52 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 
towards the end of a year the Dog raises his leg in perform- 
ing this act. The duration of a Dog’s life is usually about 
fourteen or fifteen years, but they frequently suffer much 
from the effects of age. It is said, that the probable age of 
a Dog can be ascertained by an examination of his teeth; 
in the earlier years they are exceedingly white and sharp 
pointed; but the farther he advances in life, the more they 
become covered w T ith calculous scales near the gums, dis- 
coloured in all parts, and blunt and unequal at their points; 
but a still more certain indication of age, is a gray and 
hoary tinge above the nose to the eyes, and upon the front; 
this begins to appear about the tenth or eleventh year, and 
continues to increase till the last stage of life. 
As we have already observed, the Dog is carnivorous; 
he does not, however, eat every kind of animal food indis- 
criminately. Thus, most of the water birds, which have 
a strong fishy taste, are rejected by him, except when 
urged by great hunger. He is possessed of such strong di- 
gestive powers, as to derive nourishment from the hardest 
bones. When flesh cannot be procured he will feed on fish, 
fruits, succulent vegetables, and bread; and, indeed, in 
those countries where dog’s flesh is considered as a gastro- 
nomic delicacy, he is wholly fed on vegetable food. The 
Dog drinks by lapping up the water with his tongue; this 
organ, also, is the only part of his body from which he 
perspires, hence, whenever he is using any violent exer- 
cise, it is suffered to loll out of the mouth. Before lying 
down, he generally walks several times round the spot on 
which he intends to repose. He sleeps but little, and sel- 
dom profoundly, the slightest noise causing him to spring 
up. During the time he is asleep, he frequently starts, or 
has a tremulous motion in his limbs. 
Besides the usual employment of Dogs in this country, 
as guards, or for the chase, they are extensively used by 
many nations to draw burdens, particularly among the in- 
habitants of the northern parts of this continent; and the 
weights they are capable of moving, especially over the 
ice, are truly astonishing. Captain Lyon, to whom we 
are indebted for an exceedingly interesting account of the 
Esquimaux variety of this animal, says he has seen a Dog 
draw one hundred and ninety-six pounds, the distance of 
a mile, in eight minutes. But their use as beasts of draught 
is not confined to these nations, the inhabitants of Holland 
have long used them for this purpose, and nothing is more 
common in Paris, than to see these animals dragging small 
carts with vegetables and meat. 
In some countries the flesh of the Dog is considered as a 
great luxury; this is especially the case in China, and in 
New Zealand. When used for this purpose, they are never 
suffered to eat animal food, but are kept in cages, and fat- 
tened with vegetables. They are killed by strangling, and 
the extravasated blood is carefully collected, and also forms 
a culinary delicacy. They grow very fat, and are allowed, 
even by such of our countrymen as have tasted their flesh, 
to be very palatable. But the taste for the flesh of these 
quadrupeds is not confined to the Asiatic countries, some 
of the Indian nations of this continent have the same taste. 
We also find that the ancients considered the flesh of young 
dogs to be excellent food. Hippocrates placed it on a foot- 
ing with beef and mutton; the Romans, who were no slight 
adepts in the gastronomic art, likewise admitted sucking 
puppies among their delicacies. 
Unfortunately, this sagacious and faithful animal is liable 
to disease, which is communicable to almost all animals that 
he may bite whilst labouring under it; the human species 
appears to be peculiarly liable, under such circumstances, 
to be inoculated with this horrible, and, alas! almost incu- 
rable malady. As other temporary diseases are sometimes 
mistaken for hydrophobia, we are induced to subjoin the 
following account of the symptoms, as laid down in a work 
on this disorder, by Chaussier and Orfila. 
“When this disease is in its forming stage, a Dog is 
sick, languid, and more dull than usual. He seeks retired 
spots, remains in a corner, does not bark, but growls con- 
tinually, at strangers, and refuses to eat or drink, without 
any apparent cause. His motions are unsteady, resembling 
those of a man almost asleep. At the end of three or four 
days, he leaves his master’s house, and roves about in all 
directions; walking or running as if intoxicated, and has 
frequent falls. His hair is bristled up, his eyes haggard, 
fixed and sparkling; his head hangs down; his mouth is 
open, and full of frothy saliva; his tongue is protruded, 
and his tail hangs between his legs. He has, in most cases, 
but not invariably, a horror of water, the aspect of which 
seems to exasperate his sufferings. He experiences, at re- 
peated intervals, transports of fury, and strives to bite 
every object which presents itself, not even excepting his 
own master, whom, in fact, he now scarcely recognizes. 
At the end of about thirty-six hours he dies in convul- 
sions.” 
There are few diseases in which quacks have more suc- 
cessfully imposed on the credulity of mankind, or in which 
even the best directed treatment has proved more ineffec- 
tual. At one time, great reliance was placed in the Orms- 
kirk remedy, which was superseded by a host of pretended 
antidotes derived from the vegetable kingdom, and what is 
extraordinary, from the most inert of these productions, 
such as chickweed, anagalis, water plaintain, and the 
skull-cap, none of which possess the slightest medical pro- 
perties. Some persons rely on what is termed worming 
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