PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION 



Our many domestic animals have played an important role in the civilization 

 of man. Without them — especially the dog, the horse, the cow, and the sheep — 

 man's development onward and upward would have been slow and uncertain. Those 

 countries in which the problem of domestication did not enter remained ever near 

 to barbarism, never progressing beyond a certain limit. The American red man, 

 brave, cunning, persevering, could not overstep the boundaries that limited his 

 civilization, because he had no animal that he might domesticate, and no beast of 

 burden to aid him in doing certain kinds of fatiguing work. 



This book is concerned with these helpers of civilization. It is to teach some- 

 thing about their value to man, so that they may receive more appreciative attention 

 and more kindly consideration from the resident of the city and of the country, that 

 this book appears. 



For many photographs that are reproduced on the following pages grateful 

 appreciation is expressed to Mr. John F". Cunningham, Cleveland, Ohio; to Mr. 

 Joseph E. Wing, Mechanicsburg, Ohio; and to the Ohio Farmer, Cleveland, Ohio. 



C. W. BL RKEIT 

 Kans.\s State Agricultural College 

 Manhattan 



