INTRODUCTION. 15 



of the present age, a more extensive knowledge of com- 

 parative anatomy greatly assists them in methodising 

 and arranging their subjects; for that which was for- 

 merly referred to exterior form only, or an imperfect 

 acquaintance with habits and manners, is now subjected 

 to the scrutiny of internal organization, and to the phy- 

 siological deductions springing therefrom. Although 

 we must still be content to draw many of our conclu- 

 sions in the interesting study of natural history from 

 analogy and probability, yet we are principally taught 

 by our observations on the invariable construction of 

 certain parts of the body, of which the bony portions 

 are subject to the fewest variations by all the efforts of 

 art ^ With these aids, I shall attempt to examine the 

 various opinions detailed above ; and I propose to in- 

 quire, first, what claim each of the individuals, classed 

 with the dog in the canine genus, as the wolf, fox, and 

 jackal, has to the rank of being his primogenitor and 

 parent. In the next place, I would endeavour to inves- 

 tigate whether it is more probable that his origin is al- 

 together spurious, and derived from prolific intercourse 

 between different members of this genus. 



If we attentively examine the Wolf, we shall find that 

 he varies very considerably from the dog, in form, as 

 well as in habits and manners. The whole osteology of 

 his head presents a more angular mass. The auditory 



6 The bones are not, however, wholly unaffected by a life of art, 

 as we witness in the altered form of those composing the head of the 

 bull-dog, pug, greyhound, and some others. The coccygal bones 

 may also be artificially altered, as is observed in some breeds, par- 

 ticularly of sheep dogs, who are, many of them, born without tails, 

 or with a very short one only. The teeth, however, as parts of the 

 bony structure, may be still implicitly relied on ; for these, I believe, 

 under every change of circumstance, remain invariably the same, 

 and become, therefore, our safest criteria. 



