
+become, we do not find that they thereby approach to any known wild
+form. It therefore seems reasonable to betake ourselves to another
+basis for the natural history of the dog, which has not yet been made a
+matter of much inquiry, but which promises to afford us more substantial
+truth than the conjectures which we have just considered.
+
+We should, in the first place, note the fact that the ancestors of our
+more important domesticated animals, those which have been longest in
+subjugation, have commonly disappeared from the wild state--the species,
+except for the cultivated forms, having gone into the irrecoverable
+past. This is the case with the wild kindred of our bulls, horses,
+sheep, and camels, there probably being none of the original wild
+species of these groups now living, except those which have been more
+or less completely subjugated by man, and then have returned to the
+wilderness. The fact is, that with any large mammal the domestication
+of the species tends to bring about the destruction of the remaining
+wild forms. If we go back in fancy to the time when the dog was taken
+in from the wilderness, we readily perceive how certainly the
+subjugated individuals would have mingled with their wild kindred, so
+that either the wild would have become tame or _vice versa_. The same
+incompatibility which exists between slavery and freedom in our own
+species in any given territory may be said to hold in the case of
+captive animals. It is particularly on this account that I am disposed
+to think that our races of dogs have been derived from one or more
+original species of truly canine ancestors, the wild forms of which
+have long since disappeared from the earth.
+
+[Illustration: St. Bernard]
+
+Although there are no species of wild dogs now in existence to which we
+can refer the origin of our household friends, there are several known
+to us only in their fossil state, from which they may possibly--indeed,
+we may say probably--have been derived. These creatures are, of course,
+represented only by their skeletons, and even these remains have only
+been found in an imperfect state of preservation. It is evident,
+however, that these extinct species, or at least certain of them, lived
+down to the time when man had come upon the earth, and was beginning to
+speculate on his surroundings for such company and help as he might win
+therefrom. It may interest the reader to know that a species of American
+dog existed in the Southern Appalachians down to a very recent
+time--recent, at least, in a geological sense. The remains of one of
+these animals were found by the writer in a cave in East Tennessee, near
+Cumberland Gap. From the fragments of the skeleton, Mr. J. A. Allen has
+described the species. The animal appears to have been of moderate
+size, and, from the position of the bones, it seems tolerably certain
+that it lived but a few centuries ago.
+
+It is clearly a reasonable supposition that some of these primitive
+canine species may have been far more domesticable than the existing
+kindred of the dog--the wolves, foxes, jackals, or hyenas--differing
+from their fiercer kindred much as the zebras do from the wild asses,
+the one form being utterly undomesticable, and the other lending its
+back almost willingly to the burdens which man chooses to impose. It
+seems likely that this primitive species--perhaps more than one--whence
+the dog sprang was not a very vigorous or widespread form; else, as
+before remarked, a savage would have found it impossible to keep his
+half-tamed creatures from rejoining their wild kinsmen. Thus, if a man
+should in this day succeed in taming wolves, in a region where they were
+plenty, to the point where they began to abide his presence, or even to
+have some slight affection for him, the call of nature would be likely
+to lead them back to reunion with their kind.
+
+It seems pretty certain that the first steps in the domestication of the
+dog must be attributed not to any distinct purpose of acquiring a useful
+companion, but to that vague instinct which leads children to make
+captives of any wild animals with which they come in contact. The fancy
+for pets is not only common to all mankind, civilized and savage alike,
+but is clearly exhibited in many of the mammals below the level of man.
+Almost every one has observed cases where dogs, cats, and horses have
+become attached to some creature of an alien species with which they
+have been by chance thrown in contact. The higher the grade of the
+intelligence, the more sympathetic with other life the animal is likely
+to become. Thus the elephants, whose natural endowments in the way of
+intelligence are perhaps superior to those of any other wild creatures,
+are, when brought into captivity, curiously prone to form attachments to
+human beings. Savages appear to make but little use of their dogs in
+hunting. In fact, those peculiar combinations of instinct and training
+which we find in our hounds, pointers, setters, and other dogs which
+have been bred to serve the purposes of sportsmen, have been acquired
+but slowly, and are of no value except where the search for game is
+carried on under what we may term civilized conditions. The dog of the
+savage is in all countries much like his master--a creature with few
+arts and unaccustomed to subdue his rude native impulses.
+
+[Illustration: Spaniel Retrieving Wild Duck]
+
+It seems most likely that for ages the principal use of the dog which
+dwelt about the camps of the primitive people was found in the reserve
+food supply which they afforded their thriftless masters. When the
+hunting was successful the poor brutes had a chance to wax fat, and
+even in times of scarcity they managed to pick up enough food to keep
+them alive. When their masters were brought to a state of famine they
+were doubtless accustomed, as are many savages at the present time, to
+eat a portion of their pack. In the early conditions of humanity there
+was no other beast which could be made to serve so well this simple
+need in the way of provender. The dog is, in fact, the only animal
+ever domesticated which can be trusted through his own affections
+alone to abide with his master in the endless changes of camp and the
+rapid movements of flight and chase which characterized men before
+their housed state began. In a certain curious way the use of dogs for
+food has served greatly to advance the development of these captives.
+When the savage was driven to feed upon his dogs he was naturally more
+willing to sacrifice the least intelligent and affectionate of them,
+delaying, to the point of extremity, the time when he would kill those
+which had endeared themselves to him. In this way for ages a careful
+though unintended process of selection was applied to these creatures,
+and to it we may fairly attribute, as many considerate naturalists
+have done, a large part of the intellectual--indeed, we may say
+moral--elevation to which they have attained.
+
+When the place of the dog as the first and most intimate companion of
+man was affirmed in the rude way above described--when the savagery to
+which he was at first made free gradually enlarged to civilization, a
+number of special uses were found for the peculiar capacities of the
+creature. These varied in the different parts of the world, according
+to the peculiarities in the conditions of the masters. In high
+latitudes, where the ground is snow-covered during the winter season,
+dogs were used, as they are to this day, in dragging sleds. They were,
+indeed, perhaps the first animals which were harnessed to vehicles. When
+they were brought to serve this definite end, we may well believe that
+the stronger and more enduring individuals were spared in times of
+dearth for the reason that they were almost indispensable to their
+masters, and even the little forethought which we find among primitive
+peoples would lead to their preservation. Here again, doubtless, came in
+the process of unintended selection which has made the Esquimau sled-dog
+one of the most remarkable varieties of his kind.
+
+Perhaps the most interesting of the early variations induced among
+dogs is that which has arisen from the pastoral habit. We do not know
+when this custom of keeping sheep in large flocks was first
+instituted, but it is evidently of exceeding antiquity, probably far
+older than the pyramids of Egypt. The custom could hardly have been
+instituted without help of the shepherd's mate, the sheep-dog.
+Although the creatures of this breed are probably in form very near to
+the original wild species whence our canines came, the variety has as
+regards its instincts been, by a process of education and selection,
+led very far away from the original stock.
+
+The wild forefathers of this species were clearly natural born
+sheep-slayers, and the motive abides to this day in all the breeds which
+have the strength to assail our unresisting flocks. The spirit is so
+ingrained that even the most civilized of our house-dogs, which may for
+generations never have tasted blood and which show no disposition to
+attack the other animals of the barn-yard, cannot be trusted alone with
+sheep. When two or more of them are together the old instincts of the
+wild pack return, and they will slay with insensate brutality until they
+are fairly exhausted with their fury. Their behavior on such occasions
+reminds one of the actions of their masters when possessed with the
+blind rage of a mob. Yet in the shepherd-dog we find this ancestral
+motive, once a large part of the life of the creature, so overcome by
+education and selection that they will not only care for a flock with
+all the devotion which self-interest can lead the master to give to the
+task, but they will cheerfully undergo almost any measure of privation
+in order to protect their charges from harm. The annals of shepherd
+districts, especially those where winter snows fall deeply, as in
+Scotland, abound in anecdotes of a well-attested nature which show how
+profoundly the dogs which tend the flocks are imbued with the love of
+the animals committed to their care. This affection is more curious for
+the reason that it is never in any measure returned by the sheep. To
+them the custodian is ever a dreaded overseer. He seems to bring to them
+nothing but the memories of danger derived from the experience which
+their species acquired in far-away times.
+
+It is very interesting to note the behavior of a young shepherd-dog when
+he is first brought in contact with a flock. It is easy to see that he
+has an amazingly keen interest in the sheep. He regards them with an
+attention which he gives to no other living things, except perhaps his
+master. Out of a litter of well-bred pups belonging to this variety, the
+greater part will at once assume a curatorial attitude toward a flock.
+They will show a disposition to keep them together, and will seize on
+an individual only in case he undertakes to break away. They will
+generally use no more force than is necessary to reduce the recalcitrant
+to order. They arrest him by catching hold of the leg or fleece, and
+rarely seize hold of the throat, which other dogs, led by their
+inherited instincts, are apt at once to assail. Very rarely does a
+shepherd-dog of good ancestry, even at the outset of his career, attack
+a sheep in a way which shows that the ancient proclivities have been
+revived in his spirit. Even then a little remonstrance, or at most a
+slight castigation, is pretty sure to turn him from his evil ways. If we
+could measure in some visible manner the psychic peculiarities of
+animals, we would be led to regard this great change in the instincts of
+the dog, which has been brought about by his use in herding, as perhaps
+the most momentous transformation which man has ever accomplished in any
+creature, including himself; for none of our own inherited savage traits
+are so completely sublated at the time of our birth as is this old and
+sometime dominant slaying motive in the shepherd-dog.
+
+With the advancing differentiation of human occupations and amusements,
+our breeds of dogs have, by more or less deliberate selection, been
+developed until by form and instincts they fit a great variety of
+purposes. Some of these pertain to industrial work, but the greater
+portion are related to the sports or fancies of men. The turnspit was
+bred for its short legs and small, compact body, and was serviceable in
+those treadmills of the hearth which have long since passed out of use,
+but which were for centuries features in our kitchens.
+
+[Illustration: Bull-Dog]
+
+The massive type of bull-dogs, characterized by heavy frames and an
+indomitable will, appears to have been brought about by a process of
+selection having for its unconscious end the development of a breed
+which should render the herdsman of horned cattle something like the
+assistance which the shepherd-dog gave to those who had charge of
+flocks. In the more primitive state of our bulls and cows the
+creatures were much wilder than at present, and were generally kept,
+not in enclosed pastures, but on unfenced ranges. In these conditions
+the care taken needed the help which the ancestors of our modern
+bull-dog afforded. The tasks which the animal was called on to perform
+were of a ruder nature than those which were allotted to the
+shepherd-dog. Their business was to conquer the unruly beast. They
+were taught to seize the muzzle, and by the pain they thus inflicted
+they could subdue even the fiercer small bulls of the ancient type of
+form. From this original use the cattle-dogs were turned to the brutal
+sport of bull-baiting, a rude diversion which was indulged in by our
+ancestors for centuries, and has only disappeared in our less cruel
+modern days. Bred for the bull-ring, these dogs acquired the
+formidable strength and ferocity under excitement which made their
+name a terror and their qualities a satirical embodiment of the ruder
+traits which characterized the British folk.
+
+The training which instituted the breed of bull-dogs was evidently
+much less continuous and effective than that which developed the
+shepherding variety. The use for the creature in the care of herds has
+passed away. In the older parts of the world cattle are kept only in
+enclosures; and where, as on our frontier, they still range over
+unbounded fields, they are guarded by horsemen who do not need the
+assistance of dogs to control the movements of the herds. No longer
+serviceable either in economies or sports, the breed of true bull-dogs
+is rapidly disappearing. As we may often observe in other fields of
+development, the peculiarities of this breed are now under the control
+of fancy, and the blood is being led far away from its old
+characteristics. The bull-terrier and other varieties, which retain
+something of the form and of the solemn demeanor which characterized
+their ancestors, but which are too small to assail horned cattle, mark
+the vanishing stages of this great stock, which will soon be known
+only in memory. The history of this peculiar herd-dog shows us how
+marvellously pliant the body and mind of this species has become under
+the conditions of civilization. The rude process of unconscious
+selection, acting without steadfastness of purpose or rationally
+developed skill, serves to sway the qualities of the animal this way
+or that to meet the ever-changing requirements of use or fancy. A
+similar selection in the case of our horned cattle has within a few
+centuries converted the cows into mild-mannered and sedentary
+milk-making machines, and has deprived the bulls of the greater part
+of their ancient savage humor. Owing to this change in the quality of
+their associates in captivity the dogs have also been led into great
+variations. The same type of interaction may be traced again and again
+in the isolated part of the world enclosed within our fences, as well
+as in the free realm of the wildernesses. All the individuals in the
+great host of life affect each other as do the soldiers of a
+well-organized army in the movements of a battle.
+
+The shepherd-dog, the turnspit, and the bull-dog are the three
+remarkable variations of the canine blood which were brought about by
+a process of training and selection unconsciously directed to the
+institution of breeds suited to special economic ends. The other
+varieties of dogs have been shaped more distinctly for purposes of
+amusement or for the indulgence of mere fancy. The several varieties
+of hounds, harriers, beagles, pointers, setters, terriers, etc., have
+been designed to meet a dozen or more variations in the conditions of
+the chase. The marvellously complete way in which special
+peculiarities have been developed in mind and body makes this field of
+domestic culture the most fascinating subject of inquiry to the
+naturalist. The ordinary fox-hound has had his inheritances determined
+so as to fit him for pursuing a small animal which can rarely be kept
+in view during its flight, and which can only be followed by the odor
+it leaves in its trail, so these creatures run almost altogether under
+guidance of their sense of smell. The stag-hound, on the other hand,
+pursues a relatively large animal which cannot well be followed by the
+nose, at least with any speed; they therefore trust almost altogether
+to vision in their chase. The packs which hunt otters have developed
+the swimming habit and an array of instincts which fit them
+especially for this peculiar sport. If space allowed we could note at
+least a dozen divisions of the group of hounds or chasing dogs, each
+of which has developed a peculiar assemblage of qualities, more or
+less precisely adapted to some particular game.
+
+[Illustration: Fox-Hound and Pups]
+
+Perhaps the most special adaption which man has brought about in his
+domesticated animals is found in our pointers and setters. In these
+groups the dogs have been taught, in somewhat diverse ways, to
+indicate the presence of birds to the gunner. Although the modes of
+action of these two breeds are closely related, they are sufficiently
+distinct to meet certain differences of circumstances. The
+peculiarities of their actions, it should be noted, are altogether
+related to the qualities of our fowling-pieces. These have been in
+use, at least in the form where shot took the place of the single
+ball, for less than two centuries, and the peculiar training of our
+pointers and setters has been brought about in even less time. It
+seems likely, indeed, that it is the result of about a hundred and
+fifty years of teaching, combined with the selection which so
+effectively works upon all our domesticated creatures. It thus appears
+that this peculiar impress upon the habits of the hunting-dog is the
+result of somewhere near thirty generations of culture.
+
+[Illustration: Pointer Retrieving a Fallen Bird]
+
+Although, as has been often suggested, the pointing or setting habit
+probably rests upon an original custom of pausing for a moment before
+leaping upon their prey, which was possibly characteristic of the wild
+dog, it seems to me unlikely that this is the case, for we do not find
+this habit of creeping on the prey among our more primitive forms of
+dogs nor the wild allied species as a marked feature. All the canine
+animals trust rather to furious chase than to the cautious form of
+assault by stealthy approach and a final spring upon their prey, as is
+the habit with the cat tribe. Granting this somewhat doubtful claim that
+the induced habits of these dogs which have been specially adapted to
+the fowling-piece rest upon an original and native instinct, the amount
+of specialization which has been attained in about thirty generations of
+care remains a very surprising feature, and affords one of the most
+instructive lessons as to the possibilities of animal culture.
+
+[Illustration: Pointer and Setter, Flushing Game]
+
+It is an interesting fact that the variation of a spontaneous sort,
+which is now taking place in our pointers and setters, is
+considerable. It is, perhaps, more distinctly indicated here than in
+any other of the breeds which are characterized by peculiar
+qualities of mind. All those familiar with the behavior of these
+strains of dogs have observed the high measure of individuality
+which characterizes them. I have recently been informed by a friend,
+who is a hunter and a very observing naturalist, of one of these
+variations in the pointer's instinct, which may, by careful
+selection, possibly lead to a very useful change in the habits of
+the animal. Hunting the Virginia partridge in the tall grass on the
+sea-coast of Georgia, his dog found by experience that his master
+could not discern him when he was pointing birds, and that a yelp of
+impatience would put up the covey before the gun was ready for them.
+The sagacious dog, therefore, adopted the habit of backing away from
+the point where he first fixed himself, so that he, by barking,
+denoted the presence of the birds without giving them alarm.
+Although, in this first instance, the action is purely rational, and
+is indeed good evidence of singular discernment and contriving
+skill, it seems likely that by careful breeding it may be brought
+into the realm of pure instinct or inherited habit.
+
+The great variation in habits which is taking place in those varieties
+of dogs which are immediately under the master's eye during all the
+process of the chase, is easily explained by the fact that these
+creatures are in a position to be immediately and constantly
+influenced during their most active, and therefore teachable state of
+mind, by the will of man. A pack of fox-hounds is, to a great extent,
+out of hand while engaged in the pursuit of their prey; but a pointer
+or setter, even when under extreme excitement, is almost completely
+mastered by the superior will. When we observe the extent to which
+human intelligence is affecting the qualities of our hunting-dogs, it
+is not surprising to note that, in almost every district where there
+are peculiar kinds of game, varieties of the dog are developing which
+are especially adapted to its pursuit. Thus, in the parts of North
+America where the raccoon abounds, a variety of hunting-dog is in
+process of development which has a singular assemblage of qualities
+which fit it for this peculiar form of the chase. Although as yet
+"coon-dogs" have not been cultivated for a sufficient time to acquire
+distinct physical characteristics, their habits exhibit a larger range
+of specialization than those of any other breed of sporting dogs.
+
+In those parts of the Americas where peccaries are hunted, the dogs
+used in their pursuit have learned to beware of assaulting the pack
+which they have brought to bay, and instead of indulging in the
+instinct which leads them into that way of danger and of certain
+death, they circle round the assemblage, compelling them to show front
+on every side and so to remain stationary until the hunters come up.
+Perhaps a score of similar specializations in the modes of action of
+our dogs which are employed in the chase could be recited; but as they
+all lead us to one conclusion--which is to the effect that these
+creatures are, as far as their mental powers are concerned, like clay
+in the hands of the potter--we may pass them by for some
+considerations which appear to have escaped the attention of writers
+who have discussed the problems of canine intelligence.
+
+The singular elasticity as regards both mental and physical qualities
+which the dog exhibits, may well be compared with the other conditions
+which we find in certain of our domesticated animals, as, for instance,
+in the horse, where the mind shows but slight changes, and where the
+body has proved far less plastic than among dogs. The readiness with
+which the proportions of the dog may, by the breeder's art, be made to
+vary, is probably due to the fact that the group to which this creature
+belongs is one of relatively modern institution. It has the plasticity
+which we note as a characteristic of many other newly-established forms.
+The flexibility of mind is a concomitant of the carnivorous habit where
+creatures obtain their prey by the chase. Such an occupation tends to
+develop agile minds as well as bodies, and where exercised as it
+doubtless was by the ancestry of the dog, in the manner of pack hunting,
+where many individuals share in the chase, it is well calculated to
+insure a certain free and outgoing quality of the mind.
+
+[Illustration: Dutch Dogs used in Harness]
+
+So long as our dogs were employed in the labor or the organized
+recreations of man, the tendency of the association with the superior
+being was in a high measure educative. They were constantly submitted
+to a more or less critical but always effective selection which
+tended ever to develop a higher grade of intelligence. With the
+advance in the organization of society the dog is losing something of
+his utility, even in the way of sport. He is fast becoming a mere
+idle favorite, prized for unimportant peculiarities of form. The
+effort in the main is not now to make creatures which can help in the
+employments of man, but to breed for show alone, demanding no more
+intelligence than is necessary to make the animal a well-behaved
+denizen of a house. The result is the institution of a wonderful
+variety in the size, shape, and special peculiarities of different
+breeds with what appears to be a concomitant loss in their
+intelligence. We often hear it remarked by those who are familiar
+with dogs that the ordinary mongrels are more intelligent and more
+susceptible of high training than the carefully inbred varieties,
+which are more highly prized because they conform to some thoroughly
+artificial standard of form or coloring. This is what we should
+expect from all we know concerning the breeding. Where for
+generations the dog-fancier has selected for reproduction with
+reference to the trifling and often injurious features of shape he
+seeks to attain, he naturally and almost necessarily neglects to
+choose the creatures in regard to their mental peculiarities. The
+result is that the breed tends to fall back in these regards to below
+the level of the ordinary cur, who makes his place in the affections
+of his owner because he has attractive or useful qualities of mind.
+It appears to me, in a word, that our treatment of this noble animal,
+where he is bred for ornament, is in effect degrading.
+
+Although the formation of our fancy breeds does not serve to advance the
+development of those intellectual features which are the most
+interesting part of our dogs, the experiments have served to show the
+amazing physical plasticity of this species under the conditions of long
+domestication. The range in size between a tiny spaniel, such as those
+which are bred in Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, and the great Danes or
+mastiffs of northern Europe, is, perhaps, the greatest which has ever
+been attained in any mammal. In some cases the larger individuals
+belonging to the mastiff breed probably weigh nearly thirty times as
+much as their smaller kinsmen. Great as are these variations, they are
+only in form and bulk. They involve none of those curious changes in the
+number of bones of the skeleton which we may trace among the
+domesticated pigeons. We therefore turn from these results of breeders'
+fancy to consider certain of the mental qualities of dogs which have not
+come in our way in our review of the history of its relations to man.
+
+First of all, we may note the fact that the friendly relations which
+dogs have become accustomed to form with men vary exceedingly in their
+range and activity. Perhaps in no other regard does the dog exhibit
+such distinctly human characteristics as in the way in which he meets
+the individuals of the mastering species. The gamut of their social
+relations with men is almost exactly parallel with our own. With from
+one to a dozen persons a dog may maintain an attitude of almost equally
+complete sympathy and mutual understanding. He may be on terms of
+acquaintanceship in varied degrees of familiarity with a few score
+others with whom he comes in frequent contact. Toward the rest of
+mankind he maintains a position of more or less complete distrust,
+which with experience may attain the indifference which men commonly
+show toward perfect strangers. If we observe a dog going along a
+much-frequented street, we may note that his relations to the people
+are substantially those which the folk have to each other. He shows as
+they do a certain consideration for the individuals he encounters,
+gives them their due place, and yet holds to his own. It is
+particularly noticeable that he avoids all contact with the other
+passers--in fact a dog has to be much beside himself with rage or fear,
+or insane from disease, before he will break those bounds of
+personality which civilization has set up to guide the conduct of life.
+
+[Illustration: King Charles Spaniel]
+
+The social culture of dogs appears to have gone to the point where
+they recognize the meaning of an introduction--at least as far as the
+sympathetic relations of that understanding are concerned. Almost any
+well-bred dog will submit to be presented by his master, or even by
+persons whom he knows but is not accustomed to obey, to a stranger to
+whom he has already exhibited some dislike. During the introduction
+he will submit to those formal exchanges of courtesy which he is
+accustomed to recognize as the indices of friendship. The impression
+of this understanding seems to be so permanent that on subsequent
+meetings the dog, though he may maintain his original dislike of the
+man who has been forced upon his acquaintance, will continue to treat
+him with a certain consideration, though it is often easy to see that
+it is a difficult matter for him to conform to the requirements of
+society. When we compare the conduct of dogs in these regards with
+the behavior of other animals, even highly domesticated forms, we
+perceive how marvellously successful has been man's unconscious
+effort to mould this creature on his own nature.
+
+Another extremely human characteristic of our canine friends is shown
+in their susceptibility to ridicule. Faint traces of this quality are
+to be found in monkeys and perhaps even in the more intelligent horses,
+but nowhere else save in man, and hardly there, except in the more
+sensitive natures, do we find contempt, expressed in laughter of the
+kind which conveys that emotion, so keenly and painfully appreciated.
+With those dogs which are endowed with a large human quality, such as
+our various breeds of hounds, it is possible by laughing in their faces
+not only to quell their rage, but to drive them to a distance. They
+seem in a way to be put to shame and at the same time hopelessly
+puzzled as to the nature of their predicament. In this connection we
+may note the very human feature that after you have cowed a dog by
+insistent laughter you can never hope to make friends with him. A case
+of this kind is fresh in my experience. A year or two ago I was
+imprudent enough to laugh at a very intelligent dog in my neighborhood,
+he having unreasonably assailed me at my house-door, where he had been
+left for a long time to wait while his owner was within and had thereby
+been brought into an unhappy state of mind. Sympathizing with his
+situation, I preferred to laugh him out of his humor rather than to
+beat him with my stick. I regret I did not take the other alternative,
+for I made the poor brute my implacable enemy by my pretence of
+contempt for him. I am inclined to think that if I had beaten him the
+matter could have been arranged afterward in a friendly way.
+
+[Illustration: The Pounce of a Terrier]
+
+Another very remarkable and I believe hitherto unnoticed likeness
+between the mind of dogs and that of man is found in the fact that
+these dumb beasts, unlike all other inferior animals, except, perhaps,
+some of the more intelligent species of monkeys, will learn lessons
+from isolated experiences. In this regard they are indeed quite as apt
+as the lower kinds of men. Thus a dog who has had an unsavory or
+painful experience with a skunk or a porcupine is apt to keep away
+from these creatures for a long time thereafter. Where, as is not
+infrequently the case, a cur takes to eating eggs, a single dose of
+tartar emetic concealed in an egg which is placed where he can readily
+find it, is apt to effect an immediate and complete reform. This ready
+learning from experience is almost the gist of our human quality--at
+least on the intellectual side of it.
+
+Perhaps the greatest success to which man has attained in his education
+of the dog is to be found in the measure in which he has overcome the
+fierce rage which clearly characterized the ancestors of this creature
+when they first felt the mastering hand. The reader cannot understand
+the intensity of the rage motive in the carnivora unless he has studied
+some of these brutes in their wild state, where from the time in the
+remote ages when they first began to take on the qualities of their
+species they have survived and won success by the fury of their assault.
+In almost all our breeds of dogs this primal ferocity has been overlaid
+by the various motives of rationality, sympathy, and conventional
+demeanor, until one may live half a lifetime with well-bred dogs without
+a chance to see the demon which we have buried in their breasts, as we
+have in our own, beneath a host of civilizing influences. It is rare
+indeed in our day that a dog, unless insane, will bite a human being.
+The most of their assaults are pure bluster, mere pretence of fury, as
+is shown by the fact that if, carried away by their pretence, they are
+led to use their teeth, it is usually a mere sham assault, having no
+semblance of the effectiveness of true combat.
+
+Something of the pristine fury of the primitive dogs may still be noted
+in a certain brutal variety of watch-dogs which are still to be found in
+parts of continental Europe. The best types of this breed which I have
+ever seen are to be found among the dogs which are kept to guard the
+quarries of Solenhofen, in Bavaria, whence come all the fine
+lithographic stones which are so extensively used in printing. These
+quarries are scattered over several square miles of untilled country,
+and the separate pits are to be numbered by the score. As much valuable
+stone is necessarily left over night in the quarries, their care is
+confined to packs of watch-dogs which are turned loose at night and
+appear as if by instinct to spend the hours of darkness in prowling over
+the territory. Such is their size and ferocity that it takes a sturdy
+beggar to face them. I remember inadvertently disturbing one of these
+brutes from sleep, in the strong cage where he was confined, and I have
+never beheld such a picture of blind fury as he exhibited. I had not
+come within twenty feet of him, and was merely moving past his place of
+confinement; yet he sprang to the grating and strove with his teeth to
+break his way through the bars. I thought the animal must be mad, but
+his keeper assured me that such was his ordinary state of mind and that
+the humor was common to all the breed; even the masters dwelt in fear of
+them. Ordinarily the only exhibitions of the innate ferocity of our dogs
+are to be seen in their combats with each other, when for a time the
+creatures return to their primitive state of mind. Even these occasional
+exhibitions of fury are not found among all breeds of dogs, and among
+many individuals even of the combative strains of blood the motive of
+battle appears to have quite passed away.
+
+[Illustration: Pomeranian or "Spitz"]
+
+In antithesis to the old Ishmaelitic humor of our primitive dogs, man
+has developed a singular, sympathetic, and kindly motive in these
+creatures. From the point of view of the dog's education we must not
+set too much store by his affection for his master. This kind of
+devotion of one being to another is displayed elsewhere in the animal
+kingdom, though it is more common among birds than among mammals. We
+find traces of it in the greater part of our domesticated creatures or
+in those which we have individually adopted from the wilderness. It is a
+part of the great sympathetic motive, which, originating far down in the
+series of animals, increases as they gain in the scale of being, until
+it reaches the highest level it has yet attained in spiritually minded
+men. The eminent peculiarity in the case of a dog is that the very
+centre of his life is formed of the affections, which are evidently the
+same as those which rule the days of the most cultivated men. To him
+these elements of friendliness are absolutely necessary to a comfortable
+existence. If by chance he becomes separated from his master and the
+other people with whom he is familiar, his bereavement is intense; but
+in most cases, at the end of a day or two, he is compelled to form new
+bonds, and he sets about the task in an exceedingly human way. I dwell
+in a town where dogs abound and where the frequent coming and going of
+the people puts many of the creatures astray. Perhaps as often as once a
+week, almost always late in the evening, one of these unhappy lost ones
+seeks to make friends with me. His advances toward this end always begin
+by his dogging my footsteps at a little distance. If I do not repulse
+him he will come nearer until he has made sure of my attention. A
+friendly word will bring him to my hand; but his behavior is never
+effusive, as it would be if he had found his rightful owner, but mildly
+propitiative and with a touch of sadness. There is, it seems to me, no
+other feature in the life of the dog which tells so much as to his moral
+nature as his conduct under these unhappy circumstances.
+
+[Illustration: Poodles]
+
+In the long catalogue of human qualities which characterize our
+thoroughly domesticated dogs, we must not fail to take account of
+their sense of property. In this the creature differs from all other
+of our domesticated animals. It is a common characteristic of mammals,
+both in their wild and tame state, that they feel a motive of
+ownership in the food which they have captured or in the den which
+they have made their lair; but beyond these narrow personal limits we
+see no evidence of any sense of ownership in land or effects. We
+readily observe, however, that our household dogs not only know the
+chattels of their master and distinguish them from those of other
+people, but they also learn to recognize the bounds of their house-lot
+or even of a considerable farm. When a dog, even of a militant
+quality, enters on territory which he does not feel to belong to him,
+he is at once a very different creature as compared to his condition
+when he is on his own land. He treads warily and will accept without
+dispute an order to take himself off. A perception of this sort
+indicates an extraordinary amount of sympathy and discernment. It
+requires us to assume that the creature has a good sense of topography
+and that he observes closely the various acts, none of them perhaps
+very indicative, which go to show the limits of his master's claims.
+
+Although the mental qualities of our highly domesticated dogs are
+singularly like those of their masters, the likeness going to the
+point that the household pet is apt to have acquired something of the
+general character of the people with whom he dwells, there are many
+suggestive differences arising from failures of development which are
+in the highest measure interesting to those who study the species. We
+note, in the first place, that although for ages in contact with the
+constructive work which occupies his masters, the dog shows no
+tendency whatever to essay any undertakings of this nature. He is
+quite alive to considerations of personal comfort and is particularly
+fond of a warm bed; yet, except for a few unverified stories, we may
+say that there is no evidence whatever to show that they ever try to
+improve their conditions by deliberately providing themselves with warm
+bedding. In no well-attested case has a dog shown any sense as to the
+nature of any mechanical contrivance. They will learn which way a door
+opens, and rarely if ever do they undiscerningly close it when it is
+slightly ajar and they wish to pass through the opening; but I have
+never been able to observe or obtain evidence to show that they would
+without teaching pull down a latch in the way in which a cat readily
+learns to do. Much as dogs have had to do with guns, they display no
+kind of interest in the arms except so far as they are tokens of sport
+to come. They connect the explosion with the capture of game, and will
+search for it in the direction toward which the barrel was pointed. I
+have not, however, been able to find that they know, as they might
+readily do, and as a crow would surely do, when the weapon was loaded
+and when empty. They show no interest in it, such as monkeys readily
+display toward any mechanical contrivance to which their attention has
+been directed. All these negative features indicate that the mechanical
+side of the canine mind is entirely undeveloped.
+
+[Illustration: Collie]
+
+Although there is some evidence that the sense of number attains a
+measure of development in dogs, the ability to form mathematical
+conceptions of any kind appears to be very weak in this species. The
+fact that shepherd-dogs, in a way, keep an account of considerable
+flocks so that they will know when one is gone astray, can readily be
+explained on the supposition that they know their charges individually
+and not in sum. The absence of arithmetical capacity is, however, less
+important than the lack of mechanical sense, for the reason that such
+incapacity is also common in the lowest races of men. Although dogs, as
+before noted, quickly and clearly acquire a notion of property rights in
+all which pertains to their owner's holdings, they appear never to
+extend their sense of their own personal possessions beyond the original
+limit to which they had attained when the species was domesticated. The
+creature feels a sense of personal property in his food and in his
+sleeping-place, but appears not to extend his conception of individual
+rights beyond these primitively established limits.
+
+All our well-bred household dogs quickly learn certain bodily habits
+which are necessary to make them acceptable members of a household.
+These habits are not well affirmed by inherited instinct, but the ease
+with which the instruction is acquired shows that they have become prone
+to submit to such regulations. Culture on this line rests upon a primal
+instinct, originating we know not how, which leads a number of wild
+animals to conceal their excrement. On the other hand, these creatures
+exhibit no sense of modesty, though that, in a more or less complete
+measure, is characteristic of all human tribes whatsoever.
+
+As regards the memory, dogs appear to have a considerably greater
+measure of capacity than is observable in any other group of
+domesticated animals. There is no question that they can recall their
+associations with people from whom they have been separated for a year
+or more. Some trustworthy anecdotes appear to establish the fact that
+the recollections may endure for two or three years. I have observed
+an instance in which the memory seems perfectly clear after an
+interval of eighteen months, and this concerned a person who had been
+with the dog for a period of not more than four days. It is
+interesting to note the behavior of a dog when he has failed to
+recognize a person whom he has known well, but from whom he has been
+long separated. I have a shepherd-dog that has known me well, but the
+friendship is often interrupted by partings of some months' duration.
+When, after one of these absences, I appear to him in the distance, he
+comes furiously towards me, quite possessed by his enmity. At a certain
+point in his charge a doubt begins to beset him; he moderates his pace;
+his roaring bark passes into a whine; and as the full measure of his
+blunder is borne in upon him by my voice, he becomes the picture of
+shame. In his perplexity, he always finds relief in endeavoring with
+his paw to scrape a supposititious fly from the side of his nose. He
+then deals with what I suppose to be an equally imaginary flea; after
+he has thus gained a few seconds for readjustment, he welcomes me
+joyously. All this is so thoroughly human-like, that even the
+naturalist, the professional doubter, is forced to believe that the
+dog's mind works substantially as his own, and that the feelings
+connected with the action are essentially the same.
+
+While in the case of the elephant and the pig, and in a less measure
+in several other of the lower animals, we have indices of as high or
+even higher intelligence than the dog, no other brute shows anything
+like the same measure of what we may term human quality. So far as the
+field of the emotions is concerned, we are driven to believe that it
+has been bred into the kind by the ages of intimate associations,
+supported by the selective process which has led people to preserve
+the individual of the species with which they found themselves the
+most in sympathy. I repeat the suggestion, and shall repeat it yet
+again, for the reason that just here--how effectively the reader's
+imagination will suggest--we find a basis for the hope that, with
+time and care, man may bring his subjects of the lower realm into a
+more intimate, affectionate, and helpful relation than is dreamed of
+by those who look upon them as mere brutes.
