CHAPTER LXXIII 

 UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY— ANIMAL PETS 



It is the merest commonplace to say that a considerable 

 number of animals are either domesticated or kept in captivity 

 as pets, and those which have perhaps the best right to the 

 name simply afford gratification to human tastes, or, it may be, 

 serve as objects of affection. In the latter case the pet-keepers 

 may either have a genuine liking for animals, or else the over- 

 fed lap-dog, the spoilt feline, or the loquacious parrot may be 

 the recipient of caresses that under different circumstances might 

 have been bestowed upon some specimen or other of that alleged 

 highest Mammal — Homo sapiens. 



MAMMALS (Mammalia) AS PETS 



Monkeys (Primates). — On account of their intelligence many 

 species of Monkey find favour as pets among both civilized and 

 uncivilized races. But most of them are so terribly mischievous 

 that only a sailor or the late Frank Buckland could put up with 

 their pranks for any lengthened period. It is said that even 

 Buckland found his two favourites, "Tiny" and "The Hag", 

 trying at times, and a friend recommended him to build a cage 

 for himself in the middle of his study. It is interesting to note 

 that the keepers in Zoological Gardens often make great pets of 

 their charges, especially when these happen to be intelligent apes, 

 as, e.g., Chimpanzees (fig 1270). 



The Marmosets are attractive little creatures, so far as 

 appearance goes, and are not infrequently kept as pets; but they 

 are rather lacking in intelligence, and apt to impose a tax on 

 the olfactory organs. 



Flesh-eating Mammals (Carnivora). — The fact that this 

 order includes both Dog and Cat makes it of primary im- 

 portance from the present stand -point. 



