No. 4.] FARMERS' NATIONAL CONGRESS. 343 



The natives of America, at the time, and before its dis- 

 covery by Europeans, supplied their need of flesh from the 

 wild animals of the forest, of fish from streams, rivers, 

 ponds, lakes and the sea, and of wild fowl from land and 

 water. There seems to be need of more animal food to 

 dwellers on this continent than is required by citizens of 

 Europe, or, if the actual need does not exist, the consump- 

 tion is much greater here than there. The wild game and 

 fowls were decimated by the increase of settlers from over 

 the sea and their descendants, and that supply could no 

 longer meet the demand, and so domestic animals had to be 

 introduced to supply that need and the requirements of a 

 different civilization. Horned cattle were imported, as were 

 sheep and swine, for food, for profit to those who kept and 

 produced them and for the labor oxen could perform in clear- 

 ing and cultivating lands. Horses and asses were also im- 

 ported, not for food, but as aids in the development of the 

 country, and for their valuable service in many ways. 



The Scriptures teach that "Man shall not live by bread 

 alone," however well it may be buttered, spread with honey 

 or dipped in golden syrup extracted from the juices of sugar 

 cane. Like the tribes of Israel wandering in the desert, 

 though fed on heavenly manna, they still longed for the 

 flesh-pots of Egypt, so Americans, better fed than any other 

 people, are not content unless they possess an abundance of 

 animal food. 



And that subject leads to the consideration, in a cursory 

 manner, of American food-contributing, domesticated ani- 

 mals. Horned cattle were not found on this continent by its 

 European discoverers, but were imported into Hispaniola 

 by Columbus, in 1493, and by the Spanish settlers to the 

 main, from which the wild cattle of South America and of 

 Mexico and Texas are said to have originated. The Portu- 

 guese brought cattle to Newfoundland in 1553 ; the French 

 brought them from Normandy to Canada about 1601 ; the 

 English brought a hundred head to Jamestown, Va., in 

 1611 ; and a bull and three heifers were brought to Massa- 

 chusetts in 1624. From these and later importations have 

 sprung the herds that find pasture and thrive in the United 

 States, and the many millions that are found on this western 



