18 OUR DOSrESTIC FOWLS. 



■R'liicli impelled him, and tlie skill which aided 

 him to subjugate certain animals essential to 

 his well-being. It has been shown that there 

 were quadrupeds constituting to the present 

 moment the most valuable of civilized man's 

 possessions, flocks and herds — the dog, the 

 ass, the horse, and the camel. "We have 

 expressed an opinion that it was not until 

 tribes became stationary, cultivating the soil, 

 and engaging in commerce, that the domestic- 

 ation of any of the feathered tribes began ; 

 and even that nomadic people, though well 

 aware of such domestic poultry being possessed 

 by the dwellers of towns, and villages, and 

 settled farms, could not if they wished it keep 

 them, from the very circumstances of their 

 habits, — whereas, with respect to the quad- 

 rupeds alluded to, the very opposite would be 

 the case. 



In the creation of animals, whether quad- 

 rupeds or birds, expressly serviceable to man, 

 and so highly conducive to his prosperity, and, 

 at the same time, so easily subjugated or 

 tamed, we cannot but see the wisdom and 

 goodness of Divine Providence. We know 

 not, it is true, the means employed by man in 

 the infancy of society in reclaiming the original 



