clxxxvi 
APPENDIX. 
ticated wolf having intercourse with a dog; when tamed, it is well known 
that they will readily breed together. 
Whatever doubts may have once prevailed, it is now ascertained by the 
observations of modern naturalists, that neither in conformation, nor in the 
period of gestation, does any such difference exist between the wolf and dog, 
as will warrant a specific distinction. The manner of carrying the tail has been 
considered a difference ; but amongst the Esquimaux dogs which have fallen 
under the notice of the late and the present expedition, there have been indivi- 
duals who constantly carried their tails in the manner which was supposed to 
be peculiar to the wolf ; these dogs approach nearer to the wolf in its wild 
state, than any of the other domesticated varieties ; a young female was pro- 
cured from the Esquimaux who were communicated with in Davis’ Strait on 
the 7th of September, in the hope that by her means the perfect breed might 
be kept up in this country for the satisfaction of naturalists, a male which 
was brought to England by the former expedition being still alive; but she 
unfortunately disappeared from the Hecla during the detention of the ship in 
Leith roads to refit, and from subsequent inquiry, it is feared that she has 
ceased to exist as a living specimen. The only female which was brought 
home by the former expedition was presented to the Royal Menagerie at 
Paris, and has furnished the subject of an article in the splendid work of 
Messrs. Saint Hilaire and Frederic Cuvier, L'Histoire Naturdle des Mammiferes; 
from whence the following passage has been extracted, for the purpose of no- 
ticing an erroneous supposition which it contains, and into which these eminent 
naturalists have been accidentally misled: — “ Nous devons ces pr^cieux Ani- 
“ maux a M. le docteur Leach, qui, en ayant obtenu une femelle pleine, au 
“ retour de l’exp6dition du Capitaine Ross, a bien voulu nous I’envoy^r. Cette 
“ femelle a mis bas trois petits, un male et deux femelles, qui suffiront sans 
“ doute pour nous conserver une race dont I’intelligence et la force, appliquees 
“ a nos besoins domestiques, pourront nous rendre d’utiles services. Aucune de 
“ nos races de Chiens, qui se rapportent a celle-ci, ne sont aussi belles et aussi 
“ fortes.” By an omission, doubtless of inadvertency, the keepers of the mena- 
