THE PEDIGREE OF THE DOG 201 



We have now arrived at the conclusion that domesticated 

 dogs trace their descent back to at least two wild species, 

 and we may quote once more from Mr. Bartlett, who writes 

 as follows : " All wolves, if taken young and reared by 

 man, are tame, playful, and exhibit a fondness for those 

 who feed and attend to them. The same may be said for 

 all the species of jackals. This being so, it is highly 

 probable that both wolves and jackals were for many ages 

 in the company of man, and that owing to this association 

 the different species of these animals may have bred 

 together and become domesticated." 



This introduces the various species of jackals into the 

 problem, and since there is a marked similarity between 

 certain domesticated breeds of dogs and jackals, while the 

 native domestic dogs of nearly every country present a 

 more or less markedly striking likeness to one or other of 

 the indigenous wild Cantdae of the same district, there can 

 be little doubt that Canis familiaris has a multiple origin, 

 and that man has tamed various wild races at different 

 times in different parts of the globe. And it will be obvious 

 that where the domestication has taken place in very 

 remote ages, and there has been much subsequent mingling 

 and shifting of population, the resemblance to the wild 

 species will be the least marked. On the other hand, 

 where the taming has been comparatively recent, where 

 there has been no shifting of population, or where the 

 original breed was best adapted to the needs of its masters, 

 then the resemblance to the original stock will be most 

 likely to persist longest. 



To give a few instances. Mr. Blyth was much struck 

 with the marked resemblance between many of the Indian 

 pariah dogs and the wolf of the same country — a resem- 

 blance to which I can testify from my own experience. In 



