DOG KIND. 27 



the dog killed the wolf, who was become more 

 weak and feeble ; and he was soon after himself 

 obliged to be killed, for upon being set at liber- 

 ty he instantly flew upon every animal he met, 

 fowls, dogs, and even men themselves, not escap- 

 ing his savage fury. 



The same experiment was tried upon foxes, 

 taken young, but with no better success ; they 

 were never found to engender with dogs; and 

 our learned naturalist seems to be of opinion, 

 that their natures are too opposite ever to pro- 

 voke mutual desire. One thing, however, must 

 be remarked, that the animals on which he tried 

 his experiments were rather too old when taken, 

 and had partly acquired their natural savage 

 appetites, before they came into his possession. 

 The wolf, as he acknowledges, was two or three 

 months old before it was caught, and the foxes 

 were taken in traps. It may, therefore, be easily 

 supposed, that nothing could ever after thorough- 

 ly tame those creatures, that had been suckled in 

 the wild state, and had caught all the habitudes 

 of the dam. I have seen these animals, when 

 taken earlier in the woods, become very tame ; 

 and, indeed, they rather were displeasing by be- 

 ing too familiar than too shy. It were to be 

 wished that the experiment were tried upon such 

 as these ; and it is more than probable that it 

 would produce the desired success. Neverthe- 

 less, these experiments are sufficient to prove 

 that neither the wolf nor the fox are of the same 

 nature with the dog, but each of a species per- 



