THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



231 



pocial existence seem to have emanated, has been 

 pointed out as the primitive ppecies of the whole 

 canine race. A jackal ( Cartis j/nthus, F. Cuv.) 

 is shown by Prolessor Kretschmer to resemble so 

 closeiv the antique carved and painied figures in 

 the Egyptian temples, and a ^kull taken liom 

 the catacombs of Lycopolis, that there scarcely 

 can be any doubt but that it is the type o( the 

 dogs of ancient Eijypt. Mr. .Bell, in his recent 

 work on liritish Quadrupeds, advocates the claims 

 of the woll' to be considered the progenitor of our 

 domesticated races ; and there are other modern 

 writers who concur with him in this opinion. 

 Colonel Hamilton Smith adduces numerous consi- 

 derations in opposition to this view, and concludes 

 by alTirming his belief, that "There are sutfi- 

 cient data to doubt the opinion thai the different 

 races of domestic dogs are all sprung from one 

 species, and, still more, that the wolf (Hzni's 

 lupus) was the sole parent in question ; on the 

 contrary, we are inclined to lean, for the present, 

 to the conjecture that several species, aborigine, 

 constructed with fiicuities to intermix, including 

 the wolf, the buansu, the anthus, the dingo, and 

 the jackal, were parents of domestic dogs. That 

 even the dhole or a thous may have been progeni- 

 tors of the grayhound races ; and that a lost, or 

 undiscovered species, allied to Canis tricolor or 

 Hycena venattca of Burchell was the source of 

 the short-muzzled and strong-jawed races of pri- 

 mitive mastiffs." — Vol. i. p. 104. 



Alter considering the general structure of the 

 canine family (co-extensive with the Linnaean 

 genus Canjs,) which is an extremely natural one, 

 the osteology and whole anatomy of the species 

 being surprisingly similar, the author first de- 

 scribes and figures the wolves, regarding which 

 he supplies much accurate and interesting infor- 

 mation. Lyciscan dogs (Gen. Lyciscus,) includ- 

 ing the Prairietwolf of North America (X. la- 

 trans,') and the Cay ijotte of Mexico (X. cagoiii's,) 

 as well as the red dogs {Chryseus,) next pass 

 under our review. The latter group compre- 

 hends the dholes, the Pariah dot?, and the New 

 Holland dingo. The dingo occurs in a wild state 

 all over Australia, but an inferior breed is par- 

 tially tamed and occasionally used for hunting 

 kangaroos and emus. These canines are entirely 

 mute, n£ither howling, barking, nor growlinu-. 

 They do not run like dogs, but carry the head 

 high, the ears erect and turned forward ; and we 

 are assured by Cunningham, that whenever do- 

 mestic dogs fall into their power, they aro. imme- 

 diately devoured. It has been usual to consider 

 ihis and other diurnal canines similarly circum- 

 stanced, as feral dogs (chien maron ofthe French,) 

 that is, dogs returned to a wild state after they or 

 their progenitors had been domesticated. Col. 

 Hamilton Smith is inclined to regard them as in 

 their aboriginal condition, since they indicate no 

 tendency to assume the distinctions to which, if 

 ihey were descended from wolves or jackals, they 

 must have returned. 



After alluding to the various names by which 

 jackals are domesticated in the east, the author 

 pives the following account of their manners :— 

 " They form a group of crepuscular and noctur- 

 nal canines, never voluntarily abroad before dusk, 

 and then hunting for prey during the whole nio-ht; 

 entering the streets of towns to seek for offals ; 

 robbtng the hen-roosts, entering out-houses, ex- ' 



amining doors and windows, feasting upon all 

 dressed vegetables and ill-secured provisions, 

 devouring all the carrion they find exposed, and 

 digging their way into sepulchres that are not 

 carefully protected against their activity and vo- 

 raciousness ; and, in the fruit season, in common 

 with foxes, seeking the vineyards, 'and /iuienin<r 

 upon grapes. 'Vhey cogirregale in great numbers^ 

 sometimes as many as 200 being lound locreiher- 

 and they howl so incessantly tiiat the antujyance 

 of their voices is the theme of numerous apolotrues 

 and tales in the literature of Asia. Their cry'^ig a 

 melancholy sound, beginninor the instant the sun 

 sets, and never ceasing till after it has risen. The 

 voice is uttered and responded to by all within 

 hearing, in a concert of every possible tone, from 

 a short hungry yelp to a prolonged crescendo cry, 

 .-ifeing octavo above octavo in the shrillness, and 

 mingled with dismal vvhinings, as of a human 

 43eingin»Jislress, Jackals retire to woody jungles 

 and rocky situations, or skulk about solitary 

 ^rardens, hide themselves in ruins, or burrow in 

 large communities. If by chance one of the 

 troop be attacked, all are on the watch, and, if 

 practicable with self-preservation, issue forth to 

 the rescue. The Indian wolf and hyfena occa- 

 sionally avail themselves of their burrows, but 

 while they occupy these retreats, they abstain 

 from hostility with their neighbors. In the Moslem 

 dominions ihey remain entirely unmolested, but 

 in British India they are occasionally coursed 

 with grayhounds, or hunted with fox-hoimds, and 

 having a strong scent, are readily run down, un- 

 less they can regain their earths, or mislea'd them 

 in thejungles. Nevertheless, when at bay, the 

 jackal fiijhts so desperately, and his snap is so se- 

 vere, that it is usual to have them destroyed by 

 terriers. They unite the cunning of foxes, and 

 the energy and combination distinguished in the 

 best trained dogs, with a tenacity of purpose 

 surpassing both. When overpowered by supe- 

 rior force, and resistance is vain, they affect to bo 

 slain, and be simulating death ; but if they be 

 thrown into the water while in this elate, they 

 swim immediately. They emit a ver)' offensive 

 smell, not totally obliterated even in a doiriestic 

 state, when they have been fed for a coneiderable 

 period on rice plantations, and other vegetables, 

 as is usually the practice with 'he native Indians, 

 Although, when in captivity, they know and will 

 follow their master, they are fiir from being tracta- 

 ble, or to be depended upon. They associate 

 readily with dogs, and hybrid offspring is not 

 uncommon ; nor is there a question that their 

 mules are not again prolific." — Vol- i. p. 210, 212. 

 It was loner a mistaken notion that the jackal 

 was in the habit of preceding the lion or tiger, 

 and by means of its superior powers of smell in- 

 dicating the spot where prey was to be obtained. 

 Had such been the fact, it would have formed a 

 singular exception to the general rule, for nature 

 appears to have implanted an innate hostility be- 

 tween the canine and feline tribes, which prevents 

 them ever standinj?, while in a state of na'ure, in 

 such friendly relations to each other. 'J'he truth 

 is, that the jackal does not precede, but follows 

 at a pafe distance, evincing his hostility by con- 

 tinually pursuintr lions and tigers during the night, 

 and announciniT their approach by a peculiar cry 

 of warning, to which no other animal is heard to 

 respond ; while at other times, the cry of one is 



