THE FLOCKS AND HERDS 139 



The elephant of Africa is still a tolerably abundant animal. 

 Its numbers, though doubtless diminished by more than one- 

 half within this century, are probably to be counted by the 

 hundred thousand. Nevertheless, in less than a hundred 

 years the field which they occupied has been greatly reduced ; 

 and between the ivory hunter and the sportsman of our 

 brutal race armed with guns of ever-increasing deadliness, it 

 will certainly not require another century of free shooting to 

 annihilate the African species. In view of the present con- 

 dition of the life of these noble beasts, it seems in a high 

 measure desirable that a thorough-going effort should be 

 made to extend the domestication to the point where the 

 form will not only be won from the wilds, but will be a 

 permanent element in our civilization, in the manner of our 

 common flocks and herds. It will be an enduring shame if, 

 by neglect of our opportunities, the utmost is not done to 

 attain this end. It appears fit that this task should be under- 

 taken by the British Government, which in modern days has 

 displayed a skill and forethought in the administration of 

 its Indian provinces unexampled in the history of colonies. 

 Owing to the slow breeding-rate of the elephant, it may 

 require more than a century for experiments to attain any 

 definite result, so that the task is clearly beyond the limits of 

 individual endeavor. 



Among the humbler helpers of man, the pig holds an 

 important place. He has had no small share in the better- 

 ment of the estate of his masters. One of the large questions 

 which beset men in their unconscious endeavors to lay the 

 foundations of civilization was that of food-supply. No 

 sooner does a population become sedentary than the wilder- 

 nesses about its dwelling-place are rapidly cleared of the large 



