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DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Domesticated Animals. The Dog, Beasts
of Burden, the Horse and Birds. Illustrated.
8vo 2.50
Sea and Land. Features of Coasts and
Oceans with especial reference to the Life
of Man. Illustrated. 8vo 2.50
Aspects of the Earth. A Popular Account
of Some Familiar Geological Phenomena.
With 100 illustrations. AVw and Cheaper
Edition, 8vo 2.50
Nature and Man in America. i2mo. 1.50
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AFRICAN ELEPHANT
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DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
THEIR RELATION TO MAN AND TO HIS
ADVANCEMENT IN CIVILIZATION
BY
NATHANIEL SOUTHGATE SHALER
DBAN OF THB LAWRBNCB SCIBNTIFIC SCHOOL OP
HARVARD UNIVBRSITV
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1904
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y
Copyright, 1895, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
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CONTENTS
Introduction,
THE DOG
Ancestry of the Domesticated Dogfs. — Early Uses of the Animal : Variations induced
by Civilization. — Shepherd-dogs : their Peculiarities ; other Breeds. — Possible In-
tellectual 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. — Com-
parison of Dogs and Cats as regards Intelligence and Position in Relation to Man, . II
THE HORSE
Value of the Strength of the Horse to Man. — Origin of the Horse. — Peculiar Ad-
vantage 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 Modem 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 Domestica-
bility. — 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 ;
Modem Varieties ; Mental Qualities. — Relation of the Development of Domesti-
cable Animals to the Time of Man's Appearance on the Earth, . . 103
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via CONTENTS
DOMESTICATED BIRDS
PAGB
Domestication of Animals mainly accomplished by the Aryan Race ; Small Amount of
Such Work by American Indians. — Barayard Fowl : Mental Qualities ; Habits of
Combat. — Peacocks : their Limited Domestication.^Turke3rs : their Origin ; tend-
ing to revert to the Savage State. — Water Fowl : Limited Number of Species
domesticated ; Intellectual Qualities of this Group. — The Pigeon ; Origin and
Histor)' of Group ; Marvels of Breeding. — Song Birds.— Hawks and Hawking. —
Sympathetic Motive of Birds : their ^Esthetic Sense ; their Capacity for Enjoy-
ment, 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 Use-
ful Insects, iqq
THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS
Recent Understanding as to the Rights of Animals ; Nature of these Rights ; their
Origin in S)anpathy. — Early State of S3anpathetic 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 Develop-
ment 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
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
PACK
African Elephant, Frontispiece
Sheep-dogs Guarding a Flock at Night, lo
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 . . m
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
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X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PACK
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 6c>
Horse of a Bulgarian Marauder, 67
Mare and Foal, 6&
Plough Horses, France. . . • tz
Belgian Fisherman's Horse 76
Horses for Towing on the Beach in Holland 7&
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 10&
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
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi
PACK
The Original Jungle Fowl {Gallus bankiva) and Some of his Do-
mestic Descendants. 153
HouDiN, Cochins, Leghorns, and Game 158
Bantams, Brahma, and Dorkings, i6o
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
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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 w^on its way by powers of mind out of darkness and the
great struggle to the place of command. The way in w^hich
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 creat-
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2 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 in-
nate 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 domes-
ticated 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 ani-
mals. In the first place, each creature which is adopted into
the household or the fields usually brings as its tribute a sub-
stantial contribution to the resources which tend to make
the society commercially successful. When we consider the
enlargements of resources and the diversification of indus-
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INTRODUCTION 3
tries 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 condi-
tions, 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 develop-
ment 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
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4 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 develop-
ment 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 eff^ective. 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 sav-
age. 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
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INTRODUCTION 5
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 sym-
pathy ; with the result, certainly in part due to this cause,
that there is no class of people from whom the brutal in-
stincts 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 over-
thrown, but by the people of the great towns who had been
less oppressed by the iniquities of the old system of gov-
ernment.
If it be true — as my personal experiences and observations
lead me finnly to believe is the case — that man's contact with
the domesticated animals has been and is ever to be one of
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6 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
the most effective means whereby his sympathetic, his civil-
ized motives may be broadened and affirmed, there is clearly
reason for giving to this side of life a larger share of atten-
tion 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 Lau-
rence Sterne, have dwelt upon the imaginary woes of the
creatures. Associations of well-meaning people have en-
deavored 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 con-
sideration 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 coopera-
tion 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 descend-
ant 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 notice-
ably higher than that of his kindred, but there was in him
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INTRODUCTION 7
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 wilder-
ness 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, aban-
doning 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 spe-
cies 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
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8 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 spe-
cies 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 exten-
sion of economic domestication has of late been very limited.
But the realm of sympathetic appreciation, unlike the econo-
mic, 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 bring-
ing them to see that the process of domestication has a far-
reaching aspect, a dignity, we may fairly say a grandeur, that
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INTRODUCTION 9
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 pre-
sent 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 experi-
ences. 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 import-
ance 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.
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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 Emo-
tions 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 creat-
ures 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
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12 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
of the wolf ; the whelps of this species, it is supposed, were
captured by primitive men and brought under domes-
tication. Savages, like children, are much given to bringing
the young of wild animals to their homes ; if the condi-
tions 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 vagari-
ous 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 domesti-
cating the ancestors of the dog, even if they were wolf-like,
was accomplished.
The difificulty of this view is that even with the high
measure of care which the conditions of civilization permit
us to devote to the efifort, 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.
Yet other speculative inquirers have sought the origin of
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THE DOG 13
the dog through the admixture of the blood of several differ-
ent species, the wolf and the jackal being, perhaps, the prin-
cipal 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
Greyhound after "'the Kill"
with as much animosity as is proper, or at least customar}%
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
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14 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 ances-
tors 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 dis-
posed 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.
