Yak(Bos grunniens), a species of ox found in Tibet, and domesticated there. The wild yak of central Asia is the largest native animal of Tibet, and is found only near the limits of perpetual snow. The domesticated yak, which forms great part of the wealth of the inhabitants of central Asia, is about the height of an American ox, which it much resembles also in body, head, and legs; but it is covered all over with a thick coat of long, silky hair, that of the lower parts of the body being very long and hanging down almost to the ground. The neck is short; the rump is low; the legs are short. Over the shoulders there is a bunch of long hair; and the tail is covered with a prodigious quantity of long, flowing hair. Its milk is very rich, and yields excellent butter and curd.
Zebu(Bos indicus), an ox which exists only in a domesticated state in Asia. It is characterized chiefly by its large hump, or sometimes two humps, over the withers and by a greatly developed dewlap. Its color varies from ashen grey to pure white, and white bulls, known as Brahmin bulls, are held sacred by the Hindus and allowed to wander at will. They vary greatly in size, and in India are used as beasts of burden and draft.
Carp(Cyprinus), constitutes a group of fishes without spines in the fins. The true carp originated in China and was introduced into Europe three hundred years ago, and much later into America. The back is blackish gray or brown, the sides yellowish brown, the belly yellow. The usual length is between one and two feet, but large forms five feet long or more have been caught.
The carp is mainly vegetarian, but also eats small animals, such as larvæ and worms. The general habit is sluggish, except at the spawning period in May and June. Their longevity is great; some are said to have lived one hundred and fifty to two hundred years. The carp is an important food fish, and is largely bred in the United States.
Goldfish, orGolden Carp(Carassius auratus), a Chinese and Japanese fresh-water fish nearly allied to the carp but lacking barbels. In its warm native waters it is brownish, like its neighbor species, the crucian carp (C. carassius) while in its more familiar domesticated state it loses the black and brown pigment, becomes golden-yellow, or passes more completely into albinism in those unpigmented forms known as silver fish. The goldfish is naturalized in some rivers, and has had a wide artificial distribution throughout the world.
BUSY BIDDY AND HER BROOD OF NEW-BORN CHICKS
BUSY BIDDY AND HER BROOD OF NEW-BORN CHICKS
Canary.—Seepage 213.
Chickens(Gallus domestica), or Fowls, are widely distributed and almost universally raised in every rural home. Immense poultry plants have been built up in America in recent years, and the business developed to proportions of a notably distinct industry. The contributions of poultry to the nation’s wealth, mostly by the hands of farmers’ wives, reaches an annual total of half a billion dollars or more—an amount equal to the average value of the nation’s wheat crop.
Apart from the intrinsic merits of the individual breeds, and the better understood methods of breeding and management, much progress has been due to artificial methods of hatching and rearing the young fowls. The incubator and the brooder make it possible to secure chicks at any season of the year, and thus permits the development of special branches of poultry raising, such as the production of broilers and soft roasters.
There are numerous standard varieties of chickens recognized in the United States, subdivided into four general classes, as follows: The general-purpose breeds—the American class—Plymouth Rock, the Wyandotte, and Dominique; the heavier, clumsier or meat breeds, such as the Brahma, Cochin, and Langshan; the egg breeds, as the Leghorn, Minorca, Andalusian, and Black Spanish; the ornamental breeds, as the various Bantams, and others. Some other breeds on American farms are the Rhode Island Red, Orpington, Houdan, Dorking and Hamburg.
LEADING BREEDS OF POULTRYDESCRIBED
Brahma.—Meat breed. Two varieties, light and dark. Show heavy leg and toe feathering, thick, close plumage. General color of light Brahma, white, with black tail and black center stripes in both hackle and saddle feathers. In dark Brahma, wings of cock crossed by heavy black bar, and entire breast, body, leg and toes black. Back, wings, body and breast of female have a basis of gray on which are distinct dark pencilings. Weight for dark cocks eleven pounds, hens eight and one-half pounds; for light cocks twelve pounds, hens nine and one-half pounds. Brown egg.
Cochin.—Meat breed. Four varieties, buff, partridge, white, black. Peculiarity is an appearance of massiveness and fluffiness. Heavy, short feathering is piled high on back and extends wide at sides. Excessive thigh and shank feathering. Combs single, low, close on head and evenly serrated with five distinct points. Cocks weigh eleven pounds, hens eight and one-half pounds. Brown egg.
Dorking.—General purpose, meat especially. Three varieties, colored, white and silver-gray. Body long and deep. Carries abundance of flesh. Skin white. Colored largest cocks weigh nine pounds and hens seven pounds. White cocks weigh seven and one-half pounds, hens six pounds. Silver-gray variety is between these two. All have a fifth toe. Eggs of very light color.
Hamburg.—Egg and fancy breed. Six varieties, golden spangled, silver spangled, golden penciled, silver penciled, white and black. About size of the Leghorn. White egg.
Houdan.—General breeding purposes. Color black and white evenly broken in alternate splotches throughout entire plumage. Head ornaments of crest and beard. White skin. Carry fifth toe on each foot. Cocks weigh seven pounds, hens six pounds. White egg.
Indian.—Meat breed. Two varieties, Cornish and white. Beaks and shanks yellow. Bird of strong proportions. Back and wings of cock mixture of red and black, tail and breast black. Hen’s back, wings, breast and body a rich bay penciled with black. Cocks weigh nine pounds, hens six and one-half pounds. Tinted egg.
Leghorn.—Egg production. Eight varieties, single-comb and rose-comb brown, single-comb and rose-comb white, single-comb and rose-comb buff, single-comb black and single-comb silver duck-wing. Characterized by early maturity and great activity. Large combs on the top of head. White egg.
Minorca.—Egg breed. Three varieties, single-comb black, rose-comb black, single-comb white. Long body, carried rather upright, deep at breast with back tapering sharply toward tail, which is long and carried rather low. Comb large. Ear lobes large and pure white. Cocks of rose-comb weigh eight pounds, hens six and one-half pounds. Single-combs weigh one pound heavier. White egg.