+
+The most curious limitation which we find in dogs is as to the measure
+of expression to which they have attained. No one who has well
+considered the facts can doubt that our civilized varieties of this
+species have something like a hundred times as much which deserves
+utterance as their savage forefathers possessed. Yet the capacity for
+giving note to these thoughts or emotions has not gained anything like
+the proportion to the needs. It seems, however, that some gain in this
+direction has been made, and that much may be won hereafter in the way
+of further advance. Never having known the species whence our dogs came
+in its wild state, we are uncertain as to its modes of expression; but,
+observing the varieties of dogs which are kept by savages, it seems
+probable that the primitive canines used their voice only in howling or
+yelping; that is, as a continuous sound akin to the bellowings or other
+cries of the various wild mammals. It is characteristic of all these
+primitive forms of utterance that they are, to a great extent,
+involuntary, and that when the outcry is begun it continues in a
+mechanical manner, with no trace of modulation arising from the
+conditions of the moment. In other words, these actions resemble, in a
+way, sneezing or hiccoughing in human kind; actions which are
+stimulated by certain states of the body, but which are not at all
+under the control of the will. Howling or bellowing doubtless
+represents, in a measure, a state of mind as well as of body, but the
+action is of a general and uncontrolled kind.
+
+The effect of advancing culture upon a dog has been gradually to
+decrease this ancient undifferentiated mode of expression afforded by
+howling and yelping, and to replace it by the much more speech-like
+bark. There is some doubt whether the dogs possessed by savages have the
+power of uttering the sharp, specialized note which is so characteristic
+of the civilized forms of their species. It is clear, however, that if
+they have the capacity of thus expressing themselves, they use it but
+rarely. On the other hand, our high-bred dogs have, to a great extent,
+lost the habit of expressing themselves in the ancient way. Many of our
+breeds appear to have become incapable of ululating. There is no doubt
+but this change in the mode of expression greatly increases the capacity
+of our dogs to set forth their states of mind. If we watch a high-bred
+dog, one with a wide range of sensibilities, which we may find in breeds
+which have long been closely associated with man, we may readily note
+five or six varieties of sound in the bark, each of which is clearly
+related to a certain state of mind. The bark of welcome, of fear, of
+rage, of doubt, and of pure fun, are almost always perfectly distinct to
+the educated ear, and this although the observer may not be acquainted
+with the creature; if he knows him well, he may be able to distinguish
+various other intonations--those which express impatience and even an
+element of sorrow. This last note verges toward the howl.
+
+It does not seem to me that we should regard barking as a new and
+useful invention; there are, indeed, few such in the organic world. The
+sound appears to me to have been derived from the primitive habit of
+howling. If we hearken to this utterance we perceive that it is not an
+unbroken sound, but is somewhat intermittent. At either end of the
+prolonged sound we can often notice that it is divided into rather
+distinct yelps more or less completely separated from the other notes.
+The cries of a dog when beaten often exhibit the same peculiarity; so,
+too, the puppy, before he has attained skill in barking, will often
+prolong each utterance in a way which makes its relation to the ancient
+mode of expression tolerably clear. At the risk of being deemed
+fanciful, I venture to suggest that the bark is in effect a division
+of the howl into clearly separated notes, the change having come about
+as a similar alteration is effected in our own speech, by the increase
+in the intelligence which the creature is called upon to express. I
+conceive that while the primitive and massive emotions found
+satisfying utterance in the long-drawn notes, the more divided state
+of mind of the humanized successor has led to a change in its
+utterances. Although these modifications of speech, if such we may
+term them, have probably been developed on the basis of the dog's
+human relations, there is, it seems to me, good reason to believe that
+the diversities in note have come to have a distinct conventional
+value between the individuals of all the different breeds. Any one who
+closely observes these animals must have noticed the fact that the
+degree of attention they give to the utterances of their kindred
+varies in a way which indicates that they have great varieties of
+denotations. Some of the shades of the meaning which a dog's bark has
+to others of his species probably escape our less fine ears.
+
+The creation of something like a language among our civilized dogs
+has naturally been accompanied by the development of an understanding
+of human speech. Although we cannot attach much importance to the
+mass of anecdote on this point, there is enough which is well
+attested--sufficient, indeed, which has come within the limits of my
+own observation--to make it clear that dogs, even without deliberate
+teaching, frequently acquire a tolerably clear understanding of a
+number of words and even of short phrases. They will catch these not
+only when given in distinct command, but when uttered in an ordinary
+tone, without any sign that they relate to their affairs. It is true
+that these understood words generally relate to some action which the
+dog is accustomed to perform, yet there are instances so well
+attested that they deserve credit, which seem to show that the
+creatures can get some sense of the drift of conversation even when
+it is carried on by persons with whom they are not familiar and does
+not clearly relate to their own affairs.
+
+It should be observed that within the narrow limits of this essay little
+or no effort has been made to interpret the state of mind of dogs from
+the vast but rather untrustworthy mass of anecdote with which our books
+are filled. So large a part of this evidence is contaminated by
+prepossessions, and a yet larger part is so unverified in any scientific
+sense, that for purposes of sound inquiry it is worthless. It therefore
+seems best to limit ourselves, as has been done in this paper, to those
+general actions of the creatures which are matters of common knowledge
+and safely beyond question. From these indices we are able to determine
+a basis for some important conclusions. These are in effect as follows,
+viz.: Our domestic dog is derived from a species, one or more, akin to
+the wolf, the jackal, and the fox; to a group of animals not
+characterized by great native intelligence, but distinguished for their
+ferocity and their general untamableness. There is no reason to believe
+that the primitive dog had any more foundation for his great attainments
+than his obstinately savage kindred, except that he may have had a
+greater disposition to form an attachment to a master. We can hardly
+believe that he had any share of that marvellous sympathy with man
+and understanding of his motives which characterize the high-bred
+varieties of his species. All this vast transformation, which from a
+psychological point of view has carried the dog relatively as far up
+above his origin as civilization has lifted man above his lowest
+estate, has been due to human intercourse and the long and effective
+concomitant selection of good from bad. It is hardly too much to say
+that a large part of our human nature has been transferred into the
+descendants of this ancient wild beast. The sense of property, a great
+part of human affections, many of the attributes which constitute the
+gentleman, have been passed over to him.
+
+In considering the effects arising from the intercourse of man with the
+dog, we should not overlook the development of human sympathy which has
+come about through this relation. The fact that the dog has been made by
+far the most sympathetic of the lower animals, is due to the affection
+which men for thousands of years have given to him. In his intercourse
+with this creature, man first learned to develop his altruistic motives
+beyond the limits of his own kind. With this extension of his affection
+must have begun the growth of that large motive, which is the most
+distinguishing feature of our modern life, which leads us to go forth in
+a loving manner to the living beings about us, not only to our flocks
+and herds but to the life of the unsubjugated realm as well. Thus, in a
+way, we may look upon the dog as affording the first steps on the path
+of culture which was to lift man from his primitive selfishness to the
+altruistic state to which he has attained.
+
+Great as has been the work of man upon the dog--it deserves, indeed,
+to be ranked high among all the accomplishments of his culture--there
+is reason to believe that if he but go forward with understanding in
+the ways which have hitherto led him blindly to his success, the
+final result may be very much more perfect than that which has been
+attained. It is on this account that I feel it fit to make a strong
+protest against the system our breeders pursue. Except in the case of
+dogs used in sport and for herding sheep, the sole effort appears to
+be to create breeds which shall exhibit peculiarities of form which
+are mere extravagances, and move the real lover of this noble animal
+to indignation. In these preposterous and unseemly tasks no care is
+taken to continue the mental development on lines which have been
+established by long use. Still less is there any effort to essay the
+development of the intelligence in ways which are clearly open to us,
+and which afford possibilities of lifting this species to a yet
+nobler companionship with our own kind.
+
+It seems worth while for our associations of dog fanciers to undertake
+to develop varieties of dogs solely with reference to the intellectual
+qualities of the animal. I venture to suggest that those who seek this
+end should select some of the primitive types of form, such as are
+found among the undifferentiated mass of the species, those which are
+improperly termed mongrels, and this for the reason that among these
+unselected creatures the intelligence is quicker and more varied than
+it is in the highly developed varieties. Under skilful trainers the
+successive generations bred in the experimental station should be
+subjected to tests which will indicate the measure of intellectual
+ability. The results already attained by the unconscious selection
+which man has applied serve to indicate that at the end of a century,
+and perhaps in much less time, we might develop an animal which in
+various ways would come to a closer intellectual relation with man than
+any other lower species has attained.
+
+Cats deserve some mention for the reason, that, while they are the least
+essential, and on the whole the least interesting, of domesticated
+animals, they have had a certain place in civilization. They afford,
+moreover, a capital foil by which to set off the virtues of the dog.
+Nowhere else, indeed, among the creatures which are intimately
+associated with men, do we find two related forms which afford, along
+with a certain likeness, such great diversities of quality.
+
+We know nothing as to the time when the cat first found its way to the
+associations of man. Presumably this period was much later than the
+advent of the dog into the human family. The presumption rests upon the
+fact that while the dog does not demand fixed residence as a condition
+of its fealty, but is at home wherever his master is, the cat is the
+creature of the domicile, caring more indeed for its dwelling-place than
+it ever does for the inmates thereof. In a word, the creature must have
+come to us after our forefathers gave up the nomadic life.
+Nevertheless, the association is very ancient; it has endured in Egypt
+at least for a term of several thousand years.
+
+Among the curious features connected with the association of the cat
+with man, we may note that it is the only animal which has been
+tolerated, esteemed, and at times worshipped, without having a
+single distinctly valuable quality. It is, in a small way,
+serviceable in keeping down the excessive development of small
+rodents, which from the beginning have been the self-invited guests
+of man. As it is in a certain indifferent way sympathetic, and by
+its caresses appears to indicate affection, it has awakened a
+measure of sympathy which it hardly deserves. I have been unable to
+find any authentic instances which go to show the existence in cats
+of any real love for their masters.
+
+In the matter of intelligence cats appear to rank almost as high as
+dogs. They are even quicker than their canine relatives in
+discerning the nature of man's artful contrivances; they readily
+acquire the habit of opening doors which are closed by means of a
+latch, even where it is necessary to combine the strong pull on the
+handle with the push that completes the operation. Feats of this
+sort are rarely if ever performed by dogs.
+
+The most peculiar quality in the mind of cats is the intense way in
+which they cling to a well-known locality. Their memory of places, and
+affection for them, if we may so term it, is evidently far greater
+than that which they feel for people. Some years ago I had an
+interesting exhibition of this singular humor. A well-grown and
+thoroughly domesticated cat, one that seemed more than usually
+attached to people, was brought from my house in town to a place on
+the shore. When released, the creature seemed for some days to be
+nearly insane. It did not recognize any of its friends, it betook
+itself to the fields, and was with difficulty captured at the end
+of a week of roaming, during which it appeared to have had no food.
+Confined within one room, it gradually recovered its powers of mind,
+and began to take account of its friends. In the course of a month it
+seemed to be reconciled to its surroundings. Nine months after its
+first sojourn in the wilderness it was again brought from the town to
+the same place. On the second visit the creature was somewhat uneasy,
+but this passed away in a day or two. On a third visit, after a like
+interval, it seemed at once and entirely at home. Nevertheless, its
+habits while in the country differ very much from those it has in
+town. In its original domicile it insists on being about the table at
+meal-times. While in the country it does not care to be present; in
+fact, it appears to avoid associations with the household. It seems
+to me that this cat, after the manner of some men whose brains are
+diseased, now lives in two distinct states of consciousness, each
+relating to one of its places of abode.
+
+[Illustration:          Hounds Running a Wild Boar
+               (Showing the habit of attacking neck of prey.) ]
+
+The differences as regards affection for localities which is shown by
+cats and dogs are perhaps to be accounted for by an original and
+essential variation in the habits of life in their wild ancestors.
+Judging by the kindred of the species which are known to us in their
+wild state, we may fairly suppose that the dogs were of old accustomed
+to range over a wide field, having no fixed place of abode; the pack
+ranging, if the occasion served, for hundreds of miles in any direction.
+On the other hand, with the cats, it is characteristic of the species
+that they have lairs to which they resort, and a definite hunting ground
+in which they seek their food. They are, in a word, animals of very
+determined routine. As there has been no effort by breeding to change
+this feature, it has remained in all its old ingrained intensity.
+
+As a consequence of the affection which cats have for particular places,
+they often return to the wilderness when by chance the homes in which
+they have been reared are abandoned. Thus in New England, in those
+sections of the district where many farmsteads have of late years been
+deserted, the cats have remained about their ancient haunts and have
+become entirely wild. In this State they are bred in such numbers that
+their presence is now a serious menace to the birds and other weaker
+creatures of the country. The behavior of these feralized animals
+differs somewhat from that of creatures which have never been tamed.
+They have not the same immediate fear of a man, but the least effort to
+approach them leads to their hasty flight.
+
+While considering the inelastic quality which is exhibited by cats as
+compared with the dog, the naturalist notes with interest the fact that
+the former creature belongs to a family which has never been accustomed
+to any social life beyond the limits of the family. Moreover, all the
+cats have the habit of hunting in a solitary way, each for itself, in
+the achievement and in the result. It is otherwise with dogs. They
+belong to a group which hunts in packs. For ages they have been used to
+a communal life. Their minds have thus become accustomed to social
+intercourse; they are used to having their excitements of the chase in
+comradeship, and generally they are accustomed to the rough-and-tumble
+fraternity which we behold in a pack of wolves. It was long ago remarked
+that the really social animals are those which afford the only good
+material for subjugation. The difference between the cat and dog seems,
+in a way, to warrant this statement.
+
+Although it is likely that many efforts have been made to domesticate
+the other larger felines, no distinct success has attended these
+experiments. A large Asiatic cat known as the chetah is somewhat used
+in hunting for sport, but the species has never been adopted in any
+definite way. In fact, with all the larger cats, including the lion,
+which is structurally a little apart from the other members of
+the group, the size and furious nature of the animal have made it
+impossible to begin the process of selection which has been the means
+whereby the wilderness motive has been replaced by that of the
+household in the case of all other domesticated beasts.
+
+
+
+
+THE HORSE
+
+   Value of the Strength of the Horse to Man.--Origin of the
+   Horse.--Peculiar Advantage of the Solid Hoof.--Domestication of the
+   Horse.--How begun.--Use as a Pack Animal.--For War.--Peculiar
+   Advantages of the Animal for Use of Men.--Mental
+   Peculiarities.--Variability of Body.--Spontaneous Variations due to
+   Climate.--Variations of Breeds.--Effect of the Invention of
+   Horseshoes.--Donkeys and Mules compared with Horse.--Especial Value
+   of these Animals.--Diminishing Value of Horses in Modern
+   Civilization.--Continued Need of their Service in War.
+
+
+The largest economic problem which primitive people on their way upward
+towards civilization had unconsciously to face was that of obtaining
+some kind of strength which could be added to the power of their own
+weak limbs. For all his eminent capacities of body, man is not a strong
+animal, nor is he so built that he can apply the measure of strength
+that is in him to good advantage. There are scores if not hundreds
+of species with which he came in contact in his effort to dominate
+nature that are stronger, swifter, and better provided with natural
+weapons. With the first step upward, as in almost all the succeeding
+steps, the advance depended on securing more energy than that with
+which our kind was directly endowed. It is hardly too much to say
+that the progress of mankind beyond the savage state would probably
+never have been effected but for the bodily help which has been
+rendered by a few domesticated animals.
+
+From the point of view of the student of domesticated animals the races
+of men may well be divided into those which have and those which have
+not the use of the horse. Although there are half a score of other
+animals which have done much for man, which have indeed stamped
+themselves upon his history, no other creature has been so inseparably
+associated with the great triumphs of our kind, whether won on the
+battle-field or in the arts of peace. So far as material comfort, or
+even wealth, is concerned, we of the northern realms and present age
+could, perhaps, better spare the horse from our present life than
+either sheep or horned cattle; but without this creature it is certain
+that our civilization would never have developed in anything like its
+present form. Lacking the help which the horse gives, it is almost
+certain that, even now, it could not be maintained.
+
+We know the ancient natural history of the horse more completely than
+that of any other of our domesticated animals. We can trace the steps
+by which its singularly strong limbs and feet, on which rests its value
+to man, were formed in the great laboratory of geologic time. The story
+is so closely related to the interests of man that it will be well
+briefly to set it before the reader. In the first stages of the
+Tertiary period, in the age when we begin to trace the evolution of the
+suck-giving animals above the lowly grade in which the kangaroos and
+opossums belong, we find the ancestors of our mammalian series all
+characterized by rather weakly organized limbs fitted, as were those of
+their remoter kindred the marsupials, for tree climbing rather than for
+moving over the surface of the ground. The fact is, that all the
+creatures of this great clan acquired their properties of body in
+arboreal life, and with such relatively small and light bodies as were
+fitted for tree climbing. For this use the feet need to be
+loose-jointed, and so the system of five toes, each terminating in a
+sharp and strong nail or claw, became fixed in the inheritances. When,
+gaining strength and coming to possess a more important place in the
+world, these ancient tree-dwellers were able to occupy the ground which
+of old had been possessed by the great reptiles, the limbs that had
+served well for an arboreal life had to undergo many changes in order
+to fit them for progression in the new realm.
+
+If we watch the progress of a bear over the surface of the ground, we
+readily perceive how lumbering is its gait and how poor the speed which
+it attains. Its slow and shambling movement is due to the fact that it
+has the tree-climbing foot, and is not well fitted for motion such as is
+required in running. To attain anything like speed in this exercise it
+is necessary to support the body on the tips of the toes. Every man who
+has gained any skill in this art knows full well how incompetent he is
+if he tries to run with rapidity in the flat-footed manner. The bear
+cannot essay this method of progression on the toe-tips because its
+loose-jointed feet cannot be made to support its heavy body. In this way
+arose the necessity of developing a peculiar kind of foot when that part
+had to serve for rapid locomotion. The experiments to this end have been
+numerous and varied. Thus in the elephants, which retain the originally
+numerous toes, the bones of these members are planted in an upright
+position and tied together with such strong muscles and sinews, that the
+foot parts have something like the solidity and strength of the upper
+portions of the legs. In the single-hoofed or horse-like forms, and in
+the cloven-footed animals, other series of experiments have been tried
+which in the end have proved most successful, giving us animals with the
+speediest movements of any animals except the creatures of the air.
+
+[Illustration: A Hunter]
+
+The success which has been attained in our ordinary large herbivora, and
+which has made them competent to evade the chase of the beasts of prey,
+has been accomplished by reducing the number of the toes, giving the
+strength of the aborted parts to increase the power of those remaining.
+The result is the formation of two great groups, the double-hoofed
+forms, including the pigs, deer, cattle, sheep, and their kindred, and
+the single-toed species, of which our horse is the foremost example. In
+the reduction of the number of toes, different plans were followed in
+each of these groups. In the cloven-hoofed forms, a single toe first
+disappeared, leaving but four; then the two outer of these were aborted,
+leaving two nearly equal digits. In the series of the horse, where we
+can trace the change more clearly, we find the earliest form five-toed,
+but the outer and inner digit shrunken so as to become of little use.
+This condition of the creature in the early Tertiaries gives us the
+beginning of the equine series, and shows that far away as the creature
+is now from ourselves, it originated from the main stem of mammalian
+life, from which our own forms have sprung. In the next higher stage in
+time, and likewise in development, we find these lessened toes at their
+vanishing point, and two of the remaining digits, lying on either side
+of what corresponds to the middle finger in our own hands, beginning to
+shrink in length and volume, while the central toe becomes larger and
+stronger than before. Last in the series we come to our ordinary equine
+form, in which nothing is left but the single massive extremity, though
+the remnants of two of the toes can be traced in the form of slender
+bones known as splints, which are altogether enclosed within the skin
+which wraps the region about the fetlock joints.
+
+As if it were to show to us the history of this marvellous organic
+achievement, nature now and then, though seldom--perhaps not oftener
+than one in ten million instances--sends forth a horse with three hoofs
+to each leg. Two of these are small and lie on either side of the
+functioning extremity. Each of these hoofs is connected with a
+splint-bone which has in some way suddenly become reminded of its
+ancient use, and develops in a manner to imitate the creatures which
+passed from the earth millions of years ago. In most cases the
+splint-bones have no function whatever to perform. They are indeed
+superfluous and injurious parts, and are likely from time to time to be
+worse than useless, becoming the seats of disease. In this beautiful
+instance, perhaps the fairest of all those showing how the highly
+developed forms of our time retain a memory of their ancestral life, we
+see how the advance in the series of the horse has been effected against
+the resistance ancient organic habit opposes to all gains. We can
+therefore the better understand how the building of the hoof represents
+the labor of geologic ages during which the slow-made gains were won.
+
+In its present elaborate form, the hoof of a horse is the most perfect
+instrument of support which has been devised in the animal kingdom to
+uphold a large and swiftly moving animal in its passage over the
+ground. The original toe-nail, and the neighboring soft parts connected
+with it, have been modified into a structure which in an extraordinary
+manner combines solidity with elasticity, so that it may strike violent
+blows upon the hard surface of the earth without harm. The bones of the
+toe to which it is affixed have enlarged with the progressive loss of
+their neighbors of the extremity, until they fairly continue the
+dimensions of the bony parts of the leg. Moreover, they have lengthened
+out, so as to give the limb a great extension, and this, in turn,
+magnifies the stride which the creature can take in running. The result
+is that the horse can carry a greater weight at a swifter speed than
+any other animal approaching it in size.
+
+[Illustration: On Rotten Row, Hyde Park, London]
+
+The needs which led, in a slow accumulative way, to the invention of
+the admirable contrivance of the horse's foot, were doubtless founded
+on the necessities of swift movement in fleeing from the great
+predaceous animals. Incidentally, however, as this development has
+gone on, the peculiarities of the extremity have proved highly
+advantageous in defence, and the creatures have acquired certain
+peculiar ways of using their feet effectively to this end. The solid
+character of the hoof, its considerable weight, and the great power
+of the muscles of the hams, which are the principal agents in
+propelling the animal, make the hind feet capable of delivering a
+very powerful blow. The measure of its efficiency may be judged from
+the fact that a lion has been slain by a stroke from the foot of a
+donkey, and in their wild state a herd of horses with their heads
+together, can beat off the attack of the most powerful beasts of
+prey. In using the hind feet for assault or defence, horses have
+adopted an effective method of kicking which is unknown among other
+animals. Resting on their fore-legs, the hinder feet are thrown
+backward and upward, so that they may strike a blow six feet from the
+ground. Many of our cloven-footed animals have learned to strike
+cutting blows with the sharp hoofs of their fore-limbs--our bulls
+will stamp a fallen enemy with great force; but the backward kick of
+the horse is a peculiar movement, and is distinctly related to the
+peculiar structure of the animal's extremities.
+
+It is an interesting fact that the development of a long and slowly
+elaborated series leading to the making of the horse appears to have
+taken place mainly, if not altogether, in the region about the
+headwaters of the Missouri River. In the olden days when this great work
+was done, that part of our continent was a well-watered country, much of
+its surface being occupied by great lakes which have long since
+disappeared. In the deposits accumulated in these bodies of fresh water
+are found the bones of the olden species telling the history of their
+series. It is not yet certain that the final step of the accomplishment
+which gave us our existing species was effected in this land. It seems
+indeed most likely that the ancestral form of our domesticated horses
+found their way to the continents of the Old World, and there underwent
+the last slight changes, before they were made captive by man. If there
+ever were perfect horses on this continent, they had passed away from
+its area before the coming of man to the land. The history of our
+aborigines would have been quite other than it has been, if they had
+had a chance to win the assistance of this noble helpmeet.
+
+Central Asia appears to have been the domicile of the horse when he
+first began his acquaintance with our kind. We do not know the
+original form of the creature. The wild horses existing at the
+present day in that part of the world, and which plentifully occur
+in other regions whereunto they have been taken by man, appear to
+have been set free from captivity.
+
+[Illustration: Horse of a Bulgarian Marauder]
+
+The first domestication of the horse appears to have been brought
+about, at an early time in the history of our race, in northern Asia.
+The time when this feat was accomplished antedates our records. The
+creature may first have come into possession of the Tartar tribes,
+but it quickly passed over Asia and Europe and shortly became the
+mainstay of the Aryan and Semitic folk. None other of our
+domesticated forms has been disseminated with like rapidity, or at
+the outset with as little change in its original features. From the
+first the horse seems to have been mainly used as a saddle and pack
+animal. It has never served in any considerable measure for food. The
+failure to make use of the flesh of this animal appears to be common
+to most of the savage or barbaric people who keep horses, and has been
+transmitted in a singularly definite way to all civilized folk. The
+origin of such a prejudice, despite the fact that the flesh of the
+horse is of excellent quality, can only be explained through the
+sympathetic motives common to all men. Their association with the
+horse, as with the dog, is so intimate as to make the use of these
+animals in the form of food more or less repugnant. In a small though
+unimportant way, mares have been used for milk, and there seems no
+reason to doubt that, if they had been carefully bred for this purpose,
+they might have been as serviceable as the cow. It may be that the
+failure to use the milk of the horse is to be accounted for on the
+same ground as the dislike to its flesh.
+
+The horse was probably at first most valued for its use in war. The
+peoples which possessed it certainly had a great advantage over their
+less well provided neighbors. In fact the development of the military
+art, as distinguished from the mere fighting of savages, was made easy
+by the strength, endurance, fleetness, and measure of bravery
+characterizing this creature. In the wide range of species which have
+been domesticated or might be won to companionship with man, there is
+none other which so completely supplements the imperfect human body,
+making it fit for great deeds. If the horse had been much smaller or
+larger than he is, he would have been far less serviceable to man. It
+was a most fortunate accident that the creature came to us with the
+proportions which insured a high measure of utility in various lines
+of activity. The elephant has been found too large for agricultural
+uses, and too powerful to be controlled by the will and force of his
+master under conditions of excitement.
+
+[Illustration: Mare and Foal]
+
+Those peoples which early acquired the resources in the way of
+strength and fleetness which the horse put at their disposition,
+became inevitably the conquerors of the folk who were denied these
+advantages. If we consider the conditions which have led to the
+domination of the world by the Aryan and Semitic people, and the
+races which they have affiliated with them, we readily discern the
+fact that they have, to a great extent, won by horse-power rather
+than by their own physical strength. Thus equipped by their able
+servants, they have pressed outward from their ancient realms and
+have in a way overridden the tribes which were unmounted.
+
+So imposing is the effect of the horsed man on all peoples who are
+without previous knowledge of the united creatures, that it always
+carries fear to their hearts. To such folk the combination appears as
+a single terrible being. The ease with which the Spaniards conquered
+Mexico and Peru can, to a great extent, be attributed to the awe
+carried into the ranks of the savage footmen by their mail-clad
+horses. The Greeks, who were wont to represent the forces of nature
+and the accomplishments of man by skilfully constructed myths, have
+left a record showing their appreciation of the strength derived from
+the union of horse and man, in their fable of the Centaur, which
+possibly grew up in a time before their people had won the use of the
+animal, and when they only knew the creature by chance encounters
+with enemies who were mounted upon them. Although the naturalist of
+to-day perceives the impossibility of there ever having been on this
+earth a form uniting the trunk and fore-limbs of a quadruped to the
+upper part of a man's body, such scientific conceptions are a part of
+our modern, recently acquired store of knowledge. To the Greeks of
+the myth-making age the creature, half man, half horse, added but one
+more wonder to the vast store the world already contained. The
+currency of this fable shows us very clearly how great was the
+impression which the horse made upon primitive peoples.
+
+To perceive the value of the horse in those ancient contests which
+opened the paths of civilization, we must note the fact that, until
+the invention of gunpowder, success in breaking the ranks of an
+enemy depended mainly on the charge. With a large body of vigorous
+horsemen it was generally possible to overwhelm an enemy's line of
+battle, either by direct assault or by an attack on its flank or
+rear. If the reader is curious to see the value of horsemen in
+ancient warfare, he should read the story of the campaigns of
+Hannibal against the Romans in Italy. The first successes of that
+great commander--victories which came near changing the history of
+the western world--were almost altogether due to the strength lying
+in his admirable Numidian cavalry. The Romans were already good
+soldiers, their footmen more trustworthy than those which the
+Carthagenian general could set against them; but with his horsemen,
+as at Cannae, he could wrap in the Roman line and reduce the most
+valiant legions to the confused herd which awaited the butcher.
+
+[Illustration: Cavalry Horse]
+
+Although the invention of firearms has somewhat changed the
+conditions under which cavalry may be used, making indeed the direct
+charge more costly to the assailant than the assailed, it has in no
+wise diminished, but rather increased, the value of horses in
+military campaigns. In the line of battle horses have become
+necessary for the conveyance of field officers and messengers, and
+the right arm of battle, the artillery, could not possibly be managed
+except by horse-power. The swift marches of modern armies, by
+hastening the issue of contests, have spared the world half the woes
+of its great campaigns, and are made possible by the ready movement
+of supply trains, which could not be effected except by the help of
+these creatures. The result is that a large part of the military
+strength of any state rests not only in the valor and training of its
+fighting men, but in the supply of horses that its fields may afford.
+In this connection it is instructive to compare the military
+strength of a country like China, where the horse is not a common
+element in the life of the people, with that of any of the western
+folk who may hereafter have to wrestle with that populous empire.
+Some writers, in their efforts to forecast the large politics of the
+future, have imagined that when the hardy and obedient Chinaman came
+to receive the European training in the military art, the armies of
+that country might prove from their numbers a menace to our own
+civilization. Such an issue seems in a high degree improbable, for
+the reason that the eastern realm could not provide the horses which
+would be necessary for the use of invading armies; nor is it at all
+likely that the rigid framework of their society will ever be so
+altered as to provide an abundance of these animals.
+
+[Illustration: Plough Horses, France]
+
+Although in the first instance the horse served mainly, if not
+altogether, as an ally of man in his contests with his neighbors, its
+most substantial use has been in the peaceful arts. As pack animal and
+drawer of the plough, the ox appears in general to have come into use
+before its swifter companion. The displacement of horned cattle has
+been due to the fact that their structure and habits make them much
+less fit for arduous and long-continued labor than the horse has been
+found to be. The cloven foot, because of its division, is weak. It
+cannot sustain a heavy burden. Even with the unincumbered weight of
+the body of the animal, the feet are apt to become sore in marches
+which the heavily mounted horse endures unharmed. Centuries of
+experience have shown that while the ox is an excellent animal for
+drawing a plough in a stubborn soil, and is well adapted to pulling
+carriages where the burden is heavy and the speed is not a matter of
+importance and the distance not great, the creature is too slow for
+the greater part of the work which the farmer needs to do. The pace
+which they can be made to take in walking is not more than half as
+great as that of a quick-footed horse moving in the same gait; and the
+ox is practically incapable, because of its weak feet, of keeping up a
+trot on any ordinary road. But for the fact that an aged ox may be
+used for beef, they would doubtless long since have ceased to serve us
+as draught animals. As it is, with the growing money value of the
+laborer's time, this slow-moving creature is steadily and rather
+rapidly disappearing from our farms. This change, indeed, is one of
+the most indicative of all those now occurring in our agriculture. It
+is an excellent example of the operations which the increase in the
+workman's pay is bringing into our civilization.
+
+The natural advantages of the horse for the use of man consisted in
+its size, strength, and endurance to burden; form of the body, which
+enabled a skilful rider to maintain his position astride the trunk; and
+the peculiar shape of the mouth and disposition of the teeth which made
+it possible to use the bit. With these direct physical advantages there
+were others of a physiological and psychic sort, of equal value. The
+creature breeds as well under domestication as in the wilderness; the
+young are fit for some service in the third year of their life, and
+are, at least in the less elaborated breeds, in a mature condition when
+they are five years old. Experience shows that the animal can subsist
+on a great variety of diet, being in this regard surpassed only by its
+humbler kinsman the donkey, and by the goats. There are few fields so
+lean that they will not maintain serviceable horses. They do well alike
+in mountain pastures and amid the herbage of the moistest plainland.
+
+The mental peculiarities of the horse are much less characteristic than
+its physical. It is indeed the common opinion, among those who do not
+know the animal well, that it is endowed with much sagacity, but no
+experienced and careful observer is likely to maintain this opinion.
+All such students find the intelligence of the horse to be very
+limited. It requires but little observation to show that the creature
+observes quickly, and in some way classifies the objects with which it
+comes in contact. The fear aroused in it by unknown things makes this
+feature of attention to the surrounding world very evident. Almost all
+these animals retain a tolerably distinct memory of the roads which
+they have traversed, even if they have passed over them but a few
+times. The studies which I have made on this point show me that the
+average horse will be able to return on a road which it has traversed
+a few hours before, with less risk of blundering than an ordinary
+driver. Some well-endowed animals can remember as many as a dozen
+turnings in a path over which they have journeyed three or four times.
+It seems almost certain that their guidance in these movements is not
+at all effected by the sense of smell, but is due to a distinct memory
+of the detailed features of the country.
+
+[Illustration: Belgian Fisherman's Horse]
+
+Good as is the horse's memory, it is difficult to organize its actions
+on that basis. Only in rare cases and with much labor can he be taught
+to execute movements that are at all complicated. Fire-engine horses
+may be trained of their own will to step into the position where they
+are to be attached to the carriage. Some artillery horses will, as I
+have noticed, associate the sound of the bugle with the resulting
+movements of the guns and take the appropriate positions, where they
+may be out of danger in the rapid swinging of the teams and
+carriages. It is partly because of this training received by
+disciplined artillery horses, that it seems to many experienced
+officers not worth while to have militia companies in this arm, who
+have to manoeuvre with animals untrained for the service. Although
+some part of this mental defect in the horse, causing its actions to
+be widely contrasted with those of the dog, may be due to a lack of
+deliberate training and to breeding with reference to intellectual
+accomplishment, we see by comparing the creature with the elephant,
+which practically has never been bred in captivity, that the equine
+mind is, from the point of view of rationality, very feeble.
+
+The emotional side of the horse's nature seems little more developed
+than its rational. Although they have a certain affection for the hand
+which feeds them, and in a mild way are disposed to form friendships
+with other animals, they are not really affectionate, and never, so
+far as I have been able to find, show any distinct signs of grief at
+separation from their masters or of pleasure when they return to them.
+Although there are many stories appearing to indicate a certain
+faithfulness in horses which have remained beside their fallen and
+wounded riders, the facts do not justify us in supposing that such
+actions are due to the affection a dog clearly feels.
+
+[Illustration: Horses for Towing on the Beach in Holland]
+
+We have been singularly led astray by a chance use of the epithet
+"horse," which has come to be applied to many organic forms and
+functions where strength is indicated. Thus, in the case of plants we
+speak of "horse-radish" or "horse-mint," denoting thereby spices which
+have strong qualities. Horse-chestnut is another instance of the
+application of the term to plants. It chanced that "horse-sense" came
+to be used to indicate a sound understanding, and in an obscure way,
+but in a manner common with words, this has led to a vague implication
+of mental capacity in the animals whence the term is derived. The fact
+is that our horses, as far as their mental powers are concerned,
+appear to be the least improvable of our great domesticated animals.
+
+[Illustration: A Hurdle Jumper]
+
+Little elastic as the horse appears to be on the psychic side of its
+nature, in its physical aspects it is one of the most plastic of all the
+forms subjected to the breeder's art. It requires no more than a glance
+at the streets of our large cities to see how great is the range in
+size, form, and carriage of these animals which may be found in any of
+our great centres of civilization. We readily perceive that these
+variations have a distinct relation to the several divisions of human
+activity in which this creature has a share. The massive cart-horse,
+weighing it may be as much as eighteen hundred or two thousand pounds,
+heavy limbed, big headed, unwilling to move at a pace faster than a slow
+trot, yet not without the measure of beauty seemingly inseparable from
+the species, contrasts very markedly with the alert saddle animal bred
+for speed and grace, and for the easy movement which makes it
+comfortable to the equestrian. Between these extremes we may note minor
+differences which, though they may not strike those persons who take
+only a commonplace view of the creatures, are most marked to the
+initiated. The trotter, the coach horse, the strong but nimble animals
+which are used in fire-engines and other heavy carriages which have to
+be swiftly moved, mark the results of breeding designed to insure
+particular qualities, and show how readily the physical features of the
+animal can be made to fit to our desires.
