222 



UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY 



evidence, as Darwin says that (in Animals and Plants ^mder 

 Domestication), " four or five thousand years ago, various 

 breeds, viz. pariah dogs, greyhounds, common hounds, mastiffs, 

 house-dogs, lap-dogs, and turnspits, existed, more or less closely 

 resembling our present breeds. But there is not sufficient evi- 

 dence that any of these ancient dogs belonged to the same iden- 

 tical sub-varieties with our present dogs" (fig. 1159). Although 

 Australia is singularly lacking in higher Mammals, it nevertheless 

 possesses a kind of dog, the Dingo (Canis dingo), probably intro- 

 duced by human agency at a 

 remote period. Friend and 

 companion, guardian of flocks, 

 and protector of the home, no 

 animal has been so closely and 

 so long associated with man as 

 the Dog. 



The CAT (Felis domesticd). 

 Here again we have almost 

 certainly to do with an animal 

 of multiple origin, the Wild 

 Cat (Felis catus] of Europe and 

 North Asia being probably not 

 the chief ancestor. On this 

 point Beddard (in The Cam- 

 bridge Natural History} speaks 

 as follows : " The domestic cat 

 is, in fact, regarded as the de- 

 scendant of the Eastern F. caffra, or (perhaps and) the closely 

 allied F. maniculata (fig. 1160). It is highly probable, however, 

 that after its introduction into this country as a domestic animal 

 it has interbred with the Wild Cat. Many allied species of Cats 

 will interbreed, even two so far apart as the Lion and the Tiger. 

 There are interesting archaeological and linguistic reasons for re- 

 garding the Domestic Cat as an importation. The legend of Dick 

 Whittington's Cat points to it being a rare and valuable animal, 

 which a tamed F. catus would not at that time have been. There 

 was an enactment in Wales against him who should kill the king's 

 Cat, again suggestive of its rarity and consequent value. The 

 very name * Puss ' is a hint of a foreign origin. Some would 

 derive it from Perse, and upon this is based the notion that the 



Fig. 1159. Types of Ancient Egyptian Dogs. A, Turn- 

 spit; B, House Dog; c, Hunting Dog. 



