SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 699 



the various groups to the types to which they may have be- 

 longed in the state of nature. We find, indeed, in the natu- 

 ral state, the Wolves, so called, the Hounds of Central Asia, 

 the Dingo of the East, the Dholes of India, and others; but 

 the descendants of these having been mixed in every degree 

 together, it is only in a few cases that we can trace the re- 

 lation between the subjugated dogs and their prototypes. 

 And further, there are dogs whose types, in the state of 

 nature, we have not yet been able to discover, as the mas- 

 tiff, the barbet, the spaniel. Any classification, therefore, 

 that we can make of the races of dogs, founded on their 

 assumed origin, must be imperfect ; and all that can be done 

 is to refer them, as far as the cases will allow, to certain 

 types which may be held as the most characteristic of the 

 different groups. Adopting this principle, we may arrange 

 the principal European races in four general groups. 



L The LYCISCAJST GROUP, comprehending dogs approach- 

 ing more or less to the conformation of the Common 

 Wolf. 



II. The VERTRAGAL GROUP, comprehending the swift- 

 footed dogs, of which the Greyhound is typical. 



III. The MoLOSSiAtf GROUP, of which the great Mastiff 



of Central Asia may be regarded as a type. 



IV. The INDAGATOR GROUP, comprising dogs which pur- 

 sue their prey chiefly by the scent, and which, again, 

 may be divided into five sections : 



1. The True Hound, which hunts with his fellows, 



and employs the voice in concert. 



2. The Mute Hound, which hunts with others or 



singly, but without using the voice in concert. 



3. The Spaniel. 



4. The Barbet. 



5. The Terrier. 



