xii INTRODUCTION 



in request for modern enterprise : the more delicate 

 animal c machines ' guided by organs of sense and per- 

 ception superior to ours are employed on a great and 

 increasing scale for naval and military purposes dogs, 

 for instance, as watchers and messengers in the French, 

 German, and Italian armies, and the pigeon-post by all 

 the Western Powers. Recent experiments even indicate 

 that the bloodhound will be once more used for police 

 purposes. 



How some of the wild animals have managed to 

 maintain themselves during the bad times of the nine- 

 teenth century, their shifts and expedients, and per- 

 sonal idiosyncrasies, and instances of their survival 

 under difficulties, are set out in many of the following 

 chapters. Others deal with the wonderful progress of 

 the domesticated kinds, such as the Jersey cattle, the 

 shire horse, pig, the goat in cities, and other breeds 

 whose adaptation to the needs or conditions of this 

 century has been rapid and astonishing. 



