Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/434

* DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 872 DOMESTIC RELATIONS. to the evolution of forms which in a wild state would bo regarded as new species. As a rule, the species which under doiiiestica- tiou have proved most useful to man have possessed high fertility, giving nunil)ers, and marked tendency to variation, giving opjiortunity for ini|)rovenient and development in some par- ticular direction l>y selection and breeding. These are prime rccpiisites to rendering a siM>cies of great adaplaliility and usefulness: and the ab- sence of them in .some has restricted the scope of their u.sefulness. The camel, for instance, ap- pears in its native state to have possessed quali- ties which suited it admirably to man's uses in a rather limited region : and, not exhibiting a marked tendency to vary, it has not been changed much by man. nor have any traits been arti- ficially developed to a high degree. His range of usefulness will probably remain in its present bounds, and become more and more restricted as civilization advances in the regions where he now finds his greatest usefulness. Cattle, on the other hand, tend strongly toward variation, and breeds showing wide dilVercncc-s in size, tendency to beef production, milk production, and the rich- ness of the milk, have been devcloix'd. As be- tween the cat and the dog, the former possesses great fertility and fecundity, but n])parently oidy slight tendency to variation, and hiiice in all the years that the cat has been domesticated man has not developed from it an animal of much spe- cial use beyond that as a pet: while the dog varies so greatly that a number of races have been developed by selection and crossing which differ greatly in character, and many of them have been turned to use in a variety of ways. Animals dilTer greatly in their adabtability to doniestication. The wild traits seem more firmly stamped on some species than on others. To admit of successful and profitable doniestica- tion, they should be of .social and docile disposi- tion, and capable of retaining their fertility under changed conditions. Some species will not breed in confinement, or become luiproductive. This is often due to inability to observe the nat- ural or customary habits at breeding time, and is observed in some birds. On the other hand, hybrids are more readily produced under do- mestication. See r>UEi:i)S AM) Bukkdi.no. Classes of Dome.stic Animals. The domestic animals practically all belong to the classes of mammals or birds. The larger number and the more important of the former class are herbiv- orous, and are kept for their flesh, milk, wool or hair, hide, etc., or as beasts of burden, some species, as cattle, being kept for all of these pur- poses. The most common of the licrbivora arc cattle, sheep, goats, the loilTalo. yak. reindeer, camel, llama, alpaca (rnminniits), and the horse, ass, hog, and elephant (pachyderms). The 7,cbra has been tamed and dmnesticated to some extent: but, like the elephant, no dcmiestieated race of the species exists. Although the ele- phant has been nuieh employed for many ages for varimis purposes in India, the individuals arc still taken, to large extent, from the wild denizens of the forest, and this animal can only be said to be half domesticated. The mule, a very important and valuable work-animal, is not a distinct s|)eeies, but a hybrid, the product of the male as* and the mare, resenililing the ass much more than the horse; and the hinny or muto is the product of the stallion and the she-ass, pos- sessing many of the characteristics of the horse. Both of these animals are incapable of reproduc- tion. Of carnivorous quadrupeds, there are only two which have been generally and thoroughly domes- ticated — the dog and the eat. These are kept largely as pets and for ornament, although, as noted above, the dog has been bred and trained to many uses, such as herding cattle ami sheep, protection of life and property, hunting, and as a beast of burden. Certain species of foxes are kept under domestication in Alaska and bred for their fur: they become tame, but cannot be reck- oned among domestic aniimils in a restricted sense. A long list of other quadrupeds arc tamed and kept as pets, and partially or imlividually domesticated. This is true of the rabbit, guinea- pig, ferret, and mungoos. for example, which are also useful tinder some conditions. The lielgian hare has recently been kept and bred (piite ex- tensively in a number of countries for its flesh. Of birds, the most important of the domesticat- ed species are gallinaceous — the common barn- yard fowls, of which there are many widely dif- ferent varieties, the guinea-hen, and the turkey; to which should be added ducks, geese, and swans, which Ix-long to the web footed water-birds. Pea- cocks and pigi'ons arc thoroughly domesticated, being kept principally for ornament, although the breeding of them is something of an industry: and the pheasants and curassows (guans) are of some local importance, though not truly domesti- cated. The ostrich has for some time biH'n kc])t in cimfinenient in Africa, and more recently in California and .rizona. where quite large ostrich fanns are operated on a commercial scale. The birds pair, lay eggs, and rear young i)leiitifully under these conditions, and may be said to be partially domeslicated. Song-birds, parrots, and similar birds whi<'h are kept as [x-ts. cannot be said to be truly domesticated species: nor can a long list of birds which have largely abandoned their wild habits for an association with man, such as the swallows, swifts, and other species. The same applies to rats, mice, snakes, vermin, etc., which have associated themselves with man for protection and their own advantage. Fishes are not generally classed among tlic domestic animals, although kept by man under quite nat- ural conditions for his pleasure and use: nor arc snails, oysters, turtles, etc., to, which his care has lieen extended. These, together with a number of species of useful insects, such as the bee, silkworm, and cochineal-insect, are more properly described as rultiratrd than as domesii- calrrl. For further details regarding the description and origin of various kinds of ilomestic animals, see Cattle; Horse: Siikep: Fowl: tioosE. TlinLior.RAriiv. Darwin. Variation of AnimaU ami rintits Under Dmnrnticatinn (London, l,S(i8: New York, reprint, 1807) : Shaler. nnnwsliralt'd Animals, Their Relation to Man and In His Ad- vanremcnt in Ciriliratton (London, 1800) ; TTehn, Wandcrintjs of Plant/) and Animal/) from Their Fir/)l Home, trans, by .Slallybrass (Londcm. 188S) : Low, Domestieated Animal/) of the liritixh I/)lc/) (London, about 1846) : Wallace, Farm lArc Stork of (Ireat Britain (Edinburgh, 1880) : Sanders, The Breeds of Live Stock (Chi- cago, 1887). DOMESTIC RELATIONS. A term em- ployed to denote the legal relations subsisting