28o 
NATURAL HISTORY 
accident, but fomewhat fingular. Their eyes are jet-black, fmall, 
and piercing ; the infides of their lips and mouths of the fame 
colour, and their tongues blue. The bitch has a dew-claw on 
each hind leg ; the dog has none. When taken out into a field 
the bitch Hiowed fome difpofition for hunting, and dwelt on the 
fcent of a covey of partridges till fhe fprung them, giving her 
tongue all the time. The dogs in South America are dumb ; but 
thefe bark much in a fliort thick manner, like foxes ; and have a 
furly, favage demeanour like their anceftors, which are not 
domefticated, but bred up in fties, where they are fed for the 
table with rice-meal and other farinaceous food. Thefe dogs, 
having been taken on board as foon as weaned, could not learn 
much from their dam •, yet they did not relifh flefli when they 
came to England. In the iflands of the paafi-c ocean the dogs are 
bred up on vegetables, and would not eat flefh when offered them 
by our circumnavigators. 
We believe that all dogs, in a ftate of nature, have fharp, 
upright fox-like ears ; and that hanging ears, which are edeemed 
fo graceful, are the efFecft of choice breeding and cukivat'on. 
Thus, in the Travels of IJbrandt Ides from Mufcovy to Ch'ina^ the 
dogs which draw the Tartars on fnow-fledges near the river O/^y are 
engraved wiih prick-cars, like thofe ixom Canton. Ihe Kamfc/sat- 
dales alfo train the fame fort of fiiarp- eared peak-nofed dogs 
to draw their fledges ; as may be feen in an elegant print 
engraved for Captain Cook's lad voyage round the world. 
Nov/ we are upon the fubjcft of dogs, it may not be impertinent 
to add, that fpaniels, as all fportfmcn know, though they hunt 
partridges and pheafants as it were by inftind, and with much 
delight and alacrity, yet will hardly touch their bones when 
offered as food ; nor will a mongrel dog of my own, though he 
is 
