40 
Quadrupeds. 
THE WOLF, {Cams Lupus,) 
When hungry, is an undaunted and most ferocious inha- 
bitant of the woods, but a coward when the stimulus of 
appetite is no longer in action. He delights to roam in 
mountainous countries, and is a great enemy to sheep and 
goats ; the watchfulness of dogs can hardly prevent his 
depredations, and he often dares to visit the haunts of 
men, howling at the gates of cities and towns. His head 
and neck are of a cinereous colour, and the rest of a pale 
yellowish brown. He commonly lives to the age of 
fifteen or twenty years. He possesses a most exquisite 
power of smelling his prey at a great distance. Wolves 
are found nearly everywhere, except in the British islands, 
where this noxious race has been entirely extirpated. 
King Edgar first attempted to effect this by remitting the 
punishment of certain crimes on producing a number of 
Wolves' tongues; and in Wales, the tax of gold and 
silver was commuted for an annual tribute of Wolves' 
heads. In the reign of Athelstan, Wolves abounded so 
