THE LYCISCAN DOGS. 16] 
in our present state of knowledge concerning them, 
being no more than to place their names in one 
group, when perhaps they may be ultimately found 
to belong to another. FF astidiousness on this head, 
tends more to prolong obscurity than to advance 
the science. With this impression of the subject, it is 
likewise consistent to subdivide the family into sub- 
ordinate groups under distinct subgenerical names ; 
because the contrary practice tends to advance our 
knowledge no farther than it was in the time of 
Oppian, and to keep the whole natural family in 
that indistinct state it still is; subordinate groups, 
on the contrary, must necessarily produce deter- 
mined and final investigation. 
In conformity with these considerations, the ly- 
cisci represent those species of wild canines that are 
inferior in stature and possess manners different 
from true wolves, instinct more placable, and facul- 
ties more amenable to the general wants of man- 
kind. Those of the American continent are known 
to bark in their wild state; they burrow, and there- 
fore do not absolutely shun the presence of man; 
they hunt in troops with the clamour of dogs, so 
that the wild native is sometimes puzzled to distin- 
guish between them and his own domestic breed. 
Hence a just surmise may be drawn, that in the 
New World at least, it was from the lycisci that the 
aboriginal Indians reared their present races of dogs ; 
while in Asia, and even in Europe, breeds of similar 
origin appear to be traceable. 
VOL. I. L 
