40 AGRICULTURE AND RURAL-LIFE DAY. 



the amount of power developed by draft animals on the farms of the 

 United States exceeds the amonnt of power developed by machines 

 in all our factories of every kind. Furthermore, one of the great- 

 est industries in the country — that of meat packing — depends directly 

 upon the farmer's best friends, his domesticated animals. Such is 

 the importance of the creatures you see about you, in barnyard, 

 pasture, fold, and pen. 



HOW MAN MADE THE ANIMALS TO HELP HIM. 



It was not until man learned to provide a home and to care for his 

 family that he showed himself to be superior to the beast. When 

 home life began, family ties were strengthened, love for the diifer- 

 ent members of his family increased, and all the finer attributes 

 began to develop. 



Man needed helpers in his struggle with the outside world, and 

 so did the animals of the forest. Man had wisdom and foresight: 

 animals had food and physical strength. Man needed the animals, 

 and they needed man. But before man learned the value of dif- 

 ferent animals it is quite probable that he used them only for food. 

 The dog was probably used first as a food, but it aided man in cap- 

 turing other animals, therefore it gradually ceased to be used as a 

 food, and instead became an important means of securing food. 

 The horse and the camel also were probably used for food at first; 

 but, on account of their superior strength, they became beasts of bur- 

 den and aided in securing food for man and in fighting man's 

 enemies. The sheep, the goat, and the cow were also domesticated, 

 to be used as a food in time of need. They were of triple value. 

 The milk was a wholesome food, and could be preserved in the form 

 of butter and cheese; their hair or hides could be converted into 

 clothing, and they could be used, like the horse, as a beast of burden. 

 The fowls of the air were likewise domesticated. The hen, the goose, 

 the duck, the turkey, the pigeon, and the peacock gave their eggs 

 for food and their feathers for bedding and even for clothing. Man 

 did not stop here. He went into the forest and caught the wild 

 hog, tamed him, and improved the quality of his flesh until it has 

 become a very important food. 



Thus man rose superior to the beast of the forest and the fowls of 

 the air. They contributed to his needs, but he in turn was obliged 

 to provide food for them in order that they might be of more value 

 to him. It was learned that the value of domestic animals is deter- 

 mined by the care that man takes of them. In providing food for 

 them it was discovered that the hard cereals made the best food for 

 himself and his domestic animals, and cereals became, therefore, 

 the chief food of both man and beast. 