Orpington.—General purpose. Three varieties, buff, black and white. Long body, abundant plumage, white skin. Short, heavy shanks. Tendency to feathering on shanks. Cock weighs ten pounds, hen eight pounds. Egg tinted.
Plymouth Rock.—General purpose, for both meat and eggs. Three varieties, the barred, white and buff. Back and body rather long, breast broad and deep. Single combs, yellow shanks. Cocks weight nine and one-half pounds and hens seven and one-half pounds. Brown egg.
Rhode Island Red.—General purpose. Two varieties, single comb and rose-comb. Tail color black. Rhode Island red has a red surface of body plumage, with a red under color, free from slate.
Buckeye breed surface color is dark, rich garnet, and under color allows a bar of slate-color next to surface. Body of both long. Rhode Island Reds level. Buckeye body shows slight elevation in front. Weight of Rhode Island red cocks eight and one-half pounds, hens six and one-half pounds. Buckeye cocks nine pounds, hens six pounds. Brown egg.
Wyandotte.—General purpose, for both meat and eggs. Eight standard varieties, white, buff, black, silver, golden, silver penciled, partridge and Columbian. A bird of curves, back short and broad, body deep and round, breast broad and deep, with a low-set keel. Shanks short, strong and carried well apart. Colors silver, white, black, buff and mixtures. Close-fitting rose combs. Abundant fluffy, close-fitting plumage. Weight eight and one-half pounds for cocks, six and one-half pounds for hens. Brown egg.
Duck(Anas domestica).—The various breeds of domestic duck are all descended from the wild species. The prominent characteristics of the family are familiar: the short webbed feet, with a small hind toe; the netted scales in front of the lower leg; the bill, about as long as the head, rounded at the tip, and bearing the nostrils towards the broad root. They are aquatic birds, swimming with much agility, diving comparatively little, preferring to grub in the shallows for water-plants, worms, and small animals.
Duck raising is extensive in Europe both for flesh and eggs, which are more generally used than in the United States. In eastern Asia, notably in China, ducks are grown in enormous numbers. Duck raising has become a profitable industry in the United States, particularly since the introduction of the Pekin duck, which was introduced into the United States from China in 1870.
THE CHIEF BREEDS RAISED IN THISCOUNTRY ARE THE FOLLOWING:
Black Cayuga.—Largest solid black duck known. Mature pair weighs fifteen pounds. Body of good length.
Colored Muscovy.—Good size, black and white in color, black predominating. Side of head and region around eyes are without feathers and are carunculated or corrugated and scarlet. Builds her nest and never scatters her eggs. Never quacks. Active on wing.
White Muscovy.—Same as colored muscovy except that it is pure white.
Indian Runner.—Head long and flat, light fawn in color, cap and cheek markings light fawn, bill straight, green with black bean at tip, eyes hazel, neck white from head to beginning of breast markings, back, light fawn or gray, breast light fawn, body light fawn, rear half white. Shanks and feet orange-yellow. Carriage very erect. Small size.
Pekin.—Largest white duck in existence. Specimens weigh as high as ten or twelve pounds. Head and beak long and of good size, beak orange-yellow, back, breast and body long, broad and deep, with deep keel. Creamy white.
Rouen.—Largest and most popular of all colored market varieties. Weight nine pounds for drakes, eight pounds for ducks.
White Crested.—Medium-sized white duck with large white crest or topknot, about two-thirds the size of Pekin, which it resembles in color and shape of body, except crest.
Goose(Anser domesticus).—The goose has been but slightly changed from the parent wild stock by domestication. The feet are short and completely webbed; the hind-toe is present; and the legs are placed comparatively far forward, so that the movements on land are less awkward than those of most ducks. Geese swim little, and never dive.
In general, geese spend much of their time on land, feeding on grass and other herbage, berries, seeds, and other vegetable food. Although large birds, and of bulky form, they have great powers of flight. They strike with their wings in fighting, and there is a hard, callous knob or tubercle at the bend of the wing, which in some species becomes a spur.
The domestic goose is regarded as deriving its origin from the common wild goose, but all the species seem capable of domestication.
Geese are valuable for eggs, quills, feathers, and for food. In southern Europe culture was formerly much more important, but it is still a great industry in Holland and Germany. Livers from geese artificially fattened, in districts near Strassburg, are made into the celebrated delicacy known aspaté-de-foie-gras. In the United States, goose raising is of minor importance. They are most extensively grown in the Southern States; Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas leading in the order named.
THE CHIEF BREEDS RAISEDARE THE FOLLOWING:
African.—Large head with pronounced black knot and heavy gray dewlap under throat. Neck long, back broad and flat, breast full and round, body large and upright, thighs short and plump. Shanks medium length and dark orange color.[259]Wings of good size, close fitting. General color gray. Mature gander twenty pounds, goose eighteen pounds.
Embden.—Color white. Square, compact body. Neck long and massive appearing, large head. Medium-size orange colored bill. Back slightly arched, breast round, deep and full. Shanks short, stout, deep, orange color, thighs strong, wings large, tail short. Eyes bright blue. Mature gander twenty pounds, goose eighteen pounds.
Toulouse.—Blue-gray in color, marked with brown. Head large but short, bill short and stout, neck medium long, body compact, medium length, deep, belly almost touching ground, back broad, slightly arched, breast broad and deep, wings large, strong, close fitting, tail short. Adult gander twenty pounds, goose eighteen pounds.
White and Brown Chinese.—Bodies plump and round, covered with coat of soft feathers and fine down. Medium size, mature specimens weighing ten to fourteen pounds. Long arch necks, with large round knob at base of beak. Short erect body and carriage.
Guinea Fowl(Numida) belongs to a genus of African birds in the pheasant family. The plumage is dark gray, with round spots of white, generally larger on the back and under surface. Some species are adorned on the head with a helmet or horny casque, while others have fleshy wattles on the cheeks and a tuft or top-knot on the crown.
