In certain directions man has
improved these three last. These improvements have made them more
valuable. The ox has been bred to make more flesh from the same amount
of food, and to lay on fat at an earlier age; the cow has been bred to
give instead of a supply of milk barely large enough to sustain her
young, a bountiful yield, and of a richer quality; the hog has been bred
into a veritable machine to convert food into pork; the sheep has been
bred to yield more wool, and of a finer texture, and to make more
mutton. All these changes have been beneficial because the value of the
animal lay in its production of beef, milk, pork, wool, or mutton, as
the case might be. It is true that these changes have been accomplished
at the expense of vigor and endurance. These two qualities are important
in the hog, ox, or sheep, but those that have been developed so far
overshadow their lessening that on the whole we can say that the arts of
man have improved our kine, swine, and sheep.
But it is not so with the horse. Its value does not depend upon the
quantity and quality of its flesh, milk, or bodily covering.
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