66 WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANIMALS. 



certain phenomena, the explanation of which, 

 by the ordinary laws of evolution, is not clear. 



Most probably the drooping ears of our domes- 

 ticated hounds and hunting dogs primarily arose 

 from the fact that the savage huntsman, disre- 

 garding shape, picked those dogs to breed from 

 which manifested the keenest powers of scent, 

 and that in these individuals the ears were not 

 so much in use as in others. Again, in every 

 litter of whelps the surly, independent, and ill- 

 tempered brute would always be more likely to 

 be eliminated than those which were confiding 

 and tractable ; and so, from age to age. the 

 chief outward traits which distinguish the doo- 

 from wolves and jackals would tend to increase. 



Finally, the instinct of association has, in the 

 case of the domestic dog, become more exactly 

 fitted to the new conditions of environment. He 

 makes himself thoroughly at home with us because 

 he feels that he is with his own proper pack, 

 and not among strangers or those of an alien 

 race. The wild animal, on the contrary, which 

 refuses to become domesticated, still has the 

 perception that those who would palm them- 

 selves off as his comrades are creatures of an 



