ORIGIN OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 239 
and only half-domesticated, as are the reindeer of the arctic 
regions and the ostrich of the desert. 
A few strange cases of semidomestication can be mentioned, 
such as the cheetah, or hunting leopard, the falcon, or hunting 
hawk, and the quite general utilization of certain breeds of 
snakes in the tropics to rid the houses of vermin. To this can 
be added the fact that we occasionally employ the weasel to 
hunt out and destroy rats, as the Romans used the marten in 
place of the cat to hunt mice. 
_ Besides these might be mentioned a small multitude of pets, 
representing nearly all species of wild animals, almost any of 
which may be tamed if taken when young, and most of which 
have been so treated not once but many times since their: con- 
tact with the human race. 
And so the list might be extended almost indefinitely, were 
the space available, to show fully how man has put to his own 
uses the wild animals of forest, lake, and plain during his long 
history on earth and his determined campaign to enslave them 
and bring them, so far as possible, into his service. 
Unwelcome domestication. Certain species have volunteered 
to infest the habitations of man, attracted mostly by a liberal 
food supply. Among these would be mentioned the rat and the 
mouse, which are world-wide, both as house and as wild species. 
The house fly is another pest that, together with the rat and 
the mouse, is coming to be recognized not only as a common 
nuisance, but also as a fruitful carrier of infectious diseases. 
Besides these, a great variety of insect pests especially haunt 
the habitations of man because there they find abundant food 
supply and favorable conditions of life generally. 
Exercises. 1. Extend the study of particular species and follow out the 
wild connections, relatives, habitat, and habits further than in the text, em- 
ploying for this purpose the facts of zodlogy and all the information avail- 
able in histories, encyclopedias, and books of travel. 
2. Secure information about the uses to which the less-known domes- 
ticated animals are put, using again all available sources of information. 
