Iw Rush^ on studying' the diseases of AtiimaU* 



flesh for food, his hair for brushes, and his fat for medical 

 and culinary purposes. 



The immense and profitable disproportion between the la- 

 bor of the ass and the mule, and the expense of their food, 

 render their health of great importance in those countries 

 where wheel carriages cannot be employed to convey the pro-^ 

 ducts of the earth to a public market. 



The goat by its contributions of the delicate flesh of its 

 young, and of its medicinal milk to our use, is entitled to a 

 share of medical attention. 



The courage and fidelity of the dog in defending our per- 

 sons and property from the midnight assassin and robber, and 

 the usefulness of the cat in destroying or chasing from our 

 houses the mischievous animals that infest our cellars and 

 closets, entitle each of them, to an enquiiy into the causes and 

 cures of their diseases. 



It remains only to mention the claims of poultiy of all 

 kinds, to a physician's care. They adorn our yards and fruit 

 trees with their plumage. They inform us by their crowing, 

 and other noises of the approach of day. A part of them 

 furnish us with eggs for aliment, with quills for writing, and 

 with feathers for our beds ; and all of them, in a greater or 

 less number at a time, generally constitute after death a por- 

 tion of our banquets, where a display is intended of hospitality 

 or elegance. 



In addition to what has been said in favor of domestic ani- 

 mals in their individual edacities, I shall only remark that 

 collectively, they lessen the solitude and silence of a country 

 life. They please us with their gambols when young, and 

 delight us, by their looks and gestures in mature life, every 

 time they receive food or shelter from our hands. They fur- 

 nish the means of encreasing and perpetuating the fertility of 

 our lands, and finally they gratify us with a sense of our sove- 

 reignty over their labor and their lives ; and thus furnish us 

 v/ith a small portion of that pleasure which the father of the 



