INTRODUCTION. 85 



sive generations, of looking forwards to their master 

 and obeying his voice/' 



This extract, taken from the Penny CyclopaBdia, 

 where it appears as a quotation, is then followed up 

 by a paragraph not clearly pointed out as being in 

 continuation, though the diction seems to be that of 

 the same writer ; it is as follows : — " Another crite- 

 rion, and a sound one, is the identity of gestation. 

 Sixty-three days forms the period during which the 

 bitch goes with young; precisely the same time 

 elapses before the wolf gives birth to her offspring. 

 Upon Buffons instance of seventy-three days, or 

 rather the possibility of such a duration in the ges- 

 tation of a particular she- wolf, we do not lay much 

 stress, when opposed to such strong evidence of the 

 usual period being sixty-three days ; the young of 

 both wolf and dog are bom blind, and at the same 

 or about the same time, viz. at the expiration of the 

 tenth or twelfth day. Hunter s important experi- 

 ments proved without doubt that the wolf and the 

 jackal would breed with the dog, but he had not 

 sufficient data for coming to the conclusion that all 

 three were identical as species. In the course of 

 those experiments he ascertained that the jackal 

 went fifty-nine days with young, whilst the wolf 

 went sixty-three ; nor does he record that the pro- 

 geny and the dog would breed together; and he 

 knew too well the value of the argument to be 

 drawn from a fertile progeny, not to have dwelt 

 upon the fact, if he had proved it; not to have 

 mentioned it, at least, if he had even heard it." 



