HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 28; 



T h e WOLF. 



ALL naturalifts agree in placing the Wolf and the 

 Dog in the fame clafs ; and, from the flighted in- 

 flection of its external form only, it would feem that 

 the Wolf was in every refpect a Dog in its ftate of na- 

 tural freedom. The fhape of its head is different ; and 

 its eyes, being fixed in a more oblique pofition, give it a 

 look of more favage fiercenefs : Its ears are (harp and 

 erect ; its tail long, bufliy, and bending inwards between 

 its hind legs; its body is ftronger than that of almoft any 

 fpecies of Dogs, its jaws and teeth larger, and its hair 

 coarfer and thicker. The internal ftructure of thefe ani- 

 mals is perfectly fimilar. The Wolf couples in the fame 

 manner as the Dog ; and its immediate fepaxation is pre- 

 vented from the fame caufe : The time of geftation is 

 alfo nearly the fame; and from a variety of fuccefsful 

 experiments related by the celebrated Dr Hunter, there 

 is no longer any room to doubt, that the Wolf and the 

 Dog will copulate together, and produce an intermediate 

 fpecies, capable of fubfequent propagation. 