The best known is the common guinea fowl (N. meleagris), also popularly known as “Comeback,†from its cry, with naked head, hard callous casque, and slate-colored plumage, everywhere speckled with round white spots of various sizes. The guinea fowl is now common in the poultry-yards, although it is more adapted to warm than to cold climates. The eggs are small, and have a thick, strong shell, but are particularly esteemed. The flesh is somewhat like a pheasant’s, but rather dry.
Ostrich(Struthio). A bird which was once included with the cassowaries, emu, rhea and apteryx in a distinct order, but which is probably better regarded as forming a separate family. Its nearest allies appear to be the rheas of South America.
An adult male may reach a height of eight feet, the neck being about three feet long. The special peculiarity is the reduction of the toes to two, these corresponding to the third and fourth of the typical foot. The foot and tarsus are both stout; the head is small, with large eyes, and short, broad, and depressed beak; the wing and tail feathers are large and soft, and have broad, equal vanes; while the long neck is practically naked. The feathers are without an aftershaft.
The true ostrich is a native of Africa. All are flightless birds, and as the wing muscles are reduced there is no keel on the breastbone. The African ostrich has but two toes, the others three. The rheas and the emus may be dismissed with mere mention, the rheas furnishing the feathers used in feather dusters. The African ostriches furnish the well-known plumes and are bred for the purpose, the export of feathers from South Africa amounting to over five million dollars a year. There are now ostrich farms in South America, California, Arizona and Florida. The eggs are laid in the sand and in nature are incubated by the heat of the sun. The plumes are cut (not pulled out) once a year.
Parrot(Psittacus erithacus) is a type of an important group of birds, divided into numerous families including the love-birds, macaws, cockatoos and porakeets. They are preeminently tropical birds, and arboreal in habit; some species, however, range into colder countries—e. g., Patagonia and New Zealand—and some, such as the burrowing ground parrot of New Zealand, are not arboreal. They are fruit and seed eating birds, with the exception of the kea, of New Zealand, which has taken to a carnivorous diet.
As a rule, the parrots are brightly colored birds, being often, like other forest-frequenting creatures, green; there are some species, however, which are not brilliantly colored. There is occasionally a difference of color in the two sexes, which is best marked in species belonging to the genusEclectus; in these the prevailing color of the female is red, and of the male green.
Their power of imitating human speech is very remarkable, and equalled by no other animal. The great age to which parrots will live has often been exaggerated, but it is at any rate certain that some species will survive for fifty years in confinement. They are highly regarded by natives of central America as household pets, where they are also used for food and the feathers for ornaments. The best talking birds lack the brilliancy of plumage possessed by many other parrots. Their chief use among civilized peoples is as an ornamental bird and household pet.
Peacock(Pavo) is allied to pheasants and other game-birds, and includes at least two species—the Indian and Singhalese (P. cristatus), and the Malayan (P. muticus), inhabiting Java, Borneo, and similar regions. The birds roost in trees, and eat omnivorously—worms, insects, small snakes, seeds, etc. At the pairing season rival males display the well-known beauty of their tail-coverts before their desired mates, and strut about after the fashion of many game-birds. The usual cry is a shrill “p-a-o†and strange noises are made by rattling the quills. The females lay, according to the climatic conditions, from April to October; the eggs, of a brownish color, are numerous (eight to ten), and are laid without a nest in some concealed spot. At first both sexes are alike in plumage, but after a year or so the males gradually acquire their gorgeous feathers, which are perfected about the third year. The Javan peafowl is said to be even handsomer than the familiar species. The flesh and eggs are of good quality though inferior to the domestic fowl, though they are still extensively bred in southeastern Asia for food. The range of the peacock in domestication has been greatly extended in modern times, but its use is restricted to ornamental purposes. The splendor of its plumage is unequaled by any other large bird.
Pigeon(Columba livia), including some three hundred species, is distributed in nearly all parts of the world. Most of the domesticated varieties are derived from the rock dove. The mountain witch of Jamaica is one of the most beautiful of birds. The largest member of the group was the dodo, a native of the islands in the Indian ocean, which became extinct[260]before 1700, partly because it lacked the power of flight. It was somewhat larger than a turkey, with the same external appearance.
In America, as in Europe there are enormous numbers of breeders who devote themselves to what are known as “fancy pigeons,†by which term are meant those bred for their special points or characteristics. Of these there is a great and ever-increasing variety, many of which have several distinct colors.
The most important of the domestic pigeons are the common pigeon, the trumpeter, the ruff pigeon, the Jacobin, the Turkish pigeon, the carrier pigeon, which, on account of its great power of remembering localities, is used for carrying messages; the pouter, the tumbler, the turbit, the fantail, and the oriental pigeon. The young pigeons are highly esteemed for their delicate flavor.
TheTurtle Dove(Turtur auritus) is frequently kept in captivity, as it is the smallest and prettiest of all the family of pigeons.
Swans(Cygnus) are swimming birds, closely related to the ducks and geese, with long and slender neck, bill about as long as the head, and with a soft cere. Nine species are known. The American swan (C. americanus) breeds in the northern parts of North America, but its winter migrations extend only to North Carolina. The trumpeter swan (C. buccinator) is another American species, breeding chiefly within the Arctic Circle, but of which large flocks may be seen in winter as far south as Texas. Australia produces a black swan (C. atratus), discovered towards the end of the eighteenth century, rather smaller than the common swan, the plumage deep black, except the primaries of the wings, which are white. The eye is red. The black-necked swan (C. nigricollis), perhaps the handsomest bird of the genus, is a South American species, ranging from Chile to the Faulkland Islands.
Turkey(Meleagris gallipavo) or common turkey, is a native of North America, where it exists in two forms. The typical form ranges from southern Canada to Florida and eastern Texas, and westward to the edge of the great Plains; farther south, it is replaced by another form (M. mexicana), having the tail and its coverts tipped with buffy white, and inhabiting the tablelands of Mexico, and extending north to the southern border of the United States, and south to Vera Cruz. The finest tame turkeys are those of the American bronze breed, which has been created by crossing.
