146 FLESH-EATERS OF THE LAND 



In addition to its uses in chewing and swallowing, the Dog's 

 tongue acts as a cooler and sweater. 



In marked difference to the cats, the Dogs are very 

 gregarious, collecting in packs for the joint hunting of 

 their prey. They are more intelligent than any other of 

 the Carnivora, and practically all of them are tamable, 

 though in varying degrees. 



DOG (Cam's familiaris). 

 Plates XI. and XII. 



The Domestic Dog has been from time immemorial the 

 friend and companion of man ; yet its original stock still 

 remains a matter of considerable doubt, since, excepting 

 the wolf and the jackal, we know of no wild beast to which 

 we can refer with anything like certainty as its primeval 

 ancestor. Naturalists, however, incline to the belief that 

 the Dog owes its origin to the wolf or the jackal, or both 

 together. 



The Dog is commonly mentioned in the Bible, but 

 always in terms of disparagement or contempt. Dogs were 

 domesticated and tolerated around houses only because 

 they were considered useful as scavengers. At this day, 

 every town, from the greatest to the least, in Palestine 

 swarms with lazy filthy curs that impede pedestrians in the 

 daytime and howl hideously throughout the night. Doubt- 

 less the life which the Dog leads in the East tends to make 

 it mean-spirited and greedy, and being a constant devourer 

 of offal renders it impossible as a pet. 



Of the domestic Dog there are so many varieties, and 

 their forms are so diverse in shape and size, that if half of 

 them were described they would occupy the entire volume. 

 The outstanding feature of the Dog is the creature's affection 

 and intelligence, and thousands of instances could be given 

 where training, added to natural instinct and reason, place 

 the ' friend of man' in the very forefront of the brute creation. 



Of our own Domestic Dogs there is a long series of 

 animals, ranging from the Mastiff, attaining a height of as 

 much as thirty-three inches at the shoulder and a weight of 



