TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 81 



On the Dog as the Associate of Man. By Dr. Hodgkin. 



It was the object of this paper to illustrate the principle that the inferior animals, 

 which by accident or design have accompanied man in his diffusion over the globe, 

 may be advantageously studied with the object of obtaining some light on the obscure 

 subject of the affinities of the several families of mankind. 



The dog was naturally selected, not merely on account of his almost universal pre- 

 sence wherever man is to be found, but also from his tolerance of almost every cli- 

 mate, whilst he is susceptible of many modifications which attest the influences to 

 which he has been exposed, and which are worthy of observation in relation to the 

 changes which man himself may also undergo from various influences. 



To avoid unnecessary complication, the author excluded from consideration the 

 Dingo and its varieties, as found in Australia and the islands of the Pacific, and also 

 the wild dogs of Mexico, although they appear to have furnished the Indians with 

 some domestic animals. He likewise passed over many artificial varieties and the 

 large group of mongrels, and proceeded to notice three principal types. 



The first and most strongly marked, so extensively spread that it may be traced 

 with such modifications of colour and size as do not conceal the family resemblance, 

 from China to Kamtschatka, Siberia, the north of Europe, where it is familiarly known 

 as the Spitz or Pomeranian dog, to Iceland and the regions inhabited or visited by 

 the Esquimaux. 



The second, comprising all the true hunting dogs highly endowed with the sense 

 of smell, having the strongest marks of human cultivation, and being to a great de- 

 gree dependent on man. These dogs are the blood-hound, stag, fox and hare-hounds, 

 pointers, and perhaps some of the terriers. They seem to belong to the south-west 

 of Asia, the south of Europe, and to ancient Egypt. 



The third are the strong but active dogs, of which the earliest type is seen in the 

 ancient sculptures of hunts, in which the game was the wild boar, the bull, the stag, 

 &c. Of the correctness of making but one group of these dogs the author is not 

 confident, but some animals, apparently very distinct at first sight, are found to be- 

 long to it and to be very nearly related ; such are the greyhound, the bull dog, the 

 kangaroo dog, the mastiff, Dane, Dalmatian, &c. The clashing of the family tokens 

 of affinity and the technical characteristics of artificial classification was briefly no- 

 ticed, and some generalities regarding the probable production of a few well-known 

 and established varieties were suggested. The particular kind of Newfoundland dog, 

 so justly admired both for its appearance and its qualities, was referred to the union 

 of the Esquimaux dog with the chien dogue of the French, which, if the conjecture be 

 true, is not without interest and plausibility with regard to the ethnology of that 

 island. The origin of the spaniels and sky terriers was pointed out by analogous 

 characteristics. 



On the Stature of the Guanches, the extinct Inhabitants of the Canary 

 Islands. By Dr. Hodgkin. 



It is well known that prior to the discovery of the Canary Islands by the Spaniards 

 and their subsequent occupation by the Portuguese, these islands were inhabited by 

 a race of men of which not only many curious particulars are recorded, but indi- 

 vidual remains of the people themselves are preserved in their mummies, which at 

 one period were very numerous. 



By many of the historians who have written of these people, either from personal 

 observation, or so soon after the conquest that authentic information must have been 

 readily accessible to them, the Guanches are described as remarkable for their sta- 

 ture, their extraordinary agility and their great strength. Dr. Prichard, in his labo- 

 rious and admirable work, has, in speaking of the Guanches, adopted this description, 

 and Sabin Berthelot, who has written an interesting article on this people, which is 

 published in the 'Transactions of the Ethnological Society of Paris,' has mentioned 

 authorities and quoted remarkable passages which describe the ancient inhabitants of 

 the Canaries as possessing the qualities just mentioned. 



The casual observation of Guanche mummies had previously given Dr. Hodgkin so 

 very different an impression regarding the stature of this lost race, that his interest 

 and surprise were excited by these relations, and he was in consequence induced to 



1844. G 



