NATURAL HTSTOK.*, 



Th' amphibious otter bold, the weasel sly, 



Pilfering the yolk from its enclosing she'll." DODSLEY. 



252. Why do otters, when, hunting for fish, always swim 

 against the stream? 



Because fishes,, when reposing or waiting for food, have their 

 heads up the water ; and thus the other can come upon them 

 and capture them, unawares. 



Another reason is, thai as otters return to the neighbourhood of 

 their burrow with the fish they have captured, they can more 

 easily do so by swimming with their burthen in the direction 

 x#f the stream. 



253. Wliat are the points of similarity and difference between 

 the dog and the wo//, to which animal the origin, of the dog is 

 attributed ? 



The skeleton of the wolf does not differ materially from that of 

 the dog more than that of the different kinds of dogs vary ; the 

 cranium is similar, and they agree in nearly all the other essential 

 points ; the dog and wolf will readily breed with each other, and 

 their progeny thus obtained will again mingle with the dog. The 

 most prominent circumstance which marks a decided difference 

 between the two animals is the eye : this organ in the dog of every 

 country and species has a circular pupil ; but the position or form 

 of the pupil in the wolf is oblique. It should also be remembered 

 that in every part of the globe in which the wolf is found, a 

 peculiar setting on of the curve of the tail, and a singularity of 

 voice, cannot fail of being observed ; to which may be added, that 

 the dog exists in every latitude and in every climate, while the 

 habitation of the wok' is confined to certain parts of the globe. 



254. There is, also, a marked difference in the temper and habits of the two. The 

 dog is, generally speaking, easily manageable, but nothing will, in the majority ot 

 cases, render the wolf moderately tractable. There are, however, exceptions to this. 

 M. F. Cuvier gives an account of a young wolf who followed his master everywhere, 

 and showed a degree of affection and submission scarcely inferior to the domesti- 

 cated dog. His master being unavoidably absent, he was sent to the menagerie, 

 where he pined for his loss, and would scarcely take any food for a considerable 

 time. At length, however, he attached himself to his keepers, and appeared to 

 have forgotten his former associate. At the expiration of eighteen months his 



