GENERAL HISTORY 5 



experiments and observations he }x>sitively affirmed that 

 he had never met with one well-authenticated instance of a 

 hybrid dog and fox. Mr. Bartlett's conclusions are incon- 

 testable. However much in appearance the supposed dog-fox 

 may resemble the fox, there are certain opposing characteris- 

 tics and structural differences which entirely dismiss the 

 theory of relationship. 



One thing is certain, that foxes do not breed in confinement, 

 except in very rare instances. The silver fox of North America 

 is the only species recorded to have bred in the Zoological 

 Gardens of London ; the European fox has never been known 

 to breed in captivity. Then, again, the fox is not a sociable 

 animal. We never hear of foxes uniting in a pack, as do the 

 wolves, the jackals, and the wild dogs. Apart from other 

 considerations, a fox may be distinguished from a dog, without 

 being seen or touched, by its smell. No one can produce a 

 dog that has half the odour of Reynard, and this odour the 

 dog-fox would doubtless possess were its sire a fox-dog or its 

 dam a vixen. 



Whatever may be said concerning the difference existing 

 between dogs and foxes will not hold good in reference to 

 dogs, wolves, and jackals. The wolf and the jackal are so 

 much alike that the only appreciable distinction is that of 

 size, and so closely do they resemble many dogs in general 

 appearance, structure, habits, instincts, and mental endow- 

 ments that no difficulty presents itself in regarding them as 

 being of one stock. Wolves and jackals can be, and have 

 repeatedly been, tamed. Domestic dogs can become, and 

 again and again do become, wild, even consorting with wolves, 

 interbreeding with them, assuming their gregarious habits, 

 and changing the characteristic bark into a dismal wolf-like 

 howl. The wolf and the jackal when tamed answer to their 

 master's call, wag their tails, lick his hands, crouch, jump 

 round him to be caressed, and throw themselves on their 

 backs in submission. When in high spirits they run round 

 in circles or in a figure of eight, with their tails between their 



