FARMER'S 

 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



OTHER USEFUL ANIMALS 



The common farm animals include 

 horses, cattle, swine, sheep, mules, goats 

 chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea 

 fowls and pigeons. All of these have 

 been treated in their places in previous 

 chapters. There remain for considera- 

 tion several other animals which are 

 useful for food, fur, milk, work, pets, 

 and various other purposes. It seems 

 desirable to refer to these animals in so 

 far as is necessary in a chapter by them- 

 selves. The bison is admitted on ac- 

 count of its transcendent importance in 

 the early history of the country and on 

 account of its being one parent of the 

 very interesting hybrid, the catalo. The 

 deer, elk, moose, antelope, mountain 

 goat and mountain sheep are such con- 

 spicuous game animals and their meat 

 is eaten so extensively that they deserve 

 at least a short notice in a work of this 

 kind. An experiment was once made in 

 introducing the camel into this country 

 and this experiment is worthy of men- 

 tion. 



The zebu has been introduced into the 

 Philippines and some of its blood is in 

 the native Porto Bican cattle. Again, 

 the carabao is the animal upon which 

 the natives depend in the Philippines 

 for milk, work and meat. The reindeer 

 and caribou are of great value in the 

 development of the more northern parts 

 of Alaska. Some interest also attaches 

 to the musk ox. Inquiry is often made 

 regarding fox farms, skunk farms, and 

 frog farms. The essential points in these 

 lines of the work are, therefore, included 

 in the chapter. Moreover, rabbits fur- 

 nish enough meat to deserve a brief dis- 

 cussion. Eecently much interest has 

 been taken by farmers in the preserva- 

 tion of game birds. The main points in 

 the artificial rearing and feeding of 

 game birds are, therefore, included. Os- 

 trich farming is carried on in a number 

 of places in this country and has at- 

 tracted considerable attention. Pea- 



fowls and swans have their place as or- 

 namental birds and are also good for 

 meat. Many farmers take a lively in- 

 terest in the preservation of trout and 

 other fish, in stocking streams and pro- 

 tecting them against contamination. 

 Some information is, therefore, given 

 regarding the agencies which assist the 

 farmer in this laudable endeavor. Fi- 

 nally the dog and the cat stand in a 

 peculiar relation with man and were the 

 first animal associates which man 

 formed by domestication. 



Short accounts are, therefore, given 

 of all these animals in the following 

 paragraphs, calling attention especially 

 to the uses to which they may be put 

 and the best practical methods of caring 

 for them and feeding them. Not only 

 the individual farmer is interested in 

 the rearing of some of the less impor- 

 tant animals, but the state legislatures 

 and federal congress have taken cog- 

 nizance of the matter and provided for 

 the inspection of imported animals by 

 the officials of the Bureau of Animal In- 

 dustry and the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey. The general care and protec- 

 tion of game birds and animals has been 

 placed in the hands of the Bureau of 

 Biological Survey. 



A part of the work of this bureau is 

 the supervision of the importation of 

 foreign birds and mammals, co-opera- 

 tion in restricting interstate shipments 

 of game contrary to law, supervision of 

 bird reservations, protection of game in 

 Alaska, and publication of matter re- 

 lating to game protection. The impor- 

 tance of this work may be seen from the 

 fact that during the year 1905, 390 per- 

 mits were issued for the importation of 

 200 mammals, 250,000 canary birds, 37,- 

 000 miscellaneous birds, and five permits 

 for the importation of 2,270 pheasant 

 eggs. In this list were 1,000 pheasants, 

 300 quail, 450 partridges, 300 ducks and 

 600 miscellaneous birds. Pigeons and 



