THE DOMESTICATED ANIMALS OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 
91 
live-stock; and it is not too much to assert, 
that half the rental of the British islands is 
derived from this source. These considera- 
tions will make it appear, how much the. study 
and advancement of this department of rural 
economy merits the attention of those who 
seek to widen the channels of native industry." 
—P. x. 
The splendid work, of two volumes, pub- 
lished long since by Sir. Low, illustrated with 
beautifully drawn and coloured plates, was, in 
letter-press, inferior to the present volume. 
It did not contain the natural history of the 
dog, and the subject matter of all the other 
animals is enlarged and improved. The In- 
troduction, so called — for the preface from 
which we have already quoted is quite of an 
introductory nature — gives us " the divisions 
of the animal kingdom," and the " properties 
of the external form," written with a clear- 
ness and perspicuity not often observable in 
papers so purely philosophical. This alone 
is very interesting to the lovers of Natural 
History. The author then goes into the nature, 
species, and varieties, of the goat, and the sheep, 
of which we have the characteristics of twenty- 
one different breeds — for the author does not 
clog his book with trumpery distinctions of 
questionable species, but treats them all as 
breeds, whether arising from a permanent 
cross, or an original stock ; he says, indeed, 
at the very outset, that he may not be mis- 
understood, " Of the species of the domes- 
ticated animals naturalized in the British 
Islands, numerous varieties present them- 
selves, to which we apply the terra breeds; 
the character of species may have been im- 
printed by original organization, or may have 
been the result of laws of organic development 
and change, of whose nature and operation we 
are ignorant." However, the next subject is 
the ox, of which he gives the particulars of 
nineteen distinct breeds. Then the hog, of 
which we have four : the horse — the racer, the 
hunter, horses for the saddle, and light car- 
riages, such as the old English coach-horse, 
the Cleveland bay, the hackney, and the 
cavalry horse ; then those for heavy draught, 
of which there are four breeds described. 
Their structure, their nature, proper food and 
treatment, and general characteristics, are 
admirably explained. The most interesting 
to the general reader, because everybody's 
favourite, is the dog, of which we have four 
different groups, and in each group the several 
families that belong to it. To follow the 
author through his lung and interesting ac- 
count of this animal, would be to rob the volume 
of its most charming attraction; but, oh! man, 
man ! take a lesson from the following com- 
pressed particulars, in which the very best of 
us are eclipsed in even the best of our ac- 
tions : — 
" But of all the attributes of the dog, those 
which seem the most to have claimed atten- 
tion, are his attachment to man in general, 
and his fidelity to individuals in particular. 
The dog very rarely, and never but under 
peculiar circumstances, seeks to gain his natu- 
ral liberty. He prefers, to the state of free- 
dom, the protection of man, and lingers near 
our dwellings, even when he is shunned and 
disowned by us. When he attaches himself to 
any one, all his actions indicate that the rela- 
tion is one which has a foundation in the affec- 
tions of the animal, and does not vary with 
the degree of benefits conferred. The dog 
that shares the lot of the miserable and poor, 
is no less faithful than another that enjoys all 
that can gratify the senses. The peasant boy, 
who rears up his little favourite in his cabin 
of mud, and shares with it his scanty crust, 
has a friend as true as he who has ease 
and abundance to bestow. Release from the 
cord of the blind beggar the dog that leads 
him from door to door, and will he follow you 
a step for all with which you can tempt his 
senses? Confine him in your mansion, and 
feed him with the waste of plenteous repasts, 
and let his forlorn companion approach your 
door to crave a scrap of food, and the dog will 
fly to him with fidelity unshaken, and bound 
with joy to be allowed once more to share his 
miserable lot. Again and again has the dog 
of the humblest and poorest remained faithful 
to the last, and laid himself down to die on the 
grave of his earliest friend. Recently, a poor 
boy, in a manufacturing town, had contrived, 
from his hard earnings, to rear up a little dog. 
The boy, as he was passing along to his daily 
work, was struck down, and dreadfully maimed, 
by the fall of some scaffolding. He was carried 
on a shutter, mangled and bleeding, to an 
hospital near, attended by the dog. "When he 
was brought to the door, the dog endeavoured 
to enter along with him ; but being shut out, 
he laid himself down. Being driven beyond 
the outer gate, he went round and round the 
walls, searching for an opening by which lie 
could enter. He then lay down at the gate, 
watching every one who entered with wistful 
eyes, as if imploring admittance. Though 
continually repulsed, he never left the pre- 
cincts night or da)', and even before the 
wounded boy had breathed his last, the faith- 
ful dog, struck with total paralysis, had ceased 
to live. It is well known that the soldiers of 
the French levies were often mere boys, 
brought from their country homes, to undergo 
at once all the rigours of the service. They 
were often accompanied by their little dog--, 
who followed them as best they could. Often, 
