308 



ANIMALS OF 



tinctions also ; as in the intestines, which are 

 much longer in the dog kind, than in those of 

 the cat ; the eye is not formed for night vision ; 

 and the olfactory nerves are diffused, in the 

 dog kinds, upon a very extensive membrane 

 within the skull. 



If we compare the natural habitudes of this 

 class with the former, we shall find that the 

 dog kinds are not so solitary as those of the cat, 

 but love to hunt in company, and encourage 

 each other with their mutual cries. In this 

 manner the dog and the jackal pursue their 

 prey; and the wolf and fox, which are of this 

 kind, though more solitary and silent among 

 us, yet, in countries where less persecuted, and 

 where they can more fearlessly display th-jir 

 natural inclinations, they are found to keep 

 together in packs, and pursue their game with 

 alternate howlings. 



Animals of the dog kind want some of the 

 advantages of the cat kind, and yet are possess- 

 ed of others in which the latter are deficient. 

 Upon observing their claws, is will easily be 

 perceived that they cannot, like cats, pursue 

 their prey up the sides of a tree, and continue 

 the chase among the branches ; their unma- 

 nageable claws cannot stick in the bark, and 

 thus support the body up along the trunk, as 

 we see the cat very easily perform : whenever, 

 therefore, their prey flies up a tree from them, 

 they can only follow it with their eyes, or 

 watch its motions till hunger again brings it 

 to the ground. For this reason, the proper 

 prey of the dog kind, are only those animals, 

 that, like themselves, are unfitted for climbing; 

 the hare, the rabbit, the gazelle, or the roe- 

 buck. 



As they are, in this respect, inferior to the 

 cat, so they exceed it in the sense of smelling; 

 by which alone they pursue their prey with 

 certainty of success, wind it through all its 

 mazes, and tire it down by perseverance. It 

 often happens, however, in the savage state, 

 that their prey is either too much diaiinished, 

 or two wary to serve for a sufficient supply. 

 In this case, when driven to an extremity, all 

 the dog kinds can live for some time upon 

 fruits and vegetables, which, if they do not 

 please the appetite, at least serve to appease 

 their hunger. 



Of all this tribe, the dog has every reason to 

 claim the preference, being the most intelligent 

 f all known quadrupeds, and the acknow- 



ledged friend of mankind. The dog," inde- 

 pendent of the beauty of his form, his vivacity, 

 force, and swiftness, is possessed of all those 

 internal qualifications that can conciliate the 

 affections of man, and make the tyrant a pro- 

 tector. A natural share of courage, an angry 

 and ferocious disposition, renders the dog, in 

 its savage state, a formidable enemy to all 

 other animals : but these readily give way to 

 very different qualities in the domestic dog, 

 whose only ambition seems the desire to please; 

 he is seen to come crouching along, to lay his 

 force, his courage, and all his useful talents, at. 

 the feet of his master ; he waits his orders, to 

 which he pays implicit obedience ; he consults 

 his looks, and a single glance is sufficient to 

 put him in motion ; he is more faithful even 

 than the most boasted among men ; he is con- 

 stant in his affections, friendly without interest, 

 and grateful for the slightest favours ; much 

 more mindful of benefits received, than injuries 

 offered, he is not driven off by unkindness ; he 

 still continues humble, submissive, and im- 

 ploring ; his only hope to be serviceable, his 

 only terror to displease; he licks the hand 

 that has been just lifted to strike him, and at 

 last disarms resentment, by submissive per- 

 severance. 



More docile than man, more obedient than 

 any other animal, he is not only instructed in 

 a short time, but he also conforms to the dis- 

 positions and the manners of those who com- 

 mand him. He takes his tone from the house 

 he inhabits ; like the rest of the domestics, he 

 is disdainful among the great, and churlish 

 among clowns. Always assiduous in serving 

 his master, and only a friend to his friends, he 

 is indifferent to all the rest, and declares him- 

 self openly against such as seem to be depend- 

 ent like himself. He knows a beggar by his 

 clothes, by his voice, or his gestures, and for- 

 bids his approach. When at night the guard 

 of the house is committed to his care, he seems 

 proud of the charge ; he continues a watchful 

 sentinel, he goes his rounds, scents strangers 

 at a distance, and gives them warning of his 

 being upon duty. If they attempt to break in 

 upon his territories, he becomes more fierce, 

 flies at them, threatens, fights, and either con- 

 quers alone, or alarms those who have most 



a The rest of this description of the dog is taken from 

 Mr. Buffoii ; what I have added, is marked as before. 



