L 96 7EBTEBRATA. 



II. The head moderately elongated, and the parietals diverging from each other for a certain 

 space as they rise upon the side of the head, enlarging the cerebral cavity and the frontal sinus. 

 To tlii- class belong our most valuable dogs,— the Bpaniel, setter, poodle, pointer, barbet, beagle, 

 harrier, hound, Newfoundland dog, sheep-dog, wolf-dog, Esquimaux dog, &c. 



III. The muzzle more or less shortened, the frontal sinus enlarged, and the cranium elevated, 

 and diminished in capacity. To this class belong the bull-dog, some of the terriers, the mastiff, 

 Iceland dog, little Danish dog, English dog, Turkish dog, and a great many others that might 

 very well be -('arid. 



But this division is not adapted to the present state of knowledge on this subject; we shall 

 therefore offer a classification founded on that of Hamilton Smith, with modifications by Gervak 

 and others who have paid especial attention to the subject. This arrangement, however, will 

 only include the domesticated breeds; we shall therefore, in the first place, give a sketch of the 



most remarkable untamed races. 



WILD DOGS. 



It is well known that in all countries, dogs occasionally break away from their accustomed 

 training and her, .me wild. Several of these will associate and herd together, and thus breeds of 

 wild dogs, the offspring of domestic ones, are established. These multiply and increase according 

 to the nature of the country in which they are placed. In some of the forests of Germany, 

 among the mountains of the Pyrenees, on the northern shores of the Black Sea, and in various 

 part- of America, North and South, there arc wild dogs thus descended from domestic ones. In 

 \- i and in Africa there are also much more numerous bands of wild dogs, many of which have 

 been know n for ages, and being of a distinct and permanent character, some naturalists have sought 

 to find in them the origin of the domestic dog. 



The <i on. or Buansu, already mentioned, is the Wild Dog of the Deccan, or Wild Dog 

 of Nkpaul, the Cants primcevus of Hodgson. This animal has some resemblance, in its form, 

 to both the wolf and the jackal ; it is in size between the two ; its cranium is most like that of the 

 latter. It has six pairs of molars above and below, with one pair of inferior tubercular molars. 

 The color i- reddish brown, lie-liter toward the head, and of a shining blackish hue toward the tail. 

 It unite- in packs, which hunt by night and day, following rather by scent than sight, and making 

 prey of hares, rabbits, antelopes, deer, and even buffaloes. They make great havoc among 

 the game, and also destroy some ferocious beasts. While hunting, they have a cry distinct from 

 that of the wolf or jackal, and resembling that of the hound. They inhabit particularly that 

 part of Ilindostan called the Deccan, and spread themselves northward to Xepaul, and southward 

 to the coast of I Joromandel, occupying as well the plains as the mountains, sometimes even to the 

 verge of perpetual snow. They live in the ravines and crannies of rocks, and never burrow. 

 Tiny are cunning and wary, and seldom permit themselves to be surprised by man. The old 

 dogs are insusceptible of domestication, but the young are readily tamed, and some have as much 

 docility as other dogs. Many of them are partially domesticated in the East, and arc used for 

 hunting. They seem, however, to retain their savage and wild character in some degree, and 

 generally are unreliable. In hog-hunting, they are very useful, — the rude sport seeming to suit 

 their snarling and snappish natures. Mr. Hodgson, the English traveler and naturalist, had an 

 excellent opportunity of studying these animals, and he believed lie had found in them the 

 original stock of the domestic doe; : hence the scientific name be bestowed upon them, as given 

 above. This opinion is not considered valid, but the fact that these animals are neither wolves 

 nor jackals, but dogs, i- fully authenticated. 



There are, in differenl part- of India, wild dogs which go under different name-; some of them 

 are mere varieties of the Buansu, and other mixed breeds of unknown races. Thus among the 

 Mahratta-. there is a kind called Dhole, the Chryseus scylex of Hamilton Smith, which is 

 described a- light, compact, and strong, ami of the size of a small greyhound. The countenance, 

 is lively, the eye brilliant, the hair of a hay color. They are harmless if unmolested, and look 

 upon man rather with curiosity than enmity. They run mute, except a low whimpering note. 

 Their -peed i- great, and they run down many of the larger and fiercer animals. Some of them 

 are killed in their conflicts with the tiger, the elk, and the wild boar. 



