134 
MAMMALS . 
107. Economic Importance of Mammals. — In his rela¬ 
tions with the organisms about him, man finds some helpful, 
some harmful, and some neither. As we have seen, the 
domesticated mammals, especially the horse, cow, sheep, 
goat, and pig, are of the greatest use to man in this part of 
the world. In cold regions, reindeer are the main de¬ 
pendence for food, clothing, and for beasts of burden. In 
desert regions, the camel is the most useful and in hot regions 
elephants are of great value as beasts of burden. Dogs and 
Figure 125. — Berkshire Pig-Mother and Family. 
This is one of the famous American breeds of pigs. 
cats have long been man’s companions. Of the wild mam¬ 
mals, seals and walruses, which live in the water, furnish 
food, fur, and leather. The whale furnishes whalebone, food, 
and oil. 
Man is learning to make use of the habits of other mam¬ 
mals ; for example, we build roosts in the vicinity of 
swamps and marshes to furnish shelter for bats by day. 
At night the bats fly about catching the insects which annoy 
man and his animals. There are harmful mammals, too, 
such as gophers (go'ferz), prairie dogs, and rabbits, which 
