THE DOG KIND. 



311 



and the different races of dogs which are pro- 

 pagated in every country : and, in the first 

 place, if we examine those countries which are 

 still savage, or but half civilized, where it is 

 most probable the dog, like his master, has re- 

 ceived but few impressions from art, we shall 

 find the shepherd's dog, or one very lik- 1 him, 

 still prevailing amongst them. The dogs that 

 have run wild in America, and in Congo, ap- 

 proach this form. The dog of Siberia, Lap- 

 land, and Iceland, of the Cape of Good Hope, 

 of Madagascar, Madura, Calicut, and Malabar, 

 have all a long nose, pricked ears, and resem- 

 ble the shepherd's dog very nearly. In Guinea, 

 the dog very speedily takes this form ; for, at 

 the second or third generation, the animal for- 

 gets to bark, his ears and his tail become point- 

 ed, and his hair drops off, while a coarser, 

 thinner kind comes in the place. This sort of 

 dog is also to be found in the temperate cli- 

 mates in great abundance, particularly among 

 those who, preferring usefulness to beauty, \ 

 employ an animal that requires very little in- 

 struction to be serviceable. Notwithstanding 

 this creature's deformity, his melancholy and 

 savage air, he is superior to all the rest of his 

 kind in instinct; and without any teaching, 

 naturally takes to tending flocks, with an 

 assiduity and vigilance that at once astonishes, 

 and yet relieves his master. 



In more polished and civilized places, the 

 dog seems to partake of the universal refine- 

 ment ; and, like the men, becomes more beau- 

 tiful, more majestic, and more capable of 

 assuming an education foreign to his nature. 

 The dogs of Albany, of Greece, of Denmark, 

 and of Ireland, are larger and stronger than 

 those of any other kind. In France, Germany, 

 Spain, and Italy, the dogs are of various kinds, 

 like the men ; and this variety seems formed 

 by crossing the breed of such as are imported 

 from various climes. 



The shepherd's dog may, therefore, be con- 

 sidered as the primitive stock from whence 

 these varieties are all derived. He makes the 

 stem of that genealogical tree which has been 

 branched out into every part of the world. 

 This animal still continues pretty nearly in its 

 original state among the poor in temperate cli- 

 mates ; being transported into the colder 

 regions, he grows less and more ugly among 

 the Laplanders ; but becomes more perfect in 

 Iceland, Russia, and Siberia, where the climate 



is less rigorous, and the people more civilized. 

 Whatever differences there may be among the 

 dogs of these countries, they are not very con- 

 siderable, as they have all straight ears, long 

 and thick hair, a savage aspect, and do not 

 bark either so often or so loud as dogs of the 

 more cultivated kind. 



The shepherd's dog, transported into the 

 temperate climates, and among people entirely 

 civilized, such as England, France, and Ger- 

 many, will be divested of his savage air, his 

 pricked ears, his rough, long, and thick hair ; 

 and, from the single influence of climate and 

 food alone, will become either a matin, a mas- 

 tiff, or a hound. These three seem the imme- 

 diate descendants of the former ; and from 

 them the other varieties are produced. 



The HOUND, the HARRIER, and the BEAGLE, 

 seem all of the same kind ; for although the 

 bitch is covered but by one of them, yet in her 

 litters are found puppies resembling all the 

 three. This animal, transported into Spain or 

 Barbary, where the hair of all quadrupeds be- 

 come soft and long, will be there converted 

 into the land-spaniel, and the water-spaniel, 

 and these of different sizes. 



The GRAY MATIN HOUND, which is in the 

 second branch, transported to the north, be- 

 comes the great Danish dog ; and this, sent 

 into the south, becomes the gray-hound, of 

 different sizes. The same, transported into 

 Ireland, the Ukraine, Tartary, Epirus, and 

 Albania, becomes the great wolf-dog, known 

 by the name of the Irish wolf-dog. 



The MASTIFF, which is the third branch, and 

 chiefly a native of England, when transported 

 into Denmark, becomes the little Danish dog; 

 and this little Danish dog, sent into the tropical 

 and warm climates, becomes the animal called 

 the TURKISH DOG, without hair. All these 

 races, with their varieties, are produced by the 

 influence of climate, joined to the different 

 food, education, and shelter, which they have 

 received among mankind. All other kinds 

 may be considered as mongrel races, produced 

 by the concurrence of these, and found rather 

 by crossing the breed than by attending to the 

 individual. " As these are extremely numer- 

 ous, and very different in different countries, 

 it would be almost endless to mention the 

 whole ; besides, nothing but experience can 

 ascertain the reality of these conjectures, 

 although they have so much the appearance of 



