VARIETIES OF THE DOG., 7 
being considered great delicacies, and by the ancients the flesh of 
a young fat dog was highly prized, Hippocrates even describing 
that of an adult as wholesome and nourishing. In a state of 
nature the dog is compelled to live on flesh, which he obtains by 
hunting, and hence he is classed among the Carnivora ; but when 
domesticated he will live upon vegetable substances alone, such 
as oatmeal porridge, or bread made from any of the cereals, but 
thrives best upon a mixed diet of vegetable and animal substances ; 
and, indeed, the formation of his teeth is such as to lead us to 
suppose that by nature he is intended for it, as we shall hereafter 
find in discussing his anatomical structure. 
VARIETIES OF THE DOG. 
The varieties of the dog are extremely numerous, and, indeed, 
as they are apparently produced by crossing, which is still had 
recourse to, there is scarcely any limit to the numbers which may 
be described. It is a curious fact that large bitches frequently 
take a fancy to dogs so small as to be incapable of breeding with 
them ; and in any case, if left to themselves, the chances are very 
great against their selecting mates of the same breed as them- 
selves. The result is, that innumerable nondescripts are yearly 
born, but as a certain number of breeds are described by writers 
on the dog or defined by “ dog-fanciers,” these “mongrels,” as 
they are called from not beloriging to them, are generally despised, 
and, however useful they may be, the breed is not continued. 
This, however, is not literally true, exceptions being made in 
favour of certain sorts which have been improved by admixture 
with others, such as the cross of the bulldog with the greyhound, 
the foxhound with the Spanish pointer, the bulldog with the 
terrier, &c., &c., all of which are now recognised and admitted 
into the list of valuable breeds, and not only are not considered 
mongrels, but, on the contrary, are prized above the original 
strains from which they are descended. An attempt has been 
made by M. F. Cuvier to arrange these varieties under three 
primary divisions, which are founded upon the shape of the head 
and the length of the jaws; these being supposed by him to vary 
in accordance with the degree of cunning and scenting powers 
