48 ON WOLVES, JACKALS, DOGS, AND FOXES. [Feb. 4, 



between a fox and a dog, notwithstanding numerons specimens of 

 supposed hybrids of this sort which from time to time have been 

 brought to my notice. The habits of wolves and jackals are so much 

 alike that I am unable to point out any marked differences between 

 them. 



Domestic dogs exhibit many of the habits of wolves and jackals, 

 such as the scratching up of earth with the front feet, and the 

 pushing back of it with the hind feet, in order to cover up the drop- 

 pings. Again, when about to rest, the turning round two or three 

 times with the object of forming a hole in which to rest may be 

 noticed in pet dogs about to lie down upon the hearth-rug, a habit 

 evidently acquired by inheritance from their wild ancestors. 



The whining, growling, and howling of wolves, jackals, and dogs 

 are so much alike as to be indistinguishable ; but the barking of dogs 

 is undoubtedly an acquired habit, and doubtless due to domestica- 

 tion. 



M''olves and jackals in a wild state never bark, nor do Esquimaux 

 dogs nor Dingos, but if kept associated with barking dogs, these and 

 other wild dogs in many instances acquire the habit of barking. 



A well-known instance of this occurred under my notice. A wild 

 Antarctic Wolf, after a few months, hearing the barking of dogs in the 

 immediate neighbourhood, began to bark, and succeeded admirably. 

 The same thing has happened to my knowledge in the case of pure- 

 bred Esquimaux dogs and Dingos. This reminds me of a similar 

 instance of the development of the voice by domestication. There 

 can be no doubt that the origin of our domestic fowls must be attri- 

 buted to the wild Jungle-fowls of Asia, but none of the known wild 

 species are ever heard to utter the fine loud crow of our domestic 

 cock. 



The different breeds of dogs do not present greater difficulties in 

 accounting for them than are offered by the different breeds of 

 domestic pigeons and the extraordinary varieties of domestic poultry. 



Individual differences are observable in all living animals. The 

 members of a family, the produce of the same parents, reared, treated, 

 and fed on the same spot with the same surroundings, are frequently 

 found to differ to such an extent in appearance, temper, and dispo- 

 sition, as to lead observers to doubt their uniform origin. It is 

 probable that in this way varieties spring up and form distinct races. 



In conclusion I may call attention to the fact that wolves, jackals, 

 and wild dogs have a great aversion to go into the water. I have 

 been informed upon good authority that the Eskimos, at times that 

 they do not require to use their dogs, in order to prevent their being 

 troublesome by entering the huts, convey them to an island, and there 

 land and keep them, and that in such cases, although the dogs are 

 sometimes lialf-starved, they never venture into the water. It there- 

 fore appears to me that during the domestication of the dog, by 

 careful selection, breeding, and training, certain breeds have developed 

 an aquatic habit that may be regarded as entirely foreign to its 

 original wild ancestors. In fact the dog appears to me the most 

 perfectly domesticated of all animals. 