+
+Although from an early day a certain amount of care has been given to
+breeding horses for saddle purposes, the careful and continuous choice
+which has led to the modern variations is a matter of only a few
+centuries of endeavor. So far as we can judge from the classic
+monuments, the olden varieties were mere varieties of the pony--the
+small, compact, agile creature which had not departed far from the
+parent wild form. It seems to me doubtful whether any of the horses
+possessed by the Greeks or Romans attained a weight much exceeding a
+thousand pounds, or had the peculiarities of our modern breeds. The
+first considerable departure from the original type appears to have
+been brought about when it became necessary to provide a creature
+which could serve as a mount for the heavy armored knights of the
+Middle Ages, where man and horse were weighted with from one to two
+hundred pounds of metal. To serve this need it was necessary to have a
+saddle animal of unusual strength, weighing about three-quarters of a
+ton, easily controllable and at once fairly speedy and nimble. To meet
+this necessity the Norman horse was gradually evolved, the form
+naturally taking shape in that part of Europe where the iron-clad
+warrior was most perfectly developed. In the tapestries and other
+illustrative work of that day, when the knight won tournaments and
+battle-fields, gaining victory by the weight and speed which he
+brought to bear upon his enemies, we can see this splendid animal, in
+physical form, at least, the finest product of man's care and skill in
+the development of the lower species.
+
+With the advance in the use of firearms the value of the Norman horse
+in the art of war rapidly diminished. This breed, however, has, with
+slight modifications, survived, and is extensively used for draught
+purposes where strength at the sacrifice of speed is demanded. It is a
+curious fact that the creatures which now draw the beer wagons of
+London often afford the nearest living successors in form to the
+horses which bore the mediaeval knights. It is an ignoble change, but
+we must be grateful for any accident which has preserved to us, though
+in a somewhat degraded form, this noblest product of the breeder's
+art, which, even as much as the valor of our ancestors, won success
+for our Teutonic folk in their great struggle with Islam. A tincture
+of this Norman blood, perhaps the firmest fixed in the species of any
+variety, pervades many other strains most valuable in our arts. The
+best of our artillery horses, particularly those set next the wheels,
+are generally in part Norman. In the well-known American Morgan, the
+swiftest and strongest of our harnessed forms, the observant eye
+detects indications of this masterful blood.
+
+The Norman strains of horses retain certain interesting indications of
+their ancient lineage and occupation. As appears to be common with old
+breeds, the stock is readily maintained. It breeds true to its
+ancestry, with little tendency to those aberrations so common in the
+newly instituted varieties. When crossed with other strains, the
+effect of the intermixture of this strong blood is distinctly
+traceable for many generations. In their mental habits these creatures
+still appear to show something of the effects of their old use in war;
+it is a valiant race, less given to insane fear than other strains,
+and, even under excitement, more controllable than the most of their
+kindred. So far as I have been able to learn, they seem singularly
+free from those wild panics which are so common among our ordinary
+horses. It does not seem to me fanciful to suppose that these
+qualities were bred in the stock during the centuries of experience
+with the confusion of battle-fields and tournaments.
+
+[Illustration: Exercising the Thoroughbreds]
+
+The horse, in common with the other domesticated animals varying
+readily in the hands of the breeder, undergoes a certain spontaneous
+change which in a way corresponds to the physiography of the region in
+which it is bred. At first sight it may seem as if these alterations
+are due to the admixture of previously existing varieties, or to the
+institution of peculiarities by some process of selection. I am,
+however, well convinced that these variations are in good part due to a
+direct influence from the environment. Thus in our high northern lands
+there is a distinct and spontaneous reduction in size of the creatures,
+which attains its farthest point in the Shetland pony. Again, as we go
+toward the tropics, a like though less conspicuous decrease in bulk is
+observable. The largest animals of the species develop in the middle
+latitudes, the realm where the form appears to have acquired its
+characters. The speed with which these local variations are made is
+often great. Thus the horses of Kentucky have, in about a century,
+acquired a certain stamp of the soil which makes it possible, in most
+cases, for the observer to identify an individual as from that State,
+though he may find it in a field a thousand miles away. The defining
+indications are not limited altogether to bodily form, but are shown in
+what might seem trifling features of carriage and behavior. The
+difference between the horses of Great Britain and those of the United
+States seems to me, from repeated observations, to be quite as great as
+that separating the men of the two realms. I believe that if a lot of a
+thousand, taken in equal parts from either land, were put together, a
+person well accustomed to taking account of these animals could
+separate them into two herds, with less than ten per cent. of error. It
+is doubtful if a more perfect selection could be made if the same
+experiment were tried on an equal number of men, provided the indices
+to be derived from peculiarities of speech or dress could be excluded.
+
+[Illustration: An Arabian Horse]
+
+By some the Arabian horse is thought to be the most remarkable
+specialization of the kind which has been attained. In his native
+country and in his perfection, the Arab breed has been seen by but
+few persons who have been specially trained in noting the
+peculiarities of the animal. So far as I have been able to judge by
+pictures and a few specimens, said to be thoroughbreds of their
+stock, which I have had a chance to see, the Arabian form of the
+horse appears to have been led less far away from the primitive
+stock than many of our European and American varieties.
+
+[Illustration: Arabian Sports]
+
+The very great, if not the preeminent, success of the horse in Arabia
+is the more remarkable from the fact that it has been attained under
+conditions which, from an _a priori_ point of view, must be deemed
+most unfavorable. This variety has been bred in a land of scant
+herbage and deficient water-supply, where the creature has had from
+time to time, indeed we may say generally, to endure something of the
+dearth of food which stunts the Indian ponies and the other horses of
+the Cordilleran district. The ancestors of the horse appear to have
+attained their development in well-watered and fertile regions. All
+the varieties bred within the limits of civilization do best on rich
+pasturages such as Arabia does not afford. The success of the horse in
+that land shows how devoted must have been the care which has been
+given to its nurture. Fitting, as the Arabian horse does, exactly to
+the needs of nomadic people engaged in almost constant warfare, it
+has naturally been a far more important helper to the wild folk of
+the desert lands about the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea than
+to any other race. In those lands horses fell into the keeping of a
+very able folk. The contrast between the care devoted to the animals
+by them, and that which our Indians give to their ponies, is a fair
+measure of the difference in the ability of these very diverse races.
+
+As a whole, the horse demands for his best nurture and keeping an
+amount of care required by no other animal which has been won to the
+uses of man, unless perhaps it be the silkworm. Kept in its best
+state, the horse has to be sedulously groomed. To be maintained in
+its very best condition some hours of human labor must each day be
+given to keeping his skin in order. The effect arising from a
+friction on the horse's hide is not confined to the beauty that comes
+from cleanliness, but in a curious way reacts upon the general
+nervous tone of the animal. All those who are familiar with horses
+will, I think, agree with me that much grooming distinctly increases
+the endurance and elasticity of their bodies. The influence of the
+grooming process appears to be somewhat like that obtained by massage
+and friction of the skin in the training of an athlete. More than
+once I have had occasion to observe the effect of this process on
+some ancient horse of good blood, which for years had been allowed in
+its old age to go uncared for as an idle tenant of the pastures. Two
+or three days of assiduous grooming will bring back the strength and
+suppleness to the aged limbs, and restore something of the olden
+spirit. The effect obtained from this care is the more remarkable for
+the reason that nothing similar to it was experienced by the wild
+ancestors of these creatures. It is as artificial as bathing in the
+case of man. The influence of the treatment shows how very unnatural
+is the state of our civilized horses.
+
+The task of providing horses with food is more considerable than in
+the case of any of our other domesticated creatures. By nature the
+animal is a frequent feeder, and does not well endure long fasts. Its
+stomach is rather small for the size of the body, and the digestive
+process appears to be more than usually rapid. A mounted animal, when
+taxed to its utmost, should be fed four or five times a day, and with
+less than three good meals is apt to break down. No such care in the
+matter of provender is necessary in the case of the other members of
+man's animal family. The contrast between the physiological
+conditions of the camel and those of the horse are fully recognized
+by the Arabs, in their almost complete neglect of the individuals of
+the one species and their exceeding care of the other.
+
+[Illustration: English Polo Ponies]
+
+Perhaps the greatest element of care which man has had to devote to
+the horse is found in the matter of shoeing. In the state of nature
+the admirably constructed hoof sufficiently provided the animal
+against the excessive wearing of its horny extremity. Nature,
+however, rarely provides for more strength and endurance than the
+creature in its wild state demands; and so it comes about that when
+horses have to bear burdens or draw carriages, particularly on
+roadways, their unprotected feet will not withstand the strain which
+is put upon them, the rate of growth of the structure composing the
+hoof not being sufficiently rapid to make good the wearing which
+these unnatural conditions impose. For thousands of years, in the
+roadless stages of man's development, the difficulties arising from
+the wearing of the hoof were not serious, for the creatures trod
+either on turf-covered plains or on the soft ways of the desert.
+When the advance of culture made roads necessary, when carriages
+were invented and something like our modern conditions were
+instituted, it became imperatively necessary to provide additional
+protection for the feet. We find the Greeks, in the classic time,
+wrestling with this problem. Xenophon, in his treatise on the care
+of horses, advises that they be reared on stony ground, he having
+observed that, in a natural way, the hoof becomes somewhat adapted
+to the necessities of its conditions. The Romans found the
+difficulty from the tender foot of the horse yet more serious on
+their paved roads; but both these classic people showed, in their
+ways of dealing with the difficulty, that lack of inventive skill
+which so curiously separates the olden from the modern men. They
+devised soles of leather and bags as coverings for the horse's feet,
+but none of the contrivances could have been very serviceable. All
+such coverings must have been quickly worn out in active use.
+
+So far as we can determine, it was not until about the fourth century
+of our era that the iron horseshoe was invented. This valuable
+contrivance appears to have originated in Greek or Roman lands,
+probably in the former realm, for it first bore the name of "selene,"
+from its likeness to the crescent shape of the new moon. Although
+simple, the horseshoe was a most important invention, for it
+completely reconciled the animal to the conditions of our higher
+civilization by removing the one hinderance to its general use in the
+work of war and commerce. It is probable that with this invention
+began the great task of differentiating the several breeds of
+European horses for their use in various employments, as draught
+animals for packing purposes, as light saddle horses, and the
+bearing of armored men. Neither the draught nor the war horses of
+Europe could well have been specialized until their heavy bodies were
+separated from the ground by these metallic coverings of the hoof.
+
+[Illustration: Syrian Horse]
+
+Much has depended on the specialization of the horse into different
+breeds, made possible by the iron shoe. By reconciling the creature to
+uses--agriculture, which depends on draught animals, and the commerce
+of importance, which can only be effected by means of wagons--the
+rapid economic development of our civilization was made possible. By
+developing a horse capable of bearing an armored man, Europe was
+brought into a condition in which organized armies took the place of
+mere forays, and so the development of centralized states was
+promoted. In the warfare between the Mohammedans and the Christian
+states of Europe, in the campaigns with the Turks and the Saracens,
+it is easy to see that the powerful breeds of horses reared in western
+and northern Europe were a mighty element in determining the issue of
+the contest. The battles of these momentous campaigns represented, not
+only a struggle between the Christian Aryans and the Semitic followers
+of Mahomet, but, in quite as great a degree, the war was waged between
+the light and agile steeds of the Orient and the massive and powerful
+animals that bore the mail-clad warriors of the West. On the field of
+Tours, when the fate of Christian Europe for hours hung in the
+balance, we may well believe that the strong and enduring horses of
+the northern cavalry did much to give victory to our race.
+
+Along with our general account of the place of the horse in
+civilization, it is fit to give something to the story of his near,
+though inferior, kinsmen, the ass and the mule, both of which have
+played a subordinate, though important, part in the same field of
+endeavor in which the nobler species has done so much for man. The
+original progenitors of our donkeys differed from the ancestral form
+of the horse by variations of good specific value. So far as we can
+determine from visible features, these forms were more distinctly
+parted than the dog and the wolf, or either of these animals from the
+jackal. Nevertheless, these equine forms are clearly closely akin, for
+they may be bred together. Although the original stock of the ass may
+possibly have been lost, it seems most likely that the wild forms
+which exist in Asia have not wandered off from captivity, but are the
+remnants of the original wilderness form.
+
+It appears likely that the two domesticated equine species have been
+under the care of man for about the same length of time; but the
+difference in their condition, and in the place which they hold in
+civilization, is very great. As we have seen, the horse has been made
+to vary in a singular measure, its form and other qualities changing to
+meet the need or fancy of its master. Its humbler kinsman has remained
+almost unchanged. Except small differences in size, the donkeys in
+different parts of the world are singularly alike. In part this lack of
+change may be explained by the relative neglect with which this species
+has been treated. From the point of view of the breeder it has perhaps
+been the least cared for of any of our completely domesticated animals.
+In some parts of the world, as for instance in Spain, where a
+long-continued effort has been made to develop the animal for
+interbreeding with the horse, the result shows that the form is
+relatively inelastic. It is doubtful if any conceivable amount of care
+would develop such variations as the horse now exhibits.
+
+The principal hinderances to the general acceptation of the donkey as a
+help-meet to man are found in its small size and slow motion. These
+qualities make the creature unserviceable in active war or in
+agriculture, and they seem to be so fixed in the blood that they are
+not to any extent corrigible. So long as pack animals were in general
+use, and in those parts of the world where the conditions of culture
+cause this method of transportation to be retained, the qualities of
+the donkey have proved and are still found of value. The animal can
+carry a relatively heavy burden, being in such tasks, for its weight,
+more efficient than the horse. It is less liable to stampedes. It
+learns a round of duty much more effectively than that creature, and
+can subsist by browsing on coarse herbage, where a horse would be so
+far weakened as to become useless. Thus, in developing the mines in the
+unimproved wilderness of the Cordilleras, where ores of the precious
+metals have to be carried for considerable distances, trains of
+"burros" are often employed. The animals quickly learn the nature of
+their task, and will do their work with but little guidance from man.
+
+In general we may say that the donkeys belong to a vanishing state of
+human culture, to the time before carriage-ways existed. Now that
+civilization goes on wheels, they seem likely to have an
+ever-decreasing value. A century ago they were almost everywhere in
+common use. At the present time there are probably millions of people
+in the United States to whom the animal is known only by description.
+In a word, the creature marks a stage in the development of our
+industries which is passing away as rapidly as that in which the
+spinning-wheel and the hand-loom played a part.
+
+As the use of the ass in the economic arts began to decline, the mule
+or hybrid progeny of this creature and the horse has progressively
+increased. Although the value of this mongrel has been known,
+particularly in southern Europe, from very early days, its most
+extensive employment has been found in the old slave-holding States of
+the Federal union. The custom of using mules has been almost unknown in
+England, and has never been generally adopted in the northern part of
+the United States. It appears to have been introduced into southern
+regions by the Spaniards and the French, and there to have spread,
+because of the peculiar fitness of the creature to the climate and the
+employment it had to endure in that part of America. The mule has the
+peculiar advantage that it is on the average as large as the horse, is
+nearly as quick-footed when walking, and has at the same time a
+considerable share of the patient endurance to hard labor and scant
+fare which characterizes the donkeys. It matures somewhat more speedily
+than its nobler kinsman, being ready to meet severe strains perhaps a
+year earlier. Unless unconscionably abused, its period of fitness for
+hard work endures about one-third longer, often lasting for thirty
+years. It is singularly exempt from disease, its sturdy frame
+withstanding rude usage until the old age time.
+
+[Illustration: In the Circus]
+
+The mule is especially interesting to the naturalist for the reason
+that it affords the only certain case in which a hybrid has proved
+decidedly serviceable to man. It is not unlikely that a similar mixture
+of the blood of two species occurs in our ordinary cats, and it may
+exist in the case of the dog and in some of the domestic birds; but so
+far as we know, there has been no other useful result from the
+hybridizing, if it has occurred. Moreover, the mule is unique for the
+fact that the animal is distinctly stronger for its weight, and more
+enduring than either species which his blood combines. In fact, there
+is no product of man's industry in relation to domesticated animals
+which is more interesting than this singular creature. At present, its
+use appears to be going out of vogue; the evidence goes to show that
+the hybrid has no place in the affections of mankind, and that it is
+only likely to be kept in its use in tropical countries, and
+particularly in regions where the beasts have to be under the care of
+slaves or other negligent folk. It is a singular fact in connection
+with this hybrid, that it is nearly absolutely sterile, there being
+only two or three cases on record in which they have proved fecund. It
+seems, however, possible that if these rare instances of continued
+breeding were to be duly used, an intermediate species might be
+permanently established. This is, indeed, one of the most important
+lines for experiment which could be undertaken by an institution
+devoted to the study of problems relating to domestication.
+
+It is commonly thought that a mule is a stupider creature than the
+horse; but I have never found a person, who was well acquainted with
+both animals, who hesitated to place the mongrel in the intellectual
+grade above the pure-blood animal. There is, it is true, a decided
+difference in the mental qualities of the two creatures. The mule is
+relatively undemonstrative, its emotions being sufficiently expressed
+by an occasional bray--a mode of utterance which he has inherited from
+the humbler side of his house in a singularly unchanged way. Even in
+the best humor it appears sullen, and lacks those playful capers which
+give such expression to the well-bred horse, particularly in its
+youthful state. It is evident, however, that it discriminates men and
+things more clearly than does the horse. In going over difficult ground
+it studies its surface, and picks its way so as to secure a footing in
+an almost infallible manner. Even when loaded with a pack, it will
+consider the incumbrance and not so often try to pass where the burden
+will become entangled with fixed objects.
+
+Mules soon learn the difference between those who have the care of them
+and strangers. It is a well-known fact that trouble awaits the wight
+who unwarily ventures to take from the stall a mule which has not the
+advantage of his acquaintance. On this account they are rarely stolen.
+Even in the daytime they are often dangerous for strangers to approach,
+and the most of the ill-usage which men receive from their heels arises
+where unwitting people venture to treat them as they would horses.
+Mules are much less liable to panic-fear than the most of our
+domesticated animals, yet, when kept in the herded way, they
+occasionally become stampeded. Many a soldier of our Civil War, where
+mules played a large part in the campaigns, doubtless remembers the mad
+outbreaks of these creatures from their corrals, when they went
+charging through the army with a fury which, if directed against an
+enemy, would have been almost as effective as a cavalry charge.
+
+It is interesting to note that mules have a greater disposition to
+adopt a leader in their movements than we note in either of the species
+whence they come. In the old days when mules were plentifully bred in
+Kentucky, and taken thence for sale to the plantation States, they went
+forth in droves, commonly under the leadership of a bell horse, or, by
+preference, a mare, which it was quite the custom to choose of a white
+color. In the course of a few hours the creatures would learn to know
+their guide, and to follow the leader with so little trouble that two
+men could conduct a throng of several hundred. Nevertheless, if the
+foremost mule of the procession turned aside, all the others would
+blindly follow him in the manner of a flock of sheep.
+
+I recall an amusing instance of this "follow-my-leader" motive which
+occurred many years ago in a way somewhat personal to myself, in
+southern Kentucky. Engaged in survey work, I was passing along a quiet
+road when in the distance I heard a thunder of hoofs, and in a moment
+saw a great drove of mules, the appointed leader of which, a man on a
+white horse, had fallen to the rear of the column. The creatures,
+thinking that it was their duty to overtake the missing master, were
+going on the full run. Heeding the shouts of the troubled herder, I
+turned my wagon across the road, which, being at that point very narrow,
+was effectually barricaded by the vehicle. Although the rush was so wild
+that the brutes nearly overset my "outfit," they were brought to a full
+stop. Unhappily, on one side of the road and one hundred feet or so from
+it, there was a comfortably built southern house, with a broad gallery
+extending along the front; while in the door of the mansion were some
+women who had been attracted by the tumult. No sooner had the mob of
+mules been brought to a state of surging quiet, than one of the
+creatures jumped the picket fence, and started for the open house-door,
+thinking, perhaps, that he would find some peace of life in what
+probably seemed to him his accustomed barn. In much less time than it
+takes to tell it, a hundred or more mules were on the gallery, the floor
+of which gave way beneath their weight; they quickly broke down the
+columns which supported the roof, so that the whole structure at once
+became a heap of wood and mules. The unhappy proprietor of the drove, in
+his consternation, forgot even to swear--an art which I have never known
+on any other occasion to pass from a mule-driver; and, sitting on his
+white horse, he lifted his hands like an oriental in prayer, and said to
+me meekly, "Did you ever in all your life?" I assured him that I had
+never, and went my way, leaving him to settle an interesting case of
+damages with the owner of the mansion.
+
+In considering the general influence of the horse and its kindred forms
+on human culture, we clearly perceive that we are now attaining a time
+when the machinery of civilization is to depend in a much less degree
+than of old on the help which these creatures give to man. Even fifty
+years ago the horse was far more necessary to the work of our kind than
+it is at present. Going back a hundred years, we perceive that the
+population of the civilized world could not possibly have been
+maintained, if by some disease all the horses had been swept away. Such
+a calamity in the year 1800 would have led to the depopulation of almost
+all the cities of the interior country, famine would have ravaged our
+States, and the whole economic system of society would have had to be
+reconstructed. Now the greater part of the work which of old had to be
+done by horses, can, at a slight increase of cost, be effected by
+mechanical engines. Ploughing, except on steep hillsides and in very
+stony ground, can be cheaply and effectively done by steam. The same
+agent can propel the harvesters and work the threshing machines. Even
+farmers who till fields of no great extent find it desirable to do much
+of their work by steam-engines, for the reason that fuel is less costly
+than horse feed. An interesting instance to show how far mechanical
+inventions have taken the place of horsed wagons in the work of
+civilized communities was afforded by the horse distemper which swept
+over the country in 1872. During the week or more in which this epidemic
+was at the worst, the State of Massachusetts was practically unhorsed,
+yet the greater part of the necessary business, that required to bring
+provisions to the town, was effected by means of the railways. The same
+incident shows, however, in another way, how absolutely necessary this
+animal is, in certain parts of our work. For the great Boston fire,
+which occurred at that time, was doubtless due to the fact that, owing
+to the sickness of the horses, an effort was made to drag the engines by
+hand-power, with the result that they came upon the ground so slowly as
+to give the fire a chance to become an uncontrollable conflagration.
+
+In the present state of our arts there is one great occupation which we
+cannot conceive to be carried on without the services of horses. This is
+war. It is hardly too much to say that all our highly elaborated
+military system has depended for its development, as it does for its
+maintenance, on the transportation value of horses. Much has been said
+of late as to the use of bicycles as adjuncts to armies, and in a
+certain limited way they will doubtless prove serviceable in future
+campaigns; but no one who has had any experience of military duty, with
+its work across tilled fields and through forests, can imagine a man on
+a wheel rendering any very effective service except under peculiar
+conditions. Moreover, no ordnance corps can do its appointed work in the
+rear of a line of battle without sending its wagons across country and
+over ground which no unhorsed vehicle could traverse.
+
+The mark of the old utility of the animal in varied employment is
+retained in our use of the term horse-power in measuring the energy of
+engines. That gauge of strength of old determined what man could do in
+the severest taxes upon the forces at his command. In attaining the
+point where, owing to the possession of horses, he could use this
+standard, he won a great way beyond the station of his ancestors, who
+had but the strength of men at their command. Modern invention, by
+giving us heat-engines, has made the way for an advance. In another
+century, or even in another generation, the horse may, save for the uses
+of war, be confined to the position of a luxury and an ornament.
+
+
+
+
+THE FLOCKS AND HERDS: BEASTS FOR
+BURDEN, FOOD, AND RAIMENT
+
+   Effect of this Group of Animals on Man.--First Subjugations.--Basis
+   of Domesticability.--Horned Cattle.--Wool-bearing Animals.--Sheep
+   and Goats.--Camels: their Limitation.--Elephants: Ancient History;
+   Distribution; Intelligence; Use in the Arts; Need of True
+   Domestication.--Pigs: their Peculiar Economic Value; Modern
+   Varieties; Mental Qualities.--Relation of the Development of
+   Domesticable Animals to the Time of Man's Appearance on the Earth.
+
+
+It is not too much to say that the opportunity to go forward on the
+paths of culture, at least the chance to advance any considerable
+distance beyond the estate of primitive men, depends in a considerable
+measure upon what the wilderness may offer in the way of domesticable
+beasts of burden. Where such exist we find that the folk who dwell with
+them in any land are almost certain to have made great advances. Where
+the surrounding nature, however rich, denies this boon, we find that
+men, however great their natural abilities may appear to be, exhibit a
+retarded development. Thus in North America, where there was no
+domesticable beast of burden, the Indians, though an able folk, remain
+savages. So, too, in central and southern Africa, where the mammalian
+life, though rich, affords no large forms which tolerate captivity, the
+people have failed to attain any considerable culture. On the other
+hand, in the great continent of the Old World, where the horse, the ass,
+the buffalo, the camel, and the elephant existed in the primitive wilds,
+men rose swiftly toward the civilized station.
+
+[Illustration: Domesticated Buffaloes in Egypt]
+
+The immediate effect arising from the possession of beasts of burden is
+greatly to enlarge the scope and educative value of human labor. A
+primitive agriculture, sufficient to provide for the needs of a people,
+can be carried on by man's labor alone, though the resulting food-supply
+has generally to be supplemented by the chase. Rarely, if ever, are the
+products of the soil thus won sufficient in quantity to be made the
+basis of any commerce. Such conveyance as is necessary among the people
+who are served by their own hands alone, has to be accomplished by boat
+transportation or by the backs of men. The immediate effect of using
+beasts for burden is the introduction of some kind of plough, which
+spares the labor of men in delving the ground, and the use of pack
+animals, which, employed in the manner of caravans, greatly promotes the
+extension of trade. A great range of secondary influences is found in
+the development of the arts of war, by which people who have become
+provided with pack or saddle animals are able to prevail over their
+savage neighbors, and thus to extend the realm of a nascent
+civilization. Yet another influence, arising from the domestication of
+large beasts, arises from the fact that these creatures are important
+storehouses of food; their flesh spares men the labor of the chase, and
+so promotes those regularities of employment which lead men into
+civilized ways of life. In fact, by making these creatures captive, men
+unintentionally brought themselves out of their ancient savagery. They
+were led into systematic and forethoughtful courses, and thus found a
+training which they could in no other way have secured.
+
+[Illustration: Cattle of India]
+
+The first and simplest use made of the animals from which man derives
+strength appears to have been brought about by the subjugation of wild
+cattle--the bulls and buffaloes. Several wild varieties of the bovine
+tribe were originally widely disseminated in Europe and Asia, and these
+forms must have been frequent objects of chase by the ancient hunters.
+Although in their adult state these animals were doubtless originally
+intractable, the young were mild-mannered, and, as we can readily
+conceive, must often have been led captive to the abodes of the
+primitive people. As is common with all gregarious animals which have
+long acknowledged the authority of their natural herdsmen, the dominant
+males of their tribe, these creatures lent themselves to domestication.
+Even the first generation of the captives reared by hand probably showed
+a disposition to remain with their masters; and in a few generations
+this native impulse might well have been so far developed that the
+domestic herd was established, affording perhaps at first only flesh and
+hides, and leading the people who made them captives to a nomadic
+life--that constant search for fresh fields and pastures new which
+characterizes people who are supported by their flocks and herds.
+
+It is a curious fact that the kindred of the buffaloes and bisons
+differ exceedingly in the measure of their domesticability. Thus, the
+ordinary buffalo of Asia, though a dull brute, is very subjugable,
+even in the literal sense, for he makes a tolerable beast for the
+plough and bears the yoke with due patience. His African kinsman, on
+the other hand, is perhaps the most unconquerable of all the large
+wild animals. The late Sir Samuel Baker, in answer to my question as
+to what wild form was the most to be feared in combat, unhesitatingly
+answered, "The African buffalo, the bulls of which charge home upon
+any aggressor with an immediate and determined fury, which often
+enables them to kill the hunter after they have been shot through the
+brain." Our American bison, though a much milder-spirited beast, seems
+also to be essentially undomesticable for the reason that he cannot be
+taught to subordinate his desires to the will of man. He can readily
+be brought to the point where he will tolerate captivity; but if, when
+engaged in ploughing, it occurs to him that he needs water, he will
+straightway go in search of it, not in a vicious, but in a perfectly
+obdurate manner. This quality of mind appears to be accountable for
+the failure of the many experiments which have been made to
+domesticate this interesting American form.
+
+The limitations of the domesticating work, the fact that as between
+two kindred species the one has been chosen by man and the other left,
+indicate the truth--which is generally of much importance--that the
+intellectual qualities of animals commonly differ more than their
+frames. This is a part of the larger fact that with the advance in
+organization the individuality, as regards the whole spiritual field
+in persons and species alike, becomes greater. The culmination of the
+tendency is seen in man, where, with bodies which do not vary much, we
+have an almost infinite range in individual qualities.
+
+This is perhaps a good place in which to make answer to the suggestion
+that the domesticability of the animal species is in inverse
+proportion to their native courage and independence of mind. The
+reader will see how fallacious is this common notion if he will
+consider the quality of the supremely domesticated creature, the dog.
+There is probably no beast which has a larger share of natural courage
+and of independent motive. When not under the control of their
+masters, they have perhaps as free a contact with nature as any
+creature in the world; the same thing may be said of the elephant,
+which, next to the dog, lends himself most obediently to the
+requirements of the master. Owing to the power of his huge body and to
+the ease with which he wins his food, he is in his native wilds the
+least dependent of land animals. Except from the assaults of man, he
+has nothing to fear; yet when enslaved he at once surrenders himself
+to his captors. In general, it may be said that the true gauge of
+domesticability is the sympathetic motive, that strange outgoing
+spirit which leads the mind to recognize the life about it and to
+accept that life as a part of its own. In other words, the
+domesticability of man is due to his willingness to enter into social
+relations and rests on the same foundation that supports his
+intercourse with the lower animals he has won to his use.
+
+[Illustration: Indian Bullock and Water-Carrier]
+
+It is probable that the first use which was made of beasts of burden,
+in ways in which their strength became useful to man, was in packing
+the tents and other valuables of their masters as they moved from
+place to place. Even to this day in certain parts of the world bulls
+and oxen serve for such purposes. In fact the nomadic life, a fashion
+of society which is enforced wherever people subsist from their
+cattle alone, leads inevitably to such use of the beasts. In the
+southern Appalachian district of this country there remain traces of
+this service rendered by bulls and oxen. These creatures, provided
+with a kind of pack saddle, are occasionally used in conveying the
+dried roots of the ginseng, beeswax, feathers, and the peltries which
+are gathered by the inhabitants of remote districts, not accessible
+to carriages, to the markets of the outer world. All the varieties of
+ordinary cattle could be made to serve as burden-carriers, and they
+doubtless would be continued to be used for saddle purposes in one
+way or another but for the wide use of the horse, a creature very
+much better adapted for carrying weight. The cloven foot of the bulls
+and buffaloes gives a weakness to the extremities which will quickly
+lead to disease in case they are forced to carry heavy loads such
+as the horse or ass may safely bear.
+
+[Illustration: Ploughing in Syria]
+
+The help which our bovine servants afford us by the power which they
+exert in traction, as in drawing ploughs, sleds, or wagons, appears to
+have been first rendered long after their introduction to the ways of
+man. The first of these uses in which the drawing strength of these
+animals was made serviceable appears to have been in the work of
+ploughing. In primitive days and with primitive tools, hand delving
+was a sore task. The inventive genius who first contrived to overturn
+the earth by means of the forked limb of a tree, shaped in the
+semblance of a plough and drawn by oxen, began a great revolution in
+the art of agriculture. To this unknown genius we may award a place
+among the benefactors of mankind, quite as distinguished as that which
+is occupied by the equally unknown inventors of the arts of making fire
+or of smelting ores. After the experience with the strength of oxen had
+been won from the work of ploughing, it was easy to pass to the other
+grades of their employment, where they were made to draw carriages.
+
+Next after the contribution which the kindred of the bulls, have made
+by their strength, we must set that which has come from their milk.
+Although this substance can be obtained in small quantities from
+several other domesticated animals, the species of the genus Bos alone
+have yielded it in sufficient quantities greatly to affect the
+development of man. It is difficult to measure the importance of the
+addition to the diet, both of savage and civilized peoples, which milk
+affords. It is a fact well known to physiologists that in its simple
+form this substance is a complete food, capable when taken alone of
+sustaining life and insuring a full development of the body. It is
+indeed a natural contrivance exactly adapted to afford those materials
+which are required for the development and restoration of creatures
+essentially akin to our own species. Those races which avail themselves
+extensively of it in their dietary are the strongest and most enduring
+the world has known. The Aryan folk are indeed characteristically
+drinkers of milk and users of its products, cheese and butter. It may
+well be that their power is in some measure due to this resource.
+
+[Illustration: Winnowing Grain in Egypt]
+
+In our horned cattle man won to domestication creatures which were
+admirably suited to promote his advancement from savagery to
+civilization. Indeed, the possession of these animals appears to have
+been a prime condition of his advancement. With them, however, as with
+the camel, there came little in the way of those sympathetic qualities
+which have made it possible for our race to establish affectionate
+relations with other captive forms. Long intercourse with man has, it
+is true, somewhat diminished the wildness of these creatures, though
+the males remain the most indomitably ferocious of all our
+servants. The truth seems to be that the bovine animals have but
+little intellectual capacity, and it has in no wise served the
+purposes of man to develop such powers of mind as they have. We have
+ever been given to asking little of them, save docility. This we have
+in a high measure won with our milch cows, which of all our
+domesticated creatures are perhaps the most absolutely submissive; the
+more highly developed of them being little more than passive producers
+of milk, almost without a trace of instincts or emotions except such
+as pertain to reproduction and to feeding. It is a noteworthy fact
+that in all the great literature of anecdote concerning our
+domesticated animals, there is hardly a trace of stories which tend to
+show the existence of sagacity in our common cattle.
+
+It is evident that the variability of our domesticated bovines, as far
+as their bodies are concerned, is very great. Between the ancient
+aurochs and the more highly cultivated of its descendants, the
+difference is as great as that which separates any other of our captive
+animals from their wild ancestors. In size, shape, in flesh-and
+milk-giving qualities, the departure from the old form of the wilderness
+is remarkable. Moreover, at the present time these diverse breeds of
+horned cattle are rapidly being multiplied, the distinctive forms
+probably being twice as numerous as they were at the beginning of the
+present century. The process of selection has led to some very wide
+diversifications of the body. The horns, which in the wild state are
+invariably well developed, and which in the cattle of our Western plains
+attain very great size, have in certain breeds altogether disappeared,
+and in their place there sometimes comes a remarkable crest of bony
+matter which does not project beyond the skin which covers the head. If
+such differences occurred in the wild state, they would be regarded as
+separating the two types of animals widely from each other.
+
+[Illustration: Egyptian Sheep]
+
+In treating the wool-bearing animals along with beasts of burden, we
+make a somewhat fanciful classification which yet is not quite without
+reason. By long training man has brought these species to the state
+where their covering of wool or hair, once a coating only sufficient to
+afford protection from the weather, has become a very serious load. In
+certain of our highly developed varieties the annual coat is so far
+increased that the creature loses a large part of its bulk after the
+shearer has done his work. Each year's fleece often amounts in weight
+to eight to twelve pounds, and in its lifetime the animal may yield a
+mass of wool far exceeding its weight of flesh and bones in any time
+of its life. When the fleece is mature the animal is often burdened
+with a load about as heavy in proportion to his size as is a horse by
+the weight of its rider and accoutrements.
+
+As a flesh producer, particularly in sterile fields, sheep are more
+valuable than our horned cattle. They mature more rapidly, attaining
+their adult size and reproducing their kind in less than two years, so
+that in many parts of the world it is possible to obtain a larger
+quantity of flesh from poor pasturages with sheep than with any other
+of our domesticated animals. Their principal value, however, has been
+from the means they afforded whereby men in high latitudes have
+obtained warm clothing. Before the domestication of these creatures,
+peoples who had to endure the winter of high latitudes were forced to
+rely upon hides for covering--a form of clothing which is clumsy,
+uncleanly, and which the chase could not supply in any considerable
+quantity. Owing to its peculiar structure, the hair of the sheep makes
+the strongest and warmest covering, when rendered into cloth, which has
+ever been devised for the use of man. The value of this contribution is
+directly related to the conditions of climate. In the intertropical
+regions the sheep plays no part of importance. In high latitudes it is
+of the utmost value to man. No other of our domesticated creatures,
+except the camel, is so specially adapted to the needs which
+peculiarities of climate impose upon their possessors.
