Page:The Scientific Monthly vol. 3.djvu/30

 24 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

Man's needs or fancies have led to the production of many and diverse breeds of the domestic animals. In every civilized country special breeds and sub-breeds or varieties have been developed to meet the particular conditions prevailing there. In the number of such specialized and diversified races of animals, all of which must have come originally from a very small number of unspecialized ancestral forms, is perhaps to be found the most striking measure of the degree to which man has developed and extended his control over the natural processes of reproduction. Some idea of the extent to which this differentiation and specialization of animals for particular ends has been carried may be gained from Table I. This table shows the num- ber of different breeds and varieties of farm live stock which are found in the British Isles.^ Some are local varieties, but still distinct All these are essentially native British breeds. Other countries, especially the older ones, show in greater or less degree the same conditions. They have developed breeds of live stock to suit their own special needs and fancies.

TABLE I Showing the NuiiBEas or Dutersnt Bbeedb of British Livx Stock

Numbor of DtartJnel Biltlflh Breed! anil Kind of Stock Vuleaee

Horses 17

Beef cattle 13

Dairy cattle 7*

Sheep 34

Swine 8

It is evident from this table that the skill of the English breeder has well justified the reputation it has created for the British Isles as one of the chief sources of the pure-bred live stock of the world.

To produce the world's supply of domestic animals^ which we have seen to be the business of the animal breeder, is a task of great magni- tude. Besort must be had to statistics' if any just conception is to be

1 This table is compiled from ' ' British Breeds of Live Stock, ' ' London (Board of Agriculture and Fisheries), 1910.

s Counting the Dairy Shorthorn as a distinct variety.

sThe raw data on which the following statistical discussion is based are taken from the official returns of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, as pub- lished in the Yearbooks. The writer is, of course, responsible for the treatment of these figures here developed and for the deductions made.

The fact that the statistics here used are three years old in no wise invali- dates the conclusions. EssentiaUy the same conclusions would be reached from a survey of the stock-breeding industry in any normal year. Of course just at the present time industrial conditions of all sorts, including stock-breeding, are upset by war conditions. On that account, indeed, it is altogether probable that the facts as here presented give a much more nearly normal picture of the in- dustry than would statistics for the years 1914 or 1915.

�� �