320 GENERAL TREATMENT. 



excessive, against any load-bearing at all. But in such 

 cases the repugnance has probably been begotten by the 

 memory of former over-loadings, and it may probably be 

 got over by the judicious application of that heal-all remedy 

 - both in man and beast persistent kindness. 



Nor need it be further dwelt upon that much of man's 

 cruelty may be said to be of a negative kind, consisting as it 

 does of mere neglect, for instance, of attention to the shelter of 

 animals, to their proper food and drink, their personal clean- 

 liness, their due opportunities for exercise, and the gratifi- 

 cation of their natural and healthy appetites or passions. 

 This neglect springs too frequently from misapprehension as 

 to the necessity for such attention to the mental and physi- 

 cal well-being of animals ; and this misapprehension brings 

 us back to the subject of man's ignorance, and the desirability 

 of his engaging in a proper study of the mental and moral 

 constitution of his animal friends, pets, or servants, both in 

 disease and health. 



The uselessness or impolicy of cruelty, then, must become 

 apparent to anyone who, with the necessary knowledge and 

 experience of animal habits, gives himself the trouble of 

 reflection. 



On the other hand, kindness may be said, as a rule to 

 which there are certain exceptions, to educe all the better 

 qualities of an animal's nature ; to develop good temper, 

 gentleness, docility, confidence, obedience, and all the other 

 virtues which are so essential to its usefulness to man. 

 The beneficent influence of kindness is in fact incalculable. 

 Frederica Bremer speaks, and properly, of the possibility of 

 man's creating 'an ennobled race of animals' by better 

 treatment. At all events, as Helps remarks, animal happi- 

 ness is capable of infinite increase by man's kindness. Else- 

 where in this volume it has been shown how sensitive the 

 lower animals are to human kindness, how keen their memory 

 of it, how important it is in all kinds of their education or 

 training, including, for instance, lion- tarn ing. 



Among the results of man's kindness as regards 



1. The pig; it becomes a domestic pet, taking the place 

 of the dog, acquiring new habits, such as swimming, and 