Although there are no species of wild dogs now in exist-
ence to which we can refer the origin of our household friends,
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THE DOG
15
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, repre-
sented 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 cer-
tain of them, lived down to the time when man had come
.. i
St. Bernard
upon the earth, and was beginning to speculate on his sur-
roundings for such company and help as he might win
therefrom. It may interest the reader to know that a spe-
cies of American dog existed in the Southern Appalachians
down to a very recent time — recent, at least, in a geo-
logical sense. The remains of one of these animals were
found by the writer in a cave in East Tennessee, n(\ir
Cumberland Gap. From the fragments of the skeleton,
Mr. J. A. Allen has described the species. The animal
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1 6 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
appears to have been of moderate size, and, from the posi-
tion 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 domestic-
able 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 domestica-
tion 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
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THE DOG
17
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, curi-
ously 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
Spaniel Retrieving Wild Duck
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.
It seems most likely that for ages the principal use of the
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1 8 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 con-
ditions of humanity there was no other beast which could be
made to serve so well this simple need in the way of proven-
der. 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 sacri-
fice 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 intellect-
ual — 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.
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THE DOG 19
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 preserva-
tion. Here again, doubtless, came in the process of unin-
tended 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 pas-
toral 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 with-
out 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
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)
20 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 over-
come 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 Scot-
land, 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 cus-
todian 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
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THE DOG . 21
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, andr
rarely seize hold of the throat, which other dogs, led by their j
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.
The massive type of bull-dogs, characterized by heavy
frames and an indomitable will, appears to have been brought
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22 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
about by a process of selection having for its unconscious end
the development of a breed which should render the herds-
man 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 creat-
ures were much wilder than at present, and were generally
kept, not in enclosed pastures, but on unfenced ranges. In
i
Bull-Dog
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-
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THE DOG 23
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.
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 service-
able 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 van- '
ishing 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 stead-
fastness 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
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24 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 uncon-
sciously 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 con-
ditions 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 pur-
suing 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 can-
not 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
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THE DOG 25
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.
Perhaps the most special adaption which man has brought
about in his domesticated animals is found in our pointers
Fox-Hound and Pups
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
balK for less than two centuries, and the peculiar training of
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26
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 domes-
ticated creatures. It thus appears that this peculiar impress
t4 tuKwlA****. i^J
Pointer Retrieving a Fallen Bird
upon the habits of the hunting-dog is the result of some-
where near thirty generations of culture.
Although, as has been often suggested, the pointing or
setting habit probably rests upon an original custom of paus-
ing for a moment before leaping upon their prey, which was
possibly characteristic of the wild dog, it seems to \\\v un-
likely 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
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THE DOG
27
canine animals trust rather to furious chase than to the cau-
tious 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 spe-
Pointer and Setter. Flushing Game
cialization which has been attained in about thirty genera-
tions of care remains a very surprising feature, and affords
one of the most instructive lessons as to the possibilities of
animal culture.
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-
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28 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 observ-
ing 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 Geor-
gia, 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 him-
self, 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 evi-
dence 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 immedi-
ately 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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE DOG 29
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
efifect 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 physi-
cal 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
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30 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 occu-
Dutch Dogs used in Harness
pation tends to develop agile minds as well as bodies, and
where exercised as it doubtless was by the ancestr}- 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.
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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE DOG 31
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 natur-
ally 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 affec-
tions of his owner because he has attractive or useful quali-
ties of mind. It appears to me, in a word, that our treat- *
ment 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 feat-
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32 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 domes-
tication. 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 curi-
ous changes in the number of bones of the skeleton which
we may trace among the domesticated pigeons. We there-
fore 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 rela-
tions 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 char-
acteristics 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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE DOG
33
show toward perfect strangers. If we observe a dog going
along a much-frequented street, we may note that his rela-
tions to the people are substantially those which the folk
have to each other. He shows as they do a certain consid-
eration for the individuals he encounters, gives them their
due place, and yet holds to his own. It is particularly notice-
able that he avoids all contact with the other passers — in fact
a dog has to be __^^_
much beside him- ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ f
self with rage or |^^^^^^^^^ 1 1
fear, or insane
from disease, be-
fore he will break
those bounds of
personality which
civilization has
set up to guide
the conduct of
life.
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,
King Charles Spaniel
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34 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
though he may maintain his original dislike of the mart 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 difificult 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 marvel-
lously 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
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THE DOG 35
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.
Another very remarkable and I believe hitherto unnoticed
The Pounce of a Terrier
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
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36 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 ^^^ 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 charac-
terized 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
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THE DOG n
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 litho-
graphic 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 inadvert-
ently 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.
In antithesis to the old Ishmaelitic humor of our prim-
itive dogs, man has developed a singular, sympathetic, and
kindly motive in these creatures. From the point of view of
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38
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 mam-
mals. We find traces of it in the greater part of our domes-
ticated creatures or in those which we have individually
adopted from the wilderness. It is a part of the great sym-
pathetic motive, which, originating far down in the series of
animals, increases as they gain in the scale of being, until it
reaches the high-
est level it has yet
attained in spirit-
ually minded men.
The eminent pe-
culiarity 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 friendli-
ness 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 peo-
ple puts many of the creatures astray. Perhaps as often as
once a week, almost always late in the evening, one of these
Pomeranian or " Spitz "
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THE DOG
39
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 right-
ful owner, but mildly propitiative and with a touch of sad-
ness. 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 cir-
cumstances.
In the
long cata-
logue of hu-
man quali-
ties 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
Poodl««
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40 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
I different creature as compared to his condition when he is on
his own land. He treads warily and will accept without dis-
pute an order to take himself off. A perception of this sort
indicates an extraordinary amount of sympathy and discern-
ment. 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 con-
ditions by deliberately providing themselves with warm bed-
ding. 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
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THE DOG
41
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
Collie
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.
