INTRODUCTION'. 17 



lines of distinction, if not altogether so strong, yet suf- 

 ficiently legible, to separate him specifically from the 

 dog. In the anatomical arrangement of his bones, in 

 the approximation of his eyes, and the formation of his 

 caecum, the same variations occur as in the wolf, but 

 they are less strongly marked. The extreme foetid odour 

 of his urine is one of his strongest characteristics, and 

 accompanies him through all the varieties produced 

 (which, as he is an inhabitant of almost every coun- 

 try, are sufficiently numerous); and is so peculiarly vul- 

 pine, that it is not, I believe, imparted even to his 

 bastard progeny *. Possessing in every country a mark- 

 ed outline, he cannot be easily mistaken : he is always 

 solitary, never barks, but has a peculiar whine, and, 

 in all the modulations of his voice, he is totally unlike 

 the dog. 



That the Jackal is the source from whence the dog is 

 derived, it has already been stated, attempts have been 

 made to prove, by authorities of no mean note ; and 

 in candour it must be allowed, that the reasons assigned 

 give this opinion much more weight than that which 

 has traced his genealogy to the wolf or fox. The 

 striking resemblance between the general assemblage of 

 the bones of the two animals, and between their teeth in 

 particular; the similarity of their caeca, and of the 

 whole alimentary canal; are all important and argumen- 

 tative facts. — There are still, however, sufficient proofs 



^ If the animal produced between the dog and fox possesses no 

 foetor in his urine, which I believe is the case, it is a strong proof that 

 nature has drawn an inseparable line between their organs. — It is 

 remarkable, that Buffon shonld have taken so much pains to prove 

 that the dog will not breed with the fox. The connexion is, I be- 

 lieve, never sought, but it sometimes does occur, and progeny 

 follow. 



