THE EDINBURGH 



JOUKNAL OF NATUKAL HISTOKY, 



AND OF 



THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES, 



SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1836. 



ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE DOGS. 



The Doff has been the companion of Man from the earliest state of society ; but the 

 period when he was first domesticated, and the stock from which he was produced, are 

 hidden by the cloud of antiquity. Innumerable attempts have been made to trace his 

 oriein, but these have resolved themselves into mere conjectures. The fidelity, caution, 

 and perseverance of the Dog, have secured to him the friendship of Man, in all ages and 

 in every country ; and by his aid we are enabled to acquire the most necessary and certain 

 means of conquest and dominion over all other creatures. His exquisite sense of smell 

 enables him to pursue steadily, and with unerring certainty, all other beasts; their arti- 

 fices and speed are unavailing ; for by the strength and perseverance of combined 

 numbers, he overtakes, overcomes, and destroys them. 



It is almost universally believed that all Dogs are merely varieties of one species 

 only ; and many persons imagine the Shepherd's Dog to be the parent stock, whence 

 all these varieties have sprung. Buffon, and more recently Dr Richardson, conceive 

 that Dogs have been propagated from more than one common stock; that they have 

 sprung from Wolves, Jackals, and other congenerous species. This opinion was also 

 entertained by Desmoulins, who, in an ingenious paper in the "Memoirs of the 

 Museum of Natural History of Paris," adduces a number of striking facts in illus- 

 tration of his hypothesis. Dr Knox, during his residence in Africa, remarked that 

 all the native Dogs in the neighbourhood of the Cape, bore the same general resem- 

 blance to the Hyajna that those of northern countries bear to the Wolf. 



As we shall enter more deeply into this subject in the Animal Kingdom, it will be 

 unnecessary to pursue it further at present, but proceed to a description of the Dogs 

 figured in the accompanying plate. 



Fig. I. Spanish Pointers. — This breed, as its name implies, was introduced 

 from Spain at an early period, and was long the chief companion of Sportsmen while 

 in pursuit of game birds. It is one of the most steady Dogs used in field sports, and 

 remarkable for the facility with which it can be trained to set all kinds of game. 

 Indeed, it not unfrequently happens that puppies, when taken to the fields, instinc- 

 tively set game when they have come upon the scent of them for the first time. In 

 more recent times this Dog, however, has got into disuse, as its weight renders it too 

 unwieldy for grouse shooting. 



The beautiful Dogs from which our representations are taken, were a brace belong- 

 ing to the late celebrated sportsman, Colonel Thornton ; and as a proof of the steadi- 

 ness and perseverance of both, they kept their point for upwards of an hour and a 

 quarter, during the time that Mr Gilpin was engaged in sketching them. 



Fig. 2. The English Pointer. — This Dog is sprung from the Spanish Pointer 

 and Fox-hound, recrossed with the Harrier; he is much lighter in his form, and 

 more rapid in his movements, than the Spanish Pointer. They have been produced 

 of great variety in point of size, according to the tastes of sportsmen. It has, however, 

 been found, that as they diverge from their Spanish progenitor, the diiEculty of train- 

 ing them, and rendering them stanch for the field, increases in proportion to the 

 remoteness of their lineage. The following is a beautiful instance of stanchness in 

 a Pointer, and was communicated to us by James Webster, Esq. of Lively Bank, 

 Forfarshire. In 1829, that gentleman was out on a shooting party, near Dundee, 

 when a female Pointer, having traversed the field which the sportsmen were then in, 

 proceeded to a wall, and, just as she made the leap, got the scent of some par- 

 tridges on the opposite side of the wall. She hung by her fore-feet imtil the sports- 

 men came up ; in which situation, while they were at some distance, it appeared to 

 them that she had got her leg fastened among the stones of the wall, and was unable 

 to extricate herself. But, on coming up to her, they found that this singular circum- 

 stance proceeded from her caution, lest she should flush the birds, and thus suspended 

 herself in place of completing her leap. He adds, " It is impossible, adequately, to 

 convey to you, in writing, a just idea of the beauty of this point." 



Fig. 3. The English Setter. — This beautiful and active Dog is the produce 

 of the Spanish Pointer, the English Water Spaniel, and the Springer. He is 

 remarkable for the elegance of his figure, the beauty of his fur, and the diversity of 

 his colours. He possesses most of the excellent qualities of the Pointer, with a much 

 greater degree of activity and speed, and a more buoyant vivacity of temper. But 

 vrith all these recommendations, he is much more difficult to break in than the Pointer, 

 and requires an annual training to preserve his education. 



Fig. 4. The Old English Setter. — This breed was originally acquired by a 

 mixture of the Spanish Pointer with the larger Water Spaniel, and was noted for its 

 olfactory qualities and steadiness in the field; the hair over its whole frame was much 

 more curled than the modern breed of Setters, and it was much less active than they 

 were. The old English Setters were also famous for their sagacity. 



