INTRODUCTION 



walls of our houses. All the quadrupeds and 



bipeds that for centuries have been in contact 



with man. that are grouped in friendly confidence 



around his dwelling, that live for his use and 



pleasure, and are, more or less, under his direct 



supervision, being fed and cared for 



by him, are domestic animals 



and those who know true coun- 



tr\' life are never surjirised 



to see Brown, the horse, 



poke his head through the 



garden gate, or Blanche, 



the cow, walk up to the 



kitchen door and eye the 



meal that the housekeeper 



has prepared for the 



mother hen and her brood 



That horse, that cow, those 



chicks, take an active part in the 



external life of the household. We 



follow with interest their good ana ~-^^^^^— 



their evil fortune (they have both from time to 



time), and we soothe their sufferings as much 



as possible. 



And the hens ! if the)- are not domestic 

 animals in the true sense of the term, we 

 invite the city denizen who doubts it to go 

 without e,L,'gs. What privation if there is no 



white of egg for the sick baby, no fresh-boiled 

 egg for the debilitated old man ! Hens in the 

 poultry yard and eggs on the table, such is the 

 true order of things ; so the poultry yard, as 

 well as the hens and the cocks, is part of the 

 homestead. 



Besides these there are many 

 birds living about our dwell- 

 ings which, though not 

 actually domestic imder 

 all aspects, are neverthe- 

 ess tame. Swans and 

 ducks, turkeys and 

 geese, are rather nearer 

 to us than pigeons and 

 canaries, but they all 

 come under the head of 

 domestic animals. The 

 anary, especially the one that 

 ^ puis a little gayety into the dull 

 --'-"" ,, line of the workingman, is a domes- 

 tic animal we should regret to be without ; also 

 those handsome, many-colored birds in our 

 aviaries which herald the dawn with their 

 warblings and disperse our waking cares. 



Thus domestic animals deserve attention. 

 We very often see pretty traits in their charac- 

 ter which, unfortunatelv, we do not remember 



