542 PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. [BookX. 



but one, while the acanthis, 41 a very small bird, produces 

 twelve. Those animals, also, which are the most prolific, are 

 the shortest time in breeding. The larger an animal is, the 

 longer is the time required for its formation in the womb ; 

 those, also, which are the longest -lived, require the longest 

 gestation ; the growing age, too, is not suitable for the purposes 

 of generation. Those animals which have solid hoofs bear but 

 a single young one, while those which have cloven hoofs bear 

 two. Those, again, whose feet are divided into toes, have a 

 still more numerous offspring ; but, while the others bring 

 forth their young perfect, these last bear them in an unformed 

 state, such, for instance, as the lioness and the she-bear. The 

 fox also brings forth its young in an even more imperfect state 

 than these ; it is a very uncommon thing, however, to find it 

 whelping. After the birth, these animals warm their young 

 by licking them, and thereby give them their proper shape ; 

 they mostly produce four at a birth. 



The dog, the wolf, the panther, and the jackal produce their 

 young blind. There are several kinds of dogs ; those of 

 Laconia, 42 of both sexes, are ready for breeding in the eighth 

 month, and the females carry their young sixty or sixty-three 

 days at most ; other dogs are fit for breeding when only six 

 months old ; the female, in all cases, becomes pregnant at the 

 first congress. Those which have conceived before the proper 

 age, bear pups which are longer blind, though not all the 

 same number of days. It is thought that dogs, in general, 

 lift the leg when they water at six months old ; this, too, is 

 looked upon as a sign that they have attained their full growth 

 and strength ; when doing this, the female squats. The most 

 numerous litters known consist of twelve, but more generally 

 five or six is the number ; sometimes, indeed, only one is pro- 

 duced, but then it is looked upon as a prodigy, and the same 

 is the case, too, when all the pups are of one sex. In the dog, the 

 males come into the world first, but in other animals, the two 

 sexes are born alternately. The female admits the male again 

 six months after she has littered. Those of the Laconian breed 

 bear eight young ones. It is a peculiarity in this kind, that 

 after undergoing great labour, the males are remarkable for 

 their salacity. In the Laconian breed the male lives ten 



41 Probably the goldfinch. 42 A kind of large hound. 



