GENERAL EFFECTS 29 



and Galloways amongst cattle, Cheviots and Black-faces 

 amongst sheep. These distinctive features, it need scarcely 

 be said, are due to the deliberate influence of man; and so 

 great changes has he wrought by his forethought and experi- 

 menting that in the realm of domestic animals he may almost 

 be looked upon as playing the role of creator. 



In endeavouring to illustrate the influence of man on 

 domestic animals from the Scottish point of view, it is 

 desirable that we limit ourselves to the discussion of such 

 creatures as inhabited the country on his arrival, or such as 

 show characters peculiarly Scottish. A few of the wild 

 creatures he almost certainly domesticated within our own 

 borders, while of the remaining domestics he most likely in- 

 fluenced some from the time of their arrival, even if they did 

 not form a native nucleus of his domestic stock. 



The changes in the habits and temperaments, functions 

 and structures of the creatures subjugated by man, will be 

 most easily appreciated by a comparison of these character- 

 istics, so far as they can be estimated, in the wild prototypes 

 and in their later domestic modifications. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF DOMESTICATION 



The domestication of wild animals must have been a slow, 

 and in its early stages, to a great extent, an involuntary 

 process. Probably it began along one line with the con- 

 gregating of certain kinds of animals in the vicinity of 

 inhabited sites, where they found an abundant and constant 

 supply of food in the refuse cast by primitive man on his 

 kitchen-middens. In the case of the less dangerous animals, 

 these encroachments would gradually be tolerated by the 

 human inhabitants, partly because familiarity breeds con- 

 tempt, and partly because of the value of the raiders in 

 removing evil-smelling garbage. We can easily imagine 

 steps whereby some form of Wolf or Jackal, through associa- 

 tion and growing familiarity with man, became a sort of 

 half-tolerated, half-domesticated Pariah Dog, driven aside 

 half-heartedly by man, but constantly returning to feed on 

 the refuse of the streets ; and from this a further step which 

 led to its definite recognition as a constant and valuable 

 companion which might be trained to subserve the purposes 

 of its guardian, and on account of its usefulness became 

 worthy of some care and protection. 



