VI PREFACE. 



"Canine Morals and Manners." The rest have 

 been chiefly evolved from papers contributed to 

 ' Blackwood's Magazine.' Although all have 

 been entirely re-written, in the hope that they 

 might thus be made more worthy to appear in 

 book form, I have thought it best to retain the 

 somewhat easy and colloquial tone adopted in the 

 original articles. As far as I can see, this need 

 not detract from the value of such a work to more 

 serious students so long as all facts and infer- 

 ences are set forth with the care and precision 

 demanded by science. 



It will be seen by those who read the book 

 that I have put forward several new and perhaps 

 somewhat startling hypotheses. These I wish to 

 be considered as standing only upon such facts 

 as can be adduced in their support. Every 

 reader is at liberty to form his own judo-ment 

 as to the apparent " protective mimicry " ex- 

 hibited by the tabby cat, or as to the political 

 significance of the white tail of the rabbit. Still, I 

 think it is not improbable that many competent 



