542 
Pliny's natural histoey. 
[Book X. 
but one, while the acanthis/^ a very small bird, produces 
twelve. Those animals, also, which are the most prolific, are 
the shortest time in breeding. The larger an animal is, the 
longer is the time required for its formation in the womb ; 
those, also, which are the longest-lived, require the longest 
gestation ; the growing age, too, is not suitable for the purposes 
of generation. Those animals which have solid hoofs bear but 
a single young one, while those which have cloven hoofs bear 
two. Those, again, whose feet are divided into toes, have a 
still more numerous offspring ; but, while the others bring 
forth their young perfect, these last bear them in an unformed 
state, such, for instance, as the lioness and the she-bear. The 
fox also brings forth its young in an even more imperfect state 
than these ; it is a very uncommon thing, however, to find it 
whelping. After the birth, these animals warm their young 
by licking them, and thereby give them their proper shape ; 
they mostly produce four at a birth. 
The dog, the wolf, the panther, and the jackal produce their 
young blind. There are several kinds of dogs ; those of 
Laconia,*^ of both sexes, are ready for breeding in the eighth 
month, and the females carry their young sixty or sixty-three 
days at most ; other dogs are fit for breeding when only six 
months old ; the female, in all cases, becomes pregnant at the 
first congress. Those which have conceived before the proper 
age, bear pups which are longer blind, though not all the 
same number of days. It is thought that dogs, in general, 
lift the leg when they water at six months old ; this, too, is 
looked upon as a sign that they have attained their full growth 
and strength ; when doing this, the female squats. The most 
numerous litters known consist of twelve, but more generally 
five or six is the number ; sometimes, indeed, only one is pro- 
duced, but then it is looked upon as a prodigy, and the same 
is the case, too, when all the pups are of one sex. In the dog, the 
males come into the world first, but in other animals, the two 
sexes are born alternately. The female admits the male again 
six months after she has littered. Those of the Laconian breed 
bear eight young ones. It is a peculiarity in this kind, that 
after undergoing great labour, the males are remarkable for 
their salacity. In the Laconian breed the male lives ten 
41 Probably the goldfinch. 
*2 A kind of large hound. 
