The Most Widely Spread Animals.

Otago Witness, Volume 06, Issue 2899, 6 October 1909, Page 76

The Most Widely Spread Animals.

The- three animals that are most widely spread over the earth are tho cow, the horsa, and the pig. These animals didl not spread through their own efforts, but wero developed by man, and gradually rendered adaptable to practically every place where man himself can live. Cattle entered America simultaneously with its discovery, for Columbus introduced Spanish steers and dowa in 1493. In 1525 they were introduced ; .nto Mexico, which offered ideaL conditions for them. From Mexico they spread- into Texas, where the new conditions of range \nd feeding developed a race of cattle that became known as Texas cattle, and these animals are typical of the ramge-<bred cattle t of America, now. The pig bad its origin in India, and its first conquest was that of Eastern Aeia and the archipelagos of the * Eastern- Seas. Ghana fell an early victim to the love of the pig. Records show that the cultivation of the grunting porker was ft high art in that land as long as 3000 years before Christ. One of the greatest of the Chinese

' feast days is known by the name of "Pigift , The Koran forbids the use of pork, jus* as the Mosaic law dogs ; hence tho pig is not raised in countries where the Mohammedan law rules. But in ail other parts of the world the porker is as popular as the cow or the horse ; and thero are as many varieties of pig, due to local oauses and to different r ways of breeding in different countries, as thero arj varieties of horses and cattle. It has always been b. matter of worad-ar to naturalists and economists that the eaanel'" did not become as widely spread as any cf these* three animals in the course of in thousands of year? of existence as a do-m-ss-tdc animal. The camel combines the advantages of . ox and horse as draught animaPand burden carrier; it is of high food value; it gives excellent milk ; its demands in the form of . food and water ai» exceedingly znod-ei-T, and i{3-ihair is of great value. While tho camel probably could not 'bear cdl the' &*-'/ tremes of climate that the horse- or cow' can bear, it as by no means a difficult animal to aoelimate, as is shown by" thb ' fact that it is used as -draught animal- in 1 * the colder parts of Siberia, on the Russian - and Turkestan steppes, in the Himalayas, in Alrica, and in Australia. ' The dromedary is the plains camel, w&ile the- beast with the cwo humps is the favourite for mountain use. >In Sokotora. thelatter camel climbs up steep steps hewn into the face of the roctk, and in all places where they are used as mountain climber^ they are almost as sure-footed as mules. Prsohewalskd, the Russian explorer, found wild camels in. the worst mountain regions of Asia, in places so dangerous that the human foot could not find a hold.