Quadrupeds. 1101 



striking. Another variety, perhaps, is more nearly related to the 

 greyhound than even any variety of shepherd's dog ; I mean the 

 English bull-dog. It was the perception of the striking resem- 

 blance in some points exhibited in these animals, notwithstanding 

 their general difference of figure, before I was aware of the actual con- 

 sanguinity which breeders are careful to maintain, which first led me 

 to notice the indications of a natural grouping which would seem to 

 clash with artificial arrangement. Though the bull-dog is short, com- 

 pact and heavy, with a proverbially large, blunt head and broad face, 

 and the greyhound is the very emblem of lightness, his elongated nose, 

 head and neck resembling a snake, his back long, curved and flexible, 

 his body, which, with sufficient room for the organs of circulation and 

 respiration, affords almost none for those of digestion, and supported 

 on long and slender limbs, which seems to render him among quad- 

 rupeds what the hirondelle de mer is among birds — there are indivi- 

 dual points of resemblance between the two dogs which are perhaps 

 more striking than any which can be found among other varieties. 

 The feet and toes are remarkably delicately formed ; the ears small 

 and pointed, though generally inclined to be pendulous, capable of 

 being erected ; the tail remarkably slender, some of the stoutest bull- 

 dogs having tails which would grace an Italian greyhound. Similar 

 colours also prevail in both varieties, and more especially the brin- 

 dled, the mottled, and the more or less white. In both, the sense of 

 smell is slow for the dog, whilst the sight is good. Both are feroci- 

 ous and savage when set on : the ferocity of the greyhound is not un- 

 frequently shown in the destruction of sheep. 



Many dogs, both of past and present times, appear to belong to the 

 group we are now considering ; and, though not so nearly related as 

 the bull-dog and greyhound, hold an intermediate position with re- 

 spect to lightness of form. The hunting dogs generally represented 

 in sculpture are of this description ; and certainly no variety of dog- 

 species seems better adapted to adorn a group in a work of art, or to 

 excel in the chase, when strength and activity are required by the 

 character of the game, such as the wild boar, the wolf and the strong- 

 est stags. The Dane and the Dalmatian dogs seem to be the modern 

 representations of these ancient animals, and the strong and beautiful 

 kangaroo-dog, so highly prized by the Australian settlers, seems to be 

 a very similar variety, obtained synthetically by the union of the grey- 

 hound and the bull-dog. The mastiffs of England and the Alps, and 

 the chien-dogue of France, seem to belong to this group; but whether 

 they are peculiarities, or merely the result of the careful cultivation of 



