Sericulture

“ Thus, if a man assist in building the kennel, or carrying a load, or cutting bed-grass, or searching for lost hounds, he gets a share of meat. The others bring rice, coffee, fowls, eggs, plantains, vegetables, etc., which I take at ridiculous rates-a bushel of rice for a full-grown elk, etc., the latter being worth a couple of pounds and the rice about seven shillings. Thus the hounds keep themselves in rice and supply me with everything that I require during the trip, at the same time gratifying the natives. ”

“ During the stay of the hunters, they employ themselves in killing seals, sea-horses, etc., in the water; and bears, foxes, deer, or whatever else they meet with, on land. They are furnished with provisions for eighteen months by their employers, consisting of rye-flour for bread, oatmeal, barley-meal, peas, salt beef, salt cod, and salt halibut, together with curdled milk, honey, and linseed oil; besides which, they procure for themselves lion-deer in winter, and birds in summer. ”

“ Many and many a pleasant stroll they had among the poultry markets, where ducks and fowls, with necks unnaturally long, lay stretched out in pairs, ready for cooking; where there were speckled eggs in mossy baskets; white country sausages beyond impeachment by surviving cat or dog, or horse or donkey; new cheeses to any wild extent; live birds in coops and cages, looking much too big to be natural, in consequence of those receptacles being much too little; rabbits, alive and dead, innumerable. ”

“ A council would be called, and the men would have recorded what they were willing to give towards it. Some, who were good deer-hunters, promised venison. Others promised so many beavers. Perhaps there were those who knew where bears had made their winter dens, and they agreed to go and kill them for the feast. Others, who were good fur-hunters, stated their willingness to exchange some of the furs they would catch for flour and tea and sugar at the trading post. ”

“ Our pigs and our poultry throve very well, so that we had to enlarge their dwellings; and I will say here, in case I forget it, that by devoting some part of our time to hunting, we came very near to exterminating both the wild pigs and the dogs; and we found that as they grew less, the wild fowls increased mightily, because of their greater security. We did not put ourselves to any trouble to molest them, both because they were still difficult to approach, and because we had enough of our domestic poultry to supply our own wants. ”

“ Leaving my work at noon, I went down to restake my cow in the meadow. I had just drawn her chain-pin when down the road through the orchard behind me came the fox, hopping high up and down, his neck stretched, his eye peeled for poultry. Spying a white hen of my neighbor’s, he made for her, clear to the barnyard wall. Then, hopping higher for a better view, he sighted another hen in the front yard, skipped in gayly through the fence, seized her, and loped across the road and away up the birch-grown hills beyond. ”

“ But as the fallow-deer itself was an acclimatized animal, of comparatively recent introduction, it came to be a question why might not the proprietor of any deer-park in England have the luxury of at least half a dozen species of deer and antelopes, to adorn the hills, dales, ferny brakes and rich pastures of his domain? The temperate regions of the whole world might be made to yield specimens of the noble ruminant, valuable either for their individual beauty, or for their availability to gastronomic purposes. ”

“ The habits which he imparts to the parents become nature, in his behalf, in their offspring. The dog acquires, under his tutelage, the virtues of fidelity to a master and affection to a friend. The ox and horse learn to assist him in the labors of the fields. The udders of the cow and goat distend beneath his care far beyond the size necessary in the wild state, and supply him with rich milk, and the other various products of the dairy. The fleece of the sheep becomes finer of texture and longer of fibre in his pens and folds ”

“ Many persons meet this difficulty by merely buying sires of a breed similar to the first used, but then the produce ceases to be cross-breds and become grades until such time as by the use of a certain number of sires of a similar breed the produce become eligible for entry in the herd book of the sires which have been continuously used. This system of breeding insures a greater uniformity in the produce providing that the sires selected are of similar breeding, type, and character, than even by the system of crossing sire and dam of two pure breeds. ”

