bU VERTEBRATA. MAMMALIA. 



races might be captured and subdued. Several natu- 

 ralists of high name, however, conceive him to be a 

 domesticated Wolf, and support the opinion with 

 strong arguments, founded on similarity of anato- 

 mical structure, the period of gestation, mental dis- 

 position, and on the tendency manifested by Dogs 

 when allowed to become wild, to acquire the form 

 of the Wolf. 



In a work like the present we cannot dwell upon 

 the endless varieties of the domestic Dog, nor pause 

 to relate any of the numerous anecdotes of his saga- 

 city or faithfulness which are so abundant, nor point 

 out the gradations of his mental and bodily power, 

 from the highly educated, and half-reasoning Shep- 

 herd's Dog, down to the stupid, helpless, and dege- 

 nerate Pug. 



The Wolf, (C. Lupus,) in ferocity and sanguinary 

 propensity for blood, approaches, if he does not 

 equal, the Cats. Inhabiting the wilds and forests of 

 Northern Europe, his prey often rendered scarce by 

 the ravages of winter, he is driven from the moun- 

 tains, reckless and furious with hunger, and, pouring 

 down in packs upon the villages and hamlets, spares 

 neither man nor beast. The ravages committed by 

 them are beyond calculation. The official returns 

 of farm stock killed by wolves, in a single province 

 of Russia, (Livonia,) in one year, 1823, will give 

 some idea of these depredations. Horses and foals 

 3084; horned cattle 2540; sheep and lambs 15,908; 

 goats and kids 2728 ; swine 4502, besides smaller 

 animals. Mr. Nilsson says, that the Wolf first tears 



