THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Oct. 1, 1864. 



112 ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT 



undoubtedly takes a long period to become acquainted with the qualities 

 and habits of these animals, and of the mode in which their services may 

 be rendered available, it would almost appear as if all the animals which 

 are possessed of this quality and are worth domesticating had already 

 been brought into use. Indeed, all those which are now truly domesti- 

 cated were in domestication in the earliest historic times. The turkey, 

 it may be said, was not known until the discovery of America ; but I 

 think that it has been satisfactorily proved that our domestic turkey is 

 not descended from the wild turkey of America, but comes of a race 

 which was domesticated by the Mexicans before the historic period. 

 Again, the number of such animals is necessarily limited, for it is not 

 worth while to go through a long process of domestication with the view 

 of breeding an animal that is not superior in some important particular 

 to those which already exist in domestication. For example, where 

 would be the utility of introducing other ruminants, which do not breed 

 as freely, feed as cheaply, afford as good meat, and bear the climate as 

 well as our present races of domestic cattle ? It has been thought that 

 some of the numerous species of African antelopes might be domesti- 

 cated here ; but every one who has eaten of their flesh describes it as 

 harsh and dry, and without fat ; and such being the case (even could the 

 domestication be effected, which I very much doubt) such an animal 

 must have some very valuable peculiarity in its mode of life, and be 

 capable of being produced at a very cheap rate, to enable it to take rank 

 in our markets beside the good beef and mutton with which they are at 

 present supplied. And, even supposing it to be semi-domesticated only 

 for the park, it could not for an instant be put in competition with the 

 fine venison which it is thought that it might displace. I am aware that 

 certain French philosophers have lately taken up a notion that it is de- 

 sirable to pervert the true purposes of the horse, by cultivating him for 

 food instead of work ; and that a Society of Hippophagl has been insti- 

 tuted with this view. Of course, under present circumstances, the flesh 

 of old and worn-out horses is sold for much less than the meats of well- 

 fed ruminants, and the miserable classes in countries are glad to obtain 

 animal food of any kind at so low a rate ; but, whenever an attempt has 

 been made to fatten horses for food, it has been found that the meat 

 could not be produced at so low a rate as that for which far better beef 

 and mutton could be bought. There are also some small semi-domesti- 

 cated animals, such as the porcupine and other glires, which are said to 

 afford good meat, but they have long been driven out of the market by 

 the cheapness and abundance of the prolific rabbit. "With regard to the 

 larger ruminants, such as the giraffe, the eland, and some other foreign 

 deer, the llama, and the alpaca, which have been bred in this country, 

 but never brought into general use, I cannot consider them as at all 

 acclimatised. They have almost always had the protection of warmed 

 buildings, especially in the winter ; and though they may have lived 

 through a certain number of vears, thev are liable to attacks of diseases 