+
+[Illustration: Bedouin Goat-Herd--Palestine]
+
+The relations of the goat to mankind are in certain ways peculiar. The
+creature has long been subjugated, probably having come into the human
+family before the dawn of history. It has been almost as widely
+disseminated, among barbarian and civilized peoples alike, as the
+sheep. It readily cleaves to the household, and exhibits much more
+intelligence than the other members of our flocks and herds. It yields
+good milk, the flesh is edible, though in the old animals not savory,
+and the hair can be made to vary in a larger measure than any of our
+animals which are shorn. Yet this creature has never obtained the place
+in relation to man to which it seems entitled. Only here and there is
+it kept in considerable numbers or made the basis of extensive
+industries. The reason for this seems to be that these animals cannot
+readily be kept in flocks in the manner of sheep. They are only partly
+gregarious, and tend to stray from the owner's keeping. There seems
+reason also to believe that they cannot easily be made to vary in other
+characteristics except their hairy covering at the will of the breeder,
+and so varieties cannot be formed, as is the case with sheep, to suit
+each peculiarity of soil and climate. Thus in Europe, where it would be
+easy to name a score of distinct breeds of sheep, each peculiarly well
+suited to the conditions of the country where it had been developed,
+the goats are singularly alike. The original stock of these creatures
+appears to have been adapted to feeding on the scant herbage which
+develops in rocky and mountainous countries. They do not seem able to
+make the perfect use of the resources of a pasture which sheep do.
+These inherited peculiarities in feeding enable them to pick up a
+subsistence where they may range over a considerable territory, even
+where it seems to afford no forms of food for the hungriest animal.
+Thus in that part of the city of New York known as "Shanty town," goats
+may be seen in fairly good condition, although the sole source of food,
+besides a few stray weeds, appears to be the paste of the paper
+advertisements which they pick from the rocks and fences.
+
+Although goats appear to be characterized by invariable bodies, our
+sheep are, in physical characteristics, among the most flexible of our
+domesticated animals. They may by selection readily and rapidly be made
+to vary as regards the character of their wool, the size and proportion
+of their muscles, and the quantity and placing of the fat. In all these
+features they may be fairly blown to and fro by the wind of favor.
+Between the meagre-bodied merino, with its skeleton-like frame and
+heavily wrinkled skin bearing a vast burden of long wool, and the heavy
+Hampshire-downs or South-downs, there is really an immense difference in
+bodily quality; yet these variations represent only a century or two of
+careful experiment on the part of the breeders. It seems not improbable
+that in the present state of this developing art it would be possible,
+in a hundred years, to reverse the conditions of these two varieties.
+
+Sheep and goats, like the other herbivorous species which are the
+common tenants of our fields and forests, belong to the great class of
+dull-witted mammals in which the intellectual processes appear to be
+almost altogether limited to ancient and simple emotions, such as are
+inspired by fear or hunger. They are characterized by little
+individuality of mind, and although the needs of men have not led to
+any experiment in developing their wits, as in the case of dogs, there
+is no reason to believe that they afford much foundation for such
+essays. The present rapid variations in the physical characteristics of
+our sheep which are induced by the breeder's skill, make it evident
+that we are far from having attained the maximum profit from these
+creatures. The goats also give promise, when selective work is
+carefully done upon them, of giving much more than they now afford to
+the uses of mankind; but from neither of these forms is there reason to
+hope, at least on our present lines of experiment, for any considerable
+gain in the intellectual qualities.
+
+[Illustration: The Great Caravan Road--Central Asia]
+
+We have already noted the fact that the sheep is especially adapted to
+serve man in high latitudes, where he has to provide against the
+winter's cold. The camel is an even more striking instance in which the
+value of the creature depends upon climatal peculiarities. It is
+peculiarly fitted, by its ancestral training and development, for the
+use of men who dwell in arid countries. In the olden days of the later
+Tertiary epoch, creatures akin to the camels appear to have been widely
+distributed, and were probably adapted to considerable variations of
+environment. Within the time of which we know something by history,
+these forms have been limited to the arid districts of southwestern
+Asia and northern Africa. It is not certain that we know the originally
+wild form of either of the two species, the double-humped or
+single-humped camels. Wild members of each exist, but they may be the
+descendants of the domesticated forms. It seems probable that long
+before the building of the Pyramids the people of the deserts had
+learned how to profit from the very peculiar qualities of this
+strangely provided beast, which in several distinct ways is singularly
+fitted to serve the needs of man in arid lands. The large and
+well-padded foot of this creature is well adapted for treading a
+surface unsoftened by vegetation. Its peculiar stomach enables it to
+store water in such a manner that it can go for days without drink. In
+the humps upon its back, as in natural pack-saddles, it may harvest a
+share of the nutriment which it obtains from occasional good
+pasturages, the store being laid away in the form of fat which may
+return to the blood when the creature would otherwise starve. So
+important have these peculiarities been found by men who have
+domesticated the camel, that on them have rested many of the most
+interesting features of race development in the history of our kind. In
+the territories along the eastern and southern shores of the
+Mediterranean, and in a large part of southern and central Asia, the
+camel has done service to man which elsewhere has been performed by
+sheep, cattle, and horses. In those parts of the world the share which
+these domesticated animals have had in the development of man has been
+relatively small. The camel has given the strength for burdens, hair
+for clothing, and often flesh to the needy men of the desert.
+
+[Illustration: The Halt in the Desert at Night--The Story Teller]
+
+Although long a captive, and for ages, perhaps, the most serviceable of
+all the creatures which man has won from the wilds, the camel is still
+only partly domesticated, having never acquired even the small measure
+of affection for his master which we find in the other herbivorous
+animals which have been won to the service of man. The obedience which
+he renders is but a dull submission to inevitable toil. The
+intelligence which he shows is very limited, and, so far as I can judge
+from the accounts of those who have observed him, there is but little
+variation in his mental qualities. As a whole, the creature appears to
+be innately the dullest and least improvable of all our servitors.
+The fact is, this animal belongs to an ancient and lowly type of
+mammals characterized by relatively small brains, and therefore of weak
+intelligence; but, for its singular serviceableness in drought-ridden
+countries, it would probably have been hunted off the earth by the
+early men, as have been many other remnants of the ancient life.
+
+[Illustration: Camels Feeding]
+
+It is somewhat characteristic of the older forms of animals, those
+which took shape in the earlier Tertiary periods, that they are less
+variable than those which acquired their characteristics in times
+nearer our own. It is a fact well known to the students of
+paleontology, that species and genera which have been long on the
+earth are apt to become in a way rigid as regards their qualities of
+body and mind. It is an interesting fact that, although the camel can
+readily be transplanted to many other parts of the world, where the
+physiographic conditions are similar to those of the realm where he has
+served man so well, he has never been thoroughly successful except in
+the regions where he has been in use for ages. In the desert regions of
+the Cordilleras of America, in South Africa, and in Australia, various
+experiments go to show that the creature could be perfectly reconciled
+to its environment. Many years ago a lot of camels were brought to the
+valley of the Rio Grande with a view to their utilization in that
+region, which closely resembles the desert countries about the
+Mediterranean. These animals were thoroughly successful in meeting the
+climatal conditions of the region. They proved as strong and as fertile
+as in their natural realms. Although it is said they survive to the
+present day, they have never been of any service to the people.
+
+[Illustration: Carrying the Sugar Cane in Harvest--Egypt]
+
+Although, as before noted, the camel has a certain value for other
+purposes than conveying burdens, these subsidiary uses are so far
+limited that the creature is not likely to retain a place in the world
+after his service in caravans is no longer called for. The rapid
+recivilization of northern Africa, leading as it does to the development
+of a railway system in that region, promises to displace this creature
+from his most trodden ways. It seems likely that the other portions of
+the desert lands in the old world will soon be brought under the same
+civilizing influences, the nomadic tribes reduced to a stationary habit
+of life, and the commerce effected in the modern manner. When this
+change is brought about, this old-time animal, which but for the care of
+man would have probably long since passed away, will be likely, save
+so far as it may be preserved through motives of scientific interest, to
+join the great array of vanished species.
+
+[Illustration: Camels along the Sea at Twilight]
+
+It affords a pleasant contrast to turn from the consideration of the
+camels to a study of the elephants. The difference in the measure of
+attractiveness of the two forms is very great, and depends upon facts of
+remarkable interest. Unlike the camel--which, as we have seen, is the
+last survivor of an ancient lineage, represented by but two species, and
+these limited to a small part of the world--the elephant, at the time
+when man appears to have taken shape, seems to have existed on all the
+continental lands except Australia, and to have been in a state of
+singular prosperity. As is often the case with other vigorous genera of
+mammals, the species were adapted to a very great variety of climates,
+and were fitted to endure tropic heat as well as arctic cold.
+
+The group of elephants is first known to us in the early part of
+Tertiary time. From its first appearance on our stage it seems to have
+been successful in a high measure, and this probably by reason of its
+possession of the remarkable invention of the trunk--a prolonged and
+marvellously flexible nose which serves in the manner of an arm and
+hand for gathering food.
+
+When we first find traces of mankind in the records of the rocks, in
+what appears to be an age just anterior to the Glacial epoch, the
+elephant had passed the experimental stages of its development and
+was firmly established as the king of beasts. In his adult form he
+had nothing to fear from any of the lower animals, and by the
+organization of herds it is probable that even the young were
+tolerably safe from assault. Until the early races of men had attained
+a considerable skill in the use of weapons, the great beasts were
+probably safe from human attack. We may well believe that primitive
+savages shunned them as unconquerable. As early, perhaps, as the
+closing stages of the Glacial epoch in Europe, we find evidences which
+pretty clearly show that the folk of that land, probably belonging to
+some race other than our own, had attained a state of the warlike arts
+in which they could venture to hunt this creature.
+
+The species of elephant which was hunted by the early men of Europe,
+and perhaps also by those in Asia and America as well, was a greater
+and, at least in appearance, a more formidable monster than the living
+species of Asia or Africa. He was on the average taller and probably
+bulkier than any of his living kindred. The tusks were large and
+curved in a curious scimitar form. Adding to the might of its aspect
+was a vast covering of hair, which on the neck appears to have had the
+form of a mane. This covering must have greatly increased the
+apparent size of the creature, which no doubt appeared about twice as
+large as any of our modern elephants which are nearly hairless.
+Although the perils of this ancient chase must have been great, the
+triumphs were equally so, and to a people who lived by hunting, most
+profitable; a single animal would furnish more food than scores of
+the lesser beasts such as the reindeer.
+
+It seems probable that the ancient northern elephant continued in
+existence in North America down to the time when this continent was
+inhabited by man. It can hardly be doubted that the very ancient human
+beings, whose remains are preserved to us beneath the lava streams of
+California, dwelt on the continent along with the mammoth. In
+excavations which I have made at Big Bone Lick in Kentucky, where a
+group of saline springs emerges at the bottom of a valley, there were
+disclosed a very great number of skeletons of this great elephant,
+commingled with the bones of one or two smaller forms of the related
+genus, the mastodon. At a slightly higher level was the multitude of
+remains belonging to an extinct species of bison which came just before
+our so-called buffalo, while near the surface of the ground was found
+the waste of the creatures which were in the field when it was first
+seen by the white men. A very careful search failed to reveal any trace
+of man until the uppermost level was attained. The facts, which cannot
+well be discussed here, have led me to the conclusion that only a few
+thousand years can have elapsed since the mammoth and the mastodon
+plentifully abounded in North America; but I am forced to doubt whether
+our savages were here in time to make acquaintance with these animals.
+
+It is not certain that the extermination of the great northern
+elephant or mammoth even in the Old World came about through the
+action of man. It is possible that the death was due to more natural
+causes, such as the change of climate which attended the decline of
+the Glacial period, or to the attacks of some insect enemy like the
+tsetze fly of South Africa, which occasionally brings destruction to
+cattle in that part of the world. On the whole, however, it seems
+most probable that the extermination of this noble beast is to be
+accounted among the brutal triumphs of mankind, perhaps as the first
+of the long tale of destructions which he has inflicted upon his
+fellow-creatures. However this may be, it is clear that at the dawn
+of civilization the species of the genus elephas had become limited
+to that part of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara,
+and to the portion of Asia east of the Persian Gulf and south of
+China. The remnant consisted of two species: the African form, on the
+average the larger of the two, a fierce and scarcely domesticable
+creature; and the Asiatic, a milder-natured species which alone has
+been to any extent brought into the service of man.
+
+It is not certain when or where elephants were first reduced to
+domestication. In the dawn of history we find them used to enhance the
+state of princes and for the purposes of war. It seems possible that
+in this early day the African as well as the Asiatic species was
+tamed, at least to the point where they could be made to serve in
+battle. We can hardly believe that all these animals which were at the
+command of Hannibal and the other generals of North Africa, came from
+the Asiatic realm. The fact that in modern times the species which
+dwells south of the Sahara has not been turned to the uses of man, may
+be accounted for by the lowly estate of the native people in that part
+of the world, and the lack of need for such creatures in the economic
+conditions of the Aryan folk who have settled along the shores and in
+the southern part of that continent.
+
+The relations of man to the elephant are more peculiar than those which
+he has formed with any other domesticated animal. Although the creature
+will breed in captivity, its reproduction in that state is exceptional,
+and it is many years before the offspring are fit for any service. It
+is indeed about thirty years before the creature is sufficiently adult
+to attain a good measure of strength and endurance. It has therefore
+been the habit of the people who avail themselves of this admirable
+beast to use the captures which they make in the wilderness. It is a
+most interesting and exceptional fact that these captive elephants,
+though bred in perfect freedom and provided with none of those
+inherited instincts so essentially a part of the value of our other
+domesticated quadrupeds, become helpful to man and attached to him in a
+way which is characteristic of none other of our ancient companions
+except the dog. It is safe to say that the Asiatic elephant is the most
+innately domesticable, and the best fitted by nature for companionship
+with man, of all our great quadrupeds. The qualities of mind which in
+our other domesticated quadrupeds have been slowly developed by
+thousands of years of selection and intercourse with our kind, are in
+this creature a part of its wild estate.
+
+It appears from trustworthy anecdotes that the Asiatic elephants in a
+few months of captivity acquire the rules of conduct which it is
+necessary to impose upon them. The speediness of this intellectual
+subjugation may be judged from the fact that, after a short term of
+domestication, they will take a willing and intelligent part in
+capturing their kindred of the wilderness, showing in this work little
+or no disposition to rejoin the wild herds. In the case of no other
+animal do we find anything like such an immediate adhesion to the ways
+of civilization. We have to account for this eminent peculiarity of the
+elephant on the supposition, which appears to be thoroughly justified,
+that the creature has, even in its wild state, a type of intelligence
+and instincts more nearly like those of men than is the case with any
+other wild mammal, an affinity with human quality which is, perhaps,
+only approached by certain species of birds. It appears from the
+observations of naturalists that the family or tribe of wild elephants
+is a distinct and highly sympathetic community. The grade and value of
+the friendly feeling which prevails among them may be judged by the
+fact that, when one of the males becomes lost or is driven away from
+its associates, it does not seem to be able to join any other tribe,
+but becomes a "rogue," or solitary individual, and in this state
+develops a morose and furious temper.
+
+There are many well-attested stories which serve to show that wild
+elephants have a kind of intelligence which indicates a certain
+constructive capacity. Of these, perhaps the best are the instances in
+which the creatures have been caught in pitfalls, made by digging a
+hole in the paths of the wilderness which they are accustomed to
+follow, the surface being covered with a frail platform so arranged as
+to conceal the excavation. When one of a tribe is caught in the trap,
+the others, if time allows before the hunters come to the ground, will
+in an ingenious way release him. I doubt if the most practicable
+manner of effecting this will occur at once to the reader. The easiest
+plan may seem to drag the captive from the pit by sheer strength, but
+as the hole is deep and has vertical sides, the elephants contrive a
+better way. They bring bits of timber, which they throw into the
+pitfall, the captive treads them down until he is elevated to a
+position whence he can escape from his prison.
+
+The intelligence of the wild elephant is probably in good part to be
+accounted for by the fact that the creature possesses in its trunk an
+instrument which is admirably contrived to execute the behests of an
+intelligent will. It is easy for us to see how, in the case of man, the
+hands have served to develop the intelligence by providing him with
+means whereby he could do a great variety of things which demanded
+thought and afforded education. The elephant is the only large mammal
+which has ever acquired a serviceable addition to the body such as the
+trunk affords. In their ordinary life the trunk does almost as varied
+work as the human arm. With it they can express emotions in a remarkable
+way; they caress their young, gather their food by a great variety of
+movements, or defend themselves from assailants. To the naturalist who
+has come to perceive the close relations between bodily structure and
+mental endowments, it is not surprising to find that these creatures
+have attained a quality of mind which is found nowhere else among the
+mammals except in man and in some of his kindred, the apes.
+
+The most peculiar mental quality of the elephant, a feature which
+separates him even from the dog, is the rational way in which he will
+do certain kinds of mechanical work. He appears to have an immediate
+sense as to the effects of his actions, which we find elsewhere only
+among human beings. From a great body of well-attested observations,
+showing what may be called the logical quality of the mind of these
+creatures, I may be allowed to select a few stories which have a
+singular denotative value. An acquaintance of mine, a British officer
+who had served long in India, told me that in taking artillery over
+very difficult roads, certain of the abler elephants could be trusted
+to walk behind each piece, where they would in a fashion control its
+movements, steadying or lifting it as the occasion demanded without
+any directions from the driver.
+
+[Illustration: An Indian Elephant]
+
+Elephants can be trained to pile up sticks of timber, such as railway
+ties, placing the layers alternately in opposite directions, as is the
+custom in such work. There is an excellent and well-attested story of
+an elephant who, without a driver, was bearing a stick of timber
+through a narrow wood path. Meeting a man on horseback, and
+perceiving that the way was not wide enough for both himself and the
+oncomer, the sagacious animal deliberately backed his huge body into
+the chaparral so as to clear the way, and then trumpeted as if to
+signal the horseman that the path was free.
+
+The emotions as well as the intelligence of elephants are singularly
+like those of human kind. It is said by those who know them well that
+if when in their stubborn fits they are brutally overborne, they are
+apt to die of what seems to be pure chagrin. Their states of grief,
+despair, and rage much resemble those which are exhibited by violent
+children or men unaccustomed to control. Their affections and
+animosities have also a curious human cast. They readily form
+attachments which appear to be quite as enduring as those exhibited by
+dogs, and their memory of injuries remains quick for years after they
+have received the harm. Well-verified anecdotes showing the likeness
+of these emotional qualities to our own exist in such numbers that it
+would be easy to fill a volume with them. They are, however, not
+necessary to show the likeness of the creature to ourselves. This is
+sufficiently exhibited by their daily behavior under domestication. In
+noting this we should remember that the male elephant is the only
+large mammal the males of which it has proved safe to use in the
+ordinary work of life. Even our bulls and stallions, though they
+belong to species which have been domesticated for thousands of years,
+are so violent and untrustworthy as to be of little value except for
+breeding purposes. Bulls, even of the tamer breeds, are a constant
+menace to the lives of their masters; yet an adult male elephant
+recently made captive may, except when seriously diseased, be trusted
+to obey the mere signals of the driver, who has no such control over
+him as the bit affords in the case of horses. The creature has the
+strength to overcome all control save that of a moral nature. To this
+he submits in a way which is only equalled by our well-bred dogs.
+
+As yet the utility of the elephant to man has, measured by his
+qualities, been but small. The creature has a marvellous strength,
+great intelligence, and remarkable docility. In proportion to the
+power which he can apply to a task, he is not an expensive animal to
+maintain. He can endure a considerable range of climate, and enjoys a
+tolerable immunity from disease. The reason for the relatively
+inconsiderable use of these creatures is probably to be found in the
+fact that they are not adapted for ordinary draught purposes, nor are
+they well suited to the needs of the caravan, for which the camel or
+the pack-mule is much better fitted. In ancient warfare, before the
+invention of gunpowder, elephants carrying archers or javelin-men upon
+their backs were greatly valued for the effect of their charge against
+an enemy and for the fright with which they inspired horses. Against
+the unsteady ranks of Oriental armies they were often most efficient
+in breaking a line of battle. Even the Roman troops, when they first
+encountered them and before they knew how to meet their charges, found
+them very formidable. It was soon learned that if their onset was
+stoutly resisted, they were likely to become unmanageable in the
+uproar of the fight, and to do as much damage to friends as to foes.
+It is only in certain peculiar tasks that, in modern days, the
+elephants have any economic value, and in the most of this work their
+strength is likely to be replaced by various engines.
+
+The two existing species of elephants are, as before remarked, the
+survivors of a long lineage, represented in the geological record by
+the remains of many extinct forms. Some of these lost species were far
+smaller than those of to-day; one at least was no larger than our
+heavier horses. If by the breeder's art the existing varieties could be
+caused so to change as to give us once again this relatively diminutive
+form, the creature would be sure to find a place of importance in our
+ordinary arts. The trouble is that the very long life of this animal is
+naturally associated with a slow growth. It requires indeed almost the
+lifetime of a generation to bring the individual to an adult age. It is
+therefore not surprising that, as the wild forms can readily be won to
+domestication, these creatures have not been the subject of any of those
+interesting processes of selection which have so far affected for the
+better the characteristics of nearly all the other domesticated animals.
+
+In every other regard than those mentioned above, the elephant appears
+to be an excellent subject for improvement by choice in breeding. The
+individuals vary much as regards their physical and mental qualities.
+Probably no other wild mammal exhibits such differences in the mental
+features as does this highly intellectual creature. The physical
+individuality does not seem to be as striking as the mental, but even
+here we note a range, at least as regards size, which is unusual in the
+wild forms bred under similar conditions. The general elasticity of the
+group is shown by the considerable differences which may be traced in
+the herds which occupy different parts of the field over which the
+species range. As yet these local peculiarities have not been carefully
+studied; but from an examination of the tusks in the ivory warehouse at
+the docks in London, I have found that those shipped from particular
+ports in Africa and Asia differed both in form and texture, so that
+the experts were able to tell from which district they came. The
+evidence, in a word, appears to show that the creature tends to vary;
+and it is a safe presumption that the forms would prove as responsive
+to the breeder's art as those of our horses, cattle, sheep, or dogs.
+
+As a whole, the elephant has been almost as little associated with the
+life of our own race as the camel. Neither of these creatures has ever
+played any considerable part in European affairs. From the
+disappearance of the last of the mammoths in the closing stages of the
+Glacial time until the invasions of Italy by Pyrrhus and by Hannibal,
+elephants were practically unknown in Western Europe. They have never
+been used in peaceful occupations on that continent, and have had only
+a trifling place in its military arts. It was probably due to this
+separation of our eminently experimental race from the realm of the
+elephants that no efforts have been made systematically to breed them
+in captivity, and thus to win varieties in which the form might become
+better adapted to economic needs, and the remarkable mental powers of
+the creature be brought to their utmost development. As yet the only
+Europeans who have had much to do with elephants are the British, who
+in their civil and military service in India have been thrown in
+contact with these animals. Generally, however, these people have been
+only temporarily domiciled in Asia, and probably on this account have
+not become interested in the problems which this noble beast presents
+to all those who appreciate the animal world. We lack, indeed, the
+observations which might have been made with admirable effect by
+British observers in India during the two centuries in which that
+people has had to do with the lands in which elephants abound.
+
+The elephant of Africa is still a tolerably abundant animal. Its
+numbers, though doubtless diminished by more than one-half within this
+century, are probably to be counted by the hundred thousand.
+Nevertheless, in less than a hundred years the field which they occupied
+has been greatly reduced; and between the ivory hunter and the sportsman
+of our brutal race armed with guns of ever-increasing deadliness, it
+will certainly not require another century of free shooting to
+annihilate the African species. In view of the present condition of the
+life of these noble beasts, it seems in a high measure desirable that a
+thorough-going effort should be made to extend the domestication to the
+point where the form will not only be won from the wilds, but will be a
+permanent element in our civilization, in the manner of our common
+flocks and herds. It will be an enduring shame if, by neglect of our
+opportunities, the utmost is not done to attain this end. It appears fit
+that this task should be undertaken by the British Government, which in
+modern days has displayed a skill and forethought in the administration
+of its Indian provinces unexampled in the history of colonies. Owing to
+the slow breeding-rate of the elephant, it may require more than a
+century for experiments to attain any definite result, so that the task
+is clearly beyond the limits of individual endeavor.
+
+Among the humbler helpers of man, the pig holds an important place. He
+has had no small share in the betterment of the estate of his masters.
+One of the large questions which beset men in their unconscious
+endeavors to lay the foundations of civilization was that of
+food-supply. No sooner does a population become sedentary than the
+wildernesses about its dwelling-place are rapidly cleared of the large
+game, so that the chase affords but little save amusement. Therefore a
+provision in the way of meat has to be obtained from domesticated
+animals. The flocks and herds supply this need, though in a costly way.
+Sheep have a value for their wool; horned cattle develop slowly, and
+are, moreover valuable, the oxen for their strength and the cows for
+their milk. Horses are too valuable to be used for food, save in times
+of exceeding stress; and none but the lowest savages are willing to send
+their faithful dogs to the pot. From the beginning of his experience
+with man the pig has been found the cheapest and most serviceable
+domesticated animal as a source of food-supply.
+
+We can trace the origin of our domesticated pigs more clearly than in
+the case of the most of the other subjugated animals. The creature is
+evidently descended from the wild boar of Europe and Asia; and though
+long under domestication and greatly varied from its primitive stock,
+it readily reverts to something like its original form when allowed to
+betake itself once more to the wilds. The domestication of the species
+appears to have been accomplished at several different points in Asia
+and Europe. The forms which are found in eastern Asia differ from those
+which are kept in the western portion of the great continent, and may
+have their blood commingled with that of another species which is
+native in that part of the world.
+
+Among our domesticated animals the pig is exceptional in the fact that
+it has been bred for its flesh alone; for although the hide is
+valuable and the hair serves certain purposes, as in the manufacture
+of brushes, these uses are only incidental and modern. They have not
+affected the plan of the breeder, whose aim has been to produce the
+largest weight of flesh in the shortest time, and with the least
+expenditure of food. In this peculiar task the success has been
+remarkable, the creature having been made to vary from its primitive
+condition in an extraordinary manner. In its wild state the species
+develops slowly, requiring, perhaps, three or four years to attain its
+maximum size. It never becomes very fat, but remains an agile,
+swift-footed, and fierce tenant of the wilds. Under the conditions of
+subjugation the pig has been brought to a state in which its qualities
+of mind and body have undergone a very great change. In the more
+developed breeds, even the males, when kept about the barnyard, are
+quiet-natured and not at all dangerous. The creatures have become
+slow-moving; they attain their full development in about half the time
+required for the growth of their wild kindred, and when adult they may
+outweigh them in the ratio of four to one.
+
+The effect arising from the food-supply which our pigs afford is well
+seen in the use which is made of their flesh in all the ruder work of
+men, at least in the case of those of our race. Our soldiers and
+sailors are to a great extent fed on the flesh of these creatures,
+which lends itself readily to preservation by the use of salt. So
+rapidly can these animals be bred, owing to the number of young which
+they produce in a litter and the swiftness of their growth, that
+sudden demands for an increase in the supply, such as occurred at the
+outbreak of our civil war, can quickly be met. If the need should
+arise, the quantity of pork produced in this country could readily be
+doubled within eighteen months. This is the case with no other source
+of flesh-supply, and this fact gives the pig a peculiar importance.
+
+Owing to the remarkably complete domestication of this animal, and
+also to the fact that it is omnivorous, the creature has ever been a
+favorite with the cotter class. Those folk, who can afford neither
+sheep nor horned cattle, can often provide the food for pigs, and
+thus, in turn, be much better fed than they would otherwise be.
+
+It is only within two centuries that our pigs have attained to
+anything like the domestication in which we commonly find them. Of old
+they were allowed to range the forests, much as they do in certain
+parts of our Southern States at the present day. In some parts of
+Europe, particularly in the southern portion of the continent, this
+method of rearing and feeding is still common. It was and is
+advantageous, for the reason that the creature, by its remarkably keen
+sense of smelling and its singular capacity for overturning the
+ground, is able to provide itself with abundant food in the way of
+grubs and roots which are not at the disposition of any other animal.
+It was only as the public forests disappeared that pigs came to
+receive any considerable part of their provender from the products of
+tilled fields. In this stage of our agriculture, when all the land was
+possessed, the life of the pig was necessarily more restricted, and he
+became the denizen of a pen. In the earlier state there was no cost
+for his keeping; in the latter, except so far as he could be fed from
+the waste of a household, he is an expensive animal.
+
+It is with this last state of the pig, when he became the most housed
+of our domesticated animals, that the work of the breeder really
+began. The aim of those who have developed the pig has been, as we
+have said, to obtain the most rapid growth along with the greatest
+weight of fat, and to accomplish the results with the least
+expenditure in the way of food. Although the animal has been subjected
+to selective experiments, looking to these ends, for not more than a
+century, or say about forty generations of the species, the amount of
+variation which has been attained is singularly great, the form and
+habits having been changed more rapidly, and in a larger measure, than
+in the case of any other of our domesticated animals. It may fairly be
+said that this creature is more obedient to the will of the practical
+selectionist than any other with which we have experimented.
+
+It is commonly assumed that our pigs are among the least intelligent
+of the creatures which man has turned to his use. This impression is
+due to the fact that the conditions in which these animals are kept
+insure their degradation by cutting them off from all the natural
+mental training which wild animals, as well as the other tenants of
+the fields, receive. In the state of nature or in the condition of
+domestication which existed before pigs became captives in their
+pens, they were among the most alert and sagacious animals with which
+man has come in contact. Their wits were quick and their sympathies
+with their kind remarkably strong. Trainers have found these
+creatures more apt in receiving instruction than any other of our
+mammals, and the things which they can be made to do appear to
+indicate a native intelligence nearer to that of man than is found in
+any other species below the level of the apes.
+
+As there is little in the books of anecdotes of animals concerning
+pigs, I venture to give an account of a learned individual of this
+species whose performances I had an opportunity of observing in much
+detail. The creature, an ordinary specimen about three years old, had
+been trained by a peasant in the mountain district of Virginia who
+made his living by instructing animals for show purposes. He stated
+that in selecting pigs for education it was his practice to choose
+those characterized by a considerable width between the eyes and
+whose skulls projected in this part of their periphery to a more than
+usual degree. He said that from many experiments he was satisfied
+that there was a very great difference in the capacity of the animals
+to receive training, and that the above-mentioned indices afforded
+him sufficient guidance in his choice.
+
+In the exhibition about to be described there were but three persons
+present, myself, another spectator, and the showman. A score of cards
+were placed upon the ground, each bearing a numeral or the name of
+some distinguished person. These cards were in perfect disorder. I was
+allowed, indeed, repeatedly to change their position and to mix them
+up as I pleased. The pig was then told to pick out the name of Abraham
+Lincoln and bring it to his master. This he readily did. He was asked
+in what year Lincoln was assassinated. He slowly but without
+correction brought one by one the appropriate numerals and put them on
+the ground in due order. Half a dozen other questions concerning names
+and dates were answered in a similar way. Each success was rewarded
+with a grain of corn, and for his failures the creature received a
+reasonable drubbing. It was evident that the animal had to consider in
+making his choice of the cards. At times he was evidently much puzzled
+and would indicate his perplexity by squealing.
+
+It seemed clear that the master of this learned pig did not guide the
+movements of the animal by other indications than words. The questions,
+in some cases, had to be reiterated in a loud voice in order to insure
+attention. Several times during the performance the pig rebelled, broke
+from the tent, and was with difficulty recaptured. The creature
+disliked this task in the manner of a lazy school-boy, and at the end
+of an hour of exercises seemed utterly overcome by his labor. He ran
+into the box where he was ordinarily confined, and when dragged forth,
+neither rewards nor punishments would quicken him to further work.
+
+The above-described exhibition made it plain to me that the pig can be
+taught to understand a certain amount of human speech and to associate
+memories with phrases substantially as we do ourselves. It is perfectly
+clear that the performance which I witnessed was not a mere routine
+action, for I had a number of questions asked over again so as to make
+it sure that the creature acted with reference to each separate inquiry.
+The behavior of the animal during the performance seemed clearly to
+indicate mental effort and not mere automatic memory. His attitude when
+trying to determine which of two cards to take distinctly showed that he
+was intently viewing the figures and endeavoring to come to a decision.
+I am aware it has been suggested that learned pigs discriminate between
+the cards by peculiarities of odor which have been given to these bits
+of paper. I sought carefully to find if such was the case, and though I
+have a very keen sense of smell I found nothing which led me to suspect
+that this device was used. Even if such were the case, the rationality
+of the animal's action would be none the less clear. The showman assured
+me that he never used any such means in training pigs. He seemed,
+indeed, to treat the suggestion with contempt.
+
+Although experiments in the training of pigs show that they have rather
+remarkable intellectual capacities, the most human feature in their
+mental organization is found in the keen sympathy which they exhibit
+with the sufferings of their own kind and the willingness with which
+they encounter danger in protecting their comrades. It usually requires
+close observation for the naturalist to determine the existence of this
+motive among the other wild or domesticated mammals. In fact, the
+traces of it are very slight indeed, and are generally to be
+attributed to the care of parents for offspring or of the males for
+their harem--a disposition which, though akin to the defence of the
+kind, is nevertheless of a special and peculiar nature. Even among our
+domestic dogs, whose sympathies have been developed in a remarkable
+degree and who will sacrifice their lives to defend or rescue the
+human beings with whom they are familiar, there appears to be but
+little disposition to support members of their species who may be
+assailed. With pigs, however, as is well known to all those who have
+observed their habits, the characteristic cry of distress of their
+fellows proves very exciting and stimulates all the adults, both male
+and female, who hear it to hasten in defence of their kinsmen. It is a
+noteworthy fact that while most other animals when in danger utter no
+distinct or continuous cry, the pig gives voice in a vociferous and
+insistent manner, as if he had a right to expect the sympathy and help
+of his species. The cry goes with the custom of defence which in this
+species has attained a better foundation in the sympathetic motives
+than in any other mammal below the level of man.
+
+It is perhaps due to their relatively high intellectual organization
+that the excessively domesticated pigs are liable to suffer from
+attacks of mania. This is most commonly exhibited by the sows, which at
+times will destroy their young shortly after they are born. The sight
+of their progeny seems to infuriate them in a curious manner. One sow
+which I owned killed three successive litters; another fine animal of
+the Berkshire breed, a very amiable, indeed affectionate, creature, was
+carefully watched at the time she first bore young, precautions being
+taken to prevent her from harming them; she would willingly allow them
+to suckle, provided she did not see them, but the moment she laid her
+eyes upon them she was seized with the strange fury.
+
+Although this singular perversion of the natural instincts of maternity
+sometimes occurs among the pigs which are allowed to roam together in
+herds, it seems to be far more common in those conditions where the
+animals are confined in pens without contact with their kind, and where
+they have no chance to recognize the young as members of their species
+or to acquire that interest in them which they would gain in the
+society of the herd. It is also clear that this maniacal habit is
+inherited; according to my observation it is common among the
+Berkshire, and relatively rare in other less specialized varieties.
+
+The intelligence of the pig is also shown in the readiness with which
+the creature changes its habits to meet varied environments. Thus the
+pigs which range the woods in the western and southern parts of the
+United States have learned to catch the crawfish which abounds in the
+shallow streams in those parts of this country. They will wade up a
+brook, turning over the stones and driftwood as they go, catching with
+a quick movement the crustaceans which they have thus dislodged from
+their cover. Along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, the pigs, accustomed
+to follow the tide out, picking the chance food which is thus exposed
+to them, have learned carefully to avoid the risk of being caught by
+the returning waters. With the first splash of the turning tide they
+hasten inshore until they have attained safe ground.
+
+One of the best evidences of the mental state of these animals is
+found in their actions when assailed by dogs or other beasts of prey.
+Pigs, though wary and sensible of danger, seem exempt from the
+extreme fear which leads to panic, and fight, even before being
+brought to bay by long chasing, in a discreet and valiant manner.
+Where a number of them are attacked by dogs or other enemies, they
+will form a circle with their heads out, each supporting the other
+in such a manner that the ring cannot readily be broken. Their
+thick-skinned forequarters and stout tusks provide them with
+excellent instruments with which to resist an assault.
+
+The sagacity of the pigs is probably, in part at least, to be
+attributed to the fact that in their native state they are communal
+animals, all the species of their family being accustomed to live
+gregariously, so that for ages they have had the training which every
+social organization, however simple, affords. They are, moreover,
+omnivorous feeders, accustomed to subsist on a great variety of
+food--a habit which seems in all cases to promote the development
+of the intelligence in animals.