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42 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
Although there is some evidence that the sense of num-
ber 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, how-
ever, 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 domes-
ticated. 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 Ifsarn certain
bodily habits which are necessary to make them acceptable
members of a household. These habits are not well afifirmed
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 consider-
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THE DOG 43
ably 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 trust- -
worthy anecdotes appear to establish the fact that the recol-
lections 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 shep-
herd-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 imagin-
ary flea ; after he has thus gained a few seconds for readjust-
ment, 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
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44 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 emo-
tions is concerned, we are driven to believe that it has been
bred into the kind by the ages of intimate associations, sup-
ported by the selective process which has led people to pre-
serve 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, affec-
tionate, 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 hun-
dred 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
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THE DOG 45
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 them-
selves 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 cer-
tain 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
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46 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 utter-
ance 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 divis-
ion of the howl into clearly separated notes, the change hav-
ing 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 human-
ized 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 dogs
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
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THE DOG 47
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 develop-
ment 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 observa-
tion — 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
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48 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 untamable-
ness. 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 rela-
tion. 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 inter-
course with this creature, man first learned to develop his
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THE DOG 49
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 accom-
plishments 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 extrava-
gances, and move the real lover of this noble animal to indig-
nation. 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 refer-
ence to the intellectual qualities of the animal. I venture to
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50 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 improp-
erly 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 like-
ness, 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
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THE DOG 51
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 associa-
tion 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 contriv-
ances ; 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 domesti-
cated cat, one that seemed more than usually attached to
people, was brought from my house in town to a place on the
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52 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 recon-
ciled 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 domi-
cile 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 con-
sciousness, each relating to one of its places of abode.
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 hunt-
ing ground in which they seek their food. They are, in a
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THE DOG 55
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 par-
ticular places, they often return to the wilderness when by
chance the homes in which they have been reared are aban-
doned. Thus in New England, in those sections of the dis-
trict 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 behav-
ior 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 \}?k\
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 com-
radeship, 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.
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56 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 structu-
rally 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.
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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. — Varia-
tions of Breeds. — Effect of the Invention of Horseshoes. — Donkeys and Mules
compared with Horse. — Especial Value of these Animals. — Diminishing Value of
Horses in Modem 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 thaa 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.
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58 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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,
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THE HORSE 59
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 pro-
gression 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.
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6o
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 ac-
complished by
reducing the
number of the
toes, giving
the strength of
the aborted
parts to in-
crease the
power of those
rema i n i n g.
The result is
the formation
of two great
groups, the
double -hoofed
forms, includ-
ing 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
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THE HORSE 6l
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
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62 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 fair-
est 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.
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
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THE HORSE 65
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 deliver-
ing 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 animaFs
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 sur-
face being occupied by great lakes which have long since dis-
appeared. 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
5
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66 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
step of the accomplishment which gave us our existing spe-
cies 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.
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 domesti-
cated 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
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THE HORSE
67
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 associa-
tion 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 care-
fully bred
for this pur- ^^
pose, they
might have
been as ser-
viceable 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
Horse of a Bulgarian Marauder
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68
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 fortu-
nate accident that the creature came to us with the propor-
tions which insured a high measure of utility in various lines
of activity. The elephant has been found too large for agri-
Mare and Foal
cultural uses, and too powerful to be controlled by the will
and force of his master under conditions of excitement.
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 w^e consider the conditions
which have led to the domination of the w^orld by the Ar}'an
and Semitic people, and the races which they have affiliated
with them, we readily discern the fact that they have, to a
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THE HORSE 69
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 knowl-
edge. 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 \^ry clearly how great was the impression
which the horse made upon primitive peoples.
To perceive the value of the horse in those ancient con-
tests which opened the paths of civilization, we must note
the fact that, until the invention of gunpowder, success in
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70 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
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
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Cavalry Horse
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THE HORSE
73
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 mili-
Plough Horses, France
tary 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.
Although in the first instance the horse served mainly, if
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74 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 laborers time, this slow-
moving creature is st'iadily and rather rapidly disappearing
from our farms. This change, indeed, is one of the most
indicative of all thor;e 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
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THE HORSE 75
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 char-
acteristic 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 sur-
rounding 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
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76
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
"^
I
Belgian Fitherman'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 move-
ments of the guns and take the appropriate positions, where
they may be out of danger in the rapid swinging of the
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THE HORSE J J
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 com-
panies in this arm, who have to manoeuvre with animals
untrained for the service. Although some part of this men-
tal defect in the horse, causing its actions to be widely con-
trasted with those of the dog, may be due to a lack of delib-
erate 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.
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 applica-
tion of the term to plants. It chanced that ** horse-sense "
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78 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
Horses for Towing on the Beach in Holland
Little elastic as the horse appears to J3e 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 breeders 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 varia-
tions have a distinct relation to the several divisions of human
activity in which this creature has a share. The massive
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A Hurdle Jumper
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THE HORSE 8 1
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 spe-
cies, 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
6
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82 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
hundred pounds of metal. To serve this need it was neces-
sary 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 Nor-
man 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 illus-
trative 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
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THE HORSE 83
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 con-
trollable 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.
The horse, in common with the other domesticated
animals varying readily in the hands of the breeder, under-
goes a certain spontaneous change which in a way corre-
sponds 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
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84
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
Exercising the Thoroughbreds
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
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THE HORSE 85
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.
By some the Arabian horse is thought to be the most
remarkable specialization of the kind which has been attained.
An Arabian Horse
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.
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86 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
Arabian Sports
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
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THE HORSE 87
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 sedu-
lously groomed. To be maintained in its very best condition
some hours of human labor must each day be given to keep-
ing 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 dis-
tinctly increases the endurance and elasticity of their bodies.
The influence of the grooming process appears to be some-
what 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 some-
thing of the olden spirit. The effect obtained from this care
is the more remarkable for the reason that nothing similiar
to it was experienced by the wild ancestors of these creatures.
It is as artificial as bathing in the case of man. The influ-
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bS DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
ence of the treatment shows how very unnatural is the state
of our civilized horses.
The task of providing horses with food is more consider-
able than in the case of any of our other domesticated creat-
ures. 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.
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 com-
posing 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 develop-
ment, the difficulties arising from the wearing of the hoof
were not serious, for the creatures trod either on turf-covered
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THE HORSE 9'
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 protec-
tion 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 condi-
tions. 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 origi-
nated 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 com-
pletely 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
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92 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
Much has depended on the specialization of the horse
into different breeds, made possible by the iron shoe. By
Syrian Horse
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
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THE HORSE 93
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 cam-
paigns 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
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94 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 doubt-
ful 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 eflficient 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
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THE HORSE 95
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 descrip-
tion. In a word, the creature marks a stage in the develop-
ment 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
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96
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
In the Circus
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.
