55 2 THE CARNIVORES 



relates a case where a poodle, having on one occasion conducted his master to- 

 the larder, and been rewarded with a piece of meat, essayed to lead him again to the 

 same spot. Being baffled in this attempt, the dog thereupon took up his master's 

 hat, with which he proceeded to the larder, and lay down beneath the shelf on 

 which was placed the coveted joint. 



This dog may be compared to a diminutive Skye terrier, and should 

 Maltese Dog not exceed some fi ve or s i x pounds in weight. It has a short body and 

 is covered with very long and silky hair, which is of a uniform semitransparent 

 white color, the tail being thickly haired and carried tightly curled over the back. 

 The nose and roof of the mouth are black, and the hair of the moderately long ears, 

 as in other terriers, mingles with that of the neck. 



The Mexican lap-dog is also pure white in color, but with a flesh- 

 Mexican colored nose. The hair on the head and body is moderately long and 

 >OS curly, but that of the rather short tail longer and straighter. The ears 

 are small and not pendent, and the head rounded, with the brown eyes widely sep- 

 arated from one another. An apparently adult specimen of this diminutive breed 

 preserved in the British Museum measures only 7.1 inches from the tip of the nose 

 to the root of the tail. 



ASIATIC WILD DOGS (Cants alpinus, deccanensis, etc.) 



With the Siberian wild dog (C. alpinus} we revert to the consideration of the 

 wild members of the Canidce. It belongs to a small group of Asiatic species, distin- 

 guished from other representatives of Canis by the loss of the last molar tooth on 

 each side of the lower jaw, so that the total number of teeth is forty instead of forty- 

 two. The group is further distinguished by the shorter muzzle and the slightly 

 convex profile of the face. On account of these and certain other points of difference 

 more especially the presence of either twelve or fourteen teats, instead of the us- 

 ual ten these species are frequently referred to a distinct genus, under the name of 

 Cyan. Another distinctive feature of these animals is the presence of long hairs be- 

 tween the pads of the feet. The whole of these dogs are in the habit of hunting in 

 large packs, and are noticeable on account of their courage and handsome appear- 

 ance ; the tail being bushy and equal in length -to about half the head and body. 

 Since there is no doubt that they are not the ancestral stock of any of the domestic 

 dogs, the name ' ' wild dog " is to a certain degree a misnomer. 



This species is an inhabitant of Northern Asia, extending from the 

 Siberian Wild ,. , .. , .. . , * 



D country from which it derives its name, at least as far southward as 



the Altai mountains, and probably still further. It may be dis- 

 tinguished from the following species by the circumstance that its molar teeth, es- 

 pecially those of the upper jaw, are of larger size. Like its southern cousin, the 

 Siberian wild dog is subject to seasonal and individual variations in the color of its 

 fur. In summer it seems to be generally of a foxy-red color, becoming darker on 

 the back and lighter on the under parts and the inner surfaces of the limbs. There 

 are, however, two skins in the British Museum characterized by their long and 



