52 



THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 



towards the end of the year the Dog raises his leg in perform- 

 ing this act. The duration of a Dog's life is usually about 

 fourteen or fifteen years, but they frequently suflfer much 

 from the effects of age. It is said, that the probable age of 

 a Dog can be ascertained by an examination of his teeth; 

 in the earlier years they are exceedingly white and sharp 

 pointed; but the farther he advances in life, the more they 

 become covered with calculous scales near the gums, dis- 

 coloured in all parts, and blunt and unequal at their points; 

 but a still more certain indication of age, is a grey and 

 hoary tinge above the nose to the eyes, and upon the front; 

 this begins to appear about the tenth or eleventh year, and 

 continues to increase till the last stage of life. 



As we have already observed, the Dog is carnivorous; 

 he does not, however, eat every kind of animal food indis- 

 criminately. Thus, most of the water birds which have 

 a strong fishy taste, are rejected by him, except when 

 urged by great hunger. He is possessed of such strong di- 

 gestive powers, as to derive nourisiiment from the hardest 

 bones. When flesh cannot be procured he will feed on fish, 

 fruits, succulent vegetables, and bread; and, indeed, in 

 those countries where dog's flesh is considered as a gastro- 

 nomic delicacy, he is wholly fed on vegetable food. The 

 Dog drinks by lapping up the water witli his tongue: this 

 organ, also, is the only part of his body from which he 

 perspires, hence, whenever he is using any violent exer- 

 cise, it is suffered to loll out of the mouth. Before lying 

 down, he generally walks several times round the spot on 

 which he intends to repose. He sleeps but little, and sel- 

 dom profoundly, the slighest noise causing him to spring 

 up. During the time he is asleep he frequently starts, or 

 has a tremulous motion in his limbs. 



Besides the usual employment of Dogs in this country, 

 as guards, or for the chaise, they are extensively used by 

 many nations to draw burdens, particularly among the in- 

 habitants of the northern parts of this continent; and the 

 weights they are capable of moving, especially over the 

 ice, are truly astonishing. Captain Lyon, to whom we 

 are indebted for an exceedingly interesting account of the 

 Esquimaux variety of this animal, says he has seen a Dog 

 draw one hundred and ninety-six pounds, the distance of 

 a mile, in eight minutes. But their use as beasts of draught 

 is not confined to these nations, the inhabitants of Holland 

 have long used them for this purpose, and nothing is more 

 common in Paris, than to see these animals dragging small 

 carts with vegetables and meat. 



In some countries the flesh of the Dog is considered as a 

 great luxury; this is especially the case in China, and in 

 New Zealand. When used for this purpose, they are never 

 suffered to eat animal food, but are kept in cages, and fat- 



tened with vegetables. They are killed by strangling, and 

 the extravasated blood is carefully collected, and also forms 

 a culinary delicacy. They grow very fat, and are allowed, 

 even by such of our countrymen as have tasted their flesh, 

 to be very palatable. But the taste for the flesh of these 

 quadrupeds is not confined to the Asiatic coimtries, some 

 of the Indian nations of this continent have the same taste. 

 We also find that the ancients considered the flesh of young 

 Dogs to be excellent food. Hippocrates placed it on a foot- 

 ing with beef and mutton; the Romans, who were no slight 



adepts in the 



gastronomic art, 



likewise admitted sucking 



puppies among their delicacies. 



Unfortunately, this sagacious and faithful animal is liable 

 to disease, which is communicable to almost all animals that 

 he may bite whilst labouring under it; the human species 

 appears to be peculiarly liable, under such circum.stances, 

 to be inoculated with this horrible, and, alas! almost incu- 

 rable malady. As other temporary diseases are sometimes 

 mistaken for h3'drophobia, we are induced to subjoin the 

 following account of the symptoms, as laid down in a work 

 on this disorder, by Chaussier and Orfila. 



"When this disease is in its forming stage, a Dog is 

 sick, languid, and more dull than usual. He seeks retired 

 spots, remains in a corner, does not bark, but growls con- 

 tinually, at strangers, and refuses to eat or drink, without 

 any apparent cause. His motions are unsteady, resembling 

 those of a man almost asleep. At the end of three or four 

 days, he leaves his master's house, and roves about in all 

 directions; walking or running as if intoxicated, and has 

 frequent falls. His hair is bristled up, his eyes haggard, 

 fixed and sparkling; his head hangs down; his mouth is 

 open, and full of frothy saliva; his tongue is protruded, 

 and his tail hangs between his legs. He has, in most cases, 

 but not invariably, a horror of water, the aspect of which 

 seems to exasperate his sufferings. He experiences, at re- 

 peated intervals, transports of fury, and strives to bite 

 every object which presents itself, not even excepting his 

 own master, whom, in fact, he now scarcely recognizes. 

 At the end of about thirty-six hours he dies in convul- 

 sions." 



There are few diseases in which quacks have more suc- 

 cessfully imposed on the credulity of mankind, or in which 

 even the best directed treatment has proved more ineffec- 

 tual. At one time, great reliance was placed in the Ornis- 

 kirk remedy, which was superseded by a host of pretended 

 antidotes derived from the vegetable kingdom, and what is 

 extraordinary, from the most inert of these productions, 

 such as chickweed, anagalis, water plaintain, and the 

 skull-cap, none of which possess the slightest medical pro- 

 perties. Some persons rely on what is termed worming 