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
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THE HORSE 97
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 partic-
ularly 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 estab-
lished. 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 ani-
mal. There is, it is true, a decided difference in the mental
qualities of the two creatures. The mule is relatively unde-
monstrative, 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
7
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98 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 acquaint-
ance. 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 dispo-
sition 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
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THE HORSE 99
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 sev-
eral 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 ** folio w-my-leader "
motive which occurred many years ago in a way somewhat
personal to myself, in southern Kentucky. Engaged in sur-
vey work, I was passing along a quiet road when in the dis-
tance 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 miss-
ing 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 barri-
caded 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
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lOO DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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. Plough-
ing, 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
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THE HORSE lOl
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 occupa-
tion 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
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102 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
country and over ground which no unhorsed vehicle could
traverse.
The mark of the old utility of the animal in varied employ-
ment 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.
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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 Limi-
tation. — Elephants : Ancient History ; Distribution ; Intelligence ; Use in the Arts ;
Need of True Domestication. — Pigs : their Peculiar Economic Value ; Modem
Varieties ; Mental Qualities. — Relation of the Development of Domesticable Animals
to the Time of Man's Appearance on the Earth.
It isr not too much to say that the opportunity to go for-
ward 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 cap-
tivity, the people have failed to attain any considerable cul-
ture. 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.
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104
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
i*k^^"
Domesticated Buffabes in Egypt
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 influ-
ences is found in the development of the arts of war, by which
people who have become provided with pack or saddle ani-
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS
105
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 store-
houses 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 ^-^m^
were led into
systematic and
forethoughtful
courses, and thus
found a trainingr
which they could
in no other way
have secured.
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 grega-
rious animals which have long acknowledged the authority
Cattle of India
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I06 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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, afford-
ing perhaps at first only flesh and hides, and leading the
people who made them captives to a nomadic life — that con-
stant search for fresh fields and pastures new which charac-
terizes 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 domesticabil-
ity. 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, unhesitat-
ingly 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 captiv-
ity; 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
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 1 07
experiments which have been made to domesticate this inter-
esting 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 individu-
ality, 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 indepen-
dence 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 indepen-
dent motive. When not under the control of their masters,
they have perhaps as free a contact with nature as any creat-
ure 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
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io8
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
that life as a part of its own. In other words, the domestic-
ability 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.
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
pu rposes.
_r- ^ In fact the
nomadic
life, a fash-
ion of so-
ciety which
is enforced
wh ereve r
people sub-
sist 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
Indian Bullock and Water-Carrrer
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS
109
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.
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 in-
troduction to the
ways of man. The
first of these uses
in which the draw-
in(j strenorth 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 sem-
blance of a plough and drawn by oxen, began a great revo-
lution in the art of agriculture. To thi§ unknown genius
we may award a place among the benefactors of man-
kind, 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
Ploughing in Syria
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no DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 restora-
tion 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.
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 ad-
vancement. 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-
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS II3
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 creat-
ures are perhaps the most absolutely submissive ; the more
highly developed of them being little more than passive pro-
ducers 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 remark-
able. 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
8
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114
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
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
Egyptian Sheep
brought these species to the state where their covering of
wool or hair, once a coating only sufficient to afford pro-
tection 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
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 1 15
^veight 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 pas-
turages 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 lati-
tudes 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 con-
tribution is directly related to the conditions of climate. In
the intertropical regions the sheep plays no part of impor-
tance. 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.
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 his-
tory. It has been almost as widely disseminated, among bar-
barian and civilized peoples alike, as the sheep. It readily
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ii6
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
':k^^
*K ^. -*
Bedouin Goat-Herd— Palestine
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-
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS II7
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 moun-
tainous 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 ter-
ritory, 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 advertise-
ments 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
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Il8 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 care-
ful 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 con-
ditions 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 intellec-
tual 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 founda-
tion 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 experi-
ment, for any considerable gain in the intellectual qualities.
We have already noted the fact that the sheep is espe-
cially 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
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS II9
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
The Great Caravan Road— Central Asia
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
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120 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 occa-
sional 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.
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 intel-
ligence 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
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS
123
least improvable of all our servitors. The fact is, this animal
belongs to an ancient and lowly type of mammals character-
ized by relatively small brains, and therefore of weak intelli-
gence ; but, for its singular serviceableness in drought-ridden
j^.i^<^
» .^'
Camels Feeding
countries, it would probably have been hunted off the earth
by the early men, as have been many other remnants of the
ancient life.
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 char-
acteristics in times nearer our own. It is a fact well known
to the students of paleontology, that species and genera
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124 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 thor-
oughly 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 experi-
ments go to show that the creature could be perfectly recon-
ciled 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.
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, lead-
ing as it does to the development of a railway system in that
region, promises to displace this creature from his most trod-
den 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 eflfected in the
modern manner. When this change is brought about, this
old-time animal, which but for the care of man would have
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS
127
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.
It affords a pleasant contrast to turn from the consid-
eration 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.
Camels along the Sea at Twilight
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
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128 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 inven-
tion 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 Amer-
ica 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
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 1 29
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 con-
tinued 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 excava-
tions 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 plen-
tifully 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 north-
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I30 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 conti-
nent which lies south of the Sahara, and to the portion of
Asia east of the Persian Gulf and south of China. The rem-
nant consisted of two species : the African form, on the aver-
age 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
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS I31
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 maybe judged from
the fact that, after a short term of domestication, they will
take a willing and intelligent part in capturing their kindred
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132 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 peculi-
arity 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 cov-
ered with a frail platform so arranged as to conceal the exca-
vation. 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,.
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 133
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
m its trunk an instrument which is admirably contrived to exe-
cute 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 struct-
ure 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
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134
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
An Indian Elephant
they would in a fashion control its movements, steadying or
lifting it as the occasion demanded without any directions
from the driver.
