112 . THE CANINE FAMILY 
have undergone, can fix species by such aid, con- 
sistently with their own argument, we do not pre- 
tend to understand. In our view, however, which 
leans, without at present adverting to wild species, 
towards the conclusion that the domestic may be 
derived from several distinct though slightly sepa- 
rated canines, this resource is applicable; and we 
intend to adopt it to the extent our information will 
permit. 
All canines, excepting in size, are surprisingly 
similar in osteological structure and in their whole 
anatomy. yen minor peculiarities are rare and 
evanescent. Recourse has therefore been had to 
the comparison of the bones of the head, where 
the seat of the senses was most likely to give evi- 
dence of different appetites, wants, and powers. 
But even here, the skulls of the French matin dog, 
the shepherd’s dog, the new Holland dingo, and the 
European wolf, differ less than the last mentioned 
does from the American wolf; and the variation 
that can be detected in the wild species is chiefly 
in the teeth being more bulky than in the domestic. 
In order to illustrate this fact, we here subjoin a 
series of views of skulls of different species and 
varieties of these animals, seen from above and in 
profile. Some are taken from F. Cuvier's plates, 
others from nature; and as it is not consistent with 
the plan of this work to enter into a detached 
anatomical discussion on the subject, the reader 
will, it is hoped, find sufficient evidence, even upon 
@ cursory inspection, to admit, that where the simi- 
