"Aldrovandi on Chickens," written in 1598, is the first English translation of any work by the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi. It exemplifies the spirit and the letter of Renaissance science--the former, in the extensive classical references; the latter, through careful examination of every process involved with the raising or use of chickens.

Aldrovandi discusses such concepts as artificial stimulation of egg production, culling, and flock behavior. He traces reproduction in great detail from the competition of sperm in the oviduct to the position of the developed chick.

The author directs himself particularly to the chicken's beneficial effects on human life. In addition to recipes, he lists remedies concocted from chickens for many diseases, and the prescriptions provide a fascinating glimpse of the medical practices of the time. The chicken family, Aldrovandi suggests, is an admirable example of unity for the human family--provided the rooster's extraordinary lustfulness is not emulated.

As the well-known Italian zoologist Alessandro Ghigi points out in his foreword to this translation, "Aldrovandi on Chickens" contributes substantially to the history of science and the study of ornithology. The author's genius and unique style make the book an important representative of one of the golden ages of the intellect.

The fifth edition of this important book reviews recent advances in livestock mineral nutrition, updated throughout with new references that reflect the growing complexity of mineral metabolism. Major related themes covered include the assessment of the 'mineral value' of feeds, the false hopes placed on organic mineral supplements and limiting the 'mineral footprint' of livestock production to lower environmental pollution. Also discussed are new developments and concepts including: Salt tolerance and optimizing production in salt-rich environments. Use of phytase rather than phosphate supplements in pig and poultry rations. Demineralization of the skeleton during confinement. Recognition of sub-acute, clinical hypocalcaemia as a disorder in dairy cows. The assay of 'free' plasma B12 to assess cobalt status of cattle. Limitations of cell culture and ligated loop techniques for assessing bioavailability. Following a clear and easy to reference structure, the book also considers potential pitfalls, such as misleading estimates of mineral requirements for growth, and misinterpretation of genomic markers for mineral requirements and bioavailability of supplements. An essential resource for researchers and students in animal nutrition, agriculture and veterinary medicine, this book also forms a useful reference for veterinary practitioners and those concerned with human nutrition and environmental protection.

This is the personal journal of a young American woman, living for six months amongst the Dodoth cattle-herdsmen in Northern Uganda. It is also an adventure story, for during this period the Dodoth were caught up in an escalating cycle of violence with their age-old rivals, the Turkana tribe. The animating tension of this feud was the tradition of cattle raiding, but it escalated to unprecedented levels of violence when the new nation states of Uganda and Kenya were drawn in to police these ancient clan frontiers. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas s total immersion in the life of this tribe in 1961 takes us with her, as with clarity and a lyrical eye for detail she brings their whole culture alive. For though she was not an academic herself, she had spent much time in the field with her mother, who was the world s leading authority on the Bushman of the Kalahari. So it was natural for Elizabeth Marshall Thomas to take her own young children on this adventure, where she proves herself such a brave, humane and unshockable witness to the life of the warrior herdsmen.

As Britain industrialized in the early nineteenth century, animal breeders faced the need to convert livestock into products while maintaining the distinctive character of their breeds. Thus they transformed cattle and sheep adapted to regional environments into bulky, quick-fattening beasts. Exploring the environmental and economic ramifications of imperial expansion on colonial environments and production practices, Rebecca J. H. Woods traces how global physiological and ecological diversity eroded under the technological, economic, and cultural system that grew up around the production of livestock by the British Empire. Attending to the relationship between type and place and what it means to call a particular breed of livestock ""native,"" Woods highlights the inherent tension between consumer expectations in the metropole and the ecological reality at the periphery. Based on extensive archival work in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, this study illuminates the connections between the biological consequences and the politics of imperialism. In tracing both the national origins and imperial expansion of British breeds, Woods uncovers the processes that laid the foundation for our livestock industry today.

The world of the West has been from the beginning a man's world, but there are homes and wives and children there, too. And although the time of water hauled in barrels and of homemade candles is long past, the ranch wife of today must be prepared to deal with housekeeping, shopping, and personal problems in wholly original ways as the need arises. For ranches are usually far from town and neighbors are scattered, so that good humor and a good sense of humor, as well as the more conventional virtues of courage and fortitude, must be possessed by the ranch woman.For more than eighteen months Alice Marriott traveled the cattle country from Wyoming to Florida-visiting, observing, and talking with the women on the ranches and with their men. This book is the story of these women, who share with their men-folks the problems and pleasures of ranch life. It's about the city girl transformed into ranch wife, about the women who were born on ranches, and about their families and the cattle they raise. She reports on the modern roundups, the cattle sales, the courage of both men and women in the face of a howling blizzard, and the tragedy of a cow with a broken leg. Here they are-the real people of the cattle country and the real things that happen to them in a society in which the man's work is sharply distinguished from the woman's. And, concludes Miss Marriott, ranch life ""can be hard and tough and truly hell for the women who live it, but it can also come about as close to Heaven as any life a woman can live today."" This is a book for Western enthusiasts, for women everywhere, and for just good reading.