It is our largest domestic fowl, and much prized for food, though neither its eggs nor feathers are used to an important extent. Notwithstanding it is a stupid bird, ranking low in intelligence, the turkey is easily domesticated and the tame birds readily intermingle with the wild ones. While it needs considerable range and is inclined to wander, and therefore is not suited to small farms, it is comparatively easy to rear and stands second to the chicken in the United States, ranking above geese and ducks both in number and value. Texas reports the largest number, and is followed in order by Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Ohio.
THE FOLLOWING ARE MUCHPRIZED BREEDS:
Black.—Plumage pure black. Otherwise same as above.
Bourbon Red.—A kindred variety to the buff, having deep reddish-buff plumage.
Bronze.—Largest and hardiest of all varieties for the market. Adult cock thirty-six pounds, hen twenty pounds.
Buff.—Feathers a reddish buff, the wing flights being white.
Narragansett.—Plumage bronze and black with a mixture of white. Second in size to bronze. Cock thirty pounds, hen eighteen pounds. General color gray.
Slate.—Plumage of a bluish slate shade. Cock twenty-seven pounds, hen eighteen pounds.
White Holland.—Plumage pure white throughout; has pinkish white shanks. Cocks twenty-eight pounds, hens eighteen pounds.
The Swan, on account of its graceful carriage, and beauty of form, is not only a universal favorite with children and grown-ups but has been the subject of much legend and poetry. It was sacred to Apollo, and was the bird of the Muses; and was fabulously celebrated for its melodious song, especially at the time of its death. From the latter legend we derive the expression “swan-song†which means the last effort, or production, or achievement of an individual.
The Swan, on account of its graceful carriage, and beauty of form, is not only a universal favorite with children and grown-ups but has been the subject of much legend and poetry. It was sacred to Apollo, and was the bird of the Muses; and was fabulously celebrated for its melodious song, especially at the time of its death. From the latter legend we derive the expression “swan-song†which means the last effort, or production, or achievement of an individual.
Bee, Honey(Apis mellifica).—Bees form a family of insects belonging to the same order as the wasps and ants. Many kinds of bees are social, that is to say, they live in communities. As in the case of ants, various sets of members have come to discharge special functions, and the result of this division of labor has been difference of form.
Her Majesty of the Hive—The worker bees attending on the queen, all with their faces turned toward her. The queen is the large bee in the center. No “swarm†is possible without the commanding presence of an accompanying queen.As the Honey Bee visits flower after flower she collects pollen as well as nectar. The pollen is largely picked up by the hairy coat, then brushed off by the feet and pressed into the “pollen basket†on the thigh of the hind leg.
Her Majesty of the Hive—The worker bees attending on the queen, all with their faces turned toward her. The queen is the large bee in the center. No “swarm†is possible without the commanding presence of an accompanying queen.
As the Honey Bee visits flower after flower she collects pollen as well as nectar. The pollen is largely picked up by the hairy coat, then brushed off by the feet and pressed into the “pollen basket†on the thigh of the hind leg.
HOW A BEE HOUSEHOLDIS ORGANIZED
Thus the ordinary hive contains (1) a single queen-bee—the fertile female and mother of the next brood, (2) the males or drones, and (3) the vast majority of workers or imperfectly developed females, which only exceptionally become fertile. The working bees constitute essentially the bee community; they are recognized[262]by their small size, reddish-brown color, and, above all, by the palettes and brushes with which the hind legs are furnished.
The males, or drones, are larger and more hairy than the working bees; they emit a buzzing sound, have no palettes, and no sting. The female, or queen, has a longer body than the workers, and the wings shorter in proportion. The only part she has to play is that of laying eggs, and so she has no palettes or brushes. Only one queen lives in each hive, of which she is perfect sovereign, all the workers submissively obeying her. The number of males is scarcely one-tenth that of the working bees, and they live only about three months.
WHAT THE SWARMINGOF BEES MEANS
At a certain time of the year the queen leaves the hive, accompanied by the drones, and takes what is called her “nuptial flight†through the air. About forty-eight hours after her return to the hive she begins laying her eggs, at the rate of about two hundred a day. The eggs which are destined to develop into workers are first laid, then those which are to produce males, and lastly those which give birth to females. The eggs are not long in being hatched, and the larvæ, or caterpillars, which emerge from them are tended by the workers, and fed by them on a peculiar paste, which is apparently a preparation of pollen. In five or six days the larvæ pass into the condition of pupa, or chrysalis, and in about seven or eight days after this the perfect insect is hatched.
A pound weight of bees contain about five thousand individuals, and swarms are often found to weigh eight pounds, or even more. A populous hive will thus contain from forty to fifty thousand bees. In spring, however, the number is much smaller, amounting to only a few thousand.
THE STRUCTURE OFHONEY-BEES
Many of the points in the structure of the honey-bee fit it for the performance of its complex activities. Upon the head there are two large compound eyes, used for near vision, and three small simple eyes, by which objects at a distance can be perceived. There is a well-developed sense of color, and flowers which specially lay themselves out to attract bees are mostly of blue or purple hue. Bees have also a keen sense of smell, which not only attracts them to fragrant flowers, but also helps them to detect the presence of nectar.
THE BEE’S WONDERFULMOUTH AND LEGS
The mouth-parts of the bee are highly specialized. The powerful first jaws are used in the construction of the comb, and for a great variety of other purposes, while the second and third jaws are drawn out into a long suctorial and licking apparatus. The basal part of this constitutes a tube through which nectar or other sweet fluids can be sucked up, while its terminal portion is a sort of tongue (ligula) that can be inserted into the recesses of flowers. This is worked up and down so as to bring nectar within the tubular part of the apparatus. The end of the tongue is expanded into a sort of lappet for licking, and the sharp blades of the second jaws can be used for piercing certain flowers, such as orchids, which contain sweet sap. When not in action, the suctorial parts of the mouth are folded up on the under side of the head, enabling the first jaws to work freely.
