668 THE DESCENT OF MAN 



both in weight and size. At birth, and for several weeks 

 afterward, a bitch-puppy will occasionally be larger than 

 any of the dogs, but they are invariably beaten by them 

 later." Mr. McNeill, of Colonsay, concludes that "the 

 males do not attain their full growth till over two years 

 old, though the females attain it sooner." According to 

 Mr. Cupples' experience, male dogs go on growing ia 

 stature till they are from twelve to eighteen months old, 

 and in weight till from eighteen to twenty-four months 

 old; while the females cease increasing in stature at the 

 age of from nine to fourteen or fifteen months, and in 

 weight at the age of from twelve to fifteen months. From 

 these various statements it is clear that the full difference 

 in size between the male and female Scotch deer-hound is 

 not acquired until rather late in life. The males almost 

 exclusively are used for coursing, for, as Mr. McNeill in- 

 forms me, the females have not sufficient strength and 

 weight to pull down a full-grown deer. From the names 

 used in old legends, it appears, as I hear from Mr. Cupples, 

 that, at a very ancient period, the males were the most 

 celebrated, the females being mentioned only as the mothers 

 of famous dogs. Hence, during many generations, it is the 

 male which has been chiefly tested for strength, size, speed, 

 and courage, and the best will have been bred from. As, 

 however, the males do not attain their full dimensions until 

 rather late in life, they will have tended, in accordance with 

 the law often indicated, to transmit their characters to their 

 male offspring alone; and thus the great inequality in size 

 between the sexes of the Scotch deer-hound may probably 

 be accounted for'. 



The males of some few quadrupeds possess organs or 

 parts developed solely as a means of defence against the at- 

 tacks of other males. Some kinds of deer use, as we have 

 seen, the upper branches of their horns chiefly or exclu- 

 sively for defending themselves; and the Oryx antelope, as 

 I am informed by Mr. Bartlett, fences most skilfully with 

 his long, gently curved horns ; but these are likewise used 