Fig. 5. The Springer. — The chief difference between this dog and the Setter is 

 in point of size, and in his head being larger, in proportion to the size of his body, 

 than the latter variety; his ears are also longer, and he is more delicate in his general 

 conformation. This dog is chiefly used in shooting Woodcocks, Pheasants, and 

 Snipes, and, contrary to the practice of the Pointers and Setters, always gives tongue 

 when in pursuit of game. 



Fig. 6. The Cocker differs from the Springer in his form being more compact, 

 his head rounder, ajid muzzle shorter, and in being at least a third smaller than the 

 Springer, while his habits and uses are exactly similar ; the ears are also longer in pro- 

 portion, and his tail more truncated. He is supposed to have had his origin in a cross 

 between the Springer and the smallest Water Spaniel. The Cocker is a most 

 affectionate dog, and in general of a mild and gentle disposition. 



Fig. 7. King Charles' Spaniel is considerably smaller than the Cocker, differ- 

 ing from him in the greater proportional length of his ears, and in his tail being 

 much more villous towards its point. His habits are nearly allied to those of the 

 Springer and Cocker, but he is seldom used in field .sports, owing to his diminutive size. 

 He acquired his name from the circumstance of King Chai-les II. being much attached 

 to him, so much so, that he was generally followed by eight to a dozen of them. 



Fig. 8. The Comforter. — This diminutive creature had its origin in the Maltese 

 Dog and King Charles' Spaniel. Ho is principally used as a Lap-Dog, or as an at- 

 tendant on the toilet and drawing-room. Those Dogs were anciently denominated 

 Spaniels-gentle. In the Life of Mary Queen of Scots, published at Glasgow some 

 years ago, it is recorded, that, after she was beheaded, " her little favourite Lap-Don-, 

 which had affectionately followed her, and, unobserved, had nestled among her clothes, 

 now endeavoured by his caresses to restore her to life, and would not leave the body 

 till he was forced away. He died two days afterwards, perhaps from loneliness or 

 srief." 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE THE WOODPECKERS. 



This singular race of Birds live almost entirely on Insects and their larvae, which 

 they pick out of decayed trees, and also from the bark of such as are sound. These 

 they transfix and draw from the crevices by means of their long extensile tongue, which 

 is bony towards its point, and tipped with a barbed process. The tongue is provided 

 with a curious muscular apparatus, which enables the birds to throw it forward with 

 great force and rapidity. The bills are also strong, powerful, and generally wedge- 

 shaped, by means of which they are enabled to perforate trees which are perfectly 

 sound, and to make holes large enough for incubation. Most of the genus are pro- 

 vided with four claws, two placed before and two behind, by means of which they 

 climb trees with great facility; and in this operation they are aided by their tails, the 

 feathers of which are very strong, and generally sharp-pointed. Most of the species 

 have a harsh, acute, and unpleasant voice. 



Fig. 1. The Red-Headed Woodpecker (Pictts En/throcephalus) is a native of 

 North America, and notorious for its predatory habits. It is a bold and active 

 bird, most abundant in the neighbourhood of all farms, and even frequents the 

 vicinity of large cities. Wilson mentions instances of their nests being found within 

 the boundaries of Philadelphia. These went to feed in the woods about a mile dis- 

 tant, and on returning to their nests they " preserved great silence and circumspec- 

 tion." Although Insects are the principal food of this Bird, yet it will occasionally 

 feed on various kinds of fruit. Its total length is 9i inches. 



Fig. 2. The Yellow-Bellied Woodpecker (P. Varhis) is a resident Bird of 

 the United States of America, spending its winter in orchards, and retiring to the 

 woods in summer for the purpose of incubation. It is 8^- inches long. 



Fig. 3. The Downy Woodpecker (P. Puhescens) — This is one of the smallest 

 of the North American Woodpeckers, being only 6-^- inches in length. They generally 

 build in apple, pear, or cherry trees; the direction of the hole being bored downwards in 

 an angle of thirty or forty degrees for a depth of six or eight inches, and then straight 

 down for a distance of ten or twelve inches; it is made roomy and capacious, and as 

 smoothly polished as if executed by the hands of an experienced carpenter. During 

 this operation they carry the chips of wood to some distance to prevent detection. 



Fig. 4. The Bengal Woodpecker {P, Bengalensis). — This handsome Bird is a 

 native of Bengal, where it builds in places remote from towns or villages. Its habits 

 are similar to those of its congeners. 



Fig. 5. The Red-Bellied Woodpecker (P. Carolinvs).- — The habits of this 

 Bird are solitary; it prefers the largest high-timbered woods of North America, 

 and the tallest of the decayed trees of the forest, seldom appearing on the ground 

 or near fences. It has a very hoarse voice, which resembles the bark of a small Lap- 

 Dog. It is 10 inches in length. 