HOW THE COAT IS GATHEREDFOR THE HONEY-COMBS
There are marked differences between the three pairs of legs of a worker-bee. The first are provided with combs, by which the delicate antennæ are cleaned, while the third are chiefly remarkable for peculiar pollen brushes on the feet, and a depression or “pollen basket†on the outer side of the shin. The hairy feet brush pollen into the baskets, and when of a dry nature a little honey is ejected from the mouth on to the grains, so as to stick them together. Another peculiarity of the third leg is the nature of the joint between shin and foot, which constitutes a sort of pincers useful in manipulating wax.
The wax of which the cells of the honeycomb are constructed is supposed to be secreted by an organ situated in the abdomen, or belly, of the bee; but, in addition to wax, another substance much resembling it, but not identical, called propolis, is elaborated from the juices of certain plants, and employed to line the inner surface of the hive. The cells are hexagonal in shape, that is, having six equal sides—the most economical form as regards space—and are of two kinds, namely, store-cells, which are filled with honey, as a reserve store of food, and cradle-cells, in which the eggs are deposited.
WHERE THE HONEYCOMES FROM
The honey of various regions is flavored by the flowers predominant in the districts where it is gathered—heather, rosemary, lavender, orange-flowers, white clover, bass-wood, lime-tree. In Scotland it is not unusual to transport the hives in the flowering season to the neighborhood of heathery tracts. The honey most famous in the ancient world was that of Mt. Hybla in Sicily, and Mt. Hymettus in Attica. Supplies are imported into Britain from various quarters; but it is to the United States and Canada that we must turn for bee-farming on the largest scale, and California, especially southern California, is the paradise of beekeepers. Some bee-keepers have from two thousand to three thousand hives; and as much as seven hundred pounds of honey has been obtained from one hive. The most improved hives, honey-extractors, artificial combs, and comb-foundations are in general use.
Silk-worm(Bombyx mori) lives on the Mulberry, and is bred for the fibers of the cocoon. It originally came from southern Asia, but is now extensively cultivated in China, Japan and southern Europe for the purpose of obtaining its silk. The cultivation of the silkworm is dependent almost entirely on the supply of these leaves.
HOW THE SILK WORM GROWSAND FEEDS
On the low, moist, alluvial soils of the East, slips of this tree are planted in close and continuous lines, and six to eight weeks afterwards they are six feet high, and the leaf-crop allows[263]of six to ten broods being produced in the course of six months. In Europe it is not unusual for more than one brood to be produced, and the female lays her eggs towards the end of the summer; but they do not hatch until the following spring, when the leaves appear. In Asia, during the season, the eggs hatch eight to ten days after laying. The caterpillar feeds persistently, and rapidly grows; at the end of a month it moults, and this happens four times in all before it starts to make its cocoon.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SILKWORMThe female moth deposits in July three to five hundred eggs, from which the white caterpillars (a) emerge in the following spring, at the period when the white mulberry tree blooms, upon the leaves of which they feed. The caterpillars change their skins four times and are full grown in about a month. They now spin a cocoon (c), which is generally completed in three and a half days, and five days later they change into pupæ (b). The pupal stage lasts from fourteen to nineteen days. The cocoons furnish the silk, and the pupæ are generally killed on the tenth day by heat.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SILKWORM
The female moth deposits in July three to five hundred eggs, from which the white caterpillars (a) emerge in the following spring, at the period when the white mulberry tree blooms, upon the leaves of which they feed. The caterpillars change their skins four times and are full grown in about a month. They now spin a cocoon (c), which is generally completed in three and a half days, and five days later they change into pupæ (b). The pupal stage lasts from fourteen to nineteen days. The cocoons furnish the silk, and the pupæ are generally killed on the tenth day by heat.
HOW THE DELICATE SILK FILAMENTIS PRODUCED
The silk is produced from spinnerets, two apertures in the head, the two filaments joining as they appear to form a very strong thread from five hundred to one thousand yards long. This the caterpillar wraps round its body until it is completely covered, and then it passes into the chrysalis state. Unless the grey moth is wanted for egg-laying, the chrysalis is killed by putting the cocoon in a hot oven, for if allowed to appear it cuts through some of the more valuable parts of the silk.
WINDING THE SILK FROMTHE COCOONS
The next process is to wind as much as possible off the cocoons into hanks. In Europe and in some Oriental towns this is done with improved machinery in factories called filatures. It is usually begun when the cocoons are fresh. Each operator has before her a basin of hot water, the temperature of which is regulated by a steam-pipe or a fire, and overhead is a reel turning slowly. After removing the outside flossy covering, the operator places the cocoons in the basin, with the result that the hot water softens the natural gum that is in the silk, and allows it to be wound off. The filaments are passed through several glass eyes, and crossed, and thus become glued together into a thread which is called “singles,†and when further prepared is known as “thrown silk.†The singles are reeled into large hanks being called a “moss,†and each bundle a “book.â€
In this form, Asiatic silk is imported into Europe and the United States. The quantity of such silk obtained from one cocoon is very small—seldom up to a thousand yards, generally not more than five hundred yards. The remainder of the cocoon is either too flossy or too entangled to be wound. This waste portion forms the material from which spun silk is prepared. Five to six hundred cocoons weigh two pounds, and twenty pounds of cocoons yield two pounds of spun silk. The eggs of the silkworm were first brought to Europe by two Christian monks in 555 A. D., who took them in hollow sticks to Constantinople, whence the cultivation of the silkworm rapidly spread to other parts.
Abdomen(ăb-dÅ´mÄ•n).—In mammals, that portion of the body-cavity which is separated from the thorax or chest by the diaphragm. In insects the third or last portion.
Ametabolic(ȧ-mÄ•t´a-bÅl´Äk).—Referring to insects and other animals which do not undergo a metamorphosis, or change of form.
Amoeba(ȧ-mē´bȧ).—One of the Protozoa that is continually changing its shape.
Amorphous(ȧmÅr´fÅs).—Without a definite figure; shapeless; especially applicable to sponges.
Amphibia(ăm-fÄb´Ä-ȧ).—A class of vertebrates, breathing in water while young and in air when mature. The term amphibious is applied to fishes, molluscs, etc., that are capable of changing the nature of their respiration at will.
Annelida(ăn-nÄ•l´Ä-dȧ).—Articulate animals whose bodies possess no jointed members, as the leech, and worm tribe.
