4 THE CANINE FAMILY 
and all the teeth are proportionably stronger than im 
the dingo. 
The teeth of canidee consist, in the upper, of six 
incisors, two canines, and six molars on each side; 
of which number, three are false molars, one is the 
carnassier, and two are tubercular molars. In the 
lower jaw there are likewise six incisors, two ca- 
nines, and seven molars on each side; four being 
false molars, one carnassier, and two tubercular. 
Of these the incisor teeth are small, in wolves 
generally irregular and somewhat projecting. The 
canines are, on the contrary, very strong, pointed, © 
slightly recurved, long, and those of the lower jaw 
clasping the upper, giving mutual support in the 
act of tearing animal substances. The molars are, 
as such, also but partially efficient, being tubercular | 
or false, and indicating that Nature intended them 
only for occasional trituration of vegetable sub- 
stances, and more commonly for animal food. This 
intention is powerfully evinced in the carnassiers, 
both above and below, which being vertically rather 
flat and jagged into three points, act upon each 
other, in mastication, with the mixed powers of a 
saw, a pair of shears, and a bruiser; thus serving 
to cut through and splinter what the canines have 
torn, the false molars have prevented from coming 
in mass to the carnassier, and the tubercular molars 
finally triturate more, before it passes into the sto- 
mach. Here we have therefore a complete example 
of the adaptations in teeth furnished by Nature to 
effect certain ends, shewing the general but not 
