64 WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANIMALS. 



When we come to consider the very long 

 period during which dogs have been domesti- 

 cated and under the influence of deHberate selec- 

 tion, it is surprising to find how much in their 

 behaviour they resemble their wild brethren. 

 The rule seems to hold good here as elsewhere, 

 that the outward form is much more plastic to 

 the influence of environment than the character 

 and mental habits which are dependent upon the 

 nervous system. Thus, although the deerhound 

 and the pug are so different in external appearance 

 that it is difficult to believe that they are related, 

 yet if we watch them we find that their mental 

 and moral qualities are of a similar cast. The 

 fine grey wolf in the Zoological Gardens, Re- 

 gent's Park, and the performing wolves recently 

 exhibited in London, when in a good humour, 

 had precisely the same methods of express- 

 ing pleasure as domestic dogs, and would wao- 

 their tails and gambol about in a manner which 

 made one doubt for the moment whether they 

 were not in reality Scotch collies masqueradino- 

 as wild beasts. 



There are many other traits in our domestic 

 dogs suggestive of their ancestral habits which 

 cannot be dealt with on this occasion, but which 



