PROGRESS IN THE LOWER ANIMALS. 177 



Jews carry it on than that Christians should imperil the salvation 

 of their souls by such practices, since the former, owing to their 

 notorious obduracy, will doubtless persist in their religious per- 

 versity and be damned anyhow/' If the Jews now " take a breed 

 of barren metal " as naturally as a pointer takes to pointing or a 

 hound to the trail of a fox, this tendency is due in part at least to 

 circumstances which they did not create and could not control. 

 The chief accusation brought against them by anti-Semitic agita- 

 tors is that they are unwilling to follow industrial or agricultural 

 pursuits, in utter forgetfulness of the fact that until a compara- 

 tively recent date they were forbidden by Christian legislation 

 either to engage in mechanical employments or to own land. 



The influence of domestication on the mental development of 

 animals depends upon the purposes which the domesticator has 

 in view. If he regards them merely as forms of food, and his sole 

 aim is to increase the amount of their adipose tissue and edible 

 substance and thus get the maximum of meat out of them, then 

 domestication tends to stupefy them. The intellectual training 

 of the pig would naturally diminish the quantity of lard it would 

 produce. So far as man is concerned, this latter function is the 

 chief end of the porker's existence, and it must not be tried and 

 found wanting in this respect, whatever may be its mental defi- 

 ciencies. It must be fat-bodied whether it be fat-witted or not, 

 and the natural qualities which do not contribute to its gross 

 weight and enhance its ultimate value as victuals are systemat- 

 ically discouraged and depressed. 



In view of the treatment that the pig has received for centuries 

 at the hands of man, it is remarkable that the animal has re- 

 tained so much of its original cunning and love of cleanliness as 

 it now possesses. That a creature so fond of bathing in puie 

 running water should be condemned to a filthy sty is an act of 

 unconscious cruelty discreditable to human discernment. If the 

 sow that has been washed returns to her wallowing in the mire, 

 it is as a last resort in hot weather; she would much prefer a 

 clear pond or limpid stream if she could get access to it. 



Being fed and protected by its owner in its domestic state, the 

 hog no longer needs to exercise the faculties which were essential 

 to the self-preservation of its wild progenitors. The stimulus 

 arising from the struggle for existence ceases, and, as it is reared 

 solely to be eaten, its association with man does not call forth 

 any new powers. In China and Polynesia, where the dog is 

 esteemed chiefly as food, it is a sluggish and stupid beast. On 

 the other hand, the pig can be trained to hunt, and not only 

 acquires great fondness for the sport, but also shows extraor- 

 dinary sagacity in the pursuit of game. It has an uncommonly 

 keen scent, and can be taught to point better than the pointer. 



