5IO ZOOLOGY 



making comfortable tents and other dwelling places. As the art 

 of weaving was developed and the discovery and perfecting of 

 textiles derived from plants made headway, we became less 

 dependent on the animals. But even now, in one form or 

 another, the skins and the fur, hair, and wool of animals are 

 among our choicest clothing materials. The mammals are of 

 course the main animal source of clothing, but the warmth 

 of feathers has long been recognized, and the skins and feathers 

 of birds furnish articles of clothing and decoration. The import- 

 ant mammals supplying the kind of hair suitable for clothing and 

 for carpets and other coarser fabrics are : the various species of 

 sheep and goats, the camels, the alpacas, and their relatives. 

 Our leathers are made from the skins of these and related ani- 

 mals, and from some of the carnivora. Practically all the rumi- 

 nants produce valuable leathers. Horse hides also are used for 

 this purpose. The skins of many of the soft, thick-haired ani- 

 mals are dressed with the hair on, and are known as furs. Most 

 of these, as the seals, the sable, mink, ermine, weasel, raccoon 

 foxes, skunk, members of the cat family, and some others, be- 

 long to the carnivora. A few, as the squirrel, the hare, and the 

 beavers (now almost extinct) are from the rodents. 



One of the most marvelously delicate and beautiful of 

 our fabrics, silk, is a secretion spun out by the larvas of the silk- 

 moth in making the cocoon in which it pupates, or changes to 

 the adult stage. It is killed by being put into hot water, and 

 then the silk thread is unwound. The silk industry is of much 

 importance in China, Japan, Italy, and France. 



503. Animals Used in Saving Human Labor. — In the 

 earlier stages of civilization this help consisted of aid in hunting 

 and capture of food-animals. The dog was probably one of 

 the first animals domesticated. Later others came to be used 

 for riding, for drawing loads in vehicles or otherwise, for plow- 

 ing the soil, and the like. The camel, the ox, the horse, and 

 the elephant rank among the most valuable in these respects. 

 In the earlier civilizations of the orient, the camel has been of 

 the utmost value. His adjustment to the tropical and semi- 

 arid conditions is striking. The "ship of the desert" is an older 

 means of commerce than the navigation of the sea. His 