+
+Although the pigs by their nature afforded the best opportunity for
+developing an intellectual animal which has come to us through our
+domesticated creatures, no effort whatever has been made by selection to
+develop the latent mental capacities of this species. It is perhaps the
+only form of those which man has subjugated which by his treatment he
+tends to degrade. In the time to come, when men will be held to a better
+accountability for the treatment of their captives, the condition of
+these animals will afford a fair field for the reformer's care.
+
+The geologist who is acquainted with the mammalian life of the Middle
+Tertiary period readily notes the fact that the variety in genera and
+species appears to be much greater than it is at the present time. A
+great number of forms, differing somewhat widely from those now in
+existence, then abounded in the Americas and the Old World. It may at
+first sight seem unfortunate that man did not have the chance to essay
+his domesticative arts on that older and apparently richer life. A
+closer examination, however, leads us to see that the species of that
+time, though more numerous than those of the present, were on the whole
+less fitted for our use than the fewer but more completely
+differentiated kinds with which we have had to deal. The multitude of
+kinds which we find in the Mesozoic period indicates that the life was
+in a state more experimental than that to which it has attained. A host
+of forms on their way towards the specialization which has now been
+attained have been removed from the sphere, in the manner of a
+scaffolding from a completed structure. That which has been left remains
+because it has successfully accomplished the task of reconciliation with
+environment, or, in simpler phrase, because it has learned to do things
+which were useful and profitable in a more perfect manner.
+
+As an illustration of the fact that the animals of to-day are better
+fitted to be the help-meets of man than were their ancestors of an
+earlier time, we may note the state of the horse at the time when that
+genus was undergoing its development in the region about the upper
+waters of the Missouri. As may be imagined, the long and difficult
+passage from the five-toed to the single-toed form was slowly
+accomplished, and to its doing went a great many temporary forms, which
+served, we may say, as stepping-stones for the ongoing. So far as we can
+judge, these intermediate forms were small, rather frail creatures,
+which probably could not have been made to serve any purpose useful to
+man. It was not until the mechanical system of the large single toe with
+the wonderfully developed nail, which makes up the foot and hoof of the
+horse, had been attained, that the creature becomes fit for the
+wonderful work we have persuaded him to do in our civilization.
+
+A comparison of the skulls of the Tertiary mammals and those of our own
+day indicates that in certain of the important series, and presumably in
+them all, the brain has increased in size from the earlier to the later
+times. This increase in brain capacity has doubtless been attended by a
+decided gain in the measure of intelligence, a gain which has doubtless
+served to make the modern representatives of the series fitter for man's
+use than their ancestors were. For, while the number of our very useful
+domesticated forms may seem at first sight to be dull of wit, none of
+them are really low in the intellectual scale as we apply it to the
+brute; in fact, a considerable measure of intelligence is absolutely
+required as a condition for true subjugation. This is seen by the fact
+that nothing like a real adoption into our social system has ever been
+accomplished except with a few of the higher orders of mammals and
+birds, species which have an intellectual capacity that we recognize as
+akin to our own. Thus, so far as we can see, man's appearance on this
+stage was, so far as it relates to the possibility of companionship with
+the lower life, exceedingly well timed. He came at a period when the
+life was ready to give him and to receive from him a large measure of
+help. If his advent had been much earlier, he might have had less
+trouble in his contests with the larger carnivora; but if there had been
+a lack of beasts to obey his will, it is doubtful whether he could
+himself have won his way above that primitive life.
+
+
+
+
+DOMESTICATED BIRDS
+
+   Domestication of Animals mainly accomplished by the Aryan Race;
+   Small Amount of Such Work by American Indians.--Barnyard Fowl:
+   Mental Qualities; Habits of Combat.--Peacocks: their Limited
+   Domestication.--Turkeys: their Origin; tending to revert to the
+   Savage State.--Water Fowl: Limited Number of Species domesticated;
+   Intellectual Qualities of this Group.--The Pigeon: Origin and
+   History of Group; Marvels of Breeding.--Song Birds.--Hawks and
+   Hawking.--Sympathetic Motive of Birds: their AEsthetic Sense;
+   their Capacity for Enjoyment.
+
+
+It is an interesting fact that about all the work of domestication which
+has been done by man has been accomplished by the peoples of Asia and
+mainly by the Aryan race. The American Indians tamed the llama and
+alpaca and a few species of native plants; even where their habits were
+prevailingly sedentary they domesticated no birds. It was left for
+Europeans to make use of the wild turkey. Our primitive people had the
+same chance to tame ducks and geese as the folk of the Old World. They
+appear, however, to have lacked all capacity for such endeavors. The
+same lack of disposition to capture and tame wild creatures is
+noticeable among the characteristic peoples of Africa; all of which
+serves to show that the domesticating art, at least as applied to
+animals, is peculiar to the higher-grade folk of the Old World.
+
+Of all the birds which have been domesticated, our common barnyard fowl
+has been by far the most useful to man. It has become in a way
+interwoven with his life to a degree found only in a few of our barnyard
+animals. Next after the pigeons and the pigs it has been most deeply
+impressed by the breeder's art. The wild species whence it sprang is a
+small creature, laying but few eggs and with but a slight tendency to
+accumulate fat. From this parent stock varieties have been bred which
+attain in some cases to eight or ten times the weight of the ancient
+form. They have, moreover, lost the fierce combative spirit which
+characterizes their ancestors and which by selection has been preserved
+and intensified in our breeds of game-cocks.
+
+[Illustration: The Original Jungle Fowl (_Gallus bankiva_)
+                  and Some of His Domestic Descendants]
+
+It is an interesting fact that our barnyard fowl is the only species of
+a large family of birds which has been truly domesticated. The kindred
+pheasants and grouse, though abounding in the Old World and the New, and
+much disposed to abide about the cultivated fields, appear to be rather
+untamable. However well cared for, the wilderness motive seems never to
+have been eradicated. The domesticability of the cock, as is that of
+most other wild animals, is doubtless to be explained by the conditions
+of the life in which it has dwelt for ages before it was introduced to
+the society of man. In its wild state this bird had already to a great
+extent lost the power of flight, using its wings only for escaping from
+four-footed pursuers or to attain the branches of the trees in which it
+sought safety in the night time. With this measure of loss of the flying
+power, the creature abandoned the habit of ranging over a wide field,
+and thus was made more fit for domestication. Moreover, in their
+wilderness life these birds dwelt in more established communities than
+their kindred species. The most of these wild forms do not keep together
+through the year, but scatter after the young are able to shift for
+themselves. The Indian species of _Gallus_, however, from which our
+cocks and hens descend, have organized their life so that the
+individuals remain associate in a friendly way throughout the year.
+
+A part of the fitness of this creature to cast in its lot with man
+arises from the fact that they have very sympathetic natures. This is
+shown by the way in which the cocks will fight for their hens, even
+against their dreaded enemies, the hawks; and by the manner in which the
+mother, overcoming her natural fears, will do battle for her brood. It
+is shown also in the curious mingling of gallantry and kindliness with
+which the cock will call a hen to give her some choice bit of food which
+he has captured. As he grows older and becomes Philistinish, we may note
+that, after the manner of unfeathered bipeds, he is often disposed to
+indulge his selfishness, and summons his flock only to see him devour
+the morsel. Even in old age, however, the males of the varieties which
+are nearest the parent stock maintain their helpful motives and will
+struggle with infirmity to beat off a bird of prey.
+
+The sympathetic and affectionate quality of our barnyard fowl is perhaps
+best indicated by the singular variety and denotative value of their
+various calls and cries. Those who know these birds well will find no
+difficulty in recognizing about a score of diverse sounds, each of which
+indicates a particular turn of their mind. Almost all of these different
+notes have slight variations of expression which fit particular
+situations. Thus the crow of these birds, which may seem to the
+unobservant a very unvaried sound, discloses to those who have lovingly
+studied them at least half a dozen distinct modifications. In the
+fledgling male who just begins to feel the spirit of his kind, and who
+goes through his performance in the adolescent way, it is a cheap and
+often pitiful call. From the open roost in the trees, where the birds
+are gradually aroused by the slow-coming day, we can often hear the note
+of the half-awakened cock, as full of the sense of slumber as the speech
+of a sleeping man. As the creature gradually awakens, his cry becomes
+more resonant until it has the true morning ring. Brave as is this note
+of the full day, it is not to be compared with the crowing of a
+game-cock, the most splendid braggart sound of all the animal world.
+
+The really sympathetic notes of our fowls are uttered in their ordinary
+intercourse. Here the gradations of sounds have a range and fineness
+which, it seems to me, we can observe in no other creature below the
+level of man. Attention, astonishment, fear, commonplace distress,
+exultation, and agony are all set forth with cries which we, in a way,
+recognize as appropriate. Although some of these sounds relate to the
+larger experiences of the creatures, the most instructive of them are
+uttered in their ordinary intercourse, where they clearly maintain a
+kind of consensus in the flock by unending small bits of emotional
+speech, the notes being shaded in a wonderful way. These fine
+variations of utterance can sometimes be observed to be related to
+slight differences of situation. Thus the cackle of a hen when she
+leaves her nest after laying an egg is quite different from that which
+is made by the same hen when, during the period of incubation, she
+quits her eggs in search of food and water.
+
+It is not unlikely that the eminent domesticability of our common fowls
+is in a way associated with the singular variety of their notes. This
+variety indicates that the creatures are in constant and effective
+communication with one another; in a word, they are very sympathetic.
+With this intellectual helpfulness naturally goes the love of the
+domicile and a disposition to submit to control.
+
+So nice and well understood are the differences between the sounds
+which these birds give forth, and so well are their notes appreciated
+by their companions, that the creatures may well be said to have a
+language. Though it probably conveys only emotions and not distinct
+thoughts, it still must be regarded as a certain kind of speech. The
+modes of expression indicate that in this creature, as in the other
+feathered forms, the intellectual life consists largely in the
+movements inspired by the emotions. On the rational side our fowls seem
+weaker than many other less interesting species. In their nesting and
+other habits there are no evidences of constructive ingenuity; and in
+all my observations on them I have never seen any evidence which showed
+either considerable powers of memory or a capacity to act in any
+complicated way with reference to an end. It is evident, however, that
+they make a very good classification of the world about them. They
+have, for the limited field over which they roam, a keen topographic
+sense; they never are lost, and this in connection with their
+sympathetic homing instinct prevents them from wandering from their
+accustomed places to take up again with a wilderness life.
+
+In their adhesion to domestication our common fowls differ in a
+remarkable way from all other of our captive animals except the dog, and
+these birds are even more ineradicably attached to man than their older
+companion. While the dog will sometimes become half wild, or, as we may
+phrase it, undomiciled, fowls seem incapable of maintaining themselves
+apart from human care. In much ranging of the wilderness I have never
+found one of these creatures more than a thousand feet away from a human
+habitation. When we consider how common must be the chances of their
+going astray, and how easy it is in many parts of the country, as in our
+Southern States, for them to obtain in the wilderness food throughout
+the year, the fact that they never go wild is indeed remarkable. It can
+only be explained by the great development of the homing instinct which
+man has brought about in their sympathetic souls.
+
+[Illustration: Houdin, Cochins, Leghorns, and Game]
+
+Although our unnatural process of breeding has done much to degrade the
+original beauty of the cocks and hens, destroying the delicate
+coloration of the feathers as well as the admirable blending and
+contrasts of their pristine hues, it seems likely that the effect on the
+physical and mental development as a whole has not been unfavorable.
+Though less courageous, they are stronger creatures than in their wild
+state; they are clearly more fecund; they are gentler natured; and, so
+far as I have been able to compare the high-bred with the primitive
+forms, their range of expression through the voice has been much
+increased, a feature which may be noted in other domesticated species of
+birds, as, for instance, in the canaries. The most remarkable alteration
+which has been brought about in the minds of these creatures consists
+in the very great diminution in the combative motive of the males. In
+the wild forms, as well as in the kindred variety of the game-cock, this
+impulse to battle attains a truly phenomenal development, the like of
+which is probably not to be found in any other creature. The male birds
+begin their warfare before they are more than half grown, and in their
+adult state will attack anything which they can conceive to be an enemy.
+They will, with slight provocation, assail any of the other domesticated
+species of birds, and even the lesser mammals, such as the dogs and
+cats. They will fight their own image in a looking-glass. I have had
+game-cocks attack my hand when it was held near the ground and given an
+up-and-down movement in imitation of their antagonist's head.
+
+I once reared a game-cock by hand, keeping him secluded from his kind
+until he was adult. I then placed him in a large collection of barnyard
+fowl where there were half a dozen mongrel cocks, a drake of the muscovy
+variety, several ganders, and two turkey-gobblers. Immediately and in
+rapid succession he settled his accounts with the males of his own kind.
+He shortly overcame the drake and the ganders. He then devoted what was
+left of his forces to battles with the turkeys. Here he found himself in
+great difficulty, for the reason that these great birds would seize him
+by the head and lift his body off the ground. However, he soon learned
+an ingenious trick which protected him from this danger. When gathering
+breath in the intervals between his assaults, he would hover himself
+between his antagonist's legs, keeping step with the awkward creature in
+its efforts to get away from him. In a few days he wore out these
+doughty foemen and remained the battered master of the field.
+
+Although the indomitable valor of the game-cock may be in some measure
+due to the selection which the breeder has applied to the variety, there
+can be no question that it is essentially natural to the species and is
+the result of an age-long habit which in the native wilds of the
+creature did much to insure its safety. The antiquity of the state of
+mind may be judged by the perfection to which the spurs have attained
+and the remarkably skilful and definite way in which the creatures use
+them. The spur, which has arisen from the development of the scales and
+underlying bone of the bird's leg, is a singularly perfect structure,
+the finish of which cannot be judged in the degraded form in which it is
+found in our ordinary barnyard species. Although in its construction
+this weapon is admirably devised, it is placed in a position where only
+a remarkably well-addressed movement can give effect to its blow. Those
+who have watched game-cocks in combat have had a chance to see the
+vaults by which the creature, partly turning in the air, is able to
+throw the spur in such a manner that it shares the impulse of the body
+when it strikes the antagonist. This peculiar craft has been in good
+part lost among our common varieties. Their spiritless contests differ
+as much from those of the game-birds as do the fist fights of untrained
+men from the contests of skilled pugilists.
+
+[Illustration: Bantams, Brahma, and Dorkings]
+
+Although to persons unaccustomed to the spectacle the combats between
+game-birds may seem disgusting, almost every one must admire the valor,
+grace, and address which such scenes exhibit. Except where the brutal
+custom of putting steel points on the spurs prevails, the birds rarely
+receive fatal wounds. The defeated cock is soon brought to confess his
+inferiority and takes himself away. At no other time in the life of
+these birds does their organic beauty appear to such advantage as when
+they are struggling with each other. Then alone do we perceive the
+singular efficiency of their bodies and the quick as well as appropriate
+action of their instincts. They set themselves against each other in
+attitudes as well chosen and as peculiar as those of a well-trained
+fencer. Before the assault they often go through a singular performance,
+which consists in picking up bits of twigs or pebbles. These they cast
+into the air, an unmeaning movement which may be compared to the like
+meaningless though similarly graceful salute with which swordsmen
+preface their contests. Then, with their legs flexed so that they may be
+ready for the spring, and with the rather stiff feathers about the neck
+erected so as to serve as a shield, they creep toward each other until
+they are separated by the distance appropriate for the spring. When
+fairly placed for battle they begin a system of fence which is intended
+to provoke the enemy to an untimely assault. The art of the game appears
+to consist in persuading the adversary to venture an attack where his
+force will be spent in the air, so that a blow can be given him before
+he has time to recover position. The issue depends much on the endurance
+of the birds. Their movements require so much energy that one of them is
+apt to become exhausted before the other is quite spent. In rare cases,
+only one of which has been seen by me, a weary bird will feign death for
+a minute or so and thus obtain new strength with which to renew the
+combat, profiting also by the confusion which he will bring upon his
+adversary by his sudden revival.
+
+Although the combatant motive which we find in the males among our
+barnyard fowls has doubtless been developed through their combats with
+each other, the valiant spirit which has come from it often leads the
+creatures to attack the enemies of their flock. I have seen a nimble
+game-cock strike a hawk which was pouncing to its prey, delivering the
+blow some feet above the surface of the ground, and this so effectively
+that the marauder was driven away in a sorely hurt condition. I have
+seen males of the game variety attack a number of other larger animals
+which in any way threatened their charges.
+
+Although our barnyard fowl are almost the only ground birds which
+have ever been brought to a state of perfect domestication, there are
+several other species of the same group which have been taught in a
+measure to adhere to man. Of these perhaps the longest in
+domestication is the peafowl. This creature, though it has edible,
+indeed we may say savory flesh, has retained its small place in
+civilization solely on account of its extraordinary beauty. For its
+size it is doubtless the most beautiful of animals, its plumage,
+especially the magnificent display of the tail, exceeding that of any
+other natural object. There are other birds of small size which vie
+with the peacock in the details of ornamentation. Those jewels among
+the feathered tribes, the humming-birds, have a more delicate beauty.
+The birds-of-paradise and the lyre-birds have a grace in the attitudes
+of particular feathers which is unequalled; but for splendor none of
+them approach the peacock in his best estate.
+
+[Illustration:         Contributions from Asia, Africa,
+                and America--Peacocks, Guinea-fowl, and Turkey]
+
+The peacock is a native of Southern Asia, a realm in fact in which the
+species of the group attain an uncommonly rich development. The creature
+appears to have been domesticated some thousands of years ago, but has
+undergone no considerable changes in its experience with man. It has in
+truth not been completely tamed. It does not willingly remain near the
+dwellings of man, but prefers to abide apart, only resorting to the home
+when in need of food. It is very intolerant of the other barnyard
+creatures, and often becomes possessed of a kind of mania for slaying
+their young, not for food but from pure spirit of mischief.
+
+Intellectually speaking, the peacocks are much below the cocks and
+hens; although they flock together, their sympathies do not seem
+quick; their cries and calls do not number a fifth part of those which
+we hear from our chickens, and their notes are prevailingly very
+discordant. Their cry of defiance, answering to the crow of the cock,
+is one of the rudest and least sympathetic sounds which is heard among
+the birds. Its only merit is that it can be heard very far. It is
+readily audible at the distance of a mile when it breaks the stillness
+of a summer night. At present the bird seems out of favor. At best it
+is a beautiful but annoying ornament to pleasure-grounds. It is
+likely, indeed, that it may in time become limited to its native
+wildernesses and to zoological gardens.
+
+From Africa we have derived one rather uncommon tenant of our barnyards
+and fields, the guinea-hen. This creature, though of convenient size,
+hardy, and commendable from the number of eggs it lays, has never won a
+large place in the esteem of our rural people, and is now not much kept,
+except in some parts of the Southern States of this country. The
+difficulty with this creature, as with the peacock, is that it is not
+truly domesticated; though it will not betake itself altogether to
+the woods, it prefers to maintain a half-wild habit. It will not, if
+it can possibly avoid it, lay its eggs in any place where they are
+likely to be found by man. Moreover, their rude and little-modulated
+cries are in the summer season almost incessant, and the din which a
+considerable flock can produce is exceedingly vexatious. They thus do
+not fit the needs or comfort of man to the degree which is likely to
+give them a permanent place among his associates.
+
+[Illustration: The Domesticated Turkey]
+
+The last considerable addition to our barnyards has come to us in the
+form of the turkey. This species has the peculiar distinction of
+being the only animal form of definite use to man over a wide field
+which has been contributed from the life of the New World. Although
+the creature was much hunted by our North American Indians, and is
+of a type which lends itself to domestication, it does not appear to
+have become a companion of man until it was taken from the West
+India Islands to Europe shortly after the discovery of this country.
+Thence the domesticated form appears to have been returned to this
+country, where it has been a favorite in a measure unknown in the
+Old World. Ornithologists deem the Cuban turkey, whence our tame
+form came, to be specifically distinct from those which are found on
+the mainland of this continent. Although these kinds are
+distinguishable by plumage, they are probably only varieties of a
+common species. This is indicated by the fact that our tame flocks
+readily intermingle with their wild kindred.
+
+The ease with which the turkey becomes domesticated is remarkable. In
+this regard the creature may be compared to our cocks and hens. In both
+cases the tamableness is doubtless to be explained by the fact that the
+primitive forms dwelt in permanent association, the movements of which
+were in a way controlled by the adult males, and by the fact that the
+forms had abandoned the use of wings for wide-ranging flight. The
+change which has been brought about in the turkeys with their adoption
+into the human association has been slight. No distinct varieties of
+breeds have been originated, though here and there the observer may
+note slight local variations in the coloration of the plumage, which
+are probably due to varying admixtures with the wild forms of our
+forests. Thus in Kentucky and other parts of the South, where the
+opportunities for the intermingling of blood of the tame and wild forms
+are frequent, the domesticated creatures often resemble so nearly the
+wilderness forms that even the wary hunter may make mistakes as to
+whether the bird he sights be fair game or not. Unless carefully
+watched, a drove of these creatures on the border of the wilderness is
+apt gradually to return to the wild state, the three or four centuries
+of life about the home of man not having been sufficient to do away
+with their ancient love of freedom.
+
+Among the English folk of North America the turkeys found a large place
+as an element of the food-supply. It has become curiously associated
+with the Puritan festival of Thanksgiving, an institution which has
+spread throughout the United States and which has in a way taken the
+place of the harvest-home festivities of the Old World and bygone ages.
+It is probable that the relation of this bird to our national
+festivities has done much to keep it in use in this country. It is a
+well-recognized fact that it is costly to keep and that the eggs are not
+desirable for culinary use. The species requires a wide range. It does
+not do well in the confined conditions in which cocks and hens can
+readily be maintained. It therefore is not likely to be kept in any
+region where the agriculture is of a high grade. It is best suited to
+farms where there are considerable areas of half-wild pastures.
+
+Although the turkey is a truly gregarious form, its mental endowments
+are of a lower grade than those of most social birds. Their calls are
+few in number and have little of that conversational quality which we
+note in those of our ordinary barnyard fowls. Although the males contest
+the field with each other by personal combats, they are not very
+valiant, the creatures trusting for favor with the females rather to the
+parade of their plumage and the pomp of their carriage than to the wager
+of battle. In the matter of show they are, however, very effective,
+being surpassed only by the peacock in the splendor of their attire. In
+their domesticated state they lose much of the beauty which they have in
+the wilderness, as they do their pristine dimensions. Those who have
+hunted our wild species are likely to remember scenes where in some
+forest glade they have beheld a gobbler displaying his graces to an
+admiring harem. As he struts about with his tail feathers erect and his
+neck arched back, now and then pausing to utter an exultant gobble, the
+spectacle is one of the most amusing displays of animal pride which the
+naturalist has a chance to behold.
+
+[Illustration: The Largest of all Poultry--The Ostrich]
+
+Recent experiments in ostrich farming seem to indicate that we are on
+the eve of introducing into our "happy family" the noblest remaining
+member of that group of great birds which characterized the life of
+the later geological periods. As yet the efforts in taming ostriches
+are too new for us to tell just what the effect of man's skill on the
+development of this creature will be. It is evident, however, that the
+creature can be won from its wilderness state, at least to something
+like the imperfect companionship with man which has been attained by
+the guinea-fowls and turkeys. All we know of the variations in plumage
+of birds indicates that the breeder's art may bring about great
+changes in the highly decorative feathers for which this bird is to be
+reared. It is also probable that with the better food which domestic
+conditions imply, this wanderer of the desert may be brought to attain
+a very much greater size than it wins in the hard life of its native
+land. If the form should prove as plastic as that of our ordinary
+barnyard species, we may indeed succeed in developing a variety
+approaching in dimensions the gigantic moa of New Zealand, or the
+aepyornis of Madagascar, those magnificent creatures of the past which
+passed away just before their native lands were known to our race. The
+variations in size of the wild ostrich appear to indicate that this
+interesting result may be attainable.
+
+Next after the cocks and hens the most important birds of economic
+value have come from the water fowl. In this field there are great
+opportunities for domestication, only a few of which have been
+adequately used. The aquatic birds, save for the fact that they are in
+all cases inspired with a more or less strong migratory humor, lend
+themselves to the shaping hand of man more readily than most other
+forms. These creatures have the habit of association in a much more
+perfect way than our ground birds. They normally dwelt in rather close
+order and in relations which are necessarily very sympathetic. Whoever
+has watched the flight of wild geese must have remarked the beautiful
+way in which they arrange at once for close companionship and for
+safety in the violent movements which impel their heavy bodies at high
+speed through the air. In the order of their flight the alignment is
+more perfect than in the march of trained soldiers. Each bird keeps as
+near to his neighbor as possible; but manages always to preserve the
+interval which will insure against a collision of the strong and
+swift-moving wings, an accident which might well disable them for
+flight. I have repeatedly undertaken to confound their motion by
+firing a rifle bullet at the head of the moving wedge. Although the
+sound of the projectile, if well directed, will disturb their
+processional order, it never brings confusion. The startled birds sink
+down or rise above the plane of the air in which their comrades are
+moving, but they never strike against them.
+
+[Illustration: An Eider Colony]
+
+The admirable sense of interval which the wild birds exhibit in their
+flight is to be seen also when they move over the surface of the
+water, where the fleet of living forms is always so arranged that each
+individual does not interfere with its neighbor. I recall with much
+pleasure an occasion when, from a ship becalmed in a thick fog off the
+southern shore of Labrador, within sound of the breakers, I undertook
+to find something about the lay of the land and the chance of
+harborage by paddling in a small boat toward the shore. I had hardly
+lost sight of the ship when my boat glided into an assemblage of eider
+ducks, where the mothers, with their fledgling young, were lazily
+swimming to and fro, as if to practise the ducklings in the art of
+swimming. Each brood appeared to have its own space of water, and
+between each of the chicks there was likewise a less but equally well
+measured interval. The same features of orderly association, which I
+have just noted in the swimming and flying of these wild birds, may be
+seen in a somewhat degraded state in our domesticated varieties of the
+group. They all indicate in these forms a keen sense of their
+neighbors and a habit of association based upon sympathetic emotions.
+
+[Illustration: Terns Aiding a Wounded Comrade]
+
+The sympathetic quality of our water fowl, at least in that part of
+the emotion which leads them to be concerned with the afflictions of
+their species, appears to be more distinct than in the case of our
+ordinary barnyard fowl. Geese, as is well known, will make common
+cause against an intruder from whom harm to the flock may be expected.
+Their simultaneous din when anything occurs to arouse their enmity is
+commemorated in the ancient myth concerning the aid which they gave in
+the defence of the walls of Rome. There are anecdotes apparently well
+attested where water fowl have borne away a wounded comrade which had
+fallen before the huntsman's fowling-piece. In Smiles's "Life of
+Edwards" there is an often-quoted story which appears to be
+trustworthy and sufficiently illustrates this point. A hunter, having
+shot one of a flock of terns, which fell wounded into the water near
+the shore, waded in to seize it. Suddenly two of the terns came to
+their wounded companion, seized him by either wing, and bore him
+toward the open sea. When these two helpers were weary, the sufferer
+was lowered into the water, and, in turn, seized by two other birds
+which were fresh for the labor. Working in succession, these birds
+carried their companion to a rock some distance from the shore. When
+the hunter endeavored to approach the rock, yet others of the species
+seized the cripple and bore him far beyond reach.
+
+Although too much value must not be given to the numerous anecdotes
+concerning the sagacity of water fowl, the great mass of these stories,
+as compared with the poverty of the anecdotes concerning the
+better-known barnyard creatures, seems to establish the fact that their
+intelligence is much greater than that of the land birds. This
+superiority can probably be attributed to the fact that their life
+requires much more definite adaptation of means to ends than in the
+simpler conditions which are met by the forms which dwell in the fields.
+The circumstances of their life are something like those of the seals
+among mammals. They have to do with the conditions of the air, the land,
+and the water; and as they generally undertake long migrations, the
+range of the things they have to accommodate themselves to is great, and
+the effect of their labor is decidedly educative.
+
+[Illustration:        Some Recent Additions to the Poultry Yard:
+               Wood Duck, China Goose, Australian Swan, Canada Goose]
+
+As yet, from the great number of species of water fowl man has really
+domesticated but two characteristic groups, the species of geese and of
+ducks. Swans have been brought to a state where they tolerate the
+presence of man, though they rarely establish any really intimate
+relations with him. Some other species, as, for instance, the grebe,
+have been taught to dwell about the homes of man, accepting food from
+his hands. It is likely that more of these water fowl would have come
+into human associations were it not for the fact that they are naturally
+migratory, and when, after a season of domestication, they join a
+passing flock, they never return to the place where they have been kept.
+
+[Illustration: Swans]
+
+The swan, like the peacock, has been bred for ornament rather than for
+use. In fact, the bird has no other merit than its exceeding grace.
+We cannot believe that much pains was ever taken with this creature to
+break up the migratory instincts which are common in the wild kindred
+species. We have to suppose that the bird in its pristine form was
+without the impulse to undertake distant journeys in the winter
+season, or that it abandoned ancient habits with no great difficulty.
+We obtain some light on this point by noting the fact that among the
+migratory species it not infrequently happens that, while the greater
+number of individuals undertake the annual journey, certain of them
+will remain on the ground where they were born. Those which remain
+would be more likely to mate with those which were like-minded than
+with others that journeyed afar. In this way small local breeds might
+well be originated which would differ from their migratory kindred not
+only in the measure of the wandering instincts, but in the capacity
+for flight which their kindred preserve. There is some reason to
+believe that this process of selection naturally and somewhat
+frequently takes place. In certain cases it may lay the foundation of
+new species, or at least of distinct varieties; more commonly,
+however, the individuals which have abandoned the migratory life are
+likely to perish from the severity of climate or the other unfavorable
+conditions that their mates avoid by their wanderings.
+
+[Illustration: The Original Wild Rock Dove (_Columba livia_)
+                    and Some of its Domestic Descendants]
+
+Although many of the free-flying birds of the land are or have been kept
+captive because of the pleasure which men have found from their songs,
+their grace, or their quaint ways, only one of these has really been
+gained to domestication. In the pigeon, man has made what is on many
+accounts the most remarkable of all his conquests over the wild nature
+about him. While the breeder's art has led many forms, some of them on
+several divergent lines, far away from their primitive estate, in no
+other field has it accomplished such surprising results as with the
+doves. The original wild form of this group is a native of Europe and
+Asia, where the species _Columba livia_, or rock pigeon, is still
+common, and whence it may be readily won anew to domestication. It is
+a small, plain-colored, rather invariable and inconspicuous bird about
+the size of our American dove. In its wild state it dwells in small
+flocks, nesting by preference in the crannies of the cliffs, and
+exhibiting no striking qualities which make it seem a desirable subject
+for domestication. We note, however, that even in this primitive
+condition the creature has certain physical and mental qualities
+which have been the basis of its adoption by man as well as of the
+wide changes which it has undergone at his hands.
+
+It is a characteristic of all the doves that their young are born in a
+very immature state, and for some time after they come from the egg they
+have to be supplied with food which has been partly digested in the crop
+or upper part of the stomach of the parent. For the proper rearing of
+the brood there is required the assiduous care of both parents.
+Therefore quite naturally we find among these birds that the pairing
+habit is well developed, and as they rear several broods each season,
+that the mating is for life. Although there are numbers of birds in
+various orders which are accustomed to the monogamic habit, it happens
+that the pigeon is the only animal which man has ever won to true
+domestication in which the sexes can be thus permanently united. In the
+dovecote, however many birds it may contain, the breeder can be always
+sure as to the parentage of the young which he is rearing. This affords
+an admirable basis for the practice of his art, which is still further
+favored by the fact that pigeons reproduce rapidly and the progeny are
+ready to mate in a few months after they come into the world. Thus the
+species affords really ideal conditions for that process of selection on
+which the improvement of all domesticated animals intimately depends.
+
+[Illustration: Turtle Doves]
+
+Selective breeding of pigeons began in India, as the records seem to
+show, more than two thousand years ago. Though other animals have been
+brought to domestication at much earlier times, this appears to have
+been the first of them to be subjected to deliberate efforts on the part
+of their masters, which were intended to bring about in a methodical way
+certain changes in their forms and habits. The most curious part of this
+great endeavor which has been applied to breeding pigeons is found in
+the fact that the ends sought have no utility, but afford satisfaction
+from the point of view of pure diversion or the gratification of taste.
+We are well accustomed to the action of such motives upon our flowering
+plants of the garden, but the pigeon is the only animal where fancy has
+labored for thousands of years for its gratification. The breeders of
+pigeons from remote antiquity to the present day appear to have had no
+definite purpose in all their pains. They have taken the chance
+variations in form and habit and endeavored to extend these sports of
+nature by a careful system of mating those in which the singular
+features were most evident. Thus the fan-tail breed has been developed
+until the creatures display their unornamental tail feathers with all
+the dignity with which a peacock shows his marvellous decorations. The
+pouters have in some unaccountable way learned to take air into their
+crop; and the habit has been developed by selection until the bird
+destroys all trace of his original shapeliness, though he seems to take
+pride in his diseased appearance. The tumbler, probably derived from
+some ancestor afflicted with a disease of an epileptic character,
+manages to go through his convulsions in the air without serious
+consequences and apparently with some pleasure to himself. There are
+over one hundred less conspicuous varieties, of which only one deserves
+notice, and this for the reason that it has some possible utility to
+man and is now much attended to. This is known as the carrier pigeon.
+
+[Illustration: The Giant Crowned Pigeon of India]
+
+In early time, before the invention of the railway and telegraph, some
+ingenious breeder of pigeons, observing the constant way in which these
+creatures returned to the place where they were bred, invented the plan
+of using them to convey information. This service was found convenient
+not only for ordinary correspondence, but was exceedingly valuable where
+a place was beleaguered by an enemy. In such cases carrier pigeons could
+often be used to convey information across the otherwise impassable
+lines. Even in modern times, as, for instance, during the last siege of
+Paris, these swift and sure flying birds proved of great use in keeping
+up communications between the people of the invested town and the French
+armies in the field. Letters in cipher, sometimes photographed down
+until the characters were microscopically fine, were made into packages
+of small weight in order not to impede the flight of the bird, carefully
+affixed to its body, and thus sent away. Very generally these curious
+shipments came to the hands of those for whom they were destined. The
+birds can be trusted to fly at night; they retain for a long time the
+memory of their home, and spare no pains to return to it.
+
+The homing power of the carrier pigeon appears to be a special
+development of a natural capacity, as is also its swiftness and
+endurance in flight. Our other breeds and the wild species whence they
+have all come are not disposed to undertake long journeys; they rarely,
+indeed, wander far from their abiding places. Our experience with the
+carriers shows how readily the creatures may be educated to perform
+feats which they were not accustomed to do in their wild state.
+Something of the same elasticity of constitution may be observed in the
+bodies of our pigeons as they have been affected by selection. Not only
+has the plumage been greatly altered by the breeder's art and in
+pursuance of his plans, but the form and proportions of the bones have
+coincidently and unintentionally been greatly changed. So considerable
+are these alterations that if these creatures were submitted for
+dissection to a naturalist who knew nothing of the history of the bird,
+he would have no hesitation in classing them as belonging not only in
+different species, but as members of diverse genera.
+
+It must be regarded as unfortunate that the experiments which have been
+made on pigeons have been limited to their features of form, color, and
+slight peculiarities in their habits. If the breeders had sought to
+modify the intellectual parts with anything like the insistence which
+they have given to the development of these bodily peculiarities, we
+might now have a most valuable store of knowledge as to the limitations
+of animal minds. The facts gained in the breeding of the carriers show
+clearly that certain of the instincts of these birds can be readily
+modified. There is every reason to suppose that their mental capacities
+in other directions have something of the same pliability.
