Canis. MAMMALIA. FERA. 11 



defence, runs before him on the road, but will return or watch when a stran- 

 ger passes, and looks back for instruction where two ways meet ; guards pro- 

 perty committed to his charge ; assists the sportsman ; brings objects in his 

 mouth ; fawns when begging ; hangs down his tail when afraid ;hates beggars, 

 barks at strangers ; licks wounds, and bites the stone thrown at him. 



The dog runs sidewise, hardly sweats when warm, lolls out his tongue, and 

 runs into water ; turns round several times before lying down ; frequently 

 dreams ; is easily awakened. Eats carrion and farinaceous vegetables, drinks 

 by lapping, dungs upon stones, urines sidewise, lifting his hind leg, and fre- 

 quently, when he meets strange dogs ; smells at the anus of another ; is quar- 

 relsome, and eats greedily. The female, when in season, admits all comers, 

 snarls at them, and they remain inseparable for a time ; gestation sixty-three 

 days. Young from four to ten in number, blind for the first ten days, and 

 begin to change their teeth at the fourth month. 



Externally, the dog is infested with fleas and ticks, and internally by the 

 tape-worn. Eats grass to make him vomit, and to clear his intestines. Fond 

 of rubbing against putrid substances. Subject to hydrophobia, which is be- 

 lieved by many since the days of Pliny, to be prevented by ivorming, a prac- 

 tice which renders the individual incapable of biting. The worm (extracted 

 by this process) " is a tendinous fasciculus of fibres running lengthwise under 

 the tongue, as far as its apex, and lying rather loose in a kind of membranous 

 sheath, without being connected, like a true tendon, to any of the neighbour- 

 ing muscles ;" Blum. Comp. Anat. p. 32G. 



The varieties of the dog which occur in the United Kingdom are nume- 

 rous, and several of these have been long celebrated for their excellence by 

 Appian, Grotius, Claudian, and others. The following synoptical view, con- 

 tains the names and characters of the principal races. 



1. Motions regulated by the Sight. 

 * 



a. Pastoralis. Shepherd's Dog, or Colly. — Ears half pricked ; tail bushy, 

 recurved ; fur black, long, soft, and loose — Docile and sagacious ; the useful 

 companion of the shepherd, and still to be found unmixed in many of the 

 sheep districts of Scotland. 



b. Amphibius. Newfoundland Dog — Ears pendent ; lips loose ; fur long, 

 dense, and waved ; docile and sagacious ; swims and dives well ; not unlike 

 tiie preceding, but larger, and fonder of the water. — Originally from New- 

 foundland, where it is used for the draught. 



c. Zetlandicus. — Ears pointed, pricked ; muzzle sharp ; fur long, brown ; 



bark shrill and indistinct This is the common dog or hund in the .Zetland 



Isles, and approaches in character to the Greenland dog. 



The preceding races are less mixed than any of the others, and probably 

 make the nearest approach to the primitive stock. 



d. Villaticus. Cur. — Ears half-pricked ; fur short and smooth ; tail not 

 bushy, and often very short ; stronger than the shepherd's dog ; and chiefly 

 used in driving cattle. 



e. Taurinus. Bull-Dog — Ears half-pricked ; head round ; snout short ; 

 under jaw projecting ; stature low and muscular ; courageous, and obstinately 

 retains its hold. Seldom kept but by the idle and profligate for the purpose 

 of fighting. 



f. Mastivus. Mastiff. — Ears pendant ; lips large and loose ; stature large, 

 stout ; aspect sullen. A trusty guard, very vigilant and bold. The Roman 

 Emperors held the British dogs of this kind in high estimation for combats in 

 the amphitheatre, and, according to Strabo, they were trained by the Gauls 

 for battle. 



