38 FARMIXG FOE. LADIES. [chap. ir. 



mals. Some wild animals exhibit a degree of 

 familiarity. The swallow builds her nest in 

 our windows, and the robin enters our dwell- 

 ings ; whilst the blackbird and sparrow are 

 constantly before us. This familiarity, how- 

 ever, does not amount even to tameness, far 

 less to domestication. It appears, indeed, 

 that wild animals are preserved unchanged 

 for the great purposes of Providence through- 

 out the globe, and that Nature has presented 

 to man only such animals as are obviously 

 most suitable to his wants. With these he 

 must be satisfied. What wild creature would 

 he desire to substitute for any one of our 

 animals ? Should we desire it, Nature has 

 placed such a barrier in our way, that it is 

 impossible for us to make a single wild crea- 

 ture available to our domestic purposes. We 

 may exercise our ingenuity, judgment, and 

 even caprice, in moulding the habits and qua- 

 lities of domesticated animals to our tastes, 

 wants, and conveniences. There the field of 

 experiment is open to us — not to an unlimited, 

 but to a great extent; but Nature will not 

 permit us to make a single predatory excur- 

 sion among her wild animals." 



