40 



Quadrupeds. 



THE WOLF, (Canis Lupus,) 



WHEN hungry, is an undaunted and most ferocious inha- 

 bitant of the woods, but a coward when the stimulus of 

 appetite is no longer in action. He delights to roam in 

 mountainous countries, and is a great enemy to sheep and 

 goats ; the watchfulness of dogs can hardly prevent his 

 depredations, and he often dares to visit the haunts of 

 men, howling at the gates of cities and towns. His head 

 and neck are of a cinereous colour, and the rest of a pale 

 yellowish brown. He commonly lives to the age of 

 fifteen or twenty years. He possesses a most exquisite 

 power of smelling his prey at a great distance. Wolves 

 are found nearly everywhere, except in the British islands, 

 where this noxious race has been entirely extirpated. 

 King Edgar first attempted to effect this by remitting the 

 punishment of certain crimes on producing a number of 

 Wolves' tongues; and in Wales, the tax of gold and 

 silver was commuted for an annual tribute of Wolves' 

 heads. In the reign of Athelstan, Wolves abounded so 



