CARNARIA. 91 



C. familiaris, L. (The Domestic Dog). Distinguished by his 

 recurved tail, otherwise varying infinitely, as to size, form, colour, 

 and quality of the hair. He is the most complete, singular, and use- 

 ful conquest ever made by man ; the whole species has become his 

 property ; each individual is devoted to his particular master, assumes 

 liis manners, knows and defends his possessions, and remains his 

 true and faithful friend till death ; and all this, neither from con- 

 straint nor want, but solely from the purest gratitude and the truest 

 friendship. The swiftness, strength, aiul scent of the Dog have ren- 

 dered him man's powerful ally against all other animals, and were 

 even, perhaps, necessary to the establishment of society. Of all 

 animals, he is the only one which has followed man through every 

 region of the globe. 



Some naturalists think the Dog is a Wolf, and others, that he is a 

 domesticated Jackall; and yet, those dogs which have become wild 

 again in desert islands resemble neither the one nor the other. The 

 wild dogs, and those that belong to savages, such as the inhabitants 

 of New Holland, have straight ears, which has occasioned a belief 

 that the European races which approach the most to the original 

 type, are the Shepherd's Dog and Wolf Doc/; but the comparison of 

 the crania indicates a closer affinity in the Mastiff and Danish Dog, 

 subsequently to which come the Hound, the Pointer, and the Ter- 

 rier, differing between themselves only in size and the proportions of 

 the limbs. The Greyhound is longer and more lank, its frontal si- 

 nuses are smaller, and its scent weaker. The Shepherd's Dog and 

 the Wolf Dog resume the straight ears of the wild ones, but with a 

 greater cerebral developement, which continues to increase together 

 with the intelligence in the Barhet and the Spaniel. The Bull Dog, 

 on the other hand, is remarkable for the shortness and strength of 

 his jaws. The small pet-dogs, the Pugs, Spaniels, Shocks, &c., are 

 the most degenerate productions, and exhibit the most striking marks 

 of that power to which man subjects all nature*. 



The dog is born with his eyes closed ; he opens them on the tenth 

 or twelfth day ; his teeth commence changing in the fourth month, 

 and his full growth is attained at the expiration of the second year. 

 The period of gestation is sixty-three days, and from six to twelve 

 pups are produced at a birth. The dog is old at fifteen years, and 

 seldom lives beyond twenty. His vigilance, bark, singular mode of 

 copulation, and susceptibility of education, are well known to every 

 one. 



C. lupus, L.; BufF. Vll.i. (The Wolf). A large species, with 

 a straight tail ; legs fawn-coloured, with a black stripe on the fore- 

 legs when adult^ ; the most mischievous of all the carnaria of Eu- 

 rope. It is found from Egypt to Lapland, and appears to have pass- 

 ed into America. Towards the north, in winter, its fur becomes 

 white. It attacks all our animals, yet does not exhibit a courage 

 proportioned to its strength. It often feeds on carrion. Its habits 

 and physical developement are closely related to those of the dog. 



• See Fr. Cuv. Ann. Mas. XVIII. p. 333, et scq. 



t This stripe is more or less strongly marked on the .Jackall. Mexican Wolf, &c. 



