246 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[October 1, 1897. 



the indigenous wild Caniclo'. of the aame district, there can 

 be little doubt that t'anis familinrin has a multiple origin, 

 and that man has tamed various wild races at different 

 times in different parts of the globe. And it will be obvious 

 that where the domestication has taken place in very 

 remote ages, and there has been much subsequent mingling 

 and shifting of population, the resemblance to the wild 

 race will be the least marked. Oq the other hand, where 

 the taming has been comparatively recent, where there 

 has been no shifting of population, or where the original 

 breed was best adapted to the needs of its masters, then 

 the resemblance to the original stock will be most likely to 

 persist longest. 



To give a few instances. The late Edward P.lyth was 

 much struck with the marked resemblance between many 

 of the ladiau pariah dogs and the wolf of the same country 

 — a resemblance to which I can testify from my own 

 experience. In many parts of Europe the wolf-doga and 

 sheep-dogs are remarkably like the races of wolves 

 inhabiting the same districts ; and the black Florida wolf- 

 dog is strikingly similar to the black wolf of that country. 

 Sheep-dogs may therefore be included among the breeds 

 which are descended from wolves, and are some of those 

 which have undergone the least amount of modifioatidn 

 from the pareftt type. On the other hand, when we 

 proceed to South-Eastern Europe and the South of Asia, we 

 meet with breeds of dogs so like the jackals of the same 

 districts that it is hard to believe they are not very closely 

 related. South Africa is the home of that very peculiar 

 species the black-backed jackal, and in many districts dogs 

 are to be met with showing a marked resemblance in form 

 and coloration to that species, although having lost the 

 deep black patch on the back from which it takes its name. 

 It has also been noticed that certain domesticated breeds 

 in South Americi are so like the Canis azarie of the same 

 region as to lead to the belief that the one is the 

 descendant of the other. 



From these and other considerations Darwin was led to 

 the following conclusion : — " It is highly probable that the 

 domestic dogs of the world are defcended from two well- 

 defined species of wolf, namely, ( '. /»y;»s and C. latrans, 

 and from two or three other doubtful species, namely, the 

 European, Indian, and North African wolves; from at 

 least one or two South Americin canine species ; from 

 several races or species of jackal ; and perhaps from one 

 or more extinct species." 



In all the above-mentioned instances the domesticated 

 breeds belong either to half-savage races, or are those 

 vihich, like wolf-dogs, sheep-dogs, and pariah dogs, have 

 departed but little from the original wolf or jackal type. 

 lu some cases we have seen these breeds are kept true by 

 crossing with the original stock, and several of them may 

 be comparatively modern. Such breeds throw no light 

 on the origin of the more specialized domesticated varieties, 

 such as mastiffs, spaniels, hounds, and terriers, all of 

 which are quite unlike any wild species, and have evidently 

 undergone a long course of modification, dating back in 

 some cases for hundreds if not thousands of years. To 

 trace the pedigree of such breeds is probably quite im- 

 possible, although the investigations of archreologists and 

 paleontologists are most important in proving the extreme 

 antiquity of the domestication of the dog. Ancient 

 monuments show that at a very early period domestic dogs 

 were differentiated into two very distinct breeds, namely, 

 those which hunt by scent like hounds, and those which, 

 like greyhounds, depend upon sight in the chase ; and 

 ■when once these were established further modifications 

 would doubtless have soon arisen if attention was paid to 

 breeding. Many of these breeds and varieties were 



doubtless produced by crossing those derived from different 

 wild species, by which means all trace of the original 

 ancestry would gradually have been lost. 



lathe Rjman period not only were sight-hounds and 

 scent-bounds fully dilferentiated, but there were also 

 various kinds of lapdogs and house-dogs, although none 

 quite like our modern breeds. Even as far back as about 

 3000 B c. Egyptian frescoes show not only greyhound-like 

 breeds, but one with drooping ears like a hound, and a 

 third which has been compared to the modern turnspit ; 

 while house-doa;s and lapdogs came in soon afterwards. 

 Whether any of these are the direct ancestors of modern 

 breeds, or whether all such have baen produced by 

 subsequent crossing, is a very difficult question to answer, 

 more especially when we recollect tliat if an ancient 

 Egyptian artist had to draw the portrait of a modern dog 

 it would ba very doubtful whether it wotld be recognized 

 by its master or mistress. 



But the record of the antiquity of domestieati^d dogs 

 does not even stop with the earliest known Ejyptiin 

 montments. Not only were such breeds known in Europe 

 durin^ the iron and bronze ages, but also during tbe 

 antecedent Neolithic or polished stone period. Thess 

 have been described by Profs. I^itimeyer and Woldrich, 

 and those who are acquainted with the difficulty of dis- 

 tin^tuishing between some of the living species by their 

 skulls a'one will understand the laborious nature of the 

 task. Still these authorities appmr to have mide out that 

 the Swiss Neolithic dog [Canis palustris) had certain 

 cranial resemblances to both hounds and spaniels, and 

 thus indicated an advanced type, which is considered to 

 have been derived from neither wolves nor jackals, but from 

 some species now extinct. Two other breeds have also 

 been recognized from the superficial deposits of the 

 Continent; and if, as is very likely to ba the case, any or 

 all of these races are the forerunners of some of the 

 modern breeds, it will readily be understood how complex 

 is the origin of the mixed group which we now call Cunis 

 familiark. Even in South America there is evidence of 

 the great antiquity of domestic dogs, for I have described 

 a skull from the superficial deposits of Buenos Aires which, 

 though apparently contemporaneoits with many of the 

 wonderful extinct mammals of the Pampas, yet shows 

 unmistakable signs of affinity with domesticated breed.j, 

 although the precise relationship has not yet been 

 established. 



Perhaps, however, the greatest puzzle in the group is 

 the dingo, or native dog of Australia, which has been 

 regarded as a distinct species, under the name of Canis 

 diiuio, and is found both in the wild condition and also in 

 a semi domesticated state among the natives. In appear- 

 ance it is somewhat like a rather small wolf, with pointed 

 ears and a bushy tail ; its usual colour being rufous 

 tawny, although some individuals are much paler, and 

 others so much darker as to be almost black. There 

 are at the present time a couple of specimens living in 

 the " Zoo," so that many of those of our readers who 

 are so disposed have an opportunity of seeing it for them- 

 selves. 



Since, with the exception of numerous peculiar kinds 

 of rats and mice and a few bats, Australia is populated 

 with marsupials to the exclusion of ordinary mammals, 

 it was long supposed that the dingo was introduced 

 by man. But of late years a quantity of its fossilized 

 remains have been dug up in various parts of Australia 

 in association with those of gigantic kangaroos, dipro- 

 todons, and other extinct marsupials, in beds where 

 there appears to bo no evidence of the presence of man. 

 And it has consequently been urged that the dingo is as 



