in which
they have been reared are abandoned. Thus in New England, in those
sections of the district where many farmsteads have of late years been
deserted, the cats have remained about their ancient haunts and have
become entirely wild. In this State they are bred in such numbers that
their presence is now a serious menace to the birds and other weaker
creatures of the country. The behavior of these feralized animals
differs somewhat from that of creatures which have never been tamed.
They have not the same immediate fear of a man, but the least effort to
approach them leads to their hasty flight.

While considering the inelastic quality which is exhibited by cats as
compared with the dog, the naturalist notes with interest the fact that
the former creature belongs to a family which has never been accustomed
to any social life beyond the limits of the family. Moreover, all the
cats have the habit of hunting in a solitary way, each for itself, in
the achievement and in the result. It is otherwise with dogs. They
belong to a group which hunts in packs. For ages they have been used to
a communal life. Their minds have thus become accustomed to social
intercourse; they are used to having their excitements of the chase in
comradeship, and generally they are accustomed to the rough-and-tumble
fraternity which we behold in a pack of wolves. It was long ago remarked
that the really social animals are those which afford the only good
material for subjugation. The difference between the cat and dog seems,
in a way, to warrant this statement.

Although it is likely that many efforts have been made to domesticate
the other larger felines, no distinct success has attended these
experiments. A large Asiatic cat known as the chetah is somewhat used
in hunting for sport, but the species has never been adopted in any
definite way. In fact, with all the larger cats, including the lion,
which is structurally a little apart from the other members of
the group, the size and furious nature of the animal have made it
impossible to begin the process of selection which has been the means
whereby the wilderness motive has been replaced by that of the
household in the case of all other domesticated beasts.

THE HORSE

Value of the Strength of the Horse to Man.--Origin of the
Horse.--Peculiar Advantage of the Solid Hoof.--Domestication of the
Horse.--How begun.--Use as a Pack Animal.--For War.--Peculiar
Advantages of the An