INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



The definition, therefore, of Cams /ami liar is cauda [sinistrorsum) re- 

 curvatd, will not serve to separate the species from the others of the 

 genus Caiiis, as proposed by the Swedish naturalist. 



HABITAT. 



In almost every climate the dog: is to be met with, from Kamt- 

 schatka to Cape Horn, the chief exception being some of the 

 islands in the Pacific Ocean ; but it is only in the temperate zone 

 that he is to be found in perfection, the courage of the bulldog 

 and the speed of the greyhound soon degenerating in tropical 

 countries. In China and the Society Islands dogs are eaten, being 

 considered great delicacies, and by the ancients the flesh of a young 

 fat dog was highly prized, Hippocrates even describing that of an 

 adult as wholesome and nourishing. In a state of nature the dog 

 is compelled to live on flesh which he obtains by hunting, and 

 hence he is classed among the Carnivora ; but when domesticated 

 he will live upon vegetable substances alone, such as oatmeal 

 porridge, or bread made from any of the cereals, but thrives best 

 upon a mixed diet of vegetable and animal substances; and, indeed, 

 the formation of his teeth is such as to lead us to suppose that by 

 nature he is intended for it, as we shall hereafter find in discussing 

 his anatomical structure. 



