THE TAMING OF THE WILD 289 



terranean. This they appear to do more from 

 a common-sense view that it pays than from 

 any motive of sentiment. I never saw a Turk, 

 old or young, pet or fondle his horse as you 

 may see even rough drovers do in England, 

 but, on the other hand, there is none of the 

 spiteful cruelty only too common on the dusty 

 roads of Italy or the Peninsula. Winter 

 visitors to the beautiful island of Madeira will 

 not need any reminder of the brutal manner in 

 which the natives goad the little bullocks that 

 drag sledges laden with fat tourists up the steep 

 roads to the hotels and quintas in the hills. It 

 is a disgusting sight, and the R.S.P.C.A. 

 might, with great advantage to the bullocks, 

 establish a branch at Funchal. If it could 

 enlist the co-operation of the authorities, under 

 pressure from the English tourists to whom the 

 island owes so much, it would soon have its 

 hands full of prosecutions. 



One other horned animal must be mentioned 

 as a most important beast of burden in the 

 boreal climates suited to its constitution, and 

 that is the reindeer, the one and only member 

 of its family in which the hind also carries 

 antlers. It is an improvement even on the 

 camel, for, in addition to providing its owner 

 with labour during its life and, after its death, 

 with meat and a serviceable hide, it yields oil 

 with which to light the darkness of the 



