Domesticated Animals

Shaler, Nathaniel Southgate, 1841-1906Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 403K words
Chapters: 41

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Domesticated Animals by Nathaniel Southgate ShalerAuthor: Shaler, Nathaniel Southgate, 1841-1906,Language: English, Class: SF: Agriculture: Animal culture, Release Date: May 23, 2008

Editor's review

This is a natural history work on domesticated animals by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler, a late nineteenth-century American naturalist and Harvard professor, belonging to the category of agriculture and animal culture. From an evolutionary perspective, the author examines the origins of domestication of livestock and poultry, the evolution of breeds, and their relationship with human selection, combining naturalistic observation with theoretical reflection, in a prose style that carries the composure and systematicity of the popular science writing of that era. As a free Project Gutenberg e-book, it is better suited as a primary source for understanding nineteenth-century ideas about animal domestication than as a modern manual of animal husbandry. It should be read in the context of the history of science: one can see both the naive understanding of heredity and artificial selection of the time and appreciate how early naturalists constructed problems from lived experience. Suitable for readers interested in natural history, the history of science, and animal culture as thematic reading and textual comparison; the length is substantial, and it is recommended to read selectively by chapter topic rather than straight through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in natural history and the naturalist tradition
Students of the history of science studying nineteenth-century evolution and domestication concepts
University students needing English primary sources for thematic reading
Cultural observers interested in the relationship between humans and domesticated animals

Not a good fit for

Practitioners seeking modern manuals of animal husbandry and veterinary technology
Readers seeking conclusions from contemporary genetics and animal behavior studies
Beginners with limited experience reading long, complex English sentences who are easily discouraged

Reading tips

First read the table of contents and group by theme, selecting chapters on the origins of domestication and breed formation for close reading
Keep an introduction to the history of science at hand, annotating historical limitations as you read
For long English sentences, first grasp the general meaning of the paragraph, then return to the detailed argument

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable as a modern reference on animal husbandry technology?

No. It is a late nineteenth-century natural history work discussing the conceptual framework of the origins of domestication and breed evolution; it does not cover modern feeding management, disease prevention, or breeding technology. It is more appropriate to read it as a document of the history of science and natural history; if you need practical technology, choose contemporary professional books instead.

Can readers with average English proficiency read this book?

You can try, but patience is required. The original is nineteenth-century academic prose with long sentences and numerous technical terms. It is recommended to first grasp the general idea through the table of contents and the opening paragraphs of chapters, proceed paragraph by paragraph with a dictionary, and not insist on reading the whole book—select chapters on topics of interest.

What should be noted when reading this as a public-domain e-book?

It is freely distributed by Project Gutenberg, primarily in plain text, lacking modern annotations and illustration notes. Readers need to supplement background knowledge themselves and maintain critical reading of judgments based on the knowledge of the time, rather than citing them directly as conclusive.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Shaler, Nathaniel Southgate, 1841-1906 Author · American · 1841–1906

Nathaniel Southgate Shaler (1841–1906) was an American geologist and a professor at Harvard University. He worked mainly on stratigraphy and geomorphology and was also known for his nature essays. He was skilled at turning professional observation into accessible prose for general readers, and his works combine scientific content with literary readability. Two of his works are included here: Outlines of the Earth's History: A Popular Study in Physiography, which presents the history of the earth and physical geography in a popular style, and Domesticated Animals, which discusses domesticated animals. Overall, his writing popularized natural knowledge and bridged specialized research and public reading. Owing to limited sources, further details of his life and the influence of his works remain to be verified; public information is limited.