ORDER CARNASSIER. 325 



with any domesticated variety ; and the Dingo, or New- 

 Holland Dog, a half reclaimed animal, and its like, are 

 placed at the head of the list, as being supposed to be 

 nearest to the wild and original stock. Thus M. Frederic 

 Cuvier has arranged the varieties of the Dog, upon this 

 principle, into three groups, each differing materially in 

 the shape of the head, and the length of the jaws and 

 muzzle. 



Without determining which of the known varieties is 

 the most ancient, or deciding upon the claim of pureness 

 of blood and descent to which each may pretend, we shall 

 merely refer to the anatomical principles, which form the 

 ground work of this arrangement. 



The first of these, which includes the Greyhounds and 

 their consimilars, have the head more or less elongated ; 

 the parietal bones insensibly approaching each other ; and 

 the condyles of the lower jaw placed in a horizontal line 

 with the upper cheek-teeth. 



The next group of Dogs includes much the most intelli- 

 gent, interesting, and useful varieties. Their head and 

 jaws are shorter than those proper to the first division, but 

 they are not so completely truncated as in those of the third. 

 To speak anatomically, the parietal bones do not approach 

 each other above the temporal fossae, but, on the contrary, 

 they widen so as to enlarge the cerebral cavity and the 

 forehead. The Spaniels, Hounds, Shepherd's, and Wolf- 

 Dogs, and the still more useful Siberian and Esquimaux 

 races of this genus, are included under this description. 



The third subdivision of the Dogs has the muzzle more 

 or less shortened ; the frontal sinuses considerable ; and 

 the condyle of the lower jaw extending above the line of 

 the upper cheek-teeth. The construction of the heads of 

 these animals renders the capacity of the cranium smaller, 

 when compared with the jaws and face, than in the pre- 

 ceding divisions. 