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 excel-
lent and well-attested story of an elephant who, without a
driver, was bearing a stick of timber through a narrow wood
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 135
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 attach-
ments which appear to be quite as enduring as those exhib-
ited by dogs, and their memory of injuries remains quick for
years after they have received the harm. Well-verified anec-
dotes 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 suffi-
ciently 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 stall-
ions, though they belong to species which have been domesti-
cated 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
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136 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
over him as the bit affords in the case of horses. The creat-
ure 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 pro-
portion to the power which he can apply to a task, he is not
an expensive animal to maintain. He can endure a consider-
able 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 re-
marked, the survivors of a long lineage, represented in the
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 137
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 chaHge as to give us once again this relatively diminu-
tive form, the creature would be sure to find a place of im-
portance 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 genera-
tion 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 individu-
ality does not seem to be as striking as the mental, but even
here we note a range, at least as regards size, which is un-
usual 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
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138 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
texture, so that the experts were able to tell from which dis-
trict 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 associ-
ated 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 militarj^ 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 develop-
ment. 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 ani-
mals. Generally, however, these people have been only tem-
porarily 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.
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 139
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 con-
dition 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 under-
taken 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 better-
ment 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 wilder-
nesses about its dwelling-place are rapidly cleared of the large
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140 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 valu-
able, 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 cheap-
est 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 domestica-
tion 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
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS UI
the shortest time, and with the least expenditure of food. In
this peculiar task the success has been remarkable, the creat-
ure 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 re-
mains 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 under-
gone 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 pres-
ervation 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 out-
break 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
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142 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 pro-
vide 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 agricul-
ture, 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 accom-
plish the results with the least expenditure in the way of food.
Although the animal has been subjected to selective experi-
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 143
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 obe-
dient 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 ani-
mals, 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 sympa-
thies 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 oppor-
tunity of observing in much detail. The creature, an ordi-
nary 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
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144 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 concern-
ing 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 dur-
ing the performance the pig rebelled, broke from the tent,
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 145
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 sub-
stantially 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 deter-
mine 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 ration-
ality 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
lO
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146 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
keen sympathy which they exhibit with the sufferings of their
own kind and the willingness with which they encounter dan-
ger 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 gener-
ally 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 stim-
ulates 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 dis-
tinct 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 bet-
ter 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 com-
monly exhibited by the sows, which at times will destroy
their young shortly after they are born. The sight of their
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 147
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 affec-
tionate, 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 special-
ized 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
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148 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 com-
munal animals, all the species of their family being accus-
tomed to live gregariously, so that for ages they have had
the training which every social organization, however simple,
affords. They are, moreover, omnivorous feeders, accus-
tomed to subsist on a great variety of food — a habit which
seems in all cases to promote the development of the intel-
ligence in animals.
Although the pigs by their nature afforded the best oppor-
tunity 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
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THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 1 49
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 speciali-
zation 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 envi-
ronment, 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 devel-
opment in the region about the upper waters of the Missouri.
As may be imagined, the long and difificult passage from the
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ISO DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 151
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.
Digitized by CjOOQIC
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 Historj' of Group ;
Marvels of Breeding. — Song Birds. — Hawks and Hawking. — Sympwithetic Motive of
Birds : their ^Esthetic Sense ; their Capacity for Enjoyment.
It is an interesting fact that about all the work of domes-
tication 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 pre-
vailingly 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 com-
mon 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS
153
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
^v preserved and intensified in our breeds of
game-cocks.
The Original Jungle Fowl (Gailiu banktva) and Some of Hi* 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 domes-
ticated. The kindred pheasants and grouse, though abound-
ing in the Old World and the New, and much disposed to
abide about the cultivated fields, appear to be rather untam-
able. 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
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154 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 hahit of rang-
ing over a wide field, and thus was made more fit for domes-
tication. 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 unfeath-
ered 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS 155
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 unob-
servant a very unvaried sound, discloses to those who have
lovingly studied them at least half a dozen distinct modifi-
cations. 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. Atten-
tion, astonishment, fear, commonplace distress, exultation, and
agony are all set forth with cries which we, in a way, recog-
nize 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-
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156 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
times be observed to be related to slight differences of situa-
tion. Thus the cackle of a hen when she leaves her nest after
laying an ^^^ 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 observa-
tions 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 classifica-
tion 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS 157
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 maintain-
ing 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.
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
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158
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 phe-
^^hd^
Cochins
Leghorns
Game
nomenal 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS 159
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
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l6o DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
leg, is a singularly perfect structure, the finish of which can-
not 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
Bantdntb Brahma Dorkings
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 con-
tests differ as much from those of the game-birds as do the
fist fights of untrained men from the contests of skilled
pugilists.
Although to persons unaccustomed to the spectacle the
combats between game-birds may seem disgusting, almost
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS l6i
every one must admire the valor? grace, and address which
such scenes exhibit. Except where the brutal custom of put-
ting 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 move-
ment 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 appro-
priate 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 move-
ments 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
II
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1 62 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 devel-
oped 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 doubt-
less 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.
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS
163
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 creat-
ure appears to have been
domesticated some thou-
sands of jears ago, but
has undergone no con-
siderable changes in its
experience with
man. It has in
truth not been com-
pletely tamed. It
Contributions from Asia, Africa, and America— Peacocks, Guinea-fowl, and Turkey
does not willingly remain near the dwellings of man, but
prefers to abide apart, only resorting to the home when in
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1 64 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 sympa-
thies 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 defi-
ance, 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 favon
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 ten*
ant of our barnyards and fields, the guinea-hen. This creat-
ure, though of convenient size, hardy, and commendable froni
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 countrj^ The
difficulty with this creature, as with the peacock, is that it is
not truly domesticated ; though it will not betake itself alto-
gether 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS
165
needs or comfort of man to the degree which is likely to give
them a permanent place among his associates.
The last considerable addition to our barnyards has come
to us in the form of the turkey. This species has the pecul-
iar 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
The Domesticated Turkey
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
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1 66 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
mainland of this continent. Although these kinds are dis-
tinguishable 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 tamaibleness 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 origi-
nated, 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 cen-
turies of life about the home of man not having been suffi-
cient 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
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\
DOMESTICATED BIRDS 167
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 con-
fined conditions in which cocks and hens can readily be main-
tained. 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 men-
tal 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, how-
ever, 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 feath-
ers 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.
