24 INTRODUCTION. 



three or more horns ; in Wallachia, with two only, but 

 those are long and spiral; and in Kamschatka they 

 have horns of an enormous length, but without being 

 spiral'^. In northern countries, the sheep are diminu- 

 tive ; but in temperate climates they arrive to a great 

 size and weight. In swine, the variations, in size at 

 least, are equally disproportionate. In England, the 

 hog has attained to the proportions of— length, 3 yards 

 8 inches ; height, 4| feet ; weight, 700 lbs. In China, 

 on the contrary, he measures from 18 to 20 inches in 

 height; and in some parts of India he is still smaller. 

 In Piedmont, swine are black ; in Bavaria, red ; and in 

 Normandy, white : and, as a further proof of the effect 

 of climate on them, it is observed that the breeds ori- 

 ginally removed to Cuba are become twice as large as 

 those first taken there. 



With these instances before us, we must, by analogy, 

 admit, in its full force, the agency of climate on the dog 

 also, in operating many of those extreme disproportions 

 in size, and variations in form and character, that we 

 meet with or know to exist. 



Domestication is a no less important agent in the 

 production of these numerous varieties in the dog. It 

 includes not only the restraint imposed on the animal 

 by man, but man also chooses his food, directs his 

 habits, and even regulates his sexual intercourse. These 

 restraints, judiciously employed, are called cultivation ; 

 and it is by these that the most important and beneficial 



■^ The three-horned sheep (ovis polycerta, LiN.), the spiral-horned 

 (ov. strepsicheros, LiN.), and the long-horned (capra ammon, Lin.), are 

 supposed by some naturalists to be distinct species ; nor are they 

 agreed relative to the origin of our domestic breeds: two or three 

 wild kinds have had this honour. Pallas, however, considers the 

 argali, found in the great mountains of Asia, as the original parents. 