+
+[Illustration: The English Pheasant]
+
+Although the pigeon is the only free-flying form which has been won to
+intimate relations with man, there are numerous other species of these
+volant creatures which have been reduced to partial domestication,
+though they cannot be trusted to abide with us without being more or
+less completely caged. Experience has shown that by far the greater part
+of the arboreal birds may be kept and will breed in captivity. From the
+host of these feathered creatures men have from time to time selected
+species which grace their habitations by their beauty, their song, or by
+the sympathetic relations which they form with their captors. Our
+successes in these efforts toward domestication of these birds have been
+most eminent with those varieties which in their wilderness state have a
+well-developed social life, which abide in families or flocks, and have
+the pairing habit well affirmed. The reason for this has been already
+indicated. It is due to the sympathetic motive which is developed in
+such communal life, and is manifested in the friendly relations with
+each other which the creatures maintain. A good instance of this is to
+be found in the crows and their kindred, a group of extremely sociable
+creatures, which are endlessly engaged in chattering communications with
+each other. All these forms are highly domesticable, and if for any
+reason they had proved permanently attractive to men they would
+doubtless have been brought into the state of willing captives.
+
+Although some of the free-flying or tree birds have been kept for their
+beauty alone, the greater part of them have commended themselves to man
+because of their voices. It is hardly necessary to tell the reader that
+the birds, of all animals, are most provided with means of expression
+through the voice. There is hardly a species which has not a greater
+range of notes or calls than the most vocal of our wild mammals, and
+many varieties are impelled to tuneful expression in a measure which no
+other creature, not even man, exhibits. In most cases these utterances
+are pleasing to the human ear, for they have the quality which we term
+musical. Therefore it is not surprising that the most of our captive
+birds have been chosen for their song.
+
+It seems clear that the song of birds, like their calls--the two shade
+indefinitely into each other--expresses a sympathetic emotional
+consciousness of the actions going on about them, particularly of the
+life of their kind. In general these utterances are directed toward
+their kindred of their own species. In many cases, however, as among the
+imitative birds, the sounds which they utter indicate a curiously keen
+interest in the actions of their masters or other human affairs. The
+mocking-birds and some other species will, with great assiduity,
+endeavor to copy any sound which they happen to hear. I well remember
+watching a mocking-bird which was listening with rapt attention to the
+noise produced by a man sharpening a saw with a file. The poor bird
+would hearken with great attention until he thought he had caught the
+note, and then endeavor to reproduce it. As may be imagined, the measure
+of his success was small. He was fully conscious of his failure, and
+would beat himself about the cage in evident chagrin, returning again
+and again to try the hopeless task.
+
+Wherever the vocal organs of caged birds permit them to imitate human
+speech they are apt to devote a large part of their labor to this task,
+paying little attention to other less meaningful sounds. It appears to
+me that they perceive in a way the sympathetic character of language and
+therefore take a peculiar pleasure in copying it. It is hardly to be
+believed that they ever get a sense of the connotative value of words,
+but it is not to be doubted that they sometimes attain to a certain
+appreciation of the denotation of simpler phrases. In this task they do
+not exhibit as much sagacity as the dog, a creature which learns to
+understand the purport of rather complicated sentences. Nevertheless,
+their capacity for imitating speech is a fascinating peculiarity, one
+which has greatly endeared them to bird fanciers.
+
+Those who have observed the talking birds have doubtless noted the
+fact that their capacity for remembering and uttering words varies
+greatly. I am inclined to think that in the same species some
+individuals can do such tasks several times as easily as others. If
+these speaking forms could be brought to breed in captivity, and
+something like the selective care were given to their development that
+has been devoted to the varieties of pigeons, we might well expect to
+attain very remarkable results. If anywhere in the animal world there
+is a chance to open communication by means of speech with the lower
+creatures, it should be here.
+
+[Illustration: The Falconer's Favorite--Peregrine Falcon]
+
+At one time among our ancestors it was accustomed to make much use of
+the larger hawks in hunting. Curiously enough this amusement, more
+refined and elaborated than any other form of the chase, has gradually
+fallen into disuse among Europeans. So far as I have been able to learn,
+the only region in which it is well preserved is in northern Africa, a
+country in which the custom was probably introduced from Spain during
+the occupancy of that peninsula by the Moors. From the literature of
+this art of hawking, even after we allow much for the exaggeration of
+unobservant men, it seems certain that the training of these fierce
+birds was carried to a point of singular perfection. The creatures
+learned to do their duty in a very skilful way, and they readily
+acquired habits of obedience, under circumstances of excitement, more
+perfect than those which we succeed in instilling in any animal but the
+dog. When we consider the natural qualities of the hawk, and note that
+when well trained he flew at only the designated game, and came back to
+the master when a bit of hide or other lure was thrown into the air as a
+signal, we may fairly believe that the creature displayed an
+extraordinary fitness for receiving instruction. The facts are the more
+remarkable because these hawks were not bred in cages, but were taken
+from the wild nests; so that there was none of that gradual accumulation
+of inheritances under the conditions of selection which have brought
+about the obedience of our really domesticated animals.
+
+The remarkable way in which the art of hawking has disappeared from our
+civilization deserves more than a passing notice, though it appears to
+be inexplicable. It is evident that it was a tolerably ingrained habit,
+at least among the English-speaking people, for it has left a very deep
+impress upon the language. There are far more phrases derived from the
+custom than can be traced to any other of the sportsman's arts. At least
+one of these collocations of words which has escaped from the minds of
+grown people still holds a place among the boys of this country. When
+two lads are fighting we often hear the bystanders say, by the way of
+encouragement to one of the contestants, "Give him jesse." The use of
+this curious phrase prevails in all parts of the United States, but
+after much inquiry I have failed to find a trace of it preserved in
+England. There seems to be little doubt that these words are due to a
+custom of beating a hawk which failed to do its duty with the thongs or
+jesses by which it was attached to the wrist of the falconer. Giving
+another jesse thus came to be equivalent to giving a person a strapping.
+
+[Illustration: The Bandit's Brood]
+
+Whatever may have been the reason for abandoning this beautiful and in a
+way noble sport, its disuse must be deemed most unfortunate by all the
+students of animal intelligence, for it has deprived us of precious
+opportunities in the way of observations on the mental peculiarities
+which exist in a most interesting group of birds. In these days, when
+there is a fancy for reviving the customs of our forefathers, it might
+be well for some persons of leisure to give their attention to restoring
+the arts of falconry. Enough of the practice and of the traditions is
+left to make it an easy task to reinstitute all the important parts of
+the custom. Moreover, those who essayed the matter would have access to
+a much greater range of rapacious birds than our forefathers, who had to
+content themselves with the limited number of wild species which inhabit
+the continent of Europe. Especially on our Western plains, where
+game-birds abound and the country lies wide open, sportsmen would find
+an admirable field in which to follow the bird they flew. Not only would
+the restoration of hawking give us a sport much more skilful and refined
+than the fox chase, but it would reintroduce the cultivation of the only
+creature which, having once been brought to the service of man, has
+been permitted to return to its ancestral wild life.
+
+The most striking and by far the most interesting quality exhibited by
+our birds is found in their sympathetic motive. In this spiritual
+quality, so far as it relates to their own kind, the feathered
+creatures are clearly in advance of all other species, including even
+man. A single fact, one of great generality, will serve to make this
+statement clear. Among the birds we find the only cases of true
+marriage which are known in the animal kingdom. In the greater number
+of the species the union is for a season, but among many it is for
+life. In the case of certain varieties of paroquets, the union is so
+indissoluble that, according to common report, a report which seems
+much better verified than the most of those concerning the habits of
+animals, neither member of the pair will survive the death of the
+other. Man, with all his striving towards a better social state, has,
+as a whole, not yet attained to the enduring affection for the mate
+which is evinced by the greater part of the birds.
+
+In this same connection, we may note that the aesthetic appreciation
+among the birds appears to have attained a far higher level than it has
+won in any other creatures. There can be little doubt that the
+exquisitely beautiful plumage, the unparalleled shapeliness of form and
+grace of carriage, as well as the melodies which are uttered by so many
+species, all owe their development to a process of sexual selection
+which has led the discerning females to prefer the more ornamental of
+the males who sought them as partners. If any one will examine the
+exquisite shapes and gradations of color which are exhibited in the tail
+of the peacock, or of the lyre-bird, or even the coloration of the
+game-cock, he may perhaps imagine how prodigious must be the
+development of the aesthetic sense in these species, in order that it may
+take account of every little betterment which leads towards more perfect
+beauty. As it will take the generations of aesthetes many generations
+before they are able to "live up to" the level of their culture which is
+attained by the peacock's tail, it is not unreasonable for us to hold
+that in the appreciation of simple beauty in form and in color, the
+birds are far ahead of ourselves. It must not be supposed that our
+aesthetic culture is to be reckoned below that of birds, though in our
+case the work embodies the delineation of ideas, while in the birds it
+is a matter of pure ornament. Nevertheless, taking the evidence which
+shows the way in which these creatures appreciate beauty in the three
+realms of form, color, and sound, it seems to me clear that while their
+intellectual life is low, their purely emotional experiences are
+probably more vivid than those of ordinary men.
+
+As the joy of life is, in the main, even in ourselves the result of
+emotional experiences, we may fairly reckon, even on _a priori_ ground,
+that the birds win a measure of happiness, though it be that of an
+unconscious kind, which is granted to no other living beings.
+Psychologically described, they might well be termed the group built
+for joy. Their bodies are, on the whole, the best constructed of all
+animals, except the insects. They suffer little from disease. We all
+see that their intercourse with each other is freer and merrier than
+that of other creatures. The wide range of their notes shows that in
+most forms they appreciate every little difference in the
+pleasure-giving changes of the day or the weather. They rejoice in the
+coming of each morning; they are sorrowful with the advent of each
+evening. They echo the distress of their kind in a readier way than
+any other forms. He is indeed a poor naturalist who overlooks this
+trait; for however deeply he may have delved, he has not won the jewel
+unless he appreciates this element of an unending joy which the
+bird-life continually offers him. From that life we may well believe
+that man is hereafter to derive some great and fruitful lessons.
+
+
+
+
+USEFUL INSECTS
+
+   Relations of Man to Insect World.--But Few Species Useful to
+   Man.--Little Trace of Domestication.--Honey-bees: their Origin;
+   Reasons for no Selective Work; Habits of the Species.--Silkworms:
+   Singular Importance to Man; Intelligence of Species.--Cochineal
+   Insect.--Spanish Flies.--Future of Man relative to Useful Insects.
+
+
+Although the relations of man to the insect world are prevailingly those
+of hostility, there are a few of these multitudinous creatures which
+have been more or less completely adopted into his great society.
+Although not more than half a dozen out of the million or more species
+in this subkingdom have thus been brought to the uses of civilization,
+the forms are interesting not only for what they give, but for the
+promise of further contributions when this great problem of winning help
+from the insect world receives adequate consideration.
+
+As a whole, the insects are not well fitted to serve the needs of man.
+Owing to certain peculiarities in their organic laws they, fortunately
+for ourselves, are very limited in size. Although some of them afford
+savory food and are occasionally eaten by savages, and even by civilized
+folk when pressed by hunger owing to the famines which the invasions of
+these animals occasionally produce, they can never be of any value as
+sources of provisions, except through the stores which they accumulate
+in the manner of the bees. All that we have won, or are likely to win,
+from this realm is from the filaments which the creatures spin, the wax
+or honey which they accumulate, the coloring or other matters which
+their bodies afford, or the help which they may give us in our struggle
+with invading species of their class.
+
+Probably the first insect to be brought into friendly relations with man
+was the honey-bee. This creature, like the most of our domesticated
+animals, is a native of the great continent of the Old World, though it
+has now been conveyed to all the flowery lands of the world where the
+season is long enough for it to win its harvest. In its wild as well as
+in its tame state the honey-bee dwells in one of the most perfect and
+highly elaborated of insect societies. It is a member of the group of
+membranous-winged insects known to naturalists as _Hymenoptera_, an
+order which includes all the elaborate societies of the class except the
+colonies of white ants. It is characteristic of all these colonial
+insects that, from the experience of ages, they have learned the great
+principles of the division of labor and of profit sharing towards which
+mankind are now clumsily stumbling; the great work which their societies
+are able to do is accomplished by a complete specialization of function
+and a perfect share in the commonwealth. So far has this elaboration
+gone, that in the bees the work of reproducing the kind is allotted to
+forms which do no labor; all the work of the hive being effected by
+individuals which are sterile, and whose sole function it is to toil
+unendingly for the profit of the great household.
+
+While the greater part of the kindred of the bees either construct the
+nests for their young in the manner of our wasps or hornets, building
+them entirely in the open air, or excavate underground chambers in the
+fashion of our bumble-bees, our domesticated form at some time in the
+remote past adopted the plan of choosing for its dwelling-place some
+chamber in the rocks, or cavity in a hollow tree which could be shaped
+to the needs of a habitation. Owing to the size of these cavities, they
+were enabled to form societies composed of many thousands of
+individuals; while the species which adopted nests, in other conditions,
+were much more limited as regards their numbers. Thus the bumble-bee,
+which abides underground, dwells in very small communities, probably for
+the reason that the conditions of the soil it inhabits make it difficult
+to excavate and maintain large rooms. It is this habit of resorting to
+hollow spaces, as well as the instinct to store up honey in wax cases,
+which has made the common bee valuable to man.
+
+[Illustration: Feeding Silkworms with Mulberry Leaves in Japan]
+
+At best the opportunities which the wilderness affords, in the way of
+fit dwelling-places for the swarm which goes forth from a hive, are
+much less than can readily be provided by art. In almost all cases the
+wild bees have to expend a great deal of labor in searching for a fit
+residence; and after such is found it requires a great deal of toil and
+expenditure of the costly wax in order to shape the cavity so that it
+may comfortably accommodate the multitude, and be reasonably safe from
+the attacks of other insects. Thus it has come about that the bee has,
+in a way, welcomed the interference of man with his ancestral
+conditions; and, though the species exists in the wildernesses of its
+native land, the domesticated varieties have so far taken up with man
+that in other countries they do not wander far from the limits of
+civilization. Now and then an uncared-for swarm which cannot find
+accommodations about the parent hive will betake itself to the
+wilderness; though it generally continues to seek sustenance from
+the abundant flowers of the tilled fields where it finds species, such
+as clover and buckwheat, from which it has been long accustomed to win
+the harvest of pollen and honey.
+
+In North America the honey-bees, which were brought by the early
+settlers, and which had been kept on the frontier by the pioneers of our
+civilization, have always extended, in wild swarms, a little distance
+into the wilderness. But, at most, they appear to have wandered only for
+a few miles beyond the homestead, going no further away than would
+permit their use of the cultivated plants. The aborigines early learned
+to regard the insect as the _avant courier_ of European men. When they
+came upon an individual of the species they always knew that some white
+man's dwelling stood nearby. Those who are familiar with the solitudes
+of our Appalachian forests must often have remarked, in the stillness of
+a summer day, the hum of a swarm from some forest or domestic hive in
+its search for a dwelling-place. Those who have followed up the
+movements of these migrating colonies have had a chance to perceive how
+long is the search before they find a fit abiding place. Doubtless by
+far the greater part of these searchers for a home fail of their quest,
+and the wandering swarms perish without finding a suitable shelter.
+
+In certain kinds of woods, as, for instance, those occupied by pine
+trees or other species which do not develop spacious hollows in their
+trunks, and where there are no crannied rocks--all the swarms which seek
+habitations there are foredoomed to destruction. If by chance the
+colonies wander too far, they generally find the wilderness so ill
+provided with plants which may furnish them with the sources of wax,
+honey, or other necessaries, that they cannot maintain their life. Thus
+it is that the bee, though domiciled with us rather than domesticated,
+has become united in its fortunes with civilization. In this position
+they have shown a remarkable adaptation to extremely varied conditions.
+They can withstand any climate which permits the development of the
+vegetation to which they need have access, provided the growing season
+continues long enough to accumulate their store. In the tropical lands
+they harvest so little honey that they are not profitable to man, and in
+the high north they need all their summer's accumulation to maintain
+them through the long winter. Thus, though they may range almost as far
+as man through the gamut of climates, they are profitable to their
+masters only in the middle latitudes. They commonly do not do well close
+to the sea, and cannot be kept on inconsiderable islands for the reason
+that they are, in their wanderings, likely to be lost in the waters.
+
+The bee, like the other social insects, evinces a wide range of
+instincts which are intimately related to the economy of the hive; but
+these motives appear to be of an unchangeable character. They show no
+tendency to undergo the modifications which we observe to take place in
+our birds and mammals when they are brought under the influence of man.
+The only case in which they show any distinct effect from their contact
+with man is found in their evident recognition of those who care for
+them. They soon learn that their master is not to be feared, and,
+therefore, need not be resisted; but, beyond this dumb acceptance of a
+situation, they exhibit no trace of sympathetic recognition of our
+kind. It is clear that their mental endowments, though considerable,
+are very much more remote from our own than are those of the
+vertebrated animals with which we have formed a friendly association.
+Moreover, the type of life of the creatures in a way excludes them from
+any kind of share in human society. Each of them is, from its birth to
+its death, entirely devoted to the interests of its little
+commonwealth. Every impulse of their being relates to the economy of
+their hive. While we know little about instinct, we know enough of its
+manifestations to state that the real unit of this species is not the
+individual insect, but the colony to which it belongs. The separate
+form is hardly more than a bit of machinery so arranged that it may
+operate at a distance from the engine of which it forms a part. On this
+account it appears to be impossible for us ever to attain to any kind
+of sympathetic relations with these creatures.
+
+Even more important than the bees are those insects which, in their
+immature state, yield us silk. The so-called silkworms, like the bees,
+originated in Asia, and have long been in the care of man. Beginning
+their experiments in spinning with the wool of animals and the various
+accessible vegetable fibres, men have ever been seeking materials which
+could serve them in the weaver's art. At one time or another they have
+tried an exceeding variety of materials; in modern days more than a
+score of insects have been experimented with in the endeavor to obtain
+fibres which could be turned to use. So far, however, the _Bombyx
+mori_--the form which, as its specific name indicates, feeds upon the
+leaves of the mulberry tree--is the only one which proves really
+serviceable. The advantages of this species are found in a peculiar
+assemblage of qualities, each of which is necessary to make it fit for
+the ends it attains at the hand of man.
+
+The mulberry silkworm can readily be bred in confinement. The eggs are
+easily gathered and preserved, and are so readily kept that they may be
+sent the world about. At a given temperature they with infrequent
+failures hatch; and if sufficiently fed with the fresh leaves of the
+mulberry, will in a short time attain to as perfect a development as
+though they grew, not in close rooms, but in the open conditions of the
+trees. When of adult size, the grubs proceed to spin themselves in,
+forming a thick cocoon composed of threads of a material which, though
+as soft as paste when emitted from the body, hardens so as to form a
+strong and even thread. If the insect be allowed to remain for a
+sufficient time in the cradle which it has spun for its second birth,
+the body within the chrysalis case will proceed in a manner to
+dissolve; and in the milky fluid thus produced, where only faint traces
+of its former state remain, the beautiful image or perfect form will
+arise. In the economic use of the creature, however, except as far as a
+supply of eggs may be desired, it is necessary to prevent the
+completion of its development; for in escaping from the chrysalis case,
+the butterfly cuts many of the delicate threads, so that the silk is
+made unserviceable. It is necessary to wind it off before the insect
+escapes. In this part of the work we notice the most perfect adaptation
+of the creature to the needs of man. While the silk threads from the
+cocoons of other species which might prove of value cannot be easily
+reeled off, those of the silkworm, when placed in hot water, readily
+separate, and can be gathered in a condition for spinning. Thus, while
+some success has been attained by carding the cocoons of other species,
+thereby making a fibre which has a certain utility, the silkworm alone
+yields material fitted for delicate fabrics.
+
+[Illustration: The Farmer's Apiary]
+
+At the present time in Europe, Asia, and America there are probably not
+far from ten million people who depend in large measure upon the
+product of the silkworm for their livelihood. Although the product of
+their industry and that of the insects combined is not nearly as
+indispensable to man as those which are won from the hair of animals or
+the fibres of plants--for silk is a luxury rather than a necessity--the
+value of the work done by these humble creatures is greater than that
+effected by the largest of our domesticated animals, the elephant. If
+the philanthropic economist were forced to choose which of these
+creatures should pass from the earth, he would have to accept the loss
+of the greater and far nobler animal.
+
+So far as regards their intelligence, the silkworms are much below the
+level of the bees. Though they dwell in an aggregate way they have
+scarcely a semblance of social order, and are without the wide range of
+peculiar instincts which we invariably find among the commonwealth
+animals. The order of _Lepidoptera_, in which these creatures belong,
+though the most beautiful, appears to be from an intellectual point of
+view the least advanced of our insects. Their instincts are all on a low
+plane; they have no kind of mutual labor, and however much advance we
+may make by selection in developing their bodies, there is no reason to
+expect that we shall affect their intelligences.
+
+The cochineal insect, a species which has the habit of feeding upon
+the cactus, is used for a dye stuff, for which service the brightly
+colored body is appropriated. Although the creature is deliberately
+planted where it is to feed, and thus is in a way submitted to
+culture, it cannot fairly be said to have been entered in the
+domesticated circle of man. In a similar way the so-called Spanish
+fly--which really belongs among the beetles--whose ground-up bodies
+are used for producing blisters, is merely appropriated to our use
+without any process of subjugation. The fact remains that, so far as
+our dealings with the insect world have gone, we have really won but
+two of the million or more of forms to captivity; and our relations
+with these have nothing of the humanized nature which marks our
+intercourse with truly domesticated creatures.
+
+Small as are the lessons which we may read from our experience with the
+honey-bee and the silkworm, they appear clearly to indicate that, while
+we may expect to do little with the intelligences of insects, we may
+fairly reckon on a great field for accomplishment in the way of changes
+in their bodily constitution. In the case of the bees the facts show us
+that in particular conditions of climate or other surroundings a certain
+amount of variation takes place, and by proper selection either of
+queens or swarms it may be possible considerably to extend the value of
+these animals. The task is beset with difficulties for the reason that,
+while in ordinary selective breeding we deal with individuals, we have,
+as before remarked, in this species to regard the hive or colony as the
+unit and to make our selection with reference to the qualities of that
+colony as a whole. Nevertheless, with the constant advances in the skill
+of our economic selectionists, there is reason to expect that our bees
+may be progressively improved. On the other hand, there is the chance
+that the progress of chemical discovery may enable us at any time to
+manufacture honey in the artificial way and of a quality
+indistinguishable from that produced by domesticated bees; in which case
+these captives, at best troublesome, though most interesting, will
+probably disappear from the human association.
+
+With the silkworms, variations can be more readily brought about; for,
+as is the case with other animals, the individuals can be paired. The
+efforts at selection already made show that valuable characters can be
+thus accumulated, though not with the success which attends the
+efforts of a like nature made in the case of our domesticated mammals
+and birds. In common with other animals--indeed, we may say, with all
+organic life--the silkworms vary perceptibly in different parts of the
+world to which they may be taken. Thus, when reared in California it
+is said that this insect develops more strength than it exhibits in
+Europe; and the eggs which it lays there produce stronger insects,
+which in turn yield larger cocoons than the individuals born in Italy
+or France. With such a basis for the selective art as the variations
+of this insect afford, there seems no reason why it should not afford
+a good field for the work of the breeder's art.
+
+
+
+
+THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS
+
+    Recent Understanding as to the Rights of Animals; Nature of these
+    Rights; their Origin in Sympathy.--Early State of Sympathetic
+    Emotions.--Place of Statutes concerning Animal Rights.--Present
+    and Future of Animal Rights.--Question of Vivisection.--Rights of
+    Domesticated Animals to Proper Care; to Enjoyment.--Ends of the
+    Breeder's Art.--Moral Position of the Hunter.--Probable Development
+    of the Protecting Motive as applied to Animals.
+
+
+It is well to note the fact that, in considering the rights of the
+creatures below the level of man, we are dealing with a question which
+does not seem to have entered into the minds of the ancients. Such old
+phrases as "the merciful man is merciful to his beast" indicate that
+cruelty to the domesticated creatures was, in a way, reprobated by the
+ancients; but not until well on in the present century do we find any
+indication that reason had come to the help of pity in an effort to
+frame rules having the weight of law and the support of sanctions,
+either those of public opinion or the more direct penalties of the
+courts, to limit the conduct of men towards the lower animals. The great
+tide of mercy and justice which marks our modern civilization had first
+to break down the grievous and strongly founded evils of human slavery.
+Having effected that great work, the sympathetic motives are moving on
+to a similar conflict with the moral ills which arise from an improper
+treatment of those slaves of a lower estate, the domesticated animals.
+
+It is impossible to see our position in relation to the matter of the
+rights of animals without looking somewhat carefully into the
+intellectual and moral steps which have at length brought us to the
+consideration of the question. First let us note that while the rights
+of their fellows have been impressed on men by the precepts of
+religions, particularly by those of Christianity, the rules of conduct
+which guide us in our contacts with beings below the level of our
+species have never been determined by the canons of our faith, for the
+reason that they are the product of very modern conditions; they are the
+thought of our own time. New as are these tenets, however, they may
+fairly be received as but the last though not the final expression of
+that most interesting of all natural series--the succession in the
+development of sympathy which, step by step in the progress of organic
+life, has led from the original dull insensitiveness of the lower
+animals upwards to the outgoing spirit of man.
+
+In the lower stages of animal life we find no traces of appreciation of
+the neighbor except those which necessarily relate to the selection and
+capture of food and perhaps to the selection of mates. Further on in the
+process of development we note the love of offspring, and, as a
+consequence of that love, the growth of the family sense, which rarely
+is maintained beyond the time when the young can shift for themselves.
+Among the species of the higher groups--certain insects, the greater
+part of the birds, and the nobler of the mammals--the instinct of the
+family is extended until it includes the tribe, or perhaps goes yet
+further and leads to a certain kindliness to all the individuals of the
+race. Thus it comes about that the individuals of many species below the
+level of man will respond to the cries of their kindred though they may
+never have had a chance to know them. There is in these cases a
+sympathetic bond that binds the kind together. It is with this
+condition of the sympathies that the task of their further evolution is
+transferred to man. Inheriting as he does the essential motives of the
+lower beings through which he came to his present estate, man proceeds
+to deal with them in a manner which is determined by the peculiar
+rational power which belongs to him. In place of the blind following of
+the emotions which characterizes the sympathetic movements of the lower
+animals, we find that even among the most primitive and lowly savages
+rules of conduct are instituted which serve to direct the ways in which
+the individual shall act with regard to his fellows. In almost all cases
+these rules are much intermingled with the religion of the people;
+usually they rest upon a body of advancing public opinion which
+amplifies the motives and, in turn, is enlarged by their growth. As time
+goes on and the folk attain the stage of records, these rules of conduct
+become definite laws which at first are based on religious ordinances;
+but in time they are, in the latest stage of social growth, brought into
+the state of ordinary statutes which, while they may have some religious
+sanction, are supported by the machinery of the secular government.
+
+After the first rude work of shaping the body of ancient experience into
+law was done, there remained the larger and more difficult task of
+continuing the development of the sympathetic motives with a
+corresponding amplification of customs and statutes so that the steps of
+advance should be duly embodied in these rules of conduct. The stages of
+this purely human attainment have been slowly taken, the onward way has
+been effectively won but by few peoples. A part of the slowness in
+advance in the enlargement of the sympathetic motives beyond the stage
+which has been attained in the life below the human grade is to be
+accounted for in the fact that no sooner are laws formed than they
+become in a way sacred. If they be cast in the religious mould their
+sanctity may be such that they are almost beyond the reach of
+modification; even when they are secular the reverence for the wisdom of
+the forefathers naturally leads men to regard them as the ark of safety.
+Thus it has come about that the codification of the ancient sympathies,
+won by experience in the pre-human time and in the early life of man,
+has led to the institution of a barrier which makes further advance a
+matter of difficulty--one which, in the case of most peoples, binds them
+firmly to the past, arresting their sympathetic development at a point
+which it had attained when their laws were framed. This is, indeed, the
+position of nearly all the peoples except those of our own Aryan race.
+
+When the conditions of a people are fortunately such that they may
+continue their sympathetic growth, they proceed to carry onward the
+process of sympathetic enlargement, modifying their laws to suit the
+gains in understanding which come with this growth. It may be noticed
+that the development takes place most readily where the rules of
+conduct are embodied in statute law; for this law, being the evident
+result of human action, is manifestly alterable in a way that cannot be
+taken when the prescriptions are supposed to rest on divine commands.
+Under such conditions of statute law men are freer to advance than they
+can possibly be where the rules of action are in the form of revered
+precepts, such as guide the peoples who are accustomed to base their
+action on the books which they esteem as sacred. Endowed with this
+element of freedom, the peoples of our own Aryan race--and,
+fortunately, the most advanced of all its varieties, the
+English-speaking part of the folk--have, by the divine impulse towards
+moral advancement, been led to make a great extension of the
+sympathetic motives. The first step in this direction seems to have
+been towards the mitigation of the horrors of war, which of old meant
+the slavery or slaughter of the prisoners. Under the dictates of the
+developing spirit of mercy and without written law, these brutal
+actions have been limited until the dogs of war are allowed to rend
+only in the hour of battle. In this day the man who slays the wounded
+or robs the dead is esteemed an outlaw. The same beneficent motive was
+next extended towards human slaves. In this matter English people led;
+and to them it was almost altogether due that this evil has come nearly
+to an end except among the Mohammedans, who are bound as in chains to
+their sacred books and cannot win their way to progress through
+statutes. In a like manner, in the care of the poor, of prisoners for
+debt, and even of malefactors, our English folk on both sides of the
+Atlantic have led in the ongoing towards a higher moral estate.
+
+The last great excursion of sympathy which has characterized the
+English Aryans--one dating its beginning to this century--is that
+relating to the rights of our domesticated animals. This has come
+about, like the other movements, in a way unconsciously. Prophetic
+spirits have seen beyond the vision of their fellows; they have given
+their messages, which have found an echo in the souls of men. The
+motive originated in the recognition of the essential likeness of the
+minds of the lower animals to our own. But it has been greatly
+reenforced by the teachings of the naturalists to the effect that all
+the life of this sphere is akin in its origin and that our subjects are
+not very far away from our own ancestral line.
+
+It is characteristic of sympathetic movements that, while they are
+slowly prepared for, their final development is very rapid. Thus it has
+come about that within one hundred years the conception of the rights of
+animals has advanced with almost startling rapidity. No other moral gain
+has been made with such speed or has so rapidly become a part of the
+property of civilized man. The steps are those which have been taken in
+all the other great moral advances: at first there were but a few who,
+in the manner of the skirmishers of armies, set the standards far on in
+the new ground; gradually the less ardent win their way to them, only to
+be led the further by their natural guides. As the great advance is
+still making, it is difficult to see how far it may attain; it is,
+however, easy to recognize some of the important gains and to foretell
+the path if not the field of full accomplishment of the conquest. A
+century ago a man, so far as the law was concerned, owned his living
+chattels as he did the inanimate things of his property. He could
+torture or slay them as whim or malice might dictate; there were no
+limitations by statute, and public opinion, where it might reprobate,
+was too weak to influence his conduct. Now the statute books of all
+countries which are moving in the path of moral advance show that public
+opinion has attained the point where it begins to formulate itself in
+statutes which restrict the relations of men to their domesticated
+animals--or, in other words, endow them with definite rights. He may, of
+course, force them to do him their fit service; he may at his need slay
+them; but he must exercise his authority without brutality; he must, in
+form at least, be merciful unto his beasts. With this limitation the
+rights of domesticated animals began to exist.
+
+At first sight it may seem unreasonable to found the rights of dumb
+beasts on the embodiment of public opinion in the law, and this for
+the reasons that many persons have held, that rights have an
+establishment in the ultimate moral constitution of the world. It may
+be granted that even before man or even life existed in the universe
+there were certain logical moral principles which were destined to
+take shape when the creatures to which they were adapted came to be;
+but such speculations are fanciful and do not much concern those who
+are dealing with the problems of the barnyard. We may, to bring the
+matter nearer, say that the slave of half a century ago had a right to
+be free; but this right, in all practical senses, meant only that
+certain people very much disliked to see him enthralled.
+
+So far, by successive stages, first by accumulated public opinion and
+then by its embodiment in statutes, we have won a measure of protection
+to subjugated animals which tends to save them from the extremer forms
+of cruelty. The question now is as to the advances which may be made in
+the time to come. It is evident that these advances, so far as the
+domesticated species are concerned, will have to be limited by the needs
+of man. We cannot ever expect to have the reverence of the Hindoo for
+the lower animals, for the reason that his state of mind is based on the
+preposterous supposition that the beast contains the spirit of a man on
+its way through the cycles towards perfection. We must continue to
+burthen, tax, and slay; but we may fairly be required to inflict no
+unnecessary suffering. In this process of amendment we shall undoubtedly
+before long come to the point where we shall demand that these animals
+shall be lodged in a wholesome manner and so fed that they may be fit
+for their tasks. We may, in a word, consider their well being so far as
+it is consistent with the well being of mankind, and in so doing we
+shall demand some personal sacrifice from the owner where such is
+clearly demanded to maintain the principle of the law.
+
+As in all other great sympathetic movements, the leaders of the advance
+in the matter of the humane treatment of animals are occasionally
+unreasonable in their demands--it may well be held that the prophet has
+to be unreasonable in order to attain his goal; hence it has come about
+that the demands of these admirable people are often beyond the bounds
+of things that are practicable. Fire-horses, however ill, should be
+made to do their duty, even if it costs them any amount of suffering;
+even as the artillerymen should, if the occasion calls for it, rush
+their teams, though they know that the poor beasts are to die at the
+goal. In a word, the only and supreme test of our relations to these
+subjects is the well being of man considered from the higher point of
+view. This principle we apply to our own kind; we are justified in like
+action in case of the brutes. In this consideration, the offence to the
+feelings of man which is caused by any act of cruelty, however
+necessary, deserves its due weight.
+
+The most serious matter connected with the question of the rights of
+animals which is now under discussion relates to the use of these
+creatures in the investigative work of the naturalist, or in the
+repetition of the processes and results of those inquiries before
+students. Although all judicious people are likely to welcome the
+exceeding reprobation with which many philanthropists visit the
+vivisectionists, and this for the reason that the state of mind
+shows a rapid advance of the sympathetic motive, they are likely to
+question the sound foundation of the objections that are raised to
+experiments with animals, made for the purpose of discovering of
+displaying the truths of nature.
+
+So far as the work of research into the phenomena of life is
+concerned, there can be no question as to its importance or as to the
+fitness of sacrificing the lives of the lowlier creatures in any way
+that may be necessary for the advancement of knowledge. In the last
+half century there has been an improvement in the treatment and
+prevention of diseases so great as almost to defy adequate
+description. To take only the last of these precious gains, that in
+relation to the treatment of diphtheria, the gain has been such that
+although the process is not past its experimental stage the reduction
+of the mortality in hospitals where the remedy is used has lowered
+the death rate from above fifty to about fifteen per cent. of the
+cases. Yet this result rests upon a vast amount of experiment which
+has cost suffering and life to the lower animals; and to produce the
+remedy which is used, horses have to be innoculated with the disease,
+and thereby much pain is inflicted upon them. Weighed as against the
+life of a human being, a host of the lower creatures must count as
+nothing. As all human advancement depends upon the dissemination of
+knowledge, it is difficult to see any objection, from the point of view
+of justice, to the use of the lower creatures to accomplish this end.
+The only real point in the matter is as to the effect of such scenes on
+the minds of young people; yet they have to be accustomed to behold the
+processes of destruction of life which are everywhere going on about
+them. The gardener maintains his work by endless slaying. Our tables
+bear the products of the slaughter-houses. While the anatomist's work
+may be revolting, it is only so because his tasks are done deliberately
+and for a purpose that is not yet properly appreciated.
+
+It is a curious fact that many a person who enjoys hunting or fishing,
+and who slays or maims with much pleasure and to no substantial profit,
+is horrified to see a student dissecting a living frog, guinea-pig, or
+cat, in order that he may learn new truths or himself behold what others
+have discovered. Of the two aims, momentary pleasure or intellectual
+profit, which is the nobler? In which work is the mind the most likely
+to become careless as to the rights of the dumb beast? To my
+understanding, the present turn of sympathetic people against
+vivisection indicates that the movement of the emotions has, as is often
+the case, been diverted from the fittest path. So far from natural
+science tending in any way towards cruelty, it has been the very guide
+in the development of the modern affection for living beings. By showing
+something of the marvels of their structure and history, it has
+increased in a way no other influence has ever done the conception which
+we form as to their dignity and the wonderful nature of their history.