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i68
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
j 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
compan ionship
with man which has
been attained by
the guinea-fowls
and turkeys. All
we know of the
variations in plum-
age of birds indi-
cates 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
•^...i^ :
The Largest of all Poultry - The Ostrich
Digitized by VjOOQIC
DOMESTICATED BIRDS 1 69
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 align-
ment 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
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I70
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
their comrades are moving, but they never strike against
them.
The admirable sense of interval which the wild birds ex-
hibit 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
An Eider Colony
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 Lab-
rador, within sound of the breakers, I undertook to find
something about the lay of the land and the chance of har-
borage 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS
171
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 meas-
ured 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
Terns Aiding a Wounded Comrade
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.
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
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172 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 trust-
worthy 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 numer-
ous 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS
^li
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.
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
Wood Duck China Goose Australian Swan Canada Goose
Some Recent Additions to the Poultry Yard
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 domes-
tication, they join a passing flock, they never return to the
place where they have been kept.
The swan, like the peacock, has been bred for ornament
rather than for use. In fact, the bird has no other merit
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174 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
Swans
noting the fact that among the migratory species it not
infrequently happens that, while the greater number of indi-
viduals 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS
175
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.
The Original Wild Rock Dove {jColumba livia) and Sonne of its Donnestic 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 breeders 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
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176 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
surprising results as with the doves. The original wild form
of this group is a native of Europe and Asia, where the spe-
cies 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, how-
ever, 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. There-
fore quite naturally we find among these birds that the pair-
ing 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS
^77
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.
Selective breeding of pigeons began in India, as the rec-
ords seem to show, more than two thousand years ago.
Though other ani-
mals have been
brought to domes-
tication at much
earlier times, this
appears to have
been the first of
them to be sub-
jected to deliberate
efforts on the part
of their masters,
which were in-
tended to bring
about in a method-
ical way certain
changes in their
forms and habits.
The most curious
part of this great endeavor which has been applied to breed-
ing 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.
Turtle Doves
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178
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 sys-
tem of mating those in which the singular features were most
evident. Thus the fan-tail breed has been developed until
the creatures dis-
play their unor-
namental tail
feathers with all
the dignity with
which a peacock
shows his marvel-
lous decorations.
The pouters have
in some unac-
countable way
learned to take
air into their
crop ; and the
habit has been
developed by se-
lection 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
The Giant Crowned Pigeon of India
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS 1 79
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.
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 valu-
able where a place was beleaguered by an enemy. In such
cases carrier pigeons could often be used to convey infor-
mation across the otherwise impassable lines. Even in mod-
ern 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 in-
vested 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 swift-
ness and endurance in flight. Our other breeds and the wild
species whence they have all come are not disposed to under-
take 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
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l8o DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
they were not accustomed to do in their wild state. Some-
thing 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.
Although the pigeon is the only free-flying form which has
been won to intimate relations with man, there are numer-
ous 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.
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS
i8i
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
The English Pheasant
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 sympa-
thetic 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
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1 82 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 perma-
nently 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 mam-
mals, 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. There-
fore 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 sympa-
thetic 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS 1 83
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 imitat-
ing 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.
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1 84
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
1
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 intro-
duced from Spain
during the occu-
pancy of that pen-
insula by the
Moors. From the
literature of this
art of hawking,
even after we allow
much for the exag-
geration of unob-
servant men, it
seems certain that the training of these fierce birds was car-
ried 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 excite-
ment, more perfect than those which we succeed in instilling
in any animal but the dog. When we consider the natural
x^-
The Falconer's Favorite -Peregrine Falcor^
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS 1 85
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 obedi-
ence of our really domesticated animals.
The remarkable way in which the art of hawking has
disappeared from our civilization deserves more than a pass-
ing 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 encourage-
ment 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.
Whatever may have been the reason for abandoning this
beautiful and in a way noble sport, its disuse must be deemed
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1 86
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 giye their atten-
tion 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 forefath-
ers, who had to
content themselves with the limited number of wild spe-
cies 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
,'i
The Bandit's Brood
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS 1 87
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 spe-
cies, including even man. A single fact, one of great gener-
ality, 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
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l88 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 ^xoMXiA, 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
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DOMESTICATED BIRDS 189
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 unend-
ing 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.
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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 com-
pletely 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 civiliza-
tion, 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
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USEFUL INSECTS 19I
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 con-
veyed 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 accom-
plished 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
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192 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
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 civiliza-
tion. 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
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USEFUL INSECTS 195
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 migrat-
ing 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 fore-
doomed to destruction. If l)y chance the colonies wander
too far, they generally find the wilderness so ill provided with
plants which may furnish iIkmii with the sources of wax,
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10 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 char-
acter. 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
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USEFUL INSECTS l()7
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.
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198 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
The mulberry silkworm can readily be bred in confine-
ment. 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 unser-
viceable. 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 silk-
worm, 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.
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USEFUL INSECTS 20I
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
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202 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 with-
out 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 indi-
viduals, 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
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USEFUL INSECTS 203
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 succeas 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 rea-
son why it should not afford a good field for the work
of the breeder's art.
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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 concern-
ing Animal Rights. — Present and Future of Animal Rights. — Question of Vivisec-
tion. — Rights of Domesticated Animals to Proper Care ; to Enjoyment. — Ends of the
Breeder's Art. — Moral Position of the Hunter. — Probable Development of the Pro-
tecting 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 deal-
ing 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
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THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 205
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, particu-
larly 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 de-
velopment we note the love of offspring, and, as a conse-
quence 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
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206 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
binds the kind together. It is with this condition of the
sympathies that the task of their further evolution is trans-
ferred 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 ordi-
nary 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
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TJI£ RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 20J
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 be-
yond 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 sym-
pathies, 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 pro-
ceed 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 develop-
ment 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
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2o8 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 slaugh-
ter 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 character-
ized 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 reinforced by the teachings of the naturalists to the
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THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 209
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 prop-
erty. 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
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2IO DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 ques-
tion 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 supposi-
tion 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 amend-
ment we shall undoubtedly before long come to the point
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THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 21 1
^here 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 prin-
ciple 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
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212 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 experi-
ments with animals, made for the purpose of discovering or
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 creat-
ures 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 treat-
ment 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 dis-
semination 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 sugh 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
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THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 217,
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 peo-
ple 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 develop-
ment 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 wonder-
ful 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,
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214 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 rec-
ognize 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
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THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 215
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 return-
ing to something like his natural conditions. Many a cow
stable with its foul conditions inflicts more and more endur-
ing 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 cor-
rected we may also account that which arises from the un-
guided 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 dis-
semination 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
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2l6 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 con-
demned, 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 un-
known in civilized life. So long as men looked upon ani-
mals 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
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THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS 217
for appropriate enlargement of the sympathies, the result will
doubtless be a great movement towards enlargement in pub-
lic 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.
