10 RAISING DEEE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



USE IN AGRICULTURE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



The need of more kinds of beasts of burden is not great. The horse 

 will never be surpassed in general usefulness in this capacity, and the 

 other animals used in agriculture and commerce are excellent in their 

 places. However, there are parts of the world where for special 

 reasons the domestication of species of the native fauna might be 

 of immense advantage to the people. The zebra and the elephant for 

 Africa and the caribou for arctic America are examples. 



REARING MAMMALS FOR THEIR FUR. 



An important object to be attained by the rearing of wild mammals 

 is the permanence and increase of our supply of furs. The growing 

 scarcity of the better kinds of fur and the consequent high prices 

 make the problem of domesticating fur-bearing animals of immense 

 economic importance, while present conditions promise good returns 

 to those who solve it. The beaver, the otter, the marten, the mink, 

 the silver-gray fox, and the blue fox are among the mammals whose 

 partial domestication and successful breeding would prove profitable. 



REARING MAMMALS FOR THEIR FLESH. 



From the economic point of Aiew, the strongest argument for breed- 

 ing mammals in captivity lies in their utility as food. For successful 

 game propagation a less degree of domestication in mammals will 

 suffice than when they are reared for fur or for use in agriculture and 

 transportation. This circumstance greatly favors the game propa- 

 gator. Besides, there is little probability that breeding game as an 

 industry will ever be overdone ; the demand for the product is likely 

 to keep pace with the supply. 



SELECTION OF SPECIES FOR REARING EXPERIMENTS. 



The larger game quadrupeds are the first to suggest themselves as 

 suitable for propagation for food. The majority of our domestic 

 mammals belong to the order of hoofed animals (Ungulata), and of 

 these the most valuable food species are in the cloven-hoofed division 

 (Artiodactyla). Pigs, goats, sheep, and oxen belong to this sub- 

 order; and to the wild members of this group we naturally look for 

 additions to the list of domestic food animals. 



The number of animals available for rearing experiments is quite 

 large; but from any complete list of those adapted to a particular 

 country a number of promising species would be rejected as super- 

 fluous. As a rule the kinds native to a region should have first con- 

 sideration, since they need no acclimatizing. The selection of a for- 

 eign species for breeding must depend upon a similarity between its 

 natural and its proposed habitat or upon its probable adaptability to 



