248 PRINCIPLES OF STOCK-BREEDING. 



" If you look to the descriptions and illustrations 

 of these two hybrids, you will perceive at a glance 

 that the doubt arises" to the mind in the case of the 

 first, ' What genus of wolf is this ? ' whereas, in the 

 case of the second, ' "What a curious mongrel dog / J " ' 



If this statement of the relative influence of the 

 parents, in the case of a cross between the wolf and 

 the dog, could be made to agree with known facts, it 

 would furnish a very strong argument in favor of the 

 half-and-half theory. 



Buffon, however, mentions " the very conclusive 

 case of a she-wolf which had two cubs, a male and 

 a female, to a setter-dog. The male resembled the 

 father in external appearance, except that the ears 

 were pointed, and the tail like that of the wolf ; the 

 female resembled the mother, and had all her charac- 

 teristics, with the exception of the tail, which was 

 that of the dog." The same author informs us that 

 " the produce of a dog and a slie-wolf sometimes bark 

 and sometimes howl ; and the produce of a bitch-fox 

 and a dog, according to Burdach, barked like a dog, 

 though somewhat hoarsely, and howled like a wolf 

 when it was hurt. A similar remark has been made 

 by all who have attended to cross-breeding in birds ; 

 the hybrid of the goldfinch and the canary has the 

 song of the goldfinch, mingled with occasional notes 

 of the canary, which seem perpetually about to gain 

 the predominance." * 



On the whole, it must be admitted that the evi- 



1 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. xvi., p. 44 ; 

 Goodale's " Principles of Breeding," p. 78. 



8 Journal of the Highland Agricultural Society, 1857-'59, p. 22. 



