18 
VAKIATION 
Chap. I. 
of onr domestic animals is, that we find in the most 
ancient records, more especially on the monuments of 
Egypt, much diversity in the breeds; and that some of 
the breeds closely resemble, perhaps are identical with, 
those still existing. Even if this latter fact were 
found more strictly and generally true than seems 
to me to be the case, what does it show, but that some 
of our breeds originated there, four or five thousand 
years ago ? But Mr. Horner’s researches have ren¬ 
dered it in some degree probable that man sufficiently 
civilized to have manufactured pottery existed in the 
valley of the Nile thirteen or fourteen thousand years 
ago; and who will pretend to say how long before these 
ancient periods, savages, like those of Tierra del Fuego 
or Australia, who possess a semi-domestic dog, may not 
have existed in Egypt ? 
The whole subject must, I think, remain vague; 
nevertheless, I may, without here entering on any 
details, state that, from geographical and other con¬ 
siderations, I think it highly probable that our domestic 
dogs have descended from several wild species. KnoAv- 
ing, as we do, that savages are very fond of taming 
animals, it seems to me unlikely, in the case of the 
dog-genus, which is distributed in a wild state through¬ 
out the world, that since man first appeared one single 
species alone should have been domesticated. In re¬ 
gard to sheep and goats I can form no opinion. I 
should think, from facts communicated to me by Mr. 
Blyth, on the habits, voice, and constitution, &c., of the 
humped Indian cattle, that these had descended from 
a different aboriginal stock from our European cattle; 
and several competent judges believe that these latter 
have had more than one wild parent. With respect to 
horses, from reasons which I cannot give here, I am 
doubtfully inclined to believe, in opposition to several 
authors, that all the races have descended from one 
