Peculiar Variation. 15 



acting the part of horses as beasts of burden ; all more or 

 less domesticated. Did they spring from the same stock ? 

 At this juncture all information appears to come to an end, 

 and the origin of the dog, the shepherd's dog in particular, 

 is as far off being found as ever. 



Although Darwin considers the dog to be descended 

 from several wild species, he cannot believe that animals 

 closely resembling the Italian greyhound, the bloodhound, 

 the bulldog, pug dog, Blenheim spaniel, &c., so unlike all 

 wild canidde, ever existed in a state of nature. In their 

 production the great scientist says, "there has been an 

 immense amount of inherited variation," but he is not very 

 explicit as to the manner in which this was brought about. 

 Personally, I see little difficulty in producing a variety 

 given proper crosses, and say fifteen or twenty years time 

 in which to work. Darwin thinks the possibility of making 

 distinct races by crossing has been greatly exaggerated. 



During the past quarter of a century extraordinary pro- 

 gress has been made in the matter of breeding to type in 

 dogs and in other animals. The various toy spaniels, 

 including the King Charles and the Blenheims, are very 

 different in appearance, and especially in the shape of their 

 heads and their faces, from what they were a generation 

 past. The bulldogs the same, and to a smaller degree the 

 change is noted in other varieties. This appears to have 

 been brought about gradually, and in the first instance, 

 accidentally almost and without any particular object in 

 view. Later the exhibition of dogs caused even greater 

 variation. Owners by mere chance in breeding have had 

 produced to them a dog with one particular point 

 enormously exaggerated; this has proved attractive, so the 

 breeder has continued to, as it were, manufacture by 