+It is in the true interest of mercy to disseminate in every way we can
+knowledge as to the real nature of animals, leaving this knowledge to
+bring forth the good fruit which it ever bears. In this connection it
+should moreover be said that the naturalist, like the surgeon,
+instinctively seeks to make his work as little painful as may be to the
+subjects of his experiments. In almost all cases, the animal is made
+unconscious. Moreover, all we know of the life of the lower animals
+leads us to suppose that while they suffer much as we do, their pains
+are of a physical sort, and unassociated to any great extent with the
+large fears and anticipations which in the case of man form so
+considerable a part of his torment when in face of death.
+
+The question of vivisection is but a part, indeed a very small part, of
+the much larger problem as to the relation of men to the lower life
+which is about them in their fields and in the wilderness. An
+approximate census of the species now on the earth shows that the number
+is between two and three million. In the presence of this host, we have
+to recognize that each of the innumerable individuals in its lifetime is
+a record of toil and pain the history of which extends backward to the
+beginnings of life. In this wonderful living world man has trodden
+ruthlessly, for the reason that he has no sense as to the dignity of the
+field. In the manner of a vandal, he has slain for profit or sport. He
+has been so effectual a destroyer that species, genera, and even
+families of animals have been ruthlessly swept away. The revelation of
+natural science, of the men of the knife who are so hated by some
+well-meaning but misdirected people, have now and only in our day
+brought us to a point where the sense of nature in its organic aspect
+begins to penetrate the minds of men. The revelation is so vast in its
+contents and its imports, the conceptions which rest upon it are so
+greatly enlarging to the human soul, that we may be sure of the wide and
+swift extension of the new light. It cannot be questioned that the
+clearer insight will rapidly change the attitude of men toward all
+living beings. We can in a way discern some of the conceptions as to the
+rights of the other life which will be enforced on mankind.
+
+It is likely that the first step into the new field of human duty, due
+to our better understanding as to our place in nature, will be in the
+direction of a greater care as to our domesticated forms. While we must
+continue to make their lives subserve our own, we may well insist that
+they should be properly housed, and have what it may be possible to
+afford them in the way of their primitive joys, which come from the sun,
+the air, and their natural food. No one who has seen a long-stabled
+horse made free of a field can have failed to note the intense pleasure
+which he takes in returning to something like his natural conditions.
+Many a cow stable with its foul conditions inflicts more and more
+enduring torments than all the vivisectionists that some misguided
+philanthropists are fighting; yet because of the novelty of the
+naturalist's work these attend to the new scene and neglect the ancient
+abuse. Among these evils which are to be corrected we may also account
+that which arises from the unguided development of what are called fancy
+breeds. Thus among our horned cattle, the Jerseys have been brought to a
+point where, from the iniquitous inbreeding, which is against what may
+be called the morality of nature, they are fearfully subjected to
+tuberculosis. The punishment for this insensate performance comes back
+upon mankind in the dissemination of consumption; but unhappily it does
+not visit the people who are responsible for the development of this
+breed. A like, though less considerable, evil is shown in the fancy
+breeds of dogs, pigeons, and some other petted animals, where for
+amusement and as an indication of his power man has raised up many
+decrepit and sickly varieties, which are not likely to have a fair share
+in the pleasure of life which their natural breeding insured them.
+
+The observant naturalist of the field has the sense--at least he has it
+if he be endowed with a little imagination--of the immense pleasure
+which life gives to most wild animals. That instinctive, and in its
+foundations utterly irrational and animal joy which men have, or should
+have, in their day, is part of the birthright of all sentient beings. As
+yet we have not recognized that this privilege of enjoyment should be
+confessed. We do not hesitate to slay or maim for mere sport. It is true
+that some of the ancient forms of this sport, such as bull-baiting and
+cock-fighting, have been condemned, but the best of men go afield with
+the gun to slay for pleasure. In a measure they keep up the pretence
+that they are in some way contributing to the needs of the larder, but
+so far as needs are concerned the pretence is mostly idle. It seems to
+me clear that in shaping our sympathetic relations towards animals in
+the light of our present knowledge, the huntsman will soon become
+unknown in civilized life. So long as men looked upon animals in the
+childish, ignorant way, viewing them as utterly commonplace things,
+hunting or fishing, for the reason that they rested on a foundation of
+ancient emotions, might well be indulged in. But to the man who knows
+what science has to teach him, and who discerns the marvels which the
+animal form enfolds, the destruction of such objects, except for need's
+sake, is sure to be painful. I judge this from my individual experience.
+In my youth I was very fond of hunting, and could even wring the necks
+of wounded birds without trouble of mind. A better sense of what life
+means, a sense which is no better than that to which all educated men
+are soon to attain, has made such work very repulsive to me.
+
+When the knowledge of our time is so brought down among the masses of
+men that it may afford the foundations for appropriate enlargement of
+the sympathies, the result will doubtless be a great movement towards
+enlargement in public opinion which credits the lower life with what we
+term rights. The most important result of this movement will be the
+creation of a sense of duty by this life. It is said of Mohammedans
+that they hesitate to tread upon a bit of paper lest it bear the name
+of God. We know now full well that every living creature in this world
+bears the stamp of a Providence which has acted from all time, and that
+we, so far as our own advancement will permit, are morally bound to
+allow this life to go forward on the appointed way.
+
+
+
+
+THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION
+
+    The Conditions of Domestication; Effects on Society; Share of the
+    Races of Men in the Work.--Evils of Non-Intercourse with
+    Domesticated Animals as in Cities; Remedies.--Scientific Position
+    of Domestication; Future of the Art.--List of Species which may
+    Advantageously be Domesticated.--Peculiar Value of the Birds and
+    Mammals.--Importance of Groups which tenant High Latitudes.--Plan
+    for Wilderness Reservations; Relation to National Parks.--Project
+    for International System of Reservations.--Nature of Organic
+    Provinces; Harm done to them by Civilized Men.--Way in which
+    Reservations would Serve to Maintain Types of the Life of the
+    Earth; how they may be Founded.--Summary and Conclusions.
+
+
+The advance of mankind from the primitive savagery has been
+accomplished in many ways. Among the various paths of onward and upward
+going, however, we trace three which have served greatly to secure the
+elevation of our estate. First of all, culture came through the use of
+the hands in the development of the simpler arts. Next, these arts led
+men to search the stores of the wilderness and of the under earth for
+materials which could serve them in their advancing crafts. The third
+important stage in their ongoing was attained when they began to
+subjugate the animals and plants of the wilds, bringing the creatures
+to abide in and about the households. Although in general this was the
+last great step to be taken in the beginnings of civilization, it was
+on many accounts the most important.
+
+Until men began to domesticate the forms of the wilderness, it was
+impossible for them to rise above the grade of savages. Their supply of
+food was necessarily in such a measure limited that their societies had
+to remain small and they were given to much wandering to and fro over
+the earth. Moreover, they had only the strength of their own hands for
+all the work of life. It was not until our kind began to form a society
+of other species about their homes that the foundations of civilizations
+were firmly established. The home, indeed, may fairly be said to be the
+product of the conditions which the process of domestication brought
+about. As distinguished from the temporary hut of primitive men, it
+represented the stability which was induced by the care of the plants
+and animals which man had domiciled about him.
+
+With every step upward in the organization of society we find that
+the number and efficiency of these subjugated creatures increases.
+Our American aborigines in their primitive state commanded only the
+dog and three or four plants, yet with this scant help they had
+already won beyond the lowest savagery and were at the threshold of
+barbarism. In our more civilized societies of to-day we find the
+products of near a hundred animals and about a thousand plants as
+elements of commerce, and each year sees some gain in the number of
+creatures which we make tributary to our desires.
+
+So far as we can discern, the relations of primitive savages to the
+animal life about them is on the whole more friendly than is that of
+cultivated men. It is true that the savage looks to the creatures of
+the wilderness for the greater part of his needs. He slays them, not
+at all in sport, but for the profit they may afford. Moreover, in most
+cases, his imagination endows these wild creatures with a spirit like
+his own. He often adopts them, in his religious worship, placing his
+tribe under the protection of one or another, as some of our own
+people do themselves under the protection of particular saints. The
+effect of domestication when man comes to have his own separate
+estate in animal life is to separate men from the creatures of the
+wilderness. "Wild" and "tame" come to be terms having a meaning which
+the savage does not recognize, and this meaning has with the advance
+of culture become intensified, until to most men the only creatures
+entitled to protection are those which have been made subject to man.
+
+At first the process of domestication concerned only useful animals or
+plants, those which would take a part in our industries. Rapidly,
+however, these creatures have been adopted with the view to the aesthetic
+satisfaction which they might afford. Quite half of the number of
+species which have come under human control have been tamed mainly if
+not altogether because of the charms which they possess. If we reckon
+flowering plants in the category, by far the greater number of our
+captives have been brought to us because of their beauty.
+
+The work of domestication has in the main been effected by our own
+Aryan race. Out of the total number of animals and plants which have
+been made captives, probably more than two-thirds have been brought
+into subjection by the European Aryans or by the folk whom they have
+profoundly affected with their civilizing motives. The disposition to
+win goods from the wilderness is in effect a fair test of those
+qualities in a people which give them dominance: we may indeed
+roughly measure the qualities of diverse folk by a variety of
+conquests of this kind, which they have made. The reason for this
+relation is plain. Success, whether it be of the individual or of the
+race, depends in large measure upon forethoughtfulness, on a
+disposition to study as to where profit may be had, and intelligently
+to seek accessions of strength by experiments in domestication. Each
+of these winnings from the wilderness represented by our domesticated
+animals or plants has been painfully and laboriously gained. The men
+who did the tasks were not creatures of the day, but foresightful
+beyond the average of mortals.
+
+In a large way the work of domestication represents one of the modes
+of action of that sympathetic motive which more than any other has
+been the basis of the highest development of mankind. Ordinary men of
+the low grade are content to slay, or otherwise rudely gain what value
+they find in the wild creatures. Only the higher grades of men
+perceive much of the charm in the inhabitants of the wilderness, or
+desire to win them to their homes. If our conquests from the wilds
+were limited to the grossly profitable life alone, we might say that
+interest only had determined the work of subjugation; but as soon as
+men escape from their primitive state, even while in their general
+motives they are still essentially barbarians, they cultivate flowers
+and derive a keen pleasure from their company. They domesticate birds
+which are valuable only for the pleasures which their presence lends
+to human abodes. This action clearly shows that the element of
+sympathy, that love for the other life which in any way fixes the
+attention, has had much to do with this work of bringing other beings
+into association with our own lives.
+
+Not only is the motive which has led our race to such extensive
+conquests over the wild nature in itself sympathetic, but the
+process of winning these creatures from the wilderness has served
+effectively to extend and amplify this same impulse. One of the best
+features of agricultural life consists in the great amount of
+care-taking which it imposes upon its followers. The ordinary farmer
+has to enter into more or less sympathetic relations with half a
+score of animal species and many kinds of plants. His life, indeed,
+is devoted to ceaseless friendly relations with these creatures which
+live or die at his will. In this task his ancient savage impulses are
+slowly worn away, and in their place comes the enduring kindliness of
+cultivated men. When we compare the state of mind of the hunter with
+that of the care-taking soil-tiller, we see the vast scope and
+influence which this work of domestication has effected in our kind.
+To it perhaps more than to any other cause we must attribute the
+civilizable and the civilized state of mind.
+
+Although no discreet person will venture to determine the relative
+weight which should be given to the influences which have made for
+civilization, there can be no doubt that the care of domesticated
+animals has been one of the most potent of these agents. Not only has
+this employment served to develop the motives of care-taking that
+result in the postponement of the momentary satisfaction of indolence
+or of hunger for the prospect of security or wealth to come, but it
+has served to arouse and broaden the sympathies given men, that
+humane spirit without which the best of our higher culture cannot be
+attained. If this view be correct, we may find in it a good reason
+for regretting the increasing development of cities, a reason which
+is more definite than the most of those which have been urged against
+the growth of great towns. Statistics seem to indicate that people
+are as healthy, as long lived, and on the whole no more given to vice
+and crime in a well-ordered urban life than they are on the farms. It
+is certainly easier to give them the formal education of the schools
+in the dense than in the scattered condition. There can be no doubt,
+however, that the practically complete separation of the most of our
+cities from all educative contact with the ancient companions and
+helpers of men brings about an omission of an element in culture that
+may entail serious consequences.
+
+The question arises as to what can be done to diminish the evils
+which come from the total separation of a large part of our people
+from the humanizing influences due to the care of animals. How
+general this separation is may be judged from the fact that so far as
+I have been able to find in the manufacturing towns of Massachusetts
+not one child in thirty ever knew what it is to care for any
+creature, save those of its kind. And even in a well-conditioned
+place like Cambridge, the proportion of those who have any educative
+contact with animals probably does not exceed one in fifteen. I do
+not reckon the mere chance playing with a dog or cat as serving the
+need; the real service is when the person has a sense of
+responsibility for the life of the animal. To bring about this
+relation in the ordinary conditions of a town is usually impossible.
+Something can, however, be accomplished by various expedients.
+
+In the lowest state of townspeople it is out of the question to give
+the children any pets whatever. Even caged birds cannot or should not
+be accommodated in the cheaper grade of lodging-houses. Wherever the
+animals are in separate houses it is often possible for children to
+have some contact with sympathetic animal life. In these conditions,
+our cocks and hens are the best creatures to rear. They are the most
+attractive of all our domesticated birds; they do better than any
+other forms of economic value in narrow conditions, and, what is of
+importance for the end in view, they contribute a share of food, so
+that a boy may have from them some experience with the economic
+relation of animals to men.
+
+Some persons who have observed the advancing process of destruction of
+the natural world may have been brought to consider the change as in the
+necessary and inevitable order which comes with the higher development
+of man. They may welcome--indeed, some evidently do welcome--the chance
+that the ancient system may utterly disappear, and all the earth become
+fields and garden places tenanted only by those forms that man may have
+chosen to be his companions. To many people who have a keen impression
+as to the importance of man in the great economy, and no clear sense of
+his relation to the natural order, this possibility is doubtless
+attractive. It is not so to those who have gained a clear idea of the
+place of man and the conditions of his ongoing.
+
+There is reason to expect that the modern gains in the cheapness and
+speed of transportation may before long bring about a material change in
+the housing of the laboring classes of our cities, so that they may be
+able to dwell in somewhat rural conditions. In this way we may hope to
+see these people once again brought where they may receive a fuller
+share of the influences which have served so well to lift our race to
+its elevated moral station. Working to the same end is the spirit which
+is leading many manufacturers to place their establishments in the
+country, where they can control the mode of life of the employees and
+their families. Against the growth of the factory towns with their
+sordid conditions, we may with pleasure set these rural workshops where
+the capitalists are doing the best they can to better the mode of living
+of the people who are under their charge. In this good work it may well
+be possible to include a share of contact with the soil and with
+domesticated animals. In this system of isolated factories we may
+perhaps hope to find the way out of the perplexities which the present
+condition of our industries have imposed on our civilization.
+
+Up to our present half-century the process of winning animals and plants
+to domestication, and of improving them after they had been thus won,
+has been in its nature a matter of haphazard. Here and there, as men
+have seen creatures which promised in captivity to afford either
+pleasure or profit, they have endeavored to convert them to use. In some
+cases the effort has been made with some patience and steadfastness of
+purpose. If the creature yielded quickly to the needs of a new life
+which it was sought to impose upon him, he became a member of man's
+family. If its wilderness motives were strong, the effort to domesticate
+was soon abandoned. The greater part of these efforts to win animals and
+plants into alliance with our race have been made with the creatures
+which were native in the wildernesses about our ancestral
+dwelling-places. Occasionally from distant lands important gains have
+been made, especially among the food-giving plants; but all the animals
+of any importance which have been adopted by the Aryan people were
+originally natives of the lands in which that race has dwelt.
+
+It is a remarkable fact that no sooner does a wild animal or plant
+become intimately associated with man, than it at once departs more or
+less widely from its ancient type. Our conquests from the vegetable
+world have to a great extent so far lost their original character that
+we can no longer determine the species from which they sprang. Botanists
+cannot find the wild forms which have given us the cabbage, wheat, and
+most other small grains, and a host of other important varieties. So,
+too, the origin of our dogs is as yet unsolved and bids fair ever to
+remain a mystery. In addition to this changed character which we observe
+in the forms of domesticated animals and plants alike, we note that the
+mental characteristics of the former undergo vast alterations. The
+creatures, in a way, take the tone of civilization, and to a great
+extent abandon those ancient habits of fear and rage which were
+essential to their life in the wilderness. The intellectual condition of
+our dogs shows us that the creatures may be progressively educated--in a
+word, that man may put into them something of his human quality. In the
+case of the dog, the longest possessed and most familiar to our
+households of all our captives, the mental change which has come, partly
+by selection, from association with man has gone so far that the species
+may be fairly said to have replaced its pristine motives with those
+which it has derived from ourselves. In many cases it has become, so far
+as its ways are concerned, even more man than dog.
+
+Although the physical and mental educability of animals when brought
+into companionship with man is an old subject of remark, and one of the
+most interesting features which they exhibit, it was not until the
+doctrine of descent by variation of species from other related forms
+became established, that we had a chance to see the vast possibilities
+of accomplishment which are presented to us by our domesticated
+creatures. It is true that the breeder's art is old and that men have
+felt the subjugated animals to be almost like clay in the potter's
+hands, but except in a small and rather careless way with the dogs,
+little attention has been given to the development of the intelligence
+of these captives. The success which we have obtained with this animal
+has been accomplished by a selective process, but one which has been
+almost as blind in its operation as the choice which acts in the natural
+world. For thousands of years men have preferred the dogs which
+manifested a sympathy with them, and the result is a creature which,
+though derived from a very brutal ancestry, has in its way as intense
+affections as human beings. Now and then they have chosen deliberately
+to develop some mental peculiarity of the animal which would be of
+service in hunting, and the effect of this care is to be noted in the
+considerable variety and perfection of mental development which the
+sporting dogs exhibit. In the main, however, the interest of our dog
+fanciers has been limited to the physical features of the species;
+nothing like a deliberate effort to ascertain how far the development of
+their mental parts could be carried has ever been essayed. In no other
+field of human endeavor of anything like equal importance has there been
+so little understanding applied to the tasks.
+
+Now that we are beginning to know something of the laws of inheritance,
+it is high time for us deliberately to consider what our relations to
+the organic world are hereafter to be, and how we can guide ourselves in
+these relations by the light of modern learning. It is in the first
+place clear that the subjugation of the earth which necessarily
+accompanies the development of civilization, inevitably tends to sweep
+away a large part of the organic life which is not adopted and
+protected by man. Already, with the mere beginnings of this culture, we
+find that several of the large beasts and birds and a number of plants
+have been destroyed. New as civilization is on this continent, it has
+already brought the moose and the buffalo to a point where they are on
+the verge of extinction, and in the Old World the wild ancestors of the
+horse and the bull have quite disappeared from the wildernesses. Within
+a few centuries the greater birds, the Dinornis and Epiornis, as well as
+the interesting Dodo, have vanished from the southern isles which they
+inhabited. In the century to come we can foresee that this process of
+effacement of the ancient life will go on with accelerated velocity.
+
+It seems inevitable that man should play the part of a destroyer. It is
+his place to break down the ancient order determined by what we call
+natural forces and in its stead to set a new accord in which the economy
+of the earth will be in a great measure controlled by his intelligence.
+Even those who most keenly sympathize with the wilderness life, are not
+likely to object to the changes which are necessary to open the way for
+this new dispensation. They may fairly ask, however, that hereafter the
+displacement of the ancient life shall be brought about with foresight
+and with the exercise of the utmost care in minimizing the sacrifices
+which we are called on to make. Naturalists may fairly ask men to
+remember that each of these species which we are forced to destroy
+represents the toil and pains of unimaginable ages, and that when these
+creatures are swept away they can never be recovered. Whatever new
+species may come, by processes of evolution from the life which remains
+after we have done our will with the wilderness, we shall never see
+again the forms which have passed away.
+
+It is the worst feature of the destruction which man is bringing upon
+the organic species that the assault is most effective on those
+varieties which are most interesting both from an intellectual and an
+economic point of view. To take only the case of the great birds which
+have recently been swept from the earth, we see clearly that we have
+with them lost precious opportunities for enlarging our understanding of
+nature and have at the same time been deprived of the chance to
+domesticate creatures which would most likely have proved of much
+economic value. With each of these species which disappears we lose what
+may be a precious chance of adding to the small store of animals or
+plants which may contribute to the well being of our kind. These
+considerations make it plain that it is our duty by our civilization, to
+do all in our power to save these species and at the same time to essay
+their domestication, for only when under the protection of man can they
+be regarded as insured from destruction.
+
+The task of bringing wild creatures into our domestic fold is one of
+very varied difficulty. Many plants are easily reconciled to the
+conditions of our fields and gardens: they may be said to welcome the
+care of man which insures them some protection from the fierce
+contention with other life or with the elements to which they are
+exposed in their natural conditions. Only here and there is it necessary
+by careful breeding to develop domesticated habits to the point where
+the forms will endure culture. Where the task is, however, to make avail
+of some natural peculiarity which promises to be useful, but is not yet
+of economic value, it may require a hundred generations of careful
+selection to develop and fix desirable features. We are, however, in all
+cases sure in these half-animate species, the plants, that they will
+prove perfectly obedient to our will. It is otherwise, however, with
+wild animals. Here we have to deal with intelligences in which the most
+striking characteristic is an abiding fear of the master, and a general
+indisposition to submit to any other control than that of their native
+wild instincts. The measure in which this wilderness habit, bred of long
+contention with enemies, prevails in animals varies greatly. Some, as
+for instance the elephant, at once reconcile themselves to human
+association, and directly on being made slaves accept the mastery of
+their captors. Others, such as the zebra, remain for a lifetime
+possessed of their original savage nature. A large part of the labor
+which has been given to the work of domesticating by the breeder's art
+the score of mammalian species which man has won to his use has been
+devoted to this task of expelling the wilderness motives from these
+forms. The cases in which he has failed to accomplish this end are those
+in which the savage humor has persisted for so long a time that he has
+been forced to abandon his effort to subdue the stock.
+
+It seems likely that at the present time we have acquired from the
+wilderness nearly all the animals which are capable of adoption by
+such brief and individual experiments as have won to us the species
+which constitute our flocks and herds. Our future gains will have to
+be made by far more deliberate and continuous endeavors. These tasks
+of the hereafter will have to be undertaken in a way which will insure
+a continuity of effort such as can only be attained by permanently
+organized associations which may continue their essays if needs be for
+centuries. The work should be done with two distinct ends in view:
+first, to determine what members of the wilderness life may be made
+to contribute to the needs of man; and, second, how far it is possible
+so to develop the intelligence of the lower animals in general as to
+make them better fitted for companionship with our kind. This
+last-named line of experiments needs to be undertaken not only with
+reference to varieties now wild, but also upon our most domesticated
+forms, for, as before remarked, we have not begun to explore the
+possibilities of intellectual gain, even in those species which have
+been the longest associated with us.
+
+In considering a list of the creatures which might well be made the
+subjects of trial with a view to their domestication, we find ourselves
+at once embarrassed by the exceeding wealth of our opportunities. It is
+impossible within the limits of this article to treat, even in the
+catalogue way, a vast number of forms which commend themselves for
+experiment. Something of the richness of the field, however, may be
+judged by noting some of the more conspicuous forms, as we shall now
+proceed to do. Beginning with the insects, the lowest forms in the
+animal series which have proved in any sense domesticable, we note that
+wide as is this realm of life it offers but few opportunities such as
+the domesticator seeks. Of the million or more species in the group,
+only two, the honey-bee and the silkworm, have been won to man's use,
+and there is not another wild form which the naturalist can suggest as
+likely to prove a valuable captive. The only use which we are probably
+to find for these creatures is where, by some form of culture, we may
+induce predatory or parasitic species more effectively to do their
+destructive work on noxious forms of the class. So well fitted is this
+group for purposes of self-defence that however much man may interfere
+with the course of nature, he is not likely to sweep any of their
+multitudinous kinds from the earth, though experience clearly shows that
+by the methods above mentioned they may be greatly reduced.
+
+It is among the vertebrate forms alone that we find animals which by
+their characteristics of body or of mind are well fitted to have an
+economic or social value. There alone are the qualities of flesh or of
+the external covering such as to make them in a high measure valuable,
+and the instincts of a nature to fit them for association in man's work.
+Even among these back-boned animals we find that the lower groups--the
+fishes, the amphibians, and the reptiles--promise little in the way of
+gains as compared with the higher groups, the birds and mammals; yet
+even among these inferior creatures we find certain forms which give
+promise of improvement under the care of man. Some of the fishes readily
+learn to come to any one from whom they may expect food, and they
+indicate in other ways that they are capable of a certain intellectual
+advance. The frogs and toads readily learn to recognize a master.
+Several of the larger members of the first-named forms could
+advantageously be bred so as to be very useful as food. The common hop
+toad of our gardens is an admirable helper in restraining the excessive
+development of certain slugs and insects. The tortoises and turtles
+contain a number of species which are edible, and many of the forms
+invite the breeder's care. It is, however, when we ascend in the type of
+vertebrates to the level of the birds that we find the great array of
+creatures which are worth considering as members of our civilization.
+
+Nearly all the birds except those of prey and those which haunt the
+seas can easily be accustomed to man. A few of these species which
+have been reduced to captivity have not become sufficiently reconciled
+to the unnatural conditions to maintain their breeding habits. Even in
+these cases, however, it seems likely that in spacious aviaries, at
+least in climates to which they are accustomed, it will be possible to
+secure the continuous reproduction of the kind, on which all
+development by the breeder's art depends.
+
+The ease with which most birds, except those of prey, may be reduced to
+domestication is due to the remarkable intensity of their sympathetic
+motives. In this regard the class is much more advanced than that of the
+mammalia to which we ourselves belong. Accustomed as they are to
+ceaseless and active intercourse with each other by means of their
+varied calls, largely endowed with the faculty of attention, and
+provided with fairly retentive memories, the birds are, on the average,
+nearer in the qualities of their intelligence to man than are many of
+the species in his own class. It was long ago remarked that the birds of
+remote islands, such as the Galapagos, which had never seen man, were at
+first not in the least afraid of him. It required, however, but a few
+generations of experience to show these creatures that the unfeathered
+biped was a singularly dangerous animal, and they at once and
+permanently adopted the habit of avoiding him. This incident of itself
+shows how quick birds are to learn certain large and important lessons.
+We see also the reverse of this education in fear in the rapid way in
+which birds become tame when they are secured from persecution. Wherever
+shooting is stopped over a considerable territory the birds rapidly
+become more tolerant of man's presence. Even among migratory species the
+individuals appear to learn that certain places where they are
+protected may be resorted to with safety.
+
+Because of their freedom of flight it is in all cases difficult to
+bring our perching birds into such relations with the domiciles of man
+that they can be truly domesticated. The success, however, which has
+been attained in the case of the pigeons, which have been so far made
+captive by the change of their instincts that they never depart far
+from their cotes, seems to indicate that this tendency again to go
+wild is by no means ineradicable. In other instances it will probably
+disappear as it has in this by long-continued care in breeding. Our
+successes with the geese, ducks, and swans, all of which belong to
+genera characterized by the migratory habit, show how readily in the
+course of time the old native instincts may be subordinated to the
+will of man. Although the degree of the difficulty which will be
+encountered in taming many wild forms may be far greater than that
+which has been met in those which we have domesticated, there is no
+reason whatever to believe that in any case it will be insuperable.
+
+While all the creatures of the wilderness may by the breeder's art be
+induced to vary in the conditions of captivity, the birds have shown
+themselves more plastic in our hands than any other animals. In almost
+every brood we find individuals possessing marked peculiarities of
+form or plumage. In their mental qualities also there is a like range
+of variation. Seizing upon these, the fancier can guide the quick
+succeeding generations so as to cause the form to depart in the course
+of a few years very far from its original aspect. With each step in
+this succession of changes the readiness with which the species
+responds to selective care increases. The results which have been
+attained in our barnyard fowl and with the pigeons show how admirably
+these creatures are fitted to obey the will of man when he has a mind
+to take charge of their destiny.
+
+Perhaps the greatest conquests which we have yet to make among the
+birds will be won from the species which have the habit of dwelling
+mainly or altogether upon the ground. These, as experience shows, can
+be more readily brought to the uses of man than the species which are
+free by their strong wings to wander through the realms of air. There
+are very many of these ground birds the domestication of which has
+never been fairly essayed. There are perhaps a hundred species which
+in one part of the world or another might afford valuable additions to
+our resources, those of ornament or of economy, and yet within three
+centuries only one of these, the turkey, has been brought to the
+domesticated state. The greater part of our game birds, such as the
+quail, pheasants, and partridges, though they appear on slight
+experiments to be untamable, could probably by continuous effort be
+reduced to perfect domestication. For ages they have been harried by
+man in a manner which has insured a great fear of his presence. We
+have indeed through our hunting instituted a very thorough-going and
+continuous system of selection which has tended to affirm in these
+creatures an intense fear of our kind. Only the more timorous have
+escaped us, and year after year we proceed to remove with the gun the
+individuals which by chance are born with any considerable share of
+the primitive tolerance of man's presence. It is not to be expected
+that the chicks of these species will at once accept relations with
+our kind. The domestication of many of these forms is to be desired,
+not only on account of the excellent quality of their flesh, but
+because of their beauty and the charm which their quick intelligences
+afford them. Whoever has watched them in their care of their young or
+their other social habits has observed features which indicate a
+possible development under domestication perhaps greater than that
+which we have attained in any other of our feathered captives.
+
+It seems most important that experiments in the further domestication of
+birds should be first addressed to certain, large ground forms which are
+now in more or less danger of extinction. The newly instituted industry
+of ostrich farming has probably insured this the noblest remnant of the
+old avian life from destruction; but the emu and the cassowary are still
+among the diminishing and endangered forms which unless taken into the
+human fold are likely soon to pass away. The brush turkey and the bower
+bird of Australia, two of the most curious inhabitants of that realm of
+strange life, appear to have qualities of mind and body which would make
+them readily domesticable and which would cause them to be among the
+most interesting of our feathered captives.
+
+Among the aquatic birds there are many species which are as promising
+subjects for domestication as any which have been made captive; these if
+subjugated would prove great additions to our resources of ornament and
+use. Thus the eider duck, so well known for its wonderful soft down
+which is plucked from the breast to make a covering for the eggs, though
+a marine species, would prove domesticable at least on the seashore of
+high latitudes. There are many other varieties of the family, such as
+the canvas-back which is so highly esteemed for its flesh, that would
+likewise afford very interesting subjects for experiment.
+
+The wading birds are characteristically very wild and range over a wide
+field; yet the flamingoes, the herons, and their kindred could probably
+be brought into at least as near an approach to reconciliation with man
+as their relations the storks. The comfortable relations which have been
+established between the last-named species and humankind in northern
+Europe is probably in nowise due to the peculiarly tamable nature of the
+bird, but rather to the fact that certain superstitious fancies on the
+part of the featherless biped led him to protect the feathered visitor
+of his roofs and chimneys. Should it be desirable to break up the habit
+of migration in these or other birds which are now accustomed to range
+up and down the meridians, there seems no reason to doubt that the
+change could be accomplished with the same ease that it has been in the
+case of the tamed geese and swans. Experience has shown that with these
+forms, which probably have not been associated with men for more than
+three or four thousand years, the migratory instinct, which appears one
+of the strongest of motives, has utterly disappeared. Not only do they
+no longer heed the cries of the wild birds of their kind as they fly
+away on their annual journeys, but they have, through the changes in
+form induced by their quiet life, lost the power to rise far above the
+earth. They are even more effectively tamed than are their captors.
+
+Owing to their singularly perfect protection against the cold, and also
+perhaps to the quickness of their wits, birds are more readily
+transferable from one clime to another than are any other animals. The
+feathered tenants of our barnyards are, except perhaps the aquatic
+species and the turkey, all from the tropical realm. Experiments with
+various other wild forms go to show that there are very many other
+tropical species which will prove to have an equal tolerance of high
+latitudes. If this be true we may fairly look to the domestication of
+the varied bird life of the equatorial regions for the enrichment of our
+northern lands. Even when it may not be desirable to bring these species
+to the state of complete subjugation they may be introduced on something
+like the terms which have been given and accepted in the case of the
+so-called English pheasant, which has brought to the high north of
+Britain and some parts of this country an element of grace which is
+afforded by no indigenous form of North America or Europe. There are
+hundreds of beautiful tropical species which await reconciliation with
+men; they have that quality of sympathy which affords the natural
+foundations for the contract, but this has in no case been availed of
+except when the creatures, in addition to their aesthetic charm, have
+possessed some economic value. There as elsewhere in the matter of
+domestication the commercial motive has controlled our action.
+
+In forming our societies as we are in time to do, account must be
+taken of the sympathetic value of its elements, reckoning among these
+the animals which the system brings in contact with men. Much of the
+culture which has served to lift our race above its ancient savagery
+has been derived from the influence of domesticated animals; in
+proportion as these creatures have sympathetically responded to our
+care we have been thereby educated and our spiritual development
+advanced. So far as in our further choice of animals which are to be
+associated with ourselves we are guided by a desire to extend this
+work, we may well turn our attention towards the birds, for in that
+group we may find a greater number of species which have attained the
+physical beauty which attracts and the mental qualities which may
+endear them to mankind. They can give us nothing that can ever come so
+close to us as the dog--the unique gift of the wilderness--but they
+may afford a host of forms to enrich our lives.
+
+The mammals, because they are, in qualities of body and mind, nearer to
+us than the members of any other class of animals, afford the most
+promising field from which to make selections for future domestication.
+In an economic sense it seems unlikely that any very great profit can
+be attained by the subjugation of any of the mammalian species which
+are still wild. Civilized people have been so long in contact with the
+life of all the continents, and have ever been so hungry for gain, that
+they have already essayed about every experiment in subjugating the
+larger wild beasts which appears to be very promising. Still there are
+certain cases where there have been no trials and others where the
+failure to tame particular species has been due to hindrances which
+systematic labor may possibly overcome. It will therefore be well to
+glance at the array of the wild forms which afford some prospect of
+success in the hereafter, including under the title of successes those
+kinds which may contribute not only to immediately measurable wealth,
+but the aesthetic satisfactions as well.
+
+Beginning with the lowlier group of mammals we find in the base of the
+series the ornithorhynchus and its allies, creatures which have nothing
+to recommend them but their exceeding organic peculiarities that render
+them attractive to the naturalist, but which are not likely to win them
+a place in the affections of men in general. As these species are most
+inoffensive as well as interesting, and as they are now confined to a
+portion of Australia, they might well be made the subject of some human
+care which would stop short of domestication. They might be transplanted
+to other continents and thereby given a larger field for variation as
+well as a chance to exhibit their features in a wider field. Among the
+pouched mammals, especially in the species of kangaroo, there are forms
+which commend themselves as very fair subjects for taming. They are of
+considerable size, their flesh is palatable, and their hides useful for
+leather; they breed rapidly, live on a poor herbage, and are, for wild
+animals of like strength, very inoffensive. Moreover, though relatively
+invariable both in mind and body, they exhibit sufficient individual
+peculiarities to indicate that the breeder's art could, in a short time,
+bring about considerable changes such as have been effected in other
+species, changes that would increase the value of these animals. As far
+as aesthetic or sympathetic relations are concerned, the pouched mammals
+have nothing to give us; they are, as befits their lowly estate, among
+the least graceful of their class; they are also little interesting in
+their mental qualities, being about the stupidest of our kindred.
+
+Among the ordinary herbivorous mammals there are several which should
+be domesticable which have not yet been properly subjected to
+experiment looking to that end. The American bison, commonly but
+improperly termed the buffalo, is a strong creature, one which is
+easily nourished. In its present condition, it is about as promising a
+subject for the breeder's care as were the ancestors of our horned
+cattle. Although there have been sundry trials of this animal as a
+beast of burthen, they have been of a rude as well as a brief kind, no
+care having been taken by selection to improve the qualities which
+evidently 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 mention the foxes, the polar bears, and
+the seals. The first-named group affords at present about the dearest
+furs of our markets. The silver-gray variety, which at present seems to
+be a frequent individual variation, could doubtless be affirmed by
+selection, and probably could be brought to a higher state of perfection
+than it has as yet attained. The animals are, if we may judge from their
+kindred, not untamable; at least they could be brought to live in a
+sufficient state of captivity to permit selection. In time they might be
+quite domesticated. Many of the islands of the high north and south are
+well fitted for such experiments.
