THE DOMESTICATION OF WILD ANIMALS 47 
especially where the ground is hilly or rocky; and their 
flesh is said to be highly palatable, while their skins are 
used both in the manufacture of gloves and as furs, although 
neither of these two latter considerations are likely to be 
of any importance in England. On an estate in Prussia 
a drove of the large kangaroo was kept in a condition of 
almost complete liberty in 1890; and at the present time 
various species of both kangaroos and wallabies are flourish- 
ing on the estates of the Duke of Bedford, Lord 
Rothschild, and Sir Edmund Loder. According, however, 
to information furnished to the writer by the owner of 
some tame wallabies, it is inadvisable to keep these animals 
in a small enclosure where there is any considerable extent 
of deep water occupying the line of country they are likely 
to take when frightened. Otherwise they are prone, when 
disturbed, to plunge headlong into the water, where not 
only will the adults stand a good chance of being drowned, 
but the helpless young in the pouches of the females must 
of necessity perish miserably. 
As the result of all that has been written on the subject, 
it may be gathered that, with the exception of the domesti- 
cation of the elephant and zebras in Africa (if this be 
found practicable), the acclimatisation of animals is unlikely 
to yield profitable results of any importance, at any rate in 
England; but that as a means of largely increasing the 
number of species of herbivorous animals kept in a wild 
or semi-domesticated state in parks and enclosures, it has 
an important future; and it may also prove to be the 
means of saving some of the most beautiful species from 
the fate of impending extermination which threatens not a 
few. In the case of persons of comparatively small means, 
Dr. Trouessart recommends that they confine their efforts 
to acclimatising a single species. 