Annulate(ăn′u-lÄt).—Animals whose bodies are composed of a series of ring-shaped divisions.
Anthropoid(ăn-thrÅ-poid).—The highest order of apes.
Apterous(ăp´tÄ•r-Ås).—Destitute of wings.
Arachnida(ȧ-răk´nÄ-dȧ).—Articulate animals with legs, but without wings, including spiders, mites, scorpions, etc.
Arthropoda(är-thrÅp´o-dȧ).—Articulated animals with jointed feet, as crabs, insects, etc.
Asexual(ȧ-sĕks´ū-al).—A term applied to animals, as Aphis, in which the reproductive organs are imperfect, and the young are produced by budding.
Auricle(a̱´rÄ-k´l).—The cavity of the heart which receives the blood and transmits it to the ventricle.
Bacteria(băk-tē´rÄ-ȧ).—Microscopic vegetable organism, belonging to the class Algæ, usually in the form of a jointed, rod-like filament, and found in putrefying organic infusions. Bacteria are destitute of chlorophyll, and are the smallest of microscopic organisms. They are very widely diffused in nature, and multiply with marvelous rapidity. Certain species are active agents in fermentation, while others appear to be the cause of certain infectious diseases.
Batrachia(bȧ-trÄ´kÄ-ȧ).—Applied to frogs, toads, and salamanders.
Bimana(bÄm´ȧ-nȧ).—Two-handed animals whose posterior extremities are used only to keep them in an erect position, and for the purpose of locomotion. They comprise the varieties of man.
Blastoderm(blăs´tÅ-derm).—The outer layer of the germ-cells of the embryo.
Carapace(kăr´ȧ-pÄs).—A sort of shell which protects and encloses the bodies of tortoises and some reptiles, etc.
Carnivora(kär-nÄv´Å-rȧ).—Group of mammals, including the lion, tiger, wolf, bear, seal, etc. They feed upon flesh, though some of them, as the bears, also eat vegetable food. The teeth are large and sharp, suitable for cutting flesh, and the jaws powerful.
Carnivorous(kär-niv´Å-rus).—Eating or feeding on flesh. The term is applied to animals which naturally seek flesh for food, as the tiger, dog, etc.
Cephalopoda(sÄ•f-a-lÅp´Å-dȧ).—The highest class of Molluscs.
Cetacea(sÄ“-tÄ´shÄ“-ȧ).—The whales.
Chiroptera(ki-rÅp´te-rȧ).—The bats.
Chrysalis(krÄs´ȧ-lÄs).—The pupa state of an insect.
Coelenterata(sÄ“-lĕ´te-rÄ´tȧ).—The group of Invertebrates, comprising hydrozoa and actinozoa.
Coleoptera(kol-e-op´ter-a).—The beetles.
Cilia(sÄl´Ä-a).—Hair-like organs of Infusoria. Microscopic filaments attached to cells, usually within the body, and moving usually rhythmically.
Crustacea(krÅs-tÄ´shÄ“-ȧ).—Applied to lobsters, crabs, etc.
Dipnoi(dÄp´nÅ-Ä«or-noi).—An order of fishes.
Diptera(dÄp´tÄ“-rÄ).—Two-winged flies; an order of insects.
Echinodermata(e-kī´nô-dẽr´mȧ-tȧ).—Applied to the sea-urchin, a subdivision of animals.
Edentata(ē´dÄ•n-tÄ´tȧ).—Those animals having imperfect dental apparatus. Their digits, too, are generally sunk in large and crooked claws.
Elasmobranchii(Ä“-lăs´mÅ-brănk-Ä“).—The sharks and rays.
Fauna(faw´nä).—The native animals of a certain locality.
Flagellum(flâ-jÄ“l´lÅm).—A whip. The appendage of some Protozoa.
Foraminifera(fô-răm´Ä-nÄf´e-rȧ).—Animals with perforated shells.
Ganoid(gÄ´noidorgăn´oid).—Applied to a certain class of fish.
Gasteropoda(găs´te-rÅp´ô-dȧ).—A class of Molluscs. Some of them form shells, while others are destitute of them,—as the slug, snail, etc.
Grallatores(grăl´lȧ-tÅ´rÄ“z).—Wading-birds.
Hibernation(hÄ«-bẽr-nÄ´shÅn).—The state of animals that sleep throughout winter.
Hymenoptera(hÄ«-mÄ“-nÅp´te-rȧ).—An order of insects with two pairs of membraneous wings.
Ichthyology(Äk-thÄ-Ål´Å-jy).—The science of fishes, or that part of zoology which treats of fishes, their structure, habits, etc.
Infusoria(Än´fû-sÅ´rÄ-ȧ).—Minute animals that live in stagnant water. A class of Protozoa.
Insectivora(Än´sÄ•k-tÄv´ô-rȧ).—Insect-eaters. They comprise the shrew, mole, hedgehog, etc.
Invertebrate(Än-vÄ“r´te-brÄt).—Animals that have no vertebral column, or bones properly so called.
Larva(lär´vȧ).—The second stage of the insect, a caterpillar, grub, or maggot.
Mandible(măn´dÄ-bl).—The upper jaw of insects; the lower jaw of vertebrates.
Marsupial(Mär-su´pÄ-al).—An order of mammals that carry their young in a pouch, as the kangaroo.
Mollusc(mÅl’lÅsk).—Animals whose bodies are soft and pulpy.
Monotremata(mon-Å-trē´ma-ta).—An order of mammals having the intestine and the ducts of the urinary and genital organs open into a common orifice.
Myriapoda(mÄr-Ä-Åp´Å-dȧ).—A class of arthropoda. Articulate land animals having many legs, as the centipede.
Natatores(nÄ´tȧ-tÅ´rÄ“z).—An order of birds that swim.
Neuroptera(nÅ«-rÅp´tÄ•-rȧ).—An order of insects with four membraneous wings, as dragon-flies.
Nocturnal(nÅk-tûr´nal).—Of the night. Nocturnal birds are birds that fly abroad during the night only.