+
+As is well known, the polar bears have a wonderfully developed hairy
+covering; their coats, indeed, are among the richest that exist. These
+animals subsist mainly on what they capture from the sea, so that it
+might be possible to keep them at a small expense. They are, however, of
+all their kindred the most indomitable; it would probably require a
+long and costly effort to reduce them to anything like domestication.
+Moreover, being strong, free swimmers, it would not be easy to maintain
+them in captivity. Still, selecting such a well-inundated place as Bear
+Island of the North Atlantic, it would be most interesting to make the
+experiment, first of accustoming them to some human control, and then to
+a selection which might serve to lift the quality of the kind. It would
+be less difficult and perhaps more advisable at first to make a trial of
+a similar sort with the black bear, which in less arctic conditions
+flourishes and carries a fine pelt. The only difficulty would be in
+finding a sufficient supply of food for such captives, for although they
+will eat fish they have no skill in capturing them such as is possessed
+by their more degraded, or perhaps we should say their less advanced
+kindred, the polar bears. Still, as the form is even more omnivorous
+than man, it might be practicable to feed them.
+
+By far the most important of the carnivora in an economic sense are the
+seals which dwell in the high northern waters. These creatures afford
+the most interesting subjects for experiments in domestication from an
+economic point of view that remain to be made. Of all the predatory
+animals the seals seem to have the largest share of intelligence and
+the greatest amount of sympathetic motives. No other wild animals,
+except perhaps the monkeys, appear to be so human-like in their
+qualities of mind as these creatures of the sea. So far, except when
+they have been captured and kept for purposes of show in menageries,
+man's relations to the seals have been purely destructive; he has
+incessantly hunted them. Yet certain species of them remain singularly
+willing, we may say desirous, of claiming friendship with their
+persecutors. As elsewhere noted, wounded seals behave in a curiously
+appealing way towards their assailants. When in captivity certain of
+the species show a remarkable friendliness and a capacity to receive
+training. No other wild animals, except perhaps the elephants, exhibit
+so great a fitness for profiting from contact with man.
+
+Although our knowledge as to the habits of seals is still very
+imperfect, it appears likely that the greater part of the species have
+the habit of resorting to certain places during the breeding season, and
+that the individuals after the manner of certain fishes return at that
+time to their native shore. If this be true, as there is good reason to
+believe it is, it should not be a matter of grave difficulty, provided
+the maritime nations would abet the experiment, to establish seal
+colonies composed of the several promising forms at fit points in the
+circumpolar seas. There is reason to suppose that with ordinary decent
+treatment the animals would become to a great degree accustomed to men,
+and that it might be possible to accomplish selection enough of the
+individuals which were left to breed, to develop the already valuable
+characteristics of the fur. In the present disgraceful condition of our
+relations to these animals it will be but a few years before we shall
+have to lament the extirpation of several species, including the most
+interesting members of the group.
+
+Looking upon the questions of man's future on the earth in a large
+way, we see that there are reasons why the animals of the high north,
+particularly those which obtain their food from the sea, should be
+protected from extermination. There is a great area of country in that
+part of the world which is not adapted to the occupation of any of the
+species which have as yet been domesticated. If this portion of the
+world is ever to prove fruitful in other ways than through its
+mineral stores, it will be by the creatures which are adapted to its
+climate and other conditions. At the present rate of increase in
+numbers, the population of the world will, in the course of two or
+three centuries, begin seriously to press upon the resources in the
+way of food which the fields of the tropical and temperate zones can
+supply; the chances of the arctic regions may then have much
+importance to our successors. Moreover, in the case of the seals we
+find the peculiar advantage that the animals are fed entirely from the
+sea, so that the domestication of these forms would give to man a
+means, the like of which he has never possessed, whereby he would be
+enabled to harvest the food resources of the deep.
+
+The beaver, particularly the North American form, offers a most
+attractive opportunity for a great and far-reaching experiment in
+domestication. On this continent, at least, the creature exhibits a
+range of attractive qualities which is exceeded by none other in the
+whole range of the lower mammalian life. No other mammal below man shows
+anything like the same constructive skill in the contrivance of its
+habitations, or is able so to modify its habits of building to meet the
+varied needs of its life. When this country was first visited by man
+near one half of its area was occupied by this species. It built its
+dams and dwelling-places and, when necessary, excavated its canals along
+all the lesser streams in the timbered regions of the northern
+districts. As the destructive effects of civilization increased, the
+animal has gradually, to a great extent, been driven away from its old
+haunts, and where it remains it has, as the price of life, given up its
+architectural habits and betaken itself to the older and simpler mode of
+living in a chance manner much as is now the habit of the European
+variety. As an illustration of this I may note, in passing, that before
+the civil war, when all the recesses of the forests in the region about
+Richmond, Virginia, had for more than a century been industriously
+explored by hunters, the beaver was supposed to be extinct in the
+district; yet during the civil war, as I am credibly informed, a colony
+of these creatures became established near the town of Suffolk, and
+there, amid the roar of a great conflict in which men ceased to seek the
+lesser game, they recovered their habit of building dams, which we must
+believe to have been discontinued for many generations. This capacity to
+vary action with reference to changing needs is the best possible index
+of the mental power of animals. Guided by the exhibition that has been
+given us by the beavers, we are justified in considering them to be the
+one group of mammals which has gained a distinct, rational constructive
+power. This feature makes them decidedly the most interesting group for
+investigations which may be expected to throw light on the problems of
+animal intelligence. From the economic point of view the species has a
+certain importance for the reason that it affords one of the most
+valuable kinds of fur that has ever been marketed.
+
+The domestication of the beavers to the point where they would tolerate
+the presence of man should not, provided they could be protected against
+the depredations of poachers, be a matter of any difficulty. The
+colonies of these animals require only what is afforded by vast realms
+of our wildernesses--flowing streams of moderate fall with timber upon
+their banks. They are not particular as to the species, so that
+swift-growing kinds of trees such as the poplars may be made to serve
+their needs. The natural growth on a hundred acres of otherwise
+worthless land would probably be sufficient to maintain a colony of
+average size containing say twenty-five individuals. In the region about
+the great lakes and for some distance to the northward and to the east
+and west there are great areas amounting in the aggregate to some
+hundred thousand square miles that would apparently be well suited to
+the nurture of this form, and which in the present condition of the
+country, as well as for the immediate future, cannot be turned to better
+use. It may be remarked that the domestication of the beavers would
+afford yet another means, in addition to those above noted, whereby we
+might be able to win some profit from the great wilderness of the north,
+which is, so far as our existing means of appropriating its resources,
+of little use to mankind. The only evident way by which we may hope to
+win profit from this part of our continent is by using it as a field for
+rearing animals that have yet to be subjugated; none of our captive
+varieties are fit for the service.
+
+In the tropical parts of the world there are many mammalian species
+which are worthy subjects for essays in domestication. This is
+particularly the case in the continent of Africa where, except in the
+lands about the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the native peoples have
+never attained the stage of culture in which men become strongly
+inclined to subjugate wild animals. Africa is richer in large
+herbivorous species than any other of the great lands; many of these
+forms are of large size and have qualities of flesh, of hide, or other
+peculiar features which promise to make them valuable in an economic
+way. Others, especially the antelopes, have a beauty of form and a grace
+of movement which render them among the most attractive creatures of
+their class. Even the hippopotamus, one of the grossest beasts of this
+realm, affords in its teeth a valuable ivory, and its hides, if supplied
+in sufficient quantity, would probably find a considerable use. It is
+evident that in this "dark continent," where the influences which make
+for human advancement have been so slight, we have the best field for
+the selection of species that may hereafter be brought to the use of
+man. There is evidently danger, in the advance in the civilizing
+process, that the native forms which, owing to their fitness to the
+physical conditions of the country, might be made useful to its people,
+may be utterly destroyed by hunters.
+
+Perhaps the most interesting of the tropical beasts from the point of
+view which we occupy is the elephant: This animal in its relations to
+men is eminently peculiar, in that while it has been in an individual
+way long and completely subjugated, it has never been systematically
+reared in captivity. Owing, it may be, to the slow growth of these
+great beasts, as well as to the immediate manner in which they submit
+to their captors, it has ever been the custom to take them when adult
+from the wilderness. The result is that the supply of the Asiatic
+species, which alone is serviceable--the African form being apparently
+too fierce for use--is now dependent on a relatively small number of
+wild herds. Certain of these herds are protected by the governments of
+India, but it seems as if the species were already dangerously near
+the vanishing point--in a position where the invasion of some disease
+or some insect enemy might deprive the world of what is, all things
+considered, the most interesting of the brutes. Moreover, the failure
+to rear elephants in captivity has made it impossible to essay any of
+those experiments in breeding which have done so much to improve the
+utility and the beauty of most subjugated forms.
+
+If the elephants could be reared in captivity there is little reason
+to doubt that with a few centuries of selection they might be made to
+vary in many important ways. It is evident that the form and mental
+quality of these creatures is as plastic as those features in the
+other domesticated animals have been proved to be. Moreover, the
+group, though it is now represented by but two recognized species, was
+in comparatively recent times quite rich in varieties, a fact which
+raises the presumption that the existing kinds are open to
+modification by the selective process. As the elephant is not mature
+until it is near thirty years old, probably not reproducing until
+about that age, there is little inducement for any person to undertake
+the process of breeding them in the selective way; if the task is ever
+done it will have to be accomplished by government action or by that
+of a society which is pledged to such tasks. If the effort to bring
+the elephants into a more permanent relation with man is not made and
+the race is allowed to perish, we may be sure that in the time to come
+people will gravely censure us for any such neglect of the
+opportunities which this world affords as would be involved in the
+loss of this noble brute. It is clearly our duty to see that all such
+resources are preserved for the inquirers of the future.
+
+Among the other tropical mammals which, because they have not as yet
+proved of economic value, are on account of their size and their
+attractiveness to sportsmen in danger of extinction, we may note the
+various species of rhinoceros, the giraffe, and the several African
+forms which are akin to the horse. None of these forms have been
+turned to use, none of them appear likely to be adopted by man for
+the service they can do; but they are, in common with all the host
+which cannot be mentioned here, of great interest to the naturalists
+of our time. Their importance in the inquiries which are hereafter to
+be made by our ever expanding science of life cannot be estimated. It
+certainly will not be possible to overreckon it in this very practical
+age. This plea for the sparing of the mammalian species in no case
+needs to be made so strongly, and in no other instance is so well
+entitled to a hearing, as when it is raised for the life of the
+monkeys. These interesting animals because of their collateral kinship
+with man afford precious evidence as to the stages of intellectual
+development which is likely to be of exceeding value to students in
+that field of inquiry. There is unfortunately little chance that any
+of the monkeys will ever prove useful; their habits are such that they
+are generally troublesome neighbors; moreover, their weakness makes it
+easy to exterminate them. The result is that some species have
+probably already been destroyed, and others are in conditions where
+during the next century they are likely to vanish. In the animate
+realm it is hard to choose the forms which are to be the most
+important for the naturalists of the time to come, but it is certain
+that these students will deplore the loss of the simian life and
+charge us sorely if we neglect due effort for its preservation.
+
+Although the matter before us concerns the domestication of animals, it
+may be well to devote a little attention to the question of the wild
+plants which need protection or which promise to afford unwon values. It
+may be said that plants in general are much less likely than animals to
+be disturbed by the process of bringing a country under the conditions
+of civilization. With rare exceptions the individuals of each species
+are so numerous that, like the insects, they escape by their numbers the
+risk of the extinction of their kinds. Moreover, the ease with which
+nearly all the kinds can be brought under cultivation, and the fact that
+they present no self-will to be dominated, makes the task of dealing
+with them, in a protective way, infinitely easier than in the case of
+animals. So far as we know, there has not been an instance in which a
+continental species of plant has been exterminated by man, while there
+are a number of the larger animals which have been swept away apparently
+by human agency, and there are many more which are on the verge of
+extinction. Therefore, so far as the plant world is concerned, we may
+for the present at least trust the species to their own powers to
+maintain them against the rude assaults of civilization. If here and
+there one is overrun by the wheels of our economic engines, something of
+value to the student is lost, but the loss does not include the element
+of mind which is hereafter to be the subject of so much study.
+
+The foregoing considerations make it evident that the problem of
+domestication shades into the question as to the preservation of the
+life which is now on the earth, and this with a view to the advantage
+which the arts, the sciences, or general culture may obtain from the
+preservation of the useful, the instructive, and the beautiful things in
+the realm of nature from the swift destruction which our rude
+subjugation of the earth threatens to inflict. To deal with this problem
+in an adequate manner we must ask ourselves what limits are to be set to
+the displacement of the ancient order which is now going on. We see that
+wherever civilization enters, and even where its first influences are
+felt, the olden societies of nature are disturbed or broken up. All the
+nobler members of these associations, the greater mammals, many of the
+larger birds, and a host of the lesser forms, are expelled or destroyed.
+In the condition of organic life when the supremely predatory creature
+man rose to domination, the species were grouped in those vast
+organizations which were of old termed faunae and florae, but which are
+now better known as biological fields or provinces. In each of these
+hosts the several species were, as regards their external life, so
+balanced with their neighbors that the assemblage from the point of view
+of these relations might well be compared with the polities or states of
+man's construction. Such an organic society represents the result of a
+series of trials and balances which began to be made in the immeasurably
+remote past and have been continued through the geologic ages, each age
+adding something to the accord. The plants give and take from the
+animals; the insects are equated with the birds, and each species in
+every group has set up an accord with its rivals. From time to time the
+host has by the changes of sea and land been compelled to migrate,
+moving this way and that to find its fit station. In these movements
+species are rapidly extinguished, much as the weaker soldiers of an army
+perish in forced marches. Into their places new forms hasten to take
+their place, so that every position of advantage is filled. At a less
+rapid rate, but perpetually, even without the change of abode, which it
+is often by climatic changes compelled to make, the organic host is
+slowly changing in character; old kinds give way in the endless contest
+to new varieties which have managed to establish a better relation to
+the environment. Still the legions press on towards the great
+accomplishment of a higher and nobler life.
+
+No one, however well he may conceive the nature and history of the
+organic hosts of the earth, can hope to convey to the general reader
+an adequate sense of their majesty or the wonderful part they have
+played in the history of the life which has culminated in mankind. The
+largest words are freighted with too little meaning, and even the
+metaphors drawn from human associations fail to convey a sufficient
+picture of these enduring organizations which have enabled living
+beings to meet the difficulties of their long contest with this rude
+world, and to win the advance they have gained. The reader will have
+to tax his imagination to picture, it may be, a quarter of a million
+species dwelling in the same field, each united with the other in the
+method of exchange in such a way that the withdrawal of any one form
+is likely in some measure to change the estate of every other. In some
+cases this removal of one species means the loss of the life of many
+and perhaps the better opportunity of other neighbors; again, the
+influence on remoter members of the society may be so slight as to
+escape detection. Yet it is doubtful if the slightest change in the
+population of a biologic province can be brought about without some
+effect upon all the members of the society. It is a vast, sensitive
+thing, fit to be compared with the living body where every cell lives
+in accord with every other of the frame.
+
+So long as the organic hosts were in the prehuman stage the maintenance
+of the accord was easily and naturally attained. Species arose and
+perished, each in turn effecting a simple reconciliation with the
+others, grasping only so much room and food as was necessary for its
+proper support. But with the coming of man, the species which by its
+swiftly progressive desires has become a host in itself, a disturbing
+element was introduced into the old order. Man as a primitive savage
+falls into the natural system without greatly disturbing it; but man as
+a soil-tiller, in so far as he carries out his subjugative work,
+utterly wrecks the ancient establishments of life. To attain his object
+he has to banish from the soil nearly all the plants which originally
+belonged upon it, and in their place, with or without intention, he
+introduces species from other organic provinces. With the change in
+plant-life necessarily goes a like, or even a greater, alteration in
+the native animals. They are driven into the wilderness or, it may be,
+extirpated. The reader who would obtain an idea of these changes will
+do well to study the invasions of weeds or of those noxious insects
+which in the economy of a civilized country may be likened to weeds.
+These pests are in nearly all cases invaders which owe their successes
+to the fact that our treatment of the regions they have entered has
+opened vacancies in the once closed ranks of the indigenous host, into
+which the foreigners are free to enter. In the fresh field they are not
+likely to find enemies which by long training are especially fitted to
+cope with them, and so they run riot and contest with man the gains he
+has won from the ancient possessors of the land.
+
+Of all the large questions which the consideration of the future of
+man's work on this planet opens to us, there is none which now appears
+to be more serious or, in its consequences, more far-reaching than
+this concerning the treatment which he is to give to the old natural
+order of sea and land. The very first condition of civilization is an
+utter spoiling of that order, so far as the land areas are concerned,
+in the fields of the richest and highest life. It is clearly
+impossible to avoid this destruction over all the surface which we win
+to culture. Spare as we may, the subversion of the ancient balances
+and adjustments must be complete before the earth is ready for our
+tillage and other modes of use. This overturning is a part of the
+destiny of man. It is a characteristic of the new dispensation which
+came with his progressive desires. Yet the rational quality which has
+led to the mastery of man may be trusted to bring him to a point where
+he will endeavor to minimize the ill effects of his actions on the
+life which has been placed in his hands.
+
+In considering the ways in which we can mitigate the evils of our rule
+over organic nature, we at once see that our aim should be to preserve
+all the varieties of living creatures from destruction, provided they
+are not distinctly harmful to man, and this with the intention of
+keeping for our successors in the inheritance all that can in any way
+afford a foundation for further experiments in domestication, materials
+for learned inquiries, or pleasure in contemplation. To attain this
+object we cannot trust to the share of this life which can be brought
+into zoological and botanical gardens, however extensive and well
+managed. The only way is to make certain reservations in various parts
+of the world, each containing an area and a variety of conditions great
+enough to afford a safe lodgment for a true sample of the life of an
+organic province. Owing to the fact that these provinces are never
+sharply bounded, it would naturally be impossible to select reservations
+which would in a complete manner represent all the conditions of the
+biologic societies; but if properly distributed the outlying animals and
+plants could in most if not all cases be introduced into one or other
+of these protected fields, so that there would be little reason to fear
+that any important part of the existing life would be lost.
+
+Owing to the wise forethought of our American people, a practical
+foundation of the system of national reservations has been instituted
+in our so-called national parks. Although these reservations were
+established to preserve to the public certain natural beauties in the
+way of scenery or vegetation, or to secure the regimen of streams,
+they will, if properly guarded against depredations, effect the end
+which we have in view. Owing to their large area and somewhat varied
+positions, these parks provide a safe refuge for a great part of the
+life which belongs in the Cordilleran district of the United States.
+If the method should be extended to the whole country, we should have
+the peculiar satisfaction of having been the first state to institute
+the system of preservation which is here suggested.
+
+To complete a system of reservations designed to perpetuate the
+aboriginal life of this country would require the institution of about a
+dozen other similar natural shelters. It would not be necessary to have
+these on as large a scale as that of the Yellowstone. In most cases
+areas of from ten to twenty thousand acres in extent would, if well
+guarded, suffice to give refuge to the animals and plants of the field
+in which it lay. The selection of these refuges would demand much
+consideration. In general, it may be said that they need to include at
+least two on the Atlantic coast, which might also be fitted for the use
+of marine birds as breeding places, one on the northern part of the
+coast of Maine, and another in southern Florida. The latter might serve
+as well for the protection of the turtles which resort to that shore to
+lay their eggs. Similar coast parks should be established on the shores
+of the Pacific. Yet other closed areas would be needed in the interior,
+the evidently desirable fields lying in the region about the headwaters
+of the Mississippi, in the Adirondacks, in the mountains of North
+Carolina, in the lower part of the Mississippi delta, in Arizona, and at
+least two points in Alaska; one of these should afford a place of refuge
+for the persecuted fur seals and another for the musk-ox.
+
+At first sight it may seem to be a simple matter to accommodate the
+wild life of a country on a relatively small piece of land. So far,
+indeed, as the plants, the insects, and the lesser mammalian life are
+concerned, an area of a few hundred acres will serve very well for
+their safe harborage, but when it comes to protecting the larger birds
+and mammals we see how easily the natural balance of life is by some
+chance influence destroyed. A capital instance of this difficulty
+which arises when preservation is essayed on small areas has recently
+been forced on my attention. In Dukes County, Massachusetts, there is
+the vanishing remnant of an interesting bird known from the island to
+which it is limited as the Martha's Vineyard prairie chicken. It is
+closely related to its better known Western kinsman, yet is a distinct
+variety. Although the form has apparently developed on the island and
+once abounded there, it has dwindled in numbers until there are but
+few surviving. In the hope of providing a safe refuge for the remnant,
+I have for a number of years stopped all shooting on a tract of a
+thousand or two acres which is well fitted to supply them with food
+and shelter. As they still dwindled, it seemed probable that the foxes
+were harming them. This appeared the more likely for the reason that
+the fox is not a native of the island, but was introduced a few years
+ago by some reckless experimenters. These marauders were cleared away
+without good results. Further inquiry made it apparent that the real
+enemy of these birds was the feralized domestic cat which has gone
+wild from the households, especially from the many homesteads that
+have been abandoned. This creature has bred in great numbers and is
+now threatening the existence of all birds that rear their broods upon
+the ground. It is hardly possible to exterminate them, for the reason
+that they are wary, and any systematic hunting of them would prove
+exceedingly disturbing to the very timid birds. The result is that
+nearly all these birds have left my land for certain plains near by
+which are covered with scrub oaks and where there is too little ground
+life to attract the cats. In that region, though it has an area of
+about thirty thousand acres, the food is scanty; the prairie chickens
+dwelling there are likely to perish for lack of the rose-hips which,
+in the hill country they have been forced to desert, served to
+maintain them at times when the ground was covered with snow.
+
+The lesson which may be drawn from the experience above stated is to
+the effect that it is necessary to have a protected field of
+sufficient area, and in the proper conditions to keep the balance of
+life which arises from the exchange of relations between species in
+their normal state. Even in ideal reservations where all invasions are
+excluded, we should have to expect that from time to time certain
+forms would disappear, their place perhaps being taken by new species
+which would arise. Such is the manner of the great procession of life.
+Probably at least twenty and perhaps a hundred times as many species
+as are now living on the earth have perished from it, and before the
+unimaginable goal is attained as many others may pass away. Our task
+with the refuges would be to keep the death of the specific
+inhabitants to the natural and wholesome rate that is determined by
+the endless struggle for existence.
+
+It is impracticable at the present time to devise a scheme for refuge
+stations in other countries than our own; it is evident, however,
+that these would have to be numerous and widely distributed. A glance
+at a map showing the political distribution of the lands will make it
+evident, however, that within the holdings of the British, French,
+German, Dutch, and Russian governments there are large areas which
+might, without evident loss of considerable economic values,
+immediate or prospective, be turned to such uses, and that these
+reservations would probably include nearly all that would be
+required to preserve the most important samples of the primitive
+life. Some of them, as for instance those intended to retain the
+large tropical animals in their natural state, would have to be as
+imperial in their areas as the Yellowstone Park, but these would lie
+in realms which have no present value to our own race and are
+scantily inhabited by the indigenous peoples.
+
+It is easy to see that the proposed world-wide system of wilderness
+stations in which the native life should be preserved from the
+destructive influences of man's assault upon it could not be brought
+about without international cooperation and with a considerable
+expenditure of money both for the foundation and maintenance of the
+establishments; but, as before remarked, the idea of public
+reservations of this nature is one which immediately and strongly
+commended itself to the people of this country and has led their
+representatives to set aside for such use lands which in the
+aggregate amount to a larger area than some of our sister states.
+The same motive is seen in the action of the State of Massachusetts,
+which a few years ago created a Board of Trustees of Public
+Reservations, a corporate body authorized to hold in perpetuity
+lands which are intended to serve the public for pleasure and
+instruction. The recent rapid extension of the park systems
+appertaining to the cities of this country and Europe is a further
+illustration of the same motive which makes for the object which we
+desire. It therefore seems not unreasonable to hope that very soon
+we may find the governments of the greater nations willing to go
+forward on the line of advance in which our own has so well led the
+way. At the right time the United States could probably do much to
+further the matter by asking for international action in this
+admirable work. There is hardly any undertaking which would afford a
+fairer chance for friendly cooperation among the great states than
+this which looks forward to the good of the time to come.
+
+While looking forward to the establishment of a system of sanctuaries
+which may serve to protect examples of the present life of all the
+lands, it is also well to consider what can be done by local
+authorities and by individuals in the same direction. The numerous
+zoological and botanical gardens which have been established in
+different parts of the world have in part the same motive that is to be
+embodied in the larger institutions which we would see founded; they
+seek to preserve the interesting and instructive animals and plants,
+and in some cases contrive to perpetuate the kinds. The trouble is that
+their main purpose is to make a striking show, one that will attract
+the eye and lead to profit of an immediate kind. If these institutions
+could be persuaded to add to their former exhibitions grounds designed
+for the maintenance of the natural order, true wildernesses, where the
+native life would find a fit place of abode and where it would be
+protected from the ravages of man or from accident, a certain gain
+would be made; at least the masses of our city people, who have now
+come to control legislation in the great states, would be brought to
+see the beauties of the primitive conditions which they now rarely
+have a chance to behold. Yet more might be accomplished if men of
+wealth could be induced to turn their generous spirit towards this
+object. There are many parts of this country where reservations are
+most desirable and where the price of land is so low that an area of
+thirty thousand acres could be acquired for that number of dollars. A
+capital of one hundred thousand dollars would, at the present rates of
+interest, afford the revenue necessary for the pay of a keeper and
+half a dozen guards, a sufficient force to maintain a due watchfulness
+against depredations. Moreover, the use of such land as an asylum
+would not prevent a careful exploitation of its timber resources,
+which in many cases would give a sufficient return to provide for the
+policing expenses, as well as for incidental costs incurred in
+bringing upon the land species from the neighboring country which it
+might be desirable to introduce. At a cost of not more than a million
+dollars it would be possible to secure and maintain a well-chosen
+system of guarded wildernesses which would preserve the
+characteristics of the original plant and animal life in all the
+region of this country lying to the east of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+It would be essential in any such privately founded system of wilderness
+reservations to have the control of the establishments in the hands of
+some authorities which were of an enduring nature. In our American
+experience it has become certain that such trusts cannot be safely
+reposed in the state or national governments, or in the hands of
+trustees chosen for the particular function. The only authorities which
+commend themselves for the execution of such a purpose are those of our
+universities. In these institutions we find boards which are chosen for
+the attainment of intellectual ends; in certain cases the choice is made
+by the vote of an intelligent body of alumni, or in other ways guarded
+by that body, so that the chance of lapse in the quality of the contract
+is reduced to a minimum. Several instances could be given showing that
+such trusts, even when they do not directly pertain to the teaching work
+of these institutions, have been long and faithfully maintained. We may
+therefore look upon our universities as the natural repositories of
+confidences which pertain to the continuous intellectual work of man.
+There is no other kind of association where interests of the sort which
+would have to be cared for in the reservations of the wilderness are so
+likely to receive continuous attention. In these homes of learning,
+while business considerations enter, personal greed is naturally absent.
+
+The method which may be chosen for the control of wilderness
+reservations, though a problem of much importance, is of course
+secondary to the matter of their establishment. This work should at once
+command the attention of those persons who are of the foresightful class
+who see beyond the interests of the day, and take account of the needs
+of the generations to come. Such men will do well to begin the work by
+organizing a society which shall endeavor to arouse public attention to
+the destructive effects of man's occupation of the earth by his
+civilizations. The people need to be taught the true meaning of the
+indigenous life in relation to the problems of the origin and destiny
+of our own and other life, to the future exercise of the domesticating
+art and to the most refined gratifications.
+
+It may be noted that, beginning with the apparently simple and
+eminently popular questions as to the origin and economic history of
+the animals which have been subjugated by man, we have been naturally
+led to the consideration of much larger problems, those relating to the
+place of man in the order of nature, and his duty by the life of which
+he is an integral part. There can be no question that the sense of this
+duty which mastery of the earth gives or should afford is to be one of
+the moral gifts of modern learning. So long as men considered
+themselves to be accidents on the earth, imposed upon it by the will of
+a Supreme Being, but in nowise related in origin and history to the
+creatures amid which they dwelt, it was natural that they should
+exercise a careless and despotic power over their subjects. Now that it
+has been made perfectly clear that we have come forth from the maze of
+the lower life, that all these tenants of the wilderness are sharers in
+the order which has brought us to our estate, and that each one of
+them, plant and animal alike, is the record of the impulses which lead
+beings upward, we can no longer keep the old careless attitude. We are
+compelled to deal with the organic hosts as we deal with the creatures
+of our folds and fields. We have to look upon them all as a member of
+the great household of man, made such by the intellectual conquest of
+the world to which he has attained. We may trust the sense of this
+large duty to extend abroad under the influences which have developed
+it in the minds of a few men, or we may hasten its development by a
+propaganda such as is carried on by the societies for the prevention of
+cruelty to animals. If this latter course is taken the teaching should
+be on a higher plane than that which we have yet had from those
+generally admirable associations. Bad as is the ill treatment of
+domesticated animals, the suppression of that evil will not bring us
+materially nearer the true attitude that we need to assume in face of
+our responsibilities to the natural world. We need to see the greatness
+of the responsibility which has been imposed upon us by the action of
+the guiding power that has made us lords of the earth.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Animals, rights of, 204.
+  separation of city folk from, 223.
+  educability of, 227.
+
+Antelopes, 247.
+
+Aryan race, relation to domestication, 152, 220.
+  relation to rights of animals, 208.
+
+Ass, 93.
+
+
+Bears, possible domestication of, 243.
+
+Beasts of burden, 103.
+
+Beaver, 246.
+  habits of, 246.
+  domestication of, 247.
+
+Bee (honey), 191.
+  in North America, 195.
+
+Big Bone Lick, Ky., 129.
+
+Birds, 152.
+  free-flying species of, 182.
+  tree species of, 182.
+  vocal powers of, 183.
+  aesthetic nature of, 187.
+  conditions of domestication of, 233.
+  future domestication of, 235.
+
+Bison, 106.
+  domestication of, 241.
+
+Buffaloes, 105.
+  African, 106.
+
+Bulls, 105.
+
+
+Camels, origin of, 119.
+  limited nature of, 120.
+  lessening value of, 124.
+
+Cattle (horned), value of, 110.
+  variations of, 113.
+
+Cats, origin of domesticated forms of, 51.
+  their love of well-known places, 51.
+  compared with dogs, 52.
+  their return to wild state, 55.
+  no large species domesticated, 56.
+
+Cochineal, 201.
+
+
+Dogs, origin of, 11.
+  fossil species of, 15.
+  savage selection of, 17.
+  civilized conditions of, 18.
+  shepherd breed of, etc., 19.
+  hunting varieties of, 25.
+  intellectual qualities of, 29.
+  evils of fancy breeding, 31.
+  lack of constructive faculty, 40.
+  modes of expression, 44.
+  effect on human sympathy, 48.
+  possible new varieties of, 50.
+
+Domestication, relation to culture, 2.
+  relation to sympathies, 4.
+  slow institution of, 7.
+  mainly by Aryan people, 152.
+  problem of, 218.
+  hap-hazard nature of, 225.
+  conditions of, 229.
+
+Domesticability, on what depending, 107.
+
+Donkey, 93.
+  limited use of, 94.
+
+
+Elephants, native freedom of, 107.
+  origin of, 127.
+  ancient species of, 128.
+  present limitation of, 130.
+  use in war, 130.
+  domesticability of, 131.
+  intelligence of, 132.
+  possible improvement of, 137.
+  future care of species required for preservation, 249.
+
+
+Falconry, 184.
+
+Fishes, limits of domestication, 232.
+
+Fowls (barnyard), 153.
+  mental qualities of, 154.
+  voices of, 155.
+  domesticability of, 156.
+  game variety of, 159.
+
+
+Giraffe, 249.
+
+Goats, 115.
+  limited relation to man, 116.
+  little variation of, 117.
+  limited intelligence of, 118.
+
+Guinea hen, 164.
+
+
+Hawking, 184.
+
+Horse, economic value to man, 57.
+  origin of, 58.
+  hoof of, 61.
+  field in which developed, 65.
+  domestication of, 66.
+  use in war, 67.
+  effect of mounted men on early peoples, 69.
+  future use in military campaigns, 70.
+  value in agriculture, 74.
+  mental qualities of, 75.
+  ready variations of, 78.
+  Norman variety of, 82.
+  geographic varieties of, 83.
+  Arabian variety of, 85.
+  Indian ponies, 86.
+  care of, 87.
+  shoeing of, 91.
+  influence on man, 100.
+
+Hybrids, utility of, 96.
+
+
+Insects, 190.
+  limited value to man, 190.
+
+
+Kangaroo, 240.
+
+
+Mammalia, value of class as source of domesticable animals, 149.
+  future domestication of, 238.
+
+Mammals (tertiary), 150.
+
+Mammoth, 129.
+
+Man, his place in nature, 1.
+  sudden appearance of, 6.
+  as a destroyer, 229.
+
+Martha's Vineyard prairie chicken, 257.
+
+Milk, value of, as food, 110.
+
+Monkeys, little use to man, 250.
+  value for inquiry, 250.
+
+Mule, 95.
+  limitations in use of, 95.
+  only hybrid serviceable to man, 96.
+  mental qualities of, 98.
+
+Musk ox, 241.
+
+
+Organic hosts, 253.
+
+Ostrich, 168.
+  possible improvement of, 168.
+
+
+Pack animals, 104.
+
+Parks, national, etc., 256.
+
+Pea-fowl, 162.
+  habits of, 163.
+  intelligence of, 164.
+
+Pets, influence of, 223.
+
+Pig, origin of, 140.
+  value of flesh, 140.
+  progressive domestication of, 142.
+  intelligence of, 143, 148.
+  variations in habits of, 147.
+
+Pigeons, 175.
+  origin of, 176.
+  breeds of, 177.
+  mental qualities of, 180.
+
+Plants, danger of extinction of species of, 250.
+
+
+Refuge stations. (See Reservations.)
+
+Reservations (of wilderness), 256.
+  American, 256.
+  foreign, 259.
+  cost of, 261.
+
+Rhinoceros, 249.
+
+Rights of animals, 204.
+  origin of, 205.
+
+
+Savages, relation of, to animals, 219.
+
+Seals, possible domestication of, 243.
+
+Sheep, 115.
+  value of wool, 115.
+  variations of, 116.
+  mental qualities of, 118.
+
+Silkworm, 197.
+
+
+Turkey, origin of, 165.
+  variations of, 166.
+  mental qualities of, 167.
+
+
+Vivisection, 211.
+
+
+Water-birds, 169.
+  flight of, 169.
+  sympathetic quality, 171.
+
+Wildernesses, destruction of, 224.
+  reservations of, 256.
+
+Wool-bearing animals, 114.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+
+Inconsistencies in hyphenation of words retained. (barn-yard, barnyard,
+hap-hazard, haphazard, help-meet, helpmeet, on-going, ongoing,
+pre-human, prehuman)
+
+Inconsistencies in spelling of zoological names retained. (aepyornis,
+Epiornis)
+
+List of illustrations and page 158 caption, among the of four breeds of
+domestic fowl named, the original spelling of the breed "Houdin" is
+retained. Probably refers to the breed now more commonly known as
+"Houdan".
+
+Page 56, unusual spelling of "chetah" retained. Probably refers to
+"cheetah". (A large Asiatic cat known as the chetah is somewhat)
+
+Page 87, "similiar" changed to "similar". (reason that nothing similar)
+
+Page 158, 160, 173 captions. The original appearance and wording is
+reproduced in the html version. For the text version, more meaningful
+and grammatical captions have been provided as the original captions
+comprised a series of separate breed or species names used to label
+the animals in the illustration.
+
+Page 179, original text "In early time" retained, although "In early
+times" is probably more grammatical. (In early time, before the
+invention of)
+
+Page 256, "cordilleran" changed to "Cordilleran". ( the Cordilleran
+district of the United States)
+
+Page 266, index entry "Ostrich, possible improvement of". Page reference
+changed from 108 to 168. Page 108 has no content fitting the topic while
+page 168 clearly has.
+
+Postioning of illustrations:
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