VOL. LXXVII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. Q.6g 



kennel, in which she brought forth, and it was some time before she would allow 

 the puppies to stay in the kennel when put there. In about 8 days some, and 

 9 days others of them began to open their eyelids. 



Here then is an absolute proof of the jackal being a dog; and it appears to 

 me, that the wolf is equally made out to be of the same species. It now then 

 becomes a question, whether the wolf is from the-jackal, or the jackal from the 

 wolf, supposing they had but one origin ? From the supposition, that varieties 

 become more tame in their nature, we should be led to believe, the wolf to be 

 the original, and that the ^ckal was a step towards civilization in that species 

 of animal. There are wolves of various kitids, each country having a wolf 

 peculiar to itself; but the jackals that I have seen have been more uniformly the 

 same, both those from Africa, and those from the East-Indies. I am informed, 

 however, that they vary in size. Whether all the wolves of different countries 

 are of one species, or some of them only of the same genus, I do not know; 

 but I should rather suppose them to be all of one species. What is with me an 

 argument in favour of this supposition is, that if there were wolves of distinct 

 species, we should have had by this time a great variety of that species of wolves, 

 with the various dispositions arising from variation in other respects; and those 

 varieties now turned to very useful purposes, as has been the case with the dog; 

 for all the wolves we are yet acquainted with, have naturally the principle of 

 cultivation in them, as much probably as any animal, or as much at least as 

 those wolves we now know to be dogs. The not having a civilized species of 

 wolf is indeed with me a proof that they are all of the same species with the 

 dog. If they are all of the same species with the dog, then the first variety 

 that took place was still in the character of a wolf, differing only in colour, 

 or some trivial circumstance, which could only take place from a difference 

 in climate; civilization or cultivation in a state of nature being the same 

 in them all. Where they became jackal, or what we now call dog, is difficult 

 to say; or what dog we can call the first remove, as many dogs differ 

 very much from each other; or whether the jackal is the intermediate link 

 between the wolf and the dog. In either case we have 3 great varieties in this 

 species, wolf, jackal, and dog, with the varieties in each. If the dog is proved 

 to be the wolf tamed, the jackal may probably be the dog returned to his wild 

 state. 



To ascertain the original animal of a species, it is proper to examine all the 

 varieties of that species, and see how far they have the character of the genus, 

 and what resemblance they bear to the other species of the genus; for it is natural 

 to suppose, that the original, or the animal which is nearest to it, will have more 

 of the true character of the genus, and will have a stronger resemblance to the 

 species nearest allied to it, than any of the other varieties of its own species. If 