Notochord(nÅ´tÅ-kôrd).—A primitive backbone.
Omnivorous(Åm-nÄv´Å-rÅs).—Living on both vegetables and flesh.
Orthoptera(ôr-thÅp´tÄ“-rȧ).—An order of straight-winged insects, as cockroaches, grasshoppers, etc.
Oviparous(Å-vÄp´ȧ-rÅs).—Applied to animals which produce eggs instead of living young.
Ovipositor(Å´vÄ-pÅz´Ä-tẽr).—In insects an organ by which eggs are deposited in wood, etc.
Pachydermata(păk´Ä-dẽr-mȧ-tȧ).—A group of hoofed mammals distinguished for the thickness of their skins, including the elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, tapir, horse, and hog.
Pelagic(pÄ“-lăj´-Äk).—Living on the high seas, away from the coast; in mid-ocean.
Polyp(pÅl´Äp).—Separate coral animals.
Protoplasm(prÅ´tÅ-plÄz’m).—The albuminous, elementary matter forming cells and the body-substance of Protozoa.
Protozoa(prÅ´tÅ-zÅ´ȧ).—The lowest forms of animal life.
Pupa(pū´pȧ).—The third, or usually quiescent, chrysalis stage of insects.
Paleontology(pÄ-lÄ“-Ån-tÅl´Å-gy).—The science of ancient beings or creatures; applied to the science of the fossil remains of animals and plants now extinct.
Quadrumana(kwÅd-rÅÅ´mȧ-nȧ).—Monkeys.
Quadruped(kwÅd´ru-pÄ•d).—Four-footed animals.
Radiates(rÄ´dÄ-Äts).—Animals having a central mouth, around which the body forms a star-shaped figure.
Ratitæ(rȧ-tī´tẽ).—A division of birds with a keelless, raft or punt-like sternum.
Rhizopoda(ri-zÅp´Å-dȧ).—The root-footed Protozoa.
Rodentia(rÅ-dÄ•n´shÄ-ȧ).—An order of animals which gnaw.
Rotifera(rÅ-tÄf´ẽ-rȧ).—An order of crustacea with a pair of ciliated appendages in motion, resembling wheels.
Ruminantia(roo-mÄ-nă´shÄ-ȧ).—The cloven-footed quadrupeds. Those that chew the cud. They have cloven feet, want incisors, and have a stomach with four cavities.
Taxidermy(tăks´Ä-dÄ•r-my).—The art of preparing and preserving specimens of animals.
Teleostei(tē´lẽ-Ås´te-Ä«ortÄ•l´e).—An order including most of the bony fishes.
Thorax(thÅ´rÄks).—The chest of vertebrates, the middle portion of insects, etc.
Ungulata(Ån-gÅ«-lÄ-tȧ).—The order of hoofed mammals.
Vertebra(vĕr´tē-brȧ).—One of the bones of the spinal column.
Vertebrates(vẽr´te-brÄts).—Animals provided with vertebræ. One of the grand divisions of the animal kingdom, comprising all animals that have a backbone composed of bony or cartilaginous vertebræ, together with those in which the backbone is represented by a simple undivided notochord.
Viviparous(vi-vÄp´ȧ-rÅs).—Applied to animals which bring forth their young alive.
Zoophyte(zÅ´Å-fÄ«t).—Applied to the animals which resemble plants, such as the sea-anemones, sponges, etc.
HOW MAN DIFFERS FROM OTHER ANIMALS
MAN AND THE HUMAN FAMILY
MAN’S ORIGINANDPRIMEVAL HOME
OLDEST EXTANT REMAINS OF THE HUMAN RACE
CHART OF MAN’S ADVANCEMENT THROUGH THE AGES:
(1)Dawn Stone Age
(2)Old Stone Age
(3)New Stone Age
(4)Bronze Age
(5)Early Iron Age
(6)Late Iron Age
(7)Age of Letters
HOW THE RACES ARE CLASSIFIED
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL RACE CHARACTERISTICS
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE RACES
DICTIONARY OF THE HISTORICAL RACE GROUPS
COMPARATIVE CLASSIFICATION OF RACES AND PEOPLES
RACE TYPES OF WOMANKIND THE WORLD OVER
BOOK OF RACES AND PEOPLES
Man, though a member of the animal kingdom, is so superior and distinctive that he must be set entirely apart for special consideration. The branches of knowledge or science, concerning his nature, origin and development are of the highest importance to us because of their relation to our very selves as part of the great family of Mankind. Strictly speaking, there can be but one science of man—Anthropology—but the various parts of thissupremescience have received various district names. (1) Man as ananimalbelongs toBiologyandZoology; (2) hisstructureandfunctionsbelong toAnatomyandPhysiology; (3) hismindfalls underPsychology; (4) the facts and theories as to hisspeechandlanguagecome underPhilology; (5) the study of the variousraces, their origin, physical and mental differences, migrations, and geographical distribution, falls underEthnology; and (6)human culture, or civilization, which includes government, social institutions, customs and usages, traditions, folklore, religion, etc., belong toSociology. In a certain sense, Anthropology also includesHistory, which is the record of thedoingsofcivilizedman in the order in which they occurred; but this branch of knowledge is so vast in itself that it is usually assigned a province of its own.
In the colorless language of science, man is classed under the order Primates (Lat.,primus, first) and suborder Bimana (Lat.,bis, twice;manus, a hand) which means a two-handed animal. Although the contrast between man and other animals is more distinct among the higher members of the human species, it may be traced in all. It is less of degree than of kind, and is rather intellectual and spiritual than physical.
In size man is dwarfed by numerous animals; in strength he is no match for some that do not attain his proportions. He is short-sighted compared to the eagle; deaf compared to the hare; and almost without the sense of smell compared to the wild dog or the vulture, who perceives the faintest scent borne to it upon the breeze.
