Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1900-07-19
LOSS or INSTINCT.
Highly bred Animals Lose Their
Natural Charaeteristica,

Highly Bred Animals Lose Their
Natural Characteristica.
tits admired by ,eyeryIo that our
principal domesticated animals have
gained very greatly In brain power
owing to mans training and compan-
ionsfip, says a correspondent Of the
London Live Stock Journal. or course
1t is possible to exagggerate the degrees
Of mental advance made b .horses, d
tie and dogs, for instance We may
make too much OF acts performed in
obedience to u orders or under our
guidance. In other words, we may
temporarily forgotten fail to notice that
'lnthinlking repetition Of l~aboriously
acquired rudtnents sometimes bears q
very close resemblance to spontaneous
nets tof; intelligence. A memory like
that of a horse" has passedinto an a g
.ricultural proverb. The trainer may
forget some of the steps In the process
of sbreaking in, but his dumb pupil does
not. That is startlingly seen when a
raw and willing animal energies out OF
faulty or peculiar hands.
Buff our principal domesticated an
tmals have made some ascent to meet
the higher Intelligence OF man they
have nnquestionably lost the fine edge
certain faculties. Taking them as q
group we may say that sight, hearing
and smell are not so keen, taste is de-
veloped in new directions ana the ami
malsthave very largely lost the striving
for self preservation so characteristic.
in the feral state. Brain power simu--
lating that OF man has been gained,
the animals have been made specialists
In a sense, but the instincts SO acute in
a state of nature have suffered a form
OF atrophy owing to want OF exercise.
tt lis no answer to say that the scent
ing powers OF the bloodhound, for ex-
ample, ARK keener than those OF tie
wolf or fox Or that the pointer is quits
the match of reynard in winding"
game The domesticated animals re
ferred to are the result of lopsided de.
yelopment. They are ..all O SO to
speak.
1t consequently follows that the ex-
Iperienced breeder receives with due
caution the advice sometimes freely
rendered in connection with feeding
and parturition troubles. Leave the
creatures TO nature He knows that
the more highly developed and domes-
tfcated OF the creatures have been led
q considerable distance AWAY from ma
and that 1t might beariskySto let
them struggle In the middle course
between the feral and the artificial.
The degree OF assistance to be given,
must depend upon circumstances and,
the temperament OF the animal. No
two cases are exactly alike. 1t must
also be borne In mind that an advanced
state OF domesticati0n has tended to
increase the size of fetus and TO rem
der the newly dropped young more
helpless thar their smaller prototypes
In the wild or semiwild state. The di-
gestiye organs and internal cavity gem
orally Of most of d domesticated
breeds Of cattle are larger than those
OF the bison or OF the long horned cat
tho DC Spanish origin once SO numerous
the American plains the more CONS
pact s'fnternalsp being needed for rapid
movement, In the open, Putting the
general position III broad terms, ii may.
be said that the more farm animals
become the servants / the fancy ot
man the more they lose those cfiarac-
teristic adjustments and self preserv-
ing Instincts which are the possession
of their relatives IN the wilds.