“ What is wanted is some new and large animal, whose flesh has a character of its own which would readily distinguish it from beef or mutton, and an excellence which shall make it independent of any special treatment in cooking,—something which shall combine the game-flavour with the substantial solidity of a leg of mutton. An increase in the quantity of venison reared in this country naturally suggests itself; and it is not impossible that, in neglecting the produce of our deer-parks, we are hardly less careless than in losing sight of the culinary possibilities of the swannery. ”

“ So it is in the breeding of stock, those points which are most predominant in proportion in the blood of the sire and dam will, on the average, be represented in an equal degree in the joint produce. This it is which renders so impressive a sire which is descended from closely bred parents. Each of its forbears has handed down a proportion of its own particular characteristics so that the larger the number of animals amongst its forbears which possessed these particular points the greater the certainty of their being possessed by the produce. ”

“ As soon as haymaking was over, the meadows became common grazing land for horses, cows, and oxen. Not just any inhabitant, but usually only those who owned a piece of land in the parish were entitled to graze their animals on the common land, and each owner had this right of pasture for a definite number of animals. The faster horse replaced the ox as the primary work animal. Other farm implements were: coulters, which gave free passage to the plough by cutting weeds and turf, picks, spades and shovels, reaping hooks and scythes, and sledge hammers and anvils. ”

“ Horses, bullocks, dogs and sheep, in these vast regions, run wild, in immense flocks and herds. The swine are of small size, and always black. The hunters, at certain seasons, form parties to procure the hides and tallow of the wild cattle, and leave the carcases to be devoured by the dogs.
These latter animals abound here in infinite variety and numbers. Here may be seen the bull dog, mastiff, pointer, water dog, terrier, spaniel, butcher, shepherd, and ship dog, and sometimes all in a company together. ”

“ And birds of prey take their toll of the feeding multitudes. All through the year animal life finds sanctuary in the cornfield. Underground are the moles; the harvest mouse weaves its nest in the corn-stems; the rabbit makes a stop in the field near the hedge, and eats the green blades. To the ripening corn the fox brings her cubs to play. In the ditches are hedgehogs; everywhere are rats, mice, and shrew-mice. The hare follows secret paths, and there are stoats and weasels seeking prey, and finding it on every side. ”

“ As it is natural to prefer articles that are rare and far-fetched, and as furs can be easily carried to any part of the world, most prefer foreign to domestic furs of the same quality. Thus we export much of our fox, marten, fisher, otter, beaver, and muskrat fur, while we import Astrakhan, Russian sable, ermine, Siberian squirrel, French rabbit, or cony, chinchilla, and nutria fur. ”

“ Not only the cattle, but wild boars, deer, and other quadrupeds, starting up from the ground where they have been resting, dash on amid the confused herd. And now perhaps several thousand head of cattle are collected within the circle formed by a hundred or more horsemen. If a fierce bull, turning round, ventures to encounter them, they shake their rattling spears in his ears, and quickly again turn him. ”

“ The herds of deer, fallow or red, congregated beneath the shadow of the trees, or lying in the sun if not too warm, their quick ears and tails keeping up a perpetual twinkle; the belling of scattered deer, as they go bounding and mincing daintily across the openings, here and there,—the old ones hoarse and deep, the young shrill and plaintive. Cattle with whisking tails, grazing sedately ”

“ The chief difference between tamed wild animals, such as squirrels, birds, owls, foxes, crows and so on, and the domesticated animals and birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, pigeons and chickens, lies in the possibility with the latter of modifying nature and breeding for certain special markings, colours or size. All breeds of chickens from the little bantams to the enormous Brahmas have been bred from a wild species of chicken found in India and called the jungle fowl. ”

“ Indians and professional hunters and trappers of the north say that they can notice a difference in the fur of foxes, lynx, marten, etc., when the food supply is abundant. The fur is thicker and has a healthier, silkier and glossier appearance. The secret, no doubt, is to give the animals plenty of room and feed should be varied. Here is where the person who knows the [Pg 31] habits of the animal or animals he is raising is valuable. When cattle, sheep and hogs are fed properly they take on fat readily and produce a healthy coat of hair or wool. The same applies to the fur bearing animals. ”

“ But now, the fair places of the field are encumbered by the tall cousins of the nettle, and the most diversified of English counties is muffled with a monotonous shroud of outlandish and weedy growth.
In the animal world, likewise, the lapse of a thousand years has brought change. In the pastures the most frequent animal is the cow, and only on rare occasions, as we view the moors from some elevated ‘tump,’ have we the chance to see a little company of antlered deer careering over the open plain, clearing the rhines with an airy bound. ”

“ Then if the bull, the wether, the goat, or any other domestic animal is led away from the pasture to the butcher, or if the poulterer brings from the farm a chicken, a hen, or a capon for the cook, could any of these animals be cut up and divided without axes and knives? ”

“ With entire adaptedness to the soil, climate, and wants of the farmer, an originally good stock has, in frequent instances, been carefully fostered, and the breeding animals selected with a strict reference to their fitness for perpetuating the most desirable qualities. As a consequence of this intelligent and persevering policy, widely, but not universally pursued, they have a race of cattle, though possessing considerable diversity of size and color, yet coinciding in a remarkable degree in the possession of those utilitarian features, which so justly commend them to our admiration. ”

“ Those among the hunters who excelled in catching the valuable fur-bearing animals, whose flesh is worthless for food, would make their contribution in rich furs, such as minks, martins, otters and ermines, which would be exchanged in the Hudson Bay Company’s stores for flour, tea, sugar and plums. ”

“ This country is very full of cattle and sheep, which they keep in great flocks and herds, as we do in England; and it abounds likewise in wild beasts and birds, as wild deer, in great abundance, antelopes, baboons, foxes, hares, ostriches, cranes, pelicans, herons, geese, ducks, pheasants, partridges, and various other excellent kinds, of which we killed as many as we pleased, with our fire-arms. ”

“ Milk, butter, and cheese in endless variety are derived chiefly from this group. More or less wild are the red deer, the fallow deer, and the roe deer. As game, the hare and rabbit; abroad, the bison, wild boar, bear, chamois, and kangaroo, are esteemed for food among civilized nations; but many other animals are eaten by half-civilized and savage peoples. All these are rich in nitrogen, fatty matters, and saline materials. ”

“ The success which has been attained in our ordinary large herbivora, and which has made them competent to evade the chase of the beasts of prey, has been accomplished by reducing the number of the toes, giving the strength of the aborted parts to increase the power of those remaining. The result is the formation of two great groups, the double-hoofed forms, including the pigs, deer, cattle, sheep, and their kindred, and the single-toed species, of which our horse is the foremost example. ”

“ The domestic animals of these states are, the horse, ass, mule, rumrah (a beast of burden in the mountainous parts) , camel, dromedary, antelope, cow, dog, sheep, and large goat. The beasts of prey are, lions, tigers, leopards, hyenas, and wolves. The apes are innumerable. Deer, wild boars, hares, rabbits, ferrets, weazels, moles, and camelions, are also found in great numbers. Horses and cattle of all kinds are sold at very low prices. ”

“ Some hold furthermore an opinion that in over rank soils their dung doth so qualify the batableness of the soil that their cattle is thereby kept from the garget, and sundry other diseases, although some of them come to their ends now and then by licking up of their feathers. I might here make mention of other fowls produced by the industry of man, as between the pheasant cock and dunghill hen, or between the pheasant and the ringdove, the peacock and the turkey hen, the partridge and the pigeon ”

“ They breed cattle, a few sheep, and pigs, although the sheep thrive but indifferently for some reason or another. Poultry they have in large numbers, so that, could they commend a market, they would do very well. ”