18 BEGINNINGS IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 



tion through the forests and across the wide Western prairies. 

 The great endurance, steady habits, and ease of keep, make 

 the ox a favorite with the pioneer. 



In countries other than our own, where railways do not 

 exist, the transportation of freight must be done by animals, 

 or on the shoulders of men. In many countries the people 

 use the backs of animals for this purpose. In northern 

 Africa, the camel is known as "the ship of the desert," for 

 on his back is carried both man and freight from the interior 

 to the coast. In parts of Asia, the elephant becomes a 

 mighty beast of burden, performing wonderful draft service. 

 The little donkey, regarded in America as simply a play- 

 thing for children, is widely used over the world as a burden 

 bearer. Thus we see that domestic animals, even today, 

 play a very important part in moving merchandise and per- 

 forming labor. Although modern methods of transporta- 

 tion care for enormous quantities of freight, the fact is that 

 the demand for the work horse does not diminish. The 

 draft work on our farms must be very largely accomplished 

 by the horse; while even in the city, in spite of the expensive 

 motor truck, the horse is considered indispensable in a 

 large amount of business. Professor T. F. Hunt states* 

 that in England it is estimated that two horses will cultivate 

 80 acres of light and sandy soil, or 60 acres of heavy, or clay, 

 soil. In the United States, it appears that one horse or mule 

 of working age is kept for every 30 acres of improved land; 

 but in level prairie sections, far more service than this indi- 

 cates is expected. 



The use of domestic animals in maintaining soil fertil- 

 ity has long been recognized as of great importance. The 

 earliest writers on agriculture, who lived just prior to the 

 Christian era, about two thousand years ago, wrote more or 



*Cyclopedia of Agriculture, Vol. Ill, 1908, p. 11. 



