OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



and incUistnes. The first toys we give to chil- 

 dren are miniature reproductions of the animal 

 kingdom ; the first scribblings of a baby resem- 

 ble more or less the shapes of domestic animals. 



A'oung and old, 

 ])oor and rich, 

 learned and igno- 

 rant, all take an 

 interest in one 

 (ir another of 

 e animals. 

 H o w 

 shall we 

 increase 



that interest .? How can we give a general idea 

 of the lives of the chief domestic animals to those 

 who cannot, or will not, have all the sj^ecies con- 

 stantly about them, and )'et desire to know as 

 much as possible on the subject without being 

 obliged to consult a scientific 

 library ? We believe we shall 

 attain this end, in the first in- 

 stance, b)' photograph\-, which 

 alone can reproduce with per- 

 fect accuracy the acts and mo- 

 tions of animals. This work has 

 been undertaken on the express 

 condition that the ]iliotographs 

 shall be taken from life, and as 

 recently as possible. Numerous 

 photographers from all parts of 

 Europe and America, some of 

 them of great experience, have 

 well fulfilled their extremely 

 difficult task (the reproduction 

 of animals being one of the 

 most troublesome jiroblcms of 

 their art), and have sent us an ample and 

 striking collection of portraits of animal life. 



All that was needed, in addition, was descrip- 

 tion — description that should not weary, but 



give relaxation — and a succinct treatment of 

 topics which, from a zoological point of view, 

 might have required more attention and also 

 more space. The origin of the various species, 

 the study of propagation, the question of the 

 play of color, the numerous anatf)mical subdi- 

 visions, are merely indicated in the following 

 pages. The inquiring reader may consult learned 

 books and place them beside the present vol- 

 ume, which treats of the same matters in an 

 absolutely popular way. 



The choice of domestic animals and their 

 classification was not easy to make. \\Tat to 

 us is a domestic animal is generall)- so elsewhere ; 

 )et the line is sometimes difficult to draw. The 

 dog, the first beast ever tamed, has the most 

 ancient claims, if by "domestic animals ' ' we mean 

 particularly those that have been completely 

 tamed. The cat incontestably holds its place in 

 every household, where it takes precedence of 

 the horse because of its small size. After the 

 horse come the ass and the mule, closel}- re- 

 lated, and then the goat . Sheep form the extreme 

 limit of the kingdom of domestic animals, and 

 one step more brings us in the midst of — cattle ! 

 And the pig ! Surely we must not omit him 



Watch ixf; .\ Bird 



Then come the gallinaceous tribes, and with 

 them we enter the inclosures and poultry )ards; 

 f(3r, after all, by "domestic animals" we do 

 not mean exclusivel}' those that live within the 



Digitized by IVIicrosoft® 



