112 THE CANINE FAMILY 



have undergone, can fix species by such aid, con- 

 sistently with their o^vn argument, we do not pre- 

 tend to understand. In our view, however, which 

 leans, without at present adverting to wild species, 

 towards the conclusion that the domestic may be 

 derived from several distinct though slightly sepa- 

 rated canines, this resource is applicable ; and we 

 intend to adopt it to the extent our information will 

 permit. 



All canines, excepting in size, are surprisingly 

 similar in osteological structure and in their whole 

 anatomy. Even minor peculiarities are rare and 

 evanescent. Recourse has therefore been had to 

 the comparison of the bones of the head, where 

 the seat of the senses was most likely to give evi- 

 dence of different appetites, wants, and powers. 

 But even here, the skulls of the French matin dog, 

 the shepherd's dog, the new Holland dingo, and the 

 European wolf, differ less than the last mentioned 

 does from the American wolf; and the variation 

 that can be detected in the wild species is chiefly 

 in the teeth being more bulky than in the domestic. 



In order to illustrate this fact, we here subjoin a 

 series of views of skulls of different species and 

 varieties of these animals, seen from above and in 

 profile. Some are taken from F. Cuvier's plates, 

 others from nature ; and as it is not consistent with 

 the plan of this work to enter into a detached 

 anatomical discussion on the subject, the reader 

 will, it is hoped, find sufiicient evidence, even upon 

 a cursory inspection, to admit, that where the simi* 



