BOOK X. Lxxxiii. 176-178 



hoofed animals bear one child at a time, those with 

 cloven hooves also bear two, but those whose feet 

 are divided into separate toes also produce a larger 

 number. But whereas all those above bear their spedes hom 

 offspring fuUy formed, these pi*oduce them un- '""»'«"'■*• 

 finished — in this class being Uonesses and bears ; and 

 a fox bears its young in an even more unfinished 

 state than the species above-mentioned, and it is 

 rare to see one in the act of giving birth. After- 

 wards all these species warm their offspring and shape 

 them by licking them. Their Utters number four at 

 the most. Dogs, wolves, panthers and jackals bear 

 their young bUnd. 



There are several kinds of dogs. The Spartan Breeding 

 hounds breed when both sexes are seven months ""*' 

 old; the bitches can-y for 60 days, and 63 at most. 

 The bitches of the other breeds are wilUng to couple, 

 even when six months old. They all conceive from 

 a single coupUng. Those that are bred from before 

 the proper time have puppies that stay bUnd longer, 

 and aU of them for the same number of days. They 

 are beUeved to raise the leg in making water wheu 

 about six months old ; this is a sign of fuUy matured 

 strength. Bitches reUeve themselves sitting. The 

 most proUfic have Utters of twelve, but usuaUy 

 they have five or six, and sometimes only onc : this 

 is considered portentous, as are Utters that are aU 

 males or all females. Male puppies are born first 

 in each Utter, whereas in all other animals the sexes 

 come in turns. Bitches couple five months after their 

 last Utter. The Spartan hounds have Utters of eight. 

 The males of that breed are marked by keenness for 

 work. Spartan dog hounds Uve ten years, bitches 

 twelve ; all the other breeds Uve fifteen years, some- 



VOL. III. o 405 



