302 DOGS. 



islands of the Pacific Ocean, the dogs are bred up 

 on vegetables, and would not eat flesh when offered 

 them by our circumnavigators. 



We believe that all dogs, in a state of nature, 

 have sharp, upright, fox-like ears ; and that 

 hanging ears, which are esteemed so graceful, 

 are the effect of choice breeding and cultivation. 

 Thus, in the Travels of Ysbrandt Ides from 

 Muscovy to China, the dogs which draw the 

 Tartars on snow- sledges near the river Oby are 

 engraved with prick-ears, like those from Canton. 

 The Kamtschatdales also train the same sort of 

 sharp-eared, peaked-nosed dogs to draw their 

 sledges ; as may be seen in an elegant print 

 engraved for Captain Cook's last voyage round 

 the world. 



Now we are upon the subject of dogs, it may 

 not be impertinent to add, that spaniels, as all 

 sportsmen know, though they hunt partridges and 

 pheasants as it were by instinct, and with much 

 delight and alacrity, yet will hardly touch their 

 bones when offered as food ; nor will a mongrel 

 dog of my own, though he is remarkable for find- 

 ing that sort of game. But, when we came to 

 offer the bones of partridges to the two Chinese 

 dogs, they devoured them with much greediness, 

 and licked the platter clean. 



No sporting dogs will flush woodcocks till 

 inured to the scent, and trained to the sport, which 

 they then pursue with vehemence and transport ; 

 but then they will not touch their bones, but turn 

 from them with abhorrence, even when they are 

 hungry. 



Now, that dogs should not be fond of the bones 

 of such birds as they are not disposed to hunt, is 

 no wonder ; but why they reject and do not care 

 to eat their natural game, is not so easily accounted 



