Dr. J. E. Gray on the Acclimatization of Animals. 291 



seem to have been created with more or less of an instinctive desire 

 to associate with man, and to become useful to him ; but the num- 

 ber of these is very limited, and as it undoubtedly takes a long pe- 

 riod to become acquainted with the qualities and habits of these 

 animals, and with the mode in which their ser^aces may be rendered 

 available, it would almost appear as if all the animals which are 

 possessed of this quality, and are worth domesticating, had already 

 been brought into use. Indeed all those which are now truly do- 

 mesticated were in domestication in the earlier historic times. The 

 Turkey, it may be said, was not known until the discovery of Ame- 

 rica ; but I think it has been satisfactorily proved that our domestic 

 Turkey is not descended from the wild Turkey of America, but comes 

 of a race which was domesticated by the Mexicans before the historic 

 period. Again, the number of such animals is necessarily limited ; 

 for it is not worth while to go through a long process of domestica- 

 tion with the view of breeding an animal that is not superior in some 

 important particular to those which already exist in domestication. 

 For example, where would be the utility of introducing other Rumi- 

 nants which do not breed as freely, feed as cheaply, afford as good 

 meat, and bear the climate as well as our present races of domestic 

 cattle ? 



It lias been thought that some of the numerous species of African 

 Antelopes might be domesticated here; but everyone who has eaten 

 their flesh describes it as harsh and dry, and without fat ; and such 

 being the case (even could the domestication be effected, which I 

 verj' much doubt), such an animal must have some very valuable 

 peculiarity in its mode of life, and be capable of being produced at 

 a very cheap rate, to enable it to take rank in our markets beside 

 the good beef and mutton with which they are at present supplied ; 

 and, even supposing it to be semidomesticated only for the park, it 

 could not for an instant be put in competition with the fine veoison 

 which it is thought that it might displace. 



I am aware that certain French philosophers have lately taken up 

 a notion that it is desirable to pervert the true purposes of the Horse 

 by cultivating him for food instead of work ; and that a society of 

 Hippophagi has been instituted with this view. Of course, under 

 present circumstances, the tiesh of old and worn-out horses is sold 

 for much less than that of well-fed Ruminants ; and the miserable 

 classes in some countries are glad to obtain animal food of any kind 

 at so low a rate : b»it whenever an attempt has been made to fatten 

 horses for food, it has been found that the meat could not be pro- 

 duced at so low a rate as that for which far better beef and mutton 

 could be bought. 



There are also some small semidomesticated animals, such as the 

 Porcupine and other Glires, which are said to afford good meat ; 

 but they have long been driven out of the market by the cheapness 

 and abundance of the prolific Rabbit. 



With regard to the larger Ruminants (such as the Giraffe, the 

 Eland and some other foreign Deer, the Llama, and the Alpaca), 

 which have been bred in this country, but never brought into 



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