124 INSTINCT OF DOGS. 



its own accord, when only seven months old, brought in the 

 post-bag, thrown down by the mail in passing. The person 

 who had charge of it, having been detained a little, was 

 astonished to see the bag safely deposited in the house ; and ? 

 upon watching next day, saw the little creature marching 

 along with its load. It had seen the bag carried in once or 

 twice, and immediately learned to do so. 



I do not mean to deny that some varieties of the dog may 

 excel others in sagacity but this will be found in most cases 

 to arise from other circumstances than the natural gift and 

 that dogs whose avocations require a phlegmatic, quiet tem- 

 per, have certainly the advantage over others, though the 

 instinctive powers of both, in the first instance, may have been 

 equal. A terrier, for example, may and has been taught to 

 herd sheep, and if kept to this employment would appear more 

 sensible ; but his snappish disposition (an advantage in his 

 own more congenial occupations) renders him unlikely to excel 

 in those of the colley. The latter again is admirably adapted 

 for his own work ; his thick rough coat protects him from 

 the severity of the weather to which he is constantly exposed, 

 and his less ardent temper prompts him to look for guidance 

 from his master in all his movements. Both sheep-dogs and 

 terriers may be taught to point ; but they are always deficient 

 in hunt, and their olfactory powers are never so acute as in 

 those dogs which nature seems to have formed for the purpose. 

 We thus see that dogs are trained to different employments, 

 for many qualifications apart from their instinctive powers, 

 though these may be materially increased or retarded by the 

 nature of their occupations. 



