



















supplanting in many cases native species. inbisnees of” mam- 
mals of economic importance either on account of the value, of at 
themselves. The fur trade in this state seems to have aiwaae me 
ished in importance, so that statistics of its income would have 
little value, at any rate it was impossible to gather any informa- im % 
tion sufficiently reliable to be worth reporting. A few Indians 
devote their time to trapping, but aside from this, the farmer’s 5 
boy who hopes to add to a limited stock of spending money, byt vn 
the capture of mink or musk-rat, is almost the only patron of 
the industry. 
The capture of deer is still quite an industry, and yet ae a 
supply does not seem to diminish greatly. Only afew years ~ 
ago, patient sportsmen succeeded in securing a deer or Aged « 
within a dozen miles of Minneapolis every winter. 
It would be interesting to trace, so far as possible, the origin - 
of domestic animals in this connection. The space at our dis- of 
posal prohibits more than a cursory word. For additional de- 
tails one may refer to the works of Oscar Smith, Rutemyer and 
Vogt. a 
Darwin was of the opinion that the domestic dog isa result 
of the domestication and interbreeding of several feral species. _ 
Jeitteles believes that the jackal and Indian wolf (Canis 
pallipes) have been the progenitors of the various races of do- f 
mestic dogs. From the former he derives terriers and turn- 
spits, while from the latter he traces the poodle, cur, and bull- fh 
dog. The Egyptian dog is believed to have had a separate A 
origin from the large jackal ( Canis lupaster). iat 
The fossil ancestors of the wolf may be found in the Dilu- _ 
vium, over half a dozen species very much like the modern ee 
animal being known. There are anumber of wild dogs with BD 
greater number of molar teeth than our familiar species, and 
these are thought to be the more direct descendants of thesis 
primitive canine. Of the relations of the dogs to the cats Ps ' 
enough information is furnished by paleontology to show that 
the petty jealousy still existing is as might be supposedaresult 
of consanguinity unwillingly recognized. f Ri 
Among the ruminants it is interesting to recall that America 
is the primitive home of the camel tribe. In the Pliocene Ter- pes 
mammals amet the exception of horses, while the alpaca and 
llama alone survive to the present. ry. 
