THE DINGO, OR AUSTRALIAN DOG. 
Canis familiaris. Var. Australasia. 
Whether the numberless breeds of Dogs, which are 
the companions of the human race in every region of 
the globe, were originally descended from one common 
stock, and owe their infinite varieties solely to their 
complete domestication, the modifications by which 
they are distinguished having been gradually produced 
by the influence of circumstances : whether, on the 
contrary, they are derived from the intermixture of 
different species, now so completely blended together 
as to render it impossible to trace out the line of their 
descent : and whether, on either supposition, the pri- 
maeval race or races still exist in a state of nature, are 
questions which have baffled the ingenuity of the most 
celebrated naturalists. Theory after theory has been 
advanced, and the problem is still as eagerly debated 
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