1890.] ON THE DOMESTIC DOG. 7 



These have been for convenience' sake placed in the order given 

 in the article "Dog" in the last edition of the 'Encyclopaedia 

 Britannica ' ; but we do not desire it to be understood on that account 

 that we pledge ourselves to that or any other of the numerous clas- 

 sifications extant. To the table dealing with each breed is affixed 

 a few notes on its possible derivation \ 



The measurements have been made after the plan adopted by 

 Professor Huxley in his paper already referred to. A few of these 

 may be explained here, in his words, for the sake of clearness. 

 Basicranial Axis : this, tlie standard, is " a median line drawn in 

 the bisected skull from the hinder edge of the basioccipital bone to 

 the junction between tlie presphenoid and the ethmoid in the base 

 of the skull." The value of this is taken as 100, and the other 

 measurements, cranial and dental, are expressed in terms of it. 

 •' When, as often happens, the skull under examination caimot be 

 bisected, a sufficiently close approximation to the true length of tlie 

 basicranial axis may be obtained by taking the distance along the 

 median hue of the base of the skull from the posterior edge of the 

 basioccipital bone to a point opposite the middle of the distance 

 between the optic and ethmoidal foramina. This point always lies 

 a little behind the posterior extremity of the vomer." In the re- 

 maining colunnis " 'total length ' means the distance from the front 

 edge of the preniaxillary bones to the extremity ol the occipital spine. 

 The ' zygomatic width ' is the greatest transverse distance between 

 the outer faces of the zygomatic arches. The ' length of the bony 

 palate' is measured irom the front edge of the symphysis of the 

 prsemaxillary bones to the hinder edge of the middle of the 

 bony palate, not taking into account the inconstant median spine 

 which is frequently developed. The ' width of the bony palate ' is 

 the distance between the points at which the outer faces of pia--t and 

 m^l meet." 



The remainder of the paper after the special tables is devoted to 

 the consideration of certaiu points arising out of the figures contained 

 therein. 



^ It may be convenient here to mention the chief writers referred to, with the 

 titles of their works and the abbreviations used in reference to them : — 

 Animals and Plants under Domestication. Darwin. — " D." 

 Encyclopsedia Britannica, Ed. 9. Art. "Dog."— "E. B." 

 The Dog. " Stonehenge." 1879.— " S." 

 British Quadrupeds. " Dogs." BeU.— " B." 

 The Dog. W. Youatt.— " Y." 

 Varieties of Dogs. Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 4, vol. iii. p. 236. — 



"G." 

 Naturalist's Library. Smith, vol. v.—" C. H. S." 

 Die Ea^en deg zahmen Huades. Fitzinger, Sitzungsb. d. mathem.- 



naturw. CI. d. kaiserl. Ak. der Wissensch. Ivi. Bd. i. S. 377.—" F." 

 Eine Studie iib. die Abstammung der Hunderassen, von A. v. Pelzeln. 



Zool. Jahrb.— " P." 

 Die Stammvater unserer Hunde-Eassen. Jeitteles. Wien, 1877- — " J." 



