366 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF ANIMALS 



and other poultry and untold numbers of young birds. Worst of 

 all, they carry diseases, especially bubonic plague. The fighting of 

 rats alone, in the epidemics of plague in this country, has cost mil- 

 lions of dollars. They can be and must be exterminated. Here is 

 good material for a project report : How shall we exterminate rats? 

 Cats. — Many cats are kept as pets, and many run wild. Cats 

 of both kinds do much injury by killing birds. They also carry 

 disease germs. 



Animals that prey upon Man. — The toll of death from animals 

 which prey upon or harm man directly is relatively small. Snakes 

 in tropical countries kill many cattle and not a few people. 



The bite of the rattlesnake of our own country, although danger- 

 ous, seldom kills. The dreaded cobra of India has a record of over 

 250,000 persons killed in thirty-five years. The loss of life from 

 snake bites should soon be much reduced, thanks to the man- 

 ufacture of antitoxin serums made to counteract the venom of 

 poisonous snakes. The Indian government yearly pays out large 

 sums for the extermination of venomous snakes, over 200,000 of 

 which have been killed during a single year. 



Alligators and crocodiles feed not only on fishes, but often 

 attack large animals, as horses and cows, and even man. They 



seek their prey chiefly at 

 night, and spend the day 

 basking in the sun. 

 The crocodiles of the 

 Ganges River in India 

 levy a yearly tribute of 

 many hundred lives 

 from the natives. 



Carnivorous animals 

 which are not domes- 

 ticated, such as lions 

 and tigers, still inflict damage in certain parts of the world, but 

 as the tide of civilization advances, their numbers are slowly but 

 surely decreasing, so that as important factors in man's welfare 

 they may be considered almost negligible. 



Summary. — Man has made use of many animals for food, for 

 clothing, and in numerous other ways. His food and other supplies 



A flesh-eating reptile, tlie alligator. 



