TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. 



571 



lower animals are entitled to be protected by law. 

 That principle, as we have shown, is not new- 

 It was recognized by the ancient Hebrews, and it 

 is pleasing to feel that at length modern common- 

 sense has legislatively assumed its propriety. 

 Latterly, there have been several additional acts of 

 Parliament, chiefly as concerns protection to sea- 

 birds and small land-birds ; but, while well meant, 

 these acts are very imperfect. The eggs of sea- 

 birds not being protected, the nests of these ani- 

 mals may be rifled with impunity. As regards 

 small birds, a number are left out in the list of 

 protected animals — the skylark for one. These 

 deficiencies are unfortunate. Sea-birds, though 

 generally looked on with indifference, are of 

 great public utility. They benefit agriculturists 

 by eating the worms and grubs in newly-ploughed 

 land ; they hover over parts of the sea and point 

 out where there are shoals of herrings and other 

 fish ; they are useful to the mariner in foggy 

 weather, by their warning cries near the rock- 

 bound coast. How beautiful that arrangement 

 of Nature, in making provision for birds to live 

 on shelving rocks by the sea-shore, there to act 

 like beacons, in warning off the bark of the mari- 

 ner from a coast that would cause its destruction ! 

 Considering that wonderful provision, how scan- 

 dalous, how short-sighted, the practice of rifling 

 the nests of sea-birds ! A supplementary act to 

 protect the eggs of sea-birds cannot, as a matter 

 of public duty, be too soon passed. Already, on 

 some parts of the coast, sea-birds are said to be 

 rapidly disappearing. 



As every one knows, dogs are often lost in 

 large towns, and roam about miserably in search 

 of their master or mistress. A sight of them in 

 such circumstances is exceedingly pitiable. In 

 the metropolis, a humane plan for succoring lost 

 dogs has been established. Some years ago, a 

 benevolent lady, Mrs. Tealby, was enabled, by the 

 aid of public subscriptions, to set on foot a tem- 

 porary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs, which 

 has existed since 1860. It is situated at Batter- 

 sea Park Road. Any dog, when found and 

 brought to the Home, is taken in and succored 

 under certain necessary conditions. If a dog, 

 after being housed and succored, is applied for 

 by the owner (with satisfactory proof of owner- 

 ship), the animal is given up on payment of the 

 expenses of its keep. If no owner comes for- 

 ward, every unclaimed dog is sold for the benefit 

 of the institution, or otherwise disposed of ac- 

 cording to circumstances. The Home is growing 

 in usefulness. In one year recently more than 

 thirty-three hundred dogs were restored to their 



former owners or sent to new homes. Many 

 owners who recover their favorites through the 

 agency of this institution not only refund the 

 expenses incurred, but assist the funds by sub- 

 scriptions in the name of their recovered pets — 

 as, for instance, " In memory of Pup," " For lit- 

 tle Fido," " In name of darling Charlie," " The 

 mite from an old dog," and so on. This deserv- 

 ing and well-managed institution is well worth 

 visiting. Only, the visitor must be prepared to 

 see painful demonstrations from some of the un- 

 happy inmates. On the approach of the visitor, 

 each animal eagerly hastens to see if he be his 

 dear master. And when a sniff and a glance 

 render too evident the fact that you are not the 

 person wished for, something like a tear steals 

 from the poor doggie's eye. The happiness 

 shown when one of the animals finds his lost 

 master is equally expressive. Looking to the 

 great good done in the cause of humanity by this 

 meritorious Home for Lost and Starving Dogs, it 

 may be hoped that efforts will not be wanting to 

 establish similar institutions elsewhere. 



There is another admirable establishment 

 worth referring to. It is known as the Brown 

 Institution, from having been founded by the be- 

 quest in 1851 of a large sum of money by Mr. 

 Thomas Brown. Its design was the advancement 

 of knowledge concerning the diseases of animals, 

 the best mode of treating them for the purpose 

 of cure, and the encouragement of humane con- 

 duct toward .animals generally. The institution 

 combines the quality of an infirmary and a dis- 

 pensary for animals belonging to persons who are 

 not well able to pay for ordinary medical attend- 

 ance, and therefore does not trench on veterinary 

 establishments. Several thousands of animals 

 are treated annually. The institution, which is 

 under the direction of the Senate of the Univer- 

 sity of London, is situated in Wandsworth Road, 

 near Vauxhall Railway-Station. As a hospital 

 and dispensary for poor horses, dogs, and other 

 animals, the Brown Institution is unique of its 

 kind. As far as we know, there is nothing like 

 it in the world. What a prodigious step in ad- 

 vance is the Home for Dogs, and the institution 

 now described, from the condition of things at 

 the beginning of the nineteenth century ! 



In speaking of the improved treatment of 

 defenseless creatures within recent times, a prom- 

 inent place is due to the Royal Society for the 

 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, located in 

 Jermyn Street, London. Standing at the head 

 of all organizations of the kind in the United 

 Kingdom, this society may be considered the 