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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. — Impor*
tance 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 Reser-
vations 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 wilder*
ness, 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 219
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 founda-
tions 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 dis-
tinguished from the temporary hut of primitive men, it repre-
sented 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 primi-
tive 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 imagina-
tion 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
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220 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 creat-
ures 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 categor}^ 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 ani-
mals 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 dis-
position to win goods from the wilderness is in effect a fair
test of those qualities in a people which give them domi-
nance : 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. Suc-
cess, 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 221
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 wilder-
ness, 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 sympa-
thetic, 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
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222 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 civil-
izable 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 post-
ponement 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 devel-
opment 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 223
education of the schools in the dense than in the scattered
condition. There can be no doubt, however, that the practi-
cally 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 accom-
plished by various expedients.
In the lowest state of townspeople it is out of the ques-
tion 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-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
224 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
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 com-
panions. 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 manu-
facturers 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 225
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 domesti-
cated 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. Occa-
sionally 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
15
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226 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 associ-
ation 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 accomplish-
ment which are presented to us by our domesticated creat-
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 227
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 develop-
ment 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 pecul-
iarity 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 con-
sider 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 accom-
panies the development of civilization, inevitably tends to
sweep away a large part of the organic life which is not
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228 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 buflfalo 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 opei>
the way for this new dispensation. They may fairly ask, how-
ever, 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 recov-
ered. 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 forma
which have passed away.
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 229
It is the worst feature of the destruction which man is
bringing upon the organic species that the assault is most
eflfective 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 considera-
tions 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
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230 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 ^';ith
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 organ-
ized 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-
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 231
ness life may be made to contribute to the needs of man;
and, second, how far it is possible so to develop the intelli-
gence 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 domestica-
tion, 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 ex-
periment. 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 cap-
tive. 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
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232 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 rep-
tiles-r— 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 advanta-
geously be bred so as to be very useful as food. The com-
mon 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 spe-
cies 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 233
haunt the seas can easily be accustomed to man. A few of
these species which have been reduc'ed to captivity have not
become sufficiently reconciled to the unnatural conditions
to maintain their breeding habits. Even in these cases, how-
ever, 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 breeders 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 atten-
tion, and provided with fairly retentive memories, the birds
are, on the average, nearer in the qualities of their intelli-
gence 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, how-
ever, but a few generations of experience to show these creat-
ures 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 per-
secution. Wherever shooting is stopped over a considerable
territory the birds rapidly become more tolerant of man's
presence. Even among migratory species the individuals
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234 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 dom-
iciles of man that they can be truly domesticated. The suc-
cess, 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 dis-
appear 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 what-
ever 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 indi-
viduals possessing marked peculiarities of form or plumage.
In their mental qualities also there is a like range of varia-
tion. 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 235
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 ex-
periments 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 creat-
ures 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 pres-
ence. It is not to be expected that the chicks of these species
will at once accept relations with our kind. The domestica-
tion of many of these forms is to be desired, not only on
account of the excellent quality of their flesh, but because of
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236 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 237
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 pecul-
iarly tamable nature of the bird, but rather to the fact
that certain superstitious fancies on the part of the feather-
less 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 accom-
plished 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
migrator}' 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
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238 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 beau-
tiful tropical species which await reconciliation with men ;
they have that quality of sympathy which affords the nat-
ural 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 com-
mercial 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 devel-
opment 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 239
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 experi-
ment 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 contri-
bute 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
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240 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 sev-
eral 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 buf-
falo, 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
l^ind, no care having been taken by selection to improve
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 241
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 con-
siderable 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 domesticat-
ing 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 dis-
posed 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
16
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242 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 experi-
ments.
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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 243
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 con-
trol, 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
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244 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
elsewhere noted, wounded seals behave in a curiously appeal-
ing 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 colo-
nies 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 pos-
sible to accomplish selection enough of the individuals which
were left to breed, to develop the already valuable character-
istics 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, includ-
ing 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 245
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 any-
thing 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
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246 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 ani-
mals. 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 spe-
cies 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 wilder-
nesses — 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 247
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 aggre-
gate to some hundred thousand square miles that would
apparently bfe 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 mam-
malian 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 incHned 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 ante-
lopes, have a beauty of form and a grace of movement which
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248 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 ani-
mal in its relations to men is eminently peculiar, in that while
it has been in an individual way long and completely sub-
jugated, 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
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 249
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 com-
paratively 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 induce-
ment 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 pre-
served 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,
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250 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 30 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 intel-
lectual 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 ex-
terminate them. The result* is that some species have prob-
ably 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 domestica-
tion 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 dis-
turbed by the process of bringing a country under the condi-
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 251
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 deal-
ing 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 spe-
cies 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 use-
ful, 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 adeqiiate 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
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252 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 move-
ments 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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 253
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 pic-
ture, 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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
254 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 primi-
tive savage falls into the natural system without greatly dis-
turbing it ; but man as a soil-tiller, in so far as he carries out
his subjugative work, utterly wrecks the ancient establish-
ments 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, iil the fields of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 255
the richest and highest life. It is cleariy 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 suc-
cessors in the inheritance all that can in any way afford a
foundation for further experiments in domestication, materi-
als 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 rep-
resent 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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
256 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 per-
petuate 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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 257
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 Adi-
rondacks, 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 accom-
modate 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 hun-
dred 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 interest-
ing 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
17
Digitized by VjOOQIC
258 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 house-
holds, 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 cov-
ered with snow.
The lesson which may be drawn from the experience
above stated is to the effect that it is necessary to have a pro-
tected 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 hun-
dred times as many species as are now living on the earth-have
perished from it, and before the unimaginable goal is attained
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THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 259
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, immedi-
ate 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 He 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 founda-
tion 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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
26o DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 cor-
porate 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 illustra-
tion 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 immedi-
ate kind. If these institutions could be persuaded to add ta
their former exhibitions grounds designed for the maintenance
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 26 1
of the natural order, true wildernesses, where the native life
would find a fit place of abode and where it would be pro-
tected 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 con-
ditions which they now rarely have a chance to behold. Yet
more might be accomplished if men of wealth could be in-
duced 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. More-
over, 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 polic-
ing expenses, as well as for incidental costs incurred in bring-
ing 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 establish-
ments in the hands of some authorities which were of an
enduring nature. In our American experience it has become
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262 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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 pur-
pose are those of our universities. In these institutions Sve
find boards which are chosen for the attainment of intel-
lectual 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 there-
fore look upon our universities as the natural repositories of
confidences which pertain to the continuous intellectuU work
of man. There is no other kind of association where inter-
ests of the sort which would have to be cared for in the
reservations of the wilderness are so likely to receive contin-
uous 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 impor-
tance, is of course secondary to the matter of their establish-
ment. 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 occu-
pation of the earth by his civilizations. The people need
to be taught the true meaning of the indigenous life in
Digitized by VjOOQIC
THE PROBLEM OF DOMESTICATION 263
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
Digitized by VjOOQIC
k
264 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
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.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
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 ani-
mals, 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.
Camels, limited nature of, 120.
" lessening value of, 124.
Cattle (horned), value of, no.
" 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, li.
" 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.
•• eflfect 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.
Digitized by LjOOQIC
266
INDEX
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 I'n 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.
Horse, 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, i.
sudden appearance of, 6,
as a destroyer, 229.
Martha's Vineyard prairie chicken, 257.
Milk, value of, as food, no.
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, 108.
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.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
INDEX
267
Pig, progressive domestication of, 142.
*• intelligence of, 143, 148.
" variations in habits of, 147.
Pigeons, 175.
•• origin of, 176.
•• breeds of, 177.
mental qualities of, x8o.
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, 1 16.
" 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, 1 14.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Digitized by VjOOQIC
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
THEIR RELATION TO MAN AND THE
ADVANCEMENT OF CIVILIZATION
By NATHANIEL SOUTHQATE SHALER
Dean of the Lawrence 5cientlflG School of Harvard University '
WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS BY
Ch. Herrmann Lion, Bdwin Lord Weeks, C. Delortf and Ernest B. Thompson
One Volume, Octavo, $2.50
EVERYBODY who knows Professor Shaler's remarkable talent for the
interesting explanation of Nature, and for science that is really
popular and not simply called so, can imagine how the author of
** Aspects of the Earth," ** Nature and Man in America," and **Sea and
Land " will deal with the subject of our familiar domestic animals. The
book which he now publishes deals chiefly with the horse, the dog, the
familiar beasts of burden, and domesticated birds, and it would be hard
to find a collection fuller of apt illustration, anecdote, ingenious clearing
up of difficult points, and otherwise entertaining reading on a topic so full
of attraction. It will be read with continual surprise at the breadth of its
observation and the ingenuity and probability of the theories advanced.
The illustration of the book has been done by some master hands. Delort,
of Paris, the late famous artist in this field, drew the horses ; Herrmann
L6on, the dogs ; Ernest E. Thompson, the Canadian ornithologist, the
birds; and Edwin Lord Weeks, the beasts of burden.
The subjects of the chapters are : Introduction, The Dog, The Horse,
Flocks and Herds, Domesticated Birds, Useful Insects, The Rights of
Animals, The Problem of Domestication.
ASPECTS OP THE EARTH
A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF SOME FAMILIAR GEOLOGICAL PHENOMENA
With 100 Illustrations. One Volume, Octavo, $2.50
" The human interest of Professor Shaler's book is its distinctive note. His purpose
is to show the relation of natural forces to the fortunes of man, and to throw light upon the
multitude of ways in which natural phenomena affect the welfare of the human race. The
illustrations are of special beauty and interest, the subjects having been so chosen as to bring
out the most interesting^ side of his topic." — C/n'caj^o Journal.
" The subjects are as interesting as the way in which they are treated, and the illustra-
tions are not only numerous but excellent. The chapter on American forests will also be
found of peculiar value and significance." — New York Tribune.
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PROFESSOR SHALER'S WORKS
SEA AND LAND
FEATURES OF COASTS AND OCEANS, WITH
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE LIFE OF MAN
With Many Illustrations. One Volume, Octavo, $2.50
•' Prof. Shaler has presented truths concerning the working of the earth's machiner}'
in a popular manner that supplies a long-existing demand, and his book should attract a large
circle of seekers for valuable information. It is copiously illustrated in a style that gives
additional significance to the lucidly written text." — Boston Saturday Evening GazetU.
*' It discusses sea beaches, the depths of the sea, icebergs, harbors, tidal currents, etc.,
and offers to readers a great deal of scientific information in simple and readable forro."
— The Congregationalist.
*' The work is to be commended for its successful presentation in popular form of the
latest results of the study of coasts and oceans," — Philadelphia Press.
NATURE AND MAN IN AMERICA
i2mo, $1.50
•* His book is an admirable exposition of the latest views of modern science on the
relation of organic life to its environment, treated not in the systematic and to many somewhat
dr>' method of scientific treatises, but in the easy and charmingly colloquial style of which
he is so easily the master."— A^(fze/ York Evening Post,
" It is one of the most stimulating and instructive books of the season. The chapters
which deal with man and his future on this continent are full of interest for all who care to
know what light science can throw upon political and sociological problems."
— Boston Advertiser.
" Of especial interest is Prof. Shaler's discussion of geographic influences upon man in
the United States, and his showing how the development of race peculiarities has been in
large part due to the conditions of the stage on which the different pupils have played their
parts . ' ' — Boston Traveller,
For sale by all booksellers, or sent, post-paid, on receipt of the price by tfie publishers
CHARLE5 SCRIBNER'5 SONS
■53-i57 Fifth Avenue, New York City
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