XLIV. DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



THE number and kinds of animals kept will depend on the loca- 

 tion, on the kinds of crops raised, and to a certain extent on the 

 individual tastes of the farmer himself. The importance of live 

 stock in the economy of the farm is shown by the fact that accord- 

 ing to the last Census they represented 15 per cent of the total 

 value of all farm property. 



The domestic animals that may be -found on farms in this country 

 are as follows : (1) horses, (2) cattle, (3) hogs, (4) sheep, (5) goats, 

 (6) poultry, (7) bees, (8) animals valued as pets or companions. 



HORSES AND MULES 



Origin of Horses. The Indian ponies and the wild horses found 

 in the West are all the offspring of horses originally brought from 

 the Old World. Re- 

 mains of a prehistoric 

 horse have been found 

 in the Northeastern 

 and Middle States, in 

 the Southern States, in 

 California and Oregon, 

 and also in the Bad 

 Lands of Nebraska, 

 Wyoming, and South 

 Dakota; but these had 

 all disappeared long 

 before the early dis- 

 coverers and settlers 

 came to America from 

 the Old World. It is 

 probable that horses were first utilized for war purposes only, 

 and mention of their use by the Israelites and the Egyptians 

 is made in the Bible. The Greeks and the Romans learned 



309 



Arabian horse. 



