

INTRODUCTION. 



(THE whole group of animals to the Natural History of which this 

 volume is devoted, may possess an interest for many readers who are 

 not zoologists, as well as for men of science.; "There is no animal which 

 has been from such ancient times so closely associated with man as the 

 Dog, or one which now holds so high a place in his affection and 

 esteem. The habits and modes of life of various wild Canine species 

 present interesting analogies with those of our domestic breeds, instinc- 

 tively associating as they do in packs, and jointly pursuing a prey which 

 would escape or defy them if pursued singly. Curious abnormalities 

 of structure have also been occasionally observed which seem to thro\v 

 light on the origin of . very exceptional characters possessed by certain 

 domestic breeds. Such facts may also suggest a hope of our discovering 

 what was the first origin of the Domestic Dog, but as yet that problem 

 seems to us insoluble. Yet, however insoluble it may be, one thing is 

 certain : either, in a very brief period (geologically speaking) descend- 

 ants of the same stock have become extraordinarily diversified in form 

 and habit, or the blended offspring of species ^originally distinct have 

 commingled to form one universally prolific race. Each of these alter- 

 natives is full of interest and highly suggestive. But to the zoologist 

 the group of the Dogs is especially interesting, both on account of the 

 remarkable divergence of its members from all those other animals to 

 which they are most nearly allied, and also because of their close struc- 

 tural agreement one with another. 



All the various kinds and varieties of Dogs, Jackals, Wolves, and 

 Foxes which now exist are considered by naturalists to form one natural 



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