In adult life man is unique in his erect posture, and in the freedom of his hands from any direct share in locomotion. His body is usually naked, his canine teeth are not longer than their neighbors, his thumbs are larger than those of monkeys, and his feet are distinguished by the horizontal sole which rests flatly on the ground. His face is notably more vertical than that of apes, lying below rather than in front of the forepart of the brain-case; the jaws, the orbits, and the ridges above them are relatively smaller; the nose-bones project more beyond the upper jaw; and the chin is more prominent than in other Primates.
Probably the most important difference between man and other members of the same or any order, is the higher physical development of the brain. Not only is the size greater in proportion to the rest of the body, but it presents a more elaborate series of folds, or convolutions. When it is understood that the physical processes corresponding to the highest mental activities are located in the cortex, or rind of the brain, it is seen that the extent and number of the convolutions, by increasing the area of the cortex, must play a considerable part in determining the intellectual effectiveness of the animal.
In addition to mere size of brain, may be noted the adaptability of his hands to many uses, allowing a degree of skill impossible to other animals. The senses, too, are so nicely balanced and accurately adjusted as to enable him to obtain an intimate acquaintance with the properties of the world around him, in a manner that will contribute to his pleasure, and at the same time ensure his elevation and happiness. He possesses the gift of language by which to denote his wants; the colors of the earth and sea and sky gladden his eye; melody enchants his ear; the sweet odors of flowers delight his nostrils; the fruits of summer please his palate; the glorious sun and the spangled canopy of heaven entrance him—and all lead him to the contemplation of the Deity, of whose wondrous scheme he is himself the corner-stone.
When differences other than physical are considered, the superiority of man is so great as to incline many to the opinion that he is a separate creation on the ground of his mentality alone.
However great this superiority is, it does not appear that man possesses any faculty or fairly fundamental mental process which is not possessed in some degree by some lower animal or other. Memory, the powers of abstraction, and of reasoning are possessed by certain animals, if only in a very simple form.
He alone can produce fire; and this acquaintance with fire and the art of cooking has also frequently been regarded as the most distinctive characteristic of the human race. Clothing and decoration are also early peculiarities of man. Alone among animals, he covers himself with the skins of the beasts he has slain, and adorns himself with feathers, shells, teeth, and bones. Yet from these simple beginnings all the arts gradually developed.
Man is one of the few animals to pay special attention to his dead. Funeral rites differ much from place to place, and form a special subject of anthropological study. Tumuli, pyramids, standing-stones, and other forms of funeral monument have each their history and implications. Especially does man almost everywhere believe in some sort of survival of the individual after death, and in the existence within himself of a soul or spirit which outlives its fleshly habitation. The origin of religion is largely connected with these ideas of a future life and a future world. Herbert Spencer traces it directly to the theory of hosts and ancestor-worship; Dr. Tylor, to what he calls animism, or the belief in souls universally pervading all natural objects.
Man alone also wilfully indulges in intoxicating, stupefying, or exciting substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, bhang, opium, hashish, etc.
As to man’s origin, two main views may be said at present to contest the field. Has man sprung from a single or from several stocks? Do the races of men constitute so many members ofonefamily, or are theyfouror more unrelated groups? One answer, formerly the accepted one, is based either upon the literal interpretation of Scripture or upon natural theology, and regards him as a distinct creation, separate from and superior to the remaining animals. The other, accepted by many competent authorities, regards him as descended from a hairy ancestor, more or less remotely allied to the anthropoid apes. This theory of his antecedents has been elaborated in profuse detail by Charles Darwin, whoseDescent of Manforms the great storehouse of information and speculation on the question. In the beginning, according to the evolutionary view, man was apparently homogeneous—a single species, speaking a single primitive rude tongue (largely eked out by signs and gesture-language), and not divided into distinct varieties. At an early period, however, the species broke up into several races, now inhabiting various parts of the world.
If man is therefore essentially one, he cannot have had more than one primeval home. This human cradle, as it may be called, has been located with some certainty in the Eastern Archipelago, and more particularly in the island of Java, where in 1892 Dr. Eugene Dubois brought to light the earliest known remains that can be described as distinctly human. From the Pliocene (late Tertiary) beds of the Trinil district he recovered some teeth, a skull, and a thigh-bone of a being whom he named thePithecanthropus erectus, thereby indicating an “Ape-man that could walk.â€
In this “first man,†as he has been designated, the erect position, shown by the perfectly human thigh-bone, implies a perfectly prehensile (grasping) hand, with opposable thumb, the chief instrument of human progress, while the cranial capacity suggests vocal organs sufficiently developed for the first rude utterances of articulate speech.
The Javanese man was thus already well equipped for his long migrations round the globe. Armed with stone, wooden, bone, and other weapons that lay at hand, and gifted with mental powers far beyond those of all other animals, he was assured of success from the first. He certainly had no knowledge of navigation; but that was not needed to cross inland seas, open waters, and broad estuaries which, indeed, did not exist in Pliocene and later times. The road was open across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar and South Africa by the now submerged Indo-African Continent. The Eastern Archipelago still formed part of the Asiatic mainland from which it is separated even now by shallow waters, in many places scarcely fifty fathoms deep. Eastwards the way was open to New Guinea, and thence across Torres Strait to Australia and thence to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean. In the northern hemisphere Europe could be reached from Africa by three routes, one across the Strait of Gibraltar, another between Tunis, Malta, Sicily and Italy, and a third from Cyrenaica across the Ægean to Greece, and the British Isles from Europe via the Strait of Dover and the shallow North Sea. Lastly, the New World was accessible both from Asia across Bering Strait, and from Europe through the Orkneys, the Shetlands, the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland. Here were, therefore, sufficient land connections for early man to have gradually spread from his Javanese cradle to the uttermost confines of the habitable globe.
THE OLDEST EXTANT REMAINS OF THE HUMAN RACE
Much trustworthy evidence has been collected to show that the whole world had really been peopled during the period which roughly coincides with what is known in geology as the Ice Age; that is, when a large part of the northern and southern hemispheres was subject to invasions of thick-ribbed ice advancing successively from both poles. The migrations were most probably begun before the appearance of the first great ice-wave, then arrested and resumed alternately between the glacial intervals, and completed after the last glacial epoch, say, some two or three hundred thousand years ago.