3 2 4 ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY AND ENTOMOLOGY 



There seems to be no doubt that the dog is the oldest 

 domesticated animal, as he is also the closest and the most 

 nearly universal animal companion of man. From among the 

 crudest of living human races to the most civilized and culti- 

 vated, the dog is everywhere and always at man's side, serving 

 him as faithful helper in the chase, in caring for his flocks and 

 home, and as companion of his table and fireside. The Bush- 

 men of Australia, the Esquimaux of the Arctic, the Indians of 

 the prairie and pampas, the cannibals of the scattered Paci- 

 fic Islands as well as the Caucasians of the world's great capi- 



FIG. 138. Thibet wolf, Canis nigcr, one of the wild ancestors of dogs. 



(After Sclater.) 



tals have their dog companions. And as is inevitable under 

 such many and different human conditions and stages of 

 civilization the kinds of dogs are many and very different. 

 About fifty breeds of sporting dogs and fifty of non-sporting 

 dogs are recognized by fanciers. There are many books filled 

 with the descriptions and illustrations of these varieties, which 

 range in size from the tiny toy dogs of Paris, that a lady can 

 carry in her muff, to the great Danes and St. Bernards that 

 stand three feet high and weigh one hundred and fifty pounds. 

 The origin of all these dog races is not to be found in any one 



