ADAPTATION FOR SPECIAL WANTS. 



gazelle, goat, tender, sensitive, and docile ; the hog, 



and mule, the sulky and positive ; the cat or feline, that 



becomes reckless and aggressive by excitement. 



ADAPTATION FOR SPECIAL WANTS. 



I would here call attention to the wonderful ADAPTATION 



OF THE VARIOUS CLASSES of the DOMESTIC ANIMALS tO the 



wants and requirements of the people in different sections 

 and locations of the world among whom we find them. In 

 the extreme north, where no other domestic animal could 

 live, we find a dog of peculiar nature, adapted to the wants 

 of the Esquimaux, as a beast of burden, fisherman, hunter, 

 &c., and subsisting on the scantiest fare of fish. A little far- 

 ther south, the Laplanders have the reindeer, which not 

 only lives and thrives with ease on the scanty fare of the 

 moss peculiar to that region, but supplies the people with 

 subsistence in the way of milk, butter, and cheese. He 

 travels with ease and rapidity long distances, drawing a 

 heavy sledge over the frozen regions, easily guided and 

 controlled by the Laplander as he sits behind. The skin 

 makes the best of clothing, and is fabricated into various 

 necessary uses ; while the flesh is indispensable for food. 

 The Peruvians have the llama, or alpaca, which,, accus- 

 tomed to climb the mountains, carries heavy burdens over 

 the Andes, and furnishes them with milk for their children 

 and wool for their clothing, as well as flesh for food. The 

 people of the desert have the camel or dromedary for 

 crossing the arid, sandy plains : not only will he carry a 

 heavy burden patiently, but carries within himself a sup- 

 ply of water to last him for a week. So, as a servant, the 

 horse, as the most valuable of all the domestic animals, is 

 singularly well adapted, by the modifications of his structure 

 and disposition, for the various wants of man. For quick, 

 active exertion, we have the lithe, firm, enduring racer, 

 capable of running with the fleetness of the wind. For 

 ploughing, and drawing heavy loads, large size, square 

 shoulders, patient, gentle disposition, willing to exert him- 

 self ,to the utmost ; but in a slow gait, the opposite of the 

 quick, nervous, impulsive thoroughbred, with the form 

 and conformation of the greyhound. The different breeds 

 or families, we see, run into illimitable modifications, which 

 show a wonderful adaptation for our special wants. 







bear